The Howling Eye (Hard)
- See also: The Howling Eye and The Howling Eye (Extreme)
"Not to be outdone by the Amalj'aa, the Ixal have also taken advantage of Ultima Weapon's destruction and again summoned their patron deity. What is worse, this most recent incarnation of Garuda is said to possess a nigh insatiable appetite for destruction. If Coerthas and the Twelveswood are to be spared further destruction, you must return to the Howling Eye and seek an audience with the Lady of the Vortex." The Howling Eye (Hard) is a level 50 trial. It requires a party of 8 players. The Howling Eye (Hard) requires the players to defeat the primal Garuda (Hard). Players can unlock this trial after completing The Bowl of Embers (Hard).
- Players are awarded with 15 Tomestones of Philosophy and 10 Tomestones of Mythology for completing The Howling Eye (Hard).
Phase 1
Tank should pull Garuda to the far north edge of the room. Rest of the party members should spread out and stay away from the stone pillars so her Friction and Wicked Wheel will not damage the pillars. Tanks should avoid Slipstream by running out of her line of sight.
Garuda will vanish, teleport and use either Mistral Song or Mistral Shriek once every 60 seconds or so. Players need to break line of sight by hiding behind the pillars whenever she uses either of those abilities.
When Garuda vanishes the first time, she will re-appear at the far north edge of the room and cast Mistral Song. Players should break her line of sight by hiding behind the stone pillars. After about 60 seconds she will vanish and appear in the center of the room. She will then cast Mistral Shriek. Players need to hide behind the pillars and break line of sight with her.
After each Mistral Song or Mistral Shriek, Garuda will spawn a group of adds called Razor Plumes. Razor Plumes must be killed immediately. If they are left alive they will damage the stone pillars.
- Use AoE abilities to kill Plumes.
When Garuda is at about 50% HP, she will use her ultimate ability, Aerial Blast. The ability deals massive amount of damage to your entire party. The amount of damage dealt depends on the number of stone pillars kept alive.
- Keep stone pillars alive to reduce the damage of Garuda's ult.
Phase 2 begins after Garuda uses her ult.
Abilities
Downburst is an instant frontal cleave that deals a moderate amount of damage to all players in front of Garuda.
Friction is an instant ranged attack that will damages a random player and all players near him. It also damages the stone pillars.
Wicked Wheel is an instant AoE attack that damages all players around Garuda for moderate amount of damage. It also damages stone pillars.
Slipstream is a frontal column spell that deals large amount of damage and stuns the targets hit. While it does not shot up as a ground indicator, it can still be dodged.
Mistral Song allows Garuda to vanish and reappear on one side of the room, firing a blast of wind through the area. The ability does very heavy damage to all targets in her line of sight. Players need to hide behind stone pillars to avoid the damage.
Mistral Shriek allows Garuda to vanish and reappear in the middle of the room, firing a blast of wind through the area. The ability does very heavy damage to all targets in her line of sight. Players need to hide behind stone pillars to avoid the damage.
Aerial Blast is Garuda's signature ability. At around half health, she teleports to the center of the room and casts this ability. The damage you and your party members take depends on how damaged the stone pillars are. The more damaged the stone pillars are, the more damage you will take. Phase 2 starts after she uses this ability.
Adds
Razer Plume is summoned by Garuda in groups. While they will only deal a small amount of damage to the players, these Plumes will damage the stone pillars if they are kept alive.
Phase 2
In the second phase, 3 tornadoes (Great Whirlwind) spawns in the boss room. Players caught within the tornadoes will take massive amounts of damage. The tank should shift from the north position into a north-west position, while the ranged classes all stack on the wall directly to the West. You should end up in this arrangement. This will allow the Great Whirlwinds to appear harmlessly around everyone, as well as create a section for the adds to be tanked in.
After a short time, Garuda will vanish and re-spawns at the south part of the room along with 2 adds, Suparna and Chirada. These adds have similar abilities as Garuda. Tanks should tank these adds away from rest of the party to avoid Slipstream hitting everyone. One of the adds will have a green beam linked to Garuda while the other add will have a red beam linked to Garuda. Players must kill the add with the green beam ASAP because the add will heal Garuda when its alive. Players should use cooldowns if necessary. Afterwards players should kill the add with red beam. The off-tank should grab the add with the red beam and tank it facing away from the group at this position. The main tank can also pick this add up if you're only running with one tank. This will be the heaviest damage during the encounter. One healer should focus on keeping the main tank alive through Garuda's increased damage while the other focuses on the large amount of AoE healing needed from Friction and Wicked Wheel hitting so many players.
Once both adds are brought down, the tornadoes will start to fade. As soon as the northern whirlwind fades, the tank needs to run along the wall to the north-east side of the room. The whirlwinds will start to rotate, forcing the group to move clockwise around the room. During this time, a group of Razer Plumes and a single Satin Plume will spawn. DPS should kill the Satin Plume as quickly as possible to avoid the sleep debuff. The Razer Plumes are easy to heal through, so ignore them in favor of more DPS on Garuda. Once you reach the East side of the room, the whirlwinds will fade completely and everyone should move to the middle of the room to prepare for Eye of the Storm.
While in the middle of the room, Garuda will vanish again, reappearing in the South with Suparna and Chirada spawning on the East and West sides of the room. Each of these adds should be tanked on the edge they come in at, with the main tank on Garuda (south), the off-tank on the add with a red beam (east or west) and all the DPS on the green beam add (East or West). This leaves the healers either in the middle or on the North edge, free to heal up everyone.
Once the adds have been finished off and Eye of the Storm fades, all the ranged players should move directly South, with the tank should move to the south-west position. More tornadoes will spawn, which will start to rotate as more plumes spawn. Once again focus the Satin Plume down and ignore the rest. You will rotate around the room until you're roughly in the same position you started Phase 2 at. She will vanish, spawning one last set of adds. Use Meteor, the level 3 limit break, to nearly kill both of them instantly and finish off Garuda. If she is not almost dead at this point, either DPS is too low overall or the add with the green beam has not been killed quickly enough each time and healed Garuda too much.
Abilities
Downburst is an instant frontal cleave that deals a moderate amount of damage to all players in front of Garuda.
Friction is an instant ranged attack that will damages a random player and all players near him. It also damages the stone pillars.
Wicked Wheel is an instant AoE attack that damages all players around Garuda for moderate amount of damage. It also damages stone pillars.
Slipstream is a frontal column spell that deals large amount of damage and stuns the targets hit. While it does not shot up as a ground indicator, it can still be dodged.
Great Whirlwind is a giant tornado that deals massive amount of damage to any players caught within.
Eye of the Storm is ability used by Garuda at the start of the second phase. This ability creates a whirlwind with an opening at the center of the room. Players must stay in the center of the room to avoid the extremely heavy damage from the swirling wind. The effect persists for the rest of the fight.
Adds
Razer Plume deals small amount of damage to random players.
Satin Plume casts the debuff Sleep on the entire party.
Suparna has similar abilities as Garuda. It can link to Garuda with a red beam which increases Garuda's damage. It can also link to Garuda with a green beam which heals her. Additionally it will cast Mistral Shriek if left alive for too long.
Chirada has similar abilities as Garuda. It can link to Garuda with a red beam which increases Garuda's damage. It can also link to Garuda with a green beam which heals her. Additionally it will cast Mistral Shriek if left alive for too long.
Add priority:
Satin Plume > Razer Plume
Chirada or Suparna with green beam > Chirada or Suparna with red beam
Loot
Weapons
| Item | Icon | Item Level | Requirement | Damage (Type) | Auto-attack | Delay | Stats and Attributes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garuda's Beak |  |
70 | LNC DRG Level 50 |
41 (Physical) | 33.89 | 2.48 | Strength +22, Vitality +24, Wind Resistance +13, Accuracy +20, Skill Speed +29 |
| Garuda's Embrace |  |
70 | SCH Level 50 |
63 (Magical) | 38.27 | 2.80 | Vitality +21, Mind +22, Wind Resistance +13, Piety +13, Spell Speed +29 |
| Garuda's Gaze |  |
70 | GLD PLD Level 50 |
41 (Physical) | 24.05 | 1.76 | Strength +16, Vitality +17, Wind Resistance +9, Parry +14, Skill Speed +21 |
| Garuda's Scream |  |
70 | MRD WAR Level 50 |
41 (Physical) | 42.64 | 3.12 | Strength +22, Vitality +24, Wind Resistance +13, Parry +20, Skill Speed +29 |
| Garuda's Spine |  |
70 | ARC BRD Level 50 |
37 (Physical) | 30.59 | 2.48 | Dexterity +22, Vitality +24, Wind Resistance +13, Accuracy +20, Skill Speed +29 |
| Garuda's Talons |  |
70 | PGL MNK Level 50 |
41 (Physical) | 30.61 | 2.24 | Strength +22, Vitality +24, Wind Resistance +13, Accuracy +20, Skill Speed +29 |
| Garuda's Van |  |
70 | THM BLM Level 50 |
63 (Magical) | 42.64 | 3.12 | Vitality +21, Intelligence +22, Wind Resistance +13, Accuracy +20, Spell Speed +29 |
| Garuda's Wile |  |
70 | CNJ WHM Level 50 |
63 (Magical) | 36.08 | 2.64 | Vitality +15, Mind +16, Wind Resistance +9, Piety +9, Spell Speed +21 |
| Garuda's Will |  |
70 | ACN SMN Level 50 |
63 (Magical) | 38.27 | 2.80 | Vitality +21, Intelligence +22, Wind Resistance +13, Accuracy +20, Spell Speed +29 |