Level 50, ilvl 42
50, i60
Northern Thanalan (X:15, Y:16)
The Ultimate Weapon
With the magitek field now out of commission, the path to the Ultima Weapon lies open. While the Immortal Flames sweep Castrum Meridianum and suppress the remnants of the enemy garrison, you and your comrades must fight your way to the innermost sector of the Praetorium, there to locate and destroy the Ultima Weapon. Cid's airship, the Enterprise, will bear you to the stage of the final confrontation.
In the encounter, there are several mechanics that players need to be aware of. The first is Ceruleum Vent, which is unavoidable raidwide damage that must be healed through. Another mechanic is Prototype Laser Alpha, where four circle AoEs will appear from the center and move toward the outside of the arena. Prototype Laser Beta is a mechanic that places circle AoEs on every player, requiring them to spread out. Lastly, there is Grand Sword, which is a cone AoE that targets a random player.
There is an electrical field surrounding the arena that inflicts the debuff Electrocution on people, causing them to take damage over time until they leave. In addition to this debuff, there are several other mechanics that players need to be aware of. These include Spine Shatter, which is a tankbuster attack, Iron Uprising, a frontal cone AoE that knocks players back, and Activate, which summons a Magitek Death Claw that tethers to a player and slowly moves towards them. The players not tethered should focus on killing it. Another mechanic is Augmented Shatter, where a random player is targeted with a stack marker, followed by Wheel of Suffering, a circular AoE that damages all players near the boss. Players should stack together and then move out of the AoE. Nero, the boss, also has Augmented Uprising, where he hops to one side of the arena and attacks a large portion of it with a cone AoE that should be avoided, and Augmented Suffering, where he jumps to the center and casts a knockback attack. To avoid being flung into the electrical field, players should gather in the center.
During the encounter with Gaius, there are several abilities and mechanics that players need to be aware of. Innocence is a tankbuster ability that players need to be prepared for. Horrida Bella is unavoidable raidwide damage that requires healing through. Terminus Est is an ability where Gaius fires blue, flaming Xs, followed by a line AoE blast that deals heavy damage to players in its path. Phantasmata involves copies of Gaius appearing on the long side of the arena, casting Terminus Est marked by flaming Xs. Players should move in between two copies to avoid the blast. Festina Lente is a stack marker on a random player. Ductus creates three circular AoEs on the short side of the arena that move along the platform. Hand of the Empire marks each player with an unavoidable circle AoE, requiring players to spread out to minimize damage. When Gaius reaches 5% HP, he summons Phantom Gaius adds that players must defeat while he charges up Blade Energy for his ultimate attack, Veni Vidi Vici. This attack will instantly kill the party if the energy reaches 100%. Phantom Gaius will target random players with Heirsbane, dealing moderate damage. Players will continue to deal with Ductus and Phantasmata as they battle the Phantom Gaius adds. After withstanding Veni Vidi Vici, Gaius will spam a higher damage version of Horrida Bella until he is defeated.