Stormblood content

Difference between revisions of "The Minstrel's Ballad: Nidhogg's Rage"

From Final Fantasy XIV Online Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Line 1: Line 1:
{{see also|The Final Steps of Faith}}
{{Duty infobox
{{Duty infobox
| name = The Minstrel's Ballad: Nidhogg's Rage
| name = The Great Hunt
| image = The_Minstrel's_Ballad__Nidhogg's_Rage.png
| description = [[The Hunt]] has always been simple business. Snatch a bill from the board, seek out your quarry, and claim your bounty. A peculiar posting in [[Kugane]], however, has complicated matters. What began as a simple hunt in the [[Azim Steppe]] has quickly escalated into a harrowing undertaking, with a strange new [[Felyne]] companion, and even stranger prey -- [[Rathalos]], king of the skies. With mega potion in hand, you venture into the mountains. But do you have what it takes to stand against his fiery fury?
| description = Scarcely had Nidhogg fallen on the Steps of Faith, when taverns across Eorzea began to rumble with the rumors of your victory. In one such establishment did you regale a certain story-staved bard with the true details of your accomplishment – a humble account that he soon expanded into a flowery ballad of heroic proportions. Even as the lilting notes fade away, your mind is carried off by recollections of a monstrous foe, writ considerably more terrifying by the wandering minstrel's exaggerated poetry...
| image = The_Great_Hunt_Image.png
| type = Trial
| type = Trial
| level = 60
| level = 70
| level-sync = 60
| level-sync = 70
| ilvl = 220
| ilvl = 320
| ilvl-sync =  
| ilvl-sync =  
| difficulty = Extreme
| difficulty = normal
| size = 8
| size = 8
| time-limit = 60
| time-limit = 60
| roulette =  
| roulette = Trials
| tomestones = 20 poetics
| tomestones = 10 poetics
| req-quest = Nidhogg's Rage
| req-quest = The New King on the Block
| patch = 3.3
| patch = 4.36
| release = stormblood
}}
}}


==Nidhogg EX Basics==
==The King of the Skies==
Nidhogg will utilize many different abilities across a total of 6 phases, some of which are dealt in his standard '''Dragon Form''', while others are exclusive to his '''Human Form''' later in the battle. Should the battle go on for 11 minutes, Nidhogg will spend 10 seconds to cast a '''Deafening Bellow''' that will wipe the entire raid.
Eorzea and its inhabitants must contend with a migrating Rathalos that has been using the Azim Steppe as its feeding ground. With the help of a purr-sistant Felyne (Palico) companion, players are tasked with tracking Rathalos to its den and putting an end to the fearsome wyvern before it wreaks havoc on the local ecosystem.


The fight itself contains multiple Monster Hunter: World mechanics that make it very unique to Final Fantasy XIV. For starters, Rathalos cannot be tanked, and there are very few telegraphed attacks, most of which will be executed in a random order against random players without the usual visual indicators. As a result, participants must pay attention to Rathalos and react accordingly to each of its attacks, indicated solely by its animations.


==Nidhogg's Dragon Form Abilities==
In addition, all party members come equipped with 10 Mega Potions that can heal the player to max health after a short drinking animation. Furthermore, Rathalos is capable of poisoning players with its claws and can also stun players who take too many direct hits. Lastly, a "Down Counter" will be present throughout the final phase of the fight, which will gradually fill up with each use of a cooldown against Rathalos. Once filled, Rathalos will be knocked down and left vulnerable for some time. During this, players can attempt to shatter its tail, inflicting substantial damage to Rathalos.


*'''Scarlet Whisper''' is a magic-based tank-buster with no cast-time that will cleave the main target for high damage.
In Extreme mode, it is also possible to fail the battle outright if players are "carted" (KO'd) three times.
*'''Deafening Bellow''' is an arena-wide attack that deals moderate damage to the entire group.
*'''Mortal Chorus''' is an arena-wide AoE that deals moderate damage and knockback. This will only be used during the transition from the add phase (3) to phase 4.
*'''Bitter Hate''' is a stacking debuff that will inflict lethal damage on reaching 8 stacks. Due to this, the tank and off-tank will need to rotate in order to wipe their stacks and prevent an instant death.
*'''Horrid Roar''' is actually two mechanics with the same name. One will target random players with overhead markers which, after 6 seconds, will hit victims for moderate AoE damage. The other version spawns non-telegraphed AoE puddles beneath random players. After 3 seconds, the puddles will explode, dealing high damage to anyone caught in the blast and inflict '''Hysteria''' for 6 seconds. Multiple puddles can be stacked on top of each other for ease of avoidance.
*'''Cauterize''' causes Nidhogg to appear at one of the edges of the arena before diving across in straight line, dealing massive damage to any players caught in its wake.
*'''Hot Tail''' is a straight AoE attack from one end of the arena to the other that passes through Nidhogg's centre, inflicting moderate damage and a '''Burns''' debuff to anyone it hits. To avoid this attack, players must move from underneath Nidhogg and stand at either edge of the arena.
*'''Hot Wing''' is the inverse of '''Hot Tail''' - an AoE attack that covers the outer-sides of the arena. To avoid this attack, players must be standing underneath Nidhogg.
*'''Akh Morn''' is indicated by a stack marker, encouraging players to group up and absorb upcoming damage. Once cast '''Akh Morn''' is fully cast, Nidhogg will repeatedly blast players with multistrike AoE for moderate damage, divided evenly amongst those within range of the stack marker.
*Nidhogg will '''Touchdown''' after leaving the arena, inflicting light AoE damage to those nearby.


Once Rathalos has been defeated in either mode, the head and tail can be 'carved' for Rathalos Scales - a currency used to purchase Monster Hunter themed cosmetics or even a Rathalos mount. Players can also acquire their very own Poogie and Felyne (Palico) minions.


==Nidhogg's Human Form Abilities==
==Dialogue==
'''Felyne''': You did it! You slew the meownster!


*'''Final Chorus''' is an arena-wide AoE that, like '''Mortal Chorus''', will only be used during the transition from the add phase (3) to phase 4. During this mechanic, all players will be inflicted with high damage.
'''Felyne''': Don't forget to carve a scale or two off his hide.
*'''Ala Morn''' - not to be confused with '''Akh Morn''' - is a physical single-target tank-buster that deals massive damage to the main target, encouraging the use of mitigation skills to reduce the impact.
*'''Drachenlance''' is also a physical tank-buster that cleaves the main target and those around it for moderate damage.
*'''High Jump''' will target either healers or DPS depending on the phase it is used in, indicated by purple markers above their heads. After 5 seconds, marked players will be hit by moderate damage and will leave behind an AoE puddle which will persist for 20 seconds. These puddles will apply bleeding to anyone who walks through them.
*'''Geirskogul''' shoots line AoE's from '''High Jump''' puddles at random players with infinite range, cutting through the entire arena.
*'''Soul Tether''', like '''Geirskogul''', will be cast from '''High Jump''' puddles, connecting interceptable tethers to those who initially dropped the puddle. After 10 seconds, these tethers will explode for major damage, likely killing a Healer or DPS target, thus all of these tethers should be grabbed by one of the tanks.
*'''Eye of the Tyrant''' will target a random player with a stacking marker, encouraging players to group up to absorb upcoming damage.
*'''Bloodrage''' inflicts unavoidable arena-wide damage to all players during the transition into the very final phase.
*'''Darkdragon Dive''' will spawn four pillars in the corner-segments of the arena that need at least one player to be standing within them. After a few seconds, '''Darkdragon Dive''' will then hit the player(s) within the pillar for moderate damage. Unlike stack-mark mechanics, pillar damage will not be split between players if more than one is standing within them. In addition, if nobody stands within it at all, all players will be inflicted with massive damage instead. Shortly after connecting, a large flaming puddle will be left behind which will persist for 14 seconds, applying a '''Burns''' debuff to anyone who walks through.
*'''Super Jump''' places a large marker on a random player for 10 seconds before inflicting an arena-wide AoE at their location, dealing increased damage to all other targets depending on how close each player is to the point of impact. In short, players should move as far away as possible from the chosen target and/or the marked player should move away from the rest of the group.




==Phases==
==Rathalos's Phases & Abilities==
===Phase 1 (Dragon Phase)===
There are three distinct phases during the Great Hunt - a ''grounded phase'', an ''add phase'' and a ''flying phase'' - two of which involve Rathalos utilizing various attacks in a random order against a random target (with a few exceptions). In phase three, Rathalos will take to the skies rather than fight on the ground, yet most of the attacks it uses will be somewhat similar to its grounded phase.
The first phase is a relatively straightforward affair. At first, Nidhogg will essentially be a target dummy, inflicting basic attacks alongside '''Scarlet Whisper''' (tank buster) and '''Deafening Bellow''' (arena-wide AoE's). Once he has had time to inflict his second '''Scarlet Whisper''' and a few additional auto-attacks, he will leap into the air and commence using '''Horrid Horror''' (both versions) and '''Cauterize''' dives. The first '''Cauterize''' will always be cast from either the northern or eastern side of the arena, whereas the second will always be used from the southern or western sides. Nidhogg will then '''Touchdown''' and commence the next phase.


===Phase 1: Grounded===
Enmity is not present in this fight, meaning that Rathalos cannot be 'tanked' at any point during the encounter. Instead, Rathalos will rotate between a set of ground-based attacks against randomly chosen players, most of which have no visual indicators or markers. All players must keep an eye on where Rathalos is facing and what animation it is performing if they wish to avoid its relentless onslaught.


===Phase 2 (Hot Wing/Hot Tail)===
*'''Tail Swipe''' is indicated by Rathalos looking to its side and menacingly raising its tail. After a brief delay, Rathalos will swing its tail in a 180-degree motion. Immediately after this, Rathalos will perform another 180-degree sweep after a short delay in the same direction as the first. Anyone caught in the path of a Tail Swipe will receive moderate damage and a massive knockback, as well as a chance of being stunned. To avoid this, players should check which side Rathalos is looking at during the wind-up animation and move to the other side (or away) as quickly as possible.
After '''Touchdown''', Nidhogg will randomly select either '''Hot Wing''' or '''Hot Tail''' and alternate between the two from then onward. They cannot be used at the same time, so there will always be a safe spot, either under Nidhogg's body (Hot Wing) or by his flanks (Hot Tail). In addition to this, Nidhogg will utilize abilities from the previous phase, such as '''Scarlet Whisper''' and '''Deafening Bellow''', but in a more randomized fashion. Players will also have to be mindful of '''Horrid Bellow''' which will also be used after the first rotation of Tail/Wing, and will be used again if this phase goes on long enough. The overall rotation will continue until Nidhogg has been pushed to just under 80% health.


*'''Charging Bite''' is a rush-attack indicated by Rathalos turning towards a player (regardless of distance) and performing a brief roar-like animation. After a short delay, Rathalos will then lunge directly at that player with a vicious bite, be they near or far. All players caught in the path of the charge itself will be inflicted with moderate damage and knockback, as well as a chance of being stunned. To avoid it, players should watch out for the brief wind-up animation and side-step out of its path as soon as possible.


===Phase 3 (Add Phase)===
*'''Fireball''' is indicated by an overhead marker on the target player and is one of the few telegraphed attacks Rathalos uses. After rearing up for a few seconds, Rathalos will expel an unavoidable fireball at the marked player, inflicting moderate AoE damage in a small area, as well as a dispellable '''burns''' debuff. Players with the marker should move away from the party to avoid inflicting unnecessary damage to others.
After being pushed below 80% health, Nidhogg will summon three adds, two of which must be tanked, and a third add that cannot be tanked at all. This phase serves as a soft DPS check due to how the adds mechanically function.


*'''Shadow Brobinyak''' will spawn on the west of the arena and must be tanked. It utilizes '''The Serpent's Apple''', which is a tank buster that inflicts '''Physical Vulnerability Up'''. Bear in mind that three stacks of '''Physical Vulnerability Up''' is typically fatal. If this creature isn't slain in a timely fashion, it will repeatedly begin casting '''Original Sin''', a magic-based attack that prevents tank-swapping (seeing as the other tank will be dealing with an add which inflicts '''Magic Vulnerability Up'''. As a result, '''Shadow Brobinyak''' should be killed '''first'''.
*'''Flaming Breath''' is indicated by Rathalos raising its head with noticeable flames billowing around its mouth. After a short delay, Rathalos will blast the area directly in front of it with fire while simultaneously swiping the area behind it with its tail, damaging and knocking back anyone directly in front or behind Rathalos. To avoid this stun-capable attack, players can either move out of range entirely or move to Rathalos' flanks (sides).


*'''Shadow Falak''' will spawn on the east side of the arena and must also be tanked. It utilizes '''Electric Predation''', which is a tank buster that inflicts '''Magic Vulnerability Up'''. Once again, three stacks of '''Magic Vulnerability Up''' is typically fatal, and due to inflicting '''Magic Vulnerability Up''', the chosen tank should avoid tank-swapping to '''Shadow Brobinyak''' later on. This add should be killed '''second'''.
Rathalos will continuously target random players and use these abilities in no particular order until the final phase. Once Rathalos has been reduced to around 80% health, the add phase will begin.


*'''Shadow Dragon''', the third add, spawns on the north side of the arena and completely ignores enmity (threat), meaning it cannot be tanked. This add will alternate between a '''Fireball''' attack (which will always target whoever is furthest away) and a '''Ripper Claw''' melee cleave, both of which can be avoided by the group. However, if any of its attacks do connect, the victim(s) will be inflicted with '''Damage Down''', reducing their damage output. Once the '''Shadow Dragon''' has been reduced to moderate health (60-65%), it will inflict '''Vulnerability Up''' on the entire group using an unavoidable roar. As a result, this add should be ignored until both the '''Shadow Brobinyak''' and the '''Shadow Falak''' have been slain. Bear in mind that once it has inflicted '''Vulnerability Up''', it is very likely that anyone hit by its telegraphed attacks will receive fatal damage.
===Phase 2: Adds===
For the most part, phase two is almost identical to phase one, except now the party must contend with some of the local wildlife joining the fray. On entering the arena, various types of adds will initially begin attacking Rathalos. Unlike Rathalos, however, these adds are effected by enmity and can be tanked. It is worth noting that Rathalos' attacks will also damage these adds (and vice-versa); thus a good method is to grab all the stray adds and tank them close to Rathalos so that they damage each other.


Players will have roughly 90 seconds to deal with these adds. Assuming they are all slain, the next phase begins.
After being reduced to around 70% health, Rathalos will head towards the centre of the arena and begin roaring. Simultaneously, a large '''Garula''' will enter the arena from the east side and charge into Rathalos after a short wind-up animation, knocking it down. From here, Garula will begin attacking the party and must be picked up by a tank as soon as possible. At the same time, Rathalos will become 'mountable', prompting a player to leap onto its back and repeatedly stab it via an ''active time event''.  


This series of events serves as a DPS check. If the party does not mount Rathalos in time or fails to kill the Garula fast enough, Rathalos will wipe the raid by escaping the arena and obliterating it with a massive flaming attack. It is possible to kill the Garula without mounting Rathalos, though this will require very high DPS.


===Phase 4 (Human Form)===
*''Bear in mind that the player who mounts Rathalos will take continuous damage-over-time and will require frequent healing. If the player who has mounted Rathalos is reduced to 0 HP, the party will wipe. In addition, the Garula's auto-attacks are incredibly vicious, even against tanks, and it will also perform a frequent frontal AoE cleave for massive damage; thus it is best to face it away from the party.''
The transition to phase 4 begins with '''Mortal Chorus''', dealing moderate arena-wide damage and knockback to all participants, immediately followed by '''Final Chorus''', which will blast the raid with much higher damage after a purely cosmetic animation has completed. If the group failed to defeat the adds in the previous phase quickly enough, '''Final Chorus''' will instead wipe the raid, regardless of whether the adds are slain before the animation lands (seeing as they won't despawn if the DPS check was failed).


During this phase, tanks must be wary of '''Ala Morn''' (not to be confused with '''Akh Morn'''), a physical single-target tank-buster that should be mitigated via defensive skills whenever possible. Soon after, Nidhogg will begin marking players for '''High Jump''', which leaves puddles on the ground that will be used as part of the '''Geirskogul''' and '''Soul Tether''' mechanics. It is worth noting that one '''Geirskogul''' line-AoE will also be spawned from Nidhogg himself, not just the four puddles. It is often best to have the group stack up in the centre after '''High Jump''' in order to bait the line-AoE's into one area and avoid unnecessary chaos. This will also make it infinitely easier for your tank to collect '''Soul Tether''''s. Be mindful that another two '''Geirskogul''''s will be fired shortly after the tethers have exploded.
Assuming the Garula has been defeated in time and a party member has successfully mounted Rathalos without being KO'd, Rathalos will leave the arena and prepare to bombard it in flames. This time, however, players can safely stand behind the Garula's corpse to avoid being slain by the blast, initiating the final phase of the encounter.


This overall rotation will continue until the summoning of Nidhogg's '''Fang''' and '''Claw''', two adds that are used as part of a new mini-phase. Neither of these adds attack the group directly but must be destroyed before they can successfully cast '''self-destruct'''. While these adds are in play, 3 random players will be tethered to each add, forcing them to participate in mechanics specific to that add.
===Phase 3: Flying===
After Rathalos has bathed the arena in flames, the background music will change, and the outer-arena will receive a flaming makeover. All players will now receive a debuff – '''Scalebound''' – which will reduce all healing received by players to 0 (except Mega Potions). As a result, each player should consider drinking a Mega Potion if their HP reaches medium or low levels.


*'''Nidhogg's Fang''' (blue) will spawn at 50% health and randomly tether itself to three players, including the main-tank. Whenever these players (marked as '''Fangbound''') take damage from any source, '''Nidhogg's Fang''' will heal itself based on that damage. As a result of this, tanks need to organize a tank-swap in order to prevent the main-tank from passively healing the add (seeing as damage from Nidhogg himself adds to the healing). This add can be damaged by normal means and must be nuked as soon as possible, unlike '''Nidhogg's Claw''', which cannot be directly attacked at all.
From here on, Rathalos will assault players from the air, and a "Down Counter" will be displayed in the form of a Duty Guage. This will gradually fill up any time a cooldown is used against Rathalos. Once filled, Rathalos will be knocked out of the air and remain prone for a period of time, giving players the opportunity to attack (and eventually break) its tail, inflicting substantial damage to Rathalos. Conversely, Rathalos' overall defence will be much higher while in the air, but not when downed; hence players must try to knock Rathalos down repeatedly and perform as much damage as possible while it is vulnerable.


*'''Nidhogg's Claw''' (red) will spawn at full health and become entirely invulnerable to conventional attacks. Once spawned, it will tether itself to three random players (marked as '''Clawbound'''). Once tethered, three orbs will spawn within the arena and begin floating towards random players (regardless of tethers). The only means of damaging '''Nidhogg's Claw''' is by having '''Clawbound''' (red-tether) players take damage, thus they should start by colliding with the flare-orbs before they hit anyone else, as well as stacking up for upcoming '''Eye of the Tyrant''' from Nidhogg.
Much like the previous phases, Rathalos will continuously attack random players with various abilities in no particular order and with limited visual indicators.


Seeing as blue-tethers heal '''Nidhogg's Fang''' and red-tethers damage '''Nidhogg's Claw''', players must pay attention to their mark (if any) and utilize them appropriately. For example, whoever has a red-tether should make every effort to be present for '''Eye of the Tyrant''' (stack damage mechanic) and pop the floating orbs whenever possible, whilst everyone with a blue-tether should avoid taking damage any damage at all from any source whenever possible. Once '''Eye of the Tyrant''' has been used (and if the adds are still alive), these tethers will be randomly reassigned and the process will continue until the adds are slain (or self-destruct).
*'''Claw Swipe''' is another rush attack similar to '''Charging Bite'''. After turning towards a random player (regardless of distance) and elevating slightly, Rathalos will swoop at that player with its claws after a brief delay. Players slashed by Rathalos' claws will be inflicted with a dispellable poison, a brief stun, moderate damage and a knockback. Just like '''Charging Bite''', players can avoid this attack by side-stepping out of the way.  


*'''Mangle''' and '''Sweeping Flames''' are frontal-cone AoE's, indicated by Rathalos rearing its head and displaying its flaming mouth for a brief moment. To avoid these, players can either move behind Rathalos, move to its flank, or move out of range entirely.


===Phase 5 (Darkdragon Towers)===
*'''Fireball''', unlike phase 1, will now become a '''stack marker''' rather than an individual marker. Furthermore, Rathalos will spit three consecutive fireballs at the selected player back-to-back, each one leaving behind a persistent puddle of flame on the ground that will inflict '''burns''' on everyone sharing the damage and anyone who passes through them afterwards.


This phase begins with both healers being marked by '''High Jump'''. '''Darkdragon Dive''' towers will also be summoned in each corner of the arena, which requires at least one player to be standing within them or they'll explode for massive raid-wide damage. After this, four more players will be marked for another '''High Jump'''. Just like before, victims of any '''High Jump''' will once again be attached to a '''Soul Tether''' that should be intercepted by tanks, and the puddles left behind by victims of '''High Jump''' will fire out '''Geirskogul''' line-AoE's across the entire arena. While players are dealing with the aftermath of the previous '''High Jump''' mechanics, one player will be marked as the target for a '''Super Jump'''. At this point, players will have about ten seconds to avoid any remaining '''Geirskoguls''' while moving as far away from the '''Super Jump''' victim as possible.
''Players must consider grouping together to share the damage and will very likely need to drink a Max Potion to heal up during this mechanic.''


After landing from '''Super Jump''', Nidhogg will rotate between his tank-busters ('''Drachenlance''' and '''Ala Morn''') before leaping away before the final phase.
''However, if this ability targets a tank instead of a healer or damage-dealer, the tank may choose to mitigate all three fireballs by themselves using defensive cooldowns and a Max Potion. Despite healers being unable to heal other players during this final phase, they can still use Esuna to remove '''burns'''.''


This cycle of events will repeat until Rathalos is defeated (or the party wipes).


===Phase 6 (Heart of the Dragon)===
==Loot==
 
===[[File:Silver Coffer (small).png|link=]] [[Rathalos]]===
Nidhogg returns once more, acquiring '''Heart of the Dragon''' and beginning the phase with '''Bloodrage''' - a transitional arena-wide AoE for moderate damage. Now in dragon form once again, Nidhogg will act similarly to his first Dragon Phase, using '''Horrid Roar''' and '''Cauterize''' combos, except this time there will be only one '''Cauterize''', and '''Horrid Roar''' will affect up to 6 players instead of 4. In addition, Nidhogg will incorporate '''Ahk Morn''' into the phase which, unlike before, will add an additional attack to the multistrike every time it is used. For example, its first cast in this phase will hit 4 times, then 5 in the next, 6 after that, etc. This will continue stacking up until Nidhogg has been slain (or the raid wipes). Lastly, anyone hit by Nidhogg's attacks will acquire a stack of '''Bitter Hate''', which will be instantly fatal if it reaches 8 stacks, thus tank-swaps will be required throughout.
{{Drops list|Rathalos}}
 
The first '''Akh Morn''' of this phase will be used immediately after he has '''Touched Down''' from the previous '''Cauterize'''. Once '''Akh Morn''' is finished, Nidhogg will immediately begin casting '''Hot Wing'''. Once it is nearly cast, however, '''Horrid Roar''' puddles will soon be placed beneath multiple players. Ideally, these should be placed at the very edge of Nidhogg's hitbox, giving you enough space to move back to Nidhogg's centre to avoid both '''Hot Wing''' and exploding puddles. Alternatively, you could have everyone stack with the main tank for this, though this comes at the risk of people being cleaved by '''The Scarlet Whisper''' (tank-buster cleave).
 
Once complete, you will notice bombs have formed in the corners of the arena. These explode into straight lines from the north, south, east and west sides of the orbs. If hit by the resulting AoE lines, players will receive major damage on top of a '''Burns''' debuff. After the bombs have exploded, the corners of the arena will be temporarily safe while more bombs form in the centre of the arena. At the same time, all players will now be marked by '''Horrid Roar''' puddles, forcing players to co-ordinate themselves into corners without taking up too much space or having too many people in one corner. Ideally, you should have two players per corner, though you can squeeze in 1-2 more if absolutely necessary.
 
This chaos will immediately be followed by '''Akh Morn''', encouraging everyone to once again stack up to absorb damage. Bear in mind that '''Akh Morn''' will now be inflicting more hits compared to the usual 4. In addition, players shouldn't stick around too long afterwards as they may risk being cleaved by '''Scarlet Whisper'''.
 
Once complete, more bombs will be placed, this time starting in the middle of the arena, followed by a random corner, then the opposite corner. Once again, players will have to deal with '''Horrid Roar''' puddles throughout the ensuing explosions. Ideally, the group should begin where the final bomb has spawned (preferably right in the corner to provide more space for puddles, then drop the puddles and move slightly closer to the arena centre to avoid them. Once the central bombs explode, move to the centre of the arena - but be wary - '''Hot Tail''' will soon follow. After the final set of corner explosions and '''Hot Tail''', '''Akh Morn''' will once again be used. From here, there is a small amount of downtime before the cycle will repeat in a similar fashion.
 
At this point, you will have until the 11minute mark before Nidhogg will begin casting a very final '''Deafening Bellow''', which takes 10 seconds to cast. If the cast goes off, the raid will wipe.
 


==Loot==
==Loot==
*[[Horde Totem]]
===[[File:Silver Coffer (small).png|link=]] [[Rathalos]]===
*[[Nidhogg Card]]
{{Drops list|Rathalos}}  
*[[Nidhogg's Scale]]
*[[Dark Lanner Whistle]]
*[[Faded Copy of Revenge of the Horde]]
 
 
===Weapons===
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|-
!Item
!Icon
!Level
!Item Level
!Requirement
!Damage (Type)
!Delay
!Auto Attack
!Materia Slots
!Stats and Attributes
|-
|[[Horde Axe]]|| [[File:horde axe icon1.png]]||60||235||[[Marauder|MRD]] [[Warrior|WAR]]||79 (Physical)||3.44||90.58||2||align = "left" |[[Strength]] +136, [[Vitality]] +147, [[Critical Hit Rate]] +117, [[Skill Speed]] +82
|-
|[[Horde Blade]]|| [[File:horde blade icon1.png]]||60||235||[[Gladiator|GLA]] [[Paladin|PLD]]||79 (Physical)||2.24||58.98||1||align = "left" |[[Strength]] +97, [[Vitality]] +105, [[Determination]] +56, [[Skill Speed]] +84
|-
|[[Horde Bow]]|| [[File:horde bow icon1.png]]||60||235||[[Archer|ARC]] [[Bard|BRD]]||71 (Physical)||3.04||71.94||2||align = "left" |[[Dexterity]] +136, [[Vitality]] +147, [[Critical Hit Rate]] +82, [[Determination]] +112
|-
|[[Horde Cane]]|| [[File:horde cane icon1.png]]||60||235||[[Conjurer|CNJ]] [[White Mage|WHM]]||109 (Magical)||3.44||90.58||2||align = "left" |[[Vitality]] +133, [[Mind]] +136, [[Piety]] +124, [[Critical Hit Rate]] +82
|-
|[[Horde Codex]]|| [[File:horde codex icon1.png]]||60||235|| [[Scholar|SCH]]||109 (Magical)||3.12||82.16||2||align = "left" |[[Vitality]] +133, [[Mind]] +136, [[Piety]] +87, [[Spell Speed]] +117
|-
|[[Horde Daggers]]|| [[File:horde daggers icon1.png]]||60||235||[[Rogue|ROG]] [[Ninja|NIN]]||79 (Physical)||2.56||67.41||2||align = "left" |[[Dexterity]] +136, [[Vitality]] +147, [[Critical Hit Rate]] +82, [[Skill Speed]] +117
|-
|[[Horde Grimoire]]|| [[File:horde grimoire icon1.png]]||60||235||[[Arcanist|ACN]] [[Summoner|SMN]]||109 (Magical)||3.12||82.16||2||align = "left" |[[Vitality]] +133, [[Intelligence]] +136, [[Critical Hit Rate]] +82, [[Determination]] +112
|-
|[[Horde Guillotine]]|| [[File:horde guillotine icon1.png]]||60||235|| [[Dark Knight|DRK]]||79 (Physical)||2.96||77.94||2||align = "left" |[[Strength]] +136, [[Vitality]] +147, [[Determination]] +78, [[Skill Speed]] +117
|-
|[[Horde Handgonne]]|| [[File:horde handgonne icon1.png]]||60||235|| [[Machinist|MCH]]||71 (Physical)||2.64||62.48||2||align = "left" |[[Dexterity]] +136, [[Vitality]] +147, [[Critical Hit Rate]] +82, [[Skill Speed]] +117
|-
|[[Horde Knuckles]]|| [[File:horde knuckles icon1.png]]||60||235||[[Pugilist|PGL]] [[Monk|MNK]]||79 (Physical)||2.56||67.41||2||align = "left" |[[Strength]] +136, [[Vitality]] +147, [[Determination]] +112, [[Skill Speed]] +82
|-
|[[Horde Rod]]|| [[File:horde rod icon1.png]]||60||235||[[Thaumaturge|THM]] [[Black Mage|BLM]]||109 (Magical)||3.28||86.37||2||align = "left" |[[Vitality]] +133, [[Intelligence]] +136, [[Determination]] +78, [[Spell Speed]] +117
|-
|[[Horde Spear]]|| [[File:horde spear icon1.png]]||60||235||[[Lancer|LNC]] [[Dragoon|DRG]]||79 (Physical)||2.88||75.84||2||align = "left" |[[Strength]] +136, [[Vitality]] +147, [[Critical Hit Rate]] +117, [[Determination]] +78
|-
|[[Horde Star Globe]]|| [[File:horde star globe icon1.png]]||60||235|| [[Astrologian|AST]]||109 (Magical)||3.20||84.26||2||align = "left" |[[Vitality]] +133, [[Mind]] +136, [[Piety]] +124, [[Determination]] +78
|-
|}
 
 
===Shields===
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|-
!Item
!Icon
!Level
!Item Level
!Requirement
!Slot
!Block Strength
!Block Rate
!Materia Slots
!Stats and Attributes
|-
|[[Horde Shield]]||[[File:horde shield icon1.png]]||60||235||[[Gladiator|GLA]], [[Paladin|PLD]]||Shield||380||380||1||align = "left" |[[Strength]] +39, [[Vitality]] +42, [[Parry]] +33, [[Critical Hit Rate]] +23
|-
|}
 
 
==Images==
[[File:the final steps of faith1.png|350px]] [[File:the final steps of faith2.png|350px]] [[File:the final steps of faith4.png|350px]]


{{Duties nav|trial}}
{{Duties nav|trial}}

Revision as of 00:12, 18 February 2020

Trial.png

The Great Hunt

The Great Hunt Image.png
Level
70 (Sync: 70)
Item Level
320
Difficulty
Normal
Party size
Full Party
8 man 2 Tank role.png 2 Healer role.png 4 DPS role.png
Unsyncing
Allowed
Time limit
60 minutes
Roulette
Trials
Tomestones
Allagan Tomestone of Poetics 10 
Req. quest
Feature quest The New King on the Block
Patch
4.36

The Hunt has always been simple business. Snatch a bill from the board, seek out your quarry, and claim your bounty. A peculiar posting in Kugane, however, has complicated matters. What began as a simple hunt in the Azim Steppe has quickly escalated into a harrowing undertaking, with a strange new Felyne companion, and even stranger prey -- Rathalos, king of the skies. With mega potion in hand, you venture into the mountains. But do you have what it takes to stand against his fiery fury?

— In-game description

The Great Hunt is a level 70 trial introduced in patch 4.36 with Stormblood.

The King of the Skies

Eorzea and its inhabitants must contend with a migrating Rathalos that has been using the Azim Steppe as its feeding ground. With the help of a purr-sistant Felyne (Palico) companion, players are tasked with tracking Rathalos to its den and putting an end to the fearsome wyvern before it wreaks havoc on the local ecosystem.

The fight itself contains multiple Monster Hunter: World mechanics that make it very unique to Final Fantasy XIV. For starters, Rathalos cannot be tanked, and there are very few telegraphed attacks, most of which will be executed in a random order against random players without the usual visual indicators. As a result, participants must pay attention to Rathalos and react accordingly to each of its attacks, indicated solely by its animations.

In addition, all party members come equipped with 10 Mega Potions that can heal the player to max health after a short drinking animation. Furthermore, Rathalos is capable of poisoning players with its claws and can also stun players who take too many direct hits. Lastly, a "Down Counter" will be present throughout the final phase of the fight, which will gradually fill up with each use of a cooldown against Rathalos. Once filled, Rathalos will be knocked down and left vulnerable for some time. During this, players can attempt to shatter its tail, inflicting substantial damage to Rathalos.

In Extreme mode, it is also possible to fail the battle outright if players are "carted" (KO'd) three times.

Once Rathalos has been defeated in either mode, the head and tail can be 'carved' for Rathalos Scales - a currency used to purchase Monster Hunter themed cosmetics or even a Rathalos mount. Players can also acquire their very own Poogie and Felyne (Palico) minions.

Dialogue

Felyne: You did it! You slew the meownster!

Felyne: Don't forget to carve a scale or two off his hide.


Rathalos's Phases & Abilities

There are three distinct phases during the Great Hunt - a grounded phase, an add phase and a flying phase - two of which involve Rathalos utilizing various attacks in a random order against a random target (with a few exceptions). In phase three, Rathalos will take to the skies rather than fight on the ground, yet most of the attacks it uses will be somewhat similar to its grounded phase.

Phase 1: Grounded

Enmity is not present in this fight, meaning that Rathalos cannot be 'tanked' at any point during the encounter. Instead, Rathalos will rotate between a set of ground-based attacks against randomly chosen players, most of which have no visual indicators or markers. All players must keep an eye on where Rathalos is facing and what animation it is performing if they wish to avoid its relentless onslaught.

  • Tail Swipe is indicated by Rathalos looking to its side and menacingly raising its tail. After a brief delay, Rathalos will swing its tail in a 180-degree motion. Immediately after this, Rathalos will perform another 180-degree sweep after a short delay in the same direction as the first. Anyone caught in the path of a Tail Swipe will receive moderate damage and a massive knockback, as well as a chance of being stunned. To avoid this, players should check which side Rathalos is looking at during the wind-up animation and move to the other side (or away) as quickly as possible.
  • Charging Bite is a rush-attack indicated by Rathalos turning towards a player (regardless of distance) and performing a brief roar-like animation. After a short delay, Rathalos will then lunge directly at that player with a vicious bite, be they near or far. All players caught in the path of the charge itself will be inflicted with moderate damage and knockback, as well as a chance of being stunned. To avoid it, players should watch out for the brief wind-up animation and side-step out of its path as soon as possible.
  • Fireball is indicated by an overhead marker on the target player and is one of the few telegraphed attacks Rathalos uses. After rearing up for a few seconds, Rathalos will expel an unavoidable fireball at the marked player, inflicting moderate AoE damage in a small area, as well as a dispellable burns debuff. Players with the marker should move away from the party to avoid inflicting unnecessary damage to others.
  • Flaming Breath is indicated by Rathalos raising its head with noticeable flames billowing around its mouth. After a short delay, Rathalos will blast the area directly in front of it with fire while simultaneously swiping the area behind it with its tail, damaging and knocking back anyone directly in front or behind Rathalos. To avoid this stun-capable attack, players can either move out of range entirely or move to Rathalos' flanks (sides).

Rathalos will continuously target random players and use these abilities in no particular order until the final phase. Once Rathalos has been reduced to around 80% health, the add phase will begin.

Phase 2: Adds

For the most part, phase two is almost identical to phase one, except now the party must contend with some of the local wildlife joining the fray. On entering the arena, various types of adds will initially begin attacking Rathalos. Unlike Rathalos, however, these adds are effected by enmity and can be tanked. It is worth noting that Rathalos' attacks will also damage these adds (and vice-versa); thus a good method is to grab all the stray adds and tank them close to Rathalos so that they damage each other.

After being reduced to around 70% health, Rathalos will head towards the centre of the arena and begin roaring. Simultaneously, a large Garula will enter the arena from the east side and charge into Rathalos after a short wind-up animation, knocking it down. From here, Garula will begin attacking the party and must be picked up by a tank as soon as possible. At the same time, Rathalos will become 'mountable', prompting a player to leap onto its back and repeatedly stab it via an active time event.

This series of events serves as a DPS check. If the party does not mount Rathalos in time or fails to kill the Garula fast enough, Rathalos will wipe the raid by escaping the arena and obliterating it with a massive flaming attack. It is possible to kill the Garula without mounting Rathalos, though this will require very high DPS.

  • Bear in mind that the player who mounts Rathalos will take continuous damage-over-time and will require frequent healing. If the player who has mounted Rathalos is reduced to 0 HP, the party will wipe. In addition, the Garula's auto-attacks are incredibly vicious, even against tanks, and it will also perform a frequent frontal AoE cleave for massive damage; thus it is best to face it away from the party.

Assuming the Garula has been defeated in time and a party member has successfully mounted Rathalos without being KO'd, Rathalos will leave the arena and prepare to bombard it in flames. This time, however, players can safely stand behind the Garula's corpse to avoid being slain by the blast, initiating the final phase of the encounter.

Phase 3: Flying

After Rathalos has bathed the arena in flames, the background music will change, and the outer-arena will receive a flaming makeover. All players will now receive a debuff – Scalebound – which will reduce all healing received by players to 0 (except Mega Potions). As a result, each player should consider drinking a Mega Potion if their HP reaches medium or low levels.

From here on, Rathalos will assault players from the air, and a "Down Counter" will be displayed in the form of a Duty Guage. This will gradually fill up any time a cooldown is used against Rathalos. Once filled, Rathalos will be knocked out of the air and remain prone for a period of time, giving players the opportunity to attack (and eventually break) its tail, inflicting substantial damage to Rathalos. Conversely, Rathalos' overall defence will be much higher while in the air, but not when downed; hence players must try to knock Rathalos down repeatedly and perform as much damage as possible while it is vulnerable.

Much like the previous phases, Rathalos will continuously attack random players with various abilities in no particular order and with limited visual indicators.

  • Claw Swipe is another rush attack similar to Charging Bite. After turning towards a random player (regardless of distance) and elevating slightly, Rathalos will swoop at that player with its claws after a brief delay. Players slashed by Rathalos' claws will be inflicted with a dispellable poison, a brief stun, moderate damage and a knockback. Just like Charging Bite, players can avoid this attack by side-stepping out of the way.
  • Mangle and Sweeping Flames are frontal-cone AoE's, indicated by Rathalos rearing its head and displaying its flaming mouth for a brief moment. To avoid these, players can either move behind Rathalos, move to its flank, or move out of range entirely.
  • Fireball, unlike phase 1, will now become a stack marker rather than an individual marker. Furthermore, Rathalos will spit three consecutive fireballs at the selected player back-to-back, each one leaving behind a persistent puddle of flame on the ground that will inflict burns on everyone sharing the damage and anyone who passes through them afterwards.

Players must consider grouping together to share the damage and will very likely need to drink a Max Potion to heal up during this mechanic.

However, if this ability targets a tank instead of a healer or damage-dealer, the tank may choose to mitigate all three fireballs by themselves using defensive cooldowns and a Max Potion. Despite healers being unable to heal other players during this final phase, they can still use Esuna to remove burns.

This cycle of events will repeat until Rathalos is defeated (or the party wipes).

Loot

Silver Coffer (small).png Rathalos

Name Type Item Level Rarity Quantity
Rathalos Scale.png  Rathalos Scale   This item is guaranteed to drop. Material N/A ABasic 2

Loot

Silver Coffer (small).png Rathalos

Name Type Item Level Rarity Quantity
Rathalos Scale.png  Rathalos Scale   This item is guaranteed to drop. Material N/A ABasic 2