Iron Giant Ambuscade V1

2+ years difference, but still going to be relevant (merc gonna be 8-10m opening day and not budge).

I thought people used tank, COR, RNG and used last stand and magical ws accordingly to do this one. That's what I remember.

This ambuscade is all ninjas have, don't try to take it from them lol

If it takes 13 minutes I don't remember it being slower than that, or even that long. Been a while though.

Using a "real" tank is always the safer and slower option for pretty much any strategy. Hell, PUP might be fine here too. The thing with Ninjas though is they bypass Turbine Cyclone via shadows which is like 1-3 buff dispel for any front line melee. Same reason Qutrub ambuscade is "better" with ninjas. RNG/COR shooting puts out enough damage to clear the ambuscade but the reason you use shooters is because you don't want to have to deal with dispel. In either case, it's an unpopular ambuscade and I suspect many will be irritated with it because it's not your standard melee DPS Zerg fight. Even finding good shooters can be a challenge

Shooting method takes probably that long. Ninja method is the faster way. Don't remember how fast it was though

edit: FWIW, RUN does fine here too. Ground Strike > Leaden > Wildfire is Double Darkness. You're going to deal way more magical damage much faster than a NIN/BRD can Savage Blade on the physical Ironclad due to added SC damage. PLD is fine also (replace CDC with Ground Strike).

So an even more ideal setup is probably RUN/PLD NIN COR BRD -- --
RUN/PLD+COR tag teams the Blaze to make Darkness, NIN + BRD Savage spam Frost. Alternate. BRD runs out for Turbine Cyclone to keep his buffs. The last two spots can throw either extra DD like COR, heals, or GEO for more buff support. Should go pretty fast. There's probably a setup where DNC is way better than NIN, but keeping buffs is a higher priority than bigger numbers.

Has anyone tried a SMNer method for this ambu?

I have not, but I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work besides nobody knows how to play SMN besides AFAC (joking). I don't even know if there's a BP wall, but that wouldn't matter anyways since they freeze and stop taking damage until the second one is damaged

You can have maybe RUN tank both Ironclads, and bring something like 3 SMN GEO COR. 2 Avatars on Frost, one on Blaze. Frailty/Malaise/Pet Rolls and take turns downing each Giant. RUN SCs with SMN for Magical damage on Blaze, other 2 SMN do physical on Frost. Could see that being a pretty fun fight, only thing is BP timers are lengthy so it could take a while. Maybe after the first Giant freezes, all 3 SMNs target the unfrozen Giant with the appropriate damage type, and alternate back and forth switching avatars (Ifrit and Siren). Should work and might be kinda fun to try that way

Yes

Iron Giants Ambuscade VD
BRD/WHM - COR/DRG - NIN/WAR - NIN/WAR - RDM/SCH - SCH/RDM

Keep They're HP Within 10 ~ 15% Of Each Other

Blazenought > Pull To Zone
NIN > Blade: Hi > Blade: Hi
SCH > Water Magic Burst / Hydrohelix II
Distract III / Frazzle III
Water Threnody II

Frostnought > Pull +20 Distance Apart ( Use The Closest Pillar For Knock Back )
COR/NIN > Savage Blade > Last Stand
Dia III > Light Shot
Inundation
Distract III

Crooked Cards > Wizard's Roll / Samurai Roll
COR/NIN Move Away From Party
Chaos Roll

Minuet / Minuet / Honor March / Prelude
Adventurer's Dirge > COR/SCH

Animus Minuo > COR/SCH
Adloquium
Haste II
Flurry II
Phalanx II
Refresh III
Regen V
Aquaveil
Barblizzard
Barsilence
Protect V
Shell V
Rainstorm II
Klimaform
Marine Stewpot

This is creative, glad to see SCH getting use.


Is this necessary or is this just the way you did it? Asking if something changed in their behavior mainly. IIRC, if you damage one too much, it powers down and takes 0 damage until you take the other one down to a certain health range. Doing it your way is fine, but there's also no penalty for alternating damage on each of them one at a time, right? Besides just requiring more coordination

If you leave them both up they take significantly reduced damage (1/5th normal 150% > 33%)

If you break them back and forth they get shittier tp moves but die faster.

But, if you do "enough" damage then it could be more optimal do just leave both up so they can't do anything but turbine. (that's why you take 2 nins, shadow the turbines and leave both mobs up)

How many shadows does it take to absorb the move that NIN is used?

Is RNG and COR method still good for this month? Empyreal Arrow still the best WS for RNG to use?

1-3 just enough that it's better to main nin than sub nin if you're getting hit by the melee swings

Still works. Both RNG and COR can do magical and physical damage so they can be on either Ironclad, though I'm not sure why Empyreal Arrow would be best here. I guess Ullr's WS damage modifier pushes it that far ahead of Detonator with 500 TP bonus Fomal?

All I remember is the video from a few pages back of a Ranger using Empyreal Arrow. Something to do with its extra attack bonus in a fight where RNG isn't capping. Fail-Not would do better numbers with it than Ullr. Perhaps that isn't true now. Assuming this is for a party not using the Prime stuff.

Two pages ago

Which do you think is better between Empyreal and Detonator? Assuming the Ranger does not have Armageddon or Ikenga augmented?

I have no idea since I don't know your gear, but you should be able to easily test this. get 3k tp, fire detonator with fomal, get 3k tp, fire empyreal arrow. Hover Shot stacks shouldn't matter since it increases all ranged attacks equally. Demhar's the expert RNG though, and just judging by his screenshot, it looks like Detonator wins easily.

Typically the reason to go Archery over Marksmanship these days boils down to if you can gear around True Shot bonuses, since its much easier to shoot from Trueshot range with Bow than with Gun or Xbow. Finding a way to max damage on a WS for either weapon family isn't hard- it really just boils down more often than not to your stacks, buff array, and key debuffs/weaknesses.

Thanks, I'll get my RNG to test when we do Ambuscade next week.

This ambuscade was one of the first VD clears for me
Back in the day when i was a returning player
Ambuscade +2 was still fire...

It was neat seeing NIN and intresting on SCH
It sucked catching up at the time
Thought i was going to be healing
Had very poor Dark Arts gear
My damage probably sucked but we got it done haha
Almost every one had top gear choices and Ultimate Weapons

Also did a Ranged Attack Method on PLD/BLU

Alt strategy I found:

Iron Giants
★ Party Setup: DD, DRK, COR, RDM, BRD, SMN

- DRK: DD and stun for final phase (when only the head remains). Use Arcane Circle. Responsible for the Blue Iron Giant (Frostnought).
- Other DD: Flexible dd. Responsible for the Blue Iron Giant (Frostnought).

- BRD: DD buffs: March, Minuet x2, Scherzo; COR/RDM buffs: Victory March, Madrigal, Lightning Carol x2; Monster: Elegy. Assists with the Red Iron Giant (Blazenought) if RDM dies, taking on the COR’s skillchain role.

- SMN: before entering, swaps to SCH and casts Protect, Shell, Regen, and Barthunder in Mhaura, then switches to SMN. Uses Earthen Armor, Crystal Blessing, and Crescent Howl. Healing. Note: If using a Warrior, Inferno Howl is not needed.

- COR: Chaos and Samurai Roll. Uses Last Stand and Leaden Salute weapon skills. Responsible for the Red Iron Giant (Blazenought).

- RDM: Buffs the party with Haste II and Phalanx II, then transitions to a damage-dealing role. Responsible for the Red Iron Giant (Blazenought).

★ Mechanics Explanation

The two Iron Giants have an HP difference mechanic:
• If their HP differs by more than 10%, the following occurs:
• The Iron Giant with lower HP enters a Terror state, takes no damage, regenerates HP, and resets enmity.
• The one with higher HP unlocks new special abilities.
• Until this mechanic activates, both Iron Giants only use Turbine Hurricane (AoE damage + Dispel + Knockback). Once the mechanic activates, this move is no longer used.

Frostnought (Blue Iron Giant)
• Uses Manafont and spams Blizzaga IV when its HP drops below a certain point.
• Deals massive damage; countered with Earthen Armor and Scherzo.
• Weak to physical damage.
• Weak to Fire element.

Blazenought (Red Iron Giant)
• Uses Mighty Strikes when its HP drops below a certain point.
• High firepower with Flare, countered with Utsusemi.
• Weak to magical damage.
• Weak to Water element.
• Defeating one Giant causes the remaining one to enter a “head-only” phase, during which it resets enmity and unleashes powerful attacks. Use stuns to interrupt these abilities while quickly finishing it off.

★ Preparation
• Scholar Buffs: Use AoE Protect, Shell, Regen, and Barthunder to reduce the need for healing during the battle.
• Equip proper damage-reduction gear, especially for DRK, RUN, COR, and RDM.

• Recommended Food: Scotch Eggs (offers Fire resistance, useful for COR and RDM).

★ Battle Strategy
1. Split Duties:
• DRK and DD handle the Blue Iron Giant (Frostnought).
• COR and RDM handle the Red Iron Giant (Blazenought).
2. Phase 1 - Blue Iron Giant:
• DRK and DD focus on avoiding Turbine Hurricane while dealing physical damage. Only use weapon skills after dodging Turbine Hurricane.
• If buffs are dispelled, restart the fight.
3. Phase 2 - Red Iron Giant:
• Once the Blue Iron Giant enters the Terror state, COR and RDM begin attacking the Red Iron Giant using Leaden Salute > Requiescat > Leaden Salute for skillchains.
• Switch back to the Blue Iron Giant once the Red Iron Giant is in the Terror state, and repeat until one Giant is defeated.
4. Special Moves:
• Frostnought: Counter its Manafont phase with Earthen Armor and Scherzo. Ensure high Shell levels.
• Blazenought: Use Utsusemi to dodge Flare during Mighty Strikes. If RDM is defeated, BRD steps in to assist COR with weapon skill chains (Leaden Salute > Aeolian Edge > Leaden Salute).
5. Final Phase - Head Only:
• Use stuns (e.g., Weapon Bash) and interrupts to handle the head’s enmity reset and powerful AoE abilities (Area Bombard). Quickly finish it off.

★ Timing and Observations
• Battle Time: Approximately 6–7 minutes.
• Key Challenges:
• Learning to avoid Turbine Hurricane. Success depends on positioning and reaction timing.
• Maintaining buffs and ensuring both Giants are kept within the 10% HP threshold.

★ Trigger Information
• Trigger obtained by defeating one Arcana enemy.
• Location: Fei’Yin #2, Ru’Avitau #1, etc.

Credit: https://www.kagurazakac.com/entry/2024/01/11/000000

Burn lands on Frostnought for full duration, needed ES to land it on Blazenought. Frazzle lands on both Giants, Distract lands on Blazenought. Both Giants can be Aspired

Wow. What difficulty is that at Manque?

You list this for setup, but then talk about RUN and SCH in the strat, and have no mention of SMN in the strat. Mistranslated?

SCH is pre-entry buffs.

RUN is a/the "DD"

SMN uses earthen armor (and tp bonus and warcry and whatever else) Stuns maybe.

It's all common sense things you should know.