The Howling Eye
- See also: The Howling Eye (Hard) and The Howling Eye (Extreme)
The Howling Eye
- Level
- 44 (Sync: 46)
- Difficulty
- Normal
- Party size
- Light Party
4 man • 1
1 
2 
- Unsyncing
- Allowed
- Time limit
- 60 minutes
- Roulette
- Trials
- Req. quest
Lady of the Vortex- Patch
- 2.0
“With the aid of the Enterprise and its legendary captain, Cid Garlond, you have broken through the swirling winds that shield the Howling Eye. Yet the challenges you have surmounted pale in comparison to one that awaits you beyond the gates. At long last, the end is nigh - be it Garuda's or your own.
— In-game description
The Howling Eye is a level 44 trial introduced in patch 2.0.
Unlock
- Quest: Lady of the Vortex
- Quest-giver Location: Cid - New Gridania (x11,y14)
- Prerequisites: Main Scenario Quest Better Late than Never
Strategy
Phase 1
In the first phase, tank should pull Garuda to 1 edge of the boss room, away from the stone pillars. Ranged damage dealers and healers should spread out a bit to minimize the damage taken from Friction. While Slipstream does not have the red ground indicator, it can still be dodged.
- Players should not let Garuda damage the stone pillars with her Friction and Wicked Wheel abilities.
At about 3/4 HP, Garuda will disappear for a few seconds. After re-appearing she will begin to cast Mistral Song. Get behind stone pillars and get out of her line of sight immediately. Anyone in her line of sight will be killed by the Mistral Song.
After using Mistral Song, Garuda will spawn a group of adds named Razor Plumes. These adds will attempt to destroy the stone pillars. Pull DPS off of Garuda immediately, to kill the adds. Use AoE abilities if possible.
At around half HP, Garuda will disappear again and re-appear on the other side of the map. After re-appearing she will begin to cast Mistral Song. Get behind stone pillars and get out of her line of sight immediately. Anyone in her line of sight will be killed by the Mistral Song.
After using Mistral Song, Garuda will spawn another group of Razor Plume adds. This time the adds are scattered at the sides of the boss room. Focus fire them down one by one.
After a bit, Garuda will vanish again and re-appear in the center of the room. She will then use her signature ability Aerial Blast. The amount of damage depends on the number of rocks that are still alive. Tanks should use their Limit Break to further lessen the damage. Phase 2 begins after she uses the Aerial Blast.
Abilities
Downburst is an instant frontal cleave that deals a moderate amount of damage to all players in front of Garuda.
Friction is an instant ranged attack that will damages a random player and all players near him. It also damages the stone pillars.
Wicked Wheel is an instant AoE attack that damages all players around Garuda for moderate amount of damage. It also damages stone pillars.
Slipstream is a frontal column spell that deals large amount of damage and stuns the targets hit. While it does not show up with a ground indicator, it can still be dodged.
Mistral Song allows Garuda to vanish and reappear on one side of the room, firing a blast of wind through the area. The ability does very heavy damage to all targets in her line of sight. Players need to hide behind stone pillars to avoid the damage.
Aerial Blast is Garuda's signature ability. At around half health, she teleports to the center of the room and casts this ability. The damage you and your party members take depends on how damaged the stone pillars are. The more damaged the stone pillars are, the more damage you will take. Phase 2 starts after she uses this ability.
Adds
Razor Plumes are adds in the form of airy balls. They are spawned by Garuda occasionally. They will damage the stone pillars if left alone. When they spawn, pull DPS off of Garuda and kill Razor Plumes immediately.
Summary
- Stay away from pillars to prevent their being destroyed until Garuda casts Mistral Song
- Hide behind pillars when Garuda casts Mistral Song
- DPS Razor Plumes ASAP
Phase 2
After Garuda uses her signature ability, Aerial Blast, phase 2 begins. In this phase Garuda uses Eye of the Storm to limit the size of the boss room to a circular center. Any player outside of the swirling vortex will take heavy damage from Eye of the Storm.
When teleports to the opposite side of the room, she will start casting Mistral Shriek. Players should run away from her as soon as possible. Everyone near her will take massive damage.
When Garuda teleports to the center of the room, she will start casting Mistral Song. Players need to get out of her line of sight by getting behind her to avoid the massive amount of damage.
At about a quarter HP, she will spawn Razor Plumes. These adds will do damage to random players. Kill them as soon as possible.
Abilities
Downburst is an instant frontal cleave that deals a moderate amount of damage to all players in front of Garuda.
Friction is an instant ranged attack that will damages a random player and all players near him. It also damages the stone pillars.
Wicked Wheel is an instant AoE attack that damages all players around Garuda for moderate amount of damage. It also damages stone pillars.
Slipstream is a frontal column spell that deals large amount of damage and stuns the targets hit. While it does not shot up as a ground indicator, it can still be dodged.
Mistral Song allows Garuda to vanish and reappear in the center of the room, firing a blast of wind through the area. The ability does very heavy damage to all targets in her line of sight.
- In this phase, players can get behind her to avoid the damage.
Eye of the Storm is ability used by Garuda at the start of the second phase. This ability creates a whirlwind with an opening at the center of the room. Players must stay in the center of the room to avoid the extremely heavy damage from the swirling wind. The effect persists for the rest of the fight.
Mistral Shriek is an AoE ability that deals very heavy damage to all players around Garuda. She performs this ability as soon as she teleports to one side of the room. Players should move away from her as soon as she teleports.
Adds
Razor Plumes will perform ranged attacks to random party members. They should be killed as soon as they spawn.
Summary
- When Garuda starts to cast Mistral Shriek, get away from her.
- When Garuda starts to cast Mistral Song, get behind her.
- DPS Razor Plumes ASAP
Images
Video Guides
Lore
"With the aid of the Enterprise and its legendary captain, Cid Garlond, you have broken through the swirling winds that shield the Howling Eye. Yet the challenges you have surmounted pale in comparison to one that awaits you beyond the gates. At long last, the end is nigh - be it Garuda's or your own."