Final Fantasy XIV Dungeon System Explained

A guide explaining tactics for Alexander: Gordias on Savage mode in Final Fantasy XIV MMORPG. This first part of the Alexander raid has four encounters.

The Fist of the Father (A1S) is the first encounter and because of the hard enrage of eight minutes and a half, DPS players really need to bring their A game. Players targeted by resin bombs have to move away from the raid. When adds and missiles spawn, players have to kite the add under a missile and kill it there. Tanks must use cooldowns for Hypercompressed Plasma attack. This is a very hard fight due to the insane amount of damage.

The Cuff of the Father (A2S) encounter has nine phases and 10 and a half minutes enrage timer. Players have to deal with nine waves of adds. This fight has flexible tactics. There is no general strategy because each group should prioritize adds based on group’s particular strengths and weaknesses. What works for a group may not work for another so players are free to experiment and decide on their own which is the best kill adds order.

The Arm of the Father (A3S) is a three phase encounter where players have to deal with Living Liquid boss in its three states: human, hand and tornado. In the first phase, the boss is normally tanked in the middle and marked players move from the group. In the second phase, the boss splits into two. As soon as one is killed the fight moves to phase three. There will be heavy damage during this second phase so healers should be prepared. When the boss splits, both of them require tanking. The last phase is the hardest due to adds and tether mechanics. Depending on the tether, players have to move away from each other or move closer.

The Burden of the Father (A4S) is also a three phase fight where players have to take down the boss part by part. In the first phase, players should focus on one of the bosses legs. There is lots of AOE damage going on but some is avoidable. Quarantined players have to kill an add to get back. Orbs should be soaked. In the second phase, some players will be targeted with lines. Other players can stand between them and the lines to reduce the damage. Dolls adds have to be killed fast. The third phase has mechanics from the first and second and some new mechanics. There is no special strategy, players need to spread out and be aware of what’s going on around them as they need to constantly move to avoid AOE.