The first Savage raid of Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail sounds simple on paper, but AAC Light-heavyweight M1 Savage still has some mechanics that will put your party to the test.
The normal versions of the Arcadion raids have already proven to be quite challenging for casual FFXIV players, but they were no problem for hardcore raiders. Now that the Savage versions have arrived, however, there are finally harder fights to grind. Black Cat’s Savage version is pretty similar to her normal encounter, but there’s much less room for error.
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How to unlock Light-heavyweight M1 Savage in FFXIV
To unlock AAC Light-heavyweight M1 Savage in Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail, all you have to do is speak to Gabbro (X: 22.3, Y: 17.1) in Solution Nine after completing the normal AAC Light-heavyweight questline of the Arcadion. You’ll know you’re at the right spot once you complete the quest “The Neoteric Witch” after clearing AAC Light-heavyweight M4 and defeating Wicked Thunder. M1S has a minimum item level requirement of 700, so you’ll need decent gear to even enter the raid.
All Light-heavyweight M1 Savage mechanics explained
The battle with Black Cat is mostly the same in the Savage version as it is in the normal version, but she’ll throw way more mechanics at you simultaneously. Plus, the knockback mechanic and tile mechanic are much more punishing than before, and you’ll need to coordinate with your team to avoid stacking unnecessary debuffs and damage on one another.
Quadruple Crossing
The battle begins with Quadruple Crossing, which sends out AOEs from Black Cat’s position just like in the normal version of the raid. She’ll telegraph her attacks with purple AOEs and then follow up with actual damage-dealing orange AOEs. After striking her diagonal directions and cardinal directions, she’ll perform a Biscuit Maker tank buster.
Nine Lives
Next, one of the new major mechanics begins. Black Cat will cast Nine Lives and create dormant clones of herself in various parts of the arena. She will then cast One-two Paw, which you should be familiar with from the normal version of the raid. After cleaving both sides of the arena, she will cast Soulshade and give life to her sleeping clones.
Soulshade (Clones)
These clones will then cast One-two Paw and repeat Black Cat’s actions. There will be two very small triangular safe zones in between their cleaves. Remember that they repeat Black Cat’s One-two Paw actions exactly in the same order, so dodge accordingly.
For her next attack, Black Cat will perform Leaping Quadruple Crossing. Just like the normal version of the raid, she’ll jump to another part of the arena and telegraph either diagonal or cardinal AOEs. She’ll follow this up with a raid-wide attack in the form of Bloody Scratch.
Mouser (Tiles)
From here, the Mouser phase begins. Black Cat will target various tiles throughout the arena with red AOEs just like in the normal version of the raid, only there are way fewer safe spaces in Savage.
The best way to resolve this mechanic is to focus only on the four tiles immediately surrounding Black Cat in the center of the arena. All four of these tiles will take damage at least once, but you should only have to move between tiles once or twice to completely avoid damage. Have your party group up and move as a unit to avoid Black Cat’s attacks.
Copycat (Knockback and Slam)
After Mouser is over, Black Cat will cast Copycat and summon a clone of herself. The ring will also regenerate, but not fully. Instead, it will become a long 2×4 grid with only a few fully-repaired tiles.
The clones of Black Cat will target random party members like normal, but the attacks are different. She’ll strike a total of four times. There are two animations to look out for. When Black Cat kneels down and prepares an uppercut, she will knock back the targeted player one tile in the direction that they are facing.
When the knockback attack hits, however, linear AOEs will be launched vertically and horizontally in a plus sign shape from the tile that the targeted play was initially standing on. The rest of the party will have to avoid these AOEs while also contending with a stack marker from Black Cat’s Overshadow.
The second animation to look out for is Black Cat’s clone preparing an overhead slam punch. This will damage the tile that the targeted player is standing on, so they should place themselves directly on undamaged tiles. This also launches the same linear AOEs, so the party should adjust accordingly.
As the clone punches down, Black Cat will cast Splintering Nails and launch a wide conal AOE directly in front of her. If this phase is done correctly, all eight tiles will be damaged but none will be broken.
Shockwave (Spread)
To transition back to the normal arena, Black Cat will perform a Biscuit Maker tank buster and then cast Shockwave to knock the party back and place spread markers on everyone.
The ideal strategy is to split your party into groups of four for the Shockwave with each group positioned at a different diagonal side of Black Cat. This way, both groups are pushed to opposing corners of the arena and the four players within each group can spread more easily after the fact.
Leaping Soulshade (Clones)
With the arena fully restored, Black Cat will cast Leaping One-two Paw followed by Soulshade to create a clone. Make note of the order and directions of her cleaves. She’ll then do the same but with Leaping Quadruple Crossing. You’ll also need to remember the direction that Black Cat jumps for each attack.
Pay attention to which clones she creates after each attack. Each clone will repeat the attack that Black Cat performed before they were created. This includes the initial jump to a different part of the arena. The clones have arrows showing the way they’re facing to make things easier to read.
Tempestuous Tear (Stacks)
During the second clone’s attack, Black Cat will cast Tempestuous Tear. This will place two four-person stack markers on your tanks. Split your party into groups of four to take the stacks while also avoiding the clone’s AOEs. After all of this, a raid-wide Bloody Scratch will transition you to the next phase.
At this point, it’s time for another round of Mouser. This is identical to the previous Mouser phase. Make sure you remember to closely monitor the animations of Black Cat’s Copycat to determine which hits are knockbacks and which are direct slams. Also, don’t forget about splitting your party for the Shockwave spread.
Raining Cats (Tethers)
After the Shockwave, the arena will return to normal and Black Cat will cast Raining Cats. This will tether two random players. The tethered players will be attacked with long conal AOEs, so they should move away from the party so they don’t get hit.
The AOEs from Raining Cats inflict Slashing Resistance Down, which will make any affected players much more vulnerable to Black Cat’s attacks and kill them if they get hit by a second AOE during this phase. This attack repeats four times, so every player in the party should have the debuff after this phase.
Predaceous Pounce
For the final part of the fight, Black Cat will cast Copycat to create a clone of herself. This clone will use Predaceous Pounce from the normal version of the raid, performing several telegraphed linear and circular AOEs as it leaps around the arena. While this is happening, Black Cat will cast One-two Paw in the center of the arena.
Find a safe space to dodge the Predaceous Pounce AOEs and then quickly find the safe side of the arena to avoid Black Cat’s One-two Paw cleaves. Enrage begins shortly after this point, so that’s the full extent of this raid.
FFXIV AAC Light-heavyweight M1 Savage rewards
Once you clear AAC Light-heavyweight M1 Savage in Final Fantasy XIV, you’ll obtain the following rewards.
- 30 Allagan Tomestones of Heliometry
- 1 Black Cat Card
- 1 AAC Illustrated: LWH Edition 1
Treasure Coffers will also appear with the following rewards if your party has not yet cleared the raid this week.
- Dark Horse Champion’s Earring Coffer (IL 730)
- Dark Horse Champion’s Necklace Coffer (IL 730)
- Dark Horse Champion’s Bracelet Coffer (IL 730)
- Dark Horse Champion’s Ring Coffer (IL 730)
That’s all there is to know about AAC Light-heavyweight M1 Savage in Final Fantasy XIV! There are still many more Savage fights awaiting you in the Arcadion, though. Make sure your Viper and Pictomancer are fully up to snuff if you want to top the DPS charts on that third-party tool that you definitely don’t use.
Published: Jul 30, 2024 02:35 pm