Tales from Duty Finder: Some make you laugh, some make you cry. Let's vent. 2.0

[RobynDaBank]

Update on the LD thing, I began preemptively typing in chat that I'm going to use it this pull while running to the first pack. I still haven't gotten to pop it. Sigh. Odds that if I make a macro adding I'm using LD + telling them not to heal me at "hourglass" phase would be actually read?

[Kaedys]

To be fair, the game UI is shockingly bad at telegraphing some of those things. It doesn't highlight defensives or immunities, and it shows no durations on buffs. I really wish the UI would actively highlight defensives and immunities (and, for that matter, show more than just 5 status effects, and separate out debuffs from buffs). And the change to LD is recent enough that some peeps might not have gotten the memo, not to mention sprouts and newer healers that just see you sitting at near death and panic heal.

I had a DRK voice it rather well in a Babel run a few days back. Right after the prior pull, he stated "I'm going to use Living Dead on this pack, so please let me hit 0 HP once at the start of the pull."

[Stanazolol]

Not by default, no; a lot of folks who are new to the dungeon will struggle with big pulls.

That said, lately I've seen a lot of people blitzing it for the moogle tomes, and I will admit, if I'm tanking and get the Vale right now, if I see that everyone in the party has the job they're on at 90, I will absolutely offer to go ham with the pulls, because—as you point out—it's certainly possible. As I imagine you know, only the first room is that tricky, and for that one you can just hug the left wall, grab everything you have to run through, pull them into the boss room, and kill them there before pulling the boss. Scoot to the side once you're in the boss room (breaking line of sight) and if the toad has come along for the ride will often hit the end of its tether and wander back off, leaving you a relatively small number of things to kill.

Even still, I've seen experienced players mess up. Usually it's just because there's so many overlapping AoEs, and if the healer gets careless and gets hit by a morbol (and doesn't have Echo Drops, like us Deep Dungeon aficionados do)... well, they're silenced, and it may make for a Bad Day for others.

So if I see anyone who's not level-synced or who has a sprout icon, I will definitely play it slightly more cautious by default.



See, if I'm in Mt. Gulg (as that's the pull you mentioned) as GNB and see I've got a WHM, I'll just outright tell the WHM "I'm gonna go ham on the pull and then hit Bolide once everything's gathered, just as an FYI." Usually this gets a thumbs-up, I do exactly what I said I would, the WHM Bene's me, and we all enjoy the invuln for a bit as we just burn everything down.

Yes, thats exactly what i do, pull to the boss room. With luck, theres only 5 mobs, but even if there are more, its not a problem. Some people will freak out and pull the boss, or panic at the aoe. I always target the toads and stun the aoe asap while aoeing myself, but some people do panic.

I suppose that group was right. If playing with sprouts the half assed speed runs I do are probably too much to handle.

[novamare]

Let me set the stage: Ridorana Lighthouse. Half the alliance in cutscenes. A slew of chats along the lines of "haven't been here in months," "let's get those tomes!" and "uh, this is math boss, right?"

Deaths, and deaths galore. Me, leveling summoner and cackling maniacally as I get to press my cute little rez button more times than I ever have before. (Somehow, by the grace of the Twelve, not a single wipe.)

We finally get to Yiazmat. Little lalafell gets stack marker, I go to stack. No one else comes. Maybe I should've left this little potato to be mashed all alone, but alas. We are both heinously murdered.

Lala gets rezzed first.

Then, a chat log update: Little Lalafell gently pats Nysoris Vertifell.

11/10 would self-sacrifice again.

[Packetdancer]

Let me set the stage: Ridorana Lighthouse. Half the alliance in cutscenes. A slew of chats along the lines of "haven't been here in months," "let's get those tomes!" and "uh, this is math boss, right?"

Deaths, and deaths galore.

Some days, Math Boss be like that.

[Avatre]

Some days, Math Boss be like that.

Some days ANY boss be like that. I remember being the only surviving member of my alliance for a good 30% of the second boss in Copied Factory, as WAR, back in it's early days. I think I got a couple minor heals from one of the other alliances when they could reach me from their platform, but for the most part I didn't need much healing.

[SturmChurro]

Some days, Math Boss be like that.

People are always exaggerating that boss, or rather raid. Always in chat tips about prime numbers, and people talking about math.

[VictorSpoils]

We finally get to Yiazmat. Little lalafell gets stack marker, I go to stack. No one else comes. Maybe I should've left this little potato to be mashed all alone, but alas. We are both heinously murdered.

Been there, done that.

[Packetdancer]

People are always exaggerating that boss, or rather raid. Always in chat tips about prime numbers, and people talking about math.

I’ll admit I actually love the Ivalice raids, and I adore math robot. Both because that’s a unique mechanic, and because of his stupid adorable dance he’s doing as you return from the adds phase.

Usually his reputation is unwarranted, but there are those occasional runs that probably keep the legend alive.

[novamare]

I’ll admit I actually love the Ivalice raids, and I adore math robot. Both because that’s a unique mechanic, and because of his stupid adorable dance he’s doing as you return from the adds phase.

Usually his reputation is unwarranted, but there are those occasional runs that probably keep the legend alive.

My second favorite part of that run (of course losing out to sweet lala gratitude/pity) was math boss's rotating laser light show, where a precious darling sprout healer was hard-casting raise on someone who got caught in the first blast and immediately got obliterated as Mr. Boss Man kept turning. What can you do but laugh?

That's why alliance roulette is probably my favorite. Sure, I might get Labyrinth of the Ancients for the 5000th time, but sometimes I get peak and utter chaos, where half the fun is wondering which minor mechanic will kill half the raid. And also, imo, Ivalice raids are better, more enjoyable chaos than Nier raids because they don't have those stupid, awful, no good, very bad orbs that always nick me because my ping is total doggy doodoo (although I will admit, the music in Nier is *chef's kiss*).