The Odyssey - || Strategy And Discussion ||

We always do Ooze, and sometimes he regens while sometimes he doesn't. It does seem like when it happens, he always goes up around 3%. It's not the full regen like I suspected in my earlier post.

For example we've had a few times where right at 74% he pops an SP that halts our progress (which unfortunately is 3/5 of them) or just immediately Denounces (or both) and so we wipe right at 74%. When that happens, sometimes our second KI starts at 74% and sometimes it starts at 77%.

If it starts at 77% it's a disaster because he's no longer in fetter mode. So you're stuck kind of standing around for 60 seconds after pull, or trying to bring it to 74% with Geohelix and stuff to force fetter mode. Also, TP draining is a lot harder without fetter mode so that's fun.

I'm thinking this has to be a bug.

Had a couple tires today got him to 72% on KI1, then after rr and what not it regens to 80+ on both of them, when we came back he was at 72%. We were pleasently surprised with that, not so much happy with the MAB down aura.

It does seem bugged, but its def different behavior than the others NMS

Answering a bit late because I haven't been following the thread, but they were only using Gambit so that they could RD it back easily, and once they were done with JA resets, there was at least one Rayke toward the end. (You can see a レイク/Rayke macro from Shonuts in the chat log at around 14:57 on the video)

You could for sure use 2x rayke, one before wild card and one after since you need a 5 or 6 anyway to win

Had another look at the video to see if there were any other Raykes but didn't spot/hear any.
Enmity control maybe? I did notice the RUN (Shonuts) takes the Razz out to Narnia before using Foil.

Also in the comments, the SCH posted their Kaustra set:

Bunz Rod r30
Ammurapi Shield
Ghastly Tathlum
Arbatel Bonnet +3
Argute Stole
Regal Earring
Malignance Earring
Agwu's Robe r30
Agwu's Gages r30
Metamorph Ring
Freke Ring
Agwu's Slops r30
Arbatel Loafers +3
Lugh's Cape w/ INT 30
Dark obi (lol)

For the bits where they didn't specify HQ numbers/ranks you can probably assume maxed out lol.

Not a bug but the ooze messes with the hp threshholds in which he will stay at once you reach it. For example, if you land ooze at 100% before doing damage, you will then have 90% as his starting hp for the calculation. Thus every 4.5% is the next threshhold in which he regens to after you go in next time. So in that case, 90%, 85.5%, 81%, 76.5% ( this is where you see 77%), then 72% and so on.

If you do ooze and it doesn’t land then it’s 5% intervals.

Hope that makes sense.

So far we've ignored the fact that it's 77% and set up normally, dropping an 80k kaustra which immediately puts it in 2h+fetters mode. I haven't seen a downside yet to doing so, or any reason to push it to 75 some other way. Assuming you avoid a darkness absorb cloud anyways.

Do you just do a quick compression sc? Or you don't care really

I wonder if doing this, we avoided the %DT build up that happens when it is in fetter mode for the first Kaustra. That would be pretty huge for the long run.

Something we've taken to doing is RUN will pull with Crusade up, Flash Foil and use whatever SPs they have available (was Sforzo for me), then Gambit and Caper. After that I'd Flash the add, cancel Crusade, and go into low hate mode. No Foils or anything, keeping hate on the add is easy as breathing.

The BLU is really busy in this fight trying to manage Bumba's TP, keep their buffs/debuffs up, and keep hate up. It leaves them enough time to sustain hate, but not much time to actually build it, so giving them this initial burst helps a lot.

We've been doing Gambit on all four Kaustras, Rayke on 2nd and 4th because there's no reason not to, and hate stays very solidly on the BLU.

The only downside to this is that the add will be on the BLU until the Caper. We didn't find this to be an issue though because it's literally like 5 seconds, they just need to be a bit defensive during the pull. (The JP group had the RUN go in to aggro Bumba but never acted on it from what I saw, then the BLU pulled it off him, letting the RUN Flash the add immediately so that it was never on the BLU. Caper then adds Gambit's hate to the hate the BLU already has. As long as the BLU never touched Bumba before the add came out, they won't be on the add's hatelist and thus Caper will only transfer Bumba's enmity to the BLU, and will not transfer the add's hate as you must be on the hate list to receive enmity from Caper.)

Also, in case it wasn't obvious, RUN should engage the add in order to use Gambit/Rayke on Bumba (with <stnpc> or something), that way you aren't taking any swings at Bumba when you run in.

That makes sense, but it also definitely still sounds like a bug.

We beat bumba just now, probably took about 25 tries combined, about 5 tries for me. Misc might post something.

The one thing i'll edit in was our party comp:

1st ki: was THF DRG* WAR BRD SMN WHM this took it to 66% on the winning run, we were aiming for 63% but never reached it with this setup/people. I think there was an iteration that took it to 61% but i was n;t there and no idea what the 6th job was (might have been bst)

2nd ki: SCH RDM GEO COR RUN BLU

more edits: right when we zone din on 2nd KI our sch crashed so we lsot 3 mins there.

No MAB MAC aura, and we needed 3 wildcards lol. 7 secs left on clock on 2nd KI. Kaustras were 60kish, only 1 hit over 70k. Ironically, it wss the las tone that hit the highest iirc. That Last kaustra had a derp by me and was 1 lux 2 tenebrae on the rayke. Not sure if it was related or not for why DMG went up >.>. Extremely weird.

All of the Kaustras (5 total and 3 Tabula other than the last one had 3/3 Gambit rayke which were put on after impact landed, rayke after nocto landed but before kaustra cast)

It was stressfull as *** the last few mins since Kaustras wrere lower than usual and expected. I think me stealing invincible with larceny on the first KI pushed us over the top lol.

It's 90% R.N.G. 10% SCH uberness. GL

Multiple edits: kaustra numbers: 74895, 68555, 57766, 53667, 65712 (lux x1, tenebrae x2 rayke on the last kaustra)

just participated in a v25 Xevioso win as RNG, and after multiple attempts at using Gandiva (R15) with really stout sets, I finally said screw it and threw on the ol' Trusty Friend, The Annihilator(R15). Coronach AM, mainhanding Gleti's Knife to assist in aura procs w/ Evisceration, but other than that rode TP up to 2k+ and used Detonator.

Gun allowed me to much easier stay in True Shot range, and the benefits paid off. Also, I always feel the aftermath of Ranged Attack+10% on Coronach is forgotten about vs its Enmity properties. Overall dmg from me was better being able to stay in best True Shot range without really screwing up the bee's position.

Edit: was surprised when Cele said in LS Anni outperformed Gandiva for him in his Bee win.

^ we got multiple wins today in 3 separate groups, starting to get the main LS some clears knocked out XD /happy

One of, if not the worst designed fight since 75 cap days here we goooo~

KI1: WAR DRG THF BRD SMN WHM. BST is undoubtedly better than THF in this situation, but we worked with the jobs we had. Got it to 68% in the winning run, but with luck you could push it below 60%.

WAR: Provoke it after WHM eats the initial spell and position it (we used the starting bridge since it's faster). Warcry, Tomahawk, and Mighty Strikes the moment you get it positioned. Use Savage Blade.
DRG: Ancient Circle, Dragon Breaker, Angon, standard Bumba stuff. Use Camlann's Torment.
THF: Used Shark Bite, and Larceny to steal 1hr if possible (in this run, he stole Invincible). If using BST instead, land Purulent Ooze then use Calamity.
BRD: Honor March, Blade Madrigal, Minuet x3. Dark Threnody on pull so WHM can land Impact, then (if BST is present) switch to Water Threnody to help Ooze land. Use Savage Blade.
SMN: Hastega II, Crystal Blessing, Wind's Blessing, Ecliptic Growl, Earthen Armor, Soothing Current, then keep Ifrit out for DA Favor. Use Perfect Defense about 51 seconds after pull to negate first fetter mode. Use Crimson Howl after WAR's Warcry wears off. Melee with Maxentius and use Black Halo.
WHM: Pull with Dia II, cast Impact after Dark Threnody lands, then Curespam. Esuna with Asclepius is helpful to remove fetter debuffs while Perfect Defense is active.


In-between runs, make sure that at least the GEO, COR, and SCH have their SP1s, and the BLU has their SP2. Other players can use Wild Card and Cutting Cards in the lobby as needed.


KI2: RUN GEO RDM COR BLU SCH. Make sure your SCH is as decked out as possible and is high ML, and pray for luck.

While in fetter mode, Bumba gains a small amount of MDT every 10k-ish magic damage you deal. This is cumulative - every magic attack that does damage that isn't Kaustra needs to be as low as possible while still landing. Helix should be as close to 10k as possible. For BLU and RDM, Prime Sword/Caliburnus are unironically good for this, as well as Malignance gear. Physical damage seems to be reduced in the same way, but that doesn't affect Kaustra so you can go wild in the first KI.

RUN: Keep hate on adds but NOT Bumba. Use Tenebrae Gambit/Rayke when the SCH calls for it - usually, Gambit at start of Skillchain, Rayke just after the Noctohelix lands.
GEO: INT/Acumen, Entrust Malaise onto the BLU. Bolster alongside the SCH's Tabula. Idle in Zendik Robe or Gyve Doublet for the MAB+10 Sphere.
RDM: Impact in minimal damage gear - use the old Twilight Cloak even if you have Crepuscular. Keep Frazzle III, Slow/Addle/Paralyze/Poison II, and (most importantly) Silence on Bumba, and Bind/Gravity/Sleep on the adds. Keep everyone Hasted and Refreshed as needed. Note that if you break fetter mode mid-fight, the first add will cleanse debuffs when Bumba re-enters fetter mode but NOT the second.
COR: Crooked Wizard's Roll. Other roll doesn't matter as much - we used Monk's, but you could fit others in there. Make sure Random Deal and Wild Card hit everyone each time. Close Distortion with Leaden Salute for highest damage possible after all Kaustras are expended.
BLU: Keep hate on Bumba. Use Magic Barrier and Saline Coat to make Bumba hit for 0s, and keep his TP low with Feather Tickle and Reaving Wind. Before each Kaustra, use Tearing Gust and Searing Tempest in minimal damage gear (while making sure they still land). If you see Bumba start casting Kaustra or Impact, redo Magic Barrier immediately and go into full DT! If he does any damage to the BLU with either, he will immediately use a TP move after regardless of Feather/Reaving status.
SCH: 4-step Skillchain: Aero -> Stone -> Aero -> (TR) Noctohelix -> (Enlightenment/Ebullience) Kaustra. The SC should be done in minimal damage gear or even naked. Everything rides on getting Kaustra damage as high as possible. Follow it up with any non-dark SC -> 10k Helix MB, then Regen V/Embrava on everyone. You can land two Kaustras per Tabula - and in our run, we ended up getting five Kaustras off (WC reset itself, then hit 5 again). After Kaustras are exhausted, open Distortion for the COR to close Leaden Salute.


The execution may take a bit to get used to, but it's rather simple compared to the V25 T3s once you get the hang of it. Beyond that, the fight is completely up to luck. If Wild Card doesn't hit 5 or 6, you lose. If Magic Attack or Accuracy Down aura under 40%, you lose (MACC Down overwrites Klimaform which cripples Kaustra damage). If Magic Attack or Accuracy Down aura is the first aura and you didn't get it lower than 70-75%, you most likely lose. Fortunately, the type of add mostly doesn't matter - just don't run a Craklaw or Matamata into the mage group, and Bind them out of range.

Even though it is beatable, I really hope SE takes another look at this fight. Right now, the combination of needing a good aura under 40% and needing Wild Card to hit 5 or 6 means you have a ~75% chance of just being guaranteed to lose the moment you zone in. With the scaling DT in fetter mode, I am fairly confident no other strategy besides Kaustra can ever work until something is changed or some method to prevent fetter mode is found. After the challenge of the T3s, it sucks that the final boss fight is basically a glorified slot machine.

I dont see a problem with it overall. They intended very few to get the highest augments, for a while at least. Surely as we get more gear or upgrades/adjustments it will become less random.

i forgot, is the add static once pop'd in the first fight?
Wondering if a more scuffed 1st team could drop it to 75% then 2nd fight you just kill an add, removing most of the regen that's countering much of kaustra's dmg in the final fight.
Or is kiting bumba so it can't ever get TP to denounce impossible?

Nope, add can change in the 2nd fight. IE: Matamata pops in first fight, u go into the 2nd fight, it maybe anything else including matamata in the 2nd fight.

I have no idea regarding the 2nd question. Speculating that kiting it is not effective.

If I understand this right, Kaustra and helix alone killed it? I guess it would be benefit of keeping helix below 10k. JP group did helix II twice, both 10k+ and they also got one Kaustra resisted for 30k+ damage and they needed do redo it. That's why they needed some extra damage from Leaden Salute, MB and Lunge/Swipe at the end.

More gear/upgrades/adjustments won't really make it less random; the way we understand the scaling/DT makes any strategy other than kaustra impossible and most of the bad luck rolls mentioned will override any moderate player strength gains. You need a wild card mid-fight period, since even a 99,999 kaustra wouldn't do it without. M.acc down aura may not be an auto lose with some gear gains, but a single kaustra resist is.

My opinion is that they didn't intend this to be beaten in this way, they probably didn't test it at all. Threw as many ridiculous handicaps as they could think of into one fight, and because XI has so many overpowered mechanics built into it players eventually found a way to cheese it. If they hadn't, they would've just nerfed it eventually(they likely still will).

It's not. There is some room for mistakes/badluck there. JP group had one 1/2 resist on Kaustra (replaced with unresisted after 1 minute) and both helix were 10k+. They also started from 75% I think. Starting from less than 75% creates even more room for less optimal execution, but still wrong aura and wild card seems to be a run killer.

and you have to pay to enter and roll the dice and the dice don't get rolled until midway through the fight.

That bit cannot be stated enough times by enough people. Long-gone are the days where devs were testing content, even with ideally-geared superchars and all the knowledge of what they intended to work. I really feel like SE has run out of ways to scale their content to match how we've scaled, and just reached a point of

They betrayed their testing methodology a little bit with the JP post about the WS wall bug. If I read it right, they come up with the tests for QA, write them down, then throw it over to QA to validate that things work without testing the end result themselves.

This isn't uncommon, but typically the QA folks have some understanding of what they are testing or the test criteria is clearly defined. They've said several times that their resources are pulled from FF14, so the people testing probably don't understand the game enough and aren't trying to beat the fights, just make sure they can check off each line that it works as intended. If that list of test criteria isn't complete, which is near impossible in content like Odyssey, then things will end up broken.

The dev team themselves didn't do any testing or validation, otherwise that extremely obvious bug would not have gone out. They probably whiteboarded the whole thing during early phases of Odyssey, figuring they could just scale things upwards from 15>20>25 without a lot of work or effort. They saw people were just using Savage against Bumba and tossed in the WS wall from Sortie to mitigate that strategy and force players to use the intended mechanics. They followed the original plan, added the wall, but never bothered to actually test the implementation and beat the fight.

Hating this fight. Do everything right every time then pray for multiple levels of RNG. Can get it under 60% on KI1 with some luck, then first Kaustra takes it to below 38%.

Magic Acc down = Klimaform bonus gone and blue might miss tp down spells
Magic Att down is basically an instant fail
100% need a Wild Card reset.

You could win this first first try or it could take you 300 tries of doing everything right every time.

Its definitely worth trying to get a run in on Darksday. I think you could kill it just with kaustra and helix with the damage boost.



Otherwise you can still get pretty close to that:

If the first Kaustra hits for less than 75K then a buff is missing (if you are using the correct gear and have reasonable ML). Impact and Searing Tempest/Tearing Gust make a big difference. Seems to last 2mins 30 seconds for me also.

It's damn tight to pop Tabula mid skillchain and also get off Enlightenment and Ebbuliance prior to Kaustra at the 4th step. A bit of lag with a JA not going off and you can fluff it.

I will be glad to never do it again

You dont need to do that tho. Jp group killed it with 3 step I think, also you can simply do 3 step fusion on SCH and COR can close 4step for you with Leaden (naked) which will do Gravitation, so you will have much easier time clicking 3 JAs for MB then. COR can make tp with QD.

I like this idea

Also want to point out, in some of our runs (of which I was not present for these), we used SAM in place of RDM. You sacrifice add control but add Sengikori into the mix. The intention with this iteration is to extend the multistep skillchain with a sengikori'd WS to finish the chain and boost Kaustra damage.

Aim for 1475 or higher acc on WS (including the 100 acc bonus inherent to WS). If possible, avoid a 1 hit WS for the SC closure cause lolsam and lolfudo.

This might be helpful for some groups. And we likely would use this setup for some of our LS members clears in the future.

(aka the 2nd KI for us was: RUN SAM BLU SCH GEO COR) Personally, I like the RDM in place of SAM, add control + you don't need to rely on the GEO to land a long or full duration Impact.

As jokes said, your odds would increase on darksday. (our win happened on firesday or watersday, idr)