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 requirements. 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.
 * Stoneskin is a must for this. Convert may or may not be necessary.
 * Also, if using WHM or BLM, please be sure that Enfeebling Magic is capped when lvl 40.

Strategy Pros:
 * As noted below, DRG excels 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 likely 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, gravitated, and silenced. Then curing when needed. I walked away 4/4.


 * A strategy utilizing White Mage magic defend is to let the white mage run in and cause the monsters to cast spells on the white mage. White mage can resist most of the spell damage with the best Bar-spells such as Barblizzara.


 * Rng/War are particularly powerful using meat dishes such as Rice Dumplings. They only take damage from spells which are significantly less than melee damage so shadows are not needed.


 * Cut down on re-engaging wait time, before a mob dies, click on Switch Target and choose the next target. Once the current target is defeated, quickly click to switch to the new target, before disengage takes effect.

DRAGOON DUO
Strategy: Strategy Pros:
 * Both players should come as DRG/WHM.
 * Both Dragoons should come prepared with Meat Mithkabob and Pamama au Lait. Expect to use 1 Au Lait per fight.
 * Both Dragoons should be reasonably well equipped. Check Dragoon: Guide to Weapons and Armor to make sure you have up to date gear.
 * Both Dragoons should attack the same mob, moving from jelly to jelly consecutively around the room.
 * Cast Dia to restore each others HP when low.
 * Be sure you activate switch target before you kill a jelly and target the next jelly in the sequence to save time.
 * Here is a video walkthrough:
 * Dragoons are the best DD for this BCNM, due to Piercing weapons.
 * Should you get a drop, you'll make more gil since it's divided two ways.

Strategy Cons:
 * While i have never failed, it would be possible for you both to get Bind cast on you repeatedly, which may result in the jellies making the Queen Jelly.
 * Both DRG have to be well geared, as there is very little room for error. This is not a strategy for beginners.
 * Less chances at getting a money drop as you are only using 2x Star Orb.

Making this strategy better:
 * Use your Spirit Surge ability (Making sure that Call Wyvern is available) to get your first big heal, and to amplify your damage considerably. You will need to re-summon your Wyvern once the 2hour wears in order to heal yourself.
 * Bring a RDM with you to go around the room on the opposite side and alternate casting Bind and Gravity, while keeping the DRGs healed. If you do this, have the DRGs sub warrior or samurai. The dragoons do not need to focus on the same jelly.

DRG Duo Revision
Strategy Strategy Pros
 * Sub whatever /mage job you prefer. /RDM and /BLU have worked well for me.
 * You're DRGs, you don't really need the food or drinks, assuming you've rested up and/or are using spells efficiently.
 * Come equipped appropriately. RSE works fine.
 * Concentrate your efforts. Attack one mob at a time simultaneously.
 * Cast whatever appropriate spell you need to at 33% HP. I.e., Dia, Barelement, Power Attack, or Poison.
 * If the last or penultimate Princess Jelly is near the center, throw out a quick Bind to help ensure your success.
 * DRGs do good damage because Piercing (and Slashing) damage are not resisted.
 * There are less people to split the loot with.
 * Even assuming you get bound so often that a Queen Jelly forms, you have Jump and High Jump as last-ditch efforts to take her out, because it is likely that she will be at 1~2% HP.

Strategy Cons
 * Queen Jelly may form and wipe you out.
 * If either of you screw up, there's no coming back.
 * Not quite a con, but you can only do 2 runs per trip, as you only have 2 orbs.

Making this Strategy Better
 * DO bring food and drinks.
 * DO wear the best level-appropriate gear.
 * DO note down each other's 33% point.
 * If both of you are /RDM, you can always bind the last 2 jellies to ensure success.
 * DO try to be /BLU or /RDM, 0.5s cast spells are less likely to be interrupted.
 * DO rest to full even if you did bring drinks.
 * DO line up the mobs in your POV such that /autotarget chooses your next mob correctly. /autotarget tends to choose the next mob that is right (from the 1st Person POV) of your current mob.

--Tengokujin 03:41, 4 September 2008 (UTC)

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

 * WAR/NIN, RNG/WAR, RDM/WHM - Same strategies stated above. Warrior tanks everything, keeping shadows up when possible. Ranger stays away and ranged attacks, which usually deals more damage than the warrior, taking hate off momentarily to allow for easier shadows casting. Overall, the jelly's spells did little damage, mostly concentrating on DoT spells and bind that never stuck for more than 2 seconds on the warrior (or miss on shadows). Any nukes did around 50 damage at most, RDM cured very little, and didn't need to bind/gravity any of the jellies except for the last 1 or 2 in some of the runs. Queen jelly never appeared.


 * 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.
 * DRG40/WHM20 x3 - Unually beat the record when we try (no mp healing after buffs) 3-4mins
 * RNG/WHM DRK/RDM PLD/WAR. - 8 times tried, 8 times successful without the danger of the Queen Jelly. Note* Paladin is the healer/tanker, DRK stunner/binder DD, RNG binder/DD (Shadowstitch/Shadowbind). All 3 jobs have self-healing abilities. RNG can Curaga if it gets a bit hairy. Subbing jobs for damage works too, just bring Hi-potions incase the PLD doesn't have the time to Cure you. Average time (without 2 hours): ~6 minutes
 * SAM/RNG, WAR/NIN, WHM/BLM. - Went 6/6 on fight, SAM/RNG using Polearm and Archery for piercing damage on jellies. WAR/NIN straight DD/tank with dual axes. WHM/BLM healed and erased as need arised. When 1 Jelly remained, enough time was left for WHM/BLM to rest up MP before fighting Queen.
 * DRG/WAR, DRG/WAR, WHM/BLM. - Have never lost the BC in probably close to 100 runs. DRG run in and berserk, split up to left/right, jumps on the first Jelly then just work around the ring to the back. White mage binds one in back and cures the dragoons.
 * x2 DRG/(RDM/BLU/BLM/WHM) works as well, timed right you can use Healing Breath 2x on 1 person, and as long as you both stick to 1 Princess Jelly together you'll have no problem clearing this as a duo, I've done it 30x without a single failure. Record time is 5 mins 14 seconds.
 * DRG/WAR x2, RDM/WHM - I use this strategy every time, and havenever failed. The two DRG go in and fight from left to right together. They should bring a pamama au lait for each fight, and use as soon as they are hit. The RDM keeps them healed, and keeps the slimes bound and gravitized. The DRG should use meat mithkabob and the RDM should use one yag drink per fight. With this strategy you should never lose. :)


 * PLD/WAR, RDM/NIN, WAR/NIN - can successfully defeat this fight before they merge into the Queen Jelly. Highly recommended to have Yag drinks for the RDM and PLD and regen drinks for the PLD and the WAR. You will usually use 1 drink per fight. Have your RDM begin fighting jellies on one side while the PLD and WAR fight jellies on the opposite side and work your way around. Use the Yag drinks for refresh and the regen drinks to counteract any DoT spells cast upon you. Have your RDM concentrate on killing the jellies they are soloing and cast regen on themselves if need be while the PLD heals the WAR and his/herself. Other things to note, having your RDM use pies for extra MP is a bonus but not a requirement depending on which race you are. Also, playing as the PLD, I used bream sushi which seemed to help with tanking and the ability to kill faster. Again, not a "must have" but a "nice to have" in the way of preparation.


 * DD, COR, and a mage (WHM/BLM works, RDM works, BLM/WHM works) - should have little to no trouble killing all Jelly before they reach the center. Have the COR take 4 minutes or so to give full buffs at the start (Evoker's and Healer's to the WHM, Chaos and Hunter's to WAR). After buffing, it's the fairly standard strategy. Simply start going around the circle. The COR and the WAR should focus on killing each Jelly together. COR has the Quick Draw ability, which deals roughly 100-150 in elemental damage, which is very helpful against Jellies. The only problem with this is that each Jelly has an element, so have the COR use Quick Draw on a Jelly which hasn't been hit yet, that way if the element of the attack and the Jelly are the same the Jelly won't be healed. Mage should keep Yagudo Drinks in the event of a bust. The mage should focus on binding as many as possible, as in other strategies. From personal experience, there was one instance when first experimenting with this combo where one Jelly became a Queen, but was easily defeated. You won't break any records using this strategy, given the time taken to buff at the start, but I've yet to see a loss with this set-up.


 * PUP/WAR, PUP/WAR, RDM/WHM - successfuly completed this BCNM three times in a row without needing two-hour abilities. Both PUPs engaged the same jelly while the RDM focused on binding and gravitying the other jellies.  One PUP used a Soulsoother automaton to help heal the party and "tanked" each jelly and the Queen at the end.  The second PUP used a Sharpshot automaton and concentrated on doing as much damage as possible.  A very basic strategy moving from one Jelly to the next trying to kill as many as possible before they reach the center.  Having a few automaton oils for the Sharpshot and bream sushi for the PUPs was a great help.  Each time only 2-3 Jellies made it to the center and the Queen spawned with less than 10% health.  This is a strategy that wins, but don't expect to break any records.


 * RDM/WHM, DRG/WAR, PLD/WAR - have no problem with this BCNM and completed this 9/9 times without two-hour abilities. PLD uses a Polearm capped at 101 and to make things go easier you may want to get a Meat Chiefkabob for extra damage. RDM uses buffs at the start of fight then bind/gravity the first jelly to the right while the PLD and DRG start to attack the first Jelly to the left. The RDM continues to focus on the last few Princess Jelly's to the right while the PLD and DRG move around the area killing each Jelly in a clockwise order. If DRG drops to low health the PLD should easiley be able to cure him. If your DRG has Acc+ rings for 40 Cap he may want to swtich them with the PLD to make the fight smoother.


 * PLD/RDM, SAM/WAR, THF/NIN - rocked this BCNM pretty hard without needing to two-hour at all. All we did was work counterclockwise around going jelly to jelly. The SAM would attack and then voke, allowing the THF to SATA the PLD who attacked and also acted as healer. Every time only one jelly managed to make it to the center and the Queen always spawned with very low health.


 * SMN/WHM x2+ - with two-hour ready. All you have to do is buff, and wait until all jellies are near enough, then cast a random avatar and use the two-hour blood-pact: rage, than you have to cast the avatar of the opposite element (if you casted shiva, now you have to cast ifrit, if you casted garuda, now shiva,...) and use the two-hour ability on the other jellies, and they all are dead.


 * DRG/BLU, DNC/NIN. - We had no problems, died only twice out of ten tries. Used meat jerky/meat mithkabobs, dnc used utsusemi at start, and then charge in killing the jellies. DNC waited until DRG used HB to heal, and erased binds. At the end, with four or so jellies left the dnc began to gravity them. Only problem was if more than three jellies used thunder or blizzard at the same time. 90% of the time we kill all jellies before they reached the center. One time the DRG died with three left, and the DNC managed to kill two and then the third became queen, defeated it just as time ran out, but managed to get utsusemi: ni before we got kicked!


 * DNC/NIN, DRK/WHM, BST/WHM - work very well, 3 fights, all success. Meat mithkabobs for everyone, fungar for bst (or craby work too ).BST was main tank and healed himself, drk healed sometimes, Aspir when he can and bound one or two jelly on the other side of fight.DNC erased Bind ,helped heal and debuff with Quickstep and Desperate Flourish. Some gear mp + can help bst and drk for heal but not critical if you don't have it ^^ yagudo's drink can help too but not necessary again.


 * NIN/WHM, DRG/WHM, RDM/WHM - work very well, 8/8 fights. Meat mithkabobs and Pamama au Lait for everyone. Each solos one, NIN take furtherst right and RDM take the other next to NIN. DRG take furtherest from him. RDM binds one to next his target and gravity the one next to it. RDM silence, blind, paralyze and slow next target for the nin to melee.


 * DRK/NIN, WAR/NIN, DRG/WHM - worked great. 9/9 on wins. First time, had drg solo and WAR/nin and DRK/NIN duo, beat it with drg in the yellow, was a close fight. Next time, did 3v1 and just worked our way around. Drg used dia for healing breath when he was low, and had a few hi-pots, WAR/NIN and DRK/NIN had au lait drinks but didn't need. on the 3v1, DRK can use acid bolts to to speed things up. Set record with 3v1 on mobs. DRK melees (drain as needed or au lait, souleater when halfway around if needed), war uses serk and attacks, drg tanks. Simple, easy fight this way. Note: 2 or 3 hi-pots are a good safety net in case drk or nin gets spells cast on him/her while meleeing as well. Tarumerc 17:33, 11 August 2008 (UTC) Tarumerc on Ifrit


 * WAR/NIN, SAM/WAR, RDM/BLM - worked excellent. 6/6 on wins, setting the record each time (6 minutes). WAR and SAM take left side, SAM is an absolute beast in this BCNM. RDM just slowed them down on the right with Gravity and Bind, never needed to even Convert. If WAR keeps shadows up they will never have a problem, the spells will just get absorbed by shadows. The RDM might need to throw a cure towards the DD later in the fight, but we did the last 3 without ever being cured once. Had Utsusemi: Ni drop twice and Archer's drop once. 16 September 2008 Worlace on Kujata.
 * DRG/DNC, RDM/NIN, NIN/WAR - 3/3 finished every time in less than 9 minutes DRG and NIN work around one side, while RDM binds, gravities, and silences slimes starting on other side. DRG uses Drain Samba and Curing Waltz as needed, using WS when available. NIN uses utsusemi, provoke and WS. This strategy works very well, even if one party member is lower level than 40. (NIN was lv 38) Utsusemi: Ni dropped twice on RDM's orb, other drops included Marksman's Ring x2, Shikar Bow, and Scroll of Refresh. --Unineko 18:14, 30 September 2008 (UTC)


 * DRG/WHM, SAM/DNC, SAM/DNC -Finished this fight smoothly and easily every time, Queen Jelly spawned only once and was killed with one hit. SAMs equipped Great Katanas and used Curing Waltz and Drain Samba, no food was consumed for this fight. DRG37/WHM18 tanked most of Jellies and SAMs threw a cure to the DRG from time to time. I took an Icarus Wing along in case needed, due to SAMs also using WS, but didnt really require it. Utsusemi: NI did not drop ;;. Mana Ring, Marksmans Ring, Refresh Scroll, Himmel being some of the items received. Alos had good fun!! - Updated 8th December 2008*


 * DRG/WHM, SAM/DNC, WAR/NIN This fight went great we did it 3 times with no problems but sam/war might be better also no queens.


 * DRG/WHM, WAR/NIN, BLU,RDM  I also did this fight 3 time got Ni drop Blu spams bind when needed mabey a few cures not really needed had no problem sticking blast bomb bind was a little harder but it went grate with lots of tiem to spair and no queens. updated 12/10/08


 * RNG/NIN, DRK/MNK, WHM/BLM Did it 6 times, died 3 times, survived 3 times. WHM must have some yagudo drinks, Ranged Attack food for RNG, and Attack food for DRK. Killed the jellies clockwise, WHM and DRK using Bind several times. Let one jelly to 10% hp get to the center to increase drop rate (as rumor says). Took us 3 fights to make up good strategy, and then worked fine. 4/01/2009


 * DRG/WHM, DRG/BLM, THF/NIN - Incredibly easy fight. Started from right, all 3 concentrating on one jelly and moving counterclockwise. Finished them off in record time, beating our own record consecutively. Fight lasted little over 5 minutes. This was in synched down gear, and food wasn't really necessary though we brought it anyways. No queens.


 * DRG/DNC, DRG/WAR, RDM/BLM - This set up will make this fight very easy. RDM/BLM goes to the right and only focus on the first 3 jelly's. Gravity the first jelly, then bind the next 2 all the while cast regen and cure on the 2 DRG's. The 2 DRG's will go to the right and fight the jelly's one after the other. Also the DRG's can alternate the jelly's. With this set up I have never seen the Queen Jelly and the RDM will not need any drinks and will not have to use convert. I have done it with this set up at least 20 times and it works everytime. 1/15/09 Buz on Ragnarok.