FFXIV – Part 216: Azuro Returns! [Blue Mage 50]

Summary: Finishing the 50 blue mage quest and Azulmagia. Challenges #1-25 in the Masked Carnivale.

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I haven’t played blue mage in over a year. My first two sessions with the job:

Part 132, Crystal Blue Persuasion: http://coldrungaming.blogspot.com/2019/04/ffxiv-p...
Part 133, Plague of the Whalaqee: http://coldrungaming.blogspot.com/2019/04/ffxiv-p...

I left off at the end of the 50 story, need to collect more spells and do the Masked Carnivale challenges to progress.

-First, I grinded up to 60 while getting a bunch of new Heavensward abilities. Thanks to Danny B for the blue mage tips! My friend Almaeron helped me with a couple of key spells too, Diamondback and Aetherial Mimicry.

For the carnival itself, I plan to do as best I can on my own but use a guide if a challenge is too tough for me.

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The Masked Carnival

-Some of the early challenges are just a matter of hitting the enemies a lot. With weaknesses if possible (e.g. lightning against lightning-vulnerable enemies).

-The first weird one is #5. Three turtles sit there and do nothing, taking basically no damage. Hm.

Aha! It’s vulnerable to “Flat Damage/Death.” I got a spell called Tail Screw that drops it down to 1HP, then can finish it off.

-Y’know what? I’m feeling pretty good about my kit. I’m going to try Azulmagia again.

-First phase, down! Just dodging and magic attacks.

-Second phase is tougher. Drops blazing spears I have to kill ASAP, but more importantly is immune to magic damage. I just picked up Drill Cannon though from a magitek this evening, which gives me a physical spell.

-Third and final phase time, and… I’m stuck. Literally and figuratively. Azulmagia casts web on me, making it impossible to move, then drops a huge meteor. I can’t run out of it. Too slow.

I tried using Exuviation (a Esuna effect) to cleanse the slow from his web spell. It doesn’t work. Really dunno what to do, so I just look it up.

AHA! I should’ve known. I have to use a spell I actually have in my arsenal called “Loom.” It’s a short-range teleport. I can teleport while webbed to safety from the meteor.

-Still, the execution is nasty. I’ve tried a few attempts at this. The whirlwinds Azulmagia summons cloud my vision, Loom is tough to use, and there’s just not much room to move.

*four attempts later*

I’m getting pretty frustrated. The main struggle is that Loom is TERRIBLE. I hate abilities that use those aiming reticles, especially when you need precision.

*two more attempts later*

FHDSJKLFHDSKLFHDSL FINALLY!!!! WOOO GOT HIM!

My biggest adjustment was to stop trying to nail the most precise Loom. Instead, I started casting Loom as soon as Web hit. Then I’d immediately cast a second one, neither of which had to be max distance. That took me out of the meteor hit. 

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Turning Over a Blue Leaf

-The main quest focused on two blue mages. Whastrach is exploiting the land sacred to the Whalaqee (a thinly disguised Native American metaphor). Marten is not a great guy, but an ally trying to amend the harm done to the Whalaqee.

My battle against Whastrach took place in a WWE-style arena. I played “Azuro the Second” while Whastrach was full heel as “Azulmagia.” (I still love that FFV callback. Perfection.)

-Beating Azulmagia saved the sacred Lapis Canyon for the Whalaqee.

-Whastrach is an antagonist, but not a full-on villain. A businessman who will still look to exploit “the New World,” but maybe in less aggressive ways than using their sacred land. I guess that’s something?

In his favor, he’s hiring a Whalaqee guide, Ceadda, to help him steer clear of sacred land.

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More Masked Carnivale

-Now that I have a reasonable baseline of spells, I’m really enjoying the masked carnival. The trial and error process is fun.

For instance, #19, “On a Clear Day You Can Smell Forever” against a malboro named Reflective Rebekkah. A two act fight, with no obvious weaknesses.

ATTEMPT #1: She pops up Reflect early, making her immune to magic. I have a physical spell though, Drill Cannons. First phase is just dodging aoe telegraphs. Second phase though, she summons adds all around the room that have a gaze attack. They’re all around so I can’t avoid it. It hits me, stuns me, and I get killed by her Bad Breath.

(ATTEMPT #1.5: I just got sloppy and hit by Bad Breath in first phase. Silly death.)

Rekt by Rebekkah.

ATTEMPT #2: So the problem is those gazer adds. What can deal with them? I tried using Diamondback, but it just reduces damage and makes me not move. The status effects from Rebekkah’s breath still hit.

ATTEMPT #3: The gazer adds stun me, but don’t do damage. Their only threat is how they set me up for Rebekkah’s aoe. This time, I try moving just out of Bad Breath before the stun lands… AND IT WORKS! I kept moving and got stunned just outside Rebekkah’s breath.

Finished her off for a victory.

-WOOOO!! Completed the 25 Masked Carnivale challenges!

-My favorite challenge was #18, Midsummer Night’s Explosion.

It wasn’t hard, but it was SUPER satisfying. The enemies were manticores with long wind-up attacks, and the arena was filled with explosive kegs. I had to position them so that the manticores’ attacks hit the kegs instead, doing big damage to them.

-I figured out most strategies myself, but sometimes needed a guide. Like the Typhon/Ultros fight. I just could NOT beat the third act. Ultros’ tentacles stun-locked me, bouncing me around the arena forever.

The guide’s solution was a bit cheesy tbh. Basically, I buffed with Bristle and Off-Guard, and then used Final Sting to do a double knockout (which surprisingly counts as a win).

-Beyond that, I learned a lot about how to use my abilities that I didn’t know before. Some keys:

FLYING SARDINE: (an instant cast interrupt) was a lifesaver.

ACORN BOMB/RAM’S VOICE: Great crowd control.

DRILL CANNON: My only real physical attack, absolutely required in some cases.

DIAMONDBACK: Felt absolutely mandatory in some fights to survive huge damage bursts.

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Random Stuff Around Eorzea

The spellbook entries for blue mage spells are flat-out hilarious:

So are the punalicious names of the Masked Carnivale challenges:

Name and dress out of a gothic romance:

Stylish blue mage Ququshu:

Player with a cool design:

-Some great player names seen recently:

Yubaba Dook – one of my favorite horror movies ever.
Kim Chiii – …an acquired taste
Cutest Munchkin
Lord Kittylover

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Next time: The 50-60 blue mage story.