That moment with Vexie was amazing. It was sad because I had JUST planted out a Feast Table for everyone, but just seeing 3/4th of the raid get wiped was amazing, and while it was sad about the table, it was one of those “gotcha’s” that doesn’t feel cheap since its right there at the start. You just respawn and are like “Okay, future note, stay by the hotel entrance. Let’s not do that again.”
Cauldron was just a fun spectacle of a fight. Even though I didn’t understand the mechanics (as I was healing and was more focused on not getting stunned by the build-up) it was neat seeing them go toe-to-toe every other minute.
Rik was interesting, the second I saw the “jump” mechanic I was instantly taken back to Anseruk but far more involved in comparison to her fight where it was just two hops. Though, man was it annoying trying to heal during those jump portions and running to each amplifier (especially if they were placed just a bit too far apart.)
Strix was where we first hit a wall last night. The bombs kept going off, giving a raid-wide DOT that could not be cleansed and lasted for an entire minute. (Just a useful tip, if you are picked to play discount Katamari with rolling the junk balls around, you can pick up enemy mobs and they do increase your size. So if you’re struggling to find trash to pick up to increase your size in time before the bomb goes off, go for the enemy ads, your raid will thank you later. :3)
But besides that, once we understood that was where we were messing up we got through it after around six or seven attempts.
Monger was really fun dodging lasers on the conveyor belt. Ended up getting the additional challenging achievement from him that I believe is tied to Glory of insert raid here achievement.* Possibly. But, still, was chaotic fun in a tight enclosed space.
The One Armed Bandit? I agree, was such an absurd idea. Like, seriously? Are we seriously about to fight a sentient rigged slot machine as a boss where his gimmick is all about inserting coins and working to ensure no repeat combination shows up? I love it. Dumb, but enjoyable, and very creative for a casino raid.
Mug’Zee… dear Elune THIS guy should have been the final boss. The amount of wipes on him alone easily surpassed the wipes on any other boss in the raid. When looking back his mechanics aren’t even that mechanically deep. Just two different forms of soaks, take them to the wall to minimize the impact they have on the arena, and do not get him caught in the Gaol soak, less the elementals enrages. But between the soak mechanic, the adds, the AOE’s, and the permanent affixes onto the ground via the soaks, he was a monster of an encounter that wiped us more than any other.
And lastly, Gallywix? Now in comparison, despite there being more to him, he didn’t feel nearly as “what are we looking at?” when in comparison to his bodyguard. Still difficult, still wiped several times across two different attempts (yesterday and then earlier today) but felt more manageable in comparison to Mug’Zee.
But honestly, despite everything, the raid was and is very enjoyable. Difficult, but it feels like its on the same level as Palace where likely come mid-way through the season guilds and avid pug groups/players will have the mechanics down generally smoothly. Some of the touches was the casino itself, which felt like a glitzy casino that barely is able to hide the veneer and corruption under the gold. And the racers/motorcyclists outside just waiting to splatter an unassuming raider? Lol.
My only complaint is that there’s perhaps a bit too many mobs outside. It was not uncommon for people to be immediately dismounted from their cars for approaching a group of mobs that were around a corner while trying to avoid the drivers on the road. But overall, the raid is great, really glad I got to partake in a raid early on in its release window instead of coming in late. Learning boss mechanics and just good old fashion trial and error is a lot of fun.