FFXIV: Alexander Creator Cleared
First, I want to thank the kind folks in my FC who put up with me helped me through A11 and A12. I really do appreciate the help, and everyone played well… I know without them, I probably wouldn’t have gotten through. So don’t let my frustration with myself and the raid reflect on these good folks.
I finally cleared all of the Alexander (Normal) raid, which only reinforced the knowledge that I am not a raider at heart. Laugh if you want, but these fights get my panic reflexes going. This might be fun for some who enjoy this, but it’s not pleasant for me.
Anyhow. A11 has been a roadblock for me since the first week of 3.4. I can’t count the number of times I’ve tried and failed that fight. I haven’t actually played Alex in a while because it was discouraging that most everyone else had finished it… and I was still stuck on a fight that I didn’t particularly like. I was so tired of going forward and back and back and back…
Last night, the FC wanted to run a full clear of Alex, which was part of the problem, I think. I should never try to run all of these raids in a row as it shoots my stress level through the roof. But I did because it didn’t feel right to only hop in for things I needed and not help out with what others needed, too.
I also ran it on Dragoon for the first time, since my Dragoon just (barely) hit the ilvl to be able to run it. Both these things were semi-issues. I’m still shaking off the cobwebs with my Dragoon, which is much more intense to play than Bard, and still working on getting my gear up to par.
All the runs went super smooth, for which I’m grateful. We even skipped a phase on A11 because our damage output was pretty high. I had a few oh-crap moments in A11 as Dragoon, but for the most part, it felt like the boss was taunting me.
“See how easy I can be? How did you get stuck on me for a whole month? Huh? Huh?”
Yeah, shut up, Cruise Chaser.
Now A12… oh man. So, because I already made my FC helpers wait on me while I watched cutscenes between A11 and A12 (I’m only there for the story), I felt it would be crappy to make them wait longer while I watched a video on the mechanics.
Big. Mistake.
I wasn’t 100% blind on the fight as I had Syn coaching me on the side, but let me say that I’m never going into a mechanically intensive battle like this without watching a video again.
I died. So. Many. Times.
And I felt so bad. I practically felt like I got a carry.
I could hardly keep my DPS rotation up because the whole thing was like Alexander was playing a glorified game of ping pong against the floor… with me as the ball.
I’m trying to laugh about it now, but it was a pretty rough fight for me.
I thought the mechanics were neat and that the fight was overall well designed, don’t get me wrong. But it would have been more fun if I wasn’t constantly dead due to one thing or another. Even my first run of A11 wasn’t this abysmal, and I didn’t watch a video when I went in there, either. But again, I was playing Bard, and that’s a lot more forgiving.
The high points of the run: I got the Alex boots for my Bard (already had them for Dragoon), and I actually got the Alexander minion drop, too.
I was just so frustrated with A12, though, that I didn’t even have the energy to be excited about the minion. Though I do know that it’s a pretty rare drop.
The story and its conclusion were pretty interesting overall. I was glad that I saw the whole raid series to its end, just for the clear and the title (which I actually like).
For now, though, I’m putting Alexander to rest. I feel like I’ve finished it, and that’s enough. Maybe one day when ilvls are higher, I’ll work up the courage to try A12 again. But at this point, I really have no desire to go back, and not even the lure of i250 drops are that enticing. I’ll stick to my Expert Roulette (which I actually like this time around) and Palace of the Dead for Tomes and gearing.
Farewell, Alexander. I’m just glad that’s over with!