AAC Light-heavyweight M1 (Savage)

See also: AAC Light-heavyweight Tier (Savage) and AAC Light-heavyweight M1

AAC Light-heavyweight M1 (Savage)

Level

100 (Sync: 100)

Item Level

700

Difficulty

Savage

Party size

Full Party
8 man • 2 2 4

Unsyncing

Not Allowed

Time limit

90 minutes

Duty Finder

Raid Finder (Raids)

Tomestones

 30 

Req. quest

Talk to Gabbro after completing The Neoteric Witch

Location

Scratching Ring

Region

Xak Tural

Stone, Sky, Sea

Available

Patch

7.05

“

By his appropriately timed interjections, Gabbro's attention appears wholly rapt on you as you speak of your hair-raising bout with Black Cat─yet you cannot help but notice his curiously furrowed brow. How liberal does he intend to be with his depiction of the battle─what precisely does he see in his mind's eye? Intrigued by the possibilities, you begin to imagine the deadly clash anew...

— In-game description

AAC Light-heavyweight M1 (Savage) is a level 100 raid introduced in patch 7.05 with Dawntrail. The raid is also known as M1S.

Phases & Abilities

Animated guide by Hector Hectorson

Quadruple Crossing same baits by Hector Hectorson

M1S Tips / Starvy MTTT Raining Cats by Hector Hectorson

Claw in the Dark: Black Cat

Please note that players may fall off the arena to their deaths. Being hit with any avoidable AoEs will either inflict a stack of -25% Damage Down or Sustained Damage, along with possibly other effects.

The arena is a 4x4 grid of square tiles, which is important for some mechanics.

Strategy

Each player should be assigned a clock position, with DPS on intercardinals and supports on cardinals, along with light parties. Pairs of players consisting of 1 DPS and 1 support, each with an assigned cardinal and intercardinal, should also be designated.

Initial mechanics

• Quadruple Crossing: The boss will hit the four closest players with conal AoEs that deal high physical damage and inflict Slashing Resistance Down, requiring mitigation or shielding. This attack repeats, requiring the other four players to bait the AoEs and prevent lethal damage. Afterwards, four late telegraphed conal AoEs will hit the same locations as the first set of baited AoEs, then in the locations of the second baited set, requiring the party to dodge.
  • A common strategy is to have the four DPS bait the first set of AoEs in their assigned intercardinals inside the boss's hitbox while the supports stay outside the hitbox in their cardinals. Then switch with the four supports, who will bait the second set in the intercardinals while the DPS are out. Aftewards, players can easily dodge both sets of follow-up AoEs by staying in the cardinals.
• Biscuit Maker: A heavy-hitting telegraphed physical tankbuster that inflicts Slashing Resistance Down. This attack repeats, requiring a tank swap during the cast or an invulnerability cooldown.
• Nine Lives: The boss's next attack will be stored in a clone she will summon later. This will be indicated with the Nine Lives buff on the boss.
• One-two Paw: The boss raises a glowing claw to its left or right, followed by the other side, indicating two sequential half-room cleaves. Players must remember which side was safe first for an upcoming mechanic, as the boss will store this attack (indicated by the One-two Memory buff).
• Soulshade: The boss summons two untargetable clones of herself and tethers to them, transmitting its One-two Paw pattern to each. The clones will be 135 degrees from each other, one on a cardinal and the other on an intercardinal. Each clone will have an orange ring denoting where it is facing.
  • Both clones will use One-two Paw the same as the boss did, leaving a slice of the arena safe, followed by a slice directly across. Players must initially be to the left or to the right of both clones to dodge the first cleaves, then move directly across the center to dodge the second.
  • Immediately before the cleaves resolve, the boss will use Nine Lives again, storing an upcoming attack.
  • Double Swipe or Quadruple Swipe: During the second set of cleaves, the boss will cast one of these attacks. Double Swipe is a shared damage AoE targeting both healers and should be taken in assigned light parties, while Quadruple Swipe is a shared damage AoE targeting all DPS or all supports and should be taken in assigned pairs.
  • Players need to remember whether Double or Quadruple Swipe was used as the boss will store this attack for later (indicated by Two-swipe Memory for Double Swipe or Four-swipe Memory for Quadruple Swipe.)
• Soulshade: The boss will summon an untargetable clone of herself at the north, transferring its stored attack for later.
• Leaping Quadruple Crossing: The boss will tether a point to its east or west and then jump to it, using Quadruple Crossing from its new location, which can be resolve similarly as before.
  • During the second set of follow-up cleaves, the stored Double Swipe or Quadruple Swipe will resolve, so players will either need to be in light parties or pairs.
• Bloody Scratch: Hard-hitting physical raidwide damage, requiring mitigation.

Mouser 1

• Mouser: The boss telegraphs 10 sequential sets of two AoEs that each hit one tile of the arena. When a tile is hit, it will become damaged. If it is hit again, it will break and anyone who is on it will fall to their deaths. Some tiles will not be hit at all, while others will be hit once, and the remaining will be hit twice and break. This will always leave four alternating damaged tiles. Four tiles will immediately regenerate, giving a 4x2 or 2x4 configuration of tiles.
  • There are only two AoE patterns for this attack. The party typically can start on the southwest tile in melee range, then move to the southeast tile after it is hit once. Depending on whether the southwest or southeast tile will be hit again later, they can move back to the southwest tile (after it is hit once) or stay on the southeast tile.
• An untargetable Copy Cat clone will spawn at the end of the remaining tiles.
• One random player will receive an overhead purple paw marker, indicating the clone will use Elevate and Eviscerate on them. This attack has one of two effects depending on the clone's animation. Players will be stunned briefly when they are about to be hit. The clone will always spawn directly behind them.
  • If the clone is leaning back and its left arm is glowing, the clone will use a downward smash on the player that deals damage but will not move them.
  • If the clone is leaning forward and its right arm is glowing, the clone will use an uppercut on the player that deals damage and will knock them upwards, causing to land the length of a tile in front of where they are facing. They can position to be knocked back to an undamaged tile. Alternatively, they can start on the corner of an undamaged tile and face the opposite corner, causing them to land on the same tile. This has the advantage of not needing to pay attention to the clone's animation, as it will safely resolve either attack.
  • When a clone hits a targeted player, it will also emit an untelegraphed plus-shaped AoE hitting all tiles directly horizontal and vertical from the tile the target is on. Anyone on these tiles will be knocked off the arena and killed.
  • Four players of the same role (DPS or supports) will always be targeted during this sequence. In addition, the clone will always use two smashes and two uppercuts, although in a random order.
  • The main tank will take significant auto-attack damage during this mechanic, so they should use mitigation and be healed.
• Biscuit Maker
• Shockwave: A telegraphed strong knockback from the boss. This cannot be prevented with knockback immune actions. The arena will begin to fully regenerate, although a total of four tiles near opposite corners will regenerate faster, so players should position to be knocked back to these locations. They should attempt to split into light parties, because each player will receive a spread AoE marker (Grimalkin Gale) that deals magical damage and inflicts Magic Vulnerability Up, making overlap lethal. The spread AoEs resolve a few seconds after the knockback, so melees can gap close to the boss.
  • If any tiles were accidentally broken during Mouser, this may limit the the safe knockback locations.

Leaping Nine Lives

• Nine Lives: Will store the boss's next attack.
• Leaping One-two Paw: The boss uses the One-two Paw telegraphs but will also tether a point on the arena, indicating it will slide to that point and then resolve the half-room cleaves from its final position. Note that the boss will not turn or rotate, they will simply reposition with their current facing prior to the AoEs. Players will need to remember the direction the boss slides and the order of the cleaves (either towards the wall or towards the middle of the arena safe), as this will be stored in a clone. The direction the boss moved will be indicated with Rightward Memory or Leftward Memory.
• Soulshade: Spawns a sleeping clone at the north middle, who will face south. The Leaping One-two Paw pattern will be transmitted to this clone.
• Leaping Quadruple Crossing: The boss will face the center of the arena, slide to a new point, and use Quadruple Crossing, which functions as before. Players will need to remember the direction the boss slides. This attack will be stored, as indicated by Four-crossed Memory.
• Soulshade: Spawns a sleeping clone at the south middle, who will face north. The Leaping Quadruple Crossing pattern will be transmitted to this clone.
• The boss will randomly tether one of the two sleeping clones, causing it to wake up and resolve its stored Leaping One-two Paw or Leaping Quadruple Crossing a few seconds later. Players will need to remember which clone corresponded with each attack. Ideally, the main tank should move the boss to where the clone will jump to resolve the mechanics.
• If the tethered clone has Leaping One-two Paw stored, the boss will also cast Tempestuous Tear, which are telegraphed line stack AoEs originating from the boss on both healers that should be taken in light parties (one north and one south of the boss). The raid should resolve the stacks in the first safe location as the clone cleaves then move to the second safe location.
• If the tethered clone has Leaping Quadruple Crossing stored, the boss will also cast Nailchipper, which marks four players of one role with an orange marker, indicating they will be hit with a circle AoE that deals magical damage and inflicts Magic Vulnerability Up. Afterwards, the other four players will be marked and hit with the same attack.
  • The marked players should take their AoEs at max melee range on the cardinals to avoid hitting anyone else, while the unmarked role will bait the first set of conal AoEs in the intercardinals inside the hitbox. Afterwards, exchange places to bait the second AoE sets while remaining on the cardinals to dodge the follow-up AoEs.
  • The first set of circle AoEs and baited cleaves from the clone will resolve at the same time. The second set will resolve after the final set of follow-up conal AoEs from the clone.
• Once one of the clones finishes its mechanic, the boss will tether the other sleeping clone to resolve its mechanic, so the main tank should move the boss to where the second clone will jump to.
• Bloody Scratch

Mouser 2

• Mouser: Functions identically as before.
• The untargetable Copy Cat clone will spawn again and this time sequentially target the other role that was not selected during the first Mouser mechanic.
• In addition, during this sequence, the boss will either cast Overshadow or Splintering Nails during each clone attack.
  • Overshadow is a telegraphed split damage magical line AoE that should be shared between the remaining 7 players with mitigation.
  • Splintering Nails are three physical conal AoEs that will target one random DPS, healer, and tank if they are not currently marked for Elevate and Eviscaterate. These inflict Slashing Resistance Down, making overlap lethal. The remaining players should spread out while stacked in their roles, usually in the order of tank - healer - dps (left to right facing the boss), keeping in mind the plus-shaped AoE from the targeted tile.
  • The boss will always uses two Overshadows and two Splintering Nails, although in a random order.
• Biscuit Maker
• Shockwave / Grimalkin Gale

Final mechanics

• Raining Cats: The boss will tether two random players. The tethers can be exchanged with other party members. The tethered players will be hit with a conal AoE that deals physical damage and inflicts Slashing Resistance Down, making another hit lethal. In addition, the boss will target both the closest player and the farthest player with an untelegraphed split damage AoE dealing magical damage and inflicting Magic Vulnerability Up. The tethers should be exchanged between different players to prevent lethal repeat damage while the untethered players bait the proximity stack AoEs in their light parties.
  • A common strategy is to have the melee DPS take the tethers on the hitbox (one east and one west), while the tanks are north inside the hitbox and the rest of the party is south and outside the hitbox. This will cause the first stack AoEs to be baited on the tanks and the players outside the hitbox.
  • After the first hit, the tanks will take the tethers and be within the hitbox (east and west) while the rest of the party is outside the hitbox and south. The tanks should mitigate the first hit, as they will be baiting both the conal AoEs and the close split damage AoE. They will then use their invulnerability cooldowns on the third and fourth hits.
• Copycat: The boss spawns an untargetable clone of itself, who will use Predaceous Pounce, a sequence of line and circle AoE telegraphs that function identically to normal mode. Meanwhile, the boss will use a One-two Paw in the middle of the room.
• Mouser (enrage): The AoEs will now eventually break all of the tiles, causing the party to fall to their deaths and wipe. The boss must be defeated before all tiles are broken.

Loot

•  30 Allagan Tomestone of Heliometry
• 1   Black Cat Card (Drops at a fixed rate.)
• 1   AAC Illustrated: LHW Edition I (Guaranteed; limit one per week)

Treasure Coffer

Name	Type	Item Level	Rarity	Quantity
Dark Horse Champion's Earring Coffer (IL 730)	Other	N/A	ABasic	1
Dark Horse Champion's Necklace Coffer (IL 730)	Other	N/A	ABasic	1
Dark Horse Champion's Bracelet Coffer (IL 730)	Other	N/A	ABasic	1
Dark Horse Champion's Ring Coffer (IL 730)	Other	N/A	ABasic	1

Dialogue

All lines from the boss are voice acted. Does not include conditional lines from Metem.

Black Cat: I hope you're ready to be ripped to shreds! (upon pull)

Metem: Our challenger's first opponent: Black Cat! (upon pull)

Metem: Can they hold their own against her feline ferocity!? (Quadruple Crossing)

Black Cat: Haaah! (Biscuit Maker, not in the chat log)

Black Cat: From my lives nine, my soul I split! (Nine Lives)

Metem: Look alive, folks, because this cat has nine. (One-two Paw)

Black Cat: Go forth, shadow of my heart! (Soulshade)

Black Cat: Try this! (Double / Quadruple Swipe)

Black Cat: You're mincemeat! (Leaping Quadruple Crossing)

Black Cat: These claws rend all! (Mouser)

Metem: Here it comes! Black Cat's lithe and lethal maneuver! (Mouser)

Metem: My riiing! (Mouser)

Metem: Ahem. Please bear with us while we repair the ring. (Mouser)

Black Cat: I sharpened these just for you! (Raining Cats)

Black Cat: To me, echo of my soul! (Copycat)

Black Cat: I've toyed with you enough. (Mouser enrage)

Black Cat: Unenhanced as you are, you never stood a chance. (Final tiles break)

Images

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External Links

• Common party finder strategies for M1S - North America

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Raids

Duties