In Final Fantasy XIV there is a level-70 boss that cannot be defeated alone, even with a character at level 100 and the best gear. A persistent player took on the challenge and managed to succeed after over 200 hours of gameplay.
What kind of boss is this? The boss in question is Susano, a primal from the 2017 expansion Stormblood. The normal version of the fight takes place at level 63 as part of the main story. The harder version of the fight, Godslayer Susano, can be unlocked at level 70.
As part of a solo-only challenge, streamer and YouTuber RathGames attempted Susano alone: his goal is to complete all main content of Final Fantasy XIV completely on his own. Susano at level 63 threw a wrench in his plans.
What the player, of course, did not let stand – even though it ultimately took him 85 days.
A small spoiler: The key to success was the new class Piktomant. Here you can learn more about it:
Susano is not supposed to be defeated alone
Why can’t the boss be defeated solo? Susano’s fight consists of three phases. The second is a transition where the boss attempts to split the arena with his sword twice. A tank or particularly well-equipped attacker must catch the sword while the rest of the group attacks it.
If the DPS check is passed twice, the third phase begins. If the check is not passed, the fight ends, and you must start over. If you are alone, the mechanic and the fight are therefore impossible: you cannot catch the sword at the same time and attack it.
After 85 days and over 200 hours of gameplay to victory
How did the player manage to do it? RathGames eventually defeated Susano. To do this, he had to find a way to completely skip or prevent the second phase with the sword strikes.
This is only possible by bringing Susano to 0 hit points before the first sword strike is triggered. After the start of the second phase with 40% health remaining, there are 14 seconds left to deal enough burst damage to finish off the remaining points. RathGames himself saw the Piktomant, one of the two new classes, as his only chance and asked his viewers for help.
The final strategy from the community:
- Level the Piktomant to level 100 so that it can deal the required remaining damage of 850,000 within the 14 seconds with the Echo buff.
- Use Star Prism to save yourself with the healing potential of 400 just before the KO.
- Achieve the impossible.
Step one took the longest: In total, it cost RathGames over 200 hours of gameplay in 85 days to get the Piktomant to max level. If you are only in Stormblood and especially have to do all content alone to not deviate from the solo challenge, you are left with the Palace of the Dead and Khol’s Adventure Album to farm experience points.
A patch almost thwarted the player’s plans – the Piktomant could have been nerfed. In the end, however, only the other new class was nerfed.
On September 8, 2024, RathGames finally succeeded: he defeated Susano completely alone. Here you can watch the full victorious run:
The fact that RathGames has beaten Susano entirely alone is a truly impressive achievement. This boss is not meant to be slain solo, and only the burst damage of the currently incredibly strong Piktomant made this possible.
Now the streamer can finally advance the story of Final Fantasy XIV and continue his solo challenge. He will likely need some good strategies along the way. Those who want to imitate RathGames and also defeat Susano completely alone should hurry:
Final Fantasy XIV is regularly updated. A patch could have nullified the player’s strategy here as well. And Naoki Yoshida, the director and producer of the MMORPG, regularly thinks about the balancing and the difficulty of the game: The head of Final Fantasy XIV was concerned that the new dungeons were too difficult – players say: “That’s just how it’s fun”
