The Limitless Blue (Hard)
- See also: The Limitless Blue (Extreme)
The Limitless Blue (Hard) is a level 57 - 58 trial that requires a Full Party of 8 players. In the trial, players face Bismarck, the primal worshiped by The Vanu Vanu.
Reward:
Unlock
Players can unlock The Limitless Blue (Hard) through the Main Scenario Quest Bolt, Chain, and Island.
Strategy
Bismarck is a fairly unusual trial in that, for most of the fights player won't actually be damaging the primal itself, but rather dealing with all manner of adds. The fight itself takes place upon a floating rock which has its own separate HP bar, if this bar drops to around 24% then the raid will wipe. Players should also be wary of being knocked off of the edge of the platform. Before beginning the fight players should take note of the shield device, as well as the two harpoons on either side and should nominate a player to man each.
Phase 1
The fight begins with Bismarck instantly dealing a damaging blow to the platform as well as spawning two adds. Players should deal with the adds (which can cause knockback) while avoiding any AoEs. Periodically players will see Bismarck do a specific dive animation, this is the signal that the shield device should be activated as Bismarck is about to ram the platform. Failing to active the shield device, or activating it too early, will lead to an increased amount of damage being taken by the platform.
After a set amount of time a message will appear stating that the harpoons are active, players should activate these as soon as possible, failing to do so will lead to Bismarck disabling them and leading to another cycle. Once both harpoons are active Bismarck will be chained to the side of the platform and its chitin will be targetable. Players can only cause damage to the chitin while physically on Bismarck, though this will also cause a DoT to appear on said players. Players should ideally destroy the chitin in one cycle (although two cycles is fine) as failing to destroy it quick enough will cause Bismarck to pull away and repeat its initial actions (adds, ramming the platform etc.).
Phase 2
Once its chitin has been destroyed Bismarck will pull away from the platform again and summon two larger adds. These should be dealt with quickly. At the same time tornadoes will appear, Bismarck will also periodically summon a set of exploding bubbles which players should avoid. If players cannot kill the adds quick enough then the trial will wipe. If players are successful then Bismarck will cast a raid wide AoE before once returning to the side of the platform. During this the shield device will also break, essentially setting a harder limit on how long the encounter can last.
Once back in position Bismarck will summon four adds. These should be dealt with as before however players should also be careful as Bismarck will utilise a two second stun, which can lead to player deaths. As with the first phase, the harpoons will periodically become active and should be fired as soon as possible. Once both harpoons are fired Bismarck will again be caught on the side of the rock, this time the primal itself will be targetable (though again players can only cause damage while stood on Bismarck). At this point players should deal as much damage as possible (LB etc.) in order to kill Bismarck. If Bismarck is not killed outright it will begin another cycle.
Loot
Lore
Inspiration often finds us in surprising ways. So it was that a casual mention of skyfishing helped Cid Garlond conceive a plan to lure out Bismarck, the Lord of the Mists, by using the Enterprise to tow an island through the Sea of Clouds. After binding the beast with chains fired from dragonkillers, he hopes you can engage it in the traditional fashion. Though the plan is somewhat sound in theory, there is no telling how effective it will be in practice. Nevertheless, the engineer has seen you through many dangerous situations in the past, so at least the odds are in his favor...