Dragoon DPS Tips for Asphodelos Savage — Endwalker 6.2

Asphodelos is the first raid tier released in the expansion FFXIV: Endwalker and consists of four fights, with the fourth fight having two phases and being split with a checkpoint:

1. Warder of the Condemned: Erichthonios
2. Mythic Creation: The Hippokampus
3. Mythic Creation: The Phoinix
4. Himitheos: Hesperos

If you are looking for more generalized guides, you should take a look at our Savage guides written by Lyra Rose, linked below each section.

Disclaimer: This document contains suggestions. If your group has decided they wish to do something different listed on this page, assess the changes with your group. The suggestions below are not your only options for these fights, and this page should not be treated as if it is.

The first fight in the raid tier has full uptime and an expected kill time around 6:40, so there is not too much optimization to be had.

When picking clock positions, you ideally want the Southwest or Southeast direction, so you can maintain positional uptime during Intemperance. Make sure to maintain High Jump on perfect cooldown - as always - so it will land before the first Intemperance snapshot.

Also always be sure to cast Battle Litany from the center square during Intemperance in order to hit every player with the buff. Dragon Sight has enough range to not matter there anymore.

Positionals are generally very easy to hit in the fight, so be sure to use True North liberally whenever you find yourself forced into missing one. In a coordinated group, your tanks should always be handling the knockback tank busters in the same way, so you can plan for the rotations in order to not miss any positional uptime there.

This fight has no positional requirements and there is really not much to discuss.

Make sure your tank stands within the target ring of the boss for Coherence, since you will regularly be landing jump actions during it, which can cause you to clip tethers or receive the tank damage from the laser.

In this fight, you will use your first potion during the 2-minute burst window, rather than on the opener, then again around either 6:30 or 8:30, assuming a killtime around 9 minutes.

Wyrmwind Thrust, Nastrond, and Stardiver can all be used to hit both the boss and the Darkfire flames, and they spawn just as you will have access to these actions. If you target the boss and line up with one add between yourself and the boss, the line AoE actions can hit two darkfires and the boss at the same time. Keep in mind that the hardest-hit target of either action is the one you currently have selected, so you generally want to keep the boss focused, unless you are utilizing specifically optimized speed-kill strategies.

Because damage to the bird mobs does not count on the rankings, there are ways to maximize your output on phase one of the boss by pushing out the oGCD actions earlier in the opener. Using High Jump on the second GCD and Geirskogul on the third GCD, you get an additional Life phase just before Phoinix jumps, allowing an additional cast of Nastrond and Stardiver on the boss.

You can weave the True North here with either Geirskogul and Nastrond or Dragonfire Dive. The former is only optimal if you can consistently land the triple-weave with minimal (or no) clipping.

If you follow this all to the letter, you should end the phase with:

1. Vorpal Thrust → Life Surge + High Jump
2. Heavens' Thrust → Mirage Dive + Geirskogul + Nastrond
3. Fang and Claw → Stardiver
4. Wheeling Thrust

This all assumes your group does the standard uptime strat of pulling Hesperos between the lightning and fire tiles immediately after the Setting the Scene that precedes Pinax.

• Lightning 1st → Water 2nd + Cape: Survive the lightning at max melee range, and use Arm's Length just as the Directional Shift castbar approaches the letters to avoid both knockbacks. Stick to the boss the whole time.
• Lightning 1st → Water 2nd + Sword: Survive the lightning at max melee range, use Arm's Length for the Water knockback as before (or earlier), and move to the wall after Raiden Thrust, assuming no delay and a 2.50s GCD with no delays up until this point.
• Water 1st → Lightning 2nd + Cape: Take the water knockback like normal, since Arm's Length is far more useful for the Cape, and you do not know if you will get it yet. Lightning snapshots shortly after the square sparks (around 60% in the Directional Shift cast). Move out while using Arm's Length and use one Piercing Talon into Spineshatter Dive to return to the boss after.
• Water 1st → Lightning 2nd + Sword: Follow the same as above, but you need to either use two Piercing Talon casts and stay out or sit on the GCD for a short time until he shifts to you.

If your group is holding buffs until after Pinax resolves, you should only be delaying Lance Charge, Dragon Sight, and Battle Litany. You will be using them in the middle of a Life of the Dragon window, so be sure to hold Stardiver and the second Nastrond until the buffs come up to still get the former buffed and two of the latter in the buffs.

If your group is doing the 2-minute bursts at 0m, 3m, and 5m, you only need to delay Dragon Sight and Battle Litany at 2 minutes until your next Lance Charge. Nothing else needs to change for it to work.

If you are serious about getting an orange or better parse on this fight, you need to do a resource run to compete. That is, your group will need to defeat both phases of this fight in a single run, with everyone holding resources at the very end of phase 1 to include them in your opener on phase two for a massive overall DPS gain.

The diamonds on the arena dictate where you should stand. Simply hop from cardinal to inter for tower to cardinal, following the trail of diamonds as you hear the glass shatter. There should be zero reason to disengage, ever, for this mechanic.

Full uptime can be maintained throughout. Take note of where the circles overlap while the Act 2 castbar is filling so you can memorize the exact safe zones. Move from safe zone to safe zone. If you get the fire tether, however:

• If tethered to a ranged DPS, ask them to go farther toward the wall for the fire stack, so that you can maintain uptime.
• If tethered to another melee DPS, clarify before the pull which of you two will go closer to the wall so the other can maintain uptime. If you are peeling off, be sure to keep the GCD rolling with Piercing Talon.

As a melee, you should be on the second tower set, where he does his first Korthonos Kick. Be careful not to be too close to the landing zone, as the kick itself has a knockback associated. Arm's Length immediately after he lands. Your tower will snapshot at the same time as his second Korthonos Kick lands, so you can gap close with Spineshatter Dive instantly when he jumps away from you.

Hold both charges of True North for the Dark Tether breaking part, otherwise you will lose out on most of your positional DPS during that window. Be sure to hold buffs until everyone is close enough for Battle Litany, if it takes longer than expected.

• Dark Tether: It is better overall to play the mechanic safely. Use Piercing Talon as necessary to make sure your GCD does not stop rolling. With a coordinated group, you can time your movement to only need a minimum of one cast of the ranged GCD, but at this point in the fight it tends to be a better plan to just not cause wipes and take the uptime loss.
• Water Tether: Stretch to break your tether, using Piercing Talon as necessary. Make sure it breaks before returning to the boss.

You can very easily maintain full uptime throughout the handling of this mechanic. There is no reason to pull off the boss - have your ranged DPS stand out while the melee remain on the boss for the Fleeting Impulse hits.

You can hit positionals throughout the entire duration of this mechanic without breaking your tether, just be sure to keep tabs and be ready when it is your turn to break. Use Piercing Talon if needed while breaking.