1

Pulling the Strings  

Realm:Other
Start Area: Oldton Movalpolos
Start NPC:Twinkbrix (E - 13)
Type:ENM
Max Party:1
Related Areas:Mine Shaft #2716
Related Mobs:Fantoccini
Fantoccini Wyvern
Moblin Fantocciniman
Max Level:60
Reward:2000 Experience
Rating
*****
(Average from 7 ratings)
Items Granted:Assassin's Ring
Astral Pot
Attuner
Corsair Bullet
Corsair Bullet Pouch
Counter Earring
Deadeye Earring
Death Chakram
Drum Magazine
Equalizer
Eraser
Gamushara Earring
Getsul Ring
Healing Feather
Janizary Earring
Mana Channeler
Naruko Earring
Pacifist Ring
Refresh Musk
Sanation Ring
Smoke Screen
Spirit Lantern
Tactical Processor
Tactical Ring
Target Marker
Worm Mulch
Wyvern Feed
This Quest is Repeatable
This Quest requires Promathia
Last Updated: Thu Aug 20 05:58:37 2009

Contents [hide]

Battle Notes

To start the battle you need to go see Twinkbrix at (E-13) in Oldton Movalpolos. He will let you gamble anywhere from 1 to 10,000 gil with him. If you win then he will give you the key item: Shaft Gate Operating Dial to enter the battlefield. The more gil you bet the better you odds. He rolls two 50 sided dice. At 1 gil they must total 2. At 10k they must total anywhere from 2 to 50. With varying levels of odds inbetween. After winning he will offer to warp you to Mine Shaft #2716 for 2000 gil.

This is a solo ENM battle. You will have 15 minutes to defeat it.

You will see two NMs. The Moblin Fantocciniman and the Fantoccini. You must defeat the Fantoccini, which will be the same job as you. The Moblin Fantocciniman will roll a die and randomly buff either you or the Fantoccini. To win, you must kill the Fantoccini. The Moblin Fantocciniman does not aggro. Do not attack him or he will join the fight.

Strategies

This page last modified 2008-04-09 13:20:46.
Send a correction
Post Comment
ENM60 - Tarutaru Dark Knight
# Aug 22 2005 at 4:43 AM Rating: Good
**
277 posts
Finally I defeated the Fantonini! My first out of 4 attempts.

The first attempt was the second best. Unprepared. A friend told me about the ENM while we were mining out there, so I just entered the battlefield and got the Fantonini down to a sliver of health when he got a Full Cure from the Goblin. All my special attacks were already used so it wasn't possible for me to win back then.

When I tried it the second time I was quite prepared. Got myself some hi-potions, an Icarus Wing, food and a drink. Unfortunately the fantonini got 2 Guillotines in a row and I had no chance at all to recover from the first. I guess that was the quickest match ever.

The third attempt I tried to use Souleater + Blood Weapon quite early in the battle to unleash Guillotine one right after it and immediately pop the Icarus Wing to finish him off with a second Guillotine. He got a full cure again.

This time went a lot better.

Again, I bought an Icarus Wing, 8 hi-potions, pear au lait (later I concluded I forgot to actually bring it with me >.<), and a Blink Band (I need that anyway when I have to fight Maat later on.)

My equipment:

Weapon: Vassago's Scythe
Ranged: Lightning Bow
Head: Chaos Burgeonet
Neck: Royal Guards Collar
Ear1: Spike Earring
Ear2: Spike Earring
Body: Haubergeon
Hands: Royal Knight's Mufflers
Ring1: Sun Ring/Sniper's Ring
Ring2: Sun Ring/Sniper's Ring
Back: Jaeger's Mantle
Waist: Life Belt
Legs: Royal Knight's Breeches
Feet: Chaos Sollerets

At the start of Battle I equiped my Sun Rings. I used the Blink Band and swapped my headpiece back to the Burgeonet. Popped my Meat Mithkabob and realized I forgot my Pear au Lait. I decided to use my Icarus Wing immediately.

I ran to the Fantonini and Absorbed Strength, followed by a quick Stun and Guillotine. Guillotine did about 800 dmg, which got his HP down to 75-80%. My next normal hit missed. So I decided to swap back to my Sniper's just in case. I had to make this a quick fight, I can't afford to miss, especially when his STR-down wears off.

His first hit missed too, his second actually hit me (although I had Blink up), but a couple of others were absorbed by Blink after that (I saw 2 hits being absorbed).

For every two hits the Fantonini did, I popped a Hi-potion (he was hitting me for about 70-80 dmg, so the potion nullifies 100, which leaves 60 real damage). When I got his health down to 60% I used Bloodweapon only! This time without Souleater.

Whatever I did, I had to make sure to keep my own HP in the yellow. I'm a Taru, and with that equipment I have about 870 HP. One Guillotine from him would be able to kill me, if my HP hit orange.

I used a second Guillotine (again about 800 dmg), which cut his HP back to 20%. I got quite lucky, he only got a Drain, a Weapon Bash and a Vorpal Scythe from the Goblin (luckily no Guillotine). I was able to Stun the Drain.

When Blood Weapon wore off I got one or two other hits which I compensated with my own Drain. And finally my final blow struck and defeated the Fantonini.

After the battle I had 4 Hi-potions left and I totally forgot to use Last Resort. Perhaps that was a good idea anyway. I used Souleater in previous battles, together with Bloodweapon, but in the end I regret that as I could've better used Bloodweapon to get myself some free HP.

I got the 2k EXP and a very nice Worm Mulch. >.< Bah. Oh well, at least I finally defeated this unpredictable Fantonini.

Sorry for my bad English. I just hope it makes a bit sense for other DRK's to defeat this ENM. Good luck!
Pathetic
# Aug 17 2005 at 3:03 PM Rating: Decent
Ok i just finished this ENM as Blm and it was so easy it was almost sad. I entered the BC and used the Pamama Au Lait and Melon Pie then cast Ice Spikes. Run into Range of the mob. First thing i used was Yag drink, Then Elemental Seal Flare >>>> Mob takes 1036 dmg
Mob runs up to me and melees me for about 20 dmg/hit
Quake>>>>>>> Mob takes 916 dmg
Rolypoly move gives me def boost, and mob starts hitting by under 15 . . .
Manafont, Flood >>>> Mob takes 986 dmg
Roly Poly Gives Mob Tp
Flare >>>> Mob takes 1034 dmg and dies
he didnt even attempt casting a spell besides Poiosn 2, and all he did was melee the whole fight without using a single WS.
I won 2k xp but no lantern so im gonna do again in 5 days, ill pay 10k gil for 2000 xp any day =)

When fighting as blm i think icespikes works better than Shock spikes cause paralyze helps alot
war earring
# Aug 16 2005 at 11:23 PM Rating: Excellent
*
87 posts
also drops a Janizary Earring. Stats are:
Lvl 61 WAR
Enchantment: DEF+32
20/20, 30sec recast

i got it recently, and am going to hang onto it for the maat fight. 32+def will come in handy :)
Cooldown
# Aug 16 2005 at 5:01 PM Rating: Decent
Gotta wait 5 days to retry

Edited, Tue Aug 16 20:56:49 2005
Ball buster
# Aug 16 2005 at 2:03 AM Rating: Decent
Moblin rolled 3 TP ups for the Fanto in a row. It went Skewer, Penta, Skewer. Yea, thanks for wasting my time.
UM YA
# Aug 16 2005 at 1:08 AM Rating: Decent
Wheres ring thingy fer war i miss it?
A Dark's Tale
# Aug 11 2005 at 10:15 AM Rating: Decent
I go in with the same stuff every time. Vile Elixer, Vile Elixer +1, Hyper Potion, and an Icarus Wing (note it's the wing or the hyper potion. you can't use both. guage the battle before you waste the wing). I absorb VIT first, then hit him when he comes up followed by an immediate stun spell. Next absorb-STR and then start wailing away til I get enough TP for Guillotine. If he starts to get an upper hand, I weapon bash and use an Elixer. I hit him and stun. Then use drain and right back to wailing on him til TP is up again. If he gets the upper hand, I use the other elixer and keep whacking away. If he gets the upper hand again, Hyper Potion or SE + Bloodweapon depending on how much HP he has left. The only way he ever beats me is if he pulls off a powerful WS or gets healed by his puppetmaster the whole time. He has beaten me twice out of 17 times.
First attempt on rdm
# Aug 11 2005 at 9:19 AM Rating: Decent
**
274 posts
My first and only attempt on this fight was trying to take Fantoccini as Maat. This fight is completly different then Maat. Fantoccini will resist sleep, bind, and gravity. Kiting is not recommended.

I went in with staves for bursting and food for magic support. If you do go for bursting, you must have stoneskin up all the time. I got his HP down to half before running out of magic and getting killed. And this is when the goblin was giving me majority of support.
war owned
# Aug 11 2005 at 8:53 AM Rating: Decent
ok i did this 2 days ago and wow what a fight. im am a war. went in used sole sushi +1 and a pamama for regen. went in and jsut started hitting. he ahd me to half hp i got im 3/4 moblin rolled and cured me for 170ish. then we where about even. i had just got 100% tp used mighty strikes, berserk, warcry, raging rush for 1400 DMG!!! he had less than 1/4 life i used 2 xpotions and jsut killed him. took 4 mins 30 secs record was 3 mins 45 secs. so yeah i had a hard time but it wasnt to bad.
RE: war owned
# Aug 14 2005 at 4:55 AM Rating: Decent
*
190 posts
Just tried this battle for the hell of it after doing the CoP mission there, not really ever doing any reading on it, just knowing of its existance. Went in with no meds or food, AF, a Tungi (no shield) and an Eisentainzer... and lost. But it was really close. Started off with Tungi (1h axe) and swapped to Eisentainzer (weaker great axe for a 60 cap :/) mid way.

Couldnt really get bloody bolts to land, and the moblin healed him 3 times and me once. Literally I was one great axe swing from winning and he healed him for 300 something. He hit me 2 or 3 more times and I was dead, one Hi-Pot and/or a more up to snuff Gaxe I woulda won. Seems easy enough for War if I can come that close with no idea what to expect and no prep work at all, of course that goblin really is the deciding factor.
Updated?
# Aug 09 2005 at 11:19 AM Rating: Decent
*
196 posts
Did SE update this battle or something? It seems impossible to win now, and I used to do it every week and win with no problem. The past few times I've tried it though there has been 0 chance of me winning. First time I noticed a problem was when I won the fight, but the armory crate never appeared instead the battle reset and I got hit immediately with spirits within for 2000 damage. Next time I go in and before anyone even swings their sword, I get hit with spirits within for 2000 damage. Then today the exact same thing happened. I entered and buffed as I always do, rested to full and went in, started auto attack and ran up to the Fantoccini. Before he even drew his sword, before I could even swing mine at him, he hit me with spirits within again for 2000 damage.

Not only me, but 5 of my friends who do this battle regularly have said that similar things have happened to them. 2 of them have had the battle reset on them too like SE's saying "you weren't suposto win now fight again" and others anhilated by a move that the Fantoccini should not have access to at the time as soon as they enter. Has anyone else who does this battle a lot noticed a change?
Warning to BLMs
# Aug 08 2005 at 3:43 AM Rating: Good
**
399 posts
I tried this one a second time, and my fear manifested itself: While Manafont was up, the Fantoccini hit me with Brainshaker at around 60% cast on Flare, nullifying it. That really sucks.

I ended up losing but I probably could have won had my final Thunder II not resisted. I ran way to the back of the tunnel as soon as the Moblin rolled Manafont for the Fantoccini and waited until it wore off (he didn't try to run to me). He killed me once, I used the reraise earring to get back up, drained and aspired him, then fired off Thunder II. 67 damage, bleh.

So, in summary: Watch out for Brainshaker when you're using Manafont, and if he uses Manafont, just run out of his range and wait it out, you should be fine.

Edit: Wanted to added this humorous sidenote--apparently SE planned in case you decided to use Reraise in the fight. When you get up, the Moblin Fantocciniman says "Hey-hey, hey-hey! Are you here to stay?" It made me chuckle a bit.

Edited, Mon Aug 8 04:47:22 2005
ENM location
# Aug 08 2005 at 1:49 AM Rating: Decent
Does anybody have directions to the goblin NPC, as well as directions to the ENM after being warped?

Thanks.

Edited, Mon Aug 8 02:48:43 2005
RE: ENM location
# Aug 11 2005 at 12:59 PM Rating: Decent
***
2,021 posts
There is a VERY easy way to get to Twinkbrix (sp?). If you go to N. Gusta and go around the mountain (I think it's Vomp Hill... but that could be S. Gusta.. sorry. it's the main one on the right), if you get to the east side of the mountain, there is the main enterance to Movopalos. Go PASSED that. Keep going south east and you'll see a couple little hills/plateaus, whatever you want to call them. On top of there is another enterance which is right by the NPC.

Hope that helps!
No Earring >.>
# Aug 05 2005 at 9:19 AM Rating: Decent
Was bored this morning, so after seeing the earring that drops from this for nin, I decided to take a stab at it. Brought along 2 X-pots, 4 Hi-pots, icarus wing, persikos au lait, jackolantern. Katana is capped, evd capped, ninjitsu capped. Went in used reraise hairpin, food, utsusemi ni. Walked up to the fantoccini just in range to cast para, slow, blind. All of them stuck. Went through the elemental wheel, recast shadows as needed. Moblin cured me and the fantoccini, gave me tp, gave the fantoccini tp. Poped the persikos au lait, xpot when needed, and hi pots as needed. All in all it wasnt a very hard fight. lowest my hp went was about 50%. 2000xp and no earring. Ill be doing this again when I can.

**Edit: Didn't even need the Icarus Wing**
No Earring >.>
# Aug 05 2005 at 9:17 AM Rating: Decent
Was bored this morning, so after seeing the earring that drops from this for nin, I decided to take a stab at it. Brought along 2 X-pots, 4 Hi-pots, icarus wing, persikos au lait, jackolantern. Katana is capped, evd capped, ninjitsu capped. Went in used reraise hairpin, food, utsusemi ni. Walked up to the fantoccini just in range to cast para, slow, blind. All of them stuck. Went through the elemental wheel, recast shadows as needed. Moblin cured me and the fantoccini, gave me tp, gave the fantoccini tp. Poped the persikos au lait, xpot when needed, and hi pots as needed. All in all it wasnt a very hard fight. lowest my hp went was about 50%. 2000xp and no earring. Ill be doing this again when I can.
Beware Moblin Fantocciniman
# Aug 02 2005 at 7:19 PM Rating: Decent
Just did this ENM as 59smn. And won...
Well sorta... There is currently an ingame issue where if your avatar makes the moblin join the fight, you will end up with hate, when your avatar gets released/dies. (normaly that dosen't happen unless the mob aggros sight/sound or the caster directly gains hate somehow)

Defeated Fantoccini, Ramuh dies from moblin, moblin kills me.

On a side note the moblin was NEVER directly attacked by me or my avatar. The only time the moblin was ever hit/attacked was by means of AoE which was targeted at the mannequin.

Screenshot here after a GM call. >< ~Aet
RE: Beware Moblin Fantocciniman
# Aug 11 2005 at 10:13 AM Rating: Decent
*
57 posts
It looks like you used Astral flow, so maybe your AoE hit the moblin. Causing it to attack
RE: Beware Moblin Fantocciniman
# Aug 10 2005 at 10:09 AM Rating: Decent
If the Moblin takes any damage he will join the fight. Any damage.
RE: Beware Moblin Fantocciniman
# Aug 11 2005 at 1:17 PM Rating: Decent
Did SE change this, cause as a 60 whm i have used banishga 2 in the fight and never had the moblin aggro, i also use staff in the fight and accidently hit them both with earth crusher with no response from the moblin. Also if you scroll down you will see a post by another whm who has won this and used banishga 2 and says the moblin just disappears when he wins.

/cry Aetikin, you so deserved that win
BLM vs. Fantoccini
# Jul 31 2005 at 1:14 AM Rating: Good
**
399 posts
I just won this on BLM. I'm very proud of myself, I just hit 60 the day before I tried it and won it on my first try. Luck was on my side a little (a lot if you look at the log and notice exactly when the Fantoccini used Brainshaker on me), but I did pretty well for myself otherwise. My equipment was as follows:

Hume BLM60
Weapons: I used Dark Staff, Fire Staff, Thunder Staff, and Ice Staff.
Head: Wizard's petasos
Body: Wizard's coat
Back: Gramary cape
Neck: Willpower torque
Hands: Wizard's gloves
Waist: Druid's rope
Ear1: Cunning earring
Ring1: Peace ring
Legs: Wizard's tonban
Throwing: Morion tathlum
Ear2: Moldavite earring
Ring2: Knowledge ring
Feet: Wizard's sabots

As you can see, I didn't have stellar equipment (just standard really). I never interrupted and I can probably attribute that to my waist, shoes, and neck equipment (well, and Manafont). My lack of resists I attribute to my Moldy earring and coat, but I think that my Gramary cape (Magic Accuracy+1) was also helpful. As for medicines and potions, I only used (and brought) a hi-ether that I happened to have from my hi-ether tank. I might have been able to win without the hi-ether but I doubt it because after Freeze I was at 6 MP and was missing consistently with my staff (though without an ether I would've likely switched to Scythe). I'll paste the log after this paragraph, if you don't want to read it I basically cast ES+Flare in range, then Manafont and Burst, then Flare again, then Freeze, then used the hi-ether drained and Thunder II'd for the win. The Fantoccini hit me for about 22 damage per hit and my Shock Spikes stunned him once. The Moblin Fantocciniman's rolls gave me 102 TP, then made his marionette cast Quake (which I stunned), then gave his marionette 200 TP (Brainshaker), then made his marionette cast Burn (reduced my Drain/Aspir/Thunder II damage by too much -.-), then gave me Defense Boost (after I had already killed the marionette. Here is the log for more details. You should be able to figure out his rough HP from it (Almost precisely 4000, I think). Anyway, onto the log I transcribed:

The time limit for this battle is 15 minutes.
The current battlefield clear time record for "Pulling the Strings" is 3 minutes 18 seconds.

Turanole uses a reraise earring.
Turanole starts casting Shock Spikes on Turanole.
/equip Fire Staff
Turanole uses Elemental Seal.
(Walked just into range of Fantoccini)
Turanole starts casting Flare on the Fantoccini.
Moblin Fantocciniman: Ho-ho, ho-ho! Time for goodebyongo!
Turanole casts Flare.
The Fantoccini takes 998 points of damage.
/equip Dark Staff
Turanole starts casting Aspir on the Fantoccini.
The Fantoccini hits Turanole for 20 points of damage.
Turanole's spikes deal 3 points of damage to the Fantoccini.
The Fantoccini hits Turanole for 24 points of damage.
Turanole casts Aspir.
93 MP drained from the Fantoccini.
Turanole's spikes deal 3 points of damage to the Fantoccini.
Turanole hits the Fantoccini for 13 points of damage.
The Fantoccini hits Turanole for 22 points of damage.
Turanole uses Manafont.
Turanole's spikes deal 6 points of damage to the Fantoccini.
/equip Thunder Staff
Turanole starts casting Burst on the Fantoccini.
The Fantoccini hits Turanole for 21 points of damage.
Moblin Fantocciniman: Roly-poly, roly-poly o/`
The Moblin Fantocciniman readies Marionette Dice.
The Fantoccini is no longer stunned.
The Moblin Fantocciniman uses Marionette Dice.
Turanole's TP is increased to 102.
The Fantoccini hits Turanole for 22 points of damage.
Turanole's spikes deal 2 points of damage to the Fantoccini.
Turanole casts Burst.
The Fantoccini takes 919 points of damage.
Turanole readies Rock Crusher.
The Fantoccini hits Turanole for 20 points of damage.
Turanole's spikes deal 6 points of damage to the Fantoccini.
Turanole uses Rock Crusher.
The Fantoccini takes 15 points of damage.
Turanole hits the Fantoccini for 19 points of damage.
/equip Fire Staff
The Fantoccini hits Turanole for 27 points of damage.
Turanole starts casting Flare on the Fantoccini.
The Fantoccini hits Turanole for 20 points of damage.
Turanole's spikes deal 3 points of damage to the Fantoccini.
Moblin Fantocciniman: Roly-poly, roly-poly o/`
The Moblin Fantocciniman readies Marionette Dice.
The Fantoccini hits Turanole for 19 points of damage.
Turanole's spikes deal 7 points of damage to the Fantoccini.
The Fantoccini hits Turanole for 24 points of damage.
Moblin Fantocciniman: Go-go, go-go!
Turanole's spikes deal 3 points of damage to the Fantoccini.
The Fantoccini starts casting Quake.
Turanole casts Flare.
The Fantoccini takes 998 points of damage.
Turanole starts casting Stun on the Fantoccini.
Turanole starts casting Freeze on the Fantoccini.
Turanole casts Stun.
The Fantoccini is Stunned.
/equip Ice Staff
Turanole starts casting Freeze on the Fantoccini.
The Fantoccini is no longer stunned.
The Fantoccini's casting is interrupted.
Moblin Fantocciniman: Roly-poly, roly-poly o/`
The Moblin Fantocciniman readies Marionette Dice.
The Fantoccini hits Turanole for 22 points of damage.
Turanole's spikes deal 7 points of damage to the Fantoccini.
The Fantoccini hits Turanole for 18 points of damage.
Turanole's spikes deal 1 point of damage to the Fantoccini.
The Moblin Fantocciniman uses Marionette Dice.
The Fantoccini's TP is increased to 260.
Moblin Fantocciniman: Ha-ha, ha-ha!
The Fantoccini readies Brainshaker.
Turanole casts Freeze.
The Fantoccini takes 819 points of damager.
The Fantoccini uses Brainshaker.
Turanole takes 33 points of damage.
Turanole is no longer stunned.
The Fantoccini hits Turanole for 20 points of damage.
Turanole's spikes deal 1 point of damage to the Fantoccini.
Turanole uses a hi-ether.
The Fantoccini scores a critical hit! Turanole takes 34 points of damage.
Turanole's Shock Spikes effect wears off.
The Fantoccini hits Turanole for 19 points of damage.
Moblin Fantocciniman: Roly-poly, roly-poly o/`
The Moblin Fantocciniman readies Marionette Dice.
The Fantoccini hits Turanole for 22 points of damage.
Turanole recovers 50 MP.
Moblin Fantocciniman: Go-go, go-go!
The Fantoccini starts casting Burn.
The Fantoccini hits Turanole for 28 points of damage.
Turanole starts casting Drain on the Fantoccini.
The Fantoccini casts Burn.
Turanole receives the effect of Burn.
Turanole starts casting Aspir on the Fantoccini.
The Fantoccini hits Turanole for 21 points of damage.
Turanole casts Drain.
50 HP drained from the Fantoccini.
The Fantoccini hits Turanole for 20 points of damage.
Moblin Fantocciniman: Roly-poly, roly-poly o/`
The Moblin Fantocciniman readies Marionette Dice.
/equip Thunder Staff
Turanole starts casting Thunder II on the Fantoccini.
Turanole casts Aspir.
61 MP drained from the Fantoccini.
The Fantoccini hits Turanole for 18 points of damage.
Turanole casts Thunder II.
The Fantoccini takes 119 points of damage.
The Moblin Fantocciniman uses Marionette Dice.
Turanole gains the effect of Defense Boost.
Moblin Fantocciniman: No-no, no-no! Papa bought me that, you know!
Turanole defeats the Fantoccini.
Moblin Fantocciniman: No-no, no-no! Not how it's 'sposed to go!
Turanole gains 2000 experience points.
You find a spirit lantern in the Armoury Crate.


Edited, Sun Jul 31 18:45:36 2005
The fight.
# Jul 29 2005 at 2:46 PM Rating: Decent
**
339 posts
Just beat this as Dragoon. Items were the Perki regen drink, Hi-potion x7, Icarus Wing, sole sushi. Wore Valkyrie Mask, Assault Earring, Spike Necklace, GKL, Drachen Mail, Drachen Greaves, Drachen Brais, Drachen Gauntlets, Phalanx Ring x2, Swordbelt+1. The fight was very close, I had to use all the hi-potions, and I ended up winning on a Penta Thrust with 29 hp left. Then again, all the buffer's rolls went towards Fantoccini, including summoning his wyvern, which almost did me in. Very fun, overall, even if I spent 70k for only 2k exp. :)
not worth it
# Jul 26 2005 at 7:29 PM Rating: Decent
*
196 posts
This ENM is not worth it imo. I just attempted it and won but the armory crate did not appear instead the mob got back up with full HP and used spirits within on me for over 2k HP. What a prize for winning...don't even get my exp.
-.-;;;
# Jul 21 2005 at 9:12 AM Rating: Decent
tryed this for the first time today as a DRK, really need the TP ring for maat :D

equip:
Blink bandana
Chaos Burgeonet
Chaos Cuiras (sold the haub last week...)
Bone scythe
Royal Knight's Mufflers
Royal Knight's Breeches
Royal Guard's Collar
Lightning bow
Assault earring
Spike earring
Sniper's ring x2
Life belt
Nomad cape
Leaping boots

Food:
Squid Sushi
Icarus wing

entered the BC, used blink + wing + sushi
near the fantoccini casted Abs-STR then Guillotine (450dmg...), hitted him some times then drain... he weapon bashed me -.-;
got TP (during this he got a full cure, a normal cure and a MP cure, i got only 1 mp cure).

Souleater+Bloodweapon guillotine he had like 1/3 of the total where near to kill him but he got another cure... i tryed to drain but got a crit of 200+dmg and died :|

tomorrow i try with all +STR equip... no more using that crappy snipers :|
RE: -.-;;;
# Jul 22 2005 at 12:06 AM Rating: Decent
Be careful with your Sniper Rings. I pull quite a bit and I have to be VERY carful cuz of the -Def and Eva i get. The Assault earring has that too. Not to say you shouldnt use them but be careful. I would personally use a Ven. Ring instead and a DEX or DEF up ring. Then again your using Blink Bandana (never used before) no clue how well that works. Anyway, just wanted to give a warning for -Def and -Eva equipment in soloing. Not a good mix for DRKs. Hope you get the ring!! I'm ganna try soon too.
(Also, smart move on the Icarus Wing, i would use it as a last resort though, or use a WS then use Icarus wing as a follow up to see if you can chain that for higher dmg.)
-..
# Jul 21 2005 at 9:03 AM Rating: Decent
RDM Fight (Win!)
# Jul 18 2005 at 11:32 AM Rating: Decent
31 posts
So I'm level 69...aching to get to 70 and destroy Maat. My party is doing reasonably well, and as I approach 2000 tnl, a member suddenly has to leave. "2k tnl ; ;" I beg, but he really had to go, and the rest of the party followed suit. I was about to quit out of frustration with my party when I remembered that good old Fantoccini gives 2000 experience when you win. Granted I had an 0/2 track record on him...but I still figured it was worth a shot.

I contemplated my strategy for a bit.

On both of my previous attempts I engaged and meleed (rather than bind/sleep + nuke a la Maat). I noticed in the previous fights that Fantoccini's evasion was quite low, as I was hardly missing (without any accuracy bonus gear). I've also tried sleeping him, and it was tough to stick. I decided to go all-out attack+ for the fight (swordbelt, wise wizard's anelace, meat mithkabob, tiger ring, spike earring...).

Down to Oldton I go...12k later I win the dice roll and get warped to Mine Shaft #2716. Enter the battlefield, eat my mithkabob, apply refresh, protect, shell, aquaveil, stoneskin, blink, kneel for MP. Get up, enfire, ice spikes (SUPER IMPORTANT!), phalanx, haste, refresh or yag drink. After that I ran up to fantonccini. I casted a dispel to see if I could get rid of anything, and I engaged. I did NOT dispel all of his buffs, I merely used it as a way to start the fight. Realize that he may have eight or more buffs up so you could potentially use 200+ MP to dispel him. Whether that's worth it is a call you'll have to make.

There are two crucial buffs to keep up for this fight: stoneskin and ice spikes. I have no idea how many times it said "Fantoccini is paralyzed." but it was certainly over 20 times during the course of the fight (that's potentially 1000+ HP worth of cures/stoneskin saved). Plus you get the extra damage on him every time he hits you...it's a win-win situation. And of course, without stoneskin you're a goner.

How do you win? Luck plays a huge roll (sic). The goblin that rolls the dice is probably the single most important deciding factor in whether you win or lose the match. When he rolls, it will give a positive status effect to either you or the Fantoccini, randomly. He can do many things, but I've noticed the following:

- Attack Bonus
- Defense Bonus
- Cure (200-400HP)
- Instant TP increase (100-250 TP)
- Clear negative status ailments
- Restore all abilities (set reuse timers to 0)

And yes, he can roll for the to restore all abilities more than once in a fight. Awesome if it happens to you, and basically an automatic loss if it happens to the Fantoccini. My first loss was due to Fantoccini's SECOND chainspell.

If and when Fantoccini chainspells the first time, your single best option is to chainspell in defense. He will not nuke like a madman and kill you immediately, but if you give him a little time you will die. Use the chainspell as a way to keep yourself alive, and keep your stoneskin and blink up without cast/recast time. The instant you put on a fresh stoneskin/blink, assuming your MP is low, convert and Cure IV yourself twice. If he's near dead at this point, finish him off with nukes. If not, save your MP and keep slashing away. With the attack bonuses on the equipment/food I mentioned, your swings should be doing at least 50 damage per hit, including en-spell enhancement. Save your MP for Stoneskin and Blink and you just might outlast the Fantoccini.

There are really only two situations which guarantee Fantoccini defeating you. If Fantoccini chainspells twice, you're pretty much screwed. He has a seemingly limitless MP supply, so his second chainspell will be just as powerful as the first (and of course, he doesn't need to convert, so you won't see him with low HP until you actually get him there yourself). The second deadly situation is when the goblin rolls to give Fantoccini 200 or more TP. If this happens near the beginning of the match, and your stoneskin is low or down, Spirits Within will hit you for 800+ damage. (My second fight- Fantoccini has 90% HP remaining, goblin rolls for him to get 250TP, Spirits Within for 850 damage through stoneskin....death).

My final recommendation is to watch your TP. The goblin will occasionally roll to give you a large amount of TP, and you might miss it in the chat log. If so, use burning/shining blade (<200) or spirits within (>200), depending on how much he gave you.

At any rate, finally Fantoccini dies from my incessant slashing...moblin gets angry with me and disappears, and I pop the armory crate to find nothing but 2000 experience. But hey, that's what I came for. 19 tnl and I solo a few bats in Garlaige Citadel to hit the elusive level 70.

This fight has a very different strategy than the typical Maat strategies you'll find, so it really is not a very good way to practice for Maat. However, it's great practice for soloing decent challenge/even match mobs using a melee-style. Best of luck!

(In case anyone was wondering, Fantoccini are a type of marionette puppet, hence "Pulling the Strings" as the ENM battlefield name)

Edit 1/2 - Clarifications and typos.

Edited, Sat Nov 19 13:43:01 2005
RE: RDM Fight (Win!)
# Aug 05 2005 at 7:43 AM Rating: Decent
lol
I just melee him to death as RDM the same way. I've won 9 of 11 fights against him with only 2 losses coming from spirits within (one for frickin 1146 dmg). Used WWA and strike shield, didn't even have rings on, full AF1, life belt (+10 acc.), holy phial, Morion Talthum, Moldavite earring, red cape+1.

Pretty much crappy substitute equipment that I save for PM's and low level jobs...

Used Steam Crab as food for +25% def. Bio II (att. down), paralyze, slow, poison II, enfire, phalanx, stoneskin. Pop in a Persikos Au Lait and a yag drink to save you 40 MP and casting time on refresh and he is poon. Takes around 5-8 minutes to kill him depending on whether the goblin rolls for him to recover 456 HP every damn time he rolls.
Fighting this Puppet as Thief, Part 2
# Jul 15 2005 at 4:13 PM Rating: Excellent
*
69 posts
After failing miserably at my first attempt, I told myself it was highly unlikely I would ever try this solo ENM again. Or at the very least I would postpone it until someone posted a THF strategy that worked.

However, due to the fact that I'm over 10k experience points behind my static party (deaths resulted from bad pulls), I wanted to try a rematch for easy EXP.

I was successful this time, so I am 1/2 on defeating Fantoccini. This post is intended to explain the differences between my first attempt (fail) and successive attempt (win!), as well as provide recommendations if you want to try this battle yourself, using THF.

Tip #1 - Cap your Evasion before this Battle!

At level 60, THF evasion caps at 203. When I lost the first attempt, my evasion was ~125. The Fantoccini attacks quickly, and if he lands most of his attacks the way he did when he schooled me, it is likely he will school you too.

Evasion is not something THF can skillup in a skillup party -- since it is unlikely THF will be tanking the mob. Luckily, I was able to cap my evasion solo.

I recommend working to cap marksmanship at the same time. From 125-150 evasion I soloed crabs in Kuftal Tunnel. Subbing ninja and spamming blind bolts, bloody bolts, and sleep bolts between infrequent Utsusemi:Ichi casts allowed me to reach 150 in one evening.

From 150-203+ evasion I soloed crabs in Boyahda Tree, employing the same strategy. I was level 67 when I did this, so I cannot say how easy it would be for a THF of lower level to solo these crabs. I will say, however, that the gear I chose favored ranged attack accuracy, and not evasion, and that I was never endangered during my solo skillup experience. It was simple, just very tedious.

Tip #2 - HP Regen and Potions are 100% necessary

Bring one perkisos au lait, and at least 4 X-potions. The HP regen from the perkisos will last the entire battle, and put you on a more even playing field with the Fantocinni's defense. Many hits he lands will be negated by your replenishing HP, and effectively makes the battle more or less tantamount to who can land the most weapon skills.

Hi-potions were more expensive than X-potions when I was preparing for this fight, so I only bought one Hi-potion, for three times the price of an X-potion. When I used it in the battle I saw virtually no difference between the two. Buy the cheaper ones.

Tip #3 - TP is your best friend

In my first attempt, I used a Darksteel Kukri, seeing as how its damage and delay were admirable for the 60 level cap. Do not do this, or any other dagger, irrespective of it's Damage value. Use a Hornetneedle, if you have it (and if you don't, I highly recommend you get one)

The Fantoccini will get an opportunity to use a weapon skill every time the Goblin rolls a certain way, and you *need* to keep up with him. The fight, in my opinion, is reduced to a competition of who can land the most weapon skills (and, unfortunately, who the Goblin rolls in favor of).

I used Dancing Edge the moment my TP hit 100%, and tried to coordinate eating an Icarus Wing and using Dancing Edge again for a SC, but I goofed and didn't get the timing right.

The Actual Fight: Play-by-play

This is how I successfully beat the Fantocinni.

1) Eat Squid Sushi.
2) Run to platform until you can see Fantocinni.
3) Sneak Attack.
4) Hide.
5) Engage Fantocinni (he will see through hide and move to you but won't attack until you do, allowing Sneak Attack to land).
6) Perfect Dodge (you will get 30 seconds of TP building/damage dealing without taking damage. Use it right away because the Goblin may roll a certain way which recharges all your abilities. You want this roll to occur *after* you've used Perfect Dodge, so you can use it again.)
7) When Perfect Dodge runs out, eat perkisos au lait.
8) When TP hits 100%, Dancing Edge, eat Icarus Wing, Dancing Edge again for SC.
9) Eat an X-potion if your hit point meter is smaller than Fantoccini's.

This worked for me and I hope it will work for anyone who tries it. The goblin only rolled in my favor once, resetting all my ability timers, before I had used Perfect Dodge. I smacked myself -- don't let it happen to you.

A few asides:

You *want* the Goblin to roll the result that causes Fantoccini to steal an item from you. It is the least devastating roll that is in Fantoccini's favor. Just hit CTRL + E to open your equipment menu and re-equip whatever he "stole."

If you're battling longer than 5 minutes, or your ability timers are reset, wait until you have TP and Sneak Attack + Hide + Dancing Edge.

Good luck!

~Jessamyn on Titan

The older post describing my first attempt:

Quote:
After hearing about this battle I decided I'd try my luck against the so-called mini-Maat. True, as THF the Maat battle is over if you successfully steal something from him, but I've seen videos of THFs taking down Maat using status bolts (Defense Down, Blind, Sleep *disengage* Sneak Attack + Dancing Edge, rinse and repeat). So I went into this BCNM hoping to employ the same strategy and make some quick EXP.

Preparing for the battle I chose to wear primarily evasion gear, as well as two scorpion rings for ranged accuracy.

I had a handful of Hi Potions+1 for instant HP, and two Perkisos for HP regen. Brought along an Icarus Wing for instant TP. Ate squid sushi+1 for accuracy.

To start off the battle I equipped acid bolts at maximum ranged distance and fired at the puppet. The acid bolt missed, at which point the goblin and puppet advance towards me. I fire again and hit him, however 'defense down' did not activate.

I engage my Darksteel Kukri and switch to sleep bolts. I fire repeatedly hoping to sleep him so I can land a sneak attack. I may have hit him 5 times with sleep bolts or bloody bolts (switched to bloody since I was dropping HP fast!) Any ranged attacks that actually hit him, never activated the effects. That is: any sleep bolt that hit did not sleep him to set up for SA, and any bloody bolt that hit did not drain HP. My entire battle strategy relied on these status bolts so I was pretty much screwed.

The puppet hit fast with a low-delay dagger, and practically every five hits he lands a critical hit, or triple-attacks.

Additionally, the Goblin's rolls were terrible, considering the only time that he rolled in my favor was the very beginning of the fight. I regained "270 HP" although I hadn't even lost that much at that early point in the match.

Most rolls gave the puppet a chance to hit me with a weapon skill. He used Cyclone, Wasp Sting, and Viper Bite. I'm downing Potions and HP Regen like they're candy, and I still haven't even brought him to 90% health.

More interestingly, rolls would sometimes give the puppet a chance to steal. The first time he did it, the steal animation occurred, but nothing was written to the log saying what was stolen. He did it twice more before the battle was over.

The second time he stole the Strike Shield right off my hand. The third time he stole my AF pants.

Thinking maybe I could defeat him in the same fashion as Maat, I tried to steal in desperation. It was unsuccessful.

I had under 100hp and downing any more potions seemed pointless since he was still at 90% health or more. I cast Perfect Dodge and Flee'd to exit the Burning Circle.

Once I'm out of the burning circle, pantless and shieldless, I go to my equipment and see that in addition to these two, my Emperor Hairpin was also stolen.

Never before had I been so scared that I may have potentially lost an item forever. I obtained my Emperor Hairpin when it was worth 250k, but since then inflation has brought its price up to almost 1 million on Titan. If the puppet stole items forever like those damn mobs in FF7 who ran away with Tifa's Premium Heart, I was going to cry -- I didn't sign up for that!

Thankfully all three items were in my inventory. If anything is stolen in battle and you run away to the exit, the items are still in your inventory once you're outside. I imagine even if you are killed in the battle, the items are still in your inventory, since I doubt SE wants to purposefully agitate their subscribers.

I imagine that unless someone else discovers a THF strategy that works, I won't be attempting this again. Red Mages have posted here saying the puppet has resisted sleep 100% of the time. If I had to guess, I'd say that the puppet is not sleepable. Status bolts do not work, period. If you've had an experience where a status bolt activated, please post saying so.

And if you have an effective strategy for THF, post that too.

Good luck.

~Jessamyn on Titan


Edited for markup.

Edited, Fri Jul 15 17:15:10 2005
1 shotted
# Jul 15 2005 at 2:35 PM Rating: Decent
This was the funniest match ever for me. I tried it for first time as rdm. I went in and buffed up and used a Melon Pie+1. So we he runs up to me and hits me for 0, 0, 0, 0, then moblin rolls 300 TP for him. Spirits Within and I take 1162 damage...Instant death. Of course I'm not telling anyone I know personally, but if you see me on Seraph server feel free to /point and /laugh at me...I'll know what its about.
RE: 1 shotted
# Aug 11 2005 at 4:51 PM Rating: Good
*
131 posts
Don't feel bad he's done the exact same thing to me 5 times... /sigh
RE: 1 shotted
# Jul 20 2005 at 9:52 AM Rating: Decent
31 posts
Yup, mob roll for TP to Fantoccini near the beginning of the fight means almost certain death for RDM. A few more hits and you would have been dealing reasonable damage though, he apparently had stoneskin up. Try him again and lemme know how it goes, nothing to lose but a few gil. ^_^
Ranger beating him?
# Jul 13 2005 at 2:26 AM Rating: Decent
44 posts
Checked most, if not all the messages to see if any RNGs have confirmed beating him? I may try it as RNG to see how it goes. Oh and sorry if someone already posted about it and I missed it.
Refrsh Musk
# Jul 12 2005 at 6:14 AM Rating: Default
Pld ^^

Well, after 7 or so attempts (all wins) I finally got the Refrsh Musk i wanted ^^.

I take 1 tavnazian taco, and 2-3 yagudo drinks with me, and try to stay alive.

Equipment:
Full AF.
Dragvandil (not gluttony ^^;)
Drone earrings
Knightly mantle
Ashua necklace
Life belt
Chrysoberyl rings

Thing is though, although i finally got my refresh musk, the battle seemed to be much much harder than usual. He got Spirits within out at the beginning of the battle, followed by Vorpal blade the very next dice roll, i was in the red for most of the fight. Finished the battle with 49hp and no MP whereas usually, i have plenty of HP and MP at the end of the fight. (fun) (excitment) ^^


Edited, Tue Jul 12 07:18:06 2005
Post Comment

Free account required to post

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