Final Fantasy XI A Mini-Avatar Battle Guide by Platinum Deuce E-Mail: GohansFusion@hotmail.com Version 1.1 Created Oct. 26th, 2004 Updated Nov. 14th, 2004 This document copyright 2004 by Will Young. This document is for private and personal use only. This document may be placed on a web site as long as it is completely unaltered and in full. This document is not to be used for profitable or promotional purposes, including, but not limited to; magazines, books, guides, etc... in any way whatsoever. ========================================== -- Table of Contents -- 1. Introduction 2. Unlocking the quests 3. Strategy A. Strategy 1 B. Strategy 2 4. Avatar Abilities A. Ifrit B. Shiva C. Titan D. Ramuh E. Leviathan F. Garuda 5. FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) 6. Special Thanks ========================================== 1. Introduction ========================================== Welcome to my guide to winning the Mini-Avatar battles. I noticed that there aren't very many, (if any) in-depth guides to the Level 20 battles out there, so this guide is pretty straight and to the point, it doesn't say much of anything, besides what you need to know to obtain and win these quests. So, for all you Level 20 Summoners who want help, here ya go... If you have any questions, comments, or things you want to see added, feel free to send me an e-mail at GohansFusion@hotmail.com Note: All e-mails written by people who look like they never passed 2nd grade grammar (i.e. no punctuation, all capital letters, constant profanity, etc... will be immediately disregarded. ========================================== 2. Unlocking the Quests ========================================== Okay, we gotta start with the boring stuff, unlocking the quests in the first place, being ready for fight means nothing if there's no fight to get ready for. First off, you need to get Summoner leveled up to level 20+, you MUST be level 20 or higher to do these, don't listen to anything that says otherwise, I've seen people say stuff like "Titan's easy, you can take him at level 16", it's a lie, you CANNOT unlock these unless Summoner is leveled to 20 or higher. After you've suffered through 19 levels of just using Carby, and basically being a WHM w/Super MP, head back to your hometown, and get ready to do a bunch of quests. For all of these fights, you need level 3 fame in a city to unlock that city's avatar battle, now before you go running off to a random city to do quests, here is the list of cities that you can actually get quests from. San d'Oria - Shiva (Ice) Bastok - Titan (Earth) Mhaura - Ramuh (Lightning) Kazham - Ifrit (Fire) Rabao - Garuda (Wind) Norg - Leviathan (Water) I suggest you start building fame in the city that you started off in (Mhaura, if you started in Windurst), usually, you'll already have a bit of fame in your home city. The following is a list of repeatable quests that you can do in the cities to get fame fairly quickly with farmable/somewhat cheap items; SAN D'ORIA: - Fear of the Dark: (Secodiand, E-6 in Northern San d'Oria) Trade him 2 Bat Wings, Reward of 200 gil - Starting a Flame: (Legata, K-6 in Southern San d'Oria) Trade him 4 Flint Stone, Reward of 100 gil - The Merchant's Bidding: (Parvipon, E-8 in Southern San d'Oria) Trade him 3 Rabbit Hides, Reward of 120 gil BASTOK: - Minesweeper: (Gerbaum, E-8 in Bastok Mines) Trade him 3 Pinches of Zehrun Soot, Reward of 150 gil - Buckets of Gold: (Foss, F-7 in Bastok Markets Trade him 5 Rusty Buckets, Reward of 300 gil - The Gourmet: (Salimah, L-8 in Bastok Markets) once a day, depending on the time, trade her a Treant Bulb (6:00 to 11:59), Wild Onion (12:00 to 17:59), or Sleepshroom (18:00 to 5:59), Reward is a variable amount of money MHAURA (linked to Windurst fame): - Mandragora-Mad: (Yoran-Oran, E-5 in Windurst Walls) Trade him 1 Cornette, Reward of 200 gil - Creepie Crawlies: (Illu Bohjaa, H-6 in Windurst Woods) Trade him 3 Crawler Calculi or 3 Spools of Silk Thread, Reward of 600 gil - Orlando's Antiques: (Orlando, G-9 in Mhaura) Trade him 8 Beastcoins, Reward of 600 gil KAZHAM (linked to Windurst fame): - A Discerning Eye: (Swift, Airship Dock in Kazham) Return the dropped item to the person on the airship wearing the same thing as the person Swift shows you, Reward 500 gil - Mandragora-Mad: (Yoran-Oran, E-5 in Windurst Walls) Trade him 1 Cornette, Reward of 200 gil - Creepie Crawlies: (Illu Bohjaa, H-6 in Windurst Woods) Trade him 3 Crawler Calculi or 3 Spools of Silk Thread, Reward of 600 gil RABAO (linked to San d'Oria and Selbina fame): - Fear of the Dark: (Secodiand, E-6 in Northern San d'Oria) Trade him 2 Bat Wings, Reward of 200 gil - Starting a Flame: (Legata, K-6 in Southern San d'Oria) Trade him 4 Flint Stone, Reward of 100 gil - Only the Best: (Melyon, I-9 in Selbina) Trade him 5 La Thiene Cabbages, Reward of 100 gil or Trade him 3 Ears of Millioncorn, Reward of 120 gil NORG (linked to Tenshodo quests from all cities): - Shady Business: (Talib, F-6 in Port Bastok) Trade him 4 Zinc Ores, Reward of 350 gil - Mihgo's Amigos: (Nanaa Mihgo, J-3 Windurst Walls) Trade her 4 Yagudo Bead Necklaces, Reward of 200 gil If you don't know if you have enough fame or not, there are certain NPCs that you can talk to that will clue you in, here's a list of the NPCs, and what they need to be saying; San d'Oria - Namoutice, K-6 in South San d'Oria (Lion Springs Tavern) "Ah, . That is a name I often hear. People speak well of you! Your deeds for the kingdom have earned you much honor." Bastok - Flaco, E-7 in Port Bastok (Outside the Steaming Sheep Restaurant) "Oh, you're Yeah, I've heard of you. You're not doing bad for an adventurer. Keep working hard, and the people of Bastok will come to recognize your efforts" Mhaura - Zabirego-Hajigo, F-7 in Windurst Waters (Northern Side of area) "Oh, you're the that people are starting to talk about. I've heard pretty good things about you. Hard work and perserverence--those are the only things that'll put you on the map." Kazham - Ney Hiparujah, I-11 in Kazham "Wait... Don't tell me... It's..., right? Yeah, I've been hearing your name more often lately. A little bit more work, and soon everybody will know who you are." Rabao - Waylea, G-9 in Rabao Norg - Vaultimand, H-8 in Norg** For Norg and Rabao, I need to check into exactly what the NPCs say for level 3 fame, but the rule-of-thumb is that if they're sure about your name, then you can get the quest. ** You can also pseudo-check Norg fame by checking the prices at the Tenshodo HQ in Lower Jeuno, if the price of Rice Balls is 155 or lower, you should have enough fame to unlock Leviathan. Okay, now you've reached level 20 Summoner, and you have the necessary amount of fame, all that's left is to go to the NPCs, and get the quest, the following is a list of the quest giving NPCs and their locations; NOTE: The NPC that gives you these mini-avatar quests, will always be standing next to a Tarutaru (The Taru gives you the full avatar quests @ level 7 fame), for some reason, I can't seem to get the names of the actual NPCs, so I'm going to give you the names of the Tarutarus standing next to them, remember to get the NPC to even offer you the quest, you need to currently be a level 20+ Summoner, if you're talking to him as a level 40 WHM, you won't get offered the quest. Shiva - Gulmama, E-7 in Northern San d'Oria Titan - Juroro, I-7 in Port Bastok Ramuh - Ripapa, Near the Home Point in Mhaura Ifrit - Ronta-Onto, Near the Home Point in Kazham Garuda - Agado-Pugado, Near the Nomad Moogles in Rabao Leviathan - Edal-Tahdal, H-9 in Norg Alright, you now know everything that you need to know to unlock the quests, now all you need to know is how to defeat them, so... On to the next section. ========================================== 3. Strategy ========================================== From my experience, there are 2 known strategies for winning the fights. I have tried both, and I have won with both, deciding which is better is really a preference, but personally, I like Strategy B better. To have a better chance of winning with either strategy, you should have your Summoning skill up to 63, which is the max for the level 20 cap (For reference, A+ skills always cap at [(Your Level x 3) + 3], this way your Searing Light attacks will be doing 210 damage almost every time, which is what you need. Now comes the part you don't want to hear... You will NEED a decent amount of gil to do these fights, both strategies require that you buy items. I suggest you have at least 70k set aside to do these battles. Finally, you'll want to make a few macros to make this a bit easier; Yagudo Drink Macro /item "Yagudo Drink" Ether Macro /item "Ether" Hi-Potion Macro /item "Hi-Potion" Summon Carbuncle Macro /ma "Carbuncle" Carbuncle Attack Macro /pet "Assault" Astral Flow Macro /ja "Astral Flow" Searing Light Macro /pet "Searing Light" You can combine these to make other useful macros (I.E. combining Astral Flow, Searing Light, and Ether into the same macro), but I don't recommend it. Last thing, if you can, get someone to cast high level Shell/Protect on you if possible, it's not necessary though, and if you're going to use food, DO NOT use pies or any other MP boosting food, they WILL NOT help, your 2-hour burns all of your MP anyway, if you're using food, get something that boosts you VIT or at least your MND, Boiled Crab is probably your best option. ---STRATEGY A--- Also known as the "Searing Offense Method", If you're concerned with trying to set a Clear Time record, then this is the strategy you want. For this strategy the best day to do the battle is on the day that they're weak on. For example, if you're going after Ifrit (fire), fight him on WATERsday, on the day that the avatar is weak on, the avatar's melee damage is a bit weaker, and it's defense will be cut a bit, you'll also have a better chance of resisting it's 2-hour. If you don't know the order of the days in Vana'diel, here ya go: Firesday > Earthsday > Watersday > Windsday > Iceday > Lightningday > Lightsday > Darkday > Firesday Go in with: - Yagudo Drink x2 - Ether x2 (Do Not use Hi-Ether unless no normal Ethers are available) - Hi-Potion x2 Once you get to the battlefield, cast yourself with Aquaveil, and start heading up the path, when you can target the Avatar, take a few steps back. Use your Yagudo Drink, and send out Carbuncle, and have him attack the avatar, don't immediately go in after him. After Carbuncle has landed a few hits, rush in very close, and use Astral Flow/Searing Light (If you don't get in close, the hate that Astral Flow causes might cause the avatar to start coming after you, and Searing Light can be resisted if Carbuncle isn't close enough.) As soon as you use Searing Light, run away from the battle, preferably far enough so that you can't target the avatar anymore, then use an Ether (and a Hi-Potion if needed). When Carbuncle falls to low HP, start hiting your summon macro, so that as soon as Carbuncle is down, you can re-summon. Once you've re-summoned, DO NOT use the attack macro, your summon will automatically go after any monster that you've engaged, and using the "assault" command will do nothing but get you hate. So, unless Carbuncle isn't moving, don't use "Assault". Once again, let Carbuncle get a few hits in, and assuming your MP is up to 40+ use Searing Light again. Once again, run away from the fight immediately and use another Ether (and Hi-Potion if needed). Once Carbuncle is low on HP, again start spamming your summon macro, once Carbuncle is out again, he'll start attacking the avatar, step back from the fight once again, once you have 40+ MP, rush in and hit the avatar with a 3rd Searing Light, If all 3 of your Searing Lights did 210 damage, then the avatar should now be dead. If any of them were resisted, don't worry, you still have a shot, but you won't be able to use another Searing Light. If the avatar is still alive after the 3rd Searing Light, then for the rest of the fight, stay far away from the avatar, and use your 2nd Yagudo Drink when your refresh runs out. Just keep re-summoning Carbuncle, and have him tank the avatar until it goes down. ---STRATEGY B--- Strategy B is the one I usually use, it takes a lot longer, and costs a little more, but I find this strategy wil give you a better success rate, I won 4 of 8 fights using this strategy, while my record with the first strategy was like 2 of 10 or something. Using this strategy you WILL NOT break the clear time record, your battles might last up to 10-11 minutes out of the 15 minute deadline. For this strategy, the best day to fight the avatars would be Lightsday, Carbuncle's tanking abilites will be better and his melee damage will be a bit stronger, it will also greatly decrease the chances of your Searing Light attacks being resisted. Go in with: - Yagudo Drink x4 - Ether x2 (Do Not use Hi-Ether unless no normal Ethers are available) - Hi-Potion x3 Upon entering the battlefield, cast Aquaveil on yourself, and head up the path. At the last "bend" before getting to the avatar, use a Yagudo Drink, and summon Carbuncle. Run up the rest of the way, get close enough to the avtar, so that have Carbuncle attack, but it doesn't aggro you, after Carbuncle land a few hits, run back just past the bend, and wait for Carbuncle's HP to get low. Once he's about to die, start spamming your summon macro, so that you get Carbuncle back as soon as possible. After you've re-summoned, DO NOT use the "assault" command, Carbuncle will automatically go after anything you've engaged, using "Assault" will do nothing but get you hate. After Carbuncle has been summoned, run back down, close to where you entered the battlefield, and wait again. Once again, when Carbuncle falls to low HP, re-summon, and get away from the fight by running back up the path. You'll need to continue re-summoning, and running away for a while. During this time, watch your HP, and use Hi-Potions when necessary, and when your Refresh effect wears off, immediately use another Yagudo Drink. Also, If you notice Carbuncle get demolished in one shot, it most likely means that the avatar has used it's 2-hour, you have to be very wary of this, because you're gonna have to re-summon immediately or the avatar will catch up to you, and start beating on you. Once your 2nd Yagudo Drink wears off, it's time to go on the offense, immediately use another Yagudo Drink, and wait for Carbuncle to go down so you can re-summon, once Carbuncle is fighting with the avatar again, rush in, and use Astral Flow and Searing Light, then immediately run away, once you've gotten a safe distance away, use an Ether, and again, wait for Carbuncle to die. Re-summon Carbuncle, once again, and assuming your minute re-cast is up, rush in, and use a 2nd Searing Light, If both Searing Light shots did the full 210 damage, the avatar should now be dead, if it's not dead, not a problem. Do the same thing that you just did, get away from the fight, use an Ether, and wait for a chance to Searing Light again. If you tanked it for the full 6-7 minutes, there's no way it should still be alive, but if for some reason it is, just use your last Yagudo Drink, and have Carbuncle tank it, like you did at the beginning of the fight. You should be able to "nickel and dime" away what's left of it's HP. Currently, those are the only 2 strategies I know to win these fights, and I can't think of any other ways that might be effective. If you have a strategy that you think I should add, feel free to send it to me, and I'll add it. ========================================== 4. Avatar Abilites ========================================== Okay, now you have the avatars, my work is done... But since you might want to know what the avatars can actually do, here's a list of the current avatar abilites. NOTE: The level listed is the level that YOU have to be in order to get the ability, not what level your summoning skill has to be at. Also, all 2-hour abilities do not use TP, but can be used to Magic Burst. UPDATE 11/14/04: Added missing avatar spells, added Blood Pact MP costs, marked spells that can Magic Burst/use TP XX - 2 hour abilities MP cost is equal to your level x2 * - Uses TP, can be used to Magic Burst ---SHIVA--- Lv. MP Ability Description -------------------------------------- 1 XX Diamond Dust Shiva's 2 Hour Ability, Deals massive Ice-based damage to all enemies in the area of effect 1 10 Axe Kick Deals physical damage 10 24 Blizzard II* Deals Ice-based magic damage 28 63 Frost Armor Gives the effect of Ice Spikes to all party members in the area of effect 39 54 Sleepga Causes all enemies in the area of effect to fall asleep 50 96 Double Slap Deals physical damage (2-hits) 60 118 Blizzard IV* Deals Ice-based magic damage 70 154 Rush Deals physical damage (5-hits) ---TITAN--- Lv. MP Ability Description ------------------------------------ 1 XX Earthen Fury Titan's 2 Hour Ability, Deals massive Earth-based damage to all enemies in the area of effect 1 10 Rock Throw Deals physical damage 10 24 Stone II* Deals Earth-based magic damage 21 39 Rock Buster Binds a target 35 62 Megalith Throw Deals physical damage, and inflicts the enemy with the effect of slow 46 92 Earthen Ward Gives the effect of Stoneskin to all party members in the area of effect. 60 118 Stone IV* Deals Earth-based magic damage 70 164 Mountain Crash Deals physical damage, and inflicts the enemy with the effect of bind ---RAMUH--- Lv. MP Ability Description -------------------------------------- 1 XX Judgement Bolt Ramuh's 2 Hour Ability, Deals massive Lightning-based damage to all enemies in the area of effect 1 6 Shock Strike Stuns a target 10 24 Thunder II* Deals Lightning-based magic damage 19 38 Thunderspark* Deals Lightning-based magic damage, and paralyzes the target. 31 52 Rolling Thunder Gives the effect of Enthunder to all party members in the area of effect 42 91 Lightning Armor Gives the effect of Lighting Spikes to all party members in the area of effect 60 118 Thunder IV* Deals Lightning-based magic damage 70 164 Chaos Strike Deals physical damage (3-hits), and inflicts the enemy with the effect of stun ---IFRIT--- Lv. MP Ability Description -------------------------------------- 1 XX Inferno Ifrit's 2 Hour Ability, Deals massive Fire-based damage to all enemies in the area of effect 1 9 Punch Deals physical damage 10 24 Fire II* Deals Fire-based magic damage 23 48 Burning Strike Deals Fire-based magic damage 30 56 Double Punch Deals physical damage 38 84 Crimson Howl Enhances ATK of party members within the area of effect 60 118 Fire IV* Deals Fire-based magic damage 70 164 Flame Crash Deals physical damage ---GARUDA--- Lv. MP Ability Description -------------------------------------- 1 XX Aerial Blast Garuda's 2 Hour Ability, Deals massive Wind-based damage to all enemies in the area of effect 1 7 Claw Deals physical damage 10 24 Aero II* Deals Wind-based magic damage 25 93 Aerial Armor Gives the effect of Blink to all party members in the area of effect 36 119 Whispering Wind* Restores HP to all party members within the area of effect 48 129 Hastega Gives the effect of Haste to all party members in the area of effect 60 118 Aero IV* Deals Wind-based magic damage 70 164 Predator Claw Deals physical damage (3-hits) ---LEVIATHAN--- Lv. MP Ability Description -------------------------------------- 1 XX Tidal Wave Leviathan's 2 Hour Ability, Deals massive Water-based damage to all enemies in the area of effect 1 8 Barracuda Dive Deals physical damage 10 24 Water II* Deals Water-based magic damage 26 49 Tail Whip Inflicts the enemy with the effect of Gravity 33 48 Slowga Inflicts all enemies within range with the effect of Slow 47 99 Spring Water* Removes status effects and restores HP to all party members within the area of effect 60 118 Water IV* Deals Water-based magic damage 70 164 Spinning Dive Deals physical damage With the Chains of Promathia update, you can now use some of the above Blood Pacts to Magic Burst, or even participate in Skillchains, sadly, I do not know of a website with a skillchain chart that includes the Bloodpacts, I will try to get mine onto this site, but no guarantees there :( ========================================== 5. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) ========================================== These are questions that I've heard, pertaining to obtaining the avatars, so before you send me an e-mail, check here first, I may have answered your question already. Q: I lost the fight. How long is the "Set number of days" before I can re-enter the protocrystal. A: The reset time to enter the protocrystal is 12:00 AM Japan time. Which is 8:00 AM Pacific time/11:00 AM Eastern time. So, if you just faced the avatar, wait until that time tomorrow,and you'll be able to enter the battlefield again. Q: Norg? Rabao? wtf? I've never heard of these places, how do you expect me to get there? A: Norg and Rabao aren't hard to get to persay, but they are hidden away, and it'll take you some time, especially if you've never been there before. To get to Norg you go through Yuhtunga Jungle to Sea Serpent Grotto, and Norg is just beyond a hidden door. To get to Rabao, you go through Zeruhn Mines to Korroloka Tunnel into WESTERN Altepa Desert, Rabao isn't far from there. I'm not gonna go into big detail on directions there, if you need some, try going to http://allakhazam.com, they're got lots of maps there, and stuff to help you out. Q: I'm trying to get Norg fame, but the NPCs in Windurst and Bastok won't offer me the quests, what am I doing wrong? A: Make sure you've joined the Tenshodo, easiest way to do this is to buy a Tenshodo Invitation from the Auction House, and give it to the girl at the counter in the Neptune's Spire (Lower Jeuno), she'll make you a member of the Tenshodo, and give you another Tenshodo Invitation, which you can sell right back at the AH to get your money back. Q: Your FAQ says to cast Aquaveil on myself, but I don't have it, I'm using as my sub. A: For these fights, it usually won't make a difference, but as for leveling up goes, you won't see many invites as a SMN/BLM, SMN/RDM, etc... Q: Why shouldn't I use Hi-Ethers for the fights, wouldn't more MP be good? A: No. Remember, Searing Light will burn all of your MP no matter what, In these battles, time is a big issue, and the cast time on Hi-Ethers simply isn't worth it, Ethers will get you up to 40 MP, which is all you need. Q: You don't have Fenrir listed, how do I get him? A: There is no way to obtain Fenrir through the level 20 battles. To get Fenrir you must have unlocked and completed all of the full-avatar battles, and you must have collected the "whisper" from each of these, to even stand a chance at this, you'll need a party of 6 people above level 70, so if you're looking at this FAQ for advice, you most likely have a long way to go. Q: Are you a level 75 Summoner? If not, why should I listen to you? A: No, I'm not a 75 Summoner, Sadly, as I'm writing, my SMN is only level 23, but I have done all the mini-avatar fights, and I have helped several people to obtain avatars, so I know what I'm talking about. If you happen to be on the Remora server, and need help, feel free to send a /tell to Arek ========================================== 6. Special Thanks to... ========================================== - Everyone in the Linkshell "Unbreakables" on Alexander, you guys were there cheering me on when I defeated Ifrit and Shiva - Everyone in the Linkshell "DarkCircle" on Remora, you guys were there supporting me when I defeated Titan, Ramuh, Leviathan, and Garuda - uTo Panucci Benduzzi for... well... I'm not sure... - Squeenix, Sony, PlayOnline, and whoever else, for making this game possible.