The Epic of Alexander Ultimate: Brute Justice and Cruise Chaser Guide

The second phase of the fight revolves around handling both Cruise Chaser and Brute Justice mechanics simultaneously. Both bosses are targetable, making cleave DPS very good here as well. Unlike the first phase, both bosses must be killed at roughly the same time, one begins their enrage cast as the other is killed.

The main mechanic of the phase revolves around passing Judgment Nisi debuffs around in order to satisfy the Verdict / Gavel mechanic around two-thirds through the phase. While Nisi is not as threatening to player health bars as the A4S version, there are eight Nisis active as opposed to four, and contact between players with different Nisis is still an instant wipe. This creates an extremely challenging positioning puzzle as you attempt to satisfy Compressed Lightning and Compressed Water debuffs, with different obstacles throughout. Cruise Chaser is really only there to be annoying and cast Whirlwinds.

This phase has two different ways of handling movement that we suggest. Discuss both with your group to decide which one fits best. Both are described in detail further down the page.

• Stacked Strat (Also known as Strat 5)
• Split Strat

• J Kick: Extremely heavy raidwide damage that happens right after Limit Cut + Optical Sight.
• Whirlwind: Moderate raidwide magic damage originating from Cruise Chaser.
• Judgement Nisi: Brute Justice will inflicts four Decree Nisi debuffs (α, β, δ, and γ) on either the tanks and healers or the four DPS. Players must pass these debuffs around in order to satisfy the condition set by Verdict when the castbar of Gavel resolves. Each debuff inflicts a light DoT to the player, and Nisi is passed by touching another player. If a player has two different Nisi debuffs (aka they run into someone with another debuff) both players will instantly die.
• Link-Up: Inflicts Compressed Water on a random healer and Compressed Lightning on a random DPS. These two debuffs last for 30 seconds and explode when they expire. If any player with either debuff dies, it will explode, wiping the raid. This also occurs if the same player gets both debuffs. Link-Up also spawns two Chakrams at random intercardinal or cardinal positions around the arena, opposite of each other. These Chakrams cast Eye of the Chakram at a random player, firing quickly across the arena at their position when the cast starts.
  • Compressed Water is a stack mechanic between multiple players: damage is split between all players in a large AoE when the debuff expires. The debuff then passes to a random player. The player with the debuff will then gain a debuff, Water Vulnerability Up, that prevents them from being the next Water stack. Additionally, Compressed Water will leave behind a water tornado. Any player too close to this tornado will get knocked back and take massive damage from Drainage, likely dying. This tornado can be frozen with Ice Earth Missile to hide behind Propeller Wind. In addition, the water tornado can be eliminated with Flarethrower. Any water tornado that stays for too long will enrage, wiping the party.
  • Compressed Lightning is a stack mechanic between two players. Damage is split between both in a large AoE when the debuff expires. The debuff then passes to the other player in the stack. The player with the debuff will then gain a debuff, Lightning Vulnerability Up, that prevents them from being in another Lightning stack.
• Photon: Reduces party members HP to 1. On the first cast, it will reduce everyone’s HP, on the second, only the tanks.
• Spin Crusher: An untelegraphed frontal cleave originating from Cruise Chaser. This can be baited and dodged.
• Missile Command: Brute Justice will cast Earth Missile on the furthest two players. He will then cast Hidden Minefield on the furthest two players, Earth Missile on a random tank, and Enumeration on two DPS.
  • The proximity Earth Missile leaves a pile of sludge on the target.
  • Hidden Minefields must be soaked by a tank or it will explode. This deals heavy magical damage.
  • Enumeration will always require three players. Three players must be in the Enumeration stack when it resolves or it kills all players inside the stack.
  • The tank Earth Missile will leave behind an expanding ice puddle that freezes any water tornado it comes in contact with. This is necessary to pass Propeller Wind.
• Verdict: Brute Justice inflicts Final Decree: Judgment Nisi debuffs (α, β, δ, and γ) on all players. One tank/healer and one DPS will have each debuff and act as partners. Players must have their specified Decree Nisi debuff when Gavel resolves or it is an instant wipe.
• Limit Cut: For this Limit Cut, Cruise Chaser becomes invulnerable and creates a Plasma Shield in front of him, which can only be damaged from the frontal positional. If this Plasma Shield is not killed in time, Cruise Chaser will gain a damage up buff and wipe the party with the next Whirlwind.
• Flarethrower: When the castbar resolves, Brute Justice will cast a large conal AoE towards the closest player, dealing heavy magical damage. This is used to destroy the second Compressed Water tornado.
• Propeller Wind: Cruise Chaser will confuse any player not standing behind the ice pillar formed with Ice Earth Missile + Compressed Water tornado relative to him.
• Gavel: All players must satisfy the condition of their Final Judgment: Decree Nisi debuff when the castbar resolves or the party will instantly wipe to Final Sentence.
• Double Rocket Punch: Brute Justice jumps to the farthest player from him, dealing light damage.
• Super Jump: Brute Justice jumps to the farthest player from him, dealing light damage.
• Apocalyptic Ray: Brute Justice faces the party with a wide conal AoE that instantly kills players if not outranged. This always occurs after Super Jump.

There may not be as many mechanics as you think there are, but with all the Nisi passing, strict positioning requirements, and high auto-attack damage going out at the same time, this portion of the fight is a hectic phase that requires precise gameplay.

There is one primary mechanic that will invariably cause progression headaches in this phase: Judgment Nisi. Since no player can touch another player currently holding a Judgment Nisi, player positioning is paramount to success in this phase. Players who autopilot or are unaware will become prey to quick Final Sentence wipes, or having the wrong debuff.

There are multiple ways to execute Nisi passing, boss positioning, and stacking in the rest of this phase, but there is one universal superior strat for the first thirty seconds or so.

Pull the bosses together, bait the Chakrams in the middle, spread out towards the edge of the arena dodging the Chakram path to bait the Optical Sight, and come back into the middle to heal up for Photon and do the first Nisi pass. When Judgment Nisi is cast, no player should touch another player except their designated passer, which will be explained in the next section. It will be either on tanks/healers, or DPS.

One tank should pick up Brute Justice and one tank should pick up Cruise Chaser. The Cruise Chaser tank takes heavy auto-attack damage, while the Brute Justice tank takes less damage but has stricter positioning requirements most of the time.

There should always be four passes of Judgment Nisi in the entire phase up until Gavel. Each tank/healer should have a designated DPS to pass to - melee to melee and ranged to ranged is preferable. This is their passing partner for the first two passes, prior to the Verdict cast at 01:19. The first pass occurs after the first Photon cast, and Nisi should be passed to each player's designated partner. After the Verdict cast, Nisi should be passed to players which Final Judgment: Decree Nisi debuffs match their Nisi debuff.

How players pass Nisi is up to your group. There are three methods:

• Non-Nisi always walks into Nisi, Nisi stands still.
• Tanks/healers always pass into DPS, or vice-versa.
• Nisi always walks into non-Nisi.

Of these, the first two are easier to handle, as players will not need to figure out who has the corresponding debuff for the last two passes.

Photon must be shielded to ensure players do not die to the Nisi DoT tick. This can be done with Deployment Tactics, Divine Veil, Celestial Opposition, or even just a simple Succor/Noct Asp. Helios. Afterwards, the first Water and Lightning debuffs go off, along with a Spin Crusher prior (CC tank should ensure this is faced away and dodged). The first pass should happen before the Spin Crusher resolves, and after Photon. Players are passing to their designated DPS + T/H partner.

There are a massive amounts of strats for this phase after the first Nisi pass. For the sake of this guide and attempting to cover the biggest demographic as possible, we will be explaining two different strats: Stacked and Split. Even by covering both of these variations, there is still a very large quantity of ways to perform the phase. The ones outlined in this guide have been universally accepted by the community as accessible and useful, but they may not be the best for your group, and pre-made groups should be open to tweaking these as they see fit.

• Stacked Strat (Also known as Strat 5).
  • Pros: Very little boss movement, less player movement, allows for more cleave damage, and splits Hidden Mine damage between tanks.
  • Cons: Space may feel restrictive and makes moving with Nisi harder, not suggested for completely fresh groups.
• Split Strat.
  • Pros: Creates very open spaces for movement, low risk for Nisi movement, easier to break Plasma Shield, easier to heal.
  • Cons: Requires much more party movement, Cruise Chaser tank will take both Hidden Mines.

Going forward, you should be referencing the Toolbox your group has selected to use for each mechanic, as this guide will attempt to cover generalized best practice for the rest of the phase. If there are specific nuance for a mechanic based on strat, it will be listed.

The first Lightning DPS should stack with the tank on Brute Justice. The Cruise Chaser tank should stay out of the stack, and all other players should stack near the Water. Keep in mind players cannot stack on each other and therefore "stacking" refers to being in the explosion radius of either Water or Lightning.

Water location should be referenced in the Toolbox listed above. While it is possible to take a two-stack water with a ton of mitigation, at least three is advised, and four is ideal. Four may not always be possible depending on the strat you have chosen and who the Lightning target is.

The next mechanic is Missile Command. The two furthest players will bait two AoEs. The first leaves behind a sludge puddle, while the second leaves behind a Hidden Mine that must be taken by a tank with cooldowns. Two DPS will receive Enumeration, which three players must stack with each. One tank will receive Ice, which leaves behind an expanding ice puddle. This must be dropped near the first Water tornado to freeze it. The resulting ice block is used to line-of-sight Propeller Wind later in the fight. The ice puddle should be placed further from the party, in such a way that the expanding ice does not get in anyone's way.

The two players tasked with baiting the proximity Earth Missiles should stand in their designated locations. They will then both run to their predetermined Enumeration group. In the event that Enumeration has been placed on two people in the same Enumeration stack, the party should have a priority system for who is flexing groups.

The ice tank should freeze the Water tornado, followed by the tanks resolving their Hidden Mine. The second pass should happen after Enumeration and Mines resolve. Players are passing to their designated Nisi partner.

• Keep in mind, if your group has decided to have the Cruise Chaser tank soak both Hidden Mines, this tank will require extra mitigation and attention from the healers, especially if they have also been tagged with handling the ice puddle.

Verdict and Third Nisi Pass

Verdict will cast, placing new debuffs on everyone dictating their final Nisi to resolve Gavel.

Immediately after, Cruise Chaser will cast Limit Cut. He will summon a Plasma Shield add in front of him that can only be damaged from the front. In addition, he will go invulnerable. Therefore, players must stand in a way that has them directly in front of the shield if they are designated with breaking it. Certain jobs will have an easier time banking resources to handle this, so, aside from the Cruise Chaser tank, groups should decide together on who will be damaging it.

• If your group has decided to do stack strat, Cruise Chase should be facing the group of players who will be taking the next Water stack. This allows the group to preplan movement and plant themselves in preparation for the Plasma Shield.

At the same time, Brute Justice will cast Flarethrower. The Brute Justice tank needs to bait the Flarethrower towards the second Water tornado, eliminating it from the arena. Since the Flarethrower hits the closest target, all other players should be outside of Brute Justice's hitbox.

The third pass should happen after Flarethrower. The role without Nisi is picking up Nisi debuffs that correspond to the Verdict debuff they get. This is the trickiest part of the phase and requires utmost attention to position from all players. Ultimately, it is up to what your group is comfortable with and how they handle this. Consistency is key here, so players should make sure to be in the same spot every pull once some sort of priority has been figured out.

Immediately following the third Nisi pass, Whirlwind will cast, inflicting a heavy amount of raid damage to the group. The heal check here can get a little intense as the Lightning and Water debuffs will be going off soon after. Addle and Feint can be placed on Brute Justice prior to the elemental debuffs expiring to mitigate it, if needed.

Immediately after the third Water and Lightning, players should make their way to the side of the arena with the ice block. The final hard mechanic in the phase is the final Nisi pass behind the ice block. The Cruise Chaser tank should position the boss in such that he is on the opposite side of the ice block relative to the party who will then form a line. The order of the Nisi debuffs does not matter - all that matters is your group has a color order for consistency sake.

As Propeller Wind casts, Gavel will resolve at nearly the same time. Keep in mind, the Nisi debuffs will persist for a small amount of time after Gavel has been cast. Moving early and touching a player with a differing Nisi color during this time frame will wipe the group, so be sure to be patient and wait for debuffs to disappear before moving.

The rest of the phase is relatively easy, but encompasses a heal, tank, positioning, and DPS check. Cruise Chaser will once again cast Photon, but it only affects both tanks. Right after, Brute Justice will Double Rocket Punch both tanks, meaning tanks have to be sufficiently healed as well as mitigate properly in order to survive.

Right after Brute Justice casts Double Rocket Punch, he will Super Jump to the farthest player. The designated ranged DPS baiter should move to the opposite side of the arena ASAP in order to bait it. After baiting, they need to sidestep to ensure they are not hit by Apocalyptic Ray. The rest of the party should huddle where they are in order to dodge the Apocalyptic Ray that follows.

Cruise Chaser then casts two Whirlwinds in a row. This deals high raid damage along with auto attacks on tanks, and should be mitigated properly. Right after is a long casted enrage from both bosses. Cruise Chaser will also not disappear until Brute Justice is killed. Both bosses have to be killed at relatively the same time, as when one is killed, the other starts casting enrage.