Sagelord Elimination/Stratagies

Strategy
Possible 3-man strategy: BLU/NIN, BRD/WHM (Storm Fife a must), RDM/BLM. Our BLU geared for DD. The idea is that with a Storm Fife and Refresh, the BLU/NIN has plenty of MP for spamming blue magic (5 MP/tick from ballads, 3 MP/tick from Refresh, 1 from Sanction). Our BLU had an additional 2 MP/tick (one of which was from Balrahn's Ring). From the start, BRD pulls one Trainee and BLU and RDM spam spells (RDM would mainly nuke, and BRD does main curing). BLU mainly used Disseverment and Frenetic Rip. RDM used highest Thunder and Blizzard. If you see another one in this area, ignore it unless it links. Next run north to the main area and drop down. You should easily be able to clear all 8 Trainees (and their pets) down there prior to engaging the Sagelord. (All Trainees are easily slept with lullaby should you link.) Use the northern area to go around the Sagelord in order to clear the remaining Trainees on the west side. Once all these are dead, work on the Sagelord. He has fixed destinations to which he runs (see map below), so pets are not needed. Having increased movement speed will be of great help (none of us had any, though). Eventually you _will_ link; use Sleepga (BRD should help with lullaby) and Chainspell the Sagelord if running low on time. Our RDM used Convert twice. Once the Sagelord is at 20%, have your BRD run to the exit and stand by for the win. Also, when chasing the Sagelord, do not drop down to the lower level until you are forced to do so since it cuts down the total distance between you and the Sagelord.
 * Sagelord seems to always run to J-9 first.
 * BRD should pre-empt Sagelord and head to J-9 while BLU and RDM focus on first engagement and pull Sagelord back toward BLU and RDM after he runs for the first time. Repeat this tactic as necessary to reduce the distance between your party and the Sagelord. I.e. if you are fighting at J-9, BRD should start heading toward H-7 (or possibly G-9).
 * Decent exp (easily got exp chain 3 for about 100+ exp per Trainee kill).

-- Boogers on Hades

Strategy: At the start of the assault, a thief with Trotter/Strider Boots can pull a Mamool Ja Trainee and easily kite it and eventually every other link around the big area, on and off ledges, while the rest of the party fights Sagelord without having to worry about links when it runs away.
 * It's probably best to sleep the links to save time, though eventually they may overwhelm you.
 * If a player's pet has hate when the Sagelord runs, the links will attack the pet instead; when the pet dies, the links reset hate.
 * Having Wide Scan or a pet attacking the Sagelord helps to find him again after he runs off.
 * In the event of a party wipe, the Sagelord will not regain HP.
 * DoT spells will continue to damage him after he runs.
 * When he gets low on HP (at 10%) he warps out and you win.

Strategy: Just came up with a decent strategy that (with a little luck) won't require you to reraise and can even be done with 5 people. Having something to track the NM is a must, also kill the trainees a bit before you fight the NM, its a LOT simpler if you reduce the number of link to deal with from 5 to 1. Did this with 2blu, rdm for link sleeping, smn for tracking NM, sam, and mnk (the mnk dced for the entire assault though). Just kill the majority of mobs in the open area, leave the ones on cliffs and such to save time, odds are he won't run to every corner anyway.

Preferred one: Use 6 people (BST or SMN, healer, BLU, 3 DD), kill all trainees first (except for a single mammol ja BST that is high on a ledge in a room with 4 mammol ja) - they all con even match to tough, and pets con easy prey in a uncapped run. Unload your TP as soon as you get it. There should be 13 trainees you need to clear first and two that you can ignore. You should have 15-18 minutes to take out sagelord. When sagelord is about 20% one person should go to the rune of release. All members should use reraise items and have 4 or 5 Powder Boots (if possible) use the Flee enchantment, have 4 or 5 sprinters shoes (for quickening to catch up). (Movement+ equipment, if possible, is recommended as well.) Sagelord runs to 2 predictable spots but they are on opposite ends. Melee should equip Powder Boots when it readies Warm Up, and activate them after he runs. (Due to the 5 minute recast, you will need multiple ones.) It is important to put all possible forms of DoT *(Dia II, Frost/Cold Wave, Disserverment, etc.) on Sagelord so he takes damage when he runs. When sagelord is around 20% one member should go to the rune of release. Use Icarus Wings and 2-hour job abilities only in the final 15%, especially if time is cutting close. The killed trainees DO NOT repop at all, so with them out of the picture, there is no chance for links. If a trainee that you skip does happen to link, turn your focus to that trainee before resuming on Sagelord, when the pet chasing him dies he will look for the owner.

Strategy: this is actually incredibly simple with a 6 man setup - 4 heavy DD and 2 healers. just kill all the trainers as per some of the other strats above, while pulling around the sagelord and saving him for last. you can skip several of the trainers to save time (map below is very accurate). once the place is clear, divide the party into 2 smaller ones - 2 DDs and a healer for each. have the entire party rush the sagelord, but afterward send 3 members to the SW (the doorway at G-8) and 3 to the SE (doorway at I-8/9).

key to understanding this method: the sagelord tends to run from the start point to the southwestern end of the horseshoe shaped map, although sometimes stopping in the middle (roughly where he spawns). knowing this, you have the 2 mini parties ping pong him back and forth until hes dead. communication is vital, so the second the sagelord starts fleeing let the other squad be aware of this so they are ready to search for and receive him on the other side. at the 20% HP mark, send one healer to the rune or release.

using this method, we were able to win with 5 minutes to spare after all items were lotted. you could probably do this with 5 DDs and 1 healer as long as you have a few dancer subs thrown in the mix. hope this helps! ^^

pt setup was: WHM RDM SAM SAM SAM WAR

-kobetai of fenrir

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Trio'd. 3 Bst/nin.
 * Fight. Sic.
 * Odomsmom, Odomitria, Odomspa. -bst.
 * Drk- Ruiko. Sam- Tyrese. Blm- Dece.  They went AFK.

Theoretical Trio (Note: Strategy has not be tried or proven)

Requires: Steps:
 * 3 Puppetmasters using Spiritreaver Frame/Attachments.
 * Each Puppetmaster activates their automatons and builds to three ice maneuvers.
 * Deploy all three automatons on the Sagelord at roughly the same time.
 * After their spells land, immidiately deactivate all three automatons.
 * Sagelord should deaggro, and possibly flee away, he should not link other mamool ja.
 * Sagelord does not regenerate HP, repeat this process until Sagelord is dead.
 * Rejoice because Puppeteer is that awesome, and have your automatons take a bow.
 * Then smack your forehead because this has not been tried or proven. Awesome.