June 2019 V1 VD Ambu

Yea like Eiryl said, its to avoid the conal stuff more than anything from the main boss, and counters from the 2 monks. You can technically do front after main boss dies but playing it safe doesn't hurt

Turbo PUG Bard 4000 is the new Nimbus 2001.

Has anyone tried MB method recently? Was able to clear VD with Rune/Sch/Geo with helix/bliz nukes the first time it was released.

Out here on shiva the jps seem to use MB method more often actually. Looking at Enceladus's elemental defenses I assume it dies within 1-2 SCs once Unda gambit and rayke are applied. Another method I'm being told by a jp friend who partake DD method instead is to use saboteur gravity II and DD it while the tank keeps hate at a distance and avoid getting hit by enceladus.

Ambuscade VD: 5-10min kills for both methods based on gear of group.

For both methods: Kill order: Boss > Fistfighters > Marshall > Sharpshooter/Ranger > Trainer/Bst.

MB Method: Run, Blm, Blm, Blm, Sch, Geo. --- MB water.

Blm: JP master + good gear.
*Having at least one Blm cast Elemental Seal Impact, and another Elemental Seal Flare on the Boss will help it die faster.

Sch: SC's water and off heals. MB boss -> put up
Helixes on every mob except Trainer once boss dies. Then assist in MBing mobs after SC.
*Sch: Stone -> Hydrohelix for SC.

Run: Does water runes + gambit/rayke on boss -> then uses darkness runes on Bst/Trainer.
*Do not melee engage the Trainer.

Geo: Indi-Acumen, Geo-Malaise, Entrust-Barrier.
*Geo focuses on healing Run so Sch can MB —- but Geo can help MB too as needed.
*For Geo-bubble on Boss, use BoG -> Dematerialize (ASAP or bubble will die) -> Life Circle -> Ecliptic. Then casting a cure on the tank will give hate for all other mobs.

DD Method: Run, DD, Brd, Geo, Cor, Whm.

Run, DD, Cor, and Brd can DD.
*Boss can 1-shot tank if left alive long enough. Wait until boss does darkness SC on tank to begin WSing on him.

Run does Darkness runes when switching to Bst/Trainer as last mob.

DD:
*Preferably has some way to use a job ability that gives Def down on Boss.

Brd: Acc, Attk, Haste, Fire Carol.

Cor: Sam's Roll + 2nd roll based on DD job / weapons / needs.

Geo: Indi-Fury, Geo-Fraility, Entrust-Haste (DD).
*Helps heal as needed, Dia every mob.
*Might need to use Staff for Shell Crusher if DD have no means of applying a WS Def Down.
*For Geo-bubble on Boss, use BoG -> Dematerialize (ASAP or bubble will die) -> Life Circle -> Ecliptic. Then casting a cure on the tank will give hate for all other mobs.

Umm that’s way overkill needing defense down and a geo...we was capping attack no GEO and using just dia II and light shot for defense down on boss and ads were to weak to even bother having to get that up. I assume that’s an older posts reply that was copied? Because nowadays it can be killed in about 3 minutes including buff time though that can vary if waiting for his sc and he takes forever to start one.

The shield lockout mechanic is just unnecessary in this months ambuscade.

Yea not gonna lie felt useless being on gro for this I just leeched basically in group with just indi fury. Busy sitting at 0 mana for fight because of tp move didn't even Dia 2 stuff

Seems boss does not MS when idle tank..well tested that only N I might be wrong..

What do you mean by MC?

Everything is the same, still does muzzling and still can 99k (if you weaponskill between a Skillchain and a Mecurial Strike) So far I've seen that exact scenario 3 times. Even on easy.

I mean Mercurial Strike boss so far havent do it when idle tank boss

That one I don't know. If the current target is not engaged it won't/can't Mercurial and therefor can't 99k.

Could've been a fluke but never tried.

Well it was only N not sure that stratic works VD..did 12 runs.. not a single MS

Is there any way to avoid the encumbrance for plds this or has SE decided to just sideline them for the month

This is an easy month for all jobs I hear. But pup burn party (5 pup 1 cor) works well this month.

1 turtle tank pup fire light water (don’t need flashbulb. Steam jacket, Mana Jammers, Barrier Modules.)
4 full ranger puppets fire light wind (repeater,drum magazine, no inhibitor, no speedloader.)
1 roll bot cor crooked companion, drachen.

All Heady Artifice> Repair> Overdrive. Then tank pup runs in and deploys on Boss. Benediction will grab all. Ranger pups will deploy too on boss. Eagle eye shots should hit for 24-34k.

Try to avoid doing any enmity causing actions within 30 yalm of any mob. They will stay on tank puppet forever if you didn’t mess up.

Once boss dies deploy on adds and stay back.

This is a general strategy that works for most ambu fights that don’t have spawning adds. It’s slower then regular pt especially due to how much melee dd have power crept compared to the pet jobs. However it does not require much gear from the puppetmasters (ambu set works) Just need the right attachments and maneuver. The tank pup does need rao+1 or close to it.

Shield strip is intentional. PLD no go this month.

*Edit* It's been a couple years so my memory is hazy on it, but I may have done a PLD GS build for kicks. Sub Slot-strip/ Encumbrance didn't do anything.

just zerg and switch agro between 2 people so no one shot mechanic hits- bringing thf means easy agro swap

For anyone who cares, Dnc is great for this Ambu, especially for sub-optimal party setups.

For those of you who aren't afraid of adventure, a challenge, and some controlled chaos, a good dancer, with a proper tank set, can tank all tiers of this Ambu, including VD.
Unfortunately... while it's easy to tank and survive, the biggest hurdle is getting hate on all of the mobs, especially on the pull.
I can reliably tank and win on Normal, as Dancer with some casual friend players. (No Support Jobs, I think we were Blu, Drk, and Mnk with me Dnc)
Dnc/Pld, I pull with Banishga, then instantly Fan Dance, and Sentinel for as much hate as I can start with. (I have +91 Enmity in my Enmity set, but this won't be common)
Pull to corner, then drop a Climactic Rudra to plant hate on the boss. If you're a gambler, you can reverse and Rudra again for a Darkness skillchain, to really speed up the fight, but this would depend on your party setup and if you have a healer.

For us, I was the tank and the healer, so I reverse, and hold tp for spamming cures. Keep your presto + steps cycled and you can reverse for tp consistently, using Divine's and Waltz' to keep everyone alive. There may be a death here and there, but sometimes... sacrifices have to be made.

We have won with the same setup on Difficult, (just the 4 of us, we use 2 trusts, but they rarely make it beyond the pull) but it's far from reliable. If we weren't just having fun, a dedicated healer, or support would have smoothed things considerably.

Regardless, the point is that Dancer's ability to spam single target and aoe heals instantly, allows them to be a massive support to the party. I believe a Dancer can tank, main heal, main DD, or support any party for this months ambu. Due to the removal of shields, and instant Mana drain, Dancer's ability to JA through those without any cast delay, makes them incredibly underrated.

I'm a Dancer main, so I'm obviously biased.
For perspective, I just solo'd Normal with Trusts (they don't last long) as Dnc/Sam. So when I see entire parties shouting for Pld or Run tanks for their Easy runs, for 30 minutes on Asura, it's disappointing. I've offered multiple people to tank as Dnc, and they're so dead set on having the exact optimal jobs, that they'll waste an hour trying to get it, and end up disbanding.

Tl;dr Dancer is good, but FFXI has always hated hybrid jobs they can't force into a single black/white role. I get it, but it's sad.

Post your DNC enmity and tanking set if you can, I would be interested in something like that.

Super Tank Set
This leaves the waist slot open for haste/dual wield handling.
I just started optimizing my other sets to moderate HP drops. (Not at the level of Pld but...)
D Ring, Staunch Tathlum +1, Odnowa Nq, nq rings, there's plenty to play around with hear to make this casually obtainable and adaptable.
I don't think you need to go this in depth, my DT sets have 4 or 5 stages, and Dancer is always a balancing act of surviving with raw DT and HP with slower TP gain, or Surviving with faster TP gain and more healing.
*Take note, that when I completed the Solo Attempt, I simply used 5/5 Nyame and a 10PDT Senuna Mantle, and left all other slots open to increase DPS and TP gain, as max HP wasn't as necessary for just Normal.


Max Enmity

Another 100hp and 10 Enmity from the Odyssey Dagger; Acrontica that is not calculated into these 2 sets.
I only use the max Enmity on the pull process to prevent those massive HP swings, but I do have an Enmity toggle in my lua, so that it combines with all of my existing sets (basically an enmity version of a PLD SIRD casting mode) for when HP isn't such a high priority.

Honestly, this week I will probably go through and Min/Max all of my tanking sets. I just returned for the anniversary, so the Nyame and Gleti gear pretty much eclipsed my old sets. I've added them to the DPS sheets, but I haven't gone through and optimized DPS within the confines of 50%DT and MaxHP. I'll need to add a 5th tier of DT to my lua too.

Edit to add:
If you auto-equip sets.buff['Climactic Flourish'] = {head="Maculele Tiara +1",body="Meg. Cuirie +2"}
it DRAMATICALLY reduces your survive-ability when Climactic is active. It took me a try or three to realize why I was getting slapped so hard, but I digress. I just manually cancelled/clicked off Climactic after my WS/SC. But wanted to warn anyone who has this built into their lua, that those pieces will override 16% of your DT, and drastically reduce eva, base stats, etc. It's a glaring difference in your ability to survive and unfortunately is triggered right when you are blowing your TP on WS, which compounds the danger.