Overview
The switch taunts you. You cannot resist. A satisfying "click" and your moment of weakness has activated a new phase of the Savage Initiative. This time, however, something is different. The broadcast is interrupted by an unexpected transmission─a message from beyond oblivion. A familiar voice guides you in an unfamiliar tone, and arms you with knowledge of impossible simulations. Your evolution is at hand.
Strategy Notes
- Players will take on Midgardsormr within a square-shaped arena that contains no death-walls or passive hazards. Below is a list of all abilities used during the encounter and in the order that they occur.
- Similar to Normal mode, Midgardsormr will frequently draw in aether by spinning in a circular motion twice in quick succession. After he gathers aether twice, an attack will launch based on how Midgardsormr spun and in which order. The two types of spins he can do are a horizontal spin and a vertical spin. After executing two spins (which are chosen in a semi-random fashion), a specific AoE attack will be launched.
- In Savage mode, none of the attacks performed after a spin-combo will come with a telegraph. Also, Midgardsormr may stall after an initial spin to execute moves or multiple auto-attacks before performing a second spin (unlike normal mode, where Midgardsormr always performs both spins with no downtime). Lastly, there is an additional combo for players to learn: Vertical + Horizontal.
- Getting hit by any of these attacks will inflict high damage and stackable Damage Down and Vulnerability Up debuffs, thus all participants must keep an eye on Midgardsormr when he begins to spin and be ready to pre-emptively react to upcoming attacks once the spin-order has been discerned.
- A simple method of handling this combo is to have the entire raid bait the Horrid Roar circle AoEs by stacking together in certain locations. For example; having both tanks stack together inside the northern section of Midgardsormr's hitbox while the rest of the raid stack on the southern side of it. Once the circles have been dropped in one location, all players can then move away (or into) Midgardsormr to avoid the upcoming Ambient Aether attack without any risk of running into a misplaced AoE circle.
- After performing the previous Ambient Aether combo (and a couple of auto-attacks), Midgardsormr will leap away from the arena, signifying the Ancient Dragon (add) phase. Both tanks need to keep in mind their Time Immemorial debuff seeing as the Ancient Dragon is a grounded enemy - which means the tank with Death from Below (yellow debuff) will be afflicted with Doom if they are hit by the Ancient Dragon. Seeing as Midgardsormr and the Ancient Dragon have shared enmity, it is wise to have the tank with Death from Above (blue debuff) provoke Midgardsormr just before he flies out of the arena. Alternatively, the tank with Death from Below can move as far from the center of the arena as possible so that the tank with Death from Above can quickly provoke the Ancient Dragon as soon as it spawns (before it can attack the other tank), though this is much riskier.
Boss Encounters
Midgardsormr
- Horizontal + Horizontal: Point-blank AoE that extends slightly beyond Midgardsormr's hitbox. If you notice a double horizontal spin, all players should move as far away from Midgardsormr as possible.
- Horizontal + Vertical: Donut AoE that leaves a safe spot inside Midgardsormr's hitbox. If you notice a horizontal-into-vertical spin, all players should move into Midgardsormr's hit-box immediately.
- Vertical + Vertical: Two straight-line AoEs through Midgardsormr, forming a '+' shape. One line will always be in the direction Midgardsormr is facing, with the second line always being perpendicular to the first. Seeing as Midgardsormr is typically tanked while he is facing north, all players should move to the far corner of the arena if they notice a double-vertical spin.
- Vertical + Horizontal: Two straight-line AoEs through Midgardsormr, forming an 'x' shape. Seeing as Midgardsormr is typically tanked in the middle of the arena while he is facing north, all players should move to the far north, south, east or west of the arena whenever they notice a vertical + horizontal spin, as only very small safe-zones will be present in these locations.
- Tail End - a vicious and frequently used tank-buster against the primary target that requires mitigation cooldowns or even immunity cooldowns. To be extra-safe, tank-swapping is advised until later in the battle.
- Ambient Aether (V + H) - Midgardsormr will introduce the raid to the new combo mechanic by spinning vertically, then horizontally, indicating an upcoming 'x' shaped attack. Assuming Midgardsormr is being tanked in the center of the arena and facing north, all players should ensure that are standing within the far north, south, east or western edge of the arena.
- Ambient Aether (H + Akh Morn + H) - causes Midgardsormr to perform a horizontal spin, followed by Akh Morn, a stack-marker mechanic that will unleash multiple blasts of shareable damage at the marked target. After the last hit of Akh Morn, Midgardsormr will perform a second horizontal spin, unleashing a massive point-blank AoE at his location. To avoid, simply stack up and share all hits of Akh Morn, then be ready to move as far away from Midgardsormr as possible whilst performing the second horizontal spin.
- Tail End - smashes the main target with another vicious tank buster. As mentioned earlier, it is wise to tank-swap so that each tank can keep some mitigation cooldowns for future mechanics.
- Ambient Aether (H + Earthshaker + ?) - causes Midgardsormr to horizontally spin. After doing so, Earth Shaker will apply a mark to all raid participants. Once the second spin has been performed (which is always random), Earth Shaker will fire shock-waves in a line from Midgardsormr's center towards all marked players (at the same time as the Ambient Aether attack). A good rule of thumb is to have all participants surround Midgardsormyr in a circular pattern so that no two players will be overlapped by upcoming shock-waves, and also gives everyone plenty of space to react to the upcoming Ambient Aether combo. If Midgardsormr flips horizontally, players will need to retreat from the boss to avoid a point-blank AoE. If Midgardsormr flips vertically, all players will need to remain within Midgardsormr's hitbox to avoid the donut AoE. No matter which combo is performed, Earth Shaker will conclude at the same time as that attack.
- Ambient Aether (V + Tail End + Thunderstorm + ?) - causes Midgardsormr to vertically spin. Afterwards, another Tail End (tank-buster) will be performed against the primary target, followed by four players being marked with thunderous AoE circles. Once four players have been marked, Midgardsormr will perform a random spin. If Midgardsormr flips vertically, players must be ready to avoid the '+' shaped AoE attack. If Midgardsormr flips horizontally, players will need to avoid the 'x' shaped attack. Regardless of which attack is chosen, Thunderstorm will detonate at the same time as the ambient aether attack, so players will need to spread out in a manner where the AoE circles do not result in too much overlap.
- Time Immemorial - a long-cast ability that will apply a special debuff to each tank.
- Death from Below (Yellow) - causes attacks from grounded enemies (including Midgardsormr) to apply Doom. As a result, tanks marked with the yellow debuff must focus only on tanking flying enemies.
- Death from Above (Blue) - causes attacks from flying enemies (including Midgardsormr) to apply Doom. As a result, tanks marked with the blue debuff must focus only on tanking grounded enemies.
- Tail End - smashes the main target with another vicious tank buster. Due to the presence of Death from Below/Above debuffs, tank-swapping may not be a luxury at this point, making immunity cooldowns very desirable from here on.
- Ambient Aether (H + Northern Cross + ?) - causes Midgardsormr to horizontally spin. After doing so, Northern Cross will coat the entire arena in thin ice, causing any player movement to propel that player in their chosen direction a set distance. After the arena has been converted into an icy death-trap, Midgardsormr will now spin horizontally or vertically. If horizontal, players will need to slide away from the boss to avoid the point-blank AoE. If vertical, players will need to remain within Midgardsormr's hitbox to avoid the donut AoE. A good rule of thumb is to have all players pre-emptively form a circle around Midgardsormr's hitbox before Northern Cross so that everyone can remain in place to avoid the donut AoE, or slide away with ease.
- Ice-Storm - marks two players with very noticeable ice-circle markers. After a brief delay, players with the ice-markers will drop puddles of ice at their current location that will slowly grow in size and inflict Frostbite upon anyone who remains within them. Bear in mind that Northern Cross (thin ice) will still be present at this point, forcing marked players to slide away without full control of their characters. As a rule of thumb, marked players should make an effort to drop these puddles into the outer edges of the arena - preferably the farthest corners. Once the puddles have been dropped, the arena will revert to its normal state.
- Akh Rhai - causes energy to erupt from beneath two random damage-dealers (in the form of multi-hitting AoE circles), dealing moderate damage several times in a row before dissipating. The targeted players will need to move out of the attack after the first unavoidable hit if they wish to avoid further damage.
- Ambient Aether (H + Horrid Roar + ?) - causes Midgardsormr to horizontally spin. After doing so, Horrid Roar will spawn large AoE circles underneath all members of the raid which will detonate at the same time as the upcoming Ambient Aether combo attack. Once the circles have been spawned, Midgardsormr will perform a second (random) spin to determine the upcoming attack. If Midgardsormr spins horizontally, players will need to dodge the AoE circles whilst moving away from the boss to avoid a point-blank AoE at its location. If Midgardsormr spins vertically, players will need to dodge the AoE circles whilst remaining within Midgardsormr's hitbox.
- Frost Breath - a vicious cone attack centered on the dragon's primary target. The tank assigned to the Ancient Dragon should ensure that it is always facing away from the group so that nobody else is cleaved by its nasty AoE blast.
- Rime Wreath - periodic arena-wide damage.
Duty Information
- Duty Finder: Savage Raids (Stormblood)
- Time Limit: 90 minutes
- Tomestones: 30 Poetics
Music
- Main: Primogenitor