Castrum Meridianum Guide and Strategy

Castrum Meridianum​

Thanalan
Northern Thanaland (15,17)

Maps
Location of Dungeon

Requirements:
Party Size: 8
Class: Disciples of War and Magic
Time Limit: 90 minutes
Level: 50

Rewards:
100 Allagan Tomestones of Philosophy

This dungeon is required to advance in the story line. It is located in the west part of Northern Thanalan (15,17) and can be entered via the Duty Finder. You must have obtained the 'Rock the Castrum' quest to unlock this dungeon. Completing this dungeon will unlock The Praetorium.

Story
So begins the third phase of Operation: Archon, which entails a frontal assault upon Castrum Meridianum, Gaius van Baelsar's seat of power. Forming the main thrust, the Immortal Flames will strike at the stronghold with all their strength, though this is but a feint. While the garrison's eyes are drawn outwards, you and your comrades must steal past its defenses and attempt to deactivate the magitek field which protects the Praetorium, the fortress within a fortress wherein the Ultima Weapon is believed to be housed.

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Overview
Castrum Meridianum is a level 50 dungeon required to advance in the main storyline. It is the second time you will be paired up in a 8 person party, which will be 2 healers, 2 tanks, and 4 DPS. Pair up with some friends or queue up in the Duty Finder. The waiting time can be up to an hour if you are a DPS - and since it is a story quest instance, it may take even longer as the content gets older, since more and more people will have already finished it, however, there are a number of people who like to run it for Tomes of Philosophy so that should help. There are a lot of cutscenes, as well, so be sure to warn others in the group that you intend on watching them.

The dungeon is an Imperial outpost, so most of the enemies will be Magitek and Garlean Soldiers. The trash pulls are pretty harmless and if you have two competent healers, the tanks can even pull two mobs at once. There are a few mobs that can be skipped entirely, so be sure to stay close to the walls to stay out of line-of-sight from these enemies. You must deactivate spotlights as you venture through the dungeon, so be on the lookout. Cid will also show-up a few times to help you with your endeavours, what a nice guy!

After the 1st boss, there will be cannons that can be fired at enemies, so have the tanks kite/pull the larger enemies to these cannons and have the other players in the party shoot them down. This isn't necessary but will help speed up the dungeon a bit. You may notice that some people in the group will try to move quick - as some like to run this dungeon as a speed run for their tomes of Philosophy (just a warning!). There is no real loot in this dungeon except for a few small treasures that have potions.

The Black Eft
Taxonomy: Bloodless/Forgekin/Magitek Armor
HP: 65,700
Location: Castrum Meridianum - Still Waters (11,10)

This boss if fairly straight forward, the only real issue are the adds when they come out. Have one tank pickup the boss (Warrior if available) and other round up the adds once they come out (A Paladin is preferred here since they can 'Flash' for AoE enmity). The off tank can help DPS the boss for a good 20-25 seconds but then should start waiting for the adds to enter from the main entrance or from either one of the sides (left or right). The adds will be Imperial War Hound and a 8th Cohort Laquearius which both do small frontal cones... Sometimes there is also an Imperial Signifer that will cast sleep. The main things to look out for in this fight are:

• Adds: The Black Eft will summon adds that do frontal cones. The off-tank should immediately round up all the adds and have DPS burn them down quickly.
  
• Magitek Cannon: A large AoE circle casted by the main boss.

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Magitek Vanguard F-I
Taxonomy: Bloodless/Forgekin/Vanguard
HP: 87,600
Location: Castrum Meridianum - Via Principalis - Area V (11,11)

The second boss in the Castrum is the Magitek Vanguard F-I. The battle is much like the first fight, meaning the main boss will have a few AoEs you need to avoid but the main focus are the adds! One tank should tank Magitek Vanguard F-I while the second tank grabs adds that spawn at the doors. The Off Tank should immediately grab the large add called the Magitek Reaper, which should be controlled and faced away, but can be killed last, as the the other adds will die much faster.

• Cermet Drill: The Black Eft will summon adds that do frontal cones. The off-tank should immediately round up all the adds and have DPS burn them down quickly.
• Drill Cannons: A large AoE circle casted by the main boss.
• Overcharge: frontal cone AoE attack that deals heavy amount of damage and inflicts the debuff Paralysis to all players hit.

Adds

• 8th Cohort Signifer: has a fire spell that should be avoided by moving out of the ground indicator.
• 8th Cohort Sagittarius: has ranged attacks that apply DoTs to its targets.
• Magitek Reaper: has a large circular AoE ability that deals heavy damage to all targets get. Move out of the ground indicator immediately.

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Magitek Colossus Rubricatus
Taxonomy: Bloodless/Forgekin/Magitek Colossus
HP: 83,600
Location: Castrum Meridianum - Armamentarium

One tank should tank Magitek Colossus Rubricatus while the other tank tank the adds that spawn. Players should spread out to lessen the damage taken from Magitek Ray. Players should also avoid standing in front of the Magitek Vanguard H-1 adds.

• Grand Sword: is an instant frontal cleave attack that deals a moderate amount of damage to all targets hit.
• Exhaust: is a frontal column AoE attack that does a moderate amount of damage to all targets hit.
• Magitek Ray: is an instant attack that randomly targets a player and deals a moderate amount of damage to the player and nearby players.
• Magitek Field: gives Magitek Colossus Rubricatus the buff Vulnerability Down, reducing the damage it takes.

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Livia Sas Junius (Part 1)
Taxonomy: Bloodborn/Spoken/Enemy Humanoid/Elezen
HP: 131,400
Location: Castrum Meridianum - Parade Ground (9,10)

The last boss in the Castrum is the head Garlean female commander, Livia Sas Junius. She will be mounted during the entire first part of the fight, so your objective is to kill her armor. It is considered a full fight while she is mounted, as when you defeat her, you will have a moment to regroup and battle her again without her mount.

The main mechanic of the fight is to use the 'Missile Launchers' around the room to file missiles at her Magitek armor. It appears that there is no other way to cause damage to her armor, so be sure to quickly use the launchers. The launchers can be damaged, so the main tank should keep Livia away from them. Of course, there are adds that will be summoned, so be sure to deal with them immediately. Just have the Off Tank pick them up and have all DPS quickly burn them down.

Players should be watching for the on screen message that states, "Load missile onto the loader", which can be done by simply clicking on a stack of missiles. Shortly afterwards, another messages will pop-up to stating to turn the launcher to a specific number onto Livia.

• Photon Stream: Instant frontal attack that deals small amount of damage
• Magitek Cannon: Large circular AoE attack that targets a random player for heavy damage

Livia Sas Junius (Part 2)
After you have destroyed Livia's strong Magitek armor there will be a chance for your party to rebuff to fight her once again, this time without her lovely mount. As the final fight in the Castrum, this fight will prove to be the most difficult, but if everyone pays attention it really isn't that bad. Players need to be on the lookout to dodge her 'Stunning Sweep' and 'Angry Salamander' attacks.

The fight is much like other fights in the Castrum, since she will summon adds (around 75%) that will need to be taken down, however, she will order these adds to target a specific player. The targeted player should remain stationary, so the DPS can focus on burning them down and AoE. Towards the end of the fight (25%), Livia will summon a large add "Magitek Colossus". The Off Tank should immediately pick up the Colossus and keep it faced away from the party as it has a frontal cleave and frontal column AoE attack. The Colossus can be killed, however, many groups chose to ignore it and just quickly burn the boss.

• Aglaia Bite: Instant melee attack that deals medium damage
• Delta Trance: Instant melee attack that hits a target 5 times rapidly (usually only targets the tank)
• Stunning Sweep: Circular AoE attack that deals medium amount of damage to all targets
• Roundhouse: Instant attack that deals small amount of damage to all nearby targets
• Angry Salamander: Frontal column AoE attack that deals a moderate amount of damage to all targets