Toggle Background Color
Hello everyone and welcome back. Urianger has three quests for us, but I'm going to ignore two of them for now.
That's not Alphinaud in the panel.
When the senary moon did wane, there sounded a bloodcurdling roar. A new primal had roused, the portents gave us to believe, one whose identity yet lieth beyond our ken. By thy hand, three primals have since been vanquished. As each returned to the aether, 'twas observed that tremors foreshadowing this fourth grew in strength and frequency both. The being doth quicken, and in time it shall become a scourge upon the land.
This quest can only start after Ginger's beaten HM Ifrit, Garuda, and Titan.
Yet even as we pondered a course of action, a benevolent soul did arise, one who would forestall this threat. Though she be tender in years, she is true of heart and steadfast of resolve. She would solicit thine aid, if thou art willing to proffer it. Lest thou wonder, this maiden is of our order. Thus did the Antecedent straightways consent that thou shouldst assist her howsoever thou mayest.
As soon as thou art able, hie thee to Wineport, where thy petitioner doth await thee even now. Thou shalt for a certainty find her visage strikingly familiar.
Those of you unfamiliar with the game may not recognize Alisaie. She's Alphinaud's twin sister and early in the MSQ could be seen walking along with him in the background of many shots. The last time we saw her was just after Ginger got inducted to the Immortal Flames, right after she first killed Ifrit.
They're identical twins despite being different genders. And they unfortunately will be wearing the same outfit for all of A Realm Reborn. It's not until the Heavensward postgame when the pair will finally decide to wear different outfits. The easiest way to tell them apart? Alisaie has a red ponytail holder while Alphinaud has blue.
They both have the exact same portrait in this LP, but flipped. It's one of Alisaie. You can't tell unless you know what to look for.
I also want to point out that I originally wanted to hold off on doing this until the middle of the 2.1 MSQ. If you time stuff exactly right, you can get both Alphinaud and Alisaie within 15 yards of each other here in Wineport, both pointedly ignoring the existence of each other. As funny as it would be, I decided to not do that because I'd rather get this stuff on the books.
It has been a while, adventurer. As I recall, my brother Alphinaud took the liberty of introducing us when first-and last-we met. But for the sake of propriety...Alisaie Leveilleur. I thank you for coming. I have heard much and more of your exploits. By your hand, the Black Wolf is slain, and his Ultima Weapon destroyed.
You are possessed of great strength and courage, that much is plain. I shall have need of one such as you if I am to see my mission through to its conclusion.
As you may be aware, the violence of Dalamud's fall changed not only the face of the realm, but also the base of the realm. Specifically, it played havoc with the aetheric currents, creating vast confluences of aether below the surface. Among other phenomena, this led to the formation of subterranean caverns at key points of stress. One such cavern lies beneath Castrum Occidens, and extends to only the gods know where.
Despite appearances, Castrum Occidens is as much a research facility as it is a fortress. Gaius van Baelsar chose the site for no other reason than to probe the caverns without interference.
There's something wrong with this picture...
As you went about vanquishing the returned primals, I observed a repeating wave pattern in the aether, corresponding exactly to the dates on which you were reported to have felled Ifrit, Titan, and Garuda. Upon closer examination, it became clear that these unique waveforms emanated from deep beneath the aforementioned stronghold. Crucially, I recorded the same pattern during the recent celebrations, and have since been given to understand that this phenomenon bears a disquieting similarity to one observed shortly prior to the Calamity.
Five years ago, my grandfather invoked the power of the Twelve that he might contain Bahamut. Alas, his efforts failed, and he vanished, together with his foe. I would know the truth of what transpired that day-of Grandfather's fate, and of the metamorphosis that swept across the land. In casting light upon these mysteries, we will find a way to cure what ails this world.
It is my belief that the answers I seek lie hid within the depths of the cavern. I would have you accompany me on an expedition to find them, Ginger. If truth be told, I am not wont to rely upon others, and have thus far handled matters alone. Yet I am not blind to my limitations. Unescorted, I cannot hope to succeed in this endeavor. I swore that I would find a way to restore peace to Eorzea. If you desire the selfsame, then aid me, as you aided my brother and the Scions.
Hell yeah, count me in. This sounds like fun!
I am in your debt. You are a woman of action, and I sense that we will accomplish much together. But let us not waste any more time. As I mentioned, Castrum Occidens straddles the cavern I wish to explore. If I am to have a hope of reaching it alive, I will need you to infiltrate the stronghold first and locate a path into the depths.
Once you have done so, pray report your success to Storm Private J'brohka. You may consider her my assistant here in Wineport. I have every faith that you will not fail me. Twelve speed your way, Ginger.
Castrum Occidens is where Gaius first set foot in Eorzea way back in like update 14.
And there's the gate down into the huge cavern.
We just need to scout the area out and then report to Alisaie's catgirl friend.
I've been expecting you, Ginger. By your coming, I take it you have successfully located the cavern entrance inside Castrum Occidens?
There's a big road on the north end leading down to a hole in the ground.
...So that's where it's to be found! Marvelous! Oh, but allow me to properly introduce myself. J'brohka is my name, and it is my honor to serve Lady Alisaie. Though, for reasons of convenience, at present I also serve the Maelstrom. This uniform accords me certain privileges, you see-in particular, ready access to the Maelstrom's regional scouting reports. They provide a wealth of local knowledge, including information on secret passages.
...But enough about me. I shall notify Lady Alisaie of your discovery, that she may prepare for the expedition. Though I don't doubt your abilities, none can say what dangers lurk beneath Castrum Occidens. For my lady's sake as well as your own, please spare neither preparation nor caution. Pray choose your companions well.
The Binding Coil of Bahamut is the first raid series in FFXIV. Unlike other dungeons and, indeed, later raids, I'm not even going to try and do this legit.
In the settings of the duty finder we can toggle Undersized Party on and off. Undersized party deactivates syncing to the dungeon's level. So Orokin is going in as a level 80 something-or-other and is going to nuke the raid for us.
Why? Because the Binding Coil of Bahamut is really goddamned hard. Bear with me a moment.
Raids in FFXIV come in three flavors: Alliance raids, Normal raids, and Savage raids. Alliance raids are designed for any 24 people thrown together by the duty finder to complete. It won't always be smooth, but very few groups should actually end because of an inability to do an Alliance raid.
Normal raids were a difficulty introduced mid-Heavensward. They're designed for any 8 random people to complete. After their introduction, normal raids are considered the 'story mode' version of the fight. While they may not be easy at times, they're not difficult.
Then there's Savage raids. These are the top end raids. The ones that you need a dedicated and hand selected team of 8 to beat. Savage raids are well-named and will fuck up most groups attempting them because they're nothing like WoW's raids and are more like a very complex dance. One where if you fuck up the steps, you will often die and take everyone else with you.
The Binding Coil of Bahamut was designed before such designations existed, but it's the equivalent to a Savage raid in difficulty. So it's easier to show off the important bits - the cutscenes - and have Orokin and eventually Malachite nuke the bosses.
I can't give you an idea of what the mechanics for the bosses are because I never played Binding Coil back in the day. I legitimately do not know how to do the boss fights and honestly do not care. My first exposure to it was early Stormblood when my FC at the time was like "hey let's run you through Binding Coil for the story."
If someone far more knowledgeable than I am wants to chime in about the bosses and how to fight them, I'd be glad to include your explanations in the update along with appropriate credit!
The Binding Coil comes in five turns. Get it? Because it's a coil and... turns... It's clever.
Anyway. These five wings mark the first third of the raid. More coils will be introduced through the remainder of the 2.x plot, and through them we will seek to uncover some of the mysteries of the Calamity.
The 8-man raid stories for each expansion all follow this format. They all have stories that tie pretty heavily into the game's narrative, increasingly so the longer the game runs.
So let's get started!
Primal Timbre (This is pretty good. Give it a listen!)
The individual wings all are at different depths. 237 yards down is pretty deep. That's over 216 meters deep into the earth!
The first cavern is pretty straightforward.
Just follow the walkway down and... into a cutscene.
The scars left by the Calamity... I can scarce breathe for the surfeit of aether...
Tell me, have you ever seen corrupted crystals such as these? Such crystals manifested across the realm when the course of the great river of aether was irrevocably altered five years ago.
Ancient Allag created Dalamud-or Meteor, to use the Garlean name-to serve as a celestial prison for Bahamut. Its fall inflicted grievous wounds upon the land-wounds that have yet to heal, as is evident from the corrupted crystals.
Amazing... Dalamud's internal defenses still function in spite of everything-a testament to the ingenuity of the Allagans.
The Garleans seek to appropriate their advanced technology, I am certain of it. We are about to come face-to-face with secrets that have long lain buried within the sands of time.
I love Orokin just awkwardly standing back and watching quietly.
Great dangers may lie beyond, but we have come too far to turn back. The truth of the Calamity is within reach.
The ADS system is just a miniboss.
Another cutscene awaits at the end of the hallway.
<gasp> Gods preserve... Dark wings that would engulf the very heavens... These could only belong to Bahamut, the primal who laid Eorzea to waste five years ago.
At Carteneau, my grandfather sought to imprison Bahamut anew by invoking the power of the Twelve. Alas, the dreadwyrm proved too powerful, and he soon broke free of his confines. Yet instead of resuming the destruction he had begun, Bahamut vanished. Whither to, no one knew...until this day.
But I do not understand... If Bahamut is truly a primal, how is it that he retains his physical form? Did Grandfather defeat him? Or is there some other explanation? We must press on if we are to learn the truth.
This section is just a dash across a bunch of allagan hexes.
I believe you're supposed to be killing these golems to lower fields but whatever.
Eventually you come to the big boss arena.
Calamity Unbound
Caduceus is the first boss.
Caduceus was the first boss.
Don't really care about what's in the boxes and I don't think Orokin does either. That will eventually change. There's some pretty neat looking items with unique looks that you can only get from some of the lower floors.
That's over 833 meters deep. Yeah.
There's not much to say about this one. It's just running back and forth across a small series of platforms killing a succession of minibosses.
There's not even much to say about this because 
Apparently this was quite challenging back in the day. Urban legend has that the popular strategy was to deliberately let the boss hit enrage and then just deal with that instead of its regular mechanics.
For shits I looked at the coffer. Eh.
Next!
Turn 3 sucks. So does Turn 4.
This is over a kilometer deep at this point. It's also just over 7/10 of a mile. It's a very, very long way down. Hard to believe that there's an ancient and very functional airship down here.
So why does this turn suck?
Because it's a maze. These little pads send you flying across the map, so it's a teleporter maze by another name. It takes a very long time to get through and there's nothing but trash monsters in here.
The idea is you want to get farther down to reach the exit or whatever at the bottom. It's not great design.
And then the third terminal you come across just ends the dungeon.
The average item level this raid expects is i77. This came out during 2.0. I'm not even sure the dungeons at that time dropped i70 gear. So you really had to go out of your way to gear up for this thing.
Malachite Dragon has joined Ginger and Orokin this deep down, and his assistance is greatly appreciated!
The cutscene doesn't start until the elevator starts. 
Also this is 1.3km deep.
All this wing is, is just an add rush on an elevator. So I'ma skip to the end.
1.7km deep. Also we've now broken the 1 mile "barrier" as well. Or I guess that should be "malm."
Oh hey, a rock platform. Nice!
This is going rather more smoothly than I expected. It is indeed convenient to have a hero on hand. Gods... That the cavern should open up again, even at this depth... Hah! This resembles a finger...
<gasp> And so it should! This is Bahamut's hand! As with the wings, it seems to be frozen, and for that I count my blessings. But again I find myself wondering, how is it able to retain physical form?
I had assumed that Bahamut's reversion to aether was the cause of the widespread changes to the realm. But if he is still here, then that theory no longer holds. What was it, then, that brought about the realm's sudden regeneration? There is still so much we do not know about Carteneau...
I haven't the slightest inkling how deep these caverns run, but we must continue.
Now, most groups even if they were doing Coils synced, they could get through Turns 1-4 probably fine. Item level and power creep means they can ignore a lot of mechanics. But Turn 5 is where any attempts to do that stop dead.
Meet Twintania, the first of very many reasons you don't do Coils sync.
This fight introduces a new concept, and one that will pop up quite frequently for the remainder of the game's life... especially in raids.
Malachite's been marked by the boss. In a second she's going to swoop down and try to push him into the edge.
It kinda hurts.
A later divebomb hits Orokin. It only deals 4,111 damage. So why did she die? Because the edge is a death plane. That's a recurring gimmick in almost every raid fight for the rest of the game. It's easier to count the fights where that isn't the case than the ones where it is.
After probably 3 straight minutes of very boring dive bombs, Twintania returns and we finish putting her down.
This battle axe looks pretty nice!
And now we have some cutscenes to watch. So...
For once, using the exit doesn't take us out. It takes us deeper.
This contraption... Is it used to control the saturation of aether? I suppose there is only one way to find out.
The dragon you vanquished earlier-doubtless you noticed the peculiar contraption about its neck. It was likely a receptor of some description, used to enslave the creature. Ancient Allag possessed the means to control dragons, it would seem. The Ishgardians would kill for this knowledge, though to be sure, it could as easily be brought to bear against them.
An army of dragons could turn the tide of any battle, as the Garleans once learned to their sorrow. I would not be the least bit surprised if they now sought to exploit this power. Whatever their plans, this serves as another reminder of the might of the Allagans. One cannot help but wonder how so advanced a civilization came to fall.
Power returns to the system and the shutter opens.
Gods be good...
And that enormous crystal-it pulsates as if...as if it were a heart! Then the primal that had awakened...was Bahamut all this time!? No! No, no, NO! This cannot be true! This...this would mean that Grandfather died for naught! Confound it! We do not know enough to strike at it now! We must withdraw!
Who...? Who is that? No...it can't be...
Grandfather? Is it truly you?
Louisoix says something here, but it's inaudible.
...and then he strides towards Bahamut. Along with someone else in the distance.
I-I know... We can do no more for now...
Hm? But this looks like...
How did we come to be in northern Thanalan of all places? Oh, but such details matter little!
Grandfather's alive, Ginger! Bahamut did not defeat him! But why won't he return to us? I don't understand...
Look at that low-res texture. Yikes.
This expedition has yielded more questions than it did answers. At any rate, we would both be better for a rest. Let us return to the Waking Sands and reflect upon what we have seen.
There's no quest directing us there, but here we are all the same.
I am pleased to see you again, Ginger. I have already shared the fruits of our expedition with Urianger. Let us together ponder their implications.
Full glad am I for thy safe return. Lady Alisaie hath apprised me of thy many experiences. As thou wilt doubtless be aware, Master Louisoix was my lady's grandsire. Gravely concerned was I for her safety, but 'twould seem I need not have been so. With all my heart, I do thank thee for watching over her.
But come, thou must speak with Mistress Alisaie upon that which transpired within the Binding Coil. May it serve to bring us closer to the truth of the Calamity.
Shall we begin, then? Urianger, I understand you have a report of your own to share with us.
Aye, my lady. Even as thou didst emerge from the depths, an aetheric disturbance betokening primal activity was observed. In Mor Dhona was it marked first. By comparison of time and magnitude, we have since deduced its origin: the Carteneau Flats.
Strange... There have been no reports of primal activity in that region... It could only have been Bahamut. That would certainly explain how we came to be in northern Thanalan. Somehow, the cavern took us all the way from Vylbrand to the heart of Aldenard.
'Twould seem so, my lady.
It is all but certain, then... After Bahamut disappeared five years ago, he hid himself deep beneath Carteneau, and has since lain dormant, regenerating.
Aye, my lady. Taken together with thine own account of Bahamut's continued presence, the land's slowness to heal and the disorder of the aetheric currents do point to one conclusion... Bahamut stirreth. If left unchecked, the primal shall drink of Eorzea's life force till he doth waken to rain ruin upon the land.
Rest assured, I do not mean to give up, Ginger. Bahamut may still live, but so too does Grandfather. For the past five years, he has been keeping vigil over his nemesis, making certain that the primal does not escape.
Master Louisoix...doth yet live? I...I durst not hope... And thou art certain 'twas no mere manifestation of thine all too sorely felt grief?
I know how desperate this may sound, Urianger, but I saw him with my own two eyes-as did Ginger. But he vanished deeper into the labyrinth before we had the chance to speak.
Two more like fragments of Dalamud pierced the earth when the lesser moon fell. One we have seen. If we can but find the other two, I am certain that we will find Grandfather as well.
If thou so believest, my lady, then I too shall have faith. If it please you, I shall notify the Grand Companies of this development. All Eorzea must stand united if we are to avert a repeat of the Calamity.
That will not be necessary, Urianger. Being the great conciliator that he is, Alphinaud will seek to unite Eorzea of his own accord. If rumors are true, that endeavor is already well underway. So let us leave the diplomacy to the diplomat, while we continue our investigation of Bahamut.
I swear to you, no matter what it takes, we will find my grandfather and uncover the whole truth of the Calamity. Ginger-you have heard me swear to do these things, but without your strength, I cannot hope to make good on my word.
The danger to Eorzea is not passed. For the sake of all who abide here, I pray that you will ever be our sword in the darkness.
I'm in this until the end.
While we could take the Coil2 quest right now, it wasn't introduced until patch 2.2. So that's when we'll be covering it. But that's also quite enough for now. And that's it for Patch 2.0!
The rest of the postgame should be pretty quick. We're still looking at a couple dozen updates until the end, don't get me wrong, but it's in sight now!
Oh and in case anyone is wondering, Leraika and SMaster777 both try to explain the mechanics of the various bosses:
Leraika posted:
Brief rundown of mechanics from what I recall running this back in THE DAY*:
*I think I finally cleared in mid HW
T1: Silence High Voltage on the node. Burn down both snakes at once when the boss splits, because if they don't die at very close to the same time, the survivor will start one-shotting people.
T2: Beating the minibosses will add weaknesses to the final boss.
Oh, and the thing about purposely enraging the boss because it's easier that way? That's 100% true.
You see, the boss has an attack called 'Allagan Rot', that leaves a debuff of the same name. What does Allagan Rot do? If the debuff expires, either you or the entire raid (?) take extremely heavy damage. The only way to prevent this is to pass it on to another player. Pretty simple, except that passing it on makes you immune to the debuff for a period of time, so people passing have to be very careful about who they're passing it to and when. Alternately, you can enter the raid, burn down the miniboss nodes of your choice in about three minutes, and then watch a short youtube video of your choice until the ten minute mark for the raid hits and the boss enrages, after which point it won't use Allagan Rot and will instead only spam raidwide damage that you can actually heal through. It's much, much easier.
T3: sonic adventure 2 - escape_from_the_city.mid
T4: I literally do not remember this
T5: Way too complicated to explain in a brief post. I briefly considered doing a We Didn't Start the Fire bit, if that tells you how many mechanics you had to deal with over the course of the fight. tldr; adds, death sentence, neurolink and fireballs, conflagration, dive bombs, more adds, raidwide tankbuster damage, invisible death tornados, permastun adds, fire everywhere
SMaster777 posted:
Of what I've managed to see in my various runs of the coils, for myself, FC members after me, and a weekly something that comes up in HW that asks you to come back to 'em....
T1: The first boss has a BLU Spell, golems do indeed drop barriers (right next to them) when they die, final boss can devour its adds for buffs and splits in two at critical.
T2: Other posts got this one. Killing the minibosses buffs the main boss.
T3: Pretty much every teleporter has a path that causes you to fly through a ring if you take it. The rings are the right route.
T4: (Insert ChronoTriggerOceanPalaceElevator.jpg here)
T5: Divebombs start at a certain health%, and its possible to bypass it in an unsync. If you don't, then it's essentially "If you're marked, turn your camera to find Twin, then run toward her IMMEDIATELY." To boot, after Divebombs (though easily bypassed in Unsync) is one of the more... notorious mechanics, Twister, which places a green circle at RandomPartyMemberx3-4's feet at the end of its cast, and if its touched.... Dead. Funny thing is its not even T5 that makes Twister so notorious, but that's equal parts far later and... uh.... far more unforgiving and perhaps beyond the LP's scope.
NEXT TIME: A Realm Awoken