Soloing Sandy M6-1

[Pandroid]

My linkshell did Sandy M6-1 a few weeks ago when I was gone and now no one wants to help me with it. Allakahzam says that a lvl 60 party could handle the cactaur NM easily, but what level should I be before I can try to solo it?

The only thing I'm really worried about is 1000 needles. Will it go through stoneskin and instantly kill me if I don't have 1000 hp?

[Apple Pie]

The NM spams 1000 needles and if you solo it, you always take 1000 damage. Stoneskin will help you to survive a little but regular attacks are hard, too. I don't feel like soloing even with RDM74/NIN37.

[Xyphere]

Indeed.

[Seijurohiko]

Re: Soloing Sandy M6-1

Sorry to bring up an old post, but I wanted to say that this is indeed possible for a 70+ rdm to solo, as I managed to do so last night as 72rdm/36war. Unfortunately, I play on PS2, and am unable to provide a video (though it would be extremely boring to watch anyway).

The idea is very simple: 1000 Needles is a TP based attack and therefore, we must find a way to deal damage while minimizing mob TP gain. At first, I thought about kiting with Gravity/Bind while keeping DoT spells active, but suspected it would eventually build a resistance to these spells, as well as link with the other cactuars in the area. Then I thought about using a Ceremonial Dagger and attempting to melee hoping for consistant 0 physical dmg plus enspell (as enspells alone do not give TP). I tried this briefely, but due to it's low def (and Elvaans' naturally high str. stat), I ended up hitting for 2-5 dmg too often. This lead to the next strategy.

Using Defender from /war, Tavnazian Taco, Earth Staff, Jelly Ring, Phalanx Ring, Warwolf Belt, and AF, I found that I was only taking around 0-40 damage per hit. So, I decided to just stand there and let it beat on me for 0 damage while Blaze Spikes and Poison II ate away at it's HP. This worked very well and made the fight much easier, as all I had to concentrate on was keeping buffs up, and DoT active.

During the course of the fight, I took 3 1000 Needles attacks, which landed for around 700 or so damage each. Since it was getting TP as such a slow rate (initial Bio II damage and the occasional hit when Stoneskin dropped), 1000 Needles was easily dealt with. After about 40 minutes, it's HP finally gave out and I got my key item. =)