Ever wanted to try your hand at the rather notorious BCNM Under Observation for a peacock charm or scroll of utsusemi: ni, whether to keep or sell, but didn't want to drag 2 other people out there? Well today, MegAro presents the next best thing; Under Observation duo! Successfully completing this BCNM duo isn't necessarily difficult, though it does require rather specific jobs. Moreover, while this BCNM does not require too many provisions, bringing some never hurts.
So what are you after?
Not really sure this needs to be said, but you're almost certainly looking for the elusive peacock charm. A scroll of utsusemi: ni is also a nice bonus. Both drops have a decent drop rate of ~9% and ~6%-~10%, respectively. Utsusemi: ni also has a chance to load twice in the same chest.
What's the basic strategy?
Essentially, taking down this BCNM in a pair employs a similar tactic as the one which uses two damage dealers (often BLU or NIN) to take on each Compound Eyes and one kiter to kite the Sobbing Eyes in the meanwhile. The only difference is, in a pair, one member has to provide enough whoop-ass for both Compound Eyes and your kiter needs to be able to handle two monsters at once for an extended period of time.
Which jobs are ideal?
Every single time we have duo'd this BCNM, we have gone as BLU (Megas) and BST (Arosan). BLU is recommended to take down the Compound Eyes because a BLU is one of few jobs that can deal high, consistent, efficient and quick damage without having to remain face-to-face with its enemy. A NIN can likely replace the BLU, but I'm not sure which other jobs can as well. BST is recommended to kite the other eyes mostly because, if done correctly, a BST is able to keep hate on another target (a BST's pet) and is able to summon a new, fresh pet every five minutes. Moreover, a BST is able to summon a pet (Tiger Familiar) that has enhanced movement speed, meaning a BST and his or her pet can keep a huge lead over the eyes, thus ensuring the longevity of the BST's pet's life and, consequently, the BST's life.
What will I need?
-As a BLU, you will need:
-Access to Ninja as a support job (12 at least, but the higher, the better)
-Half decent gear (if you don't plan on using any/many medicine)
-The following spells: Head Butt, Bludgeon
-As a BST, you will need:
-At least 1 jugs of Meat Broth per run
-Either Distance plugin on windower, or a good eye for hate range (more will be explained later)
What helps?
-As a BLU, the following help:
-The Clear Mind job trait
-The Attack Bonus job trait
-The Auto-Regen job trait
-Some hMP gear (preferably not to wear full time, however...)
-Some medicine to recover MP (I recommend mulsum and a pro-ether)
-Food (anything that will boost your ass-kickage works well)
-A chakram or a ranged Blue Magic spell
-The following spells: Cocoon, Jet Stream, Wild Carrot
-As a BST, the following will help:
-An extra Anlion jug(or fungus, and CC works as well), for some extra DDing per run
-Reraise for both members helps in case of a wipe, though the time restriction probably won't allow for a victory after a full wipe and recovery. It will, however, prevent another trip to Horlais Peak if you wipe on your first run.
-Whm sub helps, but is not needed.
What do I do to win?
Each person needs distinct roles for this fight, so this section will be broken down into two parts: the Pwner and the Panzy. The general flow of the fight requires the Panzy to kite a Compound Eyes and Sobbing Eyes while the Pwner peels and kills off a Compound Eyes. The pwner then rests up in the arena and waits for the Panzy to return with both eyes, at which point the Pwner will grab the second Compound Eyes, kill it, rest up and get ready for a final showdown with the Sobbing Eyes.
The Pwner's Job (Megas~)
It is the Pwner's job to ensure each monster is killed as quickly as possible. As stated above, this requires quick, efficient, consistent and high damage, but more importantly, it requires all that to be completed with one's back to the monsters. As a BLU, I (Megas) have experimented with a mix of Head Butt, Bludgeon, Jet Stream and Screwdriver as offensive spells, but I've noticed that I tend to run out, or nearly run out of MP killing a Compound Eyes. As a result, this would result in me having insufficient MP for the Sobbing Eyes and would have to either sit there like a duck or use some medicine to recover MP. Lately, I've experimented with Head Butt and Bludgeon exclusively and noticed that damage from these spells (Bludgeon in particular) is consistent, but best of all, efficient. It takes longer to kill each eyes, but it is definitely safer than running out of MP mid-fight. Keeping shadows up isn't a problem with the Compound Eyes as they only cast single target spells (and often, too) and use Hex Eyes/Death Ray very often, neither of which will interrupt the casting of utsusemi. Using head butt to help get shadows up or to stun a spell that will get off without utsusemi up is ideal, so you try not to spam head butt, but don't neglect it either.
The Panzy's Job (Arosan~)
It is the Panzy’s job to ensure the extra mobs are kited to perfection, and that they aren’t foursoming your Pwner. This is the part where I highly recommend using windower plugin distance, and you’ll see why as I explain. Basically, the Panzy summons a Tiger familiar at the start of the fight (for the +25% movement speed) to be the primary kiter and buffs the party if /whm which I recommend for paralyna. The pull is rather essential, and can make the difference between a wipe and a win. Hate in FFXI is distributed in numerous ways; one such way is pet commands. The goal of kiting is to keep your pet the primary target, and keep yourself off the hate list. Achieving this comes back to Distance plugin. Instead of rambling on, I will just give you my run down of how I’ve been doing this for the last 10+ runs. Panzy enters, summons tiger runs up to dome and moves up to about 18’, and then engages his tiger on the Sobbing eyes (the one in the middle). This is where you panzy out of there, and head down the path still targeting the main eyes. When you reach past ~35’ it is safe to Heel your pet, without fear of being placed on the hate list. Unless your tiger has been petrified/bound it will catch up to you as you make your trip back to the entrance of the BC. Because the tiger has +25% movement speed it is very easy for it to outrun your targets since they stop to cast spells often. Once you reach the bottom of the map you should be well over 35’, making it safe to Stay your pet at the base. As soon as you Stay your pet, start running back up to the dome where the monsters once were. As you run up, you will undoubtedly run past the mobs you are kiting, but do not fear! They will not attack you if you have done your job properly and done your commands out of hate range. It is again key to target the Sobbing eyes as you pass by, so that you can Heel your pet once it is past ~35’ and kite the mobs back up to the dome. Once you reach the dome, same story, Stay, Heel do it as many times as needed. Although this battle is capped at 15minutes, if you need to make more than 3 trips up and down you are probably killing too slow. Once you are down to the last eyes, it is safe to engage it and start fighting it as your partner regains MP.
The final showdown with the Sobbing Eyes!
The Sobbing eyes is considerably tougher than the compound eyes (no durr), but is still relatively easy to take down as a duo. Your biggest concerns are going to be Firaga (as it can deal upward of 200 damage to each of four targets) and Breakga ('cause there's a time and place to be stoned, and now isn't it). Having your BST save TP to throw a Smash Axe at Breakga is a good idea, cause one bad Breakga can easily cause a wipe. Having a BLU save Head Butt for Firaga is also a good idea, but DO NOT rely on Head Butt's stun to stun stuff, cause it's just not 100% reliable. Aside from that, the BST's pet is almost likely to be useless as it will almost surely get paralyzed at some point. Your BLU or NIN is likely to be dealing the most damage so they will likely be tanking, which is great as it allows the BST to melee safely.
All in all, this is an easy BCNM to duo with the right jobs. We've only ever wiped once out of about 15 runs, but that was pure unluckiness. In fact, we managed to duo this BCNM on our first try while my BLU was only level 38!
Best of luck to you! Don't let a wipe or unlucky streak discourage you!
*Although I said I recommend Windower plugin distance, it is NOT REQUIRED if you feel you are breaking the rules, simply move well out of range and then Heel, you will probably still not get hate.
And don't worry! Hard work pays off eventually~
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