It took a surprisingly low number of stupid fetch-this quests to get to the point where we could meet our new challenge: defeat Garuda, the primal of the Ixali bird people. Though Garuda herself looks like a bird-moth hybrid, so maybe a bug crystal got mixed in with all the wind crystals used to summon her.**
As with the lead-up to the Titan fight, the various NPCs are fully aware that they are just wasting our time. Where with Titan, we were gathering obscure foods for a feast, here, we were continually sent to gather the wrong type of crystal to allow Cid’s airship the ability to reach Garuda’s hurricane-shrouded perch.
When the NPCs couldn’t even convince themselves to send us after one more wrong type of crystal, we were finally off to see the wind goddess. Cid’s ship is called the Enterprise. The elf did a Picard-like “Engage!”. The Enterprise rose into the air with hints of Star Trek: The Next Generation’s theme mixed in with the music.
When we arrived, the Ixali were there in full force, along with many Ifrit Amal’jaa and Titan goblin cultists. Cid and the elf ran off to take those on (ineffectively, as it turns out), while Kasul and I waited at Garuda’s gates for people to join our group.
Waited, and waited, and waited. We decided to ask our Free Company for help, but just then the mission popped, and in we went.
I don’t think any of the two dps who joined had done it before. Maybe the summoner had. I know the ninja was as new as we were, since we saw him turning in the quest after. Spoiler alert: we won.
Garuda has, inexplicably, built within her perch, four stone pillars that are impervious to her attacks. What an odd thing to do. Those pillars are key to the fight. Garuda, suddenly understanding her mistake, tries to destroy those pillars via direct attack (tank keeps her attention), shooting AEs at the other group members that can spread to break the pillars (other party members stop dancing on the pillars), and dropping flaming pillar-eating feathers on them (kill those feathers).
My one job was to drag her away from the pillars and soak up heals, so I** didn’t screw things up. The two dps – especially the ninja – just loved the pillars so much that they couldn’t stay away, and apparently had a long running battle animation such that they couldn’t break away to deal with the feathers. As such, we had a few tries until everyone knew to (a) stay away from the pillars except when blocking Garuda’s attack, and (b) kill the feathers when they spawn. Despite me, reading from the walkthrough, explaining this at the start of each attempt and at several times during it.
Garuda unleashes a spectacularly powerful attack midway through that is ameliorated only by whatever remains of the pillars. Tanks can survive the hit, but everyone else would be killed. The summoner was insta-killed every time. The first time we got that far, it was me and the ninja that lived, so it was just a matter of time until we died. The next time we got that far, Kasul lived, and eventually managed to get the ninja up while Squishy the Summoner remained dead. Squishy the Summoner later took Kasul to task for not rezzing him and letting him rez the ninja, but I think Kasul made the right call. Squishy the Summoner really wasn’t surviving Garuda’s now un-weakened attacks. And it was the ninja’s limit break that eventually won us the encounter.
Kasul was eager to continue the story, but I needed some time to wind down. We did a quick Cutter’s Cry and, with Omuro, a smooth Stone Vigil run to finish the night.
Next up is Omuro’s Garuda fight, and the Aurum Vale dungeon for Kasul’s and my Grand Company promotion.