Cloud Of Darkness HTBF

I'm still of the opinion that it's based on the jobs brought into the fight (possibly including trusts used). Mage job gives him a chance to absorb magic and melee gives him a chance to absorb physical.

I don't know the exact job breakdown but the reason I think this is because I've NEVER had him absorb physical while I was soloing on SCH (without trusts), but when I've brought a THF along for TH (still no trusts and I tell them not to do ANYTHING until 2%) he suddenly sometimes starts absorbing physical. So the actions being performed on him doesn't change, but his behavior changes. So I think it has to be based on the people who enter the fight.

Someone could probably test this by going in to SCH solo and summoning 5 meat-head melee trusts (but don't engage or they'll feed TP, just let them follow you around). You should see 5/6 runs absorb physical.

I've been multiple times with the same two jobs (2boxing) and got both phys and magical absorb at different times, but maybe different trusts each time.

I'd be curious if you remember exactly which jobs and which trusts, but I suspect anyone using trusts will end up with a mix because you'll probably have a tank job for physical and a few healers for magical.

We've had it alternate between Phys and Magic absorption and we run with the same setup each time.

BLU/RUN
RNG/DNC
SCH/RDM
COR/WHM
Star Sibyl
Moogle

Though I'd say 9/10 times it's physical absorb, so I'll heal it a few shots, pop off Trueflight. Repeat til Waning

I'm gonna presume the people suggesting they're getting the absorb mode (it can be phys or magic, depending whos doing the suggesting) they want 80% of the time using the same setup every time are telling the truth, and based on this assumption will assume that the phys/magic isnt random and there is some other influencing metric.

To clarify, we do the same strat each time.
Blu runs in, Flashes and pulls hate. Subduction kite (this lands every time, it's glorious) I pew pew for TP. SCH makes Fusion, I Trueflight to turn it to Light. SCH MBs Helix 2. Usually it's around 76 ish then. Wait to see which phase it goes into. If it's physical absorb, I just keep going. Shoot for TP, pop off 99k TF, repeat. If it's magical absorb, we just hold damage for a minute. Using any WS feels like poop compared to doing TF. Use bounty shot as needed, usually get it to 7 or 8.

This is just spamming D though in like 8 minute runs which includes buffs. Pro/Shell/Regen, COR busting 307 times, you know how it goes.

honestly, it might be intended to be random and just really poorly determined by the random number generator (by which I mean that it isn't intentionally the same way, but all the math boils down to it only based on something like "number of 50k+ hits taken" or "how far ahead 1st place is on enmity" or something else that's consistent across runs)

...because square-enix(tm)

I use the same trusts every single time and it's 50/50 like I've stated before.

Another observation: Adds will only pop after Cloud of Darkness does Primordial Surge/Waning Vigor once, but never before. This behavior is not reset if you wipe and allow CoD to go back to 100%, even if she doesn't pop adds yet. I had an instance where CoD killed all of my trusts prior to Primordial Surge, so it wasn't worth me pushing it further. I decided to die/RR in a corner of the battlefield. She eventually used Primordial Surge > Waning Vigor while I was trying to die but never got to the point where she could pop adds. After recovering, her first TP move spawned an add.

I swear it popped two adds in one TP move in that run just, then a 3rd very soon after.

Yeah I've seen him pop up to 3 adds from one TP move when his HP was low. I think the most adds I've ever seen out at once was around 8.

Edit: Side note: The adds cannot be parried, or one of them has an avoidance down aura or something. Do not try to use Turms Mittens to keep yourself alive as a RUN tank when the adds start overwhelming you because they won't work. Even with 97% parry rate I wasn't able to parry anything.

That lines up with my theory. RNG and COR would be physical, BLU probably physical, SCH magical. It's possible the non-combat trusts are just lumped in with physical? That would give you 1/6 chance of magic 5/6 physical. Or if Star Sibyl & Moogle just don't count as anything, then you'd be 1/4 chance of magic and 3/4 chance of physical.

I think it is HP % based tbh, if you rapidly push it low it will spawn 2 instead of 1.

This is the dumbest BC since Odin. Doing things absolutely the same way each time you can randomly get 3-5 adds when on DD, even if it is 0-1 most the time.

It is pretty annoying and pretty dumb if soloing on DD.
And that's exactly the reason why you should move to soloing as SCH.
Much more predictable, better drop rate, win:win!

It's so painfully boring though, and having to focus for 20minutes!!

20 min… I don’t get it. Find ppl, the fight takes literally 3 min or less including buff and no SP. Tank pull to the side, RDM gravity, kite from there, everyone engage/WS savage blade special, no SC, everyone/drg and shed hate at 50%, congrats, everyone has 5 min, and everyone has merits. If you don’t, well do D with 4 ppl but that strat works

The hardest part of ffxi, for many people...

I mean this one of the least demanding VD HTMB for a full party setup.