Darkness Descends

category:MissionsCategory:Wings of the Goddess Missionsfr:La marque du pactede:Finsteres Omen
== Walkthrough ==
Warning: This mission is considerably more difficult than previous missions in this expansion. Proceed with caution.
* If you haven't finished Rhapsodies of Vana'diel past Of Light and Darkness, progressing past this mission will block your progress until you finish Whispers of Dawn.
*Zone into Throne Room (S) for a cutscene.
**Note: To get to the Throne Room (S) from Castle Zvahl Keep (S), you will need to open several gates that require at least one player to remove Invisible. The northern path is safer to traverse when attempting to sneak around, as it is littered with sight/sound-aggro Dire Gargouilles on the first floor, but only sound-agro Quadavs on the second, rather than all sight-aggro enemies to the south. ((A Thief can run through the first part and hide to lose aggro))
**While the path is not the same route as in the present Castle Zvahl Keep using the portals to travel around the 3rd map, it is similar. The only real change is you have to use the iron door where the (present day) fight with Dark Spark occurs for AF gloves. The route to the next area, which normally is down a set of stair won't work in the past.
**The path is similar enough to the present that following the instructions in Xarcabard, Land of Truths is possible. Enter through the iron door as mentioned, turn right and you'll be right at the Goblin circle (note that in the past there are demons instead of goblins around it), from that point on just jump down and follow the exact same path.
**There are also True Sight Imps and Tauri along that way to the Throne Room (S).
**There is a Home Point right outside the Throne Room (S), don't forget to grab it.
*Click the Throne Room door to choose the option "Darkness Descends." Like a regular BCNM, everyone in the party must do this to enter. There will be a short cutscene before the fight.
*After winning the fight you will receive a cutscene and be transported back outside the Throne Room door.
== Fight ==
*Buffs will wear upon entry.
*As with all mission battlefields, Experience is not lost upon death.
*Alter Egos may be summoned in this battlefield.
*Fight is of trivial difficulty at 99 with trusts.
*You fight alongside Lilisette, similar to the mission, Distorter of Time.
**You have 30 minutes to complete this fight. The time limit is of marginal concern though, as Lilisette is capable of eliminating the opposition well before 30 minutes can pass, provided she is kept alive.
**If Lilisette is defeated, the mission is immediately failed and your party will be automatically warped out of the battlefield. She cannot be Raised.
**Lilisette is affected by Area of Effect Blood Pact: Wards, including Alexander's Perfect Defense, but cannot be targeted by in-party spells such as Magic Fruit.
**Lilisette is immune to Aquila's Death spell.
**Lilisette will automatically engage Haudrale if the party takes no action for 3 minutes. Note that Lilisette may also engage immediately when the party enters the battlefield. When a player engages either target, Lilisette will engage too.
***You can have a mage buffed up and Dia or debuff Haudrale when ready, Lilisette will engage him accordingly. The member(s) assigned to hold Aquila should only make their move after the initial pull.
** Lilisette possesses heightened attack, HP, evasion and defense (for this battle).
** Uses Sensual Dance giving an Attack Bonus to all in range and Attack Down to enemies. Appears to give Magic Attack Down to enemies as well.
** Uses Thorned Stance giving a Defense Bonus to her.
** Uses Vivifying Waltz, restoring HP and granting 300 TP to allies in range. May have other effects as well. This move is not "readied" in the chat log like the other moves listed here.
** Uses Whirling Edge and Dancer's Fury, inflicting single-target damage.
** If Lilisette falls to 30% HP or below, she will use a powered-up version of Trance, temporarily granting her physical and magical damage immunity as well as a sharp increase in attack speed and critical hit rate. The effects last for 1 minute, as with standard Trance. Lilisette becomes able to use this ability again after 5 minutes, provided her HP is low enough.
*Your fight is against Haudrale (Elvaan) and Aquila (Hume). Both targets must be eliminated to win the battle.
**Haudrale will fight with a one-handed sword and only casts tier-2 Enspells on himself. He does not appear to have access to any other spells.
***Possesses high defense and attack, with critical for up to 500 damage with 200 damage Additional Effect, both to Lilisette and regular players.
***Uses Savage Swordhand, a powerful (1000+ damage) Area of Effect attack (seems to be radial, not conal as mentioned before) with Additional Effect: Knockback and Amnesia. Players standing anywhere within ~10-15 yalms of Haudrale can expect to be hit by this attack. Damage is reduced depending on the target(s)' distance and positioning relative to Haudrale.
***When Haudrale taunts the party in /say, he will temporarily absorb magical damage, similarly to Aquila's physical absorption ability.
**Aquila fights hand-to-hand with access to tier IV/III-ga Elemental Magic, Enspells, Sleepga II, Dispelga, Blindga and Death, which he appears to gain access to below 30% HP.
***Hits for 170+ damage per hand with approximately 50 damage Additional Effect.
***Uses Altair Bullet, which deals moderate (400-600+) frontal cone Area of Effect damage with Additional Effect: Knockback and Paralysis, absorbed by 2 Shadow Images. The paralysis effect will process frequently, both on players and Lilisette. This ability will also reset enmity on him.
***The tier III -ga spells Aquila casts are the same element as his current Enspell.
****Casting the correct Barspell on the member(s) holding Aquila, can effectively mitigate a good amount of damage.
***Follows standard Black Mage A.I.; he will not move into melee range until he has lost a certain amount of HP, making him easy to hold with Stun and/or Magic Defense Bonus equipment/abilities.
***Occasionally, when Aquila casts an Enspell, he will say, "Here's a little big something I've prepared for you!" This triggers a temporary physical absorption shield similar to the Mammet ability, Transmogrification. Lilisette herself will disengage until this effect wears off.
**Both Fomors are susceptible to Stun from all sources, but cast more frequently than the standard Stun recast can support. They are also susceptible to Head Butt when used with high Blue Magic Skill and Magic Accuracy equipment/abilities.
***Both Fomors' respective Enspells can also be stunned, preventing their use. They will not immediately attempt to recast them.
**Both are susceptible to Paralyze, Slow, and Light-based dispelling effects, such as Finale and Blank Gaze.
**Both are resistant to Odin's Zantetsuken.
**Both are immune to Bind, Gravity, Sleep, and Darkness-based Dispel.
**A simple rule of thumb to follow to avoid healing either of the two fomors: Haudrale is always susceptible to physical damage and Aquila is always susceptible to magical damage.
*Like the Distorter of Time fight, a "Curebomb" method is possible. You will need at least 1 dedicated healer on Lilisette regardless of setup. Lilisette will run out of HP very quickly if she is not watched carefully by your healer(s). White Mage is a good choice due to the low enmity generation of Cure V.
*It is highly recommended that one or two members of the party hold Aquila somewhere in the BC while Lilisette fights Haudrale; Lilisette can tank for both mobs after using her two hour ability. Note also that Altair Bullet will reset enmity, which may draw Aquila toward your party. 
**Note that Altair Bullet will make hate extremely volatile once Aquila begins spamming it during the last 50% or so of his HP. Use caution as a healer, especially if there's not a Stun to allow for kiting.
**You can pull and hold Aquila up on the stairs so that his -ga spells will not hit the rest of the party. 
**A stunner is helpful but not necessary. If one or two party members can successfully distract Aquila (do not kite him, as his -ga magic will hit other party members). One or two players with solid MDB/MDT sets and the ability to self-heal will be able to simply hold Aquila so that Lilisette can focus on Haudrale. Applying the correct Barspell will help too.
*See testimonies for other possible ways to do this fight.