Anabaseios: The Twelfth Circle (Savage) - Part 2

Game8 has listed out a strat, but oddly did not published a macro.

Nukemaru has published a video outlining the PF strat:

(English subtitled)

Things to check on Party Finder

Check the Caloric Theory 1 strat.
- Japanese parties will go with Mochibe’s strat
- English parties will go with Papan’s original strat.
Check whether the party will line up for Pangenesis (パンゲ整列).
- Parties that will not line up for Pangenesis will mention something like 非整列 or 整列なし.

Japanese (Nukemaru + Mochibe’s Caloric 1)

Japanese parties will do Mochibe’s strat for Caloric Theory 1.

【パラスの手】  T:西　他:東
【サモンダークネス】北＞西:TH　南＞東:DPS
 【デミハルペリオン】
         MT   ST              　MT　 　ST　
    H1              H2           H1　     H2　 　 H1  MT  ST  H2
               ●         　　　　　  ●　　    　　　  　  ●
   D3               D4           D3　　 D4　       D3  D1  D2  D4
          D1   D2       　　  D1　　 D2　
【イデア】 西←〇×△□→東　 α:北　β:南
【パラスレイX処理】
  ●　　●　　●　　●
  〇α ★ ×α 　△α ★ □α　 2回目は〇×△□反転
  ●　　●　　●　　●　　 ※誘導後→★に入る
  〇β ★ ×β　 △β ★ □β
  ●　　●　　●　　●
【カロリック1】※もちべ式
  炎マーカー頭割り・・・西:TH　東:DPS
  風炎:MTSTH1H2D1D2D3D4の順でAから時計
【エクピロシス】
   MT  ST
   D1  D2　   MT  D1  D2  ST　
   H1  H2　   D3  H1  H2  D4   
   D3  D4
【パンゲネシス】MT:西無敵、他:南(東側)
   極性なし:西←MTSTH1H2D1D2D3D4→東
   無職:スライム 西：1マーカー、東：2マーカー
【カロリック2回目】
 　　H2　　　　 マーカー:MTと交代
 D1　　　D4　    ※反時計/最後中央行かずに２回移動
 　　MT　　　 　
 ST　　　D2
 　　H1
 　　　 　D3
【サモンダークネス+デミ2】（MTD1が奥まで走る）
   安置の逆側＞MT/D1　ST/D2　H1/D3　H2/D4＜安置
【サモンダークネス(線)】
　MT/D1　ST/D2　H1/D3　H2/D4ペアで処理

English translation

【Palladian Grasp】Tank → W　Others → E
【Summon Darkness】N/W → T/H　S/E → DPS
【Demi Parhelion】
　　MT　 ST　　　MT　　ST　
　H1　　　H2　　H1　　H2　　H1 MT ST H2
  　　　●　　　　　　 ●　　　　　　　●
　D3　　　D4　　D3　　D4　　D3 D1 D2 D4
　　D1　D2　　　D1　　D2　
【The Classical Concepts】
　※ Go to Blue：West ← 〇×▽□ → East
　α → Block Red ▲　　β → Block Yellow ■
【Palladian Ray - X-formation】
  ●　　●　　●　　●　　2nd round：Flip 〇×▽□
  〇α ★ ×α 　△α ★ □α　※ Bait then go to ★
  ●　　●　　●　　●
  〇β ★ ×β　 △β ★ □β
  ●　　●　　●　　●
【Caloric Theory 1 (Mochibe strat)】
　Fire stacks：　TH → West　　DPS → East
　Fire + Wind debuffs:
　　CW from A： MT ST H1 H2 D1 D2 D3 D4
【Ekpyrosis】
　MT　ST
　D1　D2　　MT  D1  D2  ST
　H1　H2　　D3  H1  H2  D4
　D3　D4
【Pangenesis】　MT：Invuln West Others: East
  Colourless：W ← MTSTH1H2D1D2D3D4 → E
　No stacks：Slimes → W to 1, E to 2
【Caloric Theory 2 (Starting positions)】
　　　H2　　　　 Red Marker: Swap with MT
　D1　　　D4　　※Pass CCW - last player moves
　　　MT　　　　　 twice without going mid
　ST　　　D2
　　　H1
　　　　　D3
【Summon Darkness + Demi Parhelion】
　※ MTD1 runs to the other side
　Moves＞ MTD1　STD2　H1D3　H2D4 ＜Stays
【Summon Darkness (Tethers)】
　Resolve in pairs: MTD1　STD2　H1D3　H2D4

Markers (Mochibe)

The following markers are for Mochibe’s Caloric Theory 1 strat:

XIVLauncher WaymarkPresetPlugin positions

{
  "Name":"P12S-2 (Mochibe)",
  "MapID":943,
  "A":{"X":97.67,"Y":0.0,"Z":92.67,"ID":0,"Active":true},
  "B":{"X":102.33,"Y":0.0,"Z":92.67,"ID":1,"Active":true},
  "C":{"X":102.33,"Y":0.0,"Z":97.33,"ID":2,"Active":true},
  "D":{"X":97.67,"Y":0.0,"Z":97.33,"ID":3,"Active":true},
  "One":{"X":99.0,"Y":0.0,"Z":81.0,"ID":4,"Active":true},
  "Two":{"X":119.0,"Y":0.0,"Z":91.0,"ID":5,"Active":true},
  "Three":{"X":105.67,"Y":0.0,"Z":101.0,"ID":6,"Active":true},
  "Four":{"X":94.33,"Y":0.0,"Z":101.0,"ID":7,"Active":true}
}

English (Nukemaru + Papan’s Caloric 1)

This is the preferred strat by EN, and follows Papan’s Original Toolbox.

Take note that Papan’s strat has updated versions going around in other data centers, so take note if you are going to reference other guides.

English (Papan)

【Palladian Grasp】Tank → W　Others → E
【Summon Darkness】N/W → T/H　S/E → DPS
【Demi Parhelion】
　　MT　 ST　　　MT　　ST　
　H1　　　H2　　H1　　H2　　H1 MT ST H2
  　　　●　　　　　　 ●　　　　　　　●
　D3　　　D4　　D3　　D4　　D3 D1 D2 D4
　　D1　D2　　　D1　　D2　
【The Classical Concepts】
　※ Go to Blue：West ← 〇×▽□ → East
　α → Block Red ▲　　β → Block Yellow ■
【Palladian Ray - X-formation】
  ●　　●　　●　　●　　2nd round：Flip 〇×▽□
  〇α ★ ×α 　△α ★ □α　※ Bait then go to ★
  ●　　●　　●　　●
  〇β ★ ×β　 △β ★ □β
  ●　　●　　●　　●
【Caloric Theory 1 (Papan)】
　　  D3　　　T/M： Preposition at ★　
　H1 ★ D4　  T/H mark：Swap with H1
　　  H2　　　DPS mark：Swap with D4
　■ Players at ★ fill in *empty* spots：
　　　W (ccw) ← H1 MT ST D2 D1 D4 → N (cw)
　■ 2x Fire stacks：
　　　Rotate to E + W stacks, CW priority
【Ekpyrosis】
　MT　ST
　D1　D2　　MT  D1  D2  ST
　H1　H2　　D3  H1  H2  D4
　D3　D4
【Pangenesis】　MT：Invuln West Others: East
　Colourless：W ← MTSTH1H2D1D2D3D4 → E
　No stacks：Slimes → W to , E to 
【Caloric Theory 2 (Starting positions)】
　　　H2　　　　 Red Marker: Swap with MT
　D1　　　D4　　※Pass CCW - last player moves
　　　MT　　　　　 twice without going mid
　ST　　　D2
　　　H1
　　　　　D3
【Summon Darkness + Demi Parhelion】
　※ MTD1 runs to the other side
　Moves＞ MTD1　STD2　H1D3　H2D4 ＜Stays
【Summon Darkness (Tethers)】
　Resolve in pairs: MTD1　STD2　H1D3　H2D4

Japanese translation

【パラスの手】  T:西　他:東
【サモンダークネス】北＞西:TH　南＞東:DPS
 【デミハルペリオン】
         MT   ST              　MT　 　ST　
    H1              H2           H1　     H2　 　 H1  MT  ST  H2
               ●         　　　　　  ●　　    　　　  　  ●
   D3               D4           D3　　 D4　       D3  D1  D2  D4
          D1   D2       　　  D1　　 D2　
【イデア】 西←〇×△□→東　 α:北　β:南
【パラスレイX処理】
  ●　　●　　●　　●
  〇α ★ ×α 　△α ★ □α　 2回目は〇×△□反転
  ●　　●　　●　　●　　 ※誘導後→★に入る
  〇β ★ ×β　 △β ★ □β
  ●　　●　　●　　●
【カロリック (Papan式)】
　　  D3　　　タンク近接：★に立っておく　
　H1 ★ D4　  T/H：H1と入れ替わり
　　  H2　　　DPS：D4と入れ替わり
　■ ★にいる方が空いてるところへ：
　　　西から半時計周り：H1 > MT > ST
　　　北から時計周り：D4 > D1 > D2
　最後に時計回り優先で東西でペア処理する
【エクピロシス】
   MT  ST
   D1  D2　   MT  D1  D2  ST　
   H1  H2　   D3  H1  H2  D4   
   D3  D4
【パンゲネシス】MT:西無敵、他:南(東側)
   極性なし:西←MTSTH1H2D1D2D3D4→東
   無職:スライム 西：1マーカー、東：2マーカー
【カロリック2回目】
 　　H2　　　　 マーカー:MTと交代
 D1　　　D4　    ※反時計/最後中央行かずに２回移動
 　　MT　　　 　
 ST　　　D2
 　　H1
 　　　 　D3
【サモンダークネス+デミ2】（MTD1が奥まで走る）
   安置の逆側＞MT/D1　ST/D2　H1/D3　H2/D4＜安置
【サモンダークネス(線)】
　MT/D1　ST/D2　H1/D3　H2/D4ペアで処理

Markers (Papan)

The following markers are for Papan’s Caloric Theory 1 strat.

The BD markers are 9 yalms away from the corresponding east/west markers, which indicate the distance a player can travel before gaining a Close Caloric stack.

XIVLauncher WaymarkPresetPlugin positions

{
  "Name":"P12S-2 (Papan)",
  "MapID":943,
  "A":{"X":100.0,"Y":0.0,"Z":89.0,"ID":0,"Active":true},
  "B":{"X":104.0,"Y":0.0,"Z":93.0,"ID":1,"Active":true},
  "C":{"X":100.0,"Y":0.0,"Z":97.0,"ID":2,"Active":true},
  "D":{"X":96.0,"Y":0.0,"Z":93.0,"ID":3,"Active":true},
  "One":{"X":99.0,"Y":0.0,"Z":81.0,"ID":6,"Active":true},
  "Two":{"X":113.0,"Y":0.0,"Z":93.0,"ID":5,"Active":true},
  "Three":{"X":119.0,"Y":0.0,"Z":91.0,"ID":7,"Active":true},
  "Four":{"X":87.0,"Y":0.0,"Z":93.0,"ID":4,"Active":true}
}

Classical Concepts

The first part of both Classical Concepts will be determining where you stand.

A bunch of shapes will appear on the arena. When the mechanic resolves, each blue icosahedron will tether to an adjacent red pyramid and an adjacent yellow cube.

If two shapes tether together, the raid wipes. The objective is to have all eight party members block the shapes from tethering together by standing in between the shapes.

Each column will have one blue icosahedron.

Identify your column's blue icosahedron based on your Playstation marker:

〇: 1st column
×: 2nd column
▽: 3rd column
□: 4th column

Then, stand between your column's blue icosahedron and an adjacent shape based on your α or β debuff:

α: Stand between the blue icosahedron and the red pyramid.
β: Stand between the blue icosahedron and the yellow cube.

If your blue icosahedron has two adjacent shapes of the same type, stand between the one that does not have another blue icosahedron next to it.

Classical Concepts #2 adds a Panta Rhei just before the mechanics resolve, which rotates all the shapes around 180 degrees. Players will first determine where they stand before the rotation happens, before moving to their positions post-rotation.

There is a site built for Classical Concepts that you can use for practice:

https://idea-elemental.pages.dev/

Palladian Ray

Palladian Rays need to be baited at the end of each Classical Concepts. However, because the mechanics resolve in a different order each time, the way the Rays are baited will also change.

The most common way to bait the rays is:

Baiting the first Rays in a ‘K’-formation.
Baiting the second Rays in an ‘X’-formation.

Palladian Ray #1

Players will dodge the shapes' AoEs first, then bait the Palladian Rays in this formation (that looks like the letter 'K').

Palladian Ray #2

Players will bait the Palladian Rays between the shapes in this formation (which will looks like the letter 'X') first, then dodge the shapes' AoEs (which also avoids the lingering cone AoEs).

Note that because of Panta Rhei (which rotated all the shapes), the 〇×▽□ order is flipped (although α still takes the north, and β takes the south).

Caloric Theory 1

There are two strategies used for Caloric Theory 1.

Mochibe’s Caloric Theory 1

This is the strategy favoured by Japanese parties.

1. One random tank/healer and one random DPS will be targeted with a Fire mark. In this example, ST and D3 are marked for Fire. Marked players: Stand on either side of the blue-line intersection above the A and B markers. Tank/healer: Stand to the west of the intersection. DPS: Stand to the east of the intersection. All other players: Stand between the C and D markers.
2. One of the marked players (at random) will be targeted for a shared damage AoE (shared between both marked players). The party also takes raid-wide damage. All party members get marked with either Pyrefaction (Fire ) or Atmosfaction (Wind ) debuffs. The two marked players are guaranteed to get Wind. The remaining four Fire and two Wind debuffs are randomly distributed among the six unmarked players. In this example: MT, D1, D2, D4 are marked for Fire. ST, H1, H2, D3 are marked for Wind.
3. Move to create four pairs of Fire + Wind. Initially marked players: Follow the blue line on the ground west/east, and stop directly above the A and B markers. All other players: Take turns moving into position, following the priority order. Clockwise from A: MT ST H1 H2 D1 D2 D3 D4 The pairs on the north side should stand in the markers, but above the blue line. Similarly, the pairs on the south side should stand in the markers, but below the blue line. In this example, we have: A (NW): MT (Fire), ST (Wind) B (NE): D1 (Fire), D3 (Wind) C (SE): D2 (Fire), H1 (Wind) D (SW): D4 (Fire), H2 (Wind)
4. Fire stacks resolve. Two of the four players that had Fire (at random) will keep their Fire debuffs. In this example, MT and D4 kept their Fire debuff.
5. Wind players move out, while (previously) Fire players rearrange themselves to create two Fire + no-debuff pairs at the B and D markers. Wind players: Move diagonally outwards to the next blue-line intersection on the ground. (Previously) Fire players: Either move vertically, or criss-cross to create two pairs at the A and B markers. In this example, D4 and D2 have to cross diagonally (the worst-case scenario).
6. Fire stacks and Wind AoEs resolve.

Papan’s Original Caloric Theory 1

This is the strategy favoured by English parties. Note that there are many versions of Papan’s Caloric Theory 1 strat. The one used here is not the same version used in NA.

1. Preposition with the healers + ranged at their assigned spots, and the tanks + melee in the middle of all the markers. One random tank/healer and one random DPS will be targeted with a Fire mark. In this example, ST and D3 are marked for Fire.
2. Swap positions as needed to get the marked players on the east (B) and west (D) markers. Marked tank/healer: Swap positions with H1 (west). Marked DPS: Swap positions with D4 (east). The players on the B and D markers should stand in the markers, but towards the party in the middle.
3. One of the marked players (at random) will be targeted for a shared damage AoE (shared with all the players in the middle). The party also takes raid-wide damage. All party members get marked with either Pyrefaction (Fire ) or Atmosfaction (Wind ) debuffs. The two marked players are guaranteed to get Wind. The remaining four Fire and two Wind debuffs are randomly distributed among the six unmarked players. In this example: MT, D1, D2, D4 are marked for Fire. ST, H1, H2, D3 are marked for Wind.
4. Move to create four pairs of Fire + Wind. Take turns moving into position, following the priority order. CCW from West: H1 MT ST D2 D1 D4 :CW from North (This is essentially ranged adjust first, then melee, with the MT group going first.) In this example, we have: North: D4 (Fire), H1 (Wind) East: D1 (Fire), D3 (Wind) South: D2 (Fire), H2 (Wind) West: MT (Fire), ST (Wind)
5. Fire stacks resolve. Two of the four players that had Fire (at random) will keep their Fire debuffs. In this example, MT and D4 kept their Fire debuff.
6. Wind players move out, while (previously) Fire players rearrange themselves to create two Fire + no-debuff pairs at the B and D markers. Wind players: Move out to either the blue-line intersection on the ground (if you are North or South), or to the next set of waymarks (if you are East or West). (Previously) Fire players: Rotate as needed to create two pairs at the A and B markers. Prioritise rotating clockwise, but be prepared to rotate anti-clockwise if clockwise doesn't give the correct configuration. In this example, D4 and D2 rotate clockwise.
7. Fire stacks and Wind AoEs resolve.

Pangenesis

The Pangenesis strat done here is the “2+1” variant. The numbers refer to the number of stacks of the two players that take the first towers (in this case, the players with two stacks, and one stack).

One variation between EN and JP is whether players will line up prior to Pangenesis’ cast, the idea being that by having the relevant debuffed players move forwards or backwards, it would be easier to identify your partner.

English parties prefer lining up, and have the players with 1 stack move forward, and no stacks move backwards. You can then identify your partner, and then the player on the west side of each pair takes the west tower, etc.
Japanese parties will often not line up (you’ll see 非整列 in PF comments), instead choosing to identify your partner via the party list.

1. Raid-wide damage and debuffs appear. Players take up their initial positions. No debuff or 1 stack: Find the other player with the same debuff, and determine who goes west/east via the priority West: MT ST H1 H2 D1 D2 D3 D4 :East Then, preposition at your tower based on your debuff: No debuff: Go to where the second North-side tower will spawn. 1 stack: Go to where the first tower will spawn. 2 stacks: Wait in the middle, and take note of: What colour your coloured debuff is Whether you are the fast or slow debuff (look at the timer on the coloured debuff)
2. First set of coloured towers appear. 2 stacks (fast): Go into the first tower of the opposite colour to your debuff. 2 stacks (slow): Preposition at where the second South-side tower will spawn beside the opposite colour tower to your debuff.
3. First towers resolve. Wait for the slime to form before moving to the next tower. One of the two players in each tower (at random) will get a coloured debuff, and the other will not. If you received a coloured debuff: Go to the second North-side tower. If you did not receive a coloured debuff: Go to the second South-side tower.
4. Second towers resolve. Wait for the slime to form before moving to the next tower. One of the two players in each tower (at random) will get a coloured debuff, and the other will not. If you received a coloured debuff: Cross diagonally to the opposite-coloured tower. If you did not receive a coloured debuff: Move horizontally to the same-coloured tower as before.
5. Third towers resolve. Wait for the slime to form before moving south. There will be three slimes on each side as the result of all the fusions. Players that started with no stacks: Gather the tethers from the slimes on your side, and go to the markers to bait AoEs. When the AoEs resolve, move to the east side of the arena. MT: Stand south on the west side of the arena and prepare to invuln Palladian Grasp. Everyone else: Stand south, on the east side of the arena.

Caloric Theory 2

The strat used passes the Fire anti-clockwise around the arena, skipping the player in the center (you’ll often see 非経由 written in PFs).

These are the starting positions for all players:

The player with the red mark will swap positions with the MT.
Each player (except the one in the center) will move exactly twice:
1. Follow the red arrow anti-clockwise around the arena when the first AoE telegraph appears.
2. Follow the next white arrow when the second AoE telegraph appears.

Timeline

(Credit: u/ExiaKuromonji)

Frequently Asked Questions

[Damage Down] How strong is the damage down debuff in this fight?

The Damage Down debuff in this phase lowers a player's damage by 42%.

[Caloric Theory] How does Close Caloric gain stacks?

Close Caloric accumulates the total distance a player has moved with the debuff active.

Players gain a stack of Close Caloric when they first move, and then gain additional stacks from:

Getting hit by the Fire stacks and
Every 9 yalms of movement (accumulated)

The diagram on the right illustrates how far 9 yalms is on the arena, assuming you move in a straight line outwards.

[Caloric Theory 1 (Papan)] Why is the priority order so strange? Why is H2 and D3 missing from the priority?

Papan's strat does quite a lot of things that do not follow historical convention for some reason.

The idea behind Papan's priority is that starting from the two end points (West for tanks and healers, and North for DPS), ranged have priority before melee, with the MT group going first, over the ST group.

Put another way, it is effectively the same as:

CCW from West: H1 > MT > ST
CW from North: D4 > D1 > D2

As for why H2 and D3 are missing from the priority, recall that the priority applies to the players in the middle that need to fill in waymarked positions.

Since H2 and D3 start on a marker, and will only ever swap with H1 and D4 (who are also on markers), H2 and D3 will never be in the middle group, so there is no need for them to be in the priority list.

H1 and D4, on the other hand, do need to be in the priority order, because they may potentially swap with a melee and putting them in the middle to fill in empty spots later.

[Caloric Theory 2] Why are the starting positions like this?

This is an unfortunate case of PF converging on a suboptimal solution:

If the MT has to swap with D3, they are now out of melee range in the middle of a 2-minute burst window.
Ekpyrosis follows up immediately after Caloric 2, and the healers end up on the wrong side of the arena to where they need to be.

Unfortunately, it's the one that's standard, so we're stuck with it for the time being.