On RDM/DRK, Part II (Three-headed Dogs, and Lion-faced Beasties)

It’s been awhile since I made my last post on RDM/DRK and some of the things I wrote then while not entirely wrong by any means could be optimized. First off, it’s very important to note that with the exception of Khimaira, Dynamis Lord, and Bahamut v2 Stun’s rate of resistance is pretty much nil. And even then they aren’t THAT resistant. As long as Stun serves it’s purpose it really doesn’t matter how you do it as long as it actually gets off.

The biggest thing you can do to improve your Stunning on anything is the following:

1. Open up your menu and go to “Config.” DO NOT filter any damage manually it will seriously fuck you up.
2. Go to “Misc.”
3. At the top of the “Misc.” menu you will see “On-screen damage display.” It will give you three options in this order: “Log,” “Both,” “Screen.” Set it to “Screen.” This will REALLY clean your log up quite a bit.

The biggest point of contention I have with stunning as a RDM/DRK on the Cerberus and Khimaira fights is that there is no room for any error. Fulmination and Gates of Hades respectively are very fast and are fairly difficult to Stun for somebody inexperienced with these NMs. Don’t get me wrong Tiamat’s Firaga 3 is fast (and VERY easy to Stun), but any spell an NM might cast is exponentially slower than a TP move which both of these are.

On Khimaira and Stunning Fulmination

At 35% HP Khimaira enters it’s so-called “rage” mode which grants him an additional TP move called Fulmination. The damage from this is MASSIVE without Shell 5 and a good chunk with it on. It also gives a pretty potent Paralyze effect to go with it so it’s not pleasant for anyone which is why most LSes opt to stunning it.

Unlike most HNMs Khim builds resistance to Stun after five or six uses so it’s very important that you’re actually stunning the right thing. Another thing to note is that after you actually Stun a Fulmination it might use it again, having a pair of RDM/DRKs works best on this but I have also done this solo enlisting the help of Shield Bash on the part of keeping Fulmination at bay. Like most time sensitive actions in FFXI, you should be Stunning from the menu, ALWAYS. Macros with equip swaps and just in general are bad new bears. Stun will go off in an Terra’s Staff if you wore it…it’s that accurate on landing so don’t bother with “Stun” gears. I recommend sub targeting Khimaira and taking your hand away from whatever button you use to initiate specific actions so you don’t get trigger finger and jump the gun too early on something that didn’t need to be stunned.

On Cerberus and Gates of Hades

Cerberus does not build any resistance to Stun whatsoever. You can free Stun throughout the fight to help the tanks out until it’s “rage” mode which goes into effect at 25% HP. At 25% Cerberus uses what I think is one of the most devastating TP moves out there, Gates of Hades. This move does MASSIVE fire damage and gives a burn effect to anyone blessed with getting hit by it. You cannot not let many of these get through otherwise you will wipe your LS which I did once way back in FM. Gates of Hades can be used back to back to back to back until he feels like he’s had enough. It’s very important to keep a Stun order and abide by it (should do this on Khimmy too btw). Stunning out of order can result in GoH getting through so don’t play hero, wait your turn. Again like Khimaira, this TP move is FAST so it’s very helpful to sub target Cerberus and prep for Stunning it.

Things That Piss Me Off About Stunning TP moves

First of all, the number one thing I hate is missing a TP move because either LS chat is filled up and/or party chat. If people expect you to Stun without fail it’s VERY important to keep any conversation to a minimum so you don’t Stun too late from the TP move’s message in your log.

Stunning in a large crowd too is ridiculous if you have a crappy connection. It’s pretty important to kindly ask any spectators on either of these fights to back the fuck up. I often reposition myself in a less congested area and that usually helps, but not always. 120 people at Khimaira and trying to Stun doesn’t mix.