Hullbreaker Isle is one of the three new dungeons in FFXIV’s patch 2.3. This dungeon adds several new mechanics. For this guide, I’ll only cover the boss mechanics as the rest is pretty simple.
There are three boss fights in this dungeon. Each one has unique mechanics, making the dungeon very entertaining. I’ve split this guide up based on the bosses: Sasquatch, Sjoorm, Kraken.
Sasquatch:
He goes bananas for bananas.
Sasquatch really only has one actual attack to watch for, this attack is called Stool Pelt. It’s an AoE attack that deals considerable damage to those hit by it. It’s very easy to get out of so there is no real threat.
Primary Mechanic:
Here’s the meat and potatoes of the fight. Sasquatch will occasionally summon adds during the fight. After the adds spawn a message pops up that Sasquatch is hungry and agitated. during this time Sasquatch stands on 2 legs and roars. Each roar adds a stack of Vulnerability Up to the player and deals damage.
The primary objective during this is for one person, primarily the healer to click on a tree to drop bananas. However, make sure all the adds are dead before dropping bananas, as they will steal them. When Sasquatch goes to eat the bananas the roar attack stops and the Vulnerability Up status drops off the players. Eating the bananas gives Sasquatch a damage increase buff and a minor heal, so make sure only one set of bananas is dropped per phase.
The only other thing of note is at low health, Sasquatch does a charging attack in a random direction. Just watch out for this, I don’t believe there is any way to avoid it though.
Sjoorm:
Bubble your way to safety!
Sjoorm only has one named attack, Upwell. Upwell deals considerable damage in a straight line. This attack is easily avoidable.
Primary Mechanics:
Sjoorm summons bubbles around the map randomly at set intervals, make note of their locations but don’t touch them when they spawn. These bubbles are for protecting you from the underground attacks that Sjoorm does.
Before going underground, Sjoorm drops several bubbles from the ceiling that damage players caught in the AoE. Once underground, Sjoorm will do one of two things: he’ll tunnel around splashing water up or make a big whirlpool in the center of the room. His attack is based on the pattern: splash, whirlpool, splash, whirlpool, continuing on until it dies.
The “splash” attack can be avoided just by running, but the targeted person can use the bubble if they are lazy. If hit by the splash attack, you’ll receive a debuff that deals water damage over time. During a whirlpool everyone will need to get in a bubble. If timed right you’ll take no damage from the whirlpool. The whirlpool is not a guaranteed wipe if you miss your bubbles, it’s just massive damage that has the possibility to 1-shot lesser geared players.
Tricks and Tips to Using Bubbles:
- Bubbles stun you for the duration you’re inside them.
- During your stay in the bubble, your health ticks down slowly, but it’s negligible damage.
- If you can’t avoid the “splash” attack jump in a bubble and it won’t hit you.
- Before the Whirlpool starts, the ground will start pulsing. This is when you enter the bubble to avoid the whirlpool.
- When you exit a bubble the bubble explodes doing AoE damage to the group. It’s not serious damage, but be mindful of it.
Kraken:
Release the Kraken!!!
While you don’t actually fight the Kraken, you do fight its tentacles. This fight is more about situational awareness and efficient positioning than anything else.The goal is to down eight Kraken’s Arms and two Kraken’s Tentacles. In every clear I’ve done, we kill the eight Arms first. The reason for this is the Tentacles have a tendency to move around a lot, so we kill the stationary targets first.
Basically there are four islands, and each island will have one Arm at the start and another that spawns when the first Arm dies. Each island also has three water spouts that allow travel between the islands. Keep in mind though that every time you take a spout you receive a debuff that decreases your max HP and increase the damage you take. This debuff stacks up to five times, but wears off if you stop taking spouts long enough.
The big danger in this fight is tornado placement. When you get the green orb, take it to an island you’ve already cleared. This prevents it from being a nuisance when you’re ready to move to the next island. Even if you have 5 stacks of the spout debuff, make sure to leave the island once you’ve placed the tornado.
There are a few specific things of note:
- Ink adds a debuff that is cleansed by taking a water spout.
- A green orb on your head means a water tornado will drop in whatever location you’re in after a set amount of time. Drop these away from your party on another island. A poorly placed tornado will wipe the party.
- Kraken’s head attacks randomly, there is no way to control who gets hit. Just ignore it and manage your HP.
- The Tentacles will randomly stun and throw a target player. Make sure the healer tops this person off either before or after the throw, as there is a slight delay between the stun and the throw.
- Don’t be afraid to Limit Break. There is no “final boss,” so it’s okay to use it early.
- The fully stacked water debuff takes me down to around 5k health from my initial 7k health. It’s okay to wait a moment or two for it to wear off before rejoining the group if there are no Arms near you. The exceptions to this are the healer, or if a tornado was just placed on the island you’re on.
This wraps up my guide on the Hullbreaker Isle dungeon. For more tips, please check out my FFXIV guide directory.
