Criterion Dungeon Guide for Silkie
Welcome to our guide to Criterion Dungeons in Final Fantasy XIV. This page in particular outlines the mechanics for the boss encounter, Silkie on both Normal and Savage modes.
Boss Encounter: Silkie
The first boss you will face is a overgrown hamster called Silkie. This fight's main gimmic revolves around their cottonball tail and the various cottonballs it drops around the arena. Pay close attention to each of their colours as they all do different things:
- A green cottonball will do a donut AoE around the ball. Standing underneath it avoids the AoE.
- A yellow cottonball will do lightning AoE's to each of the balls intercardinals. Stand on its cardinals to avoid getting hit.
- A blue cottonball will do a plus shaped AoE of ice starting from the cottonball. Getting hit by this ice stuns you temporarily.
It is also worth noting that the yellow and blue cottonballs shoot based on the direction the cotton ball is facing. To check which direction this is, look at the little red arrow underneath the ball.
Fizzling Suds
Starting off the fight, Silkie will cast Fizzling Suds, followed up by Soap's Up. This will turn their tail yellow and detonate it. Stand on their cardinals to dodge this attack.
Fresh Puff 1
- After the yellow tail, Silkie casts Dust Bluster. A knockback radiating from the center of the arena. This knockback can be mitigated by barriers or knockback immunity but that should not be nessesary.
- Silkie will now cast Fresh Puff and place three cottonballs on the arena. One North, one South-East and one South-West.
- Their tail will also start to glow green after casting Bracing Suds.
- Next they'll cast Squeaky Clean, swiping infront of them twice before swiping to either of the back cottonballs. You can see which spot will be safe by looking at where Silkie starts his first swipe. That side will be the safe spot.
- Two green cottonballs remain and one of a different colour. The different colour, yellow or blue, will always be at the safespot of Squeaky Clean.
- The boss casts Slippery Soap now, one random non-tank will be targetted for a line AoE as the boss' tail glows blue. This line AoE has to go through one of the green cottontails. If the different colour cottonball is blue, then have it go through the Southern green cottonball. If the different cottonball is green then have it go through the Northern green cottonball.
- Next the boss casts Carpet Beater, a tank buster with an AoE around the tank. Ideally the tank takes this tankbuster towards the last remaining green cottonball.
- Finally the boss will cast Soaping Spree, activating all cottonballs. If you did the line soak correctly, only one green cottonball will remain that is either cardinal of a yellow or North of two blues. Stand underneath this cottonball to dodge the incoming AoEs.
Blue Cottonball pattern:
Yellow Cottonball pattern:
Total Wash
The boss will cast Total Wash, a hard hitting raid wide that leaves a nasty bleed/DoT. This bleed can be dodge if the raid wide is fully absorbed by barriers such as Shake It Off or Panhaima.
Fresh Puff 2
The boss will cast another Fresh Puff. Their tail will also gain a colour, either green or blue. To solve this mechanic, take notice of the tail colour and the orientation the cottonballs spawn in at the end of the cast.
You will get tethered to a random cottonball. This cottonball will jump a set distance in your direction after a short time and activate it's corrosponding AoE shortly after alongside the Boss' tail at the same time. It is important that you move these cottonballs either cardinal or intercardinal depending on the pattern as their corrosponding AoEs will fire based on the way they are facing.
For extra visuals, use the following raid plan. If the boss' tail is green and the cottonballs spawn in a diamond formation. Raidplan page 1 and 2 for visuals.
- Move the yellow cottonballs cardinally out of the arena.
- Move the blue cottonballs cardinally to the intercardinals of the boss.
- Move under the boss.
If the boss' tail is green and the cottonballs spawn in a square formation. Raidplan page 3 and 4 for visuals.
- Move the yellow cottonballs to the boss' sides.
- Move the blue cottonballs out of the arena by standing on their outer facing cardinals. If you bait them into the corner you will wipe the group.
- Move under the boss.
If the boss' tail is blue and the cottonballs spawn in a diamond formation. Raidplan pages 5-8 for visuals.
- Move the yellow cottonballs cardinally north if they spawned east/west, or cardinally east if they spawned north/south.
- Move the blue cottonballs cardinally out of the arena.
- Move to stand next to the cardinals of a yellow cottonball.
If the boss' tail is blue and the cottonballs spawn in a square formation. Raidplan page 9 and 10 for visuals.
- Move all cottonballs out into the corner behind them.
- Move the stand on the intercardinal sides inbetween the boss and the yellow cottonballs.
Fizzling Suds
The boss will now cast Fizzling Suds, turning their tail into either of the three colours before casting Slippery Soap, a line AoE on a random non tank.
- If the tail is yellow, the boss will do AoE's on his intercardinals and all players will get a spread AoE underneath them. After the line soak, have the tank move North, melee South, ranged East and healer West of the boss.
- If the tail is green, the boss will do a knockback alongside the line soak and a donut AoE around where they land. You can ride the knockback. I recommend pointing the line soak towards any intercardinal if you're going to do that.
- If the tail is blue then you will need to move during the line soak and move to the boss' intercardinals after they land.
Here Silkie casts another Total Wash AoE with bleed/DoT.
Fresh Puff 3
- The boss will cast Fresh Puff and place eight cottonballs of various colours onto the arena in a 2x4 formation.
- Next they will cast Eastern Ewers, placing three water hoses North of the arena. Move to where there is no water hose North of you.
- These water hoses will cleanse the colours of the cottonballs that got hit. The ones that remain at your safe-spot will activate shortly.
- The boss starts to cast Soaping Spree, activating the remaining cottonballs. Preposition to dodge them. On the cardinals of a yellow, underneath a green and on the intercardinals of a blue. It can be any pair combination of the three.
- Next the boss casts Chilling Studs. Turning their tail blue.
- Another Carpet Beater tankbuster will be used on the tank. Have the tank take this in-between the two rows of the remaining cottonballs next to the arena wall where you dodged the prior Soaping Spree.
- Have the healer move to the exact oppposite side of the arena.
- The boss will now cast Slippery Soap on the healer. Have everyone stand in the line AoE, make sure to move to not get stunned and dodge to the boss' intercardinals after they land.
- This turns all the remainin cottonballs blue. Move the boss North of the cottonballs alongside the East or West edge of the arena.
- The boss casts Bracing Suds now, turning his tail green.
- Finally the boss casts Soaping Spree, which activates all cottonballs, including it's tail. Stand underneath the boss, which you should have positioned North of the blue cottonballs at the East or West edge of the arena.
Fresh Puff 4
- The boss cast Dust Bluster. A radial knockback from the North side of the arena.
- Next they will cast Bracing Suds, turning their tail green.
- The boss then casts Fresh Puff, spawning four blue cottontails South of you which will tethers a random player each.
- The boss proceeds to cast Squeaky Clean. Dodge to whichever side the boss lands first, then dodge directly on where his targetting ring reappears on their flank.
- Wait for all of the Squeaky Clean swipes to go off before walking towards the opposite intercardinal off the boss. Move slightly North. This position should allow you to dodge all of the blue cottonballs and the boss' green tail.
- The boss now casts Soaping Spree, activating all cottonballs and their tail.
- Lastly the boss will cast another Total Wash and cycle through a few random coloured line soaks.
Changelog
- 26 Oct. 2022: Guide added.
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Juliacare has been playing FFXIV since Heavensward focusing solely on casters, until Shadowbringers when they decided to add physical ranged into their line up. Since then they have been aiding in theorycrafting for physical ranged and Summoner, becoming a Machinist Mentor in The Balance Discord and uploading video job guides to their Youtube Channel.
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