Gaea's Nyzul Isle Guide

All this talk about fancy new weaponskills has generated a lot of new interest in Nyzul Isle assaults. However, many people are unsure of how to get started, and those who think they have an idea are running into major hurdles in completing five floors within the 30 minute time limit. That's because most people that have tried to dig up information about this event have turned up little or nothing other than the main wiki page. Due to this lack of instruction and direction, Gaea is going to bring you a guide!

Who the hell is Gaea? Who cares, she's got plenty of experience of scaling Runic Discs from 1F to 100F and she's even managed to scale up to 9 floors on a single tag. Let's listen to her she seems to know what she's doing!

= Establishing a Party = You'll want to form a 6 member party that can really get things done quickly in Nyzul Isle. In this assault it isn't just about raw DPS it's also about diversity of resources. A static group that occasionally makes substitutions when a member isn't available for a run will is generally more successful than a random pick-up party. However, well-balanced, pick-up parties with experienced players can be just as successful at completing at least 5 floors.

Balancing your Group
Nyzul Isle isn't a straight forward assault and can throw a lot of different things at you. It's important that you have a balanced party that's prepared for many different scenarios. Having the following will help cover all of your bases.

Provoke
Two things you should have are someone with Provoke, and someone with a ranged attack such as a crossbow, or chakram. There are specific enemies in Nyzul Isle you'll have to grab without using magic or a job ability if you plan to win within a reasonable amount of time. Only one person really needs to have this ability and it can even be a Red Mage with a Lamiabane if necessary, however, a front line job with Utsusemi would be a better choice. Instances where you'll actually need a Ranged Attack option are somewhat uncommon, but you'll be glad you have it when the time comes.

Healing
You also need at least two people capable of healing magic, and one of them should have Haste. I also strongly suggest that one of them has Refresh. Personally, I use the combination of Scholar and Red Mage, but I've used combinations such as Red Mage & Whitemage, White Mage & Scholar, and just plain two Red Mages with great success. The only person that the Red Mage should really have to Refresh is the Blue Mage. Anyone that can cast Haste should try to keep it on the party's primary damage dealers, particularly on "enemy leader" or "specific enemies" objectives.

I'd also like to point out that I've experienced success with BLU/WHM and BLU/SCH as one of the healers and as the Stunner when its needed.

Stun!
There will be runs where you'll feel you didn't need Stun at all, but when you do you'll thank sweet baby Jesus that you do. Poroggos, flans, soulflayers, and cerberuses can be dangerous things without any form of Stun. It's also useful on Chariots! I've had the greatest success with Blue Mage. While under the influence of cheap accuracy food, your Blue Mage's Head Butt will stun just about anything. Temporal Shift is also more than sufficient enough to stun Gates of Hades. A Dark Knight can work just fine, but make sure they are aware that Stun comes before damage. Unfortunately, in the rare event that White Magic is restricted, you'll have no way to heal your group without a Blue Mage.

Either way, since the BLU is never really tanking, it also can opt for a support job other than Ninjutsu. I would suggest BLM/WHM or BLU/SCH so that they can assist in removing bad status effects while at the same time retain the ability to cast Sneak and Invisible. Because there aren't a whole lot of instances where you'll need a stunner, this allows you to combined two roles into one job and give yourself an extra damage dealer. If the Blue Mage should still eat food that boosts accuracy to ensure effective stunning.

Damage Dealers
Well, it's likely you've already filled one of these spots with a NIN/WAR or WAR/NIN because if you didn't get yourself a Provoke then get the hell out of my guide. Seriously, though, let's fill these last two positions. If your "Provoker" or your "Stunner" doesn't have a Ranged Attack option, make sure you fill that role with one of your damage dealers. Personally, I tend to use MNK/NIN, SAM/NIN, and on some occasions one of those is substituted for another WAR/NIN. I would strongly suggest merits, and above average gear for these people, however it is possible to "get by" with members who don't care of their job. That doesn't mean your warriors have to have a Ridill and your monks have to be Vegetto-quality, but they shouldn't be obviously gimp. Regardless, all three of these people should have level 37 NIN sub job with both forms of Utsusemi. This is not just important for damage mitigation and the elimination of down time but also aide in navigating Nyzul Isle with Tonko, Monomi and Stealth.

If you managed to combine the roles of "Stun" and "Secondary Healer" into a single, skilled Blue Mage, you'll have the option to fill the extra slot with another damage dealer, or you can even waste the slot on a Bard.

Samurai
I don't want to say this is mandatory, but seriously consider having one at least for boss runs. A Samurai with a Dusty Wing is the closest thing to broken as you can get when fighting the guardians of the 20th, 40th, 60th, 80th, and 100th floors.

Here's a great tactic for handling bosses with a Samurai that is prepared with Meikyo Shisui, Sekkanoki, Dusty Wing, Fanatic's Drink and at least 200% TP at the start of the fight. It's up to you if you want to try to do your weapon skills in an order that triggers a Skillchain. If you have Tachi: Rana, I would definitely suggest just alternating between this and Tachi: Gekko to trigger multiple Darkness Skillchains. It doesn't matter which one you use to open the Skillchain and which one you use to close it, but I've seen Tachi: Gekko repeatedly prove its reliability on fighting monsters of this caliber so I suggest closing with that one. I'll assume you have Tachi: Rana in my suggestion below, and if you don't just substitute it with whatever you like. If you don't have 200% TP when you get to this floor, carefully pull the Archaic Rampart and use that.

Get your weapon out, use Sekkanoki, and drink your Fanatic's Drink. Run in and use Tachi: Rana, then Tachi: Gekko. Activate Meikyo Shisui and follow it with Tachi: Rana, Tachi: Gekko, Tachi: Rana, and then use your Dusty Wing. Immediately close that Skillchain with Tachi: Gekko, and start a new one with Tachi: Rana and end it all with Tachi: Gekko. If whatever you are fighting is still alive at this point, feel free to use Meditate and smack it again. You can also try to use Meditate during Meikyo Shisui, but you only have 30 seconds to complete those 8 weaponskills so don't do that unless you are very quick with your macros. This tactic works fine on 100F versions of the guardians as well.

What? No bard?
Absolute not! After trying to make this work several times when I first started Nyzul Isle, and joining groups that made similar attempts, I've observed that Bard increases your chance of failing the run between 33.3% and 42.5%. If you are a newer group, I guarantee you that you will fail at least half of the time if not more. Nyzul Isle is a very unforgiving, time-restricted event. It doesn't have time for players to pay attention to where they are standing, and it doesn't have time to wait on songs. You'll notice a Bard's performance to be very sub par than it would be in a more controlled environment that involves an actual party camp. Do not take Bard, do not take Bard, do not take a Bard, do not take a Bard. Also, make sure you do not take a Bard or a Bard.

Before I get annoying emails there are numerous reasons why I don't suggest bards for new groups:


 * Because of all the constant moving around they are rendered virtually useless on many floors. Sometimes the floors they can function as pullers are few and far between.
 * They can be pretty useful on mega-boss runs because there's at least one guaranteed, preconstructed battle. Unfortunately, this occurs only once every twenty floors.
 * Many of them are idiots that try to do really stupid things like use Minstrel's Ring. (Trust me this happens more often than you might think!)  Hey stupid, many of these floors are teeming with undead.
 * They also tend to do stupid things like spam songs in the lobby and prevent a Runic Disc holder from accessing the lamp.
 * An extra damage dealer can be useful on any floor that has SOMETHING to kill. A bard, however, will encounter many floors where they are better off just sitting at the Rune of Transfer and waiting for the real jobs to get things done.
 * Because of all the running around, bards seem to be the most confused about their role and this confusion can be contagious.
 * Whenever you come across a floor where songs are restricted, (which seems to the most common restriction I've come across), the worthlessness of your Bard is just further emphasized.
 * Finally, and most importantly, Square-Enix has suggested that newer, less-experienced groups don't bring a Bard and has anticipated that most of them will elect not to by adjusting Adamantoise's Tortoise Song to have a full-Dispel effect, thus removing all buffs and not just songs. Only players, particularly Bards, that have at least 40 floors of experience should bring a Bard to this assault!  Square-Enix insists!

Now that I've gotten it through your head why you shouldn't bring a Bard, let me explain myself to more experienced players who might be reading this and thinking "WTF?" Yes, a Bard does have plenty its uses if it takes full advantage of it's main job and support job. A BRD/WHM can provide subtle healing and status removal. They can provide delicious song buffs when parties get to actually stand still. Furthermore, they provide light-based Sleep and Dispel making them one of the very few jobs that can sleep enemies like Greater Birds and Soulflayers and exclusively one of the only two jobs that can Dispel a Soulflayer's Ice Spikes. Veteran groups with a skilled Bard can get quite a bit out of taking one on their runs.

I'm mainly suggesting that a newer group shouldn't try to expect this level of skill from a Bard they found while shouting for their new Nyzul Isle static.

Examples of Balanced Parties
All of your party members should be level 75 and merited to some degree. You will seriously see a difference in performance between a group with merits and without merits. I'm not trying to say that means you should simply exclude people, I'm just saying you should try to put together a group that utilizes a person's "main" 75 job, or close to it. Using someone just because they have a specific job at 75 can turn around to bite you in the ass when they are wearing mediocre equipment, have no merits, and are out of practice in playing the job correctly.


 * SCH/RDM, RDM/WHM, BLU/NIN, MNK/NIN, SAM/NIN, WAR/NIN
 * This is a very balanced group that can adequately buff, debuff, stun, sleep, cure, tank, pull, and dish out damage. The roles of each job are relatively standard and common knowledge so there shouldn't be any confusion.  Some of the strengths worth pointing out are "Stoneskinga" from the Scholar, and Refresh for the Blue Mage from the Red Mage.  This setup also provides the party with Stona.  A viable substitution for the Scholar (which is still a relatively rare job), is White Mage, which also has Stona.  The Blue Mage can provide the party with Diamondhide if such a substitution is made.  Either way, this is thorough, and powerful setup, and I think it is one that any beginner group or pick-up party should aim for.  Though this solution is really powerful, it requires that the Blue Mage equip a light-based sleep (such as Sheep Song) to sleep things like Greater Birds and Soulflayers.  They should also equip Blank Gaze or Voracious Trunk to deal with Ice Spikes on Soulflayers.  If the Scholar was substituted for a White Mage, then the White Mage can just do that with Repose.  The only noticeable weakness of a Bardless setup such as this one is the inability to Dispel the Ice Spikes off of a Soulflayer.  Fortunately, the Paralyze is pretty weak, and Soulflayers can be silenced.


 * RDM/WHM, BLU/SCH, MNK/NIN, SAM/NIN, WAR/NIN, THF/NIN
 * This setup capitalizes on the fact that Stun isn't commonly needed, though quite necessary when it is. As an added bonus it provides a Thief which can be useful for Fleeing to the Rune of Transfer and applying things like Feint to floor leaders.  This setup lacks Stona completely, but the aren't many things that can petrify you Nyzul Isle.  It's likely you'll go several runs before you actually have to fight a Dahak, Lizard or Ziz.  The only major concern should be Breakga but this can only be casted by a Poroggo while buffed with Providence.  That's one of the reasons its important dispel Providence immediately.  Again, this is a Bardless setup which will lack the ability to remove Ice Spikes from a Soulflayer.  it is still a very durable setup that will be able to handle soulflayers, regardless.


 * RDM/WHM, BLU/SCH, MNK/NIN, SAM/NIN, WAR/NIN, BRD/WHM
 * A similar setup to the one above that offers a Bard instead of a Thief. Setups involving a Bard won't work for every group, particularly those still learning the ropes in Nyzul Isle.  However, more established groups may enjoy taking one along, particularly because they can speed up pulling and shorten the time it takes to bring down tougher monsters like "enemy leaders".  They are also the only job capable of dispelling the Ice Spikes on a Soulflayer.  Madrigal is pretty useful for those rare occasions you encounter Stealth Bomber Gagaroon or Gem Heister Roorooroon.


 * RDM/WHM, WHM/BLM, MNK/NIN, DRK/NIN, WAR/NIN, BRD/WHM
 * Another setup that uses a Bard that also capitalizes on the fact that the need for Stun cam be pretty uncommon. The point of this setup is to provide an option for the most popular jobs in FFXI without sacrificing Stun or damage dealing.


 * RDM/WHM, BRD/WHM, MNK/NIN, SAM/NIN, WAR/NIN, BLU/NIN
 * This setup puts the Blue Mage back on the front line. This can all be very effective, but the skill required to support a group like this is probably best left to static groups with veteran members.  The Red Mage in this setup will have to keep Refresh on the Bard and the Blue Mage, and the Blue Mage will have to make sure they don't overexert their MP because they may need to assist with healing.  It's important to limit the amount of damage taken as much as possible.  Diamondhide and Ninjutsu play an important role in a setup like this which minimizes conventional healing.  Strategically, though, this setup offers a lot, including light and dark based sleep, adequate Stun, Refresh, and plenty of damage output with 4 front line jobs using shadows. This is another setup that doesn't offer Stona so that's something to be mindful of.  It's really difficult to cram Refresh, Stona, Stun, and the ability to Dispel Ice Spikes off of a Soulflayer in the same party without screwing yourself out of a damage dealer.


 * RDM/DRK, SCH/RDM, MNK/NIN, SAM/NIN, WAR/NIN, BRD/WHM
 * An example of a party setup that can offer a solution to everything but will require a Red Mage that's use to using Stun and a Bard that's used to removing debuffs from party members. This setup offers Refresh, Finale, Lullaby, Stun, Stona, Haste and AoE Stoneskin.  There's a lot more room for error in this setup as it requires people to be more mindful of their subjobs.  I'd only suggest doing this if you really know your BRD/WHM and RDM/DRK can work together and handle this.  This is also a very awesome setup for boss runs if played correctly.


 * BLM/WHM, RDM/WHM, BRD/WHM, PLD/WAR, DRG/SAM, SAM/WAR
 * This is just an example of a party setup that can work elsewhere in Vana'diel that will absolutely fail in Nyzul Isle. A party like this will progress very slowly through the floors in Nyzul Isle and will likely run out of time around the third floor.  Don't bring stupid stuff like this to Nyzul Isle assault.  If the party you just created looks like this, please quit FFXI, now.

Other Jobs
There's 20 jobs, and all of my suggestions feature about half of those and focus on only about 7 of them, so what if you are one of the jobs I haven't suggested? Well, that really depends on you. Any job can play a great role in Nyzul Isle, but for some of those jobs, playing that role can be more complex.

Pet Jobs
Beastmaster, Puppetmaster, and Summoner, all require you to engage your pet which can can shave off valuable seconds from your overall performance over the course of time. When you have to deal with a lot of monsters such as "all enemies" I find it is best to let Beastmasters solo their own monsters separately from the group to help minimize this effect. Summoners that insist on being a damage dealer should do the same, though I would suggest a Summoner fill a role similar to Scholar's and focus on cures and buffs. Either way, the Beastmaster and Summoner should be fully merited. The Beastmaster should have fully merited "Beast Affinity" and appropriate pets. Puppetmasters should be using the durable Valoredge frame and trying to do as much damage as possible. It is possible for a Puppetmaster to use the Soulsoother frame to supplement a more advanced party setup that has a Blue Mage for a secondary healer or no secondary healer at all.

Dragoon
DRG/NIN can be a great way damage dealer that rarely takes any damage and Angon is godly. Unfortunately, I would constantly come across Dragoons that didn't even have Angon merited once and are dressed in level 60 equipment. Sad, but true. That being said, if you are a GOOD Dragoon, like Fairy server's Rykume, feel free to be a Dragoon in Nyzul Isle.

Black Mage
Unless they bring medicines and/or buy them out of the chest at the beginning of the run, they'll tend to be useless dead weight that spends too much time recovering MP. Assassin's Drink and Oracle's Drink are not an even an option when doing a boss run. The fact is, it's hard for a black mage to find a good rhythm for dealing out damage without rapidly depleting their MP or getting themselves killed.

I will point out that it's been made apparent to me that people have had Black Mages fill the role of the secondary healer. While I haven't had to resort to this, personally, I suppose it can work in a more experienced group with a Black Mage that understands this role. I'd only suggest this for people who insist on taking their friend who only has Black Mage leveled and there are no other options.

Paladin
Quite frankly, they need to be a really good, damage dealing, PLD/NIN to even be viable. Good luck finding that. I require any Paladin wishing to attend Salvage with me to have full Ares with Excalibur and Joyeuse. That's just me because I'm elitist scum. Seriously, though, that should give you an idea of how good your Paladin SHOULD be if you insist on taking one. It doesn't have to have those exact pieces of gear. I'm just being paranoid about losing precious seconds.

The Rest
Most of the other jobs, such as Ranger and Corsair can be made as obvious substitutions for some of the party examples I defined above. Dancer, however, I'm not sure where to put it. Since the job relies on TP to heal, I wouldn't rely on it as a primary healer, and as a secondary healer, it really can't do certain things that I'd like to see in a secondary healer. However, with abilities like "Drain Samba III", I'm sure there are party setups that it can work great in, I just haven't had the opportunity to do an Assault with one so I really don't want to make any recommendations. I invite dancers out there to give me some scenarios where they are phenomenal.

Job vs. Job
I like to think that you can create a setup that can include any of the 20 jobs and work really well. If you have a job that you know isn't specifically everyone's first choice at an endgame event and you are trying to set up a Nyzul group that revolves around filling in the gaps as to why nobody wants to take your specific job, then it would probably be best that just simply don't overlap one job with what another job can do and sell yourself short on any of the elements that balance a great party.

Furthermore, if you've had great success substituting one job with another, say so on the TALK page with a few details that support this and I'll include it below. Please, don't simply speculate on what MIGHT work, but rather share something you've actually witnessed.


 * Blue Mage or Bard
 * Sure you can have both, but you'll find that neither of these jobs has an extreme advantage at boosting at how fast you kill stuff, but they both have their own way of supporting your group. They both have light-based sleep and light-based Dispel.  They both can have their own special ability to support a party with buffs when the party can actually stand still like when it's "eliminating the Leader" of a floor.  They both can stun all of the major casters when you actually may encounter them.  Finally, they can both cast an array of debuffs on the mobs.  Personally, I prefer Blue Mage, but if you have a very good Bard that isn't a lazy sack of potatoes, that can be a strong choice as well.  You'll need a Bard that understands how to use status removal spells with it's support job, how to Stun enemies with Lullaby, and how to assist in making the transition for one monster to the next as fluid as possible.  Believe it or not, that can be asking a lot for a job that might be played by someone who just wants to run back and forth between the front line and back line and buff them each with a pair of songs.  Regardless, I still think Blue Mage's debuffs are more win than Bard's.


 * Scholar, White Mage, Summoner, or Black Mage
 * Really? Yes, Really.  These two can be interchanged if you have a BLM/WHM who isn't afraid to cast a bloody cure and save the big guns for something worthwhile while at the same time using enough discretion without getting himself killed.  Personally, I'd prefer a Scholar.  You get the major benefits of having all four of these jobs with the exception of Haste, tier 2 Ancient Magic, and Blood Pacts capable of semi-impressive physical damage.  If you are going with a single healer, Black Mage should be dropped as a choice for substitution.


 * Red Mage, White Mage, Scholar
 * This is for those of you elitists who think one great healer is more than substantial. I'm going to assume you at least included a Blue Mage for this setup and have a secondary healing option.  With that said, I'd suggest Red Mage because of Haste, Refresh, and Convert, but you can make the other two work if they are played by players that come prepared with their own drinks and have a knack for conserving MP.  Furthermore, setups that restrict or omit conventional healing should have a front line setup that's tailored for extreme damage mitigation and skilled enough to pull it off.


 * Warrior, Ninja, Paladin
 * It really doesn't matter, though I prefer Warrior as it tends to out damage the other two. You don't so much as need a tank in Nyzul Isle as you just need something that can get a nice little chunk of hate at the start of each battle to staple your mob down and prevent it from making a mad dash to the backline to smack the teeth out of your Red Mage or whatever the case may be.  Another nice thing about Warrior is it is virtually always prepared to fill this role and dole out decent damage, whereas you might get stuck with a Ninja with nothing but evasion gear or a Paladin with nothing but defense and enmity gear.


 * Blue Mage or Summoner
 * Both of these are capable of a lot of the same things, especially when cast as a secondary healer. Either way, Summoner, even with DRK as a support job, isn't a reliable source of Stun, and a Blue Mage filling this role will likely not be as well, so it might be a good idea to supplement this kind of creativity by making a Dark Knight part of your front line or a Bard part of your back line.  This is also a great example of how a Bard and a Blue Mage can work together.

=Vital Preparations= This is a very important section and overlooking the value of proper preparation is one of the leading causes of failure for this Assault. While a few of the things below can be purely optional, much of it is not, and I've made sure to emphasize the things that are absolutely mandatory. I'd suggest any leader go over this section carefully or risk wasting tags. If you have a member that refuses to come prepared, have the hear to replace them or disband the group so you don't waste people's tags.

Medicines, Items, & Ninjutsu
Damage mitigation, MP conservation, stealth, and speed, are key elements to a successful run. Properly stocking medicines, items, and tools are a major part of the foundation of those elements.

Sneak & Invisible
Everyone should have some form of it. Whoever doesn't or can't should be replaced with someone who can. This is not negotiable and not an option. Furthermore, it is also not negotiable and not an option. Finally, at the risk of sounding repetitive, it is not negotiable, and not an option. Typically, your back line jobs will have the spells "Sneak" and "Invisible" and your front line jobs will have Tonko and Monomi. One of the main reasons why pick-up parties fail is due the waste of time caused by the lack of Sneak & Invisible for all party members.

Ninjutsu Tools
Everyone capable of casting Ninjutsu should have the tools Shinobi-Tabi for Tonko, Sanjaku-Tenugui for Monomi, and Shihei for Utsusemi. Make sure they double check that they'll have enough to complete the run or series of runs that you have planned.

Also, try to get someone that is Ninja or has Ninja as their support job to bring along a cheap tool to pull with. Tsurara is by most likely the cheapest and used to cast Hyoton. Ninjutsu isn't detected as spell-casting to aggressive monsters who hone in on it, so it can be a great alternative for getting to things in areas filled with Wamouras, Psychflayers, Arcana-type monsters, single Gears, triple Gears, etc.

Silent Oil & Prism Powder (usually optional)
While it's very rare, you'll sometimes encounter restrictions on one of these types of magic. In those cases it is nice to have back up items such as Silent Oil and Prism Powder, though this very rarely happens. Because it can spoil a run, I would suggest that back line jobs bring sneak and invisible as it impacts them the most. If Ninjutsu is restricted, the back line jobs can still Sneak and Invisible these people, but if White Magic is restricted, it is not possible for the front line jobs to cast Tonko or Monomi on the back line jobs. So, if you are a back line job, consider coming prepared with at least 3 oils and 3 powders. Again, this is a very rare occurrence, but it has happened to me a few times.

Echo Drops
Everyone should have them because everyone in your group should be able to cast SOMETHING. If not, then you are doing it wrong. You can buy these from Gavrie at (F-8) in Whitegate for 800g a pop so there's no reason for anyone to be without at least a few. Sure, you might not need them, but everyone should have them. Anyone that will not bring Echo Drops should be replaced. In the event you do need them, this person will likely be the reason why you lose several minutes of valuable time that could be used to complete your objectives. I'm not going to go and repeat myself this time, but this not negotiable and not an option and it is one of the other main reasons why pick-up parties fail.

Eyedrops (optional)
Yeah, I said it. Eyedrops! Very useful for minimizing the demand on your backline jobs when dealing with more intense enemies like soulflayers. It's bad enough that Tribulation inflicts that horrible 40hp/tic Bio and your back line jobs have to prompty erase it, but it's even more bothersome that they'll have to get rid of that blindness too. Since the Bio needs to be removed first, you might remain blind for a whole minute and prolong the fight unecessarily. While these aren't necessary for even an average group to have a great success rate in Nyzul Isle, they sure do help a lot when they really are needed. If you are worried about space, just get Remedy Ointments.

Remedy Ointments (semi-optional)
This is for people that don't want waste inventory space carrying Echo Drops and Eye Drops. These babies stack to 12 and remove Paralysis, Silence, Blind, Poison and Plague. This are an optional substitution for Echo Drops. If a person doesn't have any Echo Drops, then these become mandatory.

Food
In my experience, this really isn't as important for back line jobs as it is front line jobs. However, if you do insist, I would find Refresh drinks to be more useful than actual food. If you do want to use food, focus on things that will help you raise MP or land your enfeebles, because you'll rarely have time to rest and utilize hMP food.

The Blue Mage should use sushi for any given run because of the accuracy to Head Butt. The exception to this is if you have a Dark Knight in the group and your intentions for your Blue Mage is to have it stay on the back line with a support job like White Mage or Scholar. Otherwise, any cheap sushi will suffice, but feel free to use the more expensive stuff.

Front line jobs, will find themselves generally dealing with "Easy Prey" and "Decent Challenge" monsters. Enemy Leaders are only around level 79, so decent accuracy gear will suffice even against them. Because of this, I strongly suggest really great Attack foods that also boost HP such as Carbonara or Coeurl Subs. However, if you don't want to buy these foods for Nyzul Isle, at least make sure you are hitting the 95% accuracy cap while fighting enemy leaders and eat some cheap sushi. The only time you'll really deal with enemies that will put your accuracy to the test is if you have to fight one of two qiqirn leaders, Gem Heister Roorooroon or Stealth Bomber Gagaroon, because they happen to be thieves. For these rare occasions, a Blue Mage's Infrasonics will help, but just plain attacking will generally suffice. You can also try to land Gravity, if you like, but you should be fine even if you have neither of these spells.

Sanction with an appropriate Bonus
This should be self-explanatory. If you are using an expensive food, then I would suggest the food duration bonus if you need more justification for doling out the gil. Otherwise, get the Regen bonus for your front line jobs and the Refresh bonus for your back line jobs. The primary "Stunner" should get the Refresh bonus.

= Nyzul Isle Floor Objectives & Communication Tips = As you may or may not know, you'll need to complete a series of up to 5 objectives (rarely, you'll get a free floor and only need to complete 4) for the Runic Disc(s) that you are using to be able to start at a higher level than you previously started at. The trick to Nyzul Isle is knowing when to split up, when to stay together, and how to communicate to complete more complex objectives.

Hand Raising is the key!
I'll go over each objective and explain what I've had the best success with, but first I want to touch up on "hand raising". Expressed as a simple forward slash, or "/", in party chat, this is an extremely effective way to communicate within your group. You should not even enter a Nyzul Isle assault without asking if everyone is ready and waiting for them all to raise their hand. If they are incapable of raising their hand, they should be immediately replaced as you will likely do nothing but incessantly fail these assaults if you do them with this player.

Before You Enter
Set up your first order for dropping people off at lamps. This will also be the order you activate lamps in a specific order if that is one of your objectives. Doing can save you up to an entire two minutes for each floor that requires you to activate all lamps. You should also consider rehearsing the order by having people raise their hand in the order you designated starting with the first person in the order. If your party can't do this before you enter, they will do terribly when you are actually doing the assault.

As far as the order goes, it doesn't completely matter, but you should try to keep the basic elements of a party for as long as you can while dropping people off in case you have to eliminate an aggressive monster that's guarding a lamp and will detect by sight. The first job you can part with is your secondary support, which is the Red Mage in my case. Then, start dropping off your front line jobs with the ones that have the least amount of spike damage first. In my case, I part with my Warrior on the fourth lamp because he can do great damage with his Ridill, and he also has Provoke. If there's a fifth lamp, the "Stunner", in my case the, Blue Mage follows me to that lamp and holds or eliminates any sight aggressive monster that's guarding it. A Dark Knight or a Blue Mage can sleep most of these types of monsters. If it is something with true hearing, like a Wamoura, you might want to call your Warrior over.

Eliminating Enemies or their Leader
In this section we'll discuss the objectives that insist that you go on murderous rampages. Pay attention to the part where I explain whether or not you should stick together or not.

Eliminate specified enemy. This is, by far, one of the easiest objectives. This is only instance where I suggest your party TRULY split up. That means all six members can go in different directions if necessary, though it is nice if you pair up with your two healers pairing up with two of the front line jobs and your Blue Mage pairing up with the third, preferebly the one that's best at not getting hit. The correct enemy will not be the Archaic Rampart, and will not be a Notorious Monster however it will check Impossible to Gauge.

When someone finds this enemy the first thing they should do is identify the enemy to their party with  and get a confirmation from any veterans in the party that they are not dealing with a Notorious Monster. Once the enemy is confirmed, it can be engaged. If the enemy can be safely pulled without aggroing (with magic), or linking it with other monsters, it can be immediately done so if it is an enemy that can be handled by the person or persons that located it. Afterwards, you should immediately Call for Help so the rest of your group can quickly find the enemy and assist if needed. Don't worry about CfHing the monster, you'll still get credit for the kill and in most cases it is just a worthless "decent challenge" anyways. If you are an unassisted back line job that discovers this enemy and it is sleepable, then simply sleep it and Call for Help.

Wyverns, Wamouras, and Dahaks are examples of enemies that should be taken by at least three people with one of them being a healer and at least two of the others should try to come to their aide while the third heads for the Rune of Transfer.

Eliminate Enemy Leader Don't split up. It's really not worth it. The Enemy Leader is rarely far enough to warrant splitting up, and the majority of the floors are pretty small with limited options for splitting up anyways. Stay together, locate the enemy, and kill it as a full group of 6 members. When the enemy is low on HP, have one of the healers begin working their way back to the Rune of Transfer if you can handle it without them.

Leaders from the Poroggo family, Uriri Samariri, Eriri Samariri, and Oriri Samariri can be as easy as you want them to be. The first thing you should do is Dispel its Blaze Spikes because you'll want to be able to Dispel Providence. If the Blaze Spikes are on, you'll likely Dispel that instead and have to wait for Dispel to be ready again while it wreaks havoc with spells like Breakga. Your Blue Mage should be paying extra attention on these monsters and be sure to Head Butt all of their AoE spells. It's also helpful to Stun their TP moves, especially Water Bomb. If you all do get hit with Water Bomb everyone who's afflicted should immediately use their Echo Drops. Back line jobs should try to avoid this entirely by keeping their distance. In the event someone is charmed, try to sleep them if you can. Follow these simple steps, and these bosses can be really simple.

Leaders from the Soulflayer family, Vile Wahdaha, Vile Ineef, and Vile Yabeewa are some of the most dangerous leaders you'll encounter. They take longer to kill and have very annoying TP moves that require your group to stay on their toes. I strongly suggest that you try to keep all 6 members of your group on them until they are dead. Bio should be removed immediately and Blind should be removed afterwards on anyone who didn't bring Echo Drops. The Blue Mage, should not actually engage because they'll immediately get paralyzed by the Ice Spikes. Instead, they should just stand next to the mob and Head Butt liberally. These mobs can be silenced.

Leaders from the Chariot family Shielded Chariot, Battledressed Chariot, Long-Gunned Chariot, and Long-Horned Chariot are all pretty easy and you'll rarely have to deal with them. Personally, I consider them a delight. Each of these chariots has a NERFed version of one of the boss specific abilities of their Salvage counterparts. This includes Brainjack, Homing Missile, Discoid, and Mortal Revolution. They are all weak and they seem to only do it when they are about to die and I think it may be possible they can only do it once, though it could just be because these are usually very quick fights. Brainjack will only charm one member, and does not wreak anything near the level of havoc it does when execute by Long-Armed Chariot in Salvage. Back line jobs should stay out of range, and Paralyna when Discharge goes off. The ability to AoE stoneskin (with Scholar or Blue Mage) is pretty useful on these. The Blue Mage should try to Head Butt as often as possible to minimize the number of shadows taken and the number of annoying TP moves used on the party.

The rest of the enemies are pretty straight forward. Custards are just NM puddings that may be healed by certain elemental damage and skillchains, so if you see that happen don't do it again. These mobs are pretty simple. Anything they buff themselves with should be dispelled and their AoE spells should be stunned. Qiqirns are qiqirns. If you can't kill a qiqirn, GTFO out of Nyzul Isle. The Imps are also pretty simple and require the same basic strategy needed to kill a MERIPO imp, though these have a little more HP. Blue Mage should try to stun their AoE spells.

Eliminate All Enemies. Kill everything and try to switch targets quickly. Back line jobs can try to gravity and sleep mobs and bring them closer to the main party. Red mages should try to assist with elemental magic on monsters resistant to physical damage such as mousse. These will all usually die quickly. You shouldn't split up, but it's ok for front line jobs to begin switching to another nearby target when the enemy you are currently fighting is near death. Because the HP of these mobs is usually lowered by a great amount, you'll see some of them almost die in a single weapon skill so try not to use two weaponskills on the same one unless its needed. The Notorious Monsters and the Archaic Rampart also need to die.

Eliminate Specific Enemies Don't split up. This will generally be a group of mobs that aren't Notorious Monsters that check as Impossible to Gauge. Sometimes these floors can be creative and you'll find several possibilities so you'll actually have to check the mobs. Don't just engage the first Psychflayer or qiqirn that you see. Poroggos and Psycheflayers will be the most annoying families you'll have to deal with. Use the information above in the "Enemy Leader" section, to get an idea of how to deal with them. Chariots, are pretty easy, but be sure that back line jobs stay away from front line jobs and don't forget to Paralyna when Discharge goes off.

Mega Bosses This is a dedicated "Enemy Leader" that guards every 20th floor. These runs are generally regarded as "boss runs" and are usually the only time anyone actually spends tokens on items from the lobby's Treasure Chest. One of the most important items is a Body Boost and everyone in the party should get one. Melee can opt to get additional drinks that compliment their jobs. Dusty Wing is great for Samurais, Champion's Drink is great for Monks, and Fanatic's Drink is great for any of your front line jobs that expect to have the majority of the enmity. There are other drinks that can boost stats and accuracy that may be worth getting, particularly for the version of the enemy leader that can guard the 100th floor.

Activating All Lamps
First of all, I suggest you always stick together. Sometimes, the lamp is only a single lamp that everyone has to click. Even when it is not, you should still stick together and drop people off at lamps that are safe to be at. Sight based aggro should be eliminated. If you can confirm that the floor is only occupied by sound-based aggro, and you are certain there aren't any sight detecting NMs, you may consider splitting up, particularly on larger floors. However, it is in your best interest to stay together at first, and try to drop people off at lamps starting with one of your healers, your blue mage, and then your damage dealers.

Make sure you confirm your process of activating lamps with all of your party members before you enter!

Activate Simultaneously
This is really easy but it people still seem to screw it up because they can't agree on the best way to go about doing this. In my experience, it is not ideal to use the clock. The "Yes/No" prompt covers up the clock and bringing up this prompt seems to randomly lag for some people so it shouldn't be done. The best way is to first find the 3-5 lamps you need to activate and try to be sure you found them all. The leader should tell the group members to each bring up their "Yes/No" prompt and then ask them if they are "Ready?" When a member's Yes/No prompt is ready, they should raise their hand in the party chat with a simple "/". The leader will then count down from 3 to 1. Each number will have it's own of chat. After the 1, the leader will type GO!, and everyone will click on the "Yes" as soon as they see this "Go!" That means you go *ON* the "Go!" and not before or after. As long as everyone does this within a couple of seconds, the objective is complete.

Unless you have found 5 lamps, you should always have the remaining members looking for additional lamps, just in case. The lamp that's closest to the Rune of Transfer (which shouldn't be far) should be the person that can take care of this task when you complete the objective. If you do find 5 lamps, then the 6th can simply try to get back to the "Rune of Transfer".

Activate Sequentially
This is really easy, and the great thing about it, is you'll know if you've found all the lamps (there will be 3-5 of them) when they all light up for a brief moment. You should use a similar method as the above one for getting people to the lamps, however, you should have them immediately light their lamp and this will be the "first order". If you are a less experienced group, I strongly suggest the person "leading" this activation process be one of the people lighting the lamps as it can greatly improve the speed in which this is done. When all the lamps are confirmed to be covered (because they will only all light up once they are found), at least one person should be headed back to the "Rune of Transfer".

Hopefully, you took my advice on having a predefined first order that everyone is aware of. After you've found three or four lamps, and you think that you've found them all, go ahead and tell your group begin the lighting process as they won't light up for a brief moment to signal if they are in the correct order or not unless you have them all in the first place. If everyone activates their lamp and there's no reaction, you haven't found them all. You should continue looking even as you have them lighting their lamps until they confirm to you that you don't have to look anymore.

Let's say there are only 4 lamps and Batman, Robin, Superman, and Spiderman were dropped off in that order and lit their lamps. When Spiderman lights his lamp, they'll all light up for a brief moment. The correct ones will stay lit, and the incorrect ones will go out. If only Robin's lamp stays on, then the other three lamps were incorrect and you simply, and quickly, call out a new order. If your lamp goes off, be sure to say "OFF!".

If the new order is Superman, Robin, Spiderman, Batman then you'll need a form of communication so that the next person knows that the previous person lit their lamp. That's where hand raising comes in again. After the leader has called out this order, Superman will light his lamp and type "/" in the party chat so Robin knows it is his turn. Then he'll light his lamp (even though it is already lit, it needs to be "activated" again. It only remained lit to show that it's position in the correct order was #2 in this scenario.  After he's activated his lamp, again, he'll raise his hand in the party with "/".  Spiderman will do the same to let Batman know it is his turn.

Now, let's illustrate a solution for five lamps. The correct order for this solution will be Superman, Robin, Namingway, Batman, and Spiderman.

You'll notice that as long as you don't repeat the incorrect positions, you'll quickly solve the order even when faced with 5 lamps. Three and Four lamps, carry fewer solutions. As long as the lamps aren't well guarded by sight detecting monsters, these can be really easy floors for experienced players with good communication skills.

Solitary Registration Lamp
This lamp just requires everyone to click on it. If you can't find any lamps on the floor this is probably the culprit. This little bugger can hide away in a corner and be easily missed. If you decided to split up to look for it, the person that finds it can CfH a nearby monster to give the rest of the party an idea of which way to go. This person should be certain they can either sleep it or hold it until their party members get there. Cheaters can usually identify this as the objective right away when the Rune of Transfer says to "activate all lamps" but there doesn't seem to be any nearby. When three or more lamps are involved, there's usually one pretty close to the Rune of Transfer.

Right or Left?
This is basically a 50% chance that your next floor will inflict your group with a Pathos or some random stat boost. There's no way to discern which direction will result in nothing happening and which one will potentially screw you over on the next floor.

As far as to what your objectives are on the next floor I believe this may all be scripted from the very start of the assault. Besides the fact that the quantity and maximum amount of HP of monsters seems to distribute itself rather evenly throughout the assault, there's also the fact every 20th floor is obviously already scripted so why wouldn't everything in between follow suit?

Now, with that in mind, you should prepare for a potentially ludicrous battle when the floor preceding the 20th, 40th, 60th, 80th, and 100th floor ask you if you want to go Right or Left. You now have a 50% chance that you'll transfer to the next floor just as if it were any other floor or there will be that random infliction, or possibly a random boost. The best case scenarios include something to the tune of a Haste bonus for everyone. The worst case scenarios are either the Pathos of Impairment nullifying your ability to use weaponskills or the Pathos: Omerta restricting the use of White Magic. If you get a Pathos of Debilitation like a STR down or DEX down, consider yourself bloody lucky as it could be substantially worse.

Free Floor
It's free. GO GO GO GO! In all seriousness, you might not want to skip this floor right away. If this is a boss run and you have the extra time, consider scouting around the floor for random armory crates while one of your mages remains at the lamp to transfer you to the next floor. You can find some nice goodies to help you kill the guardian of your boss run.

I'd like to emphasize how rare these floors are and that many veterans have never even seen one. I've only seen a few but I've done quite a bit of these assaults in order to do so. The chance you'll encounter a free floor seems to be around 1 in 64 or just 1.5625%. If that value is entirely accurate, then there is a 98.4375% chance you'll never see a "free floor".

From my own personal experience and from those recounted by friends of mine, the chance to get this floor seems to be between 1% and 2% so the 1/64 ratio seems to be pretty accurate.

Extra Time?
If you've completed 5 floors and you find yourself having a lot of extra time, consider killing all the enemies on the last floor regardless of the objective, unless you have to screw with gears. You'll get more tokens, and you might score a Notorious Monster or two. If you still have a lot of extra time, 10 minutes or more, consider doing another floor. When attempting 6 or more floors, I suggest you only do this with an experienced static group. The first few floors may have just been easy flukes, and a hazardous 6th floor could end up failing what would have been a successful run.

Dealing with Gears
Gears are just about the worst thing you'll come across in Nyzul Isle. They can turn relatively simple floors into an outrageous nightmare. They are a somewhat uncommon secondary objective that's attached to a floor's primary objective and if you mishandle them as directed by that objective, you'll encounter a penalty.

Just in case you haven't read the main article for this assault, the penalties are random and seem to be the same for all the gears on that floor. For example, if you mishandle a gear and get a token penalty, all the gears on that floor will also give you a token penalty. If the mishap penalizes your remaining time, all mishaps with gears on that floor will do so in increments of 1 minute. Finally, some gears will just apply a specific restriction referred to as a "pathos" that will wear off after you use the Rune of Transfer. This can be a major stat reduction, or the disablement of specific types of skills such as White Magic, Ninjutsu, or the ability to use a weapon skill.

Regardless of what your objective is, you'll never have to actually kill gears, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't. In some cases your secondary objective will ask you simply not to destroy the gears so it is usually best to just sleep these. However, if you are told to just avoid discovery, there's a way to circumvent this simply by pulling them in a way that doesn't directly aggro them. Magic, or a Job Ability such as Provoke won't do, but using a ranged attack like that of a chakram or crossbow, works just fine and don't count as "being discovered". Now, you can just kill the damn thing and not have to worry about it anymore. Gears tend to be pretty weak in Nyzul Isle and it'll die quick. I only suggest killing them if they are really in the way and you expect to spend a little bit of time on the floor and don't want to bother with having to repeatedly sleep them.

There is one way I've heard of groups handling gears that I haven't done, personally. Because they only run at regular movement speed, they are easy to kite with equipment that enhances movement speed and will eventually despawn. The ideal player for doing this should not just be able to aggro and kite gears that you can't destroy, but they should also have some form of ranged attack so they can pull gears that they have to "avoid discovery" by.

If your a group that usually has time to spare when you complete a run, I suggest killing them when you can. It's more points for you, and it eliminates that gear from ever having the opportunity to bother you again. If you don't plan to be on the floor for long because you only have to "eliminate a specific enemy" then sleep it after you pull it with a ranged attack.

Finally, if this is your "last floor" and you have plenty of time, consider killing them and everything else, unless you aren't supposed to destroy them at all. Also, don't be afraid to destroy one that you aren't supposed to if it's a major hazard. For example if you have to do lamps in a specific order and one of them is guarded by three Archaic Gears, consider killing one or two if you have a couple of DDs and a healer nearby and everyone else is in position. You might also want to consider trying to have someone kite them and get the lamps lit quickly before the repop in the room. If the worst thing that can happen is a couple penalties to your time remaining, and this is the only thing standing between you and a hassle-free victory, just eat the penalty. You might just get stupid penalties like a restriction on Summoning Magic.

Avoiding Common Mistakes
This section basically outlines common mistakes people make in Nyzul Isle and I suggest that you skim through it and go over the more hazardous mistakes with your group.


 * Wamouras, Puddings, and Soulflayers are aggressive to Job Abilities. If you use a Job Ability nearby any of these monsters they'll come bend you over and take away your innocence.  They also seem to have a pretty wide aggro range for this kind of thing that seems to be about the same range as blood aggro.
 * Wamoura and Soulflayers also detect magic at a similar range as their ability to detect job abilities.
 * Soulflayers, Wamouras, Poroggos, and Gears have true-hearing.
 * Greater birds are virtually impossible to sleep with dark-based sleep. Use Repose, or Sheep song.
 * Virtually everything in Nyzul Isle is aggressive to sight or sound (with the exception of pots which only seem to aggro magic). That means that even wamouracampas, colibris, Crabs, and Marsh Murres will aggro you.
 * Colibris are aggressive by sight. A lot of people are unfamiliar with colibris being aggressive, so this sometimes comes as a surprise.
 * Poroggo Gents will link. Sometimes they are grouped up and you have no choice but to handle two at a time.  They are sleepable and die pretty quickly, so this usually isn't a problem.
 * Soulflayers will link. Fortunately, they aren't usually too close together and you can pull them one at a time with a simple ranged attack.  Don't be afraid to have someone run up and use true-sound aggro to grab one of these if your "ranged attack".
 * Bombs, clusters, pots, and weapons detect spellcasting. While some of you may learn pretty early on that weapons are aggressive to sound, and bombs and clusters are aggressive to sight, some people seem to forget that all these arcana type mobs also detect spellcasting.
 * When you've completed the 5th floor, be sure to select the "Exit the Assault" option. The leader should be expressing this repeatedly in party chat just as you are finishing up your last objective.  When it's almost time for us to exit and I'm not the one that will be at the lamp, I'll repeatedly type, "Be sure to click the second option "Exit the Assault!"  I'll follow that with "Do not click the last option "Travel to the next floor!"  Sometimes, I'll even emphasize why by saying "We do not have time to complete another floor and if you do this incorrectly we will fail the mission!"
 * Pikachu is yellow.

=Tips & Tricks=
 * If you are allowed to destroy Archaic Gears, do it. For the sake of baby Jesus just kill the damn things.  KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL!
 * Blue Mage should have Magic Fruit equipped in case White Magic is restricted. One time, I had to deal with an Adamantoise with White Magic restricted.  However, our awesome Blue Mage was able to answer the call and keep us alive.
 * Voracious Trunk will also remove Ice Spikes from a Soulflayer. It costs more MP, but your front line is making the Soulflayer spin like a bloody top and causing Blank Gaze to miss, use this instead.
 * Clear all the monsters around the lamps. Sneaking around the sound aggressive ones is fine if you really want to save time, but at least eliminate the sight aggressive monsters.  Personally, I just prefer to kill them all.  It helps us burn up some of the extra time we have and get extra tokens.
 * If you've completed your objective and all of the party members are away from the lamp, kill a nearby Notorious Monster if possible while one or two of your party members run back to the lamp.
 * If an objective is really simple, or you are almost done with an objective, try to have someone at the lamp or heading back to it. It's also a good idea for you to personally try to keep track which direction the lamp is in relation to your current position and you can remind the person going back to the lamp which direction this is.