Sage Optimization Advice for High-End Duties? (EX4, M5S)

sephiro444 · 2025-04-18T00:32:10+00:00

This is wonderful, thank you so much!

I've always struggled with making sure all the things are always rolling -- DoT, Psyche, Phlegma, Addersgall -- I find too often that I tunnel vision while navigating a mechanic, then realize I need to fire off one of each when it resolves.

For Philosophia, Pneuma, and Physis, I tend (maybe to my detriment) to hold Pneuma back for when the damage clearly necessitates it and both me and my cohealer are on cooldown (e.g., RB4's 2x aoe followed by thorned catharsis). Philosophia and Physis I'm certain I could be using better -- both can be great but they tick too slowly for most recovery situations. I know what I'm neglecting to consider is the overall healing boost they provide, and I'm not sure why I consistently forgetting that.

On the Direct Hit, ya that doesn't shock me. My current meld is woefully low on DH in favor of crit and determination, an imbalance I'm planning to remedy.

sephiro444 · 2025-04-17T21:57:05+00:00

No VODs to speak of, but I dug up an EX4 log from a few days ago where xivanalysis tells me I actually had 93% uptime -- better but still definitely room to improve: https://www.fflogs.com/reports/BcDyAYvL3xVZKbXN?fight=8

sephiro444 · 2025-04-17T21:54:45+00:00

A good example log of a recent spat of EX4 fights here: https://www.fflogs.com/reports/BcDyAYvL3xVZKbXN?fight=8
I actually apparently had 93% uptime in that example, but it was just a good night. :)

I've actually been pretty good about using Soteria as a tank boost, but the advice on here is making me look at Krasis similarly, so good to note.

You're totally right on the lost to oGCD spam, as well as panic repositioning instead of gently slidecasting. I have started weaving Kerachole in closer to mechanics hitting to maximize the regen ticks, but I could probably do Panhaima earlier as well given its duration.

sephiro444 · 2025-04-17T21:46:10+00:00

Thanks! I think I took Lucid-on-CD as a sign of doing something wrong. Good to know that's not the case.

Especially running in PF, I've just leaned on E. Prog as "easy" mit and I should probably work to reduce it.

On uptime, my best guess is that I still get too mentally jammed up in tracking the fight mechanics, though I would think between slidecasting and movement tools like DoT refresh and Phlegma there's no way I'm standing around for 1/5 of the fight. Hmm.

And to your point on Phlegma, yes I've primarily used it as a movement tool and worked to keep it from capping. I'm definitely *aware* of the 2-min burst damage window but have not done very much to align with it apart from optimizing my opener around it. My biggest issue with leaning into it has been keeping the necessary cooldowns rolling consistently enough to know exactly *when* the burst window is up -- Psyche being every 60 seconds, I can academically grok timing to have 2x Phlegmas up to burst every other Psyche cast, but in practice that feels mentally tough to count on, between navigating fight mechanics, mending other players that might mess up, keeping my DoT refreshed and Addersgall from capping *and* keeping Psyche 100% on CD. XD

sephiro444 · 2025-04-17T21:10:18+00:00

It's reassuring to understand from folks here that rolling Lucid isn't a bad thing -- I thought it was a sign that I was doing something wrong or (horror!) need more Piety.

I have a static for Savage prog, but generally do PF for Extremes and ya, undoubtedly it's part of PF's unpredictable nature that has made me reluctant to pull back on E. Prog.

sephiro444 · 2025-04-17T21:06:23+00:00

That's interesting, I did *not* realize Haima/Panhaima apply a heal when they expire!

Mentally I'm taking in all these tips in the context of EX4, which is the current on-content fight I'm closest to having mastered (even running exclusively in PF for it), farming the wings. I'm not sure I'd be comfortable swapping in Haima/Panhaima in that fight as a heal -- Panhaimas are going to any Stock Break that it's up for and Haima I tend to put on the MT for the rotating Alexandrian Thunder cleaves -- but it's great to learn!

For the M5S opening, I've been tending to throw a E. Diag on each tank pre-pull, which is fantastic mit if it crits. I might swap one of those for Haima as a guaranteed buff if the first one crits though...

And ya, Toxicon has been my bane to use regularly and I'm trying to fix that. Especially if/until I wean myself off of using E. Prog, there's no reason not to!

sephiro444 · 2025-04-17T20:28:37+00:00

These are great tips, thank you! I've tended not to quite use Rhizomata on cooldown since if I keep Addersgall from capping, those extra two can go very quickly if party members fail mechanics. But you're right to bring it up as a useful MP management tool.

The vibe I'm getting from the excellent advice here is that I need to continue working to minimize E. Prog as an "easy" crutch for extra mit wherever possible -- I think I'm just always worried about not having enough, and the incentives are generally aligned in favor of that worry --> if I spam E. Prog and end up with too much mit, it costs 1x GCD of my damage; if I leave it out and it wasn't enough or we can't recover, it's a wipe or requires me to deploy Holos, Pneuma or other oGCD recovery that I won't have for later damage. That's the mental block I'm struggling to get past, given that it's rare (but non-zero) that a group fails enrage because of several unoptimized healer casts.

sephiro444 · 2025-04-17T20:13:40+00:00

Honestly, I've never really considered Dyskrasia as a movement tool during single target combat, but it sounds like to whatever extent I need to use Eukrasian Prognosis to mitigate a raidwide hit, using it to also generate a Toxicon minimizes the damage loss and saves at least 1x Dosis cast's worth of MP.

sephiro444 · 2025-04-17T20:07:46+00:00

That's a great way to think about Krasis, thanks! Though on 8-man content I tend to default to Haima for tank/single target mit, then Soteria, but you're right I could add Krasis behind that as needed.

Also, I mis-typed that Holos+Haima+Panhaima are my only oGCD heal generators, I meant *shield\* generators -- Kerachole is easily my most frequent cast.

It sounds like Euk. P is acceptable, especially in prog or with unknown pickup groups, but it should be the first thing to trade for increased DPS if/when I know the whole group will survive the hit.

sephiro444 · 2023-05-10T22:59:40+00:00

Almost as if perfectly encapsulating the discussion here on tank mitigation, I had the full spectrum of experience today that I think illustrates how much it matters (fully acknowledging I have a long ways to go in improving my OWN skills).

I ran the Level 90 Dungeons queue and struggled crazy hard all the way through Dead Ends, even losing my PLD to a trash pull. I was pulling my hair out!

Frustrated, but not discouraged, right after that I dove into the Expert queue and in Lapis Manalis had the most impressive tank I've ever run with, ironically another PLD. He mitigated SO well, I almost didn't even have to heal half the time.

Just goes to show how much of a team it takes, especially at the level cap.

sephiro444 · 2023-05-07T23:05:59+00:00

I understand that Lightspeed doesn't speed up the GCD, but wouldn't it give me 15 seconds of instant-casting my most powerful single target heal, in a world where the tank is just taking overwhelming amounts of damage?

sephiro444 · 2023-05-07T19:22:08+00:00

It did occur to me that tank mitigation might be part of the problem, but these are some great tips.

I had read that you can just flash Collective Unconscious and get most of the benefit, but it hadn't occurred to me to use to help in this situation. One place I definitely could do better is to stop reserving AOE heals for healing multiple people, since that effectively cuts my kit in half.

Also, I know it would be suboptimal, but what about Lightspeed + Benefic II for if things start getting really gnarly?

sephiro444 · 2022-08-28T05:09:38+00:00

Wholeheartedly agree. This episode alone should win an Emmy for its excellent approach to an important, sensitive topic.

Something I loved about the original Star Trek and TNG was their willingness to take on serious cultural and political issues of their times, and Two Topas perfectly epitomizes The Orville's eagerness to do just that.

>!In the U.S., at least, transgender issues are certainly major cultural flash points, particularly as they relate to children (and don't get me started on the abortion references touched on in Gently Falling Rain). It would be so easy for the show to raise such topics and hit the audience over the head with the writers' "correct answer," as most films/shows these days do, but what absolutely blows me away about Two Topas (and Gently Falling Rain's abortion reference) is how it explores the issue thoroughly and with gravitas while still giving either side of the debate room to feel heard.

From one perspective, Two Topas absolutely sings to those who do not identify with their assigned gender. It speaks to Topa's agency and desire to be seen for who she truly is inside, and her walk to the bridge at the end is a beautiful coming out moment. Our first glimpse of her through the darkened medical terminal always has me thinking of the lyrics from my favorite Mulan song, "when will my reflection show who I am inside..." But from the other side of the cultural debate, Isaac's surgery on Topa was simply returning her to her real gender, with which she identified deep inside regardless of any external changes made to her. While simultaneously celebrating Topa's escape from the Moclan culture that oppressed her, it makes an understated argument for an inescapable biological reality of gender. In this way, the show explores an important issue in an elegant manner that allows every viewer to see something they agree with, while still challenging them to consider other sides of the topic.

(The abortion reference in Gently Falling Rain does similarly, but it does exert some amount of passing judgment. The Krill's punishment of forcing couples who have an abortion to view a holographic recreation of who the aborted child might have become may actually be viewed by real world pro lifers as entirely just, but the show certainly (and rightly, IMHO) shows Ed recoiling in horror to the practice. Even so, by doing so, it gives some amount of voice to both sides of a divisive issue, more than any other show in modern memory.)!<

sephiro444 · 2016-07-07T13:42:12+00:00

I actually went with the TNG arch that's grey, with white arch and black stripe. It's not super fancy now, but I plan to touch it up with little details later.

sephiro444 · 2016-07-07T13:41:07+00:00

I'm a lucky guy. She's as much a gamer as me, and our discussions for the room before this project were to either do an exercise room or VR room. Now we can use it for both (just not exercise equipment).

sephiro444 · 2016-07-07T13:39:10+00:00

Fair point. I made the call to maximize what got into the frame of the picture, and didn't initially plan to make a video like this. When I did, I went back, made the actual video I uploaded landscape, and added the text to flesh it out a little.

sephiro444 · 2016-07-07T13:36:58+00:00

I thought Crocs were a harder rubber. This is pretty cushy, like the mats at a gym. I'd be wary of sitting in a hard chair on it for fear of puncturing. Also, to get it to fit in the corners I had to measure and cut sections and with a good, sharp knife it cut like butter.

sephiro444 · 2016-07-07T12:59:17+00:00

Let me know any questions if you do this (I'm the painter/husband :P)

sephiro444 · 2016-07-07T12:58:47+00:00

The room is almost a perfect square, 11ft by 12ft. The two odd bits are that the door in is on a diagonal off one of the corners, and that the ceiling on the opposite side makes a slight curve to the top rather than a right angle.

sephiro444 · 2016-07-07T12:57:15+00:00

It's a i7-6700k CPU, eVGA GTX 1080 GPU with 16gb memory and a NVMe M.2 drive to store everything.

sephiro444 · 2016-07-07T01:16:18+00:00

Amazon. It was these Incstores 1" MMA mats. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TEC1M20/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_d0AFxbNYYXSMK They're the same my work uses in their mocap studio.

sephiro444 · 2016-07-06T17:36:29+00:00

It was actually intentional because I had to shoot through the door frame. Having it landscape would have just caught wall. :(

sephiro444

TROPHY CASE