Suzaku FFXIV Guide

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Candela Maldonado

Cande has been in the gaming industry for about 5+ years, working as a Localisation specialist for games. However, it would be her burning passion for JRPGS that would lead her to FInal Fantasy Insider. When she isn't racing chocobos, or grinding away in FFXIV, she's often playing Persona, Nier, or just about any other JRPG out there.

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Introduction

The Final Fantasy franchise has always been characterized by its gorgeous OST. Whether produced by Nobuo Uematsu or Hitoshi Sakimoto, all Final Fantasy games sound fantastic.

Final Fantasy XIV, however, went one step ahead and decided to include a music-based boss battle in hell. While following a bunch of arrows and playing geomancy is not what you would expect from your average RPG boss battle. It is precisely what you will be doing to overcome the Hells’ Kier trial and defeat the radiant Suzaku.

Though undeniably fun, Suzaku’s fighting mechanic can be infuriating if it is not mastered early. This Suzaku FFXIV guide outlines an essential strategy for beating Suzaku both in Normal and Extreme modes.

Key Info Up Front

Trial

Hells’ Kier is one of the trials from the Stormblood expansion. Trials are one of Final Fantasy XIV’s duties. They differ from the rest of the duties because they usually only have one encounter instead of many.

Suzaku

Suzaku is one of the Four Lords of Orchard. Unlike the other three Lords, she seems to have fallen into madness and decides to challenge you into a battle. Although you will spare her after beating her, she will not hesitate to draw you into the fiery depths if you happen to lose.

Questline

Normal mode

・ Quest name: The Fire-bird Down Below
・ Opening conditions: Chronicles of a New Era quest Tortoise in Time
・ Area: The Ruby Sea (X:27.8 Y:16.4)
・ NPC: Bunchin

Extreme mode

・ Quest name: Songs in the Key of Kugane
・ Opening conditions: The Fire-bird Down Below
・ Area: Kugane (X:11, Y:12).
・ NPC: Wandering Minstrel

Prerequisites

Normal mode

・ Be a Disciple of War or Magic level 70
・ Average item level 355 or higher

Extreme mode

・ Be a Disciple of War or Magic level 70

・ Average item level 370 or higher

Rewards

Normal mode

・ Allagan Tomestone: Poetics x15

・Suzuku Card

Extreme mode

・ Suzaku totem

・Suzuku Card

Party Must-Haves

・A main water DPS: Suzaku is weak to water, so it’s always a good idea to bring one.

・A physical resistance buffer: Suzaku’s attacks are slash and direct attacks. So, having a physical resistance buff on your party eases the pressure on your healer and loosens the fight a little.

・An INT debuffer: Suzaku occasionally deals with a very hard-hitting fire AoE in the second phase. So, it would help if you debuffed his INT to reduce his attack. Morgana’s Mahasukunda will suffice.

・A healer: to make sure you can heal your party.

Tips:

Attack only with ranged attacks – guns and magic are the obvious choices, but there are some ranged physical skills too. For Sword users: Swallow Swing, Gale Slash, or Wheel Slash.

Equip items that boost your heat defense like Fire Crystals, Fire Leather, or Kris. Padded clothes give a whopping +18 to all elemental defenses, including heat. You can get Padded Clothes in Koorong for 250g.

Have a diverse party: Mecs and Monsters tend to have better durability – if you have an all-human team, maybe mix it up a bit.

Walkthrough

Accepting the quest

Normal Mode

Head to The Ruby Sea and locate Bunchin (psst, here are some coordinates for you: X: 27.8 Y: 16.4). He will ask you to make your way to the Reisen Temple and speak to Genbu.

Once you have made your way into the volcano, you can speak to Furi to enter the temple. Inside, Genbu will be expecting you right below the stairs. Suzaku will make an entrance, only to challenge you to a battle to the death. After some dialogue, you will receive a notification saying that Hells’ Kier is now accessible.

The entrance should be right next to you. Look for Hells’ Kier in your Duty Finder and join.

Extreme Mode

Head to Kugane and speak to the Wandering Minstrel (Coordinates? X:11.6, Y:12.6). Talking to her will both start and complete the “formal” questline. There is no actual questline; it simply unlocks all extreme trials and raids in Stormblood. After this exchange, you will be able to access this trial from your Duty Finder.

Pre-battle

As soon as you enter the arena, you will see four dead birds on the ground. You should assign one position to each DPS and pair a tank or healer with them.

Battle structure

The battle will follow this structure:

Moveset explained

Screams of the Damned

This is a raid-wide AOE that will halve the party’s HP. Beware that this is Suzaku’s opener.

Rout

Within the first 15 seconds, Suzaku will perform this attack, so it is better to save your opener for later.

A circular AOE will target each member. At the same time, Suzaku will appear on one side of the arena and dive through the middle. Spread out to the edges and dodge Suzaku.

Fleeting Summer

This is a Conal AOE attack that targets players at random. Walk away from the telegraphed cone.

Cremate

Suzaku performs a magic tank buster that should be mitigated.

Phoenix Down

Large and small feathers will fall on each cardinal and intercardinal direction, including the middle. DPS will attack the small feather in their assigned positions. Small feathers will either be N, E, S, W or NE, SE, SW, NW. Adjust accordingly.

A circular AOE will then target DPS. Overlap your AoE with your assigned phoenix, wait for it to explode, and fall back to your feather. Defeat the revived phoenix.

If the birds are not put down quickly, they will cast Ashes to Ashes, which will devastate the entire party.

Eternal Flame

Suzaku will leap into the sky, and the arena will turn into a huge dancefloor. Each player should position themselves in one of the circles on the floor. Then, orbs and arrows will appear. Players should spin their bodies, and not the camera, in the direction displayed by the arrow until the orb hits them. Each time an orb hits the player, the arrow will point in a different direction, going faster and faster. Each orb done correctly grants a Damage up bonus; each failed one grants Suzaku 4 points in her “Scarlet Melody” gauge.

Scarlet Fever

Inflicts raid-wide damage based on how many orbs passed through. This attack will wipe the entire party if she manages to fill up her Scarlet Melody gauge.

Southron Star

Suzaku performs a raid-wide AOE. Make sure you heal your party.

Mesmerizing Melody

Suzaku will pull you in. If you are too close, you will fall through the donut hole. Move out or use knockback spells.

Ruthless Refrain

Suzaku will push you out. You will fall off the edge if you are too far: move in or use knockback spells.

Well of Flame

Suzaku will channel a rectangular AOE on one side of the stage. In addition, four members will be targeted by circular AOEs. Spread out and avoid the rectangular AOE. Afterward, one of the healers will have a stacking marker. Have the MT maintain aggro in north or south and have everyone else stack up on the other end.

Phantom Flurry

DPS/Healers should move behind Suzaku during this mechanic. She will start by kicking the MT in the face multiple times and apply a vulnerability debuff. The MT should move behind Suzaku and tank swap as soon as the cast begins. This is a physical tank buster, so treat it appropriately. Suzaku will follow up with a powerful kick that will knock anyone off the edge in the front half of the stage. After the final kick, the OT will move where the MT was.

Geomancy 1

Suzaku will transform the arena, with four quadrants of the room marked with four geomantic runes (blue, yellow, black, purple). She will also summon a phoenix (either N or S) that will rotate clockwise around the room.

There will be eight runes on either side of the arena. As the phoenix passes the runes, the corresponding tile will erupt for moderate damage, a knock-up, and a vuln stack.

There are two main patterns for Geomancy:

Merry-go-round

The runes will form the pattern of 12341234. The floor will erupt in a clockwise or anticlockwise rotation. This one can be quickly identified by seeing if the first two runes are adjacent or checking if the middle two runes are not the same.

Path: Start at rune four and run after the eruption to avoid getting hit. (i.e. 4>1>2>3>4>1)

Cross

The runes will form the pattern of 12344321. The floor will erupt on opposite sides, explode in the two remaining quadrants, and reverse the order.

This one can be quickly identified by seeing if the first two runes are opposite or checking if the middle two runes are the same.

Path: Start at rune 3 or 4, move to 1, wait for eruptions at 4 to resolve, then move to 4. (i.e. 4>1>(wait)>4)

The 4th rune of the sequence will always be a safe point to start from.

Close-quarter Crescendo

Every member will be tethered to an approaching orb. The orb will have an arrow that points in a direction. If you touch the orb or the orb times out, you will be forced to sprint in the indicated direction. Move away from the orb and wait for it to time out. Positions yourself so you won’t run off the edge.

Incandescent Interlude

Meteors will start to fall in the cardinal or intercardinal directions. Four people, either all DPS or all HLR/TNK, will be marked with a circular AOE.  Suzaku will also start to cast Ruthless Refrain, which will push everyone outward. All players should move to their assigned directions near the middle. If you are marked with the circular AOE, do not stand before a meteor. Everyone else must stand before their meteor, or else you will take damage and be inflicted with damage down debuff.

Geomancy 2

There will only be four groups of runes outside the arena, seemingly simplifying the whole attack. However, the issue here is that she throws some new mechanics into the mix. While playing Geomancy, Suzaku will unleash Well of Flame, Close quarter Crescendo, either  Mesmerizing Melody or Ruthless Refrain, and then Phantom Flurry.

Enrage

If the fight goes on for more than 12 minutes, she will enter Enrage mode. She will replace all runes on the floor for the same one and cast a Southern Star attack that will inevitably wipe the entire party.

Post-battle

Once defeated, Suzaku will proceed to apologize, and you will also get some backstory from her.

FAQ

Conclusion

This guide should give you all the necessary tools to beat this fiery woman. It is way less complicated than some people make it look. Get your hands on it, get used to dodging those hot areas, and you won’t have a problem. If you manage to beat her ten times in extreme mode, you will have access to one of Suzaku’s weapons, one of the coolest in the game.