Blog Tag: Ffxiv Cloud Of Darkness

Some time ago, Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail released a new Chaotic mode in the original very popular World of Darkness, which allows the entire alliance to fight against the 100-level version of Cloud of Darkness, which appeared in the story of A Realm Reborn. But the battle you experience here will be more difficult than before, because the enemy level has been increased by 50 levels and has added some additional attacks. So just be more vigilant when challenging it and coordinate the whole team. The difficulty of this boss is only at the medium level of the current game content.

If you don’t have such conditions at present, don’t worry too much. This guide will introduce you to how to deal with this terrifying dark cloud from two aspects: pre-battle preparation and combat strategy, so that you can kill it as quickly as possible and get a lot of loot.

Pre-Battle Preparation

You unlock the location of this boss, World of Darkness (Chaotic), after completing the level 100 Dawntrail quest called How the West Was Sung. In addition, you will need to complete the main story in Patch 7.0 and speak to Wandering Minstrel in Tuliyollal (X: 11.2, Y: 14.7) to gain access to the raid where you fight Cloud of Darkness.

Although the developers stated at the time of release that it was technically possible to do this raid with only 12 players, after actual testing by many players, you and a group of 24 players will be the best team to complete this raid, including six tanks, six healers, and 12 DPS. Most importantly, everyone must be at item level 710 or higher, which can be achieved by completing Echoes of Vana’diel raid.

Strategy In Battle

Although Cloud of Darkness is fierce, it does not use any new attacks that have never appeared in FFXIV or Shadowbringers or Endwalker expansion. If you have completed those Savage-level raids before challenging it, it will be very easy to predict the next move of this boss and react more accurately.

However, it should be noted that Cloud of Darkness has a very fast attack speed, even one of the best in the game, and can complete an overwhelming attack on you by performing multiple moves. It is precisely because of this potent combination of attacks that this raid has earned the title of chaotic. So when facing this boss, you need to make sure to spend some FFXIV Gil to make your build very flexible, so that there is a certain possibility of getting through this difficult time.

Another thing to note is that Cloud of Darkness will automatically attack all three tanks first. These attacks are very fierce and will greatly reduce the tanks’ resistance to subsequent damage. So in the three-tank build, you should use Provoke as much as possible to protect your partners, which is also a common ability of tanks in the game. In addition to the bleed damage it can cause to you and your companions, the ability to heal health and use Ensua is also very important to complete the fight.

Main Attacks

Now let’s take a look at what attacks Cloud of Darkness will use in the fight with you and what strategies you should use. When starting the fight, it will use its one hand to split a large area of ​​the current arena and slam the ground in front of it. Like most boss attacks in FFXIV, there is a high-level warning to remind you of what is coming next. So you can dodge by standing under the other arm that is not raised and avoid the melee attack damage it will cause from the front.

Next, Cloud of Darkness will perform two moves at the same time. First, many lasers will spawn from the south and east of the arena. At this time, please turn your camera to find and avoid all lasers. Then a random number of players on your team will be marked with Stillness markers, which have appeared in previous raids. During this time, one of your tank teammates will have 3 tagged Flares, which may help Cloud of Darkness attack you. When they start to attack you, try to stay away from untagged teammates, especially those who can provide ranged DPS, and use defensive cooldowns to mitigate the damage you take.

In addition, Cloud of Darkness also has two different mechanics, pushing outward from the center and pulling inward. If a blue circle appears in the arena, it means that it is now a push-out mechanic, so try to get as close to the circle as possible to avoid being knocked out of the arena. If it is a black circle, it means that it is a pull-in mechanic and you need to move away immediately to avoid being killed immediately. It is best to run to the center to avoid follow-up attacks. When Cloud of Darkness reaches around 70% of health. It will summon three Stygian Shadow clones, one each to the west, south, and east of the arena. If you’ve experienced Eden’s Promise raid in FFXIV Shadowbringers, you’ll notice that these enemies are pretty much the same.

The tank here is just moving around to avoid all the enemies, the off-tank can try to disable them, and the ranged DPS can destroy them as quickly as possible to relieve the tank. Meteor pads will appear at various points around the arena, requiring 3-4 players to stand on them to avoid spreading damage to the raid. Once you’ve done enough damage to the three Stygian Shadow clones, Cloud of Darkness will reset back to its original state. If your team has strong DPS, it’s easy to get this boss down to around 20% health, and with just a few minutes of fighting, you’ll win the raid and earn the Cloud Strife achievement for all players.

The above are the specific methods and strategies for you to defeat Cloud of Darkness in World of Darkness in FFXIV Dawntrail. Although some of this boss’s attacks may seem complicated, in fact, as long as your build is flexible enough, you can completely avoid most of its moves that can cause tremendous damage. I wish you a happy game!