Brayflox's Longstop. I read a message board post on this FF14 dungeon once, and would like to paraphrase it here:
Brayflox's
Longstop is a make or break dungeon for Tanks and Healers. If you
manage to complete the dungeon doing either of the two and you still want to tank or heal, then you know
you are meant for the role.
The
dungeon itself isn't very hard. The killer is the surprisingly
difficult last boss fight against a poison dragon. The Tank has to do
all the planning and strategizing, while the healer has the unenviable
task of
keeping players alive through the dragon's vicious poison attacks. The
fight brakes down as follows. The dragon occationally spits poison
breath in a straight line. It can be dodged, but it comes out fast and
can be difficult to do so. The tank pretty
much always have to dodge this. During the second part of the fight,
the dragon starts lobbing poison puddles at random players. If the
dragon itself is standing on a part of the puddle it heals. Again, it's
up to the tank to pull it out of the puddle into
a clean area. The darn thing heals FAST, so it's imperitive this be done.
You cannot hope to damage it more than the rate it's healing. As you
can see, it's a very tall order for the tank. I, myself, have managed
to complete the stage with both classes but
not without a couple of huge set backs.
The
first time we fought this beast, my buddie C-Rox (who is a tanking
prodigy) was doing the honors. We had no issues. On our second run, we
switced it up, and he healed while I tanked. Also no issues but right
after
the fight, C-Rox says to me: you have to dodge the breath! Back then,
I had no idea the dragon's breath was so devestating. It can easily
take off 2/3 to 3/4 of a tank's health. In all honesty, I tried dodging
it, but even when I was clearly out of the
attack area, I kept getting hit. After a few times, I simply gave up
and stopped dodging. Miraculously, C-Rox managed to heal me through all
that! When I was literally putting myself in harm's way! Turns out
he's also a healing prodigy.
Not
being the kinda person to just give up, I wanted to see if I can
actually dodge better. This time, I didn't go with C-Rox. Big
mistake. Turns out I couldn’t dodge afterall. Every time I tried to
move out of the
way, I would get hit, even though I'm clearly not anywhere near the
danger zone. Sometimes, when I run especially far it would work, but
90% of the time, I'd get hit. This time, the healer couldn't keep up,
and we wiped and we wiped and we wiped until the
time ran out and everyone went home. Everyone was very understanding
in the group, so there was that but things were about to get worse.
Being a total fool, I went straight back into Brayflox. The same thing
happened. Wipe, wipe, wipe…. and we beat it!
BUT! I was dead. For about the third of the fight, it was the lancer
doing the tanking.
The awkward conversation which ensued went as follows:
Lancer: Ha ha, I was the tank and I never even tanked before. All because the tank can't dodge.
Me: I did dogded, but even if I do I still got hit. How do you do it?
Lancer: Learn to strafe!
Me:
How? You mean like just move right off to the side? I did that, but
it doesn't work. (Strafing is the act of locking on and moving, but I
didn't know it at the time. You can still dodge perfectly well without
it.)
Lancer: Then react faster!
And with that, I was broken.
It
was time for some soul searching. This means hitting the Interweb.
Turns out that I'm not the only one having issues with dodging smelly
dragon breath. This particular attack is especially hard to
avoid.
What's worse, if you are lagging online, it's even more difficult to
dodge. That was my way out. In truth, I have had bad lag for weeks
now, every time I play. For the most part, it's managable. But it's
still not good enough. If it's lag, I had to PROVE
it's lag. And that means finding some way to speed up the connection.
I've always suspected that the wireless modem we're using isn't up to
par. So the best way to test out the theory would be to connect my PS3
to the modem via wire. This didn't prove
to be overly difficult. Just needed a very long wire. With that, I
was set.
The
next time I got the chance, I asked C-Rox to heal Brayflox for me again
while I tank, promising him that this time, the breath will be dodged.
Lo and behold, I did! All except for the very last breath attack
before
the dragon fell. I will always remember what he said to me after.
"9/10 dodges is better than 0/10." And with that, I am vindicated. It
was lag all along.
Since
then, I have witness more than my share of tanks and healers broken by
this notorious dungeon. Twice have I seen healers unable to keep up
with the damage, and twice I have seen tanks fall victim to the same
dastardly
attack which nearly broke me. To all the tanks out there who have had
the crap beaten out of you: don't give up. By hook or by crook you
will beat this boss. Just stay calm, watch the patterns, pull when you
have to, and use your buffs wisely. One way
or another, I guarentee you will make it. You've all made it this
far. There is a great tank within you. Do not fear, and do not give
up.
Victory will be your's.
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