FFXIV Arcadion M1 guide – Black Cat boss skills and strategy

Check out our list of Black Cat boss skills if you’re nervous about taking on the Arcadion M1 fight in Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail—officially titled AAC Light-Heavyweight M1, after the class and match number.

The first challenge of the Dawntrail raid series, Black Cat invokes the souls of powerful felines to rip and rend the party. Here’s how to predict her moves, how to dodge them, and ultimately how to beat her. If you’re the type to steer clear of these raids to avoid critic from loud-mouthed party members, a little reading should put you in a better position to take it on.

Black Cat skills

• Bloody Scratch | Team-wide AoE
• One-two Paw | Claw either side of the arena in order of claws
  • Leaping One-two Paw | Executes the skill after jumping to the indicated spot.
• Black Cat Crossing | Double X-shape. Move from second to first
  • Leaping Black Cat Crossing | Executes the skill after jumping to the indicated spot.
• Clawful | Stack AoE
• Mouser | Cracks the arena squares. Any hit twice will disappear. Stay between two lanes and weave from an adjacent tile to one that’s been hit. Or head to one that wasn’t targeted.
• Elevate and Eviscerate | Throws the target and cracks the tile they land on. Aim to land on a non-cracked platform to avoid breaking one.
• Predaceous Pounce | Highlights landing points and dashes to each in order.
  • Grimalkin Gale | targetted area strikes on each party member that typically follow the previous move.
• Biscuit Maker | Tank-buster
• Overshadow | Linear stack market (typically cast during Elevate and Eviscerate in phase 2)
• Shockwave | Knockback from the enemy.
• Copycat | Summons a clone on the outer edge of the arena to use Predaceous Pounce
  • Black Cat often uses One-two Paw during this

Black Cat strategy

Phase 1 – Introduction

Like most, Black Cat kicks things off with Bloody Scratch, dealing devastating raid-wide damage for the healers to deal with.

After that, just watch for the order in which her claws lengthen for One-two Paw. The first claw swipes before the second, so just move to the very inside edge of the first claw’s range, then step over to the second.

Following that, Black Cat Crossing should come next. It’s the same principle, only on the floor with thinner linear strikes. Stand in the spot reserved for the second, then step into the first as it begins to resolve. A tank-buster in the form of Biscuit Maker comes next, with the stack marker of Clawful right after, so heal any mistakes from Black Cat Crossing right away, or stay out of the stack if you’re injured.

Phase 2 – Mouser

After that introductory phase, things get a little crazier. Like many fights in Dawntrail, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the visuals. Just take things slowly and think.

The first instance of all this is with Mouser. The tiled floor begins to light up red in sequence. This dictates the order the chosen set of panels will be struck, cracking on the first hit and, if struck again, breaking. Just look for a tile that’s not targetted or, if it’s easier for you, one that’s only set to get hit once. Stand on an adjacent one set to get hit after your choice. Move to the targetted square once it’s struck and wait out the rest.

Once that’s all done, you’re left with around 75% of the remaining arena for a time. Black Cat begins to target various party members with Elevate and Eviscerate. If targeted, just position yourself so the arcing arrow lines up with a pristine platform. Aim for a cracked one and you’ll go right through. The tile you’ll land on glows red if it’ll break or green if it can take your weight.

Following that, Black Cat casts Shockwave in an attempt to push you off the platform. It doesn’t matter where you land here so long as you’re on a tile at the end of it. Bloody Scratch comes back to hit the team, and the arena respawns, putting things into a cycle of phase 2 and 3.

Phase 3 – Predaceous Pounce

Phase 3 kicks off on a newly rebuilt arena. Black Cat casts Predaceous Pounce, which can look confusing at first. Simply put, she hits the circle indicated and dashes along the paw print path to the next, repeating this around four times. Just trace the path as it comes out and station yourself in an area not set to get hit.

This is quickly followed up with individual area attack markers you’ll want to spread out for. In a further attempt to finish someone off, she’ll also deal heavy tank damage immediately after with Biscuit Maker.

There’s no time to breathe. Biscuit Maker makes way for the first of the ‘Leaping’ modifiers, causing Black Cat to move to a second spot before she completes casts of One-two Paw and Black Cat Crossing (usually in that order.) Picture where she’ll be and adjust accordingly, and heal any mistakes ahead of the raid-wide damage of Bloody Claw.

After this, Black Cat begins to break the arena again with Mouser; this time following it up with Copycat, which spawns a clone of her along the outer edge to cast some moves in tandem. In the first instance, it’ll use Elevate and Eviscerate to launch a target as the rest of the team stacks for the linear damage of Overshadow. The target of the former won’t land in time to group up for the latter and should just ensure they don’t break a tile the team may still be stood on as it resolves. This repeats several times over before culminating with the Shockwave knockback used to reset the cycle.

With the arena back, another Copycat will come out. Focus on avoiding the Predaceous Pounce it casts. Though Black Cat will only auto-attack as this resolves, she’ll cast One-two Paw soon after, which can catch you out if you’re on the far side of the arena.

Now likely on death’s door, Black Cat will attempt to overwhelm with most of the high-damage area attacks from her repertoire, using stack markers and her ‘Leaping’ attacks in quick succession before. Repeat until dead.