1

ZM6 - Through the Quicksand Caves  

Realm:Outlands
Start Area: Chamber of Oracles
Type:Mission
Related Areas:Chamber of Oracles
Related Mobs:Centurio V-III
Princeps V-XI
Triarius V-VIII
Mission:6
Min Level:65
Max Level:75
Rating
*****
(Average from 18 ratings)
This Quest requires Zilart
This Mission is Not Skippable
Previous Mission: ZM5 - Headstone Pilgrimage
Next Mission: ZM7 - The Chamber of Oracles
Last Updated: Mon Sep 27 09:51:03 2010

Contents [hide]

Summary

You must hurry to Zepwell Island's ancient temple.

Walkthrough

After collecting all the fragments in the previous mission, head to Western Altepa Desert. Go to C-11 to enter a hidden cave, then keep going and enter Quicksand Caves at D-12.

Once inside Quicksand Caves, head to I-9 where you must stand on a circular pad to open a door. You must have either a galka, three tarutaru or two of any other race combination stand on the pad for the door to open. After going through the door, head northwest and then go through another circular pad door at H-7. Head west until you come to a pit; fall down the pit.

After falling down, follow the path until it splits. Take the left (western) path and follow it north to the Chamber of Oracles.

In the Chamber of Oracles, you will enter a BCNM fight with three antican NMs. They are:

  1. Centurio V-III (PLD)
  2. Princeps V-XI (RNG)
  3. Triarius V-VIII (BLM)

Winning the fight marks the end of this mission. You will be ejected from the battlefield into a different part of the Chamber of Oracles. This marks the start of the next mission.

Battle Notes

Some notes about this BCNM fight:

  • Many parties choose to sleep the paladin NM first because it resists sleep. The other two NMs can be easily slept.
  • All three mobs can be slept with Elemental Seal + Sleepga II.
  • The black mage NM can be silenced.
  • Paladin tanks are recommended for this fight.


To read the transcripts for this quest, see the Through the Quicksand Caves Spoilers page.


Mission Series

This mission is part of the Rise of the Zilart mission series. The complete mission series includes:

Final Fantasy XI
Wikibase™

This page last modified 2009-01-19 18:56:34.
Send a correction
1 2 3 Next »
Post Comment
notes
# Dec 13 2004 at 6:05 AM Rating: Decent
24 posts
just to make your life easier when picking out the ants to kill them in order... when you walk in the ants are standing in this order.

left = PLD
middle = RNG
right = BLM
ZM6 done
# Dec 11 2004 at 4:34 PM Rating: Decent
*
191 posts
Just completed this with

68 RDM/BLM (me)
68 WHM/SMN
69 PLD/WAR
69 THF/NIN
69 DRG/SAM
70 DRG/WAR

echo drops, sleep II and sleepga are your best friends for this if you are a red mage, we did this in the order mentioned here on allak of PLD > RNG > BLM and would definitely recommend it. The RNG and BLM type are laughably easy to keep asleep whereas the PLD's resist sleep job trait works a little too well. After the PLD and RNG everyone else just sat there medding for a while while I kept recasting Sleep II before we took out the BLM. Also, compared to the PLD, the two others have practically no HP and go down quick. :)

And whoever is sleeping these, might be an idea to keep the BLM silenced even when it is asleep as the second it wakes up it will start casting.
Completed
# Nov 27 2004 at 4:57 PM Rating: Decent
**
915 posts
My "Static" ZM group and I completed this Mission today.

RDM62/WHM31 (me) - Usually I sub BLM, but since we had no WHM, I changed my sub
RNG65/NIN32
DRK66/WAR33
NIN69/WAR34
RNG72/NIN36
RDM75/BLM37 (came along to help out)

Yeah, I know, I'm too low to be doing this =P It worked out, though. We made the mistake of going in on Lightsday >.< We would've been toast without the other RDM.

Despite what the guide above says, we decided that we would go in this order: BLM -> RNG -> PLD.

Other RDM used ES + Sleepga. I just main healed. We killed the Ants really quickly. They didn't even get a chance to use AoE Silence!

Our total time was 9 minutes and some odd seconds. Not a record, but still pretty fast.
Completed
# Nov 26 2004 at 8:47 AM Rating: Decent
**
251 posts
Completed for us with the following:

75WHM/BLM
67RDM/BLM
68MNK/WAR
67MNK/WAR
67DRG/WAR
70PLD/WAR

Was semi-difficult. I think we underestimated them a tad. I was the Sleepgaer (which you will need) and the Paladin ran in and I ES + Sleepgaed them. They killed the BLM first (silence the BLM to keep the nasty spells off) and make sure to bring echo drops for the AoE silencega. BLM went down rather fast, then we decided to take the RNG. I think we should've tried the Paladin next since Paladins have resistance to Sleep.

Got the RNG halfway down till he used a rather strong attack (I forget what) on our DRG nearly 1 hit killing him. He used Eagle Eye Shot on our MNK killing him as well. With two down, we had to have our WHM Raise them mid battle as I ran around keeping the Paladin asleep.

Paladin is pretty sleep resistant. Well, not terribly, but he DID resist Sleep2 once. He likes to spam dumb spells like Banish3 and other things like Flash, but he's not too hard if you silence him. He has more HP than the others, so it takes a while. Invincible is irritating, especially for us since I had nearly run out of MP near the end and I was the only "Nuker".

Still, we won. Not a bad fight. ^^
The Motley Crew...
# Nov 20 2004 at 8:44 AM Rating: Excellent
*
91 posts
This will be a long post. If you've got something to do for the next 5 to 10 minutes, you might want to skip down to the "Battle" section. If you're bored, you might want to read it all.


ZM4
The day before, I'd done ZM4 with what ended up being 15 other people. You can read Iasthai's post about it on the Ragnarok forums. It took too long, and lots of people died. But thanks to the help of a few very cool people, we got everyone who was still there done with the mission. We all went to bed WAY too late.


ZM5
The next day I noticed someone shouting for ZM5 while I was seeking party, so I figured what the hey, let's get it over with. Turns out a few people from the night before's ZM4 were there, too. We collected 12 people relatively quickly and went on our merry way. Slaughtered the NM's in Behemoth's Dominion, spent 30 minutes finding our way to the headstone in the Sanctuary of Zi'Tah, but killed that toad, too. BRD used Soul Voice, but it wasn't necessary to keep us alive, I don't think. Still, that toad hits hard. Next was Cape Terrigan. One of the BLM's died here, and the PLD had to warp out to avoid death himself, so we ended up waiting a long time here, too, but overall it didn't go that bad. The NM here was much less difficult than it was hyped up to be. Only used Dimensional Death like... twice.
That's about when our happy little escapade across Vana'diel turned into a living hell. We went to Ifrit's Cauldron, making sure everyone had plenty of powders and oils since the bombs aggro magic. Well, we had a death right off the bat due to a miscommunication about the aggros, and the WHM, Grann, disconnected several times and had to update FFXI on the way back in (which nobody knew anything about at the time). Grann is lucky the dead person (RDM, Twidget) wanted a Raise II, or else we probably would've ended up leaving him behind after about 15 minutes. Ultimately we were all getting impatient, standing there using our oils and powders while not making any progress. Enver, a BST, tossed a raise to Twidget and we were finally back on track. Grann found his way back to us eventually. We got a bit farther without realizing we'd left one of the BLM's behind, Ultraburner. Actually, we probably knew we'd left him behind, but were running too low on items to stop and wait. Anyway he ended up dying in one of the deepest parts of Ifrit's Cauldron. We had to leave him behind. Running out of oils and powders, we got near the zone line we were attempting to get to, when we encountered the Ash Dragon, an NM which drops the Murasame great katana, and has true sight. Most of us got by without a hitch, but poor Enver had no such luck. He was drawn in and killed quickly. Enver had helped out so much that we decided to risk it and try to raise him. We killed a bomb (which was VT to me, and I was lv 70. Other highest level was 71), and thanks to the BLM's it didn't self-destruct us all. Enver was raised and we moved on. However the SAM, Arkano, had been left behind. We told him he didn't need oils any more (which he was out of) and to just make a run for it with invis up. Well, we neglected to tell him about the Ash Dragon, and it owned him just as we zoned. Two of the members were getting very impatient by this point, and they apparently had to leave soon. We had been doing the Ifrit's Cauldron section for well over two hours by this point, so no one could blame them. We went to kill the NM's. They went down quickly and without a hitch, and about 9 of us got the fragment. For some reason, the BLM that had to leave warped our BRD without asking him, and so with the two that dropped, the BRD out, we were 5 alive, 2 dead in Ifrit's Cauldron/Yhoator Jungle. We decided to get the others their fragments, as there'd be no point in going this far and leaving them behind. We sent a task force of Enver (the BST) and Edeno (a BLM) to get Ultraburner (the dead BLM) a raise before his timer ran out. It wasn't easy, but they managed to get to him in time. He had 25 seconds remaining. Arkano was raised, also, and we went to kill the NM's again. They still weren't difficult with 7 people. There were 3 fragments left for us to get. They were non-NM fights, but some of us wanted to go together anyway. Edeno wanted to do the rest on his own after it took us forever and a day to get the fragment in La Theine, so we were down to a single party. We got the Fei'Yin and Quicksand fragments relatively quickly.

ZM6
It came to our attention in Altepa that ZM6 just happened to be right here, and we had a party of 6. There was only one problem: No tank. The idea of taking on a BCNM without a tank would've been crazy to anyone else. Heck, it was crazy to us too, but we figured what the hey. The WHM could Reraise II and raise II us if worse came to worst, and we'd all lose around 600 exp. No big deal. Well, we got down there to the correct area and were going to try it, but the BRD accidentally aggroed and trained a few anticans and a lizard. The unfortunate thing here was that Twidget, the RDM, had fallen asleep. He died when we zoned. =( We got him a raise and decided once and for all to go for it.
The suggested party was 65+ and well balanced for this mission. We didn't exactly meet those requirements.
70RNG, 62SAM, 63RDM, 64WHM, 69BRD, 65BLM.
The plan was relatively simple. I, the RNG, would attempt to be a tank, letting Arkano provoke as much as possible to toss the hate a bit. The BRD would use Soul Voice and give us double Minne, turning me from a big stick of butter with Othinus' Bow into something remotely approaching a tank. We'd take down the ants one at a time, as was suggested in this guide. PLD, RNG, BLM. With the BRD, RDM, and BLM, we figured sleeping and silencing wouldn't be that big an issue, and with those out of the way it'd just be a matter of keeping the SAM and I alive. Well, needless to say it didn't work out quite as we planned.


---Battle---
After reviewing each person's job once we got in there, we figured it was now or never, and went on in. I hit utsusemi and the BLM did ES sleepga II. It landed, and it landed good. They were all out cold, and it made the beginning of the battle much more manageable. However, I was an idiot and assumed the guide was accurate in saying the PLD was in the center. Well, the RNG was in the center, and I shot the wrong one. We took down the RNG first. Minne went up, and my defense jumped a whopping 280 points. The beginning of the fight with the RNG was rather chaotic. The hate wasn't on me *or* the SAM, and it took me too long to figure out why: I had been using lv 1 crossbow bolts. I switched to the holy bolts once I realized this. The RNG wailed on the BLM for awhile, but thanks to stoneskin/blink/phalanx he was fine until I got the hate. He was about 1/4 health when I hit utsusemi again. It got interrupted a few times but I got it off at last. As soon as I did I mentally kicked myself. This whole battle was riding on the idea that I could get him to Eagle Eye Shot me when I had utsusemi up, because otherwise I was almost sure to die. I had intended to put utsusemi up, then Eagle Eye shot and Slug Shot the ant to provoke him into returning with his 2hr. Well, much to my surprise, at about 2/3 life, and on the last copy image I had, he Eagle Eye Shot me. No damage. Right then I had my first feeling that we might actually pull this thing off. The RNG took longer to kill than I would've liked. So long, in fact, that we took too much damage, and Grann, the WHM, took the hate from a curaga III. Grann died. The RNG went down shortly after, and I decided we should take the BLM down next, since the PLD hadn't posed much threat up to that point. Well, the PLD had Resist Sleep, so while we were wailing on the BLM which had an excessive amount of defense, The others had a tough time keeping the PLD asleep while also keeping the BLM silenced and the SAM and I cured. Grann had reraised at the beginning of the BLM fight. Silence went down at a bad time once, and the BLM started casting Burst on me. The others were having a heck of a time with the PLD so I figured I'd try to land a sleep bolt on him at the end of his casting. The additional effect didn't land, and Burst nailed me. I went down to about 190 HP, then got hit for another 90 or so, but was quickly cured and we were back on our way. In retrospect all I needed to do was cast utsusemi to absorb the burst, but i wasn't thinking that clearly at the time. The BLM still wasn't dead, or even very close to it, so the SAM did his 2hr, doing a little over 1200 damage total. Not bad, but the BLM was still a big pain. Slug Shot, barrage, Eagle Eye Shot, Slug Shot finally killed him. But by this point no one had an ounce of MP left. We decided to let the BRD keep the PLD asleep while we got some MP and prepared for the last ant. Grann's weakened state came off, we got a decent amount of MP, and went for the PLD. Everyone pulled out the stops. I used darksteel bolts, the BLM hit manafont and wailed on it, and it was dead faster than any of the others. We'd just beaten ZM6 with an underlevelled party and no tank.
ZM7 was an awesome cutscene and I went to bed at 8:45am. lol.

Tired of typing. Shout out to Heziki, the BRD. Twidget, the RDM. Ultraburner, the BLM. Arkano, the SAM. Grann, the WHM. And me, Esoteria, the RNG. Yay.

Edited, Sat Nov 20 17:28:57 2004
WRONG FING DIRECTINGS
# Nov 18 2004 at 10:00 PM Rating: Decent
Ok, these directions are wrong.

First door is at K 7, second at H 7 and drop is at F 7.
brd & blm, easy fight
# Aug 24 2004 at 7:55 AM Rating: Decent
**
274 posts
Our group had a 68blm and a 74brd, made the battle real simple.

Our plan sleep group and pull off blm type way from group. Silence to keep it from casting spells. We took down the rng next, his attack was annoying us that we needed to take him down next. Paralyze and slow kept him from doing any major damage to party. Pld was simple, he only had a large HP pool which made the battle long.
Someone always dies
# Aug 17 2004 at 4:59 AM Rating: Good
***
1,453 posts
Be very prepared for a death during this mission. It's a nightmare of damage because of the BLM's Manafont and the RNG's Eagle Eye Shot.

Also go here:

http://mysterytour.web.infoseek.co.jp/ffxi/us/mission/000m-zil.htm

if you want to see the original from which this is ripped. You won't have to click through slow-loading pages to view all the missions at once, and it will save you having to read this site's descriptions, which are by and large identical. :/

Edited, Tue Aug 17 06:03:36 2004
RE: Someone always dies
# Aug 17 2004 at 4:00 PM Rating: Excellent
Mistress of Gardening
Avatar
*****
14,661 posts
We have permission from Mysterytour to post their content. That aside though, this was submitted to us via email. Whether people are submitting the same things to several sites or simply doing the research for us, it's not something we can actively control.
____________________________
Yum-Yum Bento Box | Pikko Pots | Adventures in Bentomaking

Twitter


[ffxivsig]277809[/ffxivsig]
RE: Someone always dies
# Aug 17 2004 at 6:17 PM Rating: Decent
**
311 posts
Even with permission to post it, it should still be credited.
RE: Someone always dies
# Aug 18 2004 at 12:06 PM Rating: Good
**
806 posts
Ever consider the same person that sent the info off to mystery tour sent it to allakhazam too?
RE: Someone always dies
# Aug 23 2004 at 12:35 PM Rating: Decent
Quote:
Ever consider the same person that sent the info off to mystery tour sent it to allakhazam too?


Considering that info has been on mysterytour for sometime and it just now made it here (like in the past few days), it is unlikely that someone researched it, and then sent the information to both pages via a carbon copy email.

More likely: someone logged onto mysterytour, copied, then pasted here.

You guys could at least change the words...JUST A LITTLE. Even the format. Gimme something!
RE: Someone always dies
# Aug 23 2004 at 12:32 PM Rating: Default
double.

Edited, Mon Aug 23 13:36:31 2004
Circle correction
# Aug 16 2004 at 10:09 PM Rating: Decent
Hmm, from what i've heard the circle requires either one galkan, 2 mithra, human, or elvaan, or THREE tarutaru. can someone please confirm this?

Edited, Mon Aug 16 23:10:39 2004
Circle correctionectionection
# Nov 19 2006 at 9:25 AM Rating: Decent
I was just there with 3 Taru and it would not open, however a 4th Taru was enough.
RE: Circle correction
# Aug 17 2004 at 9:06 AM Rating: Decent
**
274 posts
You only need a total of 3 people to open the door. Doesn't matter which race, any 3 combination will work.
RE: Circle correction
# Aug 19 2004 at 2:11 PM Rating: Decent
**
438 posts
That is incorrect. There is a certain "weight" requirement for this... true you can put any 3 people on it and it will open but if you have a Galkan in your party, only he will be necessary to open the door... but if your party is all tarus then you are required to have at least 3 of them to open it
Additions
# Aug 16 2004 at 8:47 PM Rating: Decent
**
554 posts
Names of the 3 NMs are:

Triarius V-VIII - BLM
Centurio V-III - PLD
Princeps V-XI - RNG

The PLD is noticably larger than the other two, so he's easy to spot (and he's in the middle). The fight is harder than ZM4, since Antica have way higher defense than Tonberries.
1 2 3 Next »
Post Comment

Free account required to post

You must log in or create an account to post messages.