[Ganzar]

PLDs are useless in this battle (well... not completely useless but there are much better choices out there) and this is coming from a PLD...

with any good RNG or DRK the hate will easily be pulled off of you the more and more mandys you go through. It'd be much better to have another pure DD or a warrior to fill that spot than a PLD doing mediocre damage at best and struggling to keep hate if at all. (hell, after the first two battles I ever did I opted just to be a slight dd and healer for our ranger, threw in cover when I could).

[AlthornCS]

I did Giddeus one evening with my LS. Everyone brought an orb. We only had one death - due to not getting Silence back up in time on the black mandra - and it was the only time we came even remotely close to losing.

iirc, party was

WHM/BLM (me)
RDM/WHM (I think - not sure on the SJ)
MNK/WHM
PLD/WAR
MNK/WAR
BST/? (can't remember what he had subbed)

PLD got agro, mages silenced the black, bard kept the rest sleeping, BST grabbed one of the white mandras and sicced it on the target.

[Arianne]

I fought BCNM 40 with a LS 9 times, if I recall. Two of them (the first and the third tries) were failures, mostly because we were desperate when our tank (first time it was a NIN, other was a PLD) died - at later attempts, we realized we could have the the other melee tank while we raised the tank and had it rest for 5 mins till the weakened effect was over.

Anyway, our LS pt consisted of:

-RDM/BLM (myself, to keep everyone alive);
-WHM/BLM (to heal the bard) - we also had another RDM as the BRD healer, it worked just as well;
-BRD/WHM (you know this one);
- PLD/WAR or NIN/WAR (we did it with both, I personally preferred the Ninja, but it didn't make that big of a difference);
-BLM/RDM (Silence & Nuke, back-up heal if necessary);
-random melee/WAR (we only tried with DRg and SAM, our LS is mage-heavy).

In any case, we may not have had the ideal pt, but after a few attempts we got the handle of it. I used Yagudo Drinks the first few times for Mp (I was meleeing to help out with the dmg), later on I realized I was better off converting twice during the battle (most, if not all of our battles, exceeded 20 mins).

Anyways, it took us about 5 successes till we got an Erase drop (which we kindly donated to our WHM) and a couple more till Phalanx dropped (which I got for free, thanks to our brave PLD, Delant).

I haven't fought it in a while, because we ran out of orbs... anyways, my point is that even a party that is not exactly ideal can be successful against BCNM 40, as long as they are competent players. It's just a matter of getting used to it.

[Faranna]

I've done this a few times, honestly, PLD are probably the single worst class you can bring to this BCNM. Even BST and THF can offer more.

The only class you NEED is a BRD. Then, depending on how much you trust people, either 1 or 2 healers. SMN, RDM, WHM, all work about the same. You don't have Refresh at 40, and nobody really NEEDS the big cures, as there's only 1 damaging attack in the whole BCNM, and that can be Utsusemi'd.

My BCNM group so far has been doing it with 2 healers. Takes a little longer, but, safer. We can usually clear it in 10-12 minutes with only minor disasters.

RNG are, by far, the best damage dealing class for this. BLM _WILL_ run out of mana. I don't care how many yag drinks you suck down, you'll run out of mana. The other thing, and this sounds silly, but a good SC is important. My group was doing Flaming Arrow-> Sturmwind -> Piercing Arrow, I think. We'd add on an easy 200-500 points of SC damage just with that. It's helpful for the black mandy, but that combo will instantly destroy a white one, who are still quite dangerous.

As for silence... eh, it's useful, but, not needed. Anybody /nin can just blink Flood away. I've had to absorb one or two, it's never killed me as a 40 warrior/thf. I think the biggest help to BCNM40, other then a bard with a horn and signa, is just having good people. A really good THF is a hundred times better then a bad RNG for this fight. You don't need an "ideal" group, as shown by the fact that people do it with PLDs, but you do need ideal players. Good equip, good food, know how to react to a changing situation.

[Demesia]

I'm so depressed 0/3 for my experience with this battle.

[Centorio]

As a THF/NIN, do you guys think that I would benifit a BCNM pt? Let's say I do go into a BCNM fight, What should be my role? SA/TA onto someone? or should i just SA+WS alone? I havent tried BCNM because I thought we were worthless but now i'm considering it.

[Anakie]

I suggest having two healers, whether the healers be WHM, RDM, SMN, or BLM.

One healer needs to only heal the Bard. The other needs to heal Melee.

Make sure the DRK's have a macro for Stun, and that they watch for the black mandragora to start casting Flood.

When we do Giddeus BCNM40 we have:

WAR/MNK (or PLD/WAR)
DRK/WAR (or DRK/THF)
RNG/NIN
BRD/WHM
RDM/SMN
WHM/BLM, SMN/WHM, BLM/WHM, or RDM/???

1. Once inside the circle, buff everyone with songs and spells, eat, etc.

2. Once ready, have everyone lined up and ready.

3. The Tank walks in first, letting the mandragoras aggro and walk to him.

4. The Bard quickly follows behind, casting horde lullaby.

5. The two healers are nearby healing both the Tank and the Bard until the mandragoras are under control.

6. Meanwhile, the DRK is standing back with the black mandragora targeted waiting to cast Stun if Flood starts being cast.

7. Once under control, the Tank pulls the black mandragora to the side.

8. Healers can move away a bit, if the hate is on the Bard.

9. Melee rush in to begin attacking the black mandragora.

10. The DRK also attacks, but continues to watch for Flood until the black mandragora is dead.

11. Once the black mandragora is dead, the Tank picks off a white mandragora from the Bard--preferably a problematic mandragora--and takes it back to the melee.

12. Continue picking off white mandragoras from the Bard until all are dead.

**Since I play DRK, I always use /assist TankName to target the mandragora that was chosen. I also use a Poison Potion while fighting the black mandragora so I cannot be put to sleep, in case it begins casting Flood--I am ready to Stun.

**Bard may want to eat Fish Kabobs for the extra Defense. Especially a Taru Bard...

**Skillchain is very helpful. We always did: Shadow of Death >> Armor Break >> Flaming Arrow

**We do Giddeus BCNM40 as a Linkshell, so we do 6 BCNMs each time. The way we divide the loot is: Whoever trades the orb, takes all of the loot from the round, sells it, and splits the gil six ways. Seems to be the fairest way to me since the loot can range from one extreme to the other monetarily.

Good luck! Hope I helped. :boing

[Kikaimegami]

Just my two cents:

We've used and cosistantly won with:

WHM/SMN Mithra (meee)
BRD/WHM Taru
DRK/WAR Hume
BLM/WHM Taru OR WHM/BLM Taru
RNG/NIN Taru
RNG/NIN Galka

We even had TWO PEOPLE DIE at the BEGINNING (DRK and after a couple mins, RNG Galka) and still won.

I've only ran very low on mana twice (once was from raising the DRK). BLM is used as a healer only. Don't make them nuke, don't make them Sleepga. Its a waste of mana. When the healers aren't curing, they're sitting on their asses getting as many ticks as possible.