Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tales

Hmm. I don't think that's true. I read somewhere that it only works if you fight him at level 66, since he goes up to three levels above you.

However, I take all rumours with a pinch of salt and choose to believe that not only will Maat pound me into the ground repeatedly with Asuran Fists no matter what level I enter as, he'll then dance on my corpse.

S'why I would like to get Hexa-Strikes (unlikely as it may be) before then. I'd like try pounding the snot out of him at least once (and I have seen it done).

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that it only works if you fight him at level 66, since he goes up to three levels above you.

Does he? Everything I've read said he was the same level/job... That'd be annoying if it was three ahead of you.

But still, I wouldn't mind fighting him early. Get it out of the way, if possible. :/ I can't imagine how poorly I'd take Asuran Fists if I couldn't stun it or kite him or something.

Ha ha. DRKs are weak to fisting. :P

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What I mean is that the thing I read said if you go in at 66, he's 69. Go in at 67+ and he's 70.

Like I said, I don't believe anything I read on Alla.

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Ha ha. DRKs are weak to fisting. :P

*facedesks* I hate you.

*rubs her temples* Think happy thoughts... think happy thoughts...

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*snickers* I knew you'd like that line! :D

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I'm suddenly grateful for my job's lack of h2h skills so that I can avoid that particular entendre-laiden pitfall around you.

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Ead, on the other hand, is a MNK~!

*joy!*

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draymor.livejournal.com

Pishposh, WHM can too fist, we just don't do it as fast (or hard) as MNKs do.

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~~We only do it one-handedly.~~

I am so not getting into this.

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I'm sure a DRK would take a one-handed, slower fisting much better~!

Heeheehee.

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It's a good thing there aren't children on the LS >.>

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Yet.

Just give Cehra and I a little time~!

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linmayu.livejournal.com

I'm sure a DRK would take a one-handed, slower fisting much better~!

Is that so? >.> <.< er...well...thanks for the tip! gottago! XD

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And somewhere, somehow, Ebin is thanking me. :P :D

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draymor.livejournal.com

You might want to pass the test using the traditional method first, as I heard that you lose EXP when you try it again. Also, keep in mind that he's a WHM as well and will have access to benediction.
That said, busting a self-Light on him with black halo and hexa strike is one of my long term goals ;)

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I don't care if it's a total failure, I just want to go in there and smack him with hexa strikes to see if I can.

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Not true, as far as I know. I went in at 69 to try and avoid Asuran Fists and he didn't use it on me. But then I heard of Pitterchi going in at 66 and she got pummeled by Asuran.

One thing I have heard which I suspect is true, is that the longer you're in there the more likely he is to use a weapon skill and once you've been in there for over 8 minutes he will start spamming them.

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Oh drat. Maybe the person who did that write-up just got lucky and was only Dragon kicked.

One thing I have heard which I suspect is true, is that the longer you're in there the more likely he is to use a weapon skill and once you've been in there for over 8 minutes he will start spamming them.

One of the two DRK tactics ends the battle in a minute or so (supposedly), but I'm really not too sure about it. I wish I had never heard about it, because the logic behind it makes sense*, and it's making me doubt the slower (and perhaps safer) tactic I had been planning on.

* People were suggesting that since Maat is a test of your ability to play your job, you should do just that. DRKs should not even think about DEF, don't plan to kite, nothing at all. Just hit, hit hard, and hit as fast as can be expected (sleep to 100%, Guillotine, I. Wing, Guillotine supposedly = dead Maat). That hard&fast way would mean eating bison steak and switching out your armor to get as much ATT+ as possible. The slower way has you eating a taco (so if things go badly you might be able to take a hit somewhat better), and wearing more DEF/EVA stuff. I totally understand and don't disagree with the logic of it being a test of your job, but... my playing style is really conservative and the idea of trusting that two WSs will be enough to finish him off makes me twitch. :/

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draymor.livejournal.com

I somewhat disgree with "testing your job".
While it's true that it is a test of skill, it's by no means the skill of doing your job "normally". Let's face it, in what WHM's career would he be asked to keep someone alive while getting pounded on for 5 minutes straight?

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Hmm, true. I guess WHM Maat does still hit you guys. Maybe it's "testing your job under fire"? :P

Too bad you have to get a new test for each try, if it wasn't for that this would be ~~a whole lot~~ somewhat less stressy.

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loneguardian.livejournal.com

Whatever people tell you, Maat is NOT NOT NOT about 'testing' how well you play your job. The only job that -might- qualify for is Paladin, because they get pounded on and need to know how to survive, even then, Maat hits -HARD-. @_@ I tried the Sleep to 100%, Penta, I.Wing, Penta, 2xJumps and died every time. I had to take the conservative route with DRG, which is -not- how I play it at all. (I loaded up on DEF and played more defensively than I would in a party situation)

Maat is also 90% LUCK, 10% skill. Do what you need to, if you lose, most of the time it's not your fault. First time I got pounded with Asuran, second, his wyvern saw through Super Jump and killed me. Third? I played defensive, got lucky and only got hit by Combo, killed his Wyvern, and ran the hell away until Kagero killed him. ;3 It's so so so so so much dependant on luck. People who think it's all skill will get frustrated and think they suck when they keep dying. Please keep that in mind.

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Slightly off-topic - I have a DRG question for you.

As we get higher-level, do our wyverns get better at picking the right elemental breath to go with a SC? Because Hien used to be really random, and now he does Frost Breath almost every time we do the ice-based SC.

I'm not worried about Maat yet. I've got many, many levels to go before then. But when do people generally start working on G1? I'm 44, so it's not for another 6 levels, but I don't want to wait too long.

(One level until checkerboard! Yay!)

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You have to be 50 to start the G1 quest, but you can get the items before that.

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Yeah, I think most people try to get their stuff beforehand so that when they *do* turn 50, they can go turn it in and keep on levelling.

What I meant was, when do people normally go out and get stuff? Like, how early can I go places and help out and *not* be a huge liability because I'll aggro everything? ;p

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Well the mobs will aggro you at level 55+.

47+ would be better I think, simply because 2/3 of the G1 mobs have nasty AoE's. I remember getting killed at 60 from the bombs self destruct.

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Gotcha. Thanks! ^^

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loneguardian.livejournal.com

Wyverns do seem to get less random. Once you get your helm, they almost always do the right breath for the mob's weakness, but not always for the skillchain.

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Well, in this case we were doing ice SCs because the monsters were weak against ice, so it was essentially the same result. And cool. I'm glad Hien's learning, too! ^_~

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Slightly off-topic - I have a DRG question for you.

Ehhh. *shifty eyes* You're asking me? My DRG is level 5 or 6 or something. I have no clue how things change as they level, sorry! Poke Aurian, maybe? :)

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I was asking her. But replying to one of her comments in your journal is a bit confusing, admittedly. Sorry! ^^

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Awww, and here I thought you thought that I knew everything about every job!

;) *smooch*

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Bah. What kind of test is that, if it's just luck? (A bad one! Thanks, S-E...)

People who think it's all skill will get frustrated and think they suck when they keep dying. Please keep that in mind.

Oh, I already know I suck (no comments!) so I guess it won't change my opinion of myself. :P

*snugs lots!*

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Maat is not "all skill", but it's not 90% luck either. If it was 90% luck you'd be able to go in there naked and unprepared and there'd be a chance of winning. If you actually did try this, you will die. The only job I know that has a chance of winning this way is thief, and we all know how badly that can go.

Don't discount the "skill" just because it's something you do before the fight.

One piece of advice that I can give that you might not decide to take advantage of (since it's really painful) is to try and have your defensive skills as close to cap as possible i.e. evasion and parry.

They're really difficult to cap out, but I know a lot of DD don't have this levelled at all. Even getting it a few levels above the norm will help. Remember, Maat is DRK with capped evasion and parry skill. It sucks to try and beat him down. So why make it easy for him? :P

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Hmmm, that's a good idea! I was actually getting perry skill last night in CL, so that must be really low on me (those mobs were very TW).

I know how to cap evasion, but how do you work on perry skill? Just fight a lot and hope it happens?

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The mob needs to be attacking you to level parry / shield.

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Maybe I should get you to hit me~!

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Evasion is a *lot* easier to level than parry. Get that one up first.

Parry is processed after evasion, which is why it's so damn hard to level. You also *have* to engage the mob. The general strategy is to wear a lot of -evasion gear (like a hauby) so that you evade less and parry gets a chance to come into play.

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Ah, okay, thanks for the info! My EVA can't be too far off, since it was capped at the event tonight. I'll deal with that, then try to get parry up.

Thank you!

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loneguardian.livejournal.com

XD Okay, how about... 40% luck, 50% preparation, 10% skill? ;3 *ducks!*

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southern-hell.livejournal.com

Check WHM forums for evidence that he doesn't have Asuran at 66. WHMs can easily do it at this level because they only need to cure themselves.

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Oh, good to know! I'll poke our static WHM to make sure she sees this.

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gbeans.livejournal.com

My $.02 on Maat and what skills he has is this: Maat *is not* a mirror of your stats as I've seen some sites claim. I am 110% sure of this.

What I believe is that he's a random generation that's between level 66-70. A few levels can make a huge difference in how difficult a fight is; especially for melee. That's why waiting is usually a good idea because if you get Maat70 and you're Thistle66, you're fighting a mob that's way above you. If you wait, the "worst" it will be is an "even match". (The other two compelling reasons for MNK is being able to equip a Tiger Mask and the fact that our Att is directly related to our H2H skill. So going in with capped H2H at 70 is a big win for us.)

From what I recall I've eaten Combo, Howling Fist, Raging Fist, and Hundred Fists.

Regardless if you want to believe that Maat's level caps at 70 and that SE hasn't given him skills he shouldn't have just to fuck with the players; then he couldn't have Asuran Fists until 71 anyways :x That's the quested WS. Though, personally, I wouldn't figure on that stopping them. (MNKs get the skill for Asuran at 69, but can't quest it until 71).

I think both Auri and Niala are right, though not on percentages XD; I think it's 30% luck (that you got a Maat that's your level or hopefully lower), 30% luck (that he doesn't do something asstacular like EES right off the bat, like he did to Nyiri), 20% prep, and 20% skill.

I know that you can enter and immediately be screwed. Take those losses for what they are; rotten luck. Don't let them get you down or stop you from trying again. You can't have things go against you the entire time. Look at how many times we did CoP 6.4 (1/11) or Xal doing her Maat fight (1/25). You've got to have preserverance!

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; I think it's 30% luck (that you got a Maat that's your level or hopefully lower), 30% luck (that he doesn't do something asstacular like EES right off the bat, like he did to Nyiri), 20% prep, and 20% skill.

That's just horrible though. It should be as close to 100% skill as possible. How's it fair testing someone's luck? :/ Though maybe since luck is part of the game S-E thinks it's fair to test that as well. Or perhaps they didn't think at all!

Rrrr, wish I'd hurry up and level so I could get this finished and out of the way!

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Ok, this is my take on the matter.

It's 100% skill. The difference is that to make sure that you are ready for the X% probability that he will floor you with one of his moves in the first few seconds of battle requires mental and physical readiness and equipment that is not accessible to the average player. As a result most people compromise and say "Ok, I am as ready as I can be. I will take my chances as they stand in order that I not spend $$$$$$$$$ getting ready for this fight. Also, I am not a twitch gamer with reflexes of lightning, so if he throws X move at me I'm dead, but I'll take my chances."

And that's where the luck comes in. And since you've done all you can do, the rest of it is luck.

So yes, this fight has to be nearly entirely luck based, because we didn't clear this fight in the first round. We suck. Boohoo. :P

So we've become so accustomed to walkthroughs that we now expect to overcome Boss encounters in the first battle from reading a description of someone else's approach to beating the boss without having even experienced fighting the boss yourself?

Okay, now I may be coming off a bit harsh here, but I am tired of the highbies scaring the shit out of pre-g5 players. It's one thing to tell them that the fight is not easy. It's another to make them feel that there's nothing they can do except whack away at him and if he does anything that they didn't think of, they're dead.

You are not a helpless victim!

When you're stuck in this fight you feel terrible, because of all the gil you're spending; because of the prospect of having to call on your friends to help you find testimonies (btw real friends won't mind). It sucks balls. But at the end of the day when you beat Maat, you know you earned it, because no-one else can help you with this fight.

Even if he lets you off by casting Bio instead of Aeroga IV, you were prepared for Aeroga IV and you knew exactly what you would do in that situation.

That is skill.

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Thank you! This is the view on it that I like best. I recall when you beat him you said something like "it's all about keeping a cool head and being ready to adjust to whatever he does". I can see how it would look like luck, but I'd rather think of it this way. (At least now. Ask me again after I've lost 478352175 times! :P )

So we've become so accustomed to walkthroughs that we now expect to overcome Boss encounters in the first battle from reading a description of someone else's approach to beating the boss without having even experienced fighting the boss yourself?

I was thinking about that last night. Imagine the first group who did that NM fight! I bet they were surprised to be mobbed by all those undeads from the two hallways!

In a way I sort of miss that. It would be very hard and frustrating not to have all the walkthroughs, but there's something to be said for figuring these things out for yourself. (Which is actually one of the reasons I like chocobo digging. Ask six different experienced diggers how things work, and you'll get six very different answers! No one knows much of anything about it!)

I've been looking forward to (or dreading) this fight for so long, I can't wait to finally do it!

Thanks!

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Thank you, Thistle. (See if you can figure that one out.)

I assure you I was not nearly as composed as that makes me sound when I did my Maat fight.

Now I have to convince myself that the CoP6-4 isn't entirely luck based. ;3

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I assure you I was not nearly as composed as that makes me sound when I did my Maat fight.

Perhaps. But you are one of the coolest headed players I know, so. :)

Now I have to convince myself that the CoP6-4 isn't entirely luck based. ;3

I've blocked 6-4 out of my head. Seriously. I had been excited about Promy-V-whatever, but now I'm like "Hey, we can stop right where we are! We're not missing much, right?" :P I still feel bad about all the stress Zubis and company had to go through.

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doxxxicle.livejournal.com

For the BLM fight, the times I lost were due to nerves causing me to not cast the correct spell or not notice that Maat was doing something I should counter. The time I did win, I still missed an Aeroga III (the third one that he cast in a row, the bastard!!!) as I was casting my final spell, which wiped me out ... but I was prepared for that and immediately reraised, Manafonted and cast Burst to kill him.

That is the skill of which Niala speaks. Knowing what he can do, how it affects you, and what you can do to counter it or recover from it. And sometimes, you can only develop that skill by losing the fight a few times.

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