The Minstrel's Ballad: Tsukuyomi's Pain

The Minstrel's Ballad: Tsukuyomi's Pain, also called Tsukuyomi EX, is a high-end duty added in patch 4.3: Under the Moonlight. It can be unlocked by speaking to the Wandering Minstrel in Kugane ( 11.6 , 12.6 ) after completing the main story trial "Castrum Fluminis."

The minimum ilvl to enter this fight is i350, but can be bypassed with a full party.

Phase 1: Opening (100%-80%)

Tsukuyomi's Abilities:

• Reprimand: Deals moderate raid-wide magic damage.
• Nightfall: Tsukuyomi will procure either a spear or a gun (with both a visual and auditory cue), which will determine what this move does.
  • Gun: You'll hear the sound of a gun cocking. Tsukuyomi will say "Beg for mercy!". Targets a random player, faces them, and deals significant stack magic damage that must be mitigated by having everyone stack in one place.
  • Spear: You'll hear the sound of metal clanking. Tsukuyomi will say "Your end is near…". Targets a healer, a tank, and a DPS, and cleaves each member in succession, dealing significant physical damage to each.
• Nightbloom: Deals heavy raid-wide magic damage.

The fight begins fairly straightforwardly, with Tsukuyomi first using Reprimand, following it up with two Nightfalls. Depending on which Nightfall weapon appears, players will have to either stack together in one point (gun), or spread out into three groups (tanks, healers, and DPS) as shown below.

In this phase, you will never get the same Nightfall weapon twice in a row (i.e. if the first Nightfall was a spear, the next will always be Gun, and vice-versa). After both Nightfalls are resolved, Tsukuyomi will cast another Reprimand and follow up with a Nightbloom, dealing heavy raid-wide damage and signifying the end of the phase. This phase can be pushed early if Tsukuyomi is brought below 80%.

Phase 2: Adds

If you've done Zurvan EX before, this adds phase is very similar. It consists of 3 waves of adds, each spawning after the other (or after a set period of time).  A duty bar of "Suffering" will appear, which increases the more damage Yotsuyu at the center takes. Do not let it reach 100.

Wave 1 begins with 3x Specters of the Homeland (Melee) spawning at the east of the arena, 3x Specter of the Homeland (Archer) spawning at the west of the arena, and a Specter of the Matriarch + Specter of the Patriarch spawning at the north of the arena, tethering Yotsuyu and ignoring enmity. All of these enemies do not do anything special other than auto attack, so I'd recommend having your DPS burn down the Specter of the Matriarch & Specter of the Patriarch while one of your tanks picks up the other melee adds and drags them toward the ranged adds.

Wave 2 is nearly identical to wave 1, with essentially the same enemies spawning, except this time, instead of two adds (Specter of the Matriarch + Specter of the Patriarch) tethering Yotsuyu, it will be a single Specter of Asahi. Specters of the Empire (Melee) will spawn in the Southwest of the arena, Specters of the Empire (Ranged) will spawn at the Northwest, and Asahi will spawn at the Northeast. Deal with this wave exactly the same way as Wave 1.

Wave 3 will begin with an untargettable Specter of Zenos spawning near the center of the arena, who will begin by using Concentrativity, dealing mild raid-wide magic damage and inflicting a Stun and Down for the Count for ~10s. A Specter of Gosetsu will intercept slowly afterwards, and Zenos will become targettable. The Specter of Zenos ignores enmity and will periodically deal moderate raid-wide damage in the form of Dispersivity every 5 seconds or so. Burn him quickly to progress to the next phase.

After a quick moment, Tsukuyomi will use Nightbloom, dealing severe damage to all members of the party, and signifying the end of the adds phase.

Phase 3: Crescent Moon (80%-35%)

Tsukuyomi keeps all of her abilities from Phase 1, and gains the following:

• Supreme Selenomancy: Tsukuyomi divides the arena into two halfs, Black and White, with one color slowly growing to take over the other. Standing in the white side of the arena will inflict stacks of Moonlit, while standing in the black side of the arena will inflict stacks of Moonshadowed every 5 seconds. Reaching 5 stacks of either Moonlit or Moonshadowed will result in a lethal bleed and a Doom, killing the player.
• Midnight Rain: The arena becomes fully black or white, and Tsukuyomi gains either the buff Full Moon or New Moon, allowing her to cast Antitwilight or Perilune respectively.
• Antitwilight: Can only be used while under the effect of Full Moon. Deals small raid-wide magic damage to all members, but deals lethal damage to all players who do not have the "Veil of Shadow" buff.
• Perilune: Can only be used while under the effect of New Moon. Deals small raid-wide magic damage to all members, but deals lethal damage to all players who do not have the "Veil of Light" buff.
• Zashiki-asobi: Tsukuyomi spawns 2 sets of Dancing Fans, one set containing 6 fans, covering the center and either north or south, and one set covering the remaining area. After a short while, these fans will explode in a small aoe radius around them. Dodge it by moving to where the 3 set spawns, and move to the 6 set after it explodes.
• Torment Unto Death: Tankbuster dealing heavy magic damage to its target, and inflicting a severe Magic Vulnerability Up. Forces a tank swap.

In this phase, all of Tsukuyomi's auto-attacks are magical.

This phase begins with Tsukuyomi casting Supreme Selenomancy, splitting the arena in half, and giving each player 4 stacks of either Moonlit or Moonshadowed. At the same time, one half of the arena will have two Moonlights, each casting Lunar Orb, dealing damage in a small donut AoE around them. Have each player quickly move to the color opposite their debuff, and the arena will begin to be filled by one color. This will always be either from left to right, or right to left.

Tsukuyomi will begin casting Nightfall, with it either being Gun or Spear depending on what repetition of the phase you're in. Do this the same way you did phase 1. A few seconds after she finishes casting (As soon as the animation for the Gun goes out, or as soon as the first hit of spear goes out) the tank with lower enmity, a random healer, and a random DPS will be marked with a meteor over their head.

Moonfall and Crescent Moon

Meteors will land where players baited them. If they are too close, they will explode, deal significant damage, and give the entire raid a stack of damage down for each meteor that explodes. Meteors take on the color of the floor they've landed on (i.e. if a meteor lands on a black floor, it will be black, and if it lands on a white floor, it will be white). At the end of the Crescent Moon, these meteors will explode once more and leave behind a puddle that acts both as a white or black floor (depending on their color), giving their respective stacks, and also providing players with either "Veil of Light" or "Veil of Shadow", which are required to survive Antitwilight or Perilune, which is cast shortly afterwards. Meteor placements vary, but as long as at least 1 meteor is placed on the small side, and you have a safe spot where the smaller color is available, you're good. A few examples are shown below:

Make sure you pre-assign positions, or directions. It does not particularly matter where each meteor goes, but the common strategy is to have a waymark in each of the three positions, and have each role assigned to each position.

« ‹ 1 of 3 › »

There are a total of 12 ticks of the floor throughout this phase. Your goal is to get the last possible tick of the small color before it disappears (which is the 8th tick total) in order to survive the whole phase. A timeline is provided below to more easily understand the flow of this phase. Rule of thumb is: Start at big side, move to small side at 4 stacks, place your meteor if you have to, and make sure that you take the last possible tick from the small color (Tick 8) or you will die. Honestly, you can do whatever, as long as you aren't forced to get 5 stacks while placing a meteor, but you absolutely must take Tick 8 in the small color.

Make sure to stay inside the meteor until after either Antitwilight or Perilune resolves. Tsukuyomi will then follow with another Reprimand and begin casting Zashiki-asobi summoning 2 sets of Dancing Fans, one set containing 6 fans, covering the center and either north or south, and one set covering the remaining area. Have all players dodge it by moving to where the 3 set spawns, and move to the 6 set after it explodes. Very similar to trine in O8S, or titan bombs. While dodging, Tsukuyomi will begin casting Nightfall, so immediately prepare for either a gun, or spear. Do it the exact same way as in phase 1. Tsukuyomi will then cast Torment Unto Death, forcing a tank swap, and repeat the phase until she either finishes two Supreme Selenomancy rotations or is pushed under 35%.

Phase 4: Blood Moon (35%-0%)

Tsukuyomi gains the following abilities:

• Dance of the Dead: Deals heavy magic raid-wide damage. Signifies the start of the phase.
• Full Moon: The text "The light of the full moon infuses Tsukuyomi!" will appear on screen, Tsukuyomi will become completely white and she will gain the buff "Full Moon". All uses of Bright Blade and Dark Blade will be accompanied by Waxing Grudge, dealing severe magic damage and inflicting a stack of Damage Down to all players in melee range.
• New Moon: The text "The darkness of the new moon infuses Tsukuyomi!" will appear on screen, Tsukuyomi will become completely black and she will gain the buff "New Moon". All uses of Bright Blade and Dark Blade will be accompanied by Waning Grudge, dealing severe magic damage and inflicting a stack of Damage Down to all players outside of melee range.
• Bright Blade: Tsukuyomi will swing the blade on her left side, dealing severe physical damage to all players on her rear and left side, and inflicting both a stack of Vulnerability Up and Damage Down. Avoid this by moving to her right flank.
• Dark Blade: Tsukuyomi will swing the blade on her right side, dealing severe physical damage to all players on her rear and right side, and inflicting both a stack of Vulnerability Up and Damage Down. Avoid this by moving to her left flank.
• Lunacy: Stack marker targeting one person. Shortly afterwards, a series of 4 party stacks will hit the targeted player, each dealing moderate magic damage if all 8 players are stacked. An extra attack is added every time it is used (think Akh Morn).
• Hagetsu: Targets 1 Healer, 1 Tank, and 1 DPS with a red marker over their head, which shortly afterwards deals moderate splash magic damage to each targeted player.
• Torment Unto Death: Works exactly the same as the previous phase, except instead deals heavy physical damage and inflicts a Physical Vulnerability Up.

In this phase, all of Tsukuyomi's auto-attacks are physical.

The phase begins with Tsukuyomi moving into the middle of the arena and casting Dance of the Dead, and immediately infusing herself with either Full Moon or New Moon, and quickly follow up with either a Bright Blade or Dark Blade. Depending on whether Tsukuyomi is in either of these two stances determines whether players should stack in melee range, or move away when she casts Bright Blade or Dark Blade. The general size of these AoEs are shown below.

Dark Blade

« ‹ 2 of 2 › »

In essence, you're going to be choosing whether to be at the left or right flank (As determined by what she's casting) and whether to be outside or inside (depending on if she's under full moon or new moon). Easy mnemonics include "White out, Black in", "Bright right, Dark left" etc etc. After Tsukuyomi goes through two sets of Moon + Blade, she will cast another Reprimand. Afterwards, Tsukuyomi will infuse herself with another Moon and spawn Dancing Fans in a circle across the arena, and mark a random player with Lunacy. The goal is to have all players stack where the last Dancing Fan spawned, and then move as a group toward the middle after the first Dancing Fan resolves. A diagram is shown below.

When the Fan in the middle resolves, move as a group toward the middle, avoiding all other fans.

« ‹ 2 of 2 › »

Tsukuyomi will then follow up with a quick Bright/Dark Blade combo, and continue onto a Torment Unto Death, forcing a tank swap. Afterwards, Tsukuyomi will infuse herself with a Moon once more and spawn Dancing Fans in a 6-3 pattern that was seen in the last phase, as well as marking a random DPS, tank, and healer with Hagetsu. I'd recommend having assigned quadrants for each role, and dodge the fans the same way as in phase 3. An example is shown below.

Afterwards, Tsukuyomi will follow up again with another Bright/Dark Blade combo, and use two Reprimands back to back. The fight will then repeat starting from the Moon into Lunacy combo until the party defeats her, or she enrages at approximately 12 minutes into the fight. A text box will appear, and target a player for a Lunacy that will continue to hit until the party is dead, or she is.

If you've defeated Tsukuyomi, congratulations! You'll be rewarded with a Lunar Totem, for which 10 can be exchanged in Rhalgr's Reach for an i365 Tsukiyomi weapon of your choice. The fight is fairly simple once you get it down, and with current gear levels DPS checks are a joke, so feel free to tank LB any mechanics you find difficult or save for healer LB if you want to play even safer.

If you have any questions, thoughts, or concerns, please do not hesitate to leave a comment below.