Royal Jelly (BCNM)/Strategies

Working Job Combinations
This section is not meant to discourage people from trying different combinations, but to illustrate combinations that have been tried and tested. Please feel free to try this BCNM with any combination you think might work, and above all, have fun!

Red Mage or Black Mage or White Mage + DD + DD
One Mage with Stoneskin and a Yagudo Drink with 2 other DD (no job specific requirments. Thief Treasure Hunter is always welcome however) (Have found that if one DD has a white sub this helps in case Mage is out of cure range from Bind)

Strategy:
 * 2 DD start on one side and WS together on jellies #1,2,3
 * Mage stays near edge, but in healing distance to DD's
 * Mage casts Bind, and also, if RDM, Gravity (one each) on Jellys 4,5,6 and rotates so that eventually all jellys (4,5,6) are enfeebled and are kept from reaching the center.
 * When one jelly is left Party does whatever it needs to kill to finish BCNM.
 * Convert may be necessary. Stoneskin is a must for this.
 * Also, if using WHM or BLM, please be sure that Enfeebling Magic is capped when lvl 40.

Strategy Pros:
 * As noted below, DRG excell at this BCNM. Polearms and any other Piercing weapons do extra damage to the Slimes. (When compared to the damage of other weapon types)

Strategy Cons:
 * MNK, while a wonderful DD most of the time, doesn't fare too well against Slimes which have extra resistance to Blunt damage. While it is possible for MNK to participate in this BCNM, you may likely be cutting the time limit rather close. If the MNK has Vampiric Claws which deal Slashing rather than Blunt damage, they will perform acceptably.


 * BLU, on another hand, while not terrible at causing damage in this BCNM, is very hard to keep going until the end because of a particularly limited MP pool.


 * RDM will most likey have to convert at one point in order to keep healing or binding. Depending on the set up they may be able to rest for a while, but this is iffy. Watch out for DoT when about to convert. I've gotten KO'd more than once from having 2 DoT on me and stoneskin wearing.

Making this Strategy Better:
 * A team of DRG, SAM, and RDM work really well on this BCNM. Best way is for the DRG and SAM to kill the jellys together one at a time from left to right, while the RDM casts Bind and Gravity on the jellys from right to left and to heal the other members when needed.


 * Note: I have tried this many times as rdm going counter clockwise binding all the jellies. I was 1/6 with this strategy. Mostly because I'd end up getting hate from alot of jellies and either getting bound (and thus unable to cure DD) or dead.

A better strategy is to focus on the first one or two, keeping them bound, gravitied, and silenced. Then curing when needed. I walked away 4/4.

DRG/WHM + 2x other DDs
I have done this BCNM numerous times. It is my favorite. I have tried it with many different combinations of jobs and I can tell you that I will never, ever, EVER do this BCNM with a mage in the third slot again. 3x DDs is the only way I will do it. Taking a mage presents a number of risks. Their enfeebling spells may be resisted. They have to focus on enfeebling and on healing the party. They take hate from 3 to 4 jellies at once. I am about 50/50 when taking RDMs. I have never won when taking a mage other than RDM. On the other hand, I have only lost twice when taking 3x DDs. Also, all the Princess Jellies have died before reaching the center with this strategy. On the occasions when I lost it was due to an early death and everyone was either KO'd or left the battlefield before the queen jelly formed.

I am a DRG and I sub WHM in order to use Healing Breath to cure the party. The other two DDs can be virtually any other melee DD job, except for MNK. I have never actually tried using a MNK, but I have heard it on good authority that they simply do not do as much damage. I usually take other DRGs, WARs, or DRKs along. If you do not have access to a DRG/WHM, you may consider asking a DRK to sub WHM. A DRG/RDM may work as well. I have tried DRG/BLM before. It did not go so well. The lower natural DEF and the lack of Protect and Shell proved to be a major weakness.

Strategy:
 * Enter the BC, have the DRG/WHM cast Protect and Shell on the party. Use STR food like Mithkabobs or Chiefkabobs.  Heal for MP or use a Hi-Ether to recover MP more quickly.
 * Charge into the arena. I always start with the first one on the right and work around counter-clockwise.  The choice is yours, but make sure the party knows which one to engage.  If you brought Regen drinks such as Pamamas au Lait, use them after you engage.  DO NOT use them at the entrance of the BC.  They don't last very long and they won't do you any good while you're running to the arena.  Yes, I do recommend bringing some.
 * Make sure everyone knows to attack the same jelly at once. You want to bring each one down as quickly as possible so that they can't cast spells on you any longer.  Splitting up to attack different ones will only drag the fight out and get you killed because of the additional spell-casting.
 * I almost always have a WAR/NIN when I go. I have them Provoke the jellies and tank.  Even subbing WHM, my natural Elvaan strength combined with the extra piercing damage means I pull hate otherwise.  Since I am the healer for the party, this can be disastrous.
 * Use TP calls to announce when you're going to use a WS. TP is an invaluable resource in this fight.  With three DDs the jellies don't last too long.  You don't want to use Weapon Skills at the same time when a jelly is near death.  It can be a waste.  Using the TP calls ensures that one of you will be able to save your TP for the next jelly.
 * For the DRG/WHM, use Dia to cure the party as necessary by triggering Healing Breath. Your wyvern should take little to no damage.  The regular jellies do not cast -aga spells.  Even with my Elvaan MP pool, I have never needed Refresh (from a Yagudo Drink or other juice).  You won't have to cure the party that often.  It is better to bring regen drinks and use those to make sure you stay alive to keep the party alive.

Strategy Pros:
 * Having three DDs makes sure that each jelly goes down quickly. There is no need to stall some of them when they all die before reaching the center.
 * Multitasking - having a DD/healer combo is the way to go so you can maximize your damage output.

Strategy Cons:
 * Healing Breath is slow and only triggers when a party member is at 33% HP. This leaves you open to getting one-shotted by a lucky critical hit.  Know what 33% is for each party member.  Try to anticipate when someone is going to get hit and you'll need to cast Dia.  They may get lucky and evade.  That's ok.  You should have plenty of extra Dias left.

Advanced Strategy: --Techno 01:00, 24 October 2006 (EDT)
 * One of the biggest problems newbies to this BCNM have is with the auto-targeting after a jelly dies. Unless you know what you're doing, you almost always lock on to the wrong one.  There are two ways I get around this.
 * The first method is probably the best. Before a jelly dies (around 5%) hit the Switch Target button and tab around to the next jelly in the circle.  Do not change targets yet.  If after the current jelly dies you are not targeting the correct one, hit enter and you'll change to the correct one.
 * This one requires you to know how the game's targeting system works. Imagine a line extending along your line of sight (I'm not sure if this is the camera's line of sight or your character's.  I think it's the camera's line.).  When you auto-target a large group of enemies, the default is for the target to shift to the next enemy clockwise around that line.  So, when you need to target a specific enemy next as in this BCNM, make sure you are positioned so that only the enemy/jelly you want to target is on the right side of the line.

Other Party Set-Ups That Worked Successfully

 * NIN37, DRG40, RDM40 (Averaged 7 minute fight)
 * THF40/NIN, DRK40/NIN, RDM40 (6-7 minute fights) RDM would Bind/Gravity just one slime. Then help with healing(if needed).
 * BST40/WHM20 X3 Always manage to kill them all before becoming queen, never even close to dying.
 * BRD40/WHM20, DRG/WHM X2 Send a drg one to each side with bard standing right in between them with ballad and either melee songs or Paeon. Slowly follow through as drg clear either side together. Keep a straight line! Generally finish off before queen is formed, or with only 2 Jelly making queen. Very safe approach.
 * RDM40/BLM20, DRG40/WAR20, WAR40/NIN20 almost beat the record twice. Won 10 times in a row. Very easy with this setup.
 * BLM40/WHM20, WAR40/NIN20, WAR40/NIN20 Beat the record, as BLM I killed 3 alone, and was almost done with another 2. ~5 minutes, maybe under.
 * DRG40/WHM20 x3 - Unually beat the record when we try (no mp healing after buffs) 3-4mins