The Minion itself, however, is going to take some grinding. It only appears in the final chest of the Dungeon itself. This means you’ll be clearing the Vanaspati until RNG smiles upon you. From there, you’ll need to win a Loot roll against your fellow Warriors of Light. You can circumvent this in two ways:
Complete the Dungeon with friends, which is always the best and quickest option, or You can take advantage of the Trust System
With the Trust System, you can tackle the dungeon using your fellow Scions. This means won’t need to win any Loot rolls – if the Hippo Calf Minion drops, it’s yours! The caveat is, of course, that Trust Dungeons tend to take nearly twice as long. If only they were programmed to use area of effect attacks! And maybe not stand in so many explosions, but that’s asking a lot. If neither of those options seem reasonable, you can always plop yourself in Duty Finder or Party Finder. Perhaps you’re feeling that lucky. But no matter how you go about it, once you’ve acquired your Hippo Calf, simply pop it from your Inventory to acquire the Minion.
Vanasplaining Vanaspati
Upon returning after sorta-kinda inadvertently unleashing the Song of Oblivion upon Eorzea, you’ll get the Quest “Skies Aflame”. Picked up in Old Sharlayan, the Final Days have descended upon Thavnair and you’ll need to rush off to save it. Before you go rushing headlong into the flaming wilds of Radz-at-Han, it’s good to be prepared. Especially if you’re unfamiliar with older raid mechanics! As with almost all Dungeons, some not so dangerous Mobs and three Bosses stand in the way. You’ll need to familiarize yourself with them to make your Hippo Calf grind a smooth one. So here’s a list of these bosses and their mechanics:
Terminus Snatcher
Last Gasp – A Tankbuster, mitigate damage as needed. Note of Despair – A room-wide AOE, mitigate and heal as needed. Mouth Off – The Terminus Snatcher will summon five non-targetable “mouths” along the edge of the arena. Two of the “mouths” will be closed, with a “…” speech bubble above them. Simply stack behind them to avoid damage. What is Left or What is Right – Depending on the attack, the Boss will cleave that side of the arena. Go opposite of the Flank it is cleaving to avoid damage. Lost Hope – This attack applies “Temporary Misdirection” to all Players. A pointer will spin above your head, and any input will move you in the direction of the pointer. Use short quick movements to get the correct direction and avoid “Mouth Off”. Wallow – A large aoe will appear on each Player. Spread these out. It is combined with “What is Left or What is Right”.
Terminus Wrecker
Total Wreck – A Tankbuster, mitigate damage as needed. Meaningless Destruction – A room-wide AOE, mitigate and heal as needed. Poison Heart – A random Player will receive a Stack Marker. This must be shared by the Group to avoid possibly fatal damage. Unholy Water – The boss summons six watery orbs along the edge of the arena. Running into an orb will apply “Fetters”, “Water Resistance Down” and “Fire Resistance Up” to Players. Used to dodge Aether Siphon. Aether Siphon – The Boss will absorb Aether from either the flames or water in the arena. This designates which Aether Spray will be cast next. Aether Spray (Fire) – A room-wide AOE which applies a large burn debuff. Can be dodged by entering a watery orb along the edge of the arena before the cast finishes. Aether Spray (Water) – A room-wide AOE with a knockback. Go to the center of the arena and avoid being knocked into the watery orbs and walls. Can use an anti-knockback skill.
Blasphemy: Svarbhanu
~20 seconds after starting the fight, the edges of the arena will be covered in a persisting AOE. This applies a bleeding debuff and cannot be touched. Gnashing of Teeth – A Tankbuster, mitigate damage as needed. Flames of Decay – A room-wide AOE, mitigate and heal damage as needed. Aetherial Disruption – The room will be divided into four sections. Each will be either red or blue. Players will then be shown a red circle or blue triangle, making the opposite color safe. Crumbling Sky – Follows most Aetherial Disruption casts. Players will be targeted with AOEs or there will be a knockback from center. Position accordingly to not overlap damage or touch the wall.
Following this pattern, Svarbhanu will then escape to the outside of the arena and become untargetable. At this point they’ll target the arena with three large meteors. The safe spots for those meteors follow the columns on the ground. Also, during this mechanic, small AOEs will appear inside the arena – making other areas unsafe. To avoid damage, find the empty column without an AOE in it. And with that resolved, the boss will simply repeat their attacks until defeated. Then (hopefully) the coffer will cough up your Hippo Calf Minion. Best of luck on your grind!
