The Minstrel's Ballad: Ultima's Bane
The Minstrel's Ballad: Ultima's Bane is a level 50 trial that requires the players to defeat the Ultima Weapon. The trial requires a full party of 8 players. To unlock Ultima Weapon (Hard), players must begin the quest: The Ulitmate Ballad.
- Players will receive 20 Tomestones of Philosophy and 17 Tomestones of Mythology for the completion of trial.
Strategy
- Tanks swap at 4 stacks of the debuff, one stack is applied every ~20 seconds. Tank Purge is an attack repeated through every phase from Titan onward, it's an area-wide AoE that does a lot of damage.
- It is strongly recommend you tank in the center until after the Garuda phase. Move Ultima to the Northwest or Northeast edge afterwards, NOT THE CENTER NORTH.
- Ultima has a 10-minute enrage timer, so keep the DPS up.
- Main tank doesn't have to dodge attack unless specified.
Phase 1: Garuda
Garuda appears in the center, and Ultima will try to knock you into her AoE. Get behind Garuda and make sure Ultima can't knock you into the AoE.
Eye of the storm appears, get to the VERY EDGE of the center, move to the outside ring as soon as the purple graphic disappears to avoid Titan smashing down in the center. THE TANK SHOULD DODGE THIS AS WELL.
Phase 2: Titan
Full rotation is Outer Plumes, Inner Plumes, Tank Purge, Inner Plumes, Outer Plumes. Avoid the plumes, and gather up in center for Tank Purge so the healer can heal. Tank Purge is repeated in every phase after this, but I don't know the exact rotation on it.
Phase 3: Ifrit
One set of plumes will appear, then a line of them, with Ifrit charging the field while the second set explodes. Avoid them by going to the west/east edge and adjusting position as necessary. Ifrit will always charge South->North or East->West, be aware of his position.
Eruptions will appear under two random party members, they should run IN THE SAME DIRECTION around the edge of the map. I usually just go clockwise. After five eruptions, this attack ends.
Phase 4: Orb 1
Four orbs will appear at the north, south, east and west edges. They're connected in pairs, and will converge towards the center. If the orbs hit each other, they wipe the group. The tank who is currently not tanking Ultima should run into one orb from each pair, preferably using a cooldown, to detonate them. Make sure to watch this tank's health! Note that if the MT was tanking Ultima in the center north, he will die, because the orb will spawn on him.
After the orbs, the area will start pulsating, signaling the airship attacks. They will either appear in the north and south area, or the west and east. Run to the untouched side to reduce the damage you take (so if they appear north and south, run east/west). TANKS SHOULD DODGE THIS AS WELL.
Phase 5: Laser 1
Five Magitek bits will appear in the center, and will start to spam lasers. Nuke these ASAP while dodging their lasers. Ultima likes to throw out Tank Purges throughout this part.
Phase 6: Orb 2
8 orbs will appear this time, 2 each in the north, south, east and west edges. Again, have the tank detonate them. You may have to sacrifice a DPS to detonate one side, because time is limited here.
Followed by another airship strike, same as above.
Phase 7: Laser 2
Magitek bits will appear all over the edges of the map. I'm not entirely sure what the best course of action is here, you may have to ignore them and nuke Ultima down fast, because the enrage timer is ticking.
Loot
Rings
| Item | Icon | Slot | Level | iLvl | Job | Def | Magic Def | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ultima Band Of Aiming |  |
Ring | 50 | 80 | Bard | 1 | 1 | Dexterity +11, Accuracy +10, Determination +10 |
| Ultima Band Of Casting | |
Ring | 50 | 80 | Black Mage Summoner |
1 | 1 | Intelligence +11, Determination +10, Critical Hit Rate +10 |
| Ultima Band Of Fending | |
Ring | 50 | 80 | Warrior Paladin |
1 | 1 | Vitality +13, Determination +7, Parry +14 |
| Ultima Band Of Healing | |
Ring | 50 | 80 | White Mage Scholar |
1 | 1 | Mind +11, Piety +7, Spell Speed +14 |
| Ultima Band Of Striking | |
Ring | 50 | 80 | Dragoon Monk |
1 | 1 | Strength +11, Critical Hit Rate +10, Skill Speed +14 |
Necklaces
| Item | Icon | Slot | Level | iLvl | Job | Def | Magic Def | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ultima Chocker Of Aiming |  |
Necklace | 50 | 80 | Bard | 1 | 1 | Dexterity +11, Accuracy +10, Critical Hit Rate +14 |
| Ultima Chocker Of Casting | |
Necklace | 50 | 80 | Black Mage Summoner |
1 | 1 | Intelligence +11, Spell Speed +10, Accuracy +14 |
| Ultima Chocker Of Fending | |
Necklace | 50 | 80 | Warrior Paladin |
1 | 1 | Vitality +11, Determination +10, Parry +10 |
| Ultima Chocker Of Healing | |
Necklace | 50 | 80 | White Mage Scholar |
1 | 1 | Mind +11, Determination +7, Spell Speed +14 |
| Ultima Chocker Of Striking | |
Necklace | 50 | 80 | Dragoon Monk |
1 | 1 | Strength +11, Critical Hit Rate +10, Determination +10 |
Lore
The Wandering Minstrel is wont to regale those who would listen with the heroic deeds of adventurers. News of your death-defying feats have reached him, and he would have you recount your fateful encounter with the Ultima Weapon.
However, one must always be wary of the Wandering Minstrel and his gift for exaggeration. Upon hearing his ballad, you come to find your clash with the Ultima Weapon has been transformed into something far more epic than you remember.