FFXIV: Arcadion AAC Light-Heavyweight M2 (Savage) Guide & Timeline

After overcoming Black Cat, your next opponent in the Savage difficulties of the Arcadion raids is Honey B Lovely, the champion in the AAC Light-Heavyweight M2 duty of Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail (FFXIV). Here’s how to take down the Arcadion M2 Savage Heavyweight in FFXIV.

FFXIV Arcadion AAC Light-Heavyweight M2 (Savage) Timeline

Before facing Honey B Lovely, make sure you have a minimum Item Level of 705 to join the duty. The fight has a hard enrage around the 10-minute mark, just like its predecessor. Her heart-based attacks are greatly expanded during the Savage version, as well as her poison effects.

Related: How to Get the Qeziigural Mount in Final Fantasy XIV (FFXIV)

The FFXIV Arcadion M2 Savage Honey B Lovely alternates the order of certain attacks (such as Honey Beeline and Tempted Twist), and will always use the one she didn’t use before if two of them are used back-to-back. They’re usually accompanied by Drop/Splash of Venom or Drop/Spread Love, which will add a pairs stack/solo spread immediately as soon as it’s solved.

FFXIV Arcadion AAC Light-Heavyweight M2 (Savage) Guide

Assess clock spots and partners, as they’ll be used often during the fight for various mechanics. Try to stand on them as much as possible during the fight, especially during the last few mechanics as they’re highly dependent on those.

Honey B Lovely can inflict heart debuffs with some of her attacks. Being struck with four hearts leaves you in a stunned state, heals Honey B Lovely by 1% of her HP, and gives her an extra damage buff which lasts for the entire fight.

• Call Me Honey: AoE damage.
• Drop of Venom: Targets a role (Tanks/Healers or DPS) with pair stacks, which resolve at the end of one of her next attacks.
• Splash of Venom: Targets all players with spreads, which resolve at the end of one of her next attacks.
• Honey Beeline: Line AoE from her own hitbox. Drops Splinter puddles of honey around the room, leaving only the line it hits as safe spots. Resolves Drop/Splash of Venom immediately after.
• Tempting Twist: Circle AoE around Honey B Lovely, leaving her own hitbox as a safe spot. Drops Splinter puddles of honey around the room, leaving four corners as safe spots. Resolves Drop/Splash of Venom immediately after.
• Killer Sting: Shared Tank buster.
• Stinging Slash: Double Tank buster, hitting everything behind both tanks.
• Honey B Live: 1st Beat: High AoE damage that gives two hearts to four random players. Follows up with a set of various mechanics that can inflict more hearts.
• Centerstage Combo: Hits four corners around her, leaving four small slices inside her hitbox as safe spots. Immediately hits for a Cross AoE in the previously safe directions, then hits the same initial directions again, but leaving the area outside her hitbox as safe spots.
• Outerstage Combo: Exactly the same as Centerstage Combo, but in the inverse order. Honey B Lovely alternates between them during her Beats.
• Love Me Tender (Towers): Fracture Towers appear which will inflict heart debuffs on all players if not soaked. The soaking player will receive a heart. Players with no hearts or a lower amount of hearts should be the ones to soak them.
• Loveseeker: Huge AoE damage around the boss.
• Love Me Tender (Hearts): Spawns various hearts around the arena. Arguably easier to dodge than in Normal mode. Overlaps with Heartsick.
• Heartsick: AoE stack that inflicts four hearts to the players. If four players stack inside it, each will receive a single heart.
• Honey B Finale: Ends the Beats phases. Kills any player with four hearts.
• Alarm Pheromones: Spawns bees around the arena that will cast Binding Love immediately.
• Binding Love: Bees target the arena for line AoEs that knock you back if you’re hit. It has two variations:
  • The first time it happens, the bees target a random player. It can be easily solved by pulling the boss south and circulating the arena with it (Mario Kart strat).
  • During the second set, it will target fixed positions, leaving only four safe corners (excluding middle) where players must drop their puddles.
• Honey B Live: 2nd Beat: High AoE damage that gives a heart to four random players. Follows up with a set of various mechanics that can inflict more hearts.
• Drop of Love: Same as Drop of Venom, but inflicting hearts.
• Spread Love: Same as Splash of Venom, but inflicting hearts.
• Love Me Tender (Puddles + Stacks): Starts a series of mechanics that will inflict hearts on players. All players must solve them finishing with exactly two hearts.
• Heartstruck: Baited AoEs that inflict hearts on those hit by it. Circle through the boss to drop them safely.
• x2 Heartsick: Targets two zero-heart players for a 4-heart-inflicting AoE. Stack with another zero-heart player so both of you get two at the end.
• Heartsore: Targets a one-heart players with a spread. Stand in middle, then wait to see if you’re getting it. If you do, get away from the party to take it alone.
• x2 Fracture: Two towers that inflict hearts appear. They must be soaked by one-heart players. Wait to see if you’re a target for Heartsore. If you’re not, get a tower depending on your priority (Support North/West, DPS South/East).
• Poison Sting: AoEs around the marked players that leaves behind a puddle. Must be dropped on the outer safe spots of Binding Love.
• Bee Sting: Light party stacks on healers.
• Honey B Live: 3rd Beat: High AoE damage that inflicts all players with the Poison ‘n’ Pop debuff. Poison ‘n’ Pop will explode in a huge area once it expires, killing players that overlap. They have a longer and a smaller duration, which are both solved differently:
  • Smaller debuffs must explode in the four cardinals, then grab the towers after the second Combo resolves.
  • Longer debuffs must first grab the towers, and then solve their debuffs on the same spot as their partner did.
• Rotten Heart: Honey B Lovely inflicts all players with four sets of Beeloved Venom: α and Beloved Venom: β debuffs, with timers of 11 seconds, 27 seconds, 43 seconds and 1 minute. Players must be in their clock positions once it casts. The 11-second pair of α and β must encounter at the center to cleanse the debuff as soon as possible. If they take too long to meet, the next Call Me Honey will wipe the raid. The lowest-duration debuffs must always meet as soon as they’re healed from the previous AoE. Pay attention to your timer and to your HP to know if it’s your turn. Somewhat similar to Curtain Call from P4S second phase.

As much as it hurts to beat the adorable Honey B Lovely, it must be done. This will be another step on your journey to get all Savage gear and eventually get the strongest equipment available in the game. Good luck!

Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail is available now.