A2N – The Machinists Guide | Alexander: The Cuff of the Father

Encounter Overview

A2N – The Machinists breaks from the usual single-boss structure and instead presents Alexander: Gordias as a sustained wave-defense encounter. Rather than learning one enemy’s rotation, the raid is tasked with clearing repeated groups of mechanical enemies while managing target priority, incoming AoE pressure, and bomb control.

The encounter is less about a signature boss mechanic and more about battlefield control. Enemy waves mix different threat profiles together, and the raid is rewarded for burning down the most disruptive targets first instead of tunneling indiscriminately. The optional Magitek armor mount adds another layer, allowing one or two players to help control bombs and amplify damage on enemy packs.

Dungeons Trials Raids Relic Weapons

For a full breakdown of raid difficulty across all tiers, see the FFXIV Raid Rankings.

Arena Overview

The fight takes place across a broad industrial platform where enemies arrive in waves rather than from a single fixed boss position. Because the encounter is add-driven, space management matters more than in a typical raid fight. Tanks want room to gather packs cleanly, ranged players want room to avoid bomb blasts, and the group as a whole wants to avoid stacking too many dangerous enemies together unnecessarily.

A blue Magitek armor unit is also available in the arena, and one or two players can mount it. This unit can deal damage, apply a vulnerability debuff, and most importantly drag bombs away from the raid. With modern damage the bomb mechanic is much less threatening than it once was, but it is still part of the intended structure and can make the arena significantly cleaner when handled properly.

Boss Mechanics

Wave Encounter Structure

Enemy Waves: The encounter consists of multiple waves of enemies rather than a single boss. The raid’s success comes from target priority, clean pack handling, and avoiding unnecessary damage while clearing the room efficiently.

Threat Management: Since several enemy types appear together, tanks should gather what they can without dragging every dangerous unit into one congested pile. DPS should not treat the field as pure trash cleanup; some enemies are far more disruptive than others and should be removed first.

Magitek Armor

Magitek Suit: One or two players can enter the blue Magitek armor and assist the raid. The suit can attack enemies, apply a vulnerability debuff, and reposition bombs that spawn during the encounter.

Bomb Handling: The bombs have a wide explosion radius and apply a stacking fire damage taken debuff to anyone caught in the blast. The intended solution is to fight enemies on one side of the arena while dragging bombs toward the opposite side, reducing raid damage and keeping the main combat area clean.

Practical Use: In modern gear, the bombs often deal only minor damage, but using the armor still helps preserve order. Even when the damage is survivable, keeping bombs away from the raid makes movement easier and reduces unnecessary healing load.

Priority Targets

Magitek Gobwalker / explosive armor units: These are the highest-priority enemies in the encounter. They can apply disruptive debuffs and create the most immediate raid instability if ignored. Burn them down first whenever they appear.

Jagd Dolls: These tall mechanical enemies are the next major threat. They are not as disruptive as the highest-priority units, but they can deal enough damage to become dangerous if left active while the group is already dealing with bombs and mixed packs.

Gordian Hardhelms and Gordian Hardminds: These larger goblin enemies are sturdier than the smaller trash units and should generally be handled after the higher-priority disruptive enemies are removed. They are not the most dangerous targets, but their extra health makes them inefficient to leave for too long.

Gordian Soldiers and Gordian Snipers: These are lower-priority filler enemies. They still contribute pressure, especially on tanks, but they should usually be cleaned up after the more dangerous enemies are dealt with.

Magitek Gobwidow G-IX: These large mechanical enemies are generally the lowest priority, but they should not be ignored entirely. They have AoE pressure and can become awkward if multiple are stacked with the rest of the wave. If only one is active, it is often cleaner to keep it slightly separated until more dangerous enemies are dead.

Encounter Flow

The encounter opens with the raid pushing through early enemy groups and establishing control over the field. Tanks should gather enemies cleanly without overstacking everything in one place, while DPS immediately focus the highest-priority targets rather than spreading damage randomly.

As bomb mechanics begin to matter, the Magitek armor can be used to pull those hazards away from the group. The encounter becomes much smoother when the main raid fights on one side of the arena and explosive threats are managed elsewhere. Even if the raw damage is manageable, reducing clutter helps prevent avoidable mistakes.

The core rhythm of the fight remains the same throughout: identify the most dangerous enemies in each wave, eliminate them first, stabilize the field, then clean up the remaining units in order. Jagd Dolls and disruptive Magitek enemies should die before the sturdier but less urgent goblin packs and larger mechanical cleanup targets.

A2N is not a mechanically complex raid in the same way later Alexander floors become, but it does test a different skill set. Instead of solving one boss puzzle, the raid has to maintain control over a changing battlefield. If target priority stays sharp and bomb handling does not disrupt the raid’s movement, the fight remains stable from start to finish.