Level 59, ilvl 120
60, i150
The Dravanian Hinterlands (X:28, Y:37)
Forbidden Knowledge
Built by the learned men and women of Sharlayan, the Great Gubal Library is the grandest repository of knowledge in all of Eorzea. Lining its towering shelves are tomes beyond count, gathered from the farthest reaches of the realm. Like the city-state, however, the library was abandoned by its caretakers when they fled to their motherland in the face of Garlean invasion. And now, fifteen years since its doors were sealed, you will be the first soul to set foot within its halls. Your destination is the forbidden section deep within the library, where lies your objective: the fruits of Matoya's research on the aetheric converger.
The Demon Tome in Amdapor Keep is similar to the Demon Wall, but with some additional skills. It will cast an AOE attack down the middle of the room and then the sides, slowing down anyone it hits. It will also cast Dark Blizzard III, a circle AOE that targets a random player. Occasionally, the Demon Tome will cast a move called "Disclosure" and glow, signaling that players need to run along the sides of the arena to the back of the Tome. Being on the wrong side when it closes will result in instant death. The Tome will also use an attack called Words of Winter, which freezes the ground and causes players to move a certain distance in the direction they attempt to go. However, unlike Shiva's ground freeze, this only moves players a few steps instead of all the way to the edge of the arena. It is important to note that there is no fence to the immediate left and right of the Tome, but players cannot fall off the ledge. To get past the Tome when frozen, PC players can press Q or E to slide into the fence and then press W twice to slide forward and past the boss. Alternatively, holding right-click and pressing A or D will achieve the same result. It should be possible to accomplish this with a controller on PC by tapping left or right and then forward.
Byblos is the book demon and second boss encountered in The Great Gubal Library. During the fight, Byblos will periodically run to the center of the book that summoned him, rendering himself invincible. At this point, two books will spawn with additional enemies inside. These books will use Death Ray, a low damage area-of-effect attack that extends a considerable distance. It is crucial to eliminate the adds quickly. When they are defeated, they will create a tether between themselves and a chosen player, similar to the orbs in the Scylla encounter in The Labyrinth of the Ancients. To break Byblos' invulnerability, the tethered orb must be drawn into him. After the first invulnerability phase, Byblos will release clouds of oil fumes throughout the room, causing damage and pushing back anyone who runs through them. To prevent the clouds from stacking up, the party should navigate through them carefully and take turns. If the clouds collide with the orbs from the invulnerability phase, a new set of adds will appear. Byblos will also regularly perform Gale Cut, a frontal attack that inflicts mild damage to tanks. It has no ground warning, but it can be evaded by running through or to the side. Additionally, Byblos will execute Tail Swipe, a conal attack that targets anyone behind him. Lastly, Byblos will use Head Down on a random party member, delivering a powerful charge attack that also stuns. This attack cannot be avoided by moving away and will hit all party members in its path. If targeted, it is advisable to avoid lining up with the rest of the party or to run forward to minimize the area affected by the attack.
The Everliving Bibliotaph has several ground-pattern AOE attacks, including a Void Summon that occurs at 3 intervals throughout the fight (roughly 85%, 55%, and 25% HP). During the Void Summon, platforms on the ground will light up and require a certain number of players to stand on them in order to cancel the summon. The number of players needed corresponds to the number of lights on the platform. If a summon is not canceled, a voidsent add will be summoned to the boss fight. It is important to plan ahead and assign players to platforms for the first two phases, and then run together as a group for the final phase. Additionally, Bibliotaph will mark players with targets at intervals, and these players should run to one side of the arena between platforms to bait the AOE attack. This attack sets down a purple void spark that remains stationary and periodically inflicts vulnerability on those in the area. It is crucial to avoid this at all costs. After the second Void Summon at roughly 55% HP, Bibliotaph will cast Deep Darkness, covering the entire outside of the arena, followed by Magic Burst, which covers the inside of the arena. Deep Darkness deals damage to tanks and applies a Heavy debuff, while Magic Burst deals damage and causes a knockback.