Dynamis: General Tactics

Basic Tactics

Dynamis is a tactical challenge, a limited amount of time to kill a series of triggering NMs to spawn a Boss enemy whom we must kill to achieve victory. Individual Dynamis Zone strategies will be discussed in later posts, but here are the basics.

Statues- Statues are the enemies you will see up in Dynamis zones at the start of a run. They are stylized stone carvings of the beastmen that inhabit the zone in question. When Aggro’d, a Statue will generally spawn Beastmen and sometimes other statues in specific locations, usually nearby, and then link with them to bring the entire group after whoever aggro’d them. This patterned spawning can lead to massive, even unavoidable linking, sometimes bringing dozens of enemies at once. Statues are highly resistant to melee damage, as a rule, and use very powerful AoE Status and Damage TP moves. They are not to be melee’d normally. As they are susceptible to magic, Black Mages and Red Mages are generally charged with managing these while Melees manage our next category. Certain statues have Blue or Green Eyes. Blue Eyed Statues will fully replenish the HP of all members in a rather large range when they die, and Green Eyed Statues will replenish MP. It is important to bring them near enough to the alliance to gain these benefits.

Vanguards- Vanguards are very high level Beastmen enemies that populate Dynamis after statues are Aggro’d. Vanguards in every Dynamis zone represent each Pre-ToAU job, complete with 2 Hours and pets. Each Beastman type has access to their usual TP moves, and NM Vanguards of each type have access to a unique TP move, which can make them troublesome. Vanguards are managed by the melees in an order selected by the Main Tank, as discussed in the Strategies below.

Pets, Avatars, and Wyverns- I list these separately only because they vary from zone to zone, and so members will need to remember which pets require which kind of management. Avatars are a particular threat, if they are awake when their Summoner is being fought the Summoner 2-Hour Astral Flow can destroy an entire alliance easily, even through Bar-spells and Carols. It is therefore a particular priority to keep Avatars slept. Wyverns in Dynamis are still spawned by the old Dragoon 2-Hour ability, Call Wyvern, and so appear mid-fight, and should be slept. They can be Aspired in Dynamis.

The Boss- The Boss in the normal City Dynamis runs is an overlarge statue of the local type that spawns once certain triggering conditions are met. They are quite tough, use lots of AoE spells and TP moves, and can cast Doom, Death, and Sleepga 2. Generally, to avoid trouble, Melees apply their 2-Hour abilities to these after a coordinated Sacrifice Pull brings just the Boss to the waiting alliance. Details of individual Bosses will be found in their strategies.

Pull Order

Management of Vanguards’ 2-Hour abilities and destructive potential is our key concern. After any given pull by the designated Puller, some number of Statues and Vanguards, possibly with pets, will be on its way to the alliance. Red Mages and Bards primarily manage crowd control, and Black Mages are discouraged from using Sleepga 2 because it cannot be overwritten, and the massive wake-up inevitably kills the Black Mage. Black Mages are generally assigned to /assist an assigned leader to nuke down Statues as they come in. Due to the long experience of many of our Black Mages, we now rarely assign a specific Black Mage leader unless a timed nuke is called for in specific strategies.
Melees will be /assist-ing a Main Tank, generally announced at the start of the run. This Main Tank is expected to know the kill order and do their best to select enemies for the Alliance to fight in a prompt and efficient fashion. Vanguards in Dynamis often die very quickly, so it is important to quickly select a new appropriate target without wasting time. Melees should never be fighting an enemy other than the enemy selected by the Main Tank unless ordered to do so; such as Ninjas being asked to kite statues, or Warriors or Paladins being asked to Provoke NMs or dangerous enemies without fighting them.
That said, Tanks do make mistakes, and Melees should be attentive to any call to switch targets by the Tank. If a mistaken assist is called, and everyone switches to the new enemy properly, the mistaken enemy can be slept again and managed later.
The Kill Order is below, by job priority.

Vanguard Summoners- Summoners Die First. Astral Flow is responsible for an amazing amount of death if not managed properly. The Summoners themselves, however, are very weak, and can be killed very quickly. The sooner a Summoner is dead, the sooner the Red Mage or Bard tending their Avatar can switch to doing other things.

Vanguard Beastmasters- Beastmaster Pets cannot be killed off safely until their master is killed, and pets killed too soon allow the Beastmaster to summon another, or Charm a Player. As with the Summoner above, the Pet is often the real threat, so removing the Beastmaster allows us to remove the Pet as quickly as possible. Beastmasters die after Summoners, but before anything else.

Vanguard Warriors, Dark Knights, Bards, Black Mages, Red Mages, Rangers, Dragoons, and Samurai- These Jobs are killed in no particular order. While easily capable of doing plenty of harm on their own if not slept or managed intelligently, they offer no significant threat compared the above and below listed jobs. Rangers do deserve a special mention because of Eagle Eye Shot, which often eliminates a lucky melee for his or her fine performance as a damage dealer. Wear your One-shot kill with pride.

Vanguard Thieves and Paladins- If possible, these should be delayed until the Black Mages are done with statues, so that they can assist in killing these enemies during Perfect Dodge and Invincible. Wasting an additional 30 seconds on these enemies is needless when they can be easily nuked down. Paladins also often develop resistance to sleep faster than other enemies and while they are waiting their turn to die they should be Provoked by Warriors, Ninjas, or Paladins.

Vanguard Ninja- The Mijin Gakure of a Vanguard Ninja is capable of outright destroying an entire alliance, even through Barfira and Carol if the Ninja has enough HP when it goes off. Ninja are tended by sleepers until they are among the last enemies left so that Barfira and Fire Carol can be safely applied, and Stun is available to keep them busy until they are at least very low on HP. It is entirely possible to melee and Stun a Ninja so that it never uses its 2-Hour. Black Mages are expected to Nuke Ninja to kill them as quickly as possible. Paladins should consider saving Rampart to absorb Mijin Gakure damage when they notice the presence of a Ninja in the initial pull.

Vanguard Monks- Hundred Fists not only sheds targets of their HP at an alarming rate, but also can strip enmity off of a Tank very suddenly when they lose lots of HP or die outright, causing the Monk to run throughout the Alliance, killing whoever slept it, and needlessly delaying its own death. Paladins should note the presence of a Monk and save Sentinel for managing Hundred Fists. Stun is very effective at mitigating Hundred Fists damage and Stoneskin from a Summoner or Blue Mage has proven invaluable in managing multiple monks within a given pull with ease.

Vanguard White Mages- Vanguard White Mages have very high magic resist, they are often hard to keep slept for very long, but we leave them until the very end of a pull. Benediction will not only recover all the HP lost of any enemy nearby, but will also wake all Sleeping enemies in its area of effect, and remove enfeebling magics cast on them. One suddenly fully healed Vanguard is annoying, five or six can be a catastrophe.

This is our kill order at this time. NMs that appear in each zone will be mentioned in their particular strategies, but as a rule should be managed by their Jobs if they have a dangerous Job.

General Duties

With limited time and often far too much to do in it, everyone needs to attentive to their duties in Dynamis. Every Job has a purpose in Dynamis, and the particular strategies we employ define how each job is used. When Food is mentioned, remember that Dynamis can last up to 3.5 hours, so bring sufficient food for that time, expecting at least 1 death just in case. If you are uncertain about your job in Dynamis, what you should be wearing, or who you should be following, Ask questions rather than remain silent. We’re all here to do this the best we can, and that means sharing what we’ve learned from experience with those who need it just as much as being good at our own jobs.
One simple rule goes here: Regardless of your Job, you are not to apply DoTs to any enemy unless you have been expressly ordered or permitted to do so. Applying a DoT to the wrong enemy can cause significant problems due to its immunity to sleep, allowing an unmanaged enemy to rampage through the mages while the melees are already busy elsewhere.

Warriors- Warriors are assigned Damage Dealing Roles, and usually grouped with other Jobs into DD parties with an available healer. Warriors are also expected to be attentive and to throw Provokes on dangerous enemies that might decimate the Black Mages, Red Mages, or Bards who slept them. Bring your DD gear, attack or accuracy food as merits require, and a RR item, as well as Echo Drops if you sub Ninja. Some runs will call for Warrior Tanks, be aware of these requirements by reading the strategies and come prepared to tank if you are called upon to do so.

Monks- Monks are assigned Damage Dealing Roles, and usually grouped with other Jobs into DD parties with an available healer. Bring your DD gear, check the strategy in case you need Chi Blasting gear, attack or Accuracy food as merits require, and a RR item, as well as Echo Drops if you sub Ninja.

Thieves- Thieves are assigned to Damage Dealing parties to make sure to have as much Treasure Hunter as possible on as many kills as possible to improve Relic and Currency drops. While in said DD parties, Thieves are expected to gain enmity on every possible mob to make sure they are affected by Treasure Hunter. This should include making ranged attacks on statues. Thieves are also expected to be ready to perform Sacrifice Pulls to limit the size of a linked pull or control the pull of a Boss or NM. Bring your DD gear, Rogue’s Poulaines for Flee, Attack or Accuracy food as Merits require, and a RR Item, as well as Echo Drops if you sub Ninja.

White Mage- White Mages are assigned their usual healing role, and are assigned to the Tank Party, and then to DD parties as they are available. White Mages are expected to be able to tend to their parties, as well as cure other parties if their party is fine. Applications of Haste and Erase are vital to keeping the run moving smoothly. With the addition of Repose, White Mages can play a very effective role in aiding crowd control as well. Bring your MP/healing gear, Good MP food, Keep RR3 up, and bring Echo Drops, and Poison Potions.

Black Mage- Black Mages are assigned an artillery role, and are usually grouped with other Black Mages, a Red Mage and/or Bard, to form Black Mage Parties. Black Mages are expected to nuke down statues as they come in, and assist in killing dangerous or melee resistant enemies like Thieves, Paladins, Ninjas, and Monks. Black Mages are also assigned to nuke certain pets that are dangerous when given too much TP. Black Mages also are called upon to perform ‘timed nukes’ in which a precisely coordinated mass of identical nukes is landed on a target, killing it instantly without linking any surrounding enemies. Bring your full array of gear for sleeping, nuking, resting, and Drain/Aspiring, good MP Food, a RR item, and Echo Drops and Poison Potions. Certain runs require /WHM or /RDM from Black Mages, so be sure to ask if you’re not sure.

Red Mage- Red Mages are scattered throughout the alliances, usually one to a party, and are assigned an amazing array of roles. Generally expected to manage Refresh and Backup Curing for their party, all Red Mages are expected to assist in crowd control by applying Sleepga and Sleep 2 to pulled enemies. When we are short White Mages, Red Mages take on a main healing role, but must remain attentive to their crowd control duties. In certain situations, Red Mages may be called upon to kite, or assist a Kiter, or to help the Black Mages manage statues. Red Mages with Slow 2 or Paralyze 2 are encouraged to apply them to sleeping enemies, and Red Mages assigned to Tank or Kite parties that have Phalanx 2 are encouraged to apply it as needed. For many runs, a certain number of Red Mages are asked to sub Dark Knight to enable the powerful Chainspell/Stun combination that we often use to cripple dangerous Boss and NM enemies. Given the wide array of needed functions, food, Gear, and subjob choices are important, so ask your fellow Red Mages about what they prefer. As for everyone, bring a RR item and your Echo Drops and Poison Potions, and if you expect to Kite, Powder Boots can save your life.

Bard- Bards are a highly desirable resource in Dynamis, as there are enemies that cannot be reliably slept by dark-element Sleep Spells. Bards are assigned primarily to Mage and Tank parties, and then elsewhere as they are available. Bards in these parties are expected to maintain ballads, or whatever songs are appropriate for their party, and assist with crowd control using Lullaby. Applying Elegy is always acceptable, but remember the above rule about DoTs and leave your Requiem at home. Bring your best Lullaby gear, food as you need it, and a RR item, as well as Echo Drops and Poison Potions.

Beastmaster- We do not often bring Beastmasters into Dynamis, at current, as our Beastmasters bring other jobs. I cannot comment on the role we would assign them without experience.

Blue Mage- Blue Mages are assigned a Damage Dealing and Support Role, usually at least one is assigned to the Tank Party for Diamondhide, and then additional Blue Mages are assigned to DD parties to assist in their work and survival. Bring your DD gear, attack or accuracy food as merits require, and a RR item, as well as Echo Drops.

Corsair- Corsairs are assigned a Damage Dealing and Support Role, usually assigned to a Black Mage party for Evokers Roll and Warlocks/Wizards Rolls as needed. When not Rolling, Corsairs are expected to contribute to DD. Bring your DD gear, attack or accuracy food as merits require, and a RR item, as well as Echo Drops if you sub Ninja.

Dark Knight- Dark Knights are assigned a Damage Dealing Role, and are usually grouped with other Jobs into DD parties with an available healer. Dark Knights are expected to be attentive and aggressive with their use of Stun. Bring your DD gear, attack or accuracy food as merits require, and a RR item, as well as Echo Drops.

Dragoon- Dragoons are assigned a Damage Dealing Role, and are usually grouped with other Jobs into DD parties with an available healer. Bring your DD subjob, such as Warrior or Samurai, for maximum effect, unless /NIN is called for due to AoE concerns. Bring your DD gear, attack or accuracy food as merits require, and a RR item.

Ninja- Ninjas are assigned a Damage Dealing Role, and are usually grouped with other Jobs into DD parties with an available healer. Ninjas are also expected to be attentive and to throw Provokes on dangerous enemies that might decimate the Black Mages, Red Mages, or Bards who slept them. Sometimes Ninjas are assigned to Kite Statues on large pulls or specific enemies such as NMs or Hydras in the Northlands. Bring your DD gear, Ninja Kyahan for Kiting, attack or accuracy food as merits require, and a RR item and Echo Drops.

Paladin- Paladins are our Tank of choice in Dynamis, and so are assigned to the Tank Party, or parties, as strategy dictates. A primary Paladin is assigned the role of Main Tank, and usually a second Paladin is assigned the role of Backup Tank. Paladins are sometimes called upon to Kite, or off-tank, dangerous enemies while the main force fights other targets. Bring your Tanking Gear and food, a RR item, and Echo Drops and Poison potions.

Puppetmaster- Having brought a Puppetmaster to Dynamis on several occasions now, their versatility cannot be overstated. Given the varied nature of the Automaton, a Puppetmaster can assist DD while Main Healing a DD party, assist with nuking normal enemies, or focus on generating DD. Most importantly, the Ability to retool the Automaton quickly allows them to switch roles as individual needs appear. The benefit of the Puppetmaster on the runs where I have had them was significant.

Ranger- Rangers are assigned a Damage Dealing Role, and are usually grouped with other Jobs into DD parties with an available healer. Rangers are capable of dealing damage to enemies during the Perfect Dodge 2 Hour ability and so are expected to focus their damage on such targets, in addition to their regular damage dealing. Rangers should be attentive to Shadowbind loose enemies that are damaging mages in the event sleep wears off or is resisted. Rangers are an especially preferred DD for some large Boss fights due to their ability to unload an amazing amount of damage in a short time. Bring your DD gear, attack or accuracy food as merits require, a RR item, Echo Drops if you sub Ninja, and an extra RR item if you sub Warrior.

Samurai- Samurai are assigned a Damage Dealing Role, and are usually grouped with other Jobs into DD parties with an available healer. Samurai are also called upon to self-Skillchain on certain Bosses to allow powerful coordinated Magic Bursts. Bring your DD gear, attack or accuracy food as merits require, and a RR item.

Summoner- Summoners are applied primarily to a support role, generally assigned to a tank party to apply Aerial Armor, Noctoshield, and Earthen Ward. However, since the update that altered Blood Pacts into two categories, Summoners also contribute useful DD without interfering with their support role at all. New information regarding the effect of Treasure Hunter indicates that there is no reason for Summoners to restrain their DD at any point. Bring your various avatar gears, Echo Drops, Poison Potions, and a RR item.



Specific Duties

In addition to the general duties of every job, certain individuals are assigned various specific duties. These duties are not always fulfilled by the same individual, though you will notice certain people managing them on a regular basis because of their experience. Be aware that you may be called upon to manage one of these duties at any time if the current manager is unavailable.

Puller- The Puller, usually a Ranger or Thief, but not always, is assigned to aggro specific statues and lure them and their newly popped links back to the alliance for sleeping and eventual death. The Puller must have a thorough knowledge of the positioning and pops of statues, the quantity and jobs of their pops, and the strategy for any given run as a whole. The Puller is the only person who should ever be wandering ahead of the alliance, and if you find yourself following the puller somewhere, slap yourself and go back to the alliance. Pullers depend upon timely Sleeps and Provokes from the alliance for their survival, so watch the Linkshell Chat for Pull messages and avoid adding needless spam to that channel that might get your Puller killed. Pullers will sometimes be called upon to perform Sacrifice Pulls, leading a large number of enemies away and dying at a remote location to give the Alliance time to manage something. Due to the nature of Sacrifice Pulls, sometimes volunteers will be called for to perform them if an existing puller is weakened. Utsusemi or Blink, Flee, the Perfect Dodge 2-Hour, Stoneskin, and Protect and Shell are all of great assistance when attempting to survive long enough to reach an adequate distance at which to die.

Main Tank- The Main Tank, almost always a Paladin, is assigned to select a target, attack it, and then call /assist in Linkshell Chat to allow the waiting melees to attack it as well. The Main Tank is expected to know the Kill Order and job names for Vanguards in each zone, as well as the Jobs of NMs, in order to correctly select targets for the alliance. While it can be exceptionally difficult to fight 40+ DDs for enmity, the Main Tank is also expected to maintain hate as best as possible to avoid needless deaths amongst the melees. Proper management of job abilities is key to surviving as the Main Tank, using Rampart and Sentinel to absorb damage and protect your party at the right times is essential. The Main Tank depends upon timely sleeps and re-sleeps, aggressive Stunning of dangerous Vanguards by Dark Knights, Black Mages and Red Mage/Dark Knights, and the constant attention of at least one White Mage. The alliance as a whole depends on various melees with Provoke to try to keep various Vanguards off of the mages, even while they are meleeing the Main Tank’s target, until the Main Tank can bring the full force of the alliance to bear on them.

Backup Tank- Usually an additional Paladin or two is assigned this role, which makes them the Main Tank in the event that the current Main Tank is killed. The order of Tanks is usually established at the beginning of the run, and the alliance should be ready to switch their /assist macros quickly to avoid a lag in response. While not Main Tanking, Backup Tanks should be aggressively Provoking dangerous Vanguards and pets to keep them from decimating the crowd control specialists and healers that will likely have such enemies’ attention otherwise. Backup Tanks should also watch for large statue pulls and Provoke additional statues to avoid them attacking mages when they are caught in Sleepgas, to which they are effectively immune.

Black Mage Leader- Usually a Black Mage, of course, this position provides assists for the Black Mages, calls times for coordinated nukes, and keeps the command alliance apprised of the readiness of the Black Mages to perform their duties. Experienced Black Mages often do not bother with a specific leader, but it can be very helpful for coordinating newer members and avoiding needless Black Mage deaths from splitting fire at multiple statues. When no Black Mage leader is assigned, you can expect Timed Nuke calls to come from Etherion when they are required.

Kiters- Especially in the Northlands, Kiting is a reliable method of busying dangerous and sleep-resistant enemies while the alliance deals with other enemies. Ninjas, Red Mages, and sometimes Paladins are called upon to Kite using various methods. Usually teams of two or three members are assigned to manage a given dangerous enemy. These teams keep the enemy busy and away from the alliance until called upon to bring it back for elimination. Kiting is also used by Red Mages, Ninjas, the Puller and others to keep statues busy while Black Mages manage other statues. If you expect to be called upon to kite, discuss your preferred method with other members of your job, and even consider practicing on Beastmen or other enemies outside Dynamis to test your skills.