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M2S Honey B. Lovely Raid Guide – Arcadion Light-Heavyweight (FFXIV)

Expansion: Dawntrail
Raid Series: Arcadion
Raid Tier: Light-Heavyweight
Boss: Honey B. Lovely
Encounter: M2S
Players: 8 (2 Tanks / 2 Healers / 4 DPS)
Duty Finder Type: Savage Raid

Unlock Requirement: Arcadion Light-Heavyweight (Normal) Completion
← Back to Arcadion Light-Heavyweight Raid Archive

Encounter Overview

Honey B. Lovely (Savage) expands heavily on the Normal encounter by turning the Heart Gauge into a strict raid check. During Honey B. Live phases, players who accumulate too many hearts become stunned, heal the boss, and permanently increase her damage dealt.

The fight centers around:

• heart gauge management
• stored venom mechanics
• partner and light-party assignments
• rotating bee line mechanics
• repeated arena phase transitions
• debuff cleanse coordination

The outer edge of the arena is instantly lethal.

Arena Overview

The encounter takes place on a circular platform surrounded by a lethal electric field.

Arena hazards include:

• instant-death boundary
• poison AoEs
• bee line attacks
• heart gauge failure penalties

Outside Honey B. Live phases, avoidable attacks inflict Damage Down, severely reducing raid output.

During Honey B. Live phases, being hit by mechanics grants hearts, which can cause a wipe if mismanaged.

Heart Gauge Rules

During Honey B. Live phases, all incoming AoEs add hearts.

If a player reaches 4 hearts:

• they are stunned for 5 seconds
• Honey B. Lovely heals for 1% max HP
• the boss gains a permanent Queen Bee damage buff

This is a major failure condition.

Strategy Setup

Most groups assign:

• clock positions
• light parties
• support + DPS pairs by quadrant

Unlike standard clocks:

• off-tank is usually east
• group 2 healer is usually south

This helps streamline later mechanic placements.

Mechanic Archive

Call Me Honey

High magical raidwide damage.

Response

• mitigate and heal

Stored Venom

Honey B. Lovely stores one of two attacks.

Splash of Venom

Each player is hit by an untelegraphed spread AoE.

Applies Poison Resistance Down II, making overlap lethal.

Response

• full party spread

Drop of Venom

All DPS or all supports are hit with split-damage AoEs.

Also applies Poison Resistance Down II.

Response

• stack with assigned partner

Both stored attacks hit hard and should be mitigated.

Tempting Twist

Donut AoE around the boss.

Afterward, poison globs spawn and explode, leaving intercardinals safe.

The stored venom attack resolves during this movement.

Response

• move to assigned intercardinal
• spread or partner stack depending on stored venom

Honey Beeline

Line AoE in front of the boss, leaving flanks safe.

Afterward, poison globs explode on east and west, leaving the middle safe.

The stored venom attack resolves here as well.

Response

• move to assigned quadrant
• spread or partner stack as required

The boss later uses whichever combination was not used first.

Killer Sting / Stinging Slash

Two tankbuster variants.

Killer Sting

Split-damage AoE tankbuster on highest enmity.

Response

• both tanks stack and mitigate

Stinging Slash

Two 90-degree tankbuster cones on the top two enmity players.

Applies Slashing Resistance Down, making overlap lethal.

Response

• tanks separate cleanly

Honey B. Live: 1st Beat

Honey B. Live: 1st Beat

Raidwide magical damage and arena transition.

Players begin with 0, 1, or 2 hearts, with 8 total hearts distributed across the raid.

The boss gains Top of the Hive, activating heart mechanics.

Centerstage Combo / Outerstage Combo

Three-step arena AoE sequences.

Centerstage Combo

1. donut AoE + cardinals unsafe, intercardinals on hitbox safe

2. plus-shaped AoE, intercardinals outside melee safe

3. point-blank AoE + intercardinals unsafe, cardinals safe

Outerstage Combo

Same attacks in reverse safe order.

Players must recognize the cast and move through the sequence correctly.

Heart Towers

A total of 11 towers spawn sequentially.

Each tower must be soaked by one player, adding 1 heart.

Unsoaked towers explode, dealing raidwide damage and giving everyone 1 heart.

Priority

• players with 0 or 1 hearts soak first
• melee handle inner towers
• ranged handle outer towers when possible

Ideal end state:

• 5 players at 2 hearts
• 3 players at 3 hearts

Loveseeker

Point-blank AoE.

Response

• move away from the boss

Love Me Tender (Stack Version)

A 4-player stack marker targets a player with the lowest heart count.

The stack distributes 4 total hearts.

Players with 2 hearts should take the stack.

Players already at 3 hearts should avoid it.

Honey B. Finale

Raidwide magical damage.

Reverts the arena and removes all heart gauges.

Alarm Pheromones 1

Alarm Pheromones

Groupbee adds appear randomly around the edge of the arena.

They fire Blinding Love line AoEs at random players.

Being hit causes:

• high damage
• Damage Down
• Slashing Resistance Down
• knockback, possibly into the death wall

A common strategy is to stack north and rotate together like Mario Kart after several arrows appear.

A total of 16 line AoEs spawn.

Honey B. Live: 2nd Beat

Honey B. Live: 2nd Beat

Raidwide magical damage and arena transition.

Starting heart distribution:

• 2 supports and 2 DPS start with 1 heart
• everyone else starts at 0

Spread Love / Drop of Love

Stored heart-based versions of the venom mechanics.

Spread Love

Spread AoEs on all players, adding 1 heart each.

Drop of Love

Stack AoEs on all DPS or all supports, dividing hearts between paired players.

Heartsick + Heart-struck

One DPS and one support with 0 hearts receive stack markers.

Other 0-heart players receive baited ground AoEs.

Common strategy:

• 0-heart players stack south and rotate clockwise
• 1-heart players stack north and rotate separately

One 1-heart DPS and one 1-heart support also receive AoEs that must be taken away.

Two towers spawn and should be taken by the remaining 1-heart players.

Tempting Twist / Honey Beeline (Heart Version)

Same movement patterns as earlier, but poison globs are replaced by exploding hearts.

Stored Spread Love or Drop of Love resolves during this.

Assuming no mistakes, all players finish this phase at 3 hearts.

Honey B. Finale

Raidwide magical damage.

Removes heart gauges and resets the arena.

Alarm Pheromones 2

Alarm Pheromones (Box Pattern)

Four Groupbees spawn in a box-like formation.

Their line AoEs leave:

• the center safe
• four outer safe spots

One DPS and one support receive Poison Sting markers.

These leave persistent puddles and apply Magic Vulnerability Up.

Marked players must drop puddles outside, then return center.

The remaining marked players move out and back in sequence.

Then:

Bee Sting

One DPS and one support receive stack markers dealing physical damage and Piercing Resistance Down.

These should be shared separately by role in the final small safe region.

Killer Sting / Stinging Slash

Tankbuster repeats.

Tempting Twist / Honey Beeline

Stored attack also resolves here.

Honey B. Live: 3rd Beat

Poison ‘n’ Pop

Each player receives either:

• short debuff (26s)
• long debuff (46s)

All supports share one timer, all DPS share the other.

When the debuff expires, the player emits a massive point-blank AoE that:

• deals magical damage
• gives hearts
• applies Magic Vulnerability Up

These explosions must be isolated.

Spread Love / Drop of Love

Stored again for later resolution.

Centerstage / Outerstage Combo

Players dodge near assigned quadrants because debuff explosions are coming.

First Debuff Resolution

The short-timer group goes to the wall at assigned clock spots.

The long-timer group stays center and dodges.

After short debuffs resolve, the long group takes towers.

Second Debuff Resolution

The long-timer group goes to the wall.

The short group remains center, then takes the second set of towers.

Tempting Twist / Honey Beeline and the stored attack resolve afterward.

Assuming correct execution, all players again end at 3 hearts.

Honey B. Finale

Raidwide damage.

Removes heart gauges and resets the arena.

Rotten Heart

Rotten Heart

Raidwide magical damage and arena transition.

Each player receives:

• Beeloved Venom α
or
• Beeloved Venom β

Timers are:

• 16s
• 25s
• 44s
• 60s

Players with opposite debuffs must touch to cleanse them.

When cleansed:

• players tether briefly
• raid takes moderate damage
• Magic Vulnerability Up is applied

If not cleansed:

• α causes paralysis
• β causes instant death

Standard Strategy

Players stay near their clock spots and move under the boss only when their timer is nearly expired.

Because the boss repeatedly uses Call Me Honey during this sequence, debuffs must not be cleansed too late.

Enrage

Sheer Heart Attack

If the boss is not defeated in time:

• all players receive 4 hearts and are charmed
• the boss gains 16 stacks of Femme Fatale
• Honey B. Lovely wipes the raid with Honey B. Finale

Mechanic Sequence Pattern

The encounter is built around heart optimization and clean partner-based execution.

Role Pressure Analysis

Tanks

Tanks must handle shared and split tankbusters while also maintaining positioning for paired mechanics.

Healers

Healers are under constant pressure from raidwides, heart damage-over-time effects, and the heavy outgoing damage during Rotten Heart.

DPS

DPS must execute partner stacks, tower soaks, and movement patterns cleanly while maintaining enough uptime to beat enrage.

Failure Points

Common wipes occur from:

• players reaching 4 hearts
• failed tower soaks
• incorrect partner stacks
• overlapping Poison Sting or Bee Sting mechanics
• late debuff cleanses during Rotten Heart
• excessive Damage Down causing enrage

Difficulty Profile

Honey B. Lovely (Savage) is primarily a consistency fight, where heart management and clean partner execution determine success.

Related Encounters

← Back to Arcadion Light-Heavyweight
← Back to Dawntrail Raid Archive
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