On this page you can find all the details needed to defeat Hippokampos, the second boss in the Pandaemonium Normal Raid in Asphodelos: The Second Circle in Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker (FFXIV). Details on the mechanics along with how to tank and heal.

Mechanics¶

Murky Depths¶

This is a raid-wide attack that deals moderate damage to all party members. Simply heal up and use Shields to mitigate.

Doubled Impact¶

This is a shared Tankbuster, both Tanks must group up and use defensive cooldowns to mitigate the damage. The main Tank will have the marker so run over to your Off-Tank if they’re not coming to you.

Spoken Cataract¶

There will be two markers here, indicating two AoEs. The red arrow will see a large AoE across the front and center of the Hippokampos while the orange arrow will be a line-AoE. To avoid this, you must go to the side opposite the red arrow and away from the orange arrow.

Sewage Deluge¶

Hippokampos will perform raid-wide damage and raise the water around the entire arena and the center, leaving only the raised platforms and the drains between them as safe spots. If you step into the water at any point, you’ll take moderate water damage over time.

Tainted Flood¶

Six of the players will be targeted with a circle AoE, you must spread out to avoid dropping them on other players. This is best achieved with one on each platform with two on the drains in-between.

Predatory Sight¶

Every player in the raid will receive the Mark of Easy Prey debuff with a triangle marker above them. Every player needs to be stacked with at least one other player to avoid receiving a Vulnerability stack.

Shockwave¶

This is a knockback marker on a random platform, ensure you’re positioned so as to not be pushed back into the water. Alternatively, use Arm’s Length or Surecast to null the knockback. This will later be combined with Dissociation.

Dissociation¶

Hippokampos will remove its head and it will show up on one side of the arena. Get to the other side of the arena as it will perform a cleave on that side of the arena. This attack is later combined with other mechanics such as Sewage Deluge.

Coherence¶

The Main Tank will be marked with three white arrows indicating a flare marker while another player will have a regular stack marker. The Main Tank should move away from the rest of the raid while the other players group up for the regular stack marker.

Sewage Eruption¶

Circle AoEs will appear under the raid and follow them, group up during the cast and head across the safe spots to avoid being struck. This will later be combined with Dissociation, limiting your safe spots so pay attention to which side of the arena is safe and ensure you end up there.

Strategy¶

Hippokampos is one of the tougher bosses for the first raid tier of Pandaemonium, there’s a lot of mechanics going on at once and it can quickly become chaotic if you don’t know what to expect. It will always begin the battle with Murky Depths, this is a raid-wide and you should have already prepared for this with Shields/Regen pre-battle. The Tanks should prepare for Doubled Impact after this, a shared Tankbuster so be sure to save a strong defensive cooldown for it.

Hippokampos will then retreat to the center of the arena and use Spoken Cataract for the first time, this will perform an arena cleave on its body and in front of its head (the red arrow) along with a line-AoE across its body where it’s tail is (the orange arrow), ensure you’re at the back of the Hippokampos but away from the tail to avoid this attack, it can perform this attack twice at this point of the battle. Ready up for a Murky Depths following the Spoken Cataracts.

It will then use Sewage Deluge for the first time, this will limit your safe spots in the arena as it will become surrounded by water along with the center having a whirlpool. If at any point a player comes into contact with the water, you’ll gain a debuff and take moderate water damage over time. Instead, stay on the raised platforms or the drains that lead between each platform. Hippokampos will use new mechanics during this phase, often starting with Tainted Flood, this will target six players with a circle AoE that they should spread out and drop on safe spots. This is usually the four raised platforms with the other two players dropping it on a drain between them.

Predatory Sight will follow, marking everyone with Mark of Easy Prey before marking them all with a triangle. You must stand with at least one other player to remove the debuff and avoid receiving a stack of Vulnerability. Get ready for Shockwave that follows this, this will target one of the platforms with a knockback marker and every player will need to ensure that they get pushed back to a safe spot, not the water. If you have Arm’s Length or Surecast available, you can use it to null the knockback effect. This will end the first Sewage Deluge phase.

Hippokampos will then use Dissociation to remove its head before growing another, pay attention to the edge of the arena as the head will appear on one of the edges. Get to the opposite side of the arena as the head as it will soon fire off an AoE across that side of the arena. Coherence will follow this, placing a flare marker (large white arrows) on the Main Tank along with a regular stack marker for the rest of the raid to deal with. The Main Tank should run away from the regular stack marker and use a defensive cooldown, leaving the rest of the raid to stack for the other marker.

The next time that Hippokampos uses Sewage Deluge, you’ll have to deal with multiple mechanics at the same time, starting with using Spoken Cataract leaving only a few safe spots to stand on. You may also see Sewage Eruption here, the raid should group up on the same safe spot during its cast and then keep moving across the safe spots as you drop AoE circles. If you don’t group up before, you may run out of safe spots due to players taking up all of them with their AoE circles, this is especially true when it begins using Dissociation during this mechanic.

The rest of the battle will follow this pattern, with the Sewage Deluge phase being the main obstacle. Once you learn how to understand Spoken Cataract and where the safe spots are for Shockwave, you shouldn’t have too many issues with taking down Hippokampos.

How to Tank¶

There are two main mechanics that Tanks must be aware of for the Hippokampos battle, starting with Doubled Impact. This is a shared Tankbuster so make sure your partner Tank is standing with you, otherwise you may need to make the run to them if they’re caught unaware. Later in the battle, you’ll also have to deal with Coherence which marks you with a flare marker. Be sure to take this away from the rest of the raid to prevent it from dealing damage and allowing them to stack for their regular marker.

How to Heal¶

In terms of healing, this isn’t too taxing as a Healer, instead, your main priority is to ensure you survive the mechanics that are thrown at you. You’ll need to pay attention to Doubled Impact and make sure both Tanks have sufficient protection along with keeping an eye on the Main Tank who will receive large damage from Coherence, this may be tough as you may be stacking far away from the Tank so be sure to throw up a strong Shield or Regen as the attack begins casting and get ready for a large heal after.