Steamed Sprouts

Strategy:
This guide is not meant to be the be all, end all of strategies for BCNM40: Steamed Sprouts, definately one of the most popular and participated BCNM. It’s simply from my own experience. My record (Mesxiah) for this BCNM40 is 16-1, and this guide will educate you on how to have the same success.

The“Ideal” Party Setup:

Bard – Can’t live without Bard here, their sleep songs are way better than BLM’s Sleega.
PLD – The damage taker.
WHM – Healer and backup silencer.
RDM – Silencer and backup healer.
DRK – Damage dealer and Stunner.
MNK – To Hundred Fists the Black Mandragora.

With that said, you don’t really need the “ideal” party setup to win this thing. My party setup is a BRD, PLD, WHM, RDM, DRG and THF. Everybody said DRG and THF are useless for BCNM40, but we manage to go 8-1 with this setup. So, it’s not the jobs (besides the Bard), but it’s how peoples perform the jobs that’s the key to success.

To the strategy:

Before the fight:

• Buy food and drinks! Mages should eat pumpkin pies and have couple of drinks to refresh them. BRD and PLD should eat Fish Mithkabob (PLD should also have couple of drinks to refresh his MP) for defense boost and Melees should eat Meat Mithkabob for attack boost.
• Melees also need to buy Poison Potion to prevent from being put to sleep.
• Buffs with Protect III and Shellra II or III and have RDM cast Refresh on the mages and PLD before entering the burning circle.
• After entering the burning circle, eat your foods and have the BRD sings MP song for mages and PLD and accuracy song for melee.
• Go up to the circle, but do not rush in.
• Make sure you have auto-target off.

• BRD, PLD, RDM and the Melees should go up to the edge of the circle while the WHM stands back.
• Have the melees lock target on the Black Mandragora (the RDM should lock it on target also and get Elemental Seal ready – if he sub BLM).
• The PLD then casts Banish on the Black Mandragora and the RDM immediately silence it. After that the RDM needs to run back to the WHM and they both should stay away so they don’t get put to sleep by the mandragora dance.
• All the mandragoras will rush to the PLD and beat the living crap out of him. Just stay calm and let BRD do sleep song.
• Fight in the hallway and take the Black Mandragora down as fast as possible (melees can use their offensive 2-hours ability, such as Hundred Fists, if you’re planning to do this only once every two hours).
• RDM needs to stick with Silence all the time! You cannot let the Black Mandragora casts Flood or Paralyga!
• PLD needs to use Shield Bash and Flat Blade to stop Flood! Monk needs to save their TP for Shoulder Tackle to stop Flood! DRK needs to use Weapon Bash and Stun to stop Flood! If it gets Flood off your Tank will die.
• However, even if Flood gets off and your Tank dies, do not panic! Calmly raise him and let the other melees tank until weakness wore off. The only person that cannot be dead is the Bard. The Bard is the most important person in the party; the only time we lost was because our Bard died.
• So that’s the main job of the WHM – keep the bard alive at all cost!
• The main job of the Bard is obviously to continuously keep the mandragoras asleep.
• Once the Black Mandragora dies, you’re basically home free. Let the PLD select the next target and the melees /assist him. Kill them one at a time and you will win.

• From continuously sleeping the mandragoras, the BRD with generate a lot of hate, so the PLD must do his best to get the each mandragora off him after the black one dies.
• RDM can Convert midway through battle to get MP and switch off the healing with WHM if MP gets low.