Shattering Stars/Red Mage

=Red Mage = The fight takes place in Waughroon Shrine. If this is not your first Maat fight, you must walk to the BC; Maat will not teleport you.

Obtain
A Red Mage's Testimony from one of the following:
 * Aura Pot (Level: 75 - 80) (Shrine of Ru'Avitau)
 * Dustbuster (Level: 73 - 76) (Ve'Lugannon Palace)
 * Hover Tank (Level: 64 - 67) (Temple of Uggalepih)
 * Magic Pot (Level: 68 - 70) (Upper Delkfutt Tower)
 * Ruby Quadav (Level: 69 - 70) (Qulun Dome)
 * Sprinkler (Level: 70 - 73) (Ru'Aun Gardens)
 * Magic Flagon (Level: 64 - 70) (Ro'Maeve)

Special Notes
Note:This guide uses a strategy that tells you to use the spell bind and then nuke with the magic Aero III. Due to changes in the spell, after you bind, now it will unbind him rendering you dead. I suggest using Gravity.

Note:Maat will use Asuran Fists back to back in both the first half and second half of the fight. Judging from this, Maat does not need to build TP in order to use Asuran Fists.

=Guides=

Nuke and Sleep
Using the below method I won 1/1 on Hume without using Convert, took 9 min:
 * Composure -> Fully buff yourself -> remove Composure -> Rest to full MP
 * Sleep 2 Maat
 * (While Maat asleep) Dispel all of his buffs, cast enfeebles like Gravity, Slow, Paralyze, Blind, but Silence won't stick
 * (While Maat asleep) Rest to full MP, Sleep Maat again if he wakes
 * Aero 3 -> Sleep 2 -> Rest -> Repeat
 * Use antidotes and echo drops as needed
 * Always keep the maximum distance when nuking, so Maat will never land a physical hit or any WS on you
 * When Maat Chainspells, just sleep him and wait until Chainspell wears off (60sec)
 * 7 unresisted Aero 3s will defeat Maat. Capped elemental magic at lvl 70 with Chapeau and Elemental Torque gave 232 Elemental Magic skill which made all 7 nukes land unresisted. (my total INT was only 66+16 inc Melon Pie +1)
 * Use Chainspell to speed things up or finish him off towards the end
 * A possible complication is if your first Sleep 2 hits one of Maat's blink images, if this happens try to get rid of his blink with small enfeebles then Sleep 1.
 * In addition, Convert is always available if anything goes wrong
 * Overall not a very difficult fight, but having a Wind/Auster's Staff and Elemental Torque certainly helps a lot.

This Strategy works very well but can go out of hand very easily, it also takes up a lot of time.
 * 1st. Make sure you have the following: Vile Elixir, Hi-elixir or Vile elixir+1, Intelligence Potion, and a cream puff.
 * 2nd. Make sure your enfeebling magic is capped and elemental is capped as well.
 * 3rd. Have Good Int gear, try as much as possible to max out your int to over 90+.
 * 4th. So now you are ready to fight Maat.
 * 5th. Do not fight maat on any day besides Darksday, Windsday makes him less likely to be slept, and on Darksday sleep and bind have a better chance of sticking.
 * 6th. Go inside the circle naked, make sure you have Macros for equipment/ if you don't know how to macro equipment its /equip main "Light staff" or, /equip body "Warlock's tabard" etc..
 * 7th once you are inside his domain, put your equipment on, then Stoneskin, Blink, Phanlax, and Aquaviel. By then you should have at least 6/7 Of your mp. (Remember the point of the match is to know how much mp you have at all times.
 * 8th. Run in and Sleep I him, In case it fails, Bind, Sleep II Him. Once he is slept, Dispel till he is defensless By then you will have around 300-400 Mp,
 * 9th, Have a fair distance from him. Try to gravity him, if works then your safe,
 * 10th Aero III with Ice staff as soon as you do this, sleep II Him with darkstaff
 * 11th Continue this till he is about 60%
 * 12th Pop a Vile elixir and a Hi-Elixir and Cream puff and a Int potion... IN THAT ORDER
 * 13th Then make sure you have stoneskin and blink etc up.
 * 14th Chainspell and Aero III him until you have about 100mp out, Note:(By now he will chainspell so Sleep II spam him)
 * 15th Convert and Heal yourself to full
 * 16th Continue Nuking from a fair distance and you have won

All-In-One-Chainspell Strategy
Get your INT as high as possible, as stated above. Also, make sure to get the wind, ice, and dark staves, as they will help your spell accuracy. As for consumables, buy the following: melon pie+1, Intelligence Booster (optional), 5-8 Hi-Potions (very important), 2 Yagudo Drinks, and at least 3 bottles of Mulsum. The key to winning by this strategy is knowing how much MP you have, what exactly you're going to cast, and when to cast it.

Macro in the following, and for the spells put /targetnpc and /equip main "Corresponding Elemental Staff" in the lines before the casting line for ALL of them:
 * [Alt Line] Sleep 2, Sleep 1 (make sure these are next to each other), Bind, Paralyze, Aero III, Convert, Chainspell.
 * [Ctrl Line] Hi-Potion, Mulsum, Yagudo Drink, Stoneskin, Blink.

Time to fight.

Use your food outside of the burning circle and head in, it will NOT dissapear. Once you get inside, RUN as fast as you can to the edge of the arena and use sleep2 on maat, if that doesn't stick, quickly follow up with sleep1. Now, make sure you're at max distance from maat (you will be if the first one stuck) and use yagudo drink, INT booster, Blink, and Stoneskin. Dispel and Paralyze him, and then Bind. Now comes the crucial part: this is when you Chainspell. Once you Chainspell, use as many Aero III's as you can untill you have enough MP left for sleep 1 or 2! This is crucial, and if you mess up and don't have enough... guess what you brought the mulsum's for? IF there are resists or Sleep cannot be used, THEN USE MULSUMS to up your mp at the last minute before Sleeping Maat (Chainspell is up so dont worry about delay). Immediately Convert and SPAM HI-POTIONS. Get your hp up to a comfortable lvl and use the last bit of Chainspell to pound the old man into oblivion with your newly replenished MP. You will have enough MP to finish him off when you win, even though he gives up before you get the chance. Expressed in steps, this is what you do:
 * Use food outside
 * Go in and Sleep Maat
 * Buff up and Dispel, Paralyze, Bind
 * Chainspell

Within Chainspell:
 * Aero III till enough mp left for Sleep (will vary with mp)
 * Sleep 1 or 2 and make it stick (use mulsums if need be)
 * Convert
 * Spam Hi-Potions
 * Aero III till he dies

You do not need to do anything else besides these steps. With Stoneskin and Blink both up, Stoneskin will cover the bumps Blink doesn't absorb, and you will have enough hp to take the 3-5 spells he'll manage to cast if they get through. The key is not to have any downtime between actions and to ensure the highest amount of accuracy on Sleep's. You should finish in under 3 minutes if you're smooth, Good luck!

''Note: This Strategy was created after losing 6 times in a row with the one below. Went 1/1 with this.''


 * This method worked like a charm, didn't need the mulsums although I am taru. 1/1 my first maat attempt broke the record also! 3 minutes 30 seconds** - Malatya ~ Asura
 * I just beat Maat with this strategy. It was my first Maat fight ever.  So thanks to this effective strategy I can mock all my Red Mage friends who died 10 times prior to beating him!  As a note, I had similar equipment to what was recommended in other sections here.  I was doing 408dmg per Aero III except one was resisted for 172 damage.  I went on Watersday.  I had no resists to Sleep II or Sleep.  Maat only had time to get three spells off against me before I slept him the second time.  He casted Blind, Haste, then Fire II which my Stoneskin ate up.  He physically attacked me twice but my shadows got those.  After I did the whole convert dance and potioned up, my chainspell wore off before I could nuke again.  It only took me one more Aero III after converting.  That's 7 total Aero III counting the one resist.  I'm sure if I could've casted once more he would've been KO'd, so I had to take out most of his HP.  Hope that helps anyone wavering on this strategy!  The key, in my opinion, is that I have decent elemental and enfeebling skills as well as being a Tarutaru with a good deal of INT.  I used INT potion and creampuff.  Besides the AF gear, I had no skill enhancing gear like spider torque.  I used a philomath stole. --Cybereal 03:07, December 20, 2009 (UTC)

A Maat Fight Strategy
Very commonly considered the hardest of all the Maat fights and for good reason. Chainspell in the hands of an enemy is never a good thing. Luck plays a big role in this fight so say your prayers before doing this. First and foremost, get the elemental staff for your highest elemental spell. It will help your nukes not get resisted. Food is very helpful in getting your INT as high as you possibly can, every last point counts. Melon Pie +1 is very good INT and MP food, but others might work as well.

Everyone has their own method for entering. Enter, run to Maat and buff yourself while keeping a close eye on what spells Maat is buffing himself with. Sleep him and dispel him until all buffs are removed. If you don't land that first sleep, you'll be glad you put buffs up first before starting the battle, they will buy you time in casting your other sleep spell. Bind Maat. Nuke Maat with your highest tier III spell, then sleep him. If he managed to cast a buff in the time you nuke/sleep him, dispel it. While he is slept, keep your buffs up if he had a chance to hit you. The nuke/sleep/bind method is a good way to keep him at a distance so he doesn't use Asuran Fists to wipe the floor with you. When your MP is almost depleted, make sure he is slept, check your buffs one last time, Convert, use potions to get your HP back to full, Chainspell and nuke away with your best tier III spell. You do not need to get his HP to zero, he will most likely give up before then. There are other methods to defeating Maat as RDM. It is possible to beat him at 66, but very difficult.

Soloing the Ruby Quadav in Qulun Dome is good practice for fighting Maat, and will get you testimonies in the process. Keep in mind, that Maat will use Chainspell. If he does, make sure he is slept, and let him sleep long enough for it to wear off. Maat does have access to all tier III spells even though you don't. Bring food, drinks, potions and elixirs. Creating a macro bar just for this fight does not hurt. Do not get discouraged, keep trying. This is not an easy fight.

Special note on fighting the Ruby Quadav: When fighting Maat, you will be RDM ONLY. Any subjob you've leveled at this point and have relied upon for its additional stats will be useless. Therefore, it is highly recommended to fight the Ruby Quadav as RDM/lowest level sub. It will give you a better feel for your RDM abilities against Maat. Don't worry if things go bad just zone or bring an RR item. Even after you've soloed the Ruby Quadav, keep in mind that Maat moves much faster.

Gung Ho Strategy
This strategy is best used for jobs that have more MP. I've personally tested this strat on Tarutaru and Humes. I would also assume it works very well with Mithra. Galka and Elvaan may not be able to use this strategy effectively.

The goal here is to maximize Magic Attack Bonus, then INT, then MP. This path is also a more expensive path than most, since it requires a vile elixir and a vile elixir +1. You may be able to cheapen the meds, but it's something I do not recommend. The int potion, although released before COP, was in low supply when I did both my tries, so it was something I was unable to get. I'd recommend it if it's cheap on the server, but it's not necessary.

Equipment I used (my attempts predate COP, so some items may have better equipment now)
 * Weapon - Auster's Staff (HQ Wind)

This is useful because of the 15% magic attack bonus for the Aero III spam you will be doing
 * Throwing - Phantom Tathlum / Morion Tathlum
 * Head - Warlock's Chapeau
 * Neck - Elemental Torque
 * Earring - Moldavite Earring/Phantom Earring or Elemental Earring

Moldavite is the key to this strat. It adds an additional 5% damage in a slot that doesn't do much overall
 * Body - Warlock's Tabard
 * Hands - Warlock's Gloves or anything that gives +int
 * Rings - 2 x Zircon Rings
 * Back - Red Cape
 * Waist - RK Belt +1 (thats what I used when I started) but Penitent's Rope is better
 * Legs - Warlock's Tights or Anything that gives +int
 * Feet - Warlock's Boots or anything that gives +int
 * Food - Melon Pie +1

The strat I used was to eat food before entering the BC, then enter, then run to the BC edge, cast Stoneskin, cast Blink, cast Diaga, activate Chainspell, spam Aero III and then Blink, repeat Aero III and blink, once low on MP pop a Vile Elixir, repeat Aero III/Blink spam, low again pop a Vile Elixir +1, repeat till MP is gone.

It should take I believe 6 Aero IIIs to beat Maat. To increase damage, go on windsday. This strat is more expensive, but it's how I did win in record time.

''Important note: Both these notes below are completely misplaced and useless here, since they defy everything this strategy promotes (zerg him down as fast and strong as possible instead of sleeping, debuffing him, reapplying buffs, etc.). They aren't bad strategies per se, but do not apply for this strategy.''


 * Added note
 * (This fight is enough to make you wish you never chose RDM as your main, but this was the only strat that worked for me, just a couple notes I'd like to add. Don't Dia Maat, because if you Dia him, you can't sleep him, and you will need to sleep Maat to debuff him and use any potions you might have brought along. Another thing is don't count on sleep sticking unless your Int. is very close to or above 100 total. If you wanna avoid Maat's heavy melee dmg, stay away from using Silence, and don't count on being able to Bind or Gravity Maat; he seems highly resistant to both.)


 * Added note v2
 * You may wish to sleep Maat to debuff and dispel him before you Chainspell Aero III (Shell IV, Stoneskin, or Blink can really hurt). To do this - DO NOT cast Diaga. Also, because Chainspell in Maat's hands can cause more damage than his melee, consider silencing him too. During Chainspell, you will likely only need to reapply Stoneskin or/and Blink, once if at all. A very useful alternative to vile elixirs is leveling up mid fight using an exp scroll. This method should give enough mp for elvaan and galka races to cast the required number of Aero IIIs. Please see a video of this strategy in action - Youtube link

Note - Strongly recommended this strategy, 2100HP from Maat to win. Used only Vile Elixir, as Taru. 1/1 winning.

Gung Ho Strategy for Elvaan
Elvaan can indeed use the aforementioned Gung Ho strategy very effectively, but some additional pointers need to be mentioned. Low INT is the absolute bane of Elvaan RDM black magic, and low MP the second bane of Elvaan RDMs.

One effective countermeasure to the Low MP issue is to bring in a Hi-Elixir and use that after you've cast your initial buffs and are ready to pull Maat in from the center of the arena. Granted, it's ten seconds of downtime that Maat can buff himself in, but it can also be an extra 200 MP to play with. Protect, Shell, Phalanx, Blink, and Stoneskin can all fit into that amount of MP. Using the Hi-Elixir is also vital if you subscribe to the Go In Naked theory of Maat combat (theory being that Maat clones any equipment bonuses you have, so entering without anything equipped deprives him of those bonuses).

The Moldavite Earring is indeed critical for the Magic Attack Bonus, but if possible you may wish to acquire some Cobra Gloves as well. It's an extra 2 points of MAB as well as some extra MP and a very desirable Conserve MP +3 effect that red magi rarely get access to.

Another important fact is USE AN INTELLIGENCE POTION. It's +10 INT and the only side effect is that it leaves you medicated. Medicated won't prevent your elixirs from working, and the fight will be over so fast that it won't matter otherwise.

Due to Elvaan INT being so abysmal, attempting to Sleep and/or Gravity Maat is likely to be a waste of effort. Instead, take heart in the fact that your MND is so naturally high that Silence should stick every time if your Enfeebling skill is capped or nearly so, even without a lot of +MND equipment. Repeatedly switching between Blink and Aero III is an effective play, although your MP is so naturally low that it is easy to end up casting 2 Aero IIIs for every one Blink just to keep the offense rolling. Your HP can take a couple hits without too much panic - the Vile Elixirs will see to your healing.

Using your Vile Elixir is likely only going to give you one casting of Aero III unless Conserve MP activated for you, so be ready for that. Since it's very difficult to Sleep Maat in this state, use Diaga to strip Maat's opening Blink if you saw him use it.

One other key is to be extremely efficient with your Chainspell. If it wears off before Maat gives up, his physical attacks are very likely to interrupt you for the rest of the fight, even with Aquaveil up. If you can avoid needing to Diaga him, casting your first Aero III before activating Chainspell is a very good idea.

It may take up to 8 Aero III casts before you put him away, depending on resists, whether or not he got a Shell IV up, and if you're using a Auster's Staff or just a Wind Staff. He will go down, though, if you can keep your Chainspell downtime to its absolute minimum.

Patience for Elvaan and Galka
As claimed by many, Elvaan and Galka RDM Maat fights are the worse. While having a higher HP base, the lack of MP and INT is a real killer. Here is an alternative to the Chainspell method which may come in handy for Elvaan and Galka.

It's important to build up a high INT and balance it with an increase in MP. Don't be afraid to equip -HP gear to achieve this. Auster's Staff are great pieces to buy for the fight. The strongest spell for RDM at 70 are Aero III. If you have the money to spare, a Terra's Staff is a good addition for Stone III and increase Vitality/damage reduction. Also a good idea to carry your best sword and have your skill capped prior to entering the fight. Recommended to fight Maat on Wind day. Remember, Maat has the same spells as you do so an increase in your Aero III attack power means an increase in his.

Other Suggested Items
 * TP Wing
 * Dark Staff or Pluto's Staff
 * Vile Elixir
 * Vile Elixir +1
 * Melon Pie +1

Here is the basic premise - Stoneskin and Blink upon entering the fight. Run in and Dispel Maat and pop off Sleep II. Maat will buff himself the moment the fight starts and you don't want to throw Sleep II with Blink up. When he's asleep, toss on Gravity and Silence (yes Silence does work and with the higher MND of Elvaan, this is easy to achieve). Eat up your TP wing and bash Maat with a WS (your call but wouldn't recommend Shining Blade). Throws Sleep II again and move back. Now you can move into nuke/sleep/gravity mode as much as possible. Don't forget Bind. While Bind is broken if Maat is attacked or nuked, if you can't get Sleep II or Sleep to stick, this is a good alternative with Silence active. Nuke/sleep until you have to pop a Vile Elixir and keep going.

Why does this work? Elvaan and Galka run out of MP fast while STR/ATK base is above average, thus this needs to be used to have an edge over Maat. You'll also find that Maat becomes super Sleep Resistant after the first few casts. If you don't have Maat down to 40% life by the time Sleep is resistant, the fight is over and you're a corpse. By allowing a WS to be used not only is there a conservation of MP, and refreshing during attacks, you can keep Maat busy without having to sleep him.

Why isn't Chainspell used? It comes down to MP. By the time an Elvaan or Galka buffs up and sleeps Maat the first time, 30-40% of the MP is out. Even with Elixir's, the MP is used up fast. Thus, using TP moves and keeping him bound/gravity/silenced reduces the cost of MP needed to attack and defend. Increase of INT is very useful for these debuffs. If you feel the need to Chainspell have at it. Shoot for 40-35% HP on Maat before making your move. If you know the ways of Elvaan and Galka BLM spells, then you're aware of how often enemies will resist. Thus the Chainspell method can be a complete bust.

The Thorough Blitz Method
Everybody who chooses RDM as their first job will be living in plain blissful ignorance while they climb to level 65; the rate of invites making it quite easy. Upon hitting 66, though, it hits you in the head that you have to fight your worst enemy: an insanely overpowered you.

First and foremost, don't try the fight at 66. Don't even try it until level 70; you'll need all the enfeebling and elemental skill you can get. When you do finally hit level 70, make sure that you take your gear and haul over to the Qulun Dome. It's time for the pre-fight. This is probably the second most important time of all. You're going to need to be trained. You have to kill like a Black Mage and survive like a Paladin when you fight the old codger.

Your target is the Ruby Quadav, your new favorite playmate. After you get to him, you'll notice that there are two friends accompanying him. You have two options here: Buff up and aggro them all, and zone out quickly only to run in with probably half your buffs and have to fight an angry, and probably fully buffed, Ruby. The other, slightly wiser method is to wait for the other two other Quadavs to turn their backs and for the Ruby to be near the entrance to the entrance strip. The next thing is to pull him, fast.

Your spell of choice this fight is Silence. If he stands around to cast a spell, you'll probably end up fighting all three Quadavs at once. If you do get Ruby alone, run back a few feet until he's out of linking range and then Sleep him. If Sleep fails, on to Sleep 2, and then Sleepga if all else fails. You'll now want to dispel him. This takes a ludicrously long among of time on occasion, but do not stop dispelling until he's done. Sleep him as needed.

Alright, so you're ready for Ruby now. Make sure Stoneskin and Blink are up, as well as Refresh. It's time to go trigger happy. Launch Aero III at him and then immediately put him back to sleep. Keep him silenced at all times. If you're Elemental Skill is capped you should be able to easily take out around 10% of his HP in a single nuke. As he's asleep rest for 20-40 seconds, and launch the next nuke. Repeat, over and over.

Hey, no one ever said it was an exciting fight. When Ruby is dead, you may get a Test. If not, oh well; go kill another Quadav nearby and make yourself feel better. They drop some nice loot anyway. Ruby respawns in around 16-20 minutes after his previous death; plenty of time to kill his chums and rebuff.

When you finally have your Test, it's time to prepare. After many-and I mean more than some of the most horrid records ever-I had realized that they way to go was with a Moldavite Earring, and then an MP set mostly. I used two Electrum Ring, one Phantom Earring, my handy Marine M Gloves, my AF Hat, Body, and Pants, my Red Cape +1, a Qiqirn Sash, a Beak Necklace, a Bugard Strap +1, and my Custom M Boots. If you're not a human, substitute the RSE with similar pieces.

Also, prepare well, but not over-prepared. Then you get nervous easily. Get a friend with a cooking skill above 60, and have him make you Mulsums. Two stacks should be more than enough. Buy him the ingredients, it's cheap. When you have that, buy yourself a Marron Glace for your food. It's all about the MP. I also brought 4 Hi-Potion +2 with me. Go to the Gardens on Darksday-make sure you get there before 18:00 or so to give yourself ample time-give Maat your test, and be transported to your Burning Circle. Eat your food, rest to full.

Give yourself a pat on your back for making it this far. Have your friends cheer you on. You're ready for this monster. Trade the test, watch it tear, and run yourself up to the ledge of the arena; particularly do it as fast as possible. Start spamming your Sleep macro and get Maat to take his midday nap. As soon as that's done, cast Stoneskin, Blink, Refresh, and Phalanx. You will not need more than that.

This is were the Mulsums come in. They're extremely useful for quick MP since they have no side effects. I used six of them after I buffed. Sleep was a fair amount of time in, so I decided it was time to finish the fight. It's time to unleash the handy dandy Chainspell. As soon as it's used, make sure you start your nuking. In the midst of the nukes, I also got a Gravity and a Bind to stick. He'll hit you a fare bit through this, so be sure to cast Stoneskin and Blink as soon as needed while Chainspelling.

Pummel him, buff yourself. Time yourself though: 48 seconds into Chainspell, or when you hit below 200 MP, you should put all of your focus into getting him back to sleep. When he's asleep, rebuff yourself fully.

Convert, use one Cure IV and your hi-potions, run a little bit away from him, and get ready for the final shots. He should definitely be below 45% by now if you didn't have to go too buff crazy. You should have near full MP; any you don't have, use your Mulsums to get a fair bit back. Nuke him, sleep him, and rest.

Repeat that once or twice, and you should be done. Congratulations, because you just won the widely-agreed hardest Maat fight in the game. If the strategy worked as well for you as well as it did for me, you'll also have walked out with nearly full HP and decent MP. This isn't a time breaker, though; it'll take you 3:30-4:15 minutes. Still, that's good enough in anyone's book.

Strategy for Elvaan Red Mages
Suggested Items:


 * HP Restorer - Hi-Potion +3
 * MP Restorer - Vile Elixir +1
 * Food - Melon Pie +1
 * Optional - Intelligence Potion

Suggested Gear
 * Weapons - Pluto's Staff, Auster's Staff, Aquilo's Staff - What I used (borrowed) but NQ will probably work.
 * Sub Weapon - Bugard Strap +1
 * Ammo - Phantom Tathlum
 * Head - Warlock's Chapeau
 * Body - Warlock's Tabard
 * Hands - Warlock's Gloves
 * Legs - Warlock's Tights
 * Feet - Wood F Ledelsens / Wood M Ledelsens (if another race, use whatever gives most INT+)
 * Neck - Grandiose Chain (What I used, but there are better items.)
 * Earrings - Moldavite Earring & Insomnia Earring
 * Rings - Hale Ring & Ether Ring
 * Back - Lamia Mantle
 * Waist - Qiqirn Sash (What I used, but there are better items, if you can afford them.)

Macros:

Note: Be sure to to include staff changes for the spells, in coordanence with their element.


 * First Line - Sleep, Sleep II, Bind, Paralyze, Aero III, Convert, Chainspell, Dispel
 * Second Line - Hi-Potion +3, Vile Elixir +1, Refresh, Stoneskin, Blink, Protect IV & Shell IV

This strategy is best used on Darksday, must be LV.69 or higher. Enfeebling Magic needs to be capped, Elemental Magic being capped is not required, but at least 180+ recommended.

Eat food before entering the BCNM. Once inside cast Refresh, Protect IV, Shell IV, Stoneskin, Blink, and then heal MP to full. If you are using INT. Potion, use now. Once full MP, run towards Maat and cast tier one elemental magic spells until his Blink effect is gone, and then Sleep II him, using Pluto's Staff. Dispel him until it has no effect, and then cast Aero III. Sleep II > Aero III until your MP is down to roughly 100. Sleep II him again, recast Stoneskin, if you haven't already, and then Convert.

Spam your Hi-Potion +3's until full HP. It takes 7-9 Hi-Potion +3 for an Elvaan, depending on how low you let your MP get, before Convert. Once your HP is full, cast Bind, Paralyze, and then use Chainspell. Nuke Maat with Aero III and try to keep Paralyze and Bind on him. He will use Chainspell while your 2hr is still going. Paralyze can interrupt his spellcasting, and Bind keeps him from getting close and using Asuran Fists on you. Asuran Fists can do anywhere from 100-1200+ damage to you, and as far as I can tell, goes through Stoneskin. He also tends to use it several times in a row, until you're dead.

Sleep II not required while you are nuking him. While it is tempting to mash the Aero III macro, pay attention to how much MP you have. Use as much as you feel is safe, Sleep II Maat, then use the Vile Elixir +1. Vile Elixir +1 is instant HP and MP regain, which is extremely important, since Chainspell lasts for only one minute. Once MP restored, cast Aero III until Maat is dead. Keep Paralyze and Bind on him, because its not hard to get killed once he is free. You should defeat him before 2hr is gone.

I highly suggest using HQ Wind, Dark and Ice Staffs in his strategy, because the added boost really does help with spells sticking, as well as Aero III damage. My Aero III damage went up from 120-280 to 350-420 per hit, once I started using the HQ staff, instead of the NQ one. With HQ Dark Staff, Sleep and Sleep II both stuck without fail, and with HQ Ice Staff, Paralyze and Bind stuck, and stuck longer than with NQ Ice Staff.

In addition to the above gear, I would like to add the following:
 * Sub: Dark Grip Converts 20 HP to MP Dark Elemental Magic Accuracy +2 (macro with staff)
 * Sub: Wind Grip Converts 20 HP to MP Wind Elemental Magic Accuracy +2 (macro with staff)
 * Hands: Cobra Gloves HP +18 MP +18 "Magic Atk. Bonus" +2 "Conserve MP" +3 (WoTG rare/ex)
 * Neck: Spider Torque Enfeebling magic skill +5
 * Crimson Jelly MP +12% Intelligence +6 (Cooking level 88)

Another RDM Maat Strategy
As almost everyone else here has said, and as you've no doubt heard... RDM Maat is one of the hardest-if not THE hardest-Genkai 5 fight in the game. This strategy led me to a 1/5 record against him, and on the win, a record-breaking time of just over 4 minutes (Asura server) and walking out with 100% health.

No reason to go in as anything lower than 70, you'll most likely need the extra 6 enfeebling skill and 5 elemental skill as compared to 69, when most people go to beat him. If you know anyone that has the HQ elemental staves (at the very least, Dark and Wind) borrow them.

My gear when I beat him:
 * Weapon: Nearly full set of HQ ele-staves, graciously lent to me by my LS ldr ^^
 * Grip: Bugard Strap +1 (Extra INT + 10 MP? Sold)
 * Ammo: Phantom Tathlum
 * Head: Warlock's Chapeau
 * Neck: Beak Necklace
 * Earrings: Antivenom Earring and Cunning Earring
 * Body: Warlock's Tabard
 * Hands: Marine M Gloves (Obviously only if you're Hume, replace as needed for INT and/or MP)
 * Rings: Wisdom Ring and Zircon Ring (+6 INT altogether)
 * Back: Red Cape +1
 * Waist: Qiqirn Sash
 * Legs: Warlock's Tights
 * Feet: Custom M Boots (couple extra INT)

Meds I used were:
 * Intelligence Potion (+10 INT, Medicated effect, doesn't affect other meds for this fight)
 * Melon Pie +1
 * Yagudo Drink x2 (didn't wanna bother with Refresh, that's 40 MP)
 * Vile Elixir +1 (Expensive, but it's like a level up in a bottle)

I went with sort of a mix between gung-ho and playing it safe. Run in immediately, Sleep him, debuff anything he had time to put up, run to MAX range, start buffing yourself, then nuke him. If you can land Gravity, you might have time for Aero III and maybe Stone III, my Gravity got resisted though. Sleep him and repeat as necessary till you run nearly outa MP. Sleep him, make sure it lands and run like hell. Convert OR pop yer VE+1, Cure if necessary to bring your HP at least to white and rebuff. Chainspell spam Aero III and Water III, it seemed like he built up a resistance to the same nuke over and over to me. Sleep him if he pops Chainspell, which he probably will. Use whichever of Convert or VE that you didn't use before and finish him. Hopefully, by this time, he'll be about 33% ish so one or two nukes will beat him ^^. Keep calm through the fight, make sure your macros are appropriate for your spells and meds (i.e. not using an Ice Staff for Aero nuking, and making sure they ALL work before you go into the fight). And don't worry yourself if you do lose. RDM is a difficult job to beat the old man with. Yondaime86 17:46, 16 June 2008 (UTC)

Elvaan RDM 75 "all-in" strat (No meds used)
Equips:


 * Head warlock's Chapeau
 * Neck Beak Necklace +1
 * Ears Loquacious Earring, Moldavite Earring
 * Body Warlock's Tabard(for enfeeb), Royal Redingote (MACC & MATT for nukes)
 * Hands Errant Cuffs
 * Rings Diamond Ring, Ether Ring
 * Back Rainbow Cape
 * Waist Penitent's Rope
 * Legs Jet Seraweels
 * Feet Errant Pigaches
 * Ammo Phantom Tathlum
 * Sub Staff Strap
 * Main ele staffs, all NQ except for Aquilo's Staff

Used Melon Pie +1

This fight was pretty forward. Went in and buffed myself, Prot, Shell stoneskin, blink, phalanx, haste, aquaveil and refresh, then rested to full. As soon as I got close enough I immidieatly used Chainspell and started to spam Blizzard III, he had blink up which absorb 2 of my spells. About the same time I ran out of MP Maat used his Chainspell, so I slept him to be able to safetly convert. While he was sleeping I reapplied stoneskin and blink and put para on him, made sure I had almost full HP and waited til I thought his 2 hr were gone. Since my Chainspell was gone I started to alter between Blizzard III And Aero III. After about 2-3 spells he gave up. I had a Vile Elixir and a Vile Elixir +1 with me just in case, but never needed to use them.

I finished the fight with full HP (None of his spells or melee hit got a chance to hit me once) and little over 200 mp. I had about 800 MP when I entered (8/8 MP merits)

Fight was over in 4 minutes 46 sec.

Good luck! Zanno of Carbuncle

--~-~Zanno~-~ 16:38, December 20, 2009 (UTC)

Another Maat Tactic ~ Elvaan Red Mage LVL 70
Items:
 * HP Restorer – I didn’t use one, so I deem the use of cure potions unnecessary, but bring 1 or 2 along to be safe – Hi-Potion +3
 * MP Restorer – Yagudo Drink / Mulsum / Hi-Ether (bring 4) / Pro-Ether +1 This is the order for my macros and also the order of use during battle.
 * Food - Cream Puff
 * Optional - Intelligence Potion but be careful of using this if you plan on using a Pro-Ether +1 as I did because the INT. Potion will give you a 15 minute Medicated effect, which will disallow you from using the Pro-Ether +1. I used the Pro-Ether +1 because it was cheapest at only a 4k cost and rendering 280mp to your MP gauge.

Gear (2 sets for course of action taken)


 * Weapons – With capped elemental magic / enfeebling magic skill, HQ staffs aren't needed. If you are capped, Wind Staff & Dark Staff will suffice.
 * Sub Weapon - Bugard Strap +1
 * Ammo - Phantom Tathlum
 * Head - Warlock's Chapeau
 * Legs NOTE – As you read below, you will find that I did not use my Warlock’s Tights for battle. The tights were only switched in while using cure and buff macros.

Enfeebling Gear (INT is most important for Elvaans, so do not worry about the lack of MP)

NOTE: The 1st item listed for each body part is what I had equipped during battle, and the Inspiration behind the gear chosen was the desire to save gil.


 * Body - Warlock's Tabard
 * Hands – Magna Gauntlets / Magna Gloves or Wood Gloves / Wood Gauntlets
 * Legs – Magic Cuisses
 * Feet – Magna M Ledelsens / Magna F Ledelsens or Wood F Ledelsens / Wood M Ledelsens
 * Neck – Spider Torque / Enfeebling Torque
 * Earrings - Cunning Earring / Phantom Earring x2
 * Rings - Zircon Ring x2
 * Back - Red Cape +1 / Red Cape
 * Waist - Royal Knight’s Belt / Forest Stone / Forest Rope

Nuking Gear
 * Body - Northern Jerkin / Magna Jerkin / Blue Cotehardie

NOTE: (Northern Jerkin was used over Magna Jerkin because 6 points for wind damage gained is better than 1 point of INT)
 * Hands – Magna Gauntlets / Magna Gloves or Wood Gloves / Wood Gauntlets
 * Legs – Magic Cuisses
 * Feet – Magna M Ledelsens / Magna F Ledelsens or Wood F Ledelsens / Wood M Ledelsens
 * Neck – Elemental Torque
 * Earrings - Moldavite Earring & Cunning Ring / Phantom Earring
 * Rings - Zircon Ring x2
 * Back - Red Cape +1 / Red Cape
 * Waist - Royal Knight’s Belt / Forest Stone / Forest Rope

The Battle Strategy Upon being teleported to the BC, I used a cream puff then, entered the BC. I Stoneskin & Blink buffed after trading Red Mage Testimony then, I ran to Maat to Bind him (I believe I was able to bind him on the 1st try because he was not allowed a chance to get his Blink buff up). There is no need to waste MP on Protect4 & Shell4. As learned while battling Ruby Quadav, you cannot always start the battle off with sleep due to the Ruby’s buffs of Stoneskin, Shell, and sometimes Blink. Binding Maat 1st forced Maat to attack me with magic, which your Stonskin & Blink can handle. While he’s attacking you magically, you are given the time to at least de-buff him (uninterrupted) of his Stoneskin, Shell, & Protect/Blink if you can get in a 3rd Dispel before he is unbound. I was fortunate that he was not Blink buffed, so the Stoneskin, Shell, & Protect was all I had to worry about.

After I hit him with 2-3 Dispels, Maat was unbound & ran to me and knocked off my Stoneskin. If you use this strategy, the same may happen to you, but do not panic! You can still sleep him. You may have to time his punches so that your sleep spell isn’t interrupted. I didn’t wait for that though because I had gotten immediately nervous. Anyway, with the simple gear I had equipped & capped enfeebling magic, Maat did not once resist my Sleep2 spell throughout the duration of the battle. Once Maat has been slept, use your Yagudo Drink, hit him with another Dispel to be sure there is nothing left on him then, Stoneskin buff and Blink buff.

ATTACK!!!!! ^^ (excitement) This is where I really got nervous, so try your best to stay calm. If you have to, scroll through your macros to be sure you know where everything is just in case you panic – it’ll help to keep you from going all over the place. You have all the time in the world because Maat didn’t wake up from my Sleep2, so be sure to gather yourself.)

Run the necessary distance to keep away from Maat, Bind (& Gravity if you feel it's necessary) him once distance is gained, press your gear macro for nuking, and hit him with Aero3. Be quick and hit your enfeebling macro then, Sleep2. My Bind stuck really well guys. Maat didn't get a chance to hit me after the 1st time at the top of the battle, so if you are equipped the same as I was, your Bind spell should act in your favor too.

Restore your MP with a full stack of mulsum (stack gives 120mp INSTANTANEOUSLY), and a Hi-Ether.

Be certain you have enough distance, Bind Maat, nuke macro, and Aero3. Next, quickly hit your enfeebling macro & Sleep2. After each strike to Maat, be sure to keep an eye on your MP, Stoneskin & Blink buffs because you will definitely be assaulted by Maat either by his hands or his magic if he is still bound, so make sure your buffs are active after each round on Maat. Keep up with your Blink shadows in your chat log.

By this time my mp was down, so I converted & used Cure3 then, Cure4. I don’t know how most may feel about this but to me it didn’t matter when Chainspell was to be used, so I used my Chainspell right after I Converted.

My Aero3 hits (6 in total plus the 1st hit at the top of the battle that only hit Maat for 183 damage   -_-. I don’t understand how that happened since he was totally debuffed.) were damaging Maat for 360+.

After my Converted mp was done, I had to sleep Maat again 1 last time because his HP was not done >_> which helped me understand why you don’t use Chainspell anytime you want to heh ^^;;... unless you have extra MP items to compensate.

Anyway, geezer Maat was slept then, used my Pro-Ether +1, and shot another Aero3 at him and won the battle within 7mins & 22seconds ON MY 1ST TRY AT MAAT^^ *breathes a sigh of relief* I don’t believe I’ll ever forget that number

In case all this looks confusing while being read, here’s a battle grid:

Battle Plan Grid 1. Cream Puff once Maat teleports you to BC (start off in your enfeebling gear)

2. Trade Testimony to BC

3. Stoneskin & Blink buff IMMEDIATELY. Be sure you know where these buttons are for quick succession

4. Run & Bind Maat

5. Dispel as many times possible before he rushes you & however long your HP can withstand

6. Sleep2 (Breathe if you have to after Maat is slept)

7. Check MP so you’ll know the next 2-3 moves you can make

8. Gather distance, Cure(if necessary), buff up(if necessary) Bind, Nuke gear macro, & Aero 3

9. Enfeeble macro & Sleep2 (Repeat Step 8 after step 9 if your MP will allow it)

10. Mulsum (1 full stack or 2 if available on AH -_- these are hard to get) & Hi-Ether (I purchased a Hi-Ether Tank from the AH, so before the battle I collected 4 Hi-Ethers from my tank)

11. Check status of buffs

12. Check your distance from Maat, Bind, Nuke gear macro, Aero3

13. Convert here if deemed necessary, but if you can manage another Aero3 & Sleep, use up the mp on Maat then, Convert. You may Chainspell here after Converting. Or you can damage Maat a bit more & Chainspell for the last final blows.

14. Repeat the process of buffing, curing, sleeping (check your status while Maat is slept), binding, & attacking. You will know when to use the Pro-Ether +1. You may not need to use it if you bring HP potions to keep from using mp to cure. I found the HP potions useless because a Hi-Potion +3 only gives you 130HP >.> But if you do decide to use it then, worry not for the Medicine Effect for it only last for 2 seconds after Hi-Potions have been used.

Keys to success are: 1. Dark & Wind Staff being used with the appropriate spell, so be sure they are macro’d with spells used.

2. INT was over 80 at a total of 86

3. Vana'diel weekday: Darksday

4. The right food and potions to give you the results you need.

5. Elemental & Enfeebling Magic Skill CAPPED!!! (Very Important)

6. Stopped myself from panicking! If you know you are the type of person to get nervous from battling strong mobs then, after you sleep him the 1st time take a couple of seconds to breathe. Panicking will cause you to press anything & just may cause you to forget to check your MP & what action to take next.

7. I recommend fighting Ruby Quadav many times over because it helps you to become comfortable fighting another RDM and building a strategy of your own. The strategy I’ve used on Maat is what I found necessary at times while fighting Ruby because it could not always be slept until removing those darn magic-resist buffs. Go fight Ruby Quadav alone as RDM/THF. You are going to be alone during the Maat fight, so go alone for the Ruby Quadav fight with /THF because you will not have the liberty to use any mage subs for Maat – this can be a confidence booster. If you don’t have a THF subjob to assist you then, bring someone who is a THF & instruct them not to assist you during battle. If you bring someone as a THF then, use a melee sub like MNK or WAR if it is not leveled. If those two jobs are leveled then, use the lowest non-mage job you have available. Also, be sure you bring along your INT gear like sub Bugard Strap, P. Tathlum, INT Earrings & Rings, and cream puffs. You can fight Ruby in your full RDM AF.

8. As corny as it sounds >_>' believe you can do it. If you know you have all of the accessories needed (skill, gear, potions, & experience soloing tough mobs *COUGH-RUBY-COUGH*) then, you have no reason to believe that "RDM-Maat is the hardest". It will not be the hardest if you've learned what you could while fighting Ruby and other Even Match mobs with the Sleep & Nuke tactic; that's why I've said: Fight Ruby many times over, to develop a comfort zone. You will hear many stories of people saying that their Sleep2 just wouldn't stick, and so forth. If those things happened to them then, trust me, they were lacking some type of gear they needed, weren't fighting on Darksday, or Maat was not fully de-buffed.

I won't call myself an RDM expert in the least, but I do not believe my victory was luck because I was prepared. Another way to prepare is to check out the battles of RDM-Maat uploaded on youtube.

HUGE Ruby Quadav NOTE: I don’t know if what I’m about to impart is common knowledge, but going alone can be a bind if you don’t know how to use the zone to your advantage. I would Silence-pull the Ruby Quadav & 90% of the time, Darksteel & Sapphire Quadvas were on its heels >.> so be sure you are fully buffed. Allow the Quadavs to catch up to you next to the zone, then you zone. Zone back into Qulun Dome IMMEDIATELY, and Ruby will still be there (still silenced) waiting for you without its pals Darksteel and Sapphire.

Kairenai of Vana'diel World: Phoenix

Maat Fight A Mithra Approach
Suggested Items
 * Vile Elixir +1
 * Melon Pie +1
 * Hi-Potion x5
 * Pro-Ether
 * Mulsum (one stack)
 * Yagudo Drink x2

I only used the melon pie +1, the stack of mulsum, yagudo drinks and the hi potions after I converted. Everything else was just situational depending how the fight progressed.

Gear Used
 * Weapons - Dark Staff, Light Staff, Wind Staff
 * Sub Weapon - Bugard Strap +1
 * Ammo - Phantom Tathlum
 * Head - Warlock's Chapeau
 * Body - Warlock's Tabard
 * Hands - Warlock's Gloves
 * Legs - Warlock's Tights
 * Feet - River Gaiters
 * Neck - Enfeebling Torque
 * Earrings - Antivenom Earring & Insomnia Earring (A Moldavite Earring and Phantom Earring would work nicely here, I forgot to bring mine when I fought him)
 * Rings - Zircon Ring & Zircon Ring
 * Back - Red Cape +1
 * Waist - Penitent's Rope

It is very important to have your enfeebling magic capped or very close to capped. This will help you land your sleeps more often. To increase your chances of sleep sticking go on a dark day. When you start this fight there are two general ways to approach it, either buff up first (i.e. protect, shell, stoneskin, etc) sleep, dispel then nuke/sleep or sleep, dispel, buff then nuke/sleep. Both paths will normally yield the same resutls. For my battle, I chose to sleep right away. The advantage of this path is to have Maat with as few buffs as possible, giving you more mp for nukes and sleep rather then dispels. You should have macros for the following spells to have the battle go smoothly. Sleep, Sleep II, Aero III (or other Tier III spell), Convert, Dispel, Bind (just in case both sleep fail, this is your last chance of stopping him)

The only buffs that I casted on myself were Stoneskin, and Blink. Casting Protect IV and Shell IV are not necessary, they will just consume your mp. It will take about 6 Aero III's to take down Maat, so plan your fight accordly to that. He will use Chainspell after you hit him with the second or third Aero III, at this point, you should sleep him and let his Chainspell wear off, and dispel whatever affects he casted on himself. I did this at level 69 red mage, he did not resist any of my sleeps, he did however absorb my initial Sleep II. This is where having Sleep macroed comes in handy.

Do not lose hope if you don't beat him on your first try. Beating Maat is almost completely dependent if you can land the sleep spells. I went into this fight with about +23 INT (not counting food), if you have around that amount you should have no problem beating him with the sleep/nuke method.

Red Mage Maat Strategy
This is a hard fight but just stay calm. What you need is as much INT you can. Get INT food and INT potion if needed. Don't worry about MP, you want your spells to stick. Start out casting Sleep (or Sleep II if Sleep doesn't land) then Dispel and buff yourself. Bind Maat and cast Aero III, then Sleep him again. Heal up a little, use your meds, etc then Bind/Gravity/nuke/Sleep again until you win. I had no trouble on him and didn't even need to Chainspell. I converted when he was at 60% even though I had enough MP to finish him but did it just incase. He only hit me once for 63 damage and that was because my Bind timer wasn't up. The fight last less than 4 minutes.

Red Mage Taru Strategy
This fight is not as hard as everyone says as long as you are prepared. I went in with Auster's staff and Pluto's staff. Because I am Taru i had enough mp so i stacked up on int+ gear. I went in immediately ran to Maat and slept him before he could buff, stoneskin and blinked myself then chainspell aero III until I had just enough mp to sleep, slept him, converted and aero III again until dead. Was very easy! When my stoneskin wore i would recast and because of chainspell it didnt interrupt anything. Killed him in 2 minutes on my first try and lived with 400 hp. Just in case things went bad i made a cure IV  macro so i could chainspell cure myself. You should still make this just in case but i only used it when i converted. Good Luck!!

RDM Maat Strategy
I'm a Mithra on Shiva server who has attempted several different strategies on this page. Each worked some in their own way, but I finally had to make one that worked for me the best. I figured I'd share incase it could help others. I went 1 out of 8 on this fight before I finally found a strategy that worked for me. Keep in mind this is just merely a guide that worked for me. Each RDM may find their own way that works and I wish them the best of luck!

Tips


 * First off before you go in make sure you have Enfeebling Magic capped atleast. That will help greatly in this fight. I'd highly recommend also capping Elemental for your nuking, and Enhancing for your buffs but but thats up to you. In this fight you'll need all the help you can get.


 * I suggest going in at 70 since once again you need all the help you can get from your magic skills.
 * Setup your macros and practice them before going in. My first mistake on the first fight was never practicing them. I went in and freaked out and couldn't figure out where any of them were at. Also make sure to check that you did them correctly xD. 2nd mistake was I forgot to check and my Sleep II macro didn't work.


 * I recommend practicing on the Ruby Quadav. Now keep in mind the fight with him and the fight with Maat will be entirely different in some ways. You're expected to silence Ruby, where you can't with Maat. Theres also no time limit and you can use a sub job. But nonetheless its a chance to practice and understand the sleep/nuke method. It also helps to learn your timing in spells. Basically all your doing is going in, putting on Stoneskin, Blink, Phalanx, and Refresh. Then you cast on Ruby Quadav, and run near the zone because more than likely you'll link the other 2 in that area. If so just sleep Ruby near the zone and then run through. When you go back, he'll be there and the others will either go back to the area they were in or will have disappeared. Either way as long as you keep Ruby in the hallway your safe from aggro. Now you silence him, bind him, paralyze, nuke, and sleep. And just repeat that process over and over. Once you get the hang of it you'll finally be able to understand the sleep / nuke method. And best part about practicing on Ruby is that you get a chance of a Testimony dropping!
 * When going to fight Maat you should try and go in on Windsday to effect your nuking. Now you can go any day you want, and I know plenty of RDMs who have won on various other days. Windsday will improve your Nukes and Gravity more. I won on a Windsday.


 * If you want to quickly get a testimony, head to sky if you have access and take a level 75 friend (THF helps). The sprinklers there drop testimonies like crazy.

Macros: These are the macros I went with that worked for me best.

Line 1:Light Staff Macro, Wind Staff Macro, Dispel, Bind, Paralyze, Aero 3, Slow, Stoneskin, Sleep, Sleep II

Line 2:Stone Staff Macro, Blink, Chainspell, Convert, Dark Staff, and Gravity

Each the spells above I made sure had a staff to go with them. And I made seperate staff macros so I could switch out to rest or cure myself.

Items: Now the items you choose to use are up to you. I tried various items each of my fights and had some amount of success with each. For the most part I used Melon Pie +1, but I also tried out Apple Pie +1, and a Cream Puff. Both worked well for me. I also tried out various potions. Each worked but problem I had with ones like Hi-Elixirs where that they take too long to use. In the time your waiting for it to work, Maat could wake up and hit you. So in the end I went with an Vile Elixir +1. Its 30k on my server, but it was well worth it. Also Intelligence Potions are handy and relatively cheap. Yagudo Drinks are useful, but keep in mind they don't stack with your Refresh spell and only last 3 minutes.

Equipment: Ice Staff, Wind Staff, Earth Staff, Light Staff, Dark Staff (Using HQ Staves can help especially the Wind and Ice)
 * Raptor Strap +1
 * Phantom Tathlum
 * Warlock's Chapeau
 * Enfeebling Torque
 * Moldavite Earring
 * Phantom Earring
 * Warlock's Tabard
 * Cobra Cuffs
 * Genius Ring
 * Hale Ring
 * Red Cape +1
 * Penitent's Rope
 * Warlock's Tights
 * River Gaiters

How to beat up an evil old man:

Now first I want to say before you start this fight, don't worry if you lose. If you do, that doesn't make you a bad RDM. It took me 8 attempts before I finally won. And out of those fights 4 of them he killed me so fast that I didn't even have time to blink. As I said before, practice with your macros and try and go in as calm as possible. Also, tell your LS buds and all your friends your doing this, just because their support will help during the fight. If it wasn't for my friends I'd given up on the fight after the 5th death. I had good friend's that backed me up and kept me cheered up and gave me a reason to keep going and trying.

Now, before going into the actually area of the fight you can go ahead and eat your food. All other buffs will disappear when you trade your testimony, but your food wont. As soon as you go in, run up to the edge where you can see him buff. He wont attack you or aggro so your safe to stand and buff near him. While watching him, cast refresh, stoneskin, blink, and phalanx. It's important to see what buffs he puts on. Now your more than welcome to sleep him and then buff, but my reason for never trying was the fear that if he had blink on, or just resisted my sleeps then I'd be without any buffs to keep me from dying. If he does have blink on, just cast something quick like Fire til its off. Never use any DoT's such as Dia. Also never use silence on him. The last thing you want is Maat to spend most the fight chasing you down trying to melee you. Also make sure to keep a good amount of distance between the 2 of you during this process as if he does wake up it gives you time to re-apply any spells. After you sleep him, make sure above all else to dispel off his Shell 3, Stoneskin, and Phalanx. Those 3 are the most important spells you don't want him having.

Now bind him, paralyze him, slow, and gravity as well. If gravity is resisted thats fine, as long as you make sure before nuking that hes bound. The spell has been changed so there is a chance when nuking him that he will become unbound, which is why you need him paralyzed and slowed and hopefully gravity as well. Now throw out Aero 3, and immediatly follow up with a Sleep II. Put back on any buffs if he manage to knock off any and reapply the enfeebles. Repeat the same process 2 more times. Always make sure to keep up blink and stoneskin. On the 3rd time of doing this process make sure you atleast have 200 MP or more. My reason being that Aero 3 costs 106 MP, Sleep II is 29, and Sleep is 19, which totals up to 154 MP and if your sleeps are resisted you need any mp to make sure you can bind him or anything til you can cast sleep again. Also because you'll need some mp left for the next step.

After your 3rd nuke, he should be near 50%. As I said before, make sure hes asleep, bound, and paralyzed. Convert and pop your vile elixir +1 and then throw on a Cure IV. If you have to make sure your buffs are good. Now for the fun part. After your sure all enfeebles are on him and your well buffed, let loose your Chainspell and Aero 3. Now during that process he might become unbound which is why I had my bind macro ready to use and hit if he did. Its also why I had blink and stoneskin macros ready incase he did manage to knock them off I could quickly reapply. You only have to get him down to 15% before he gives in and says just how awesome of a RDM you finally have become.

So congratulations if you did win! You've beaten one the hardest Maat fights in the game. And now you have something worth bragging about to all your friends. And trust me once you do beat the old man you'll want to /dance everywhere.

If you didn't don't worry like I said it doesn't make you a bad player. Just try again til you finally get it. Also a tip, make sure to atleast take breaks in between attempts so you don't wear yourself out trying to beat him, or like me wear out your gil and end up near broke lol.

If you have any questions feel free to ask me on my blog. I hope that this helps. And good luck to those who attempt Maat! --Nindo 09:14, 2 February 2009 (UTC)

RDM Maat Strategy and Outcome
As a lvl 70 rdm taru I had elemental skill 198, enfeebling 252 and dark 180. No merits as this is my highest lvl job, AF gear plus penitents rope, spider torque, phantum tathilum and normal quality staves w/ bugard's grip +1. I ate a creampuff before entering the circle. Planned strategy was a sleep/nuke and all out chainspell effort. I had come close at lvl 66, epic fail on 2nd try at lvl 70 and success on 3rd try at lvl 70. The fight went as follows:

Maat: casts enwater

Cassiusclay: Sleep II, protect IV, shell IV, stoneskin, phalanx, haste, dispel, yagudo drink, Aero III 311 dmg

Maat: Fire II 0 dmg

Cassiusclay: Sleep II, Ether +2, hi ether +1, stoneskin, Aero III 342

Maat: Aquaveil

Cassiusclay: Sleep II, vile elixir +1, convert (finger slip, would have preferred to save this otherwise), cure IV, gravity (resisted), chainspell activated, Aero III 311

Maat: Bind, chainspell activated, Aero III 127

Cassiusclay: Aero III 311

Maat: Thunder II 150

Cassiusclay: Aero III 77

Maat: hits for 98 damage

Cassiusclay: Sleep II, vile elixir, Aero III 311

Maat: Stone III 165

Cassiusclay: Aero III 311 and the win!!!

I did this fight on windsday with 17% moon. Luck clearly plays a large role in this fight, maat wasted several spells on lower tiered nukes or enfeebles that did nothing to slow me down. In my epic fail attempt maat first cast blink, which protected him from my sleep spells. I also was lucky to only have one of my spells resisted which was a nuke for 77 dmg. I finished the fight with 306 hp and 76 mp...not exactly a pwning of Maat, but if convert was used correctly I probably would have had more breathing room. Also, every spell and the vile elixirs were macrod with appropriate staves. I did not use composure. Time was 3 minutes 46 seconds.

Front line Melee setup
I am shocked no one attempted to post a strat for this. Oh well.

This can be done I have defeated maat over 5 times using this strat and 11 times total now on RDM and haven't lost. Unlike contrary belief he doesn't always use asuran fists 3 times in a row, in fact he only did that on my latest attempt.

This is mainly recommend for Galka Elvaan and Hume, this isn't recommended for Tarutaru or Mithra seeing they have very low VIT and STR, however they can also win with this tactic.

This is how you set yourself up:

-Equip yourself like a PALADIN as much vit+ and def+ as possible to make his average attack only deal 50 damage to you.

-Use Tavnazian Tacos

-Bring Echo drops

-Barblizzard and Barparalyze for when he casts paralyze, you don't need barareo for silence as thats what echo drops are for.

-Capped Enhancing skill, this will lower your interruption rate when you cast stoneskin, if you watch my videos on youtube you'll see I rarely get interrupted.

-Make sure he has no buffs at all, doing this may force him to cast buffs instead of nuke or enfeeble you, this is specially noticeable when he casts chainspell as he likes to re-apply stoneskin right away.

-Enter on a day that won't give him an advantage. Lightsday is bad because of what it does to sleep, windsday is also not a great idea due to the threat Areo III can cause you.

-Use equip swap macros! This is mainly for spells like sleep(equipping dark staff), if your enfeebling skill is capped theres no chance he should resist slow at all unless he has haste on. Sleep II however it not worth the resist risk as your life depends on it.

IN this fight its best to ignore his HP bar, doing this will avoid the "OMG 50%!!!" panic. Focus on 3 things only.

1. Your buffs need to stay on. Composure is a VERY bad idea during the fight but try to use it before you charge in, just turn it off when you actually start fighting... you need stoneskins recast as low as possible.

2. Watch what YOU are doing. Don't go overboard trying to throw in a nuke or two it'll waste a lot of MP. Save it for the end when the win is guaranteed.

3. Watch what HE is doing. Pay attention to spells he is casting and for when he chainspells. Chainspell is extreemly simple to deal with, all you have to do is cast Sleep II when he does it and turn around and wait for it to wear off. As for asuran fists, Start running when you see the first one, if you see a second one chainspell and sleep him... its hard to asuran fists you when he is asleep... use that time to recover to full.

This fight is very easy regardless of sleep-nuke, chainspell or melee, the thing you need is capped skills and the ability to solo.

For more information you can watch one of the fights I have posted on youtube and message me there if you wish to know the equipment I used.

For a better example of how this fight should go I have posted two videos please view them for better refrence!

For equipment under level 70 and a better scale for first-timers~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4THI7FJYqQ

A just for fun melee Maat stomp with uncapped equipment~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_gntCsB5SA

RDM Maat Strategy "The easy way" By Lelaela
Ok. If you are tired of loosing or simply do not have all the gill to afford all the special equipment and drinks, this guide is for you. Star by getting a Chocobo jack coat, coast around 20k but once you are done you can simply sale it back on AH. Once you have it go to Bastok Mines and talk to the NPC that rents chocobos untill you get the quest to take the chocobo to Sandy, be sure to be wearing your chocobo jack. Once you get the quest rush your way to Sandy as you only have 20 minutes to compleate and get reward. If you succesfully finish the rase you will receive a Dragon Chronicles a scroll that gives anywhere from 500 to 1000 xp. With this scroll in hand you are ready to figth Maat. If you are any lelvel before 70, get enough XP that will leave you very close to level up, so if you are a level 68 get as close to 69 as you can with out leveling. If you are level 70, get yourself kill, then gaing enough xp back as to leave you close to level up. Get the best gear you can get, this is totaly your call, you do not need any food, drinks or very costly items. Go to the burning circle and trade the test to it. Once inside RUN towards Maat and cast Sleep II. ONLY cast Stoneskin and Shell IV and Dispel him once just to ensure he does not have any beneficial spells on. Now get ready for the show, use your 2 hour Chainspell and wake Maat up with a bolley of your best spells, he will try to do some melee damage but will cougth up to you quick and he will also use Chainspell. When your HP/MP is low USE THE XP SCROLL that you got from the quest and you WILL GAING A LEVEL rigth in the middle of the figth, that means you will get all your HP/MP back and then some. If you do this quick enough Chainspell will still be active so keep pumelling Maat and do your best not to loos control while you laugh your head off Congratullations, you deffeted Maat in his own game.