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M4S - Wicked Thunder

M4S_Arena.png

Party Finder Summary​

Party Finder TL;DR​

Shabin/Hector | Uptime/AutoCAD OR Normal Sunrise

Party Finder Terms​

All strats used are found in Shaba Pastebin (Shabin) - M4S. Even if Hector is shown, all strats used are from Shabin.

Raidplans​

Phase 1​

Witch Hunt Toolbox

Baits: Melee in, Ranged Far, supports first.

Phase 2​

Exaflares Raidplan

Baits: Melee in, Ranged Far, supports first.

Arena Markers​

Uptime/AutoCAD Markers​

{"Name":"AutoCAD","MapID":992,"A":{"X":92.79,"Y":0.001,"Z":92.851,"ID":0,"Active":true},"B":{"X":107.176,"Y":0.001,"Z":92.814,"ID":1,"Active":true},"C":{"X":107.183,"Y":0.001,"Z":107.112,"ID":2,"Active":true},"D":{"X":92.905,"Y":0.001,"Z":107.194,"ID":3,"Active":true},"One":{"X":92.002,"Y":0.0,"Z":157.003,"ID":4,"Active":true},"Two":{"X":107.997,"Y":0.0,"Z":157.003,"ID":5,"Active":true},"Three":{"X":107.997,"Y":0.0,"Z":172.996,"ID":6,"Active":true},"Four":{"X":92.002,"Y":0.0,"Z":172.996,"ID":7,"Active":true}}

Normal Markers​

{"Name":"Witch Hunt, Normal Sunrise Red NW","MapID":992,"A":{"X":100.0,"Y":0.0,"Z":90.0,"ID":0,"Active":true},"B":{"X":110.0,"Y":0.0,"Z":100.0,"ID":1,"Active":true},"C":{"X":100.0,"Y":0.0,"Z":110.0,"ID":2,"Active":true},"D":{"X":90.0,"Y":0.0,"Z":100.0,"ID":3,"Active":true},"One":{"X":93.0,"Y":0.0,"Z":93.0,"ID":4,"Active":true},"Two":{"X":107.0,"Y":0.0,"Z":93.0,"ID":5,"Active":true},"Three":{"X":107.0,"Y":0.0,"Z":107.0,"ID":6,"Active":true},"Four":{"X":93.0,"Y":0.0,"Z":107.0,"ID":7,"Active":true}}

Video Guides​

M4S Guide - AAC Light-Heavyweight M4 Savage (Wicked Thunder)​

tip

This video guide is 1-to-1 with NA PF strats .

Detailed Fight Overview​

Phase 1

Witch Hunts​

There are 4 different types of witch hunts that occur in the first part of the fight.

Wicked Thunder will jump to the north side of the arena to cast Bewitching Flight. Two sets of line AoEs will originate from the north and west sides of the arena and shoot across the entire arena.

  • The north line AoEs originate from Wicked Thunder. Wicked Thunder will have 5 beams coming off her, indicating the starting points.
  • The west line AoEs originate from 5 Electro-Cubes that will spawn during the cast.

Stand in the intersections that are not going to be cleaved.

Electrope Edge 1​

4 Electro-Cubes will spawn on the 4 corners of the arena. Wicked Thunder will shoot line AoEs to these cubes, so make sure you are not in line with the boss and cubes.

The order in which Wicked Thunder hits the cubes is completely random, but she will always hit two cubes twice and two cubes once. Keep track of the cubes that are hit only once. She will cast 2 line AoEs at a time for a total of 4 sets.

  • The cubes that are hit twice will make their quadrants unsafe, as they will explode the tile they're on and the 3 surrounding it.
  • The cubes that are hit once will indicate the safe spot for the upcoming part of the mechanic.

After Wicked Thunder shoots her 4 sets of line AoEs, she will follow up with Sidewise Spark, a half-room cleave. You will need to move to the side that is not being cleaved and to the quadrant that was hit only once. Note that only one quadrant of the arena will be safe.

Additionally, the boss will have orbs around her model indicating a spread or partner stack:

  • 4 large orbs = partner stack
  • 8 small orbs = spread

If it's a spread, ranged players will be on the arena edge, while melee players will stand on the corners of the inner tile.

  • For ranged: Group 1 left, looking at the boss; Group 2 right, looking at the boss. Healers near the cube, Ranged DPS toward the middle edge of the arena.
  • For melee: M1 left max melee, M2 right max melee, MT under the boss, OT at the corner between the two melee.
warning

Make sure not to stand on the corner with the cube!

Electrope Edge 2​

After the Tankbuster, Wicked Thunder will begin to prepare another Electrope Edge. Players will need to form in clock spots around the boss as another set of line AoEs will appear. This time, the AoEs will target random players, hitting 2 players each time for 4 sets. Additionally, everyone will receive a long or short debuff. When this debuff expires, the tile you are standing on will explode.

Players will either get hit twice or three times. Keep count of how many times you get hit, as this determines how many tiles explode. If you are a long debuff player, you need to +1 your count as you will receive an extra hit later.

After the fourth hit, the arena floor will form a pattern resembling a smiley face, which will explode momentarily. The tiles that changed their design will always be unsafe, forcing players to move to the unchanged tiles. When the arena changes, find the top of the smiley face. This will be the side of the arena with one tile in the middle that is safe and will be considered the new True North for this mechanic.

The short-debuff players will need to spread to specific spots according to the number of times they were hit by the line AoEs as their debuff is expiring.

  • If you got hit twice, go to the northern corners that are safe. Supports left, DPS right. The twos go there as their debuff will explode the tiles in a 3x3 pattern with the player in the middle.
  • If you got hit three times, go to the southern corners that are safe. Supports left, DPS right. The threes go there as their debuff will explode the tiles in a 5x5 pattern with the player in the middle.

The long-debuff players will go to the top of the smiley face spot for their safe spot, as their debuffs are not expiring yet.

Ion Cannons​

Before the mechanic starts, Wicked Thunder will jump north and prepare to blast one half of the arena. Watch where she turns and go to the opposite side of where she is facing.

Throughout the rest of this mechanic, everyone will get one of two debuffs, yellow or blue. Wicked Thunder will also be casting Electron Stream, which is a cannon blast in front and behind her. This blast is a wild charge, meaning the person first in line will take heavy damage. Tanks need to be first in line in front of the cannon. These cannons have the same color as the debuff, and players will need to get by the opposite color of their debuff.

There are additional debuffs that get applied once hit by a cannon:

  • Three-Person Blue Circle: There are two versions. One is a small donut, and the other is a small AoE. Treat both the same.
  • Near and Far: There are green and blue debuffs with arrows pointing in or out. This debuff will hit a player that is either closest or farthest with a line AoE. Treat both the same.
  • Three-Person Purple Circle: This debuff indicates that you need to get by one of the line AoEs.

As mentioned, it doesn't matter which version you get. The same types of each category will always go to the same place. The 2 tiles closest to the boss will be the tiles you resolve it on.

  • Purples will always go to the dead center of the tile they were on when hit by the cannon.
  • Tethers will go slightly in front of the purple debuff player.
  • Blue circle debuffs will always stand on the small circles on the tile. Supports on the left, DPS on the right, facing the boss.

The cannon shots and debuff positions will go off a total of 3 times. Keep track of your debuff color, as it could change or stay the same. The debuff you get after the cannon shot is always random.

tip

For color blind players, Yellow debuff/laser is two parallel lines, blue debuff/laser has crossed lines

Transition​

During the transition into Phase 2, Wicked Thunder faces south and you will need to split into pairs: Healers and melee to the north, Tanks and ranged to the south.

Throughout the transition, she will attack with sets of conal AoEs, alternating between aiming at cardinals/intercardinals and between them for a total of five times. Stand between the cardinals and intercardinals. Melee/Tanks in front, Ranged/Healers behind.

On the first telegraph, rotate to intercards. Once dodged, rotate back to where you started. Continue to shuffle back and forth, dodging the cones. At the same time as the 5th cone, 4 players (all DPS or all Support) will be hit with an AoE that gives a vulnerability debuff.

Next, instead of the normal cones, she will target those same players with a shared damage, wide cone. Because of the vulnerability, these cones act like Wild Charges, so the partners must block for those that have vulnerabilities. The cones are wide, so make sure to be on your intercard.

  • If DPS have vulnerabilities, healers get in front of the melee.
  • If Supports have vulnerabilities, ranged get in front of the tanks.

She will perform this mechanic twice in the same fashion. AoEs are random, and you could get hit again. After the second set, group south and get ready to be knocked back onto the Phase 2 platform. Your positions and angle matter for the knockback, so generally be near the marker, at max-melee or beyond.

Phase 2

P2 Repeated Mechanics​

Stack before tethers apply to enable tanks to easily pick up, then spread MTTM in the first row and RHHR in the second row. All non-tanks plant for the duration of the mechanic; tanks find the left-most (MT) or right-most (OT) undamaged player and pass the rot debuff to them, then return to spread position.

Start of Phase 2​

At the start of Phase 2, Wicked Thunder will cast Cross Tail Switch, which are heavy-hitting raidwides. This will hit a total of 9 times. It is recommended to use Tank LB3 and heavy mitigation. You can survive without LB3, but it will make it much easier.

After the 9 hits, split into light parties and prepare for Exaflares. Both parties will need to go to the East and West edges of the arena, as healers will be targeted with stack markers. 4 rows of Exaflares will telegraph in the arena, indicating which way they are going to move. Look on the opposite edge of the arena for the row that has the Exaflare going into the wall/off the arena. You can ignore all other Exaflares in the middle as they are irrelevant to the dodging. As the first Exaflares go off, dodge into the row that doesn't have the Exaflare moving toward you.

As the Exaflares move off the arena and the stacks finish, the boss will cast a Wicked Special, followed by a Mustard Bomb, then an Aetherial Conversion - Tail Thrust combo.

Twilight Sabbath​

Start directly in the center of the arena, as everyone will be dropping puddles under them. As you stack in the middle, clones will spawn on the cardinals. These clones will appear two at a time. You can see which ones will appear first by watching which rings are going to drop to the ground first.

These clones will cleave one half of their side like in Phase 1, making only one quadrant safe. If you have done M3S, this is similar to the double lariats. Wait for the puddle telegraphs to appear, then move to the quadrant that is not being cleaved.

After dodging the first 2 clones, look at the other 2 that are about to appear. You will need to dodge into another quadrant or possibly stay in the same one. The pattern of the clones and cleaves is random. During the second set of clones, a Wicked Special will be cast. Make sure to stand in or toward the wall depending on what is being cleaved.

Midnight Sabbath​

During Midnight Sabbath, 2 sets of 4 clones will spawn on either cardinals or intercardinals, followed by the opposite. Separate into pairs, supports with DPS. Melee upfront, ranged in the back. Start at intercardinals for the start of the mechanic.

These clones will either have cannons, cleaving in a line in front of them, or have wings, creating a donut around them. Depending on where and what clones spawn, if you have to rotate to a safe spot, move counterclockwise. If you need to move a second time, go back to your intercardinal starting position.

Check the first clones spawning. If it's cannons, move away from the clones' path they are shooting. If it's wings, move under the clone. The boss will also be casting one of two things: Concentrated Burst or Scattered Fire.

  • Burst = Partner Stack
  • Scattered = Spread

Make sure you stack or spread based on the cast.

The second set of clones can be anything and is completely random. The spreads and stacks will always be the opposite of what happened during the first set. Cannon into Wings means you don't need to move. All Cannon or Wings always go back to your first spot.

Once both sets of clones resolve, another Wicked Special will be cast.

Chain Lightning​

Before the mechanic, Wicked Thunder will prepare an Aetherial Conversion which will be executed at the end of Chain Lightning.

The boss will split the arena into two sections for this mechanic. Split into light parties. Light party 1 West, light party 2 East. 4 towers are going to spawn on each side and will need to be soaked. The order of soaks is TMHR from north to south.

Swords will appear once soaked, and Wicked Thunder will start tethering to the swords in 4 sets, which will be targeted with an AoE around the sword. On each side, each sword will be safe exactly once, but the two sides will have different patterns. Simply watch and note the order in which swords are not tethered for a total of 4 times. You only have to worry about your side.

tip

Typing the order in /party chat may confuse players on the opposite side; use /say, which will not reach players on the opposite platform.

Start next to the sword that was not tethered first, then, once each explosion goes off, move to the next sword in the order it was not tethered.

warning

If raid buffs were used during the transition sequence, they will come up as the telegraphs end. If players on one platform are prepositioned at the back-most sword, they will not reach players prepositioned at the front-most sword on the opposite platform and vice versa.

As the final lightning hits, the platform will reconnect, and the charged Tail Thrust will be cast. Quickly get to the other side if you are on the unsafe side.

Sunrise Sabbath​

Before the mechanic, Wicked Thunder will prepare an Aetherial Conversion which will be executed at the end of Sunrise Sabbath.

Everyone will receive a yellow or blue debuff with a timer (20s and 35s). Keep track of your timer and color. 6 clones will also spawn in the arena: 4 cannon clones on the intercardinals and 2 winged clones on random cardinals.

  • The clones on the cardinals will drop towers where they are facing. Note that they can be facing across or at an angle. Towers will always be on cardinals across from each other. These towers need to be soaked by two players.

  • The clones on the intercardinals will be shooting a baited cannon. Note that these cannons will either glow yellow or blue. They need to be baited by a player with the opposite color debuff.

To resolve this, short debuffs bait the first set of clones, and long debuff players soak the first towers.

  • To determine which clone to bait, use snake priority. Support starts Northwest counterclockwise, DPS North clockwise. Take the first cannon that has the opposite color of your debuff using that priority.
  • To determine which tower you soak, Supports always take the West and South towers, DPS always take the North and East towers.

There are two ways to resolve the cannon. You can use either Normal Baits or AutoCAD/Uptime.

Bait the cannon away from the towers while standing as close to the death wall and as close to the needle patterns as possible.

Once the first set of Cannons and Towers resolve, Wicked Thunder will cast Wicked Special. Moving on, the roles will be swapped. The long debuffs will bait their cannons, and the people who cleansed their debuff will soak towers. This part of the mechanic is solved the same way as the first.

Once the second part is resolved, the charged Tail Thrust will be cast.

Sword Quiver​

Sword Quiver is the enrage sequence for this fight. You will need to split into partner stacks. Melees north, Ranged south.

Wicked Thunder will draw 4 lines on the arena, which deal raid-wide damage when drawn. Three of these lines form a star pattern which will always be the same. The fourth line will be different. It can either go through the north, middle, or south sides of the arena.

When all 4 lines are drawn, a sword will come down and shoot proteans at the partner stacks.

Sword Quiver happens a total of three times, leading into the enrage cast. To finish the fight, she will cast one final Wicked Thunder, which will wipe the party if she is not killed before the cast finishes.