Eureka Orthos
Eureka Orthos Solo Tips/FAQ (6.4)
Which Job should I take?
The job that you can play the best, specifically whichever job you can play without looking at your bars (as you need your eyes glued on the mechanics and watching for patrols).
What is the Tier List?
The "tier list" for EO isn't as significant as it is in HoH. As any job can pull anything relatively safely, the general guidelines is that the tierlist is as follows:
Your favorite job or the one you are most comfortable on.
The DPS you can play the best
The Tank you can play the best*
The Healer you can play the best*
* If you are progging solo; aren't familiar with mob/boss mechanics; or lacking Orthos potions, the survivability (and invulnerabilities) of tanks/healers can become very useful. While they still deal lower DPS, they can survive boss mechanics and live through many of the normal one hit KO abilities. In addition, WAR/GNB/PLD can make it from end to end with exceedingly few potions (if any)
Other miscellaneous factors to consider:
WAR/PLD/GNB, Healers and RDM do not require any potions to clear.
Tanks and Physical Ranged have an interrupt available which allows them to bypass a number of mechanics (including pox).
Tanks and Melee have a stun that can be useful for uptime or avoiding certain mechanics on specific mobs. PLD has an extra GCD stun which can be useful if you find yourself needing to stun two mobs at the same time.
Healer/Caster's sleep can be useful for setting up storm plays or deaggroing mobs vulnerable to sleep.
Protomander Tips/Strategy
Unless otherwise listed, you can safely keep most protomanders at at 1 or 2 from 1-70. Do note that floors 1-30 spawn new mobs every minute and you can run into issues when making storms or lethargy plays.
Due to the focus on mob mechanics, you are less likely to need certain protomanders to clear. Outside of potentially running low on time as a Tank/Healer, the protomanders can be used relatively freely without issue.
If you have two protomanders with similar effects (e.g. Sight/Safety for traps, Witching/Lethargy for CCing, demi-clone/Strength for speeding up clear, etc) you should default to using whichever you have more of.
Use sight for mine plays
Use safety whenever you need more space to avoid patrols
Use raising for any set you aren't confident you can survive on. Ideally, you will want to wait to use until 71+ as those are the "hard sets".
Save Dread for 71+, do not use on floors that have the knockback immunity enchantment (it doesn't work)
Serenity can be safetly used at 3 when there are moderate to bad debuffs
Storms is best used on "No Health Regen Floors" and -- unless required for your strategy -- it is fine to keep them at 2 when you encounter a No Regen floor. Can also be used to kill dread beasts or clear treasure rooms if needed.
Steel should be saved for bosses
Save demi-clones for bosses and 81+:
Onion knight is the strongest, while Doga and Unei will be up to preference and job.
Doga is stronger DPS than Unei, but doesn't provide any additional safety with the bosses.
Unei is weaker DPS, but can negate the need for potions and provides you with Stone Skin which can help save you if you accidentally fail a mechanic (that doesn't one shot you). Unei can also help you conserve potions if you are low.
Storms
Storms is similar to the petrify/magicite from Heaven on High.
When you end up on a floor with a No Health Regen enchantment, you can use storms to wipe the floor. Pair with a fortune to attempt to farm chests. Also open as many mimic spawning chests as you can prior.
When on non-HP regen floors, Storms is best thought of as a "safe, on demand mine play". In essence, you can pull as many mobs as you feel comfortable and nuke them. If pulling more than a few mobs, consider pairing it with Witching or Lethargy to maximize the effectiveness.
Caster's/Healer's can sleep mobs prior to popping storms which bring them into combat without letting them attack you. As long as you don't move particularly far, this can be used to clear 2 to 3 rooms relatively safely and without pairing with Lethargy or Witching.
If you find a free Storm, you don't need to try to maximize it, even using it to kill one or two rooms worth of mobs safely can be enough.
Serenity
Unlike other Deep Dungeons, the floor enchantments are much less influential overall on your run. A general rule, most floor debuffs are not a significant hinderance until you reach floor 61+.
The list of notable floor debuffs are below:
No Ability - Almost always worth a serenity due to time. While No Ability will rarely cause you to die, most jobs DPS is based on ability usage. As a result, No Abilities will massively slow down your clear speed. It is almost always worth using the serenity when this debuff occurs unless you plan to use a demi-clone, dread/storms play or the floor was flighted.
No Item - Job dependent, but not usually a major hindrance. Keeping common protomanders at 2 negates that largest impact that this floor has of "losing freebies"
On Tanks/Healers/RDM: Serenity is usually unnecessary.
On DPS (that aren't RDM): Serenity is optional depending on what else you have. On 81+ can usually opt to use a demi-clone like Unei to mitigate. Only scary if you have Pox or No HP Regen floor.
No Demi-clone - Unless paired with No Item/No Ability it is not an issue.
Blind - Only a minor annoyance. (Though watching your big 1000 potency ability whiff is always a bit painful).
Gloom/Damage down - Only slows you down, not a threat unless paired with additional debuffs.
No HP Regen: Free floor (so long as you have a storm and you can use items).
No Knockback: Almost always a benefit (unless you were planning on using dread)
How do I deal with Dread Beasts?
Killing a dread beast provides the following:
One of the following 30 minute buffs
20% damage boost (Mercydian clone)
20% damage reduction (mini-Sephirot)
Potent Regen (~2000 hp per tick) (Lamia)
A gold treasure chest
An accursed hoard
As all dread beasts are sight, it is typically ideal to avoid them where possible as the rewards (outside of the DPS buff) are rarely worth the risk of trying to kill them.
Groups can typically choose to fight a dread beast if you have a tank and healer and on-point DPS. Witching is usually enough to minimize the risk while you burn it down.
When solo, it is effectively impossible without using a storms.
Prepare to pull by clearing out other nasty mobs or tagging them to start combat
As a tank: Use a Invuln/Mitigation to survive the pull (optionally use a witching or lethargy for extra safety)
As a DPS or Healer: (Optional) steel + witching from within range affecting the dread beast to survive the pull.
Pull dread beast from max range (preferably with an attack that has a DoT)
Pop storms
Press oGCD attack pray that it doesn't one shot you
Solo Strategy
Solo primarily differs from a group run from a time management perspective. You can pull anything, but you need to make sure that you are constantly fighting and working on getting to the next floor.
Pull priority is as follows:
Patrols
Proximity
Dangerous mobs that will wipe you if accidentally pull them
Everything else
You can typically get away with just using free stuff until the floor 71-80 set.
All floors
Start each set with a strength to set a good pace. Keeping Strength at 2 is good for pacing.
Use a steel on the boss to survive failed mechanics.
Keep Affluences and Fortunes at 2 until you have just about everything you need to clear
Pick up as many silver chests as you can to fish for demi-clones.
Floors 1-30
These sets have easy mobs with easy mechanics. Very few dangerous mobs, but you can still be one hit KO if you are hit by anything that could be dodged.
If you are comfortable multipulling, the maximum number of mobs required to unlock the passage is 6 which can be easily managed by most jobs so long as you have a potion and steel. It is very helpful when considering speeding up these sets.
The respawn timer for mobs is 1 minute and they can (and often will) spawn in the key room. You need to be killing more than one mob per minute or you can end up with a nearly unkillable floor.
If you get unlucky and get a treasure room sitting on the key, you may need to use poms or get stuck due to the respawn timer.
Storms on No HP Regen Floors and Lethargies are often dangerous on these floors due to the spawnrate.
Floors 31-70
Easier than 1-30, but there are a few notable mobs and you will need to know how to Line of Sight a good number of mob mechanics starting at 41.
No HP Regen floors are almost always the best use of storm (especially if you are sitting at three)
Line of sight mechanics are mechanics that can be nullified by moving behind a wall. Note, crystals in the center of the rooms cannot be used for line of sight (even though it will seem like it.)
For most mobs that have these mechanics, the safest way to fight them is to tank them in a corner near a hallway, then when the cast starts, duck into the wall.
Bosses have a reasonable amount of HP from here and can be fought pomless if you are comfortable with the fight (or with steel for insurance).
Especially Dangerous Monsters
Wolves/Sharks/Archaeon (if no interrupt) all require you to deal with their mechanics by breaking line of sight during the cast or you will be one shot
Y'mir and Drakes cast a damage reflect that will one shot if you hit them with Physical damage
Sprites explode in a small AoE after death
Ninjas will instantly execute you if you drop below 20% (unclear if this gets triggered while out of combat or not)
Floors 71-80
The hardest set you will face due to a lot of schenanigans and dangerous mobs.
Start with a raising.
High chance of landmines from 71-73 (similar to PotD and HoH). If you are a tank, you may wish to do a landmine play to get ahead on time. This is usually not necessary on DPS. If landmining, use a steel so you can pull more mobs.
NOTE: Unless you are PLD, any nearby Ninjas MUST be witched during the landmine play or you will immediately die.
Aim to finish the 71-75 quickly so you have plenty of time to be safe on 76-79.
Boss is very tanky, plan to use a demi-clone like Doga or Unei for time (especially if you are a tank).
Especially Dangerous Monsters
Sasquatches spawn on 76-79 do a very dangerous out of combat AoE after they use the ability ripe banana. The AoE radius is massive, but can be LoSed. Always prioritize pulling them for safety.
Thunderbeast have an untelegraphed point blank AoE that doesn't have a cast bar called Scythe tail (similar to the earlier sets without the cast bar or telegraph). The safest way to know if they are casting it is to be strafing around them and watch for when they stop turning and move away.
Flamebeast - They have a massive AoE that cannot be LoSed. Kite with extraordinary care.
Ninjas: Proximity patrol that can spawn on every floor, they don't do much, but will execute you if they see your HP drop below 20%.
Floor 81-90
Time will not typically be an issue, this set is similar to the previous ones in that you will often get a lot of debuff floors.
Use your flights and alterations early (if possible).
Serenity/Demi-clone as needed to get through the floor
Both can be safely kept at 2 throughout the floor.
Aim to use all your flights/alterations during this set and save dread/storms for the final set.
Use a serenity if you get a really bad set of floor debuffs
Demi-clones can be safely kept at 2 so that they are not wasted.
Expect to use a demi-clone for 90 boss.
Especially Dangerous Monsters
Corse/Spectre/Gormand patrols are all proximity. Accidentally pulling two of any of these requires a witching or lethargy to survive. Plan to deal with all of them ASAP.
Ahriman has the same AoE and flamebeasts and must be kited with extreme care.
Floor 91-100
You have eight floors, a boss, and a 90 second or so walk.
Start with raising + strength and fight the first floor.
Use flights and lethargies early
Serenity bad floors, demi-clone if at three (or you only expect one attempt at the boss)
Use remaining sights and safeties for comfort with dread and plan to dread on the 96/97/98
For the floor 99 boss
The boss has an insane amount of HP and it nearly requires a demi-clone to even be mildly reasonable time wise. Onion Knight will shave off about 10-12 minutes from the boss. Doga is a good second
Strength and Steel to help make the fight faster and safer
Boss doesn't do a lot of damage, but failing any of the mechanics is a one shot.
Ocassionally need to stand in the AoEs if need to change your Debuff.
Look up the safe spots for Exglacialus
Look up how to do Exflammenus (and probably expect to fail it at least once)
Especially Dangerous Monsters
Zaghals and Fitters have the same "massive one hit KO AoE" that they cast out of combat. They are priority #1 to kill as soon as possible.
Mecho Chimera's are probably the toughest mob to fight properly on this set.