A Red Mage's Testimony from one of the following:

• Aura Pot (Level: 75 - 80) (Shrine of Ru'Avitau)
• Dustbuster (Level: 75 - 78) (Ve'Lugannon Palace)
• Hover Tank (Level: 64 - 67) (Temple of Uggalepih)
• Magic Pot (Level: 68 - 70) (Upper Delkfutt Tower)
• Ruby Quadav (Level: 72 - 74) (Qulun Dome)
• Sprinkler (Level: 73 - 76) (Ru'Aun Gardens)
• Magic Flagon (Level: 64 - 70) (Ro'Maeve)

Note:This guide uses a strategy that tells you to use the spell Bind and then nuke with the magic Aero III. Due to changes in the spell, after you bind, now it will unbind him rendering you dead. I suggest using Gravity.

Note:Maat will use Asuran Fists back to back in both the first half and second half of the fight. Judging from this, Maat does not need to build TP in order to use Asuran Fists.

Guides

Using the below method I won 1/1 on Hume without using Convert, took 9 min:

• Composure -> Fully buff yourself -> remove Composure -> Rest to full MP
• Sleep 2 Maat
• (While Maat asleep) Dispel all of his buffs, cast enfeebles like Gravity, Slow, paralyze, Blind, but Silence won't stick
• (While Maat asleep) Rest to full MP, Sleep Maat again if he wakes
• Aero III -> Sleep II -> Rest -> Repeat
• Use antidotes and echo drops as needed
• Always keep the maximum distance when nuking, so Maat will never land a physical hit or any WS on you
• When Maat Chainspells, just sleep him and wait until Chainspell wears off (60sec)
• 7 unresisted Aero 3s will defeat Maat. Capped elemental magic at lvl 70 with Warlock's Chapeau and Elemental Torque gave 232 Elemental Magic Skill which made all 7 nukes land unresisted. (my total INT was only 66+16 inc Melon Pie +1)
• Use Chainspell to speed things up or finish him off towards the end
• A possible complication is if your first Sleep 2 hits one of Maat's blink images, if this happens try to get rid of his blink with small enfeebles then Sleep 1.
• In addition, Convert is always available if anything goes wrong
• Overall not a very difficult fight, but having a Wind Staff/Auster's Staff and Elemental Torque certainly helps a lot.

This Strategy works very well but can go out of hand very easily, it also takes up a lot of time.

• 1st. Make sure you have the following: Vile Elixir, Hi-elixir or Vile elixir+1, Intelligence Potion, and a cream puff.
• 2nd. Make sure your enfeebling magic is capped and elemental is capped as well.
• 3rd. Have Good Int gear, try as much as possible to max out your int to over 90+.
• 4th. So now you are ready to fight Maat.
• 5th. Do not fight maat on any day besides Darksday, Windsday makes him less likely to be slept, and on Darksday sleep and bind have a better chance of sticking.
• 6th. Go inside the circle naked, make sure you have Macros for equipment/ if you don't know how to macro equipment its /equip main "Light staff" or, /equip body "Warlock's tabard" etc..
• 7th once you are inside his domain, put your equipment on, then Stoneskin, Blink, Phanlax, and Aquaviel. By then you should have at least 6/7 Of your mp. (Remember the point of the match is to know how much mp you have at all times.
• 8th. Run in and Sleep I him, In case it fails, Bind, Sleep II Him. Once he is slept, Dispel till he is defensless By then you will have around 300-400 Mp,
• 9th, Have a fair distance from him. Try to gravity him, if works then your safe,
• 10th Aero III with Ice staff as soon as you do this, sleep II Him with darkstaff
• 11th Continue this till he is about 60%
• 12th Pop a Vile elixir and a Hi-Elixir and Cream puff and a Int potion... IN THAT ORDER
• 13th Then make sure you have stoneskin and blink etc up.
• 14th Chainspell and Aero III him until you have about 100mp out, Note:(By now he will chainspell so Sleep II spam him)
• 15th Convert and Heal yourself to full
• 16th Continue Nuking from a fair distance and you have won

Get your INT as high as possible, as stated above. Also, make sure to get the wind, ice, and dark staves, as they will help your spell accuracy. As for consumables, buy the following: melon pie+1, Intelligence Booster (optional), 5-8 Hi-Potions (very important), 2 Yagudo Drinks, and at least 3 bottles of Mulsum. The key to winning by this strategy is knowing how much MP you have, what exactly you're going to cast, and when to cast it.

Macro in the following, and for the spells put /targetnpc and /equip main "Corresponding Elemental Staff" in the lines before the casting line for ALL of them:

[Alt Line] Sleep 2, Sleep 1 (make sure these are next to each other), Bind, Paralyze, Aero III, Convert, Chainspell.

[Ctrl Line] Hi-Potion, Mulsum, Yagudo Drink, Stoneskin, Blink.

Time to fight.

Use your food outside of the burning circle and head in, it will NOT dissapear. Once you get inside, RUN as fast as you can to the edge of the arena and use sleep2 on maat, if that doesn't stick, quickly follow up with sleep1. Now, make sure you're at max distance from maat (you will be if the first one stuck) and use yagudo drink, INT booster, Blink, and Stoneskin. Dispel and Paralyze him, and then Bind. Now comes the crucial part: this is when you Chainspell. Once you Chainspell, use as many Aero III's as you can untill you have enough MP left for sleep 1 or 2! This is crucial, and if you mess up and don't have enough... guess what you brought the mulsum's for? IF there are resists or Sleep cannot be used, THEN USE MULSUMS to up your mp at the last minute before Sleeping Maat (Chainspell is up so dont worry about delay). Immediately Convert and SPAM HI-POTIONS. Get your hp up to a comfortable lvl and use the last bit of Chainspell to pound the old man into oblivion with your newly replenished MP. You will have enough MP to finish him off when you win, even though he gives up before you get the chance. Expressed in steps, this is what you do:

Use food outside

Go in and Sleep Maat

Buff up and Dispel, Paralyze, Bind

Chainspell

Within Chainspell:

Aero III till enough mp left for Sleep (will vary with mp)

Sleep 1 or 2 and make it stick (use mulsums if need be)

Convert

Spam Hi-Potions

Aero III till he dies

You do not need to do anything else besides these steps. With Stoneskin and Blink both up, Stoneskin will cover the bumps Blink doesn't absorb, and you will have enough hp to take the 3-5 spells he'll manage to cast if they get through. The key is not to have any downtime between actions and to ensure the highest amount of accuracy on Sleep's. You should finish in under 3 minutes if you're smooth, Good luck!

Note: This Strategy was created after losing 6 times in a row with the one below. Went 1/1 with this.

• • This method worked like a charm, didn't need the mulsums although I am taru. 1/1 my first maat attempt broke the record also! 3 minutes 30 seconds** - Malatya ~ Asura
  • I just beat Maat with this strategy. It was my first Maat fight ever. So thanks to this effective strategy I can mock all my Red Mage friends who died 10 times prior to beating him! As a note, I had similar equipment to what was recommended in other sections here. I was doing 408dmg per Aero III except one was resisted for 172 damage. I went on Watersday. I had no resists to Sleep II or Sleep. Maat only had time to get three spells off against me before I slept him the second time. He casted Blind, Haste, then Fire II which my Stoneskin ate up. He physically attacked me twice but my shadows got those. After I did the whole convert dance and potioned up, my chainspell wore off before I could nuke again. It only took me one more Aero III after converting. That's 7 total Aero III counting the one resist. I'm sure if I could've casted once more he would've been KO'd, so I had to take out most of his HP. Hope that helps anyone wavering on this strategy! The key, in my opinion, is that I have decent elemental and enfeebling skills as well as being a Tarutaru with a good deal of INT. I used INT potion and creampuff. Besides the AF gear, I had no skill enhancing gear like spider torque. I used a philomath stole. --Cybereal 03:07, December 20, 2009 (UTC)

• I also used this strategy after losing 7 times using the one below it. I went in on Windsday and broke the record in 2 minutes and 40 seconds! I HIGHLY reccomend this strategy. My skills were capped and my int was 64+27.

So I'm an elvaan RDM. Last time I fought Maat, was years ago. He kicked my butt faster than I knew what was happening. I thought I'd beat him just wandering on in with some food and my fancy spells. Wrong-o! I took a long break from the game and came back recently with a plan. And it was gonna work. (Spoiler: It DID!)

Suggestions for meds:

3 Hi-Elixers

1 Vile Elixer

1 Vile Elixer +1 (if you don't use it you can put it back on the AH but it's better to have it than not in an emergency)

3-4 Hi-Potions +3

*Note: I bought an intelligence potion but at the BC, decided I did not want nor need it. I honestly am glad I didn't use it because they will prevent you from taking more meds (such as hi-pots or elixirs)

• My intelligence during the fight was 86. If you don't know, that's pretty awesome for an elvaan. Here's a breakdown of my HP, MP and gear..
• Hp: 1234
• Mp: 876

Gear:

Weapons: Pluto's staff (dark+1) for sleep, bind

Auster's staff (wind+1) for aero

Terra's staff (earth+1) for stone

Aquilo's staff (ice+1) for water

Sub: Bugard leather strap +1 (though it's pretty good for a sub, I'm sure you can find one or two better items if you have the time / patience)

Ammo: Phantom tathlum

Head: Warlock's Chapeau (I kept this because it is probably THE best headpiece you can have for this fight)

Necklace: Beak necklace +1 (but I'd have preferred a Grandiose Chain if you can get your hands on one, or even an Elemental Torque, maybe)

Earring 1: Moldavite earring (this thing is super awesome and super easy to get off the NM in Onzozo)

Earring 2: Insomnia earring (because I couldn't find anything better at the time, but it isn't crap gear)

Body: Warlock's tabard (again, the best gear possible for this fight that I've found shy of something from Dynamis)

Gloves: Wood gauntlets (elvaan RSE for hands and feet was excellent for mana and int)

Ring 1: Genius ring (int)

Ring 2: Serket ring (mp)

Back: Intensifying cape (it's def, mp and hp but there are a few better things if you can find em)

Waist: Demagogue's sash (stats on it are def, mp, int, mnd, chr)

Legs: Ogre trousers (these were an awesome find; def, hp, int, and ice spikes effect, though it does lower acc by 3... But you aren't supposed to be physical with this guide, anyw`ay!)

Feet: Wood Ledelsens (again, the RSE is awesome for def, mp and int)

• I chose to fight on windsday per the possibility of a damage boost. No guarantees, but it does happen (and did, several times).
• Ate a Vermillion Jelly before entering bc (by far the best food I've found, if you can afford it; cream puffs don't have nothin' on this dish!)
• I ran straight for him from the second my feet hit the ground. I caught him casting buffs already. Stopped at the first orange line of the circle and chainspelled.
• Sleep II, it stuck. Dispelled four times, he resisted once.
• Cast aero III, bind, water III, sleep II; all four stuck. (As a note, if you cast water or anything like that on him while he is bound, chances are good it'll unbind him, which is why I chose the format of casting that I did)
• Once he was asleep, I went on to buff; refresh, Prot, shell, blink, stoneskin. Used pots as necessary (the ether +3s only heal for 40mp so this was something I don't recommend). Total was two ether +3s and then gave up on those because they were wasting precious time and used a Vile Elixir (which was awesome).
• Cast aero III, cast bind. I tried using Sleep I but it didn't stick. He apparently cast Prot on himself at this time but I didn't notice (that's why an occasional dispel is good to throw out during the fight, if you have mana for it).
• I then cast Sleep II and that stuck. Blink and stone skin. Used two hi-potions +3 which were 130hp each, pretty good if you're in a pickle.
• By this time Maat awoke, so I cast aero III, then slept him with S2 again. I then converted (it was unnecessary but I had 400hp and 700ish mana after convert, which was a pretty good safety line). Cure IV, Cure III. Blink, stone skin. Aero III.

He was toast.

Voila! It really was easy, despite being terrified of it being the "hardest" Maat fight of all the jobs. He was as easy for me as my white mage fight, which is pretty ridiculous. The trick was- to prepare yourself properly. The only thing I'd suggest is not bother with low ethers (though you can bring them for emergencies, I felt they were a waste of my very valuable time). It's really about prepping yourself as much as possible, capping your enfeebling and elemental (even if it is tedious). Please, macro your equipment (staves) with your spells! It's super important and super easy to do. To prep for this (and to cap my severely under leveled skills) I fought lesser colibris in Bhaflau Thickets; these birds were annoying as hell but because of them, I went into a virtual mode of automation with my macros during my Maat fight; it helped a lot. I was forced to pay attention to the status of bind and sleep on these mobs or they'd hit me super fast and knock all my buffs off (as you'll quickly discover, Maat does the same.) Good luck! -- G, as of 01/06/15

Very commonly considered the hardest of all the Maat fights and for good reason. Chainspell in the hands of an enemy is never a good thing. Luck plays a big role in this fight so say your prayers before doing this. First and foremost, get the elemental staff for your highest elemental spell. It will help your nukes not get resisted. Food is very helpful in getting your INT as high as you possibly can, every last point counts. Melon Pie +1 is very good INT and MP food, but others might work as well.

Everyone has their own method for entering. Enter, run to Maat and buff yourself while keeping a close eye on what spells Maat is buffing himself with. Sleep him and dispel him until all buffs are removed. If you don't land that first sleep, you'll be glad you put buffs up first before starting the battle, they will buy you time in casting your other sleep spell. Bind Maat. Nuke Maat with your highest tier III spell, then sleep him. If he managed to cast a buff in the time you nuke/sleep him, dispel it. While he is slept, keep your buffs up if he had a chance to hit you. The nuke/sleep/bind method is a good way to keep him at a distance so he doesn't use Asuran Fists to wipe the floor with you. When your MP is almost depleted, make sure he is slept, check your buffs one last time, Convert, use potions to get your HP back to full, Chainspell and nuke away with your best tier III spell. You do not need to get his HP to zero, he will most likely give up before then. There are other methods to defeating Maat as RDM. It is possible to beat him at 66, but very difficult.

Soloing the Ruby Quadav in Qulun Dome is good practice for fighting Maat, and will get you testimonies in the process. Keep in mind, that Maat will use Chainspell. If he does, make sure he is slept, and let him sleep long enough for it to wear off. Maat does have access to all tier III spells even though you don't. Bring food, drinks, potions and elixirs. Creating a macro bar just for this fight does not hurt. Do not get discouraged, keep trying. This is not an easy fight.

Special note on fighting the Ruby Quadav: When fighting Maat, you will be RDM ONLY. Any subjob you've leveled at this point and have relied upon for its additional stats will be useless. Therefore, it is highly recommended to fight the Ruby Quadav as RDM/lowest level sub. It will give you a better feel for your RDM abilities against Maat. Don't worry if things go bad just zone or bring an RR item. Even after you've soloed the Ruby Quadav, keep in mind that Maat moves much faster.

This strategy is best used for jobs that have more MP. I've personally tested this strat on Tarutaru and Humes. I would also assume it works very well with Mithra. Galka and Elvaan may not be able to use this strategy effectively.

The goal here is to maximize Magic Attack Bonus, then INT, then MP. This path is also a more expensive path than most, since it requires a vile elixir and a vile elixir +1. You may be able to cheapen the meds, but it's something I do not recommend. The int potion, although released before COP, was in low supply when I did both my tries, so it was something I was unable to get. I'd recommend it if it's cheap on the server, but it's not necessary.

Equipment I used (my attempts predate COP, so some items may have better equipment now)

Weapon - Auster's Staff (HQ Wind)

This is useful because of the 15% magic attack bonus for the Aero III spam you will be doing

Throwing - Phantom Tathlum / Morion Tathlum

Head - Warlock's Chapeau

Neck - Elemental Torque

Earring - Moldavite Earring/Phantom Earring or Elemental Earring

Moldavite is the key to this strat. It adds an additional 5% damage in a slot that doesn't do much overall

Body - Warlock's Tabard

Hands - Warlock's Gloves or anything that gives +int

Rings - 2 x Zircon Rings

Back - Red Cape

Waist - RK Belt +1 (thats what I used when I started) but Penitent's Rope is better

Legs - Warlock's Tights or Anything that gives +int

Feet - Warlock's Boots or anything that gives +int

Food - Melon Pie +1

The strat I used was to eat food before entering the BC, then enter, then run to the BC edge, cast Stoneskin, cast Blink, cast Diaga, activate Chainspell, spam Aero III and then Blink, repeat Aero III and blink, once low on MP pop a Vile Elixir, repeat Aero III/Blink spam, low again pop a Vile Elixir +1, repeat till MP is gone.

It should take I believe 6 Aero IIIs to beat Maat. To increase damage, go on windsday. This strat is more expensive, but it's how I did win in record time.

Testimonial: I've tried this as a Mithra and it worked great! Sleeping Maat never worked for me, even on Darksday. My elemental skill was capped at 215. I used different equipment, but I basically had my INT up to 64 + 19, and my MP at 719. I used a Cream Puff before the battle instead of Melon Pie + 1, which brought my INT up to 64 + 26. It wasn't Windsday when I tried it either, so I imagine that would make it even easier. I think I used Aero III about 7 times. The last time I didn't have Chainspell active anymore so it was close. Just keep an eye on your MP so you know when to use Vile Elixir +1 (I didn't need to use Vile Elixir). Thanks to whomever came up with this!

Important note: Both these notes below are completely misplaced and useless here, since they defy everything this strategy promotes (zerg him down as fast and strong as possible instead of sleeping, debuffing him, reapplying buffs, etc.). They aren't bad strategies per se, but do not apply for this strategy.

Added note

(This fight is enough to make you wish you never chose RDM as your main, but this was the only strat that worked for me, just a couple notes I'd like to add. Don't Dia Maat, because if you Dia him, you can't sleep him, and you will need to sleep Maat to debuff him and use any potions you might have brought along. Another thing is don't count on sleep sticking unless your Int. is very close to or above 100 total. If you wanna avoid Maat's heavy melee dmg, stay away from using Silence, and don't count on being able to Bind or Gravity Maat; he seems highly resistant to both.)

Added note v2

You may wish to sleep Maat to debuff and dispel him before you Chainspell Aero III (Shell IV, Stoneskin, or Blink can really hurt). To do this - DO NOT cast Diaga. Also, because Chainspell in Maat's hands can cause more damage than his melee, consider silencing him too. During Chainspell, you will likely only need to reapply Stoneskin or/and Blink, once if at all. A very useful alternative to vile elixirs is leveling up mid fight using an exp scroll. This method should give enough mp for elvaan and galka races to cast the required number of Aero IIIs. Please see a video of this strategy in action - Youtube link

Note - Strongly recommended this strategy, 2100HP from Maat to win. Used only Vile Elixir, as Taru. 1/1 winning.

So after everyone telling you that RDM is the hardest G5 to do, you decided to attempt it anyway. You get your testimony, grab your food or whatever mystical item you hope will help and head in to the burning circle. You run up to Maat and try your best, but both Sleep and Sleep II have failed. And then you go down. It happened to me a few times too, til I got pissed and decided to try a different strategy.

What you need to do: Max out your INT. The more INT you have, the more damage you'll do.

Must have gear: Definitely a Wind Staff, or if you can afford it, Auster's Staff. My INT was +37 with all my gear.

Items you will need: A Cream Puff, Vile Elixir and Vile Elixir +1.

What YOU need to do: Make macros. All you need to macro is: On first palette:

Aero III

/ma "Aero III" <t>

Vile Elixir

/item "Vile Elixir" <me>

Vile Elixir +1

/item "Vile Elixir +1" <me>

Second palette:

Blink

/ma Blink <me>

Stoneskin

/ma Stoneskin <me>

How to destroy him: Enter the BC. Once in, run up to Maat. Eat your yummy delicious Cream Puff. Use Chainspell quickly before he has time to get any good buffs up. First Blink and Stoneskin, and then open fire on Maat with Aero III. Recast Blink/Stoneskin as needed. Once you're out of MP, quickly pop your Vile Elixir and keep nuking. After a few more Aero IIIs, You'll need your Vile Elixir +1. You should finish him off, and in record time too. With this strat my clear time was 1 minute 24 seconds. Good luck! --Magewar 08:01, March 14, 2012 (UTC)

Elvaan can indeed use the aforementioned Gung Ho strategy very effectively, but some additional pointers need to be mentioned. Low INT is the absolute bane of Elvaan RDM black magic, and low MP the second bane of Elvaan RDMs.

One effective countermeasure to the Low MP issue is to bring in a Hi-Elixir and use that after you've cast your initial buffs and are ready to pull Maat in from the center of the arena. Granted, it's ten seconds of downtime that Maat can buff himself in, but it can also be an extra 200 MP to play with. Protect, Shell, Phalanx, Blink, and Stoneskin can all fit into that amount of MP. Using the Hi-Elixir is also vital if you subscribe to the Go In Naked theory of Maat combat (theory being that Maat clones any equipment bonuses you have, so entering without anything equipped deprives him of those bonuses).

The Moldavite Earring is indeed critical for the Magic Attack Bonus, but if possible you may wish to acquire some Cobra Gloves as well. It's an extra 2 points of MAB as well as some extra MP and a very desirable Conserve MP +3 effect that red magi rarely get access to.

Another important fact is USE AN INTELLIGENCE POTION. It's +10 INT and the only side effect is that it leaves you medicated. Medicated won't prevent your elixirs from working, and the fight will be over so fast that it won't matter otherwise.

Due to Elvaan INT being so abysmal, attempting to Sleep and/or Gravity Maat is likely to be a waste of effort. Instead, take heart in the fact that your MND is so naturally high that Silence should stick every time if your Enfeebling skill is capped or nearly so, even without a lot of +MND equipment. Repeatedly switching between Blink and Aero III is an effective play, although your MP is so naturally low that it is easy to end up casting 2 Aero IIIs for every one Blink just to keep the offense rolling. Your HP can take a couple hits without too much panic - the Vile Elixirs will see to your healing.

Using your Vile Elixir is likely only going to give you one casting of Aero III unless Conserve MP activated for you, so be ready for that. Since it's very difficult to Sleep Maat in this state, use Diaga to strip Maat's opening Blink if you saw him use it.

One other key is to be extremely efficient with your Chainspell. If it wears off before Maat gives up, his physical attacks are very likely to interrupt you for the rest of the fight, even with Aquaveil up. If you can avoid needing to Diaga him, casting your first Aero III before activating Chainspell is a very good idea.

It may take up to 8 Aero III casts before you put him away, depending on resists, whether or not he got a Shell IV up, and if you're using a Auster's Staff or just a Wind Staff. He will go down, though, if you can keep your Chainspell downtime to its absolute minimum.

As claimed by many, Elvaan and Galka RDM Maat fights are the worse. While having a higher HP base, the lack of MP and INT is a real killer. Here is an alternative to the Chainspell method which may come in handy for Elvaan and Galka.

It's important to build up a high INT and balance it with an increase in MP. Don't be afraid to equip -HP gear to achieve this. Auster's Staff are great pieces to buy for the fight. The strongest spell for RDM at 70 are Aero III. If you have the money to spare, a Terra's Staff is a good addition for Stone III and increase Vitality/damage reduction. Also a good idea to carry your best sword and have your skill capped prior to entering the fight. Recommended to fight Maat on Wind day. Remember, Maat has the same spells as you do so an increase in your Aero III attack power means an increase in his.

Other Suggested Items

TP Wing

Dark Staff or Pluto's Staff

Vile Elixir

Vile Elixir +1

Melon Pie +1

Here is the basic premise - Stoneskin and Blink upon entering the fight. Run in and Dispel Maat and pop off Sleep II. Maat will buff himself the moment the fight starts and you don't want to throw Sleep II with Blink up. When he's asleep, toss on Gravity and Silence (yes Silence does work and with the higher MND of Elvaan, this is easy to achieve). Eat up your TP wing and bash Maat with a WS (your call but wouldn't recommend Shining Blade). Throws Sleep II again and move back. Now you can move into nuke/sleep/gravity mode as much as possible. Don't forget Bind. While Bind is broken if Maat is attacked or nuked, if you can't get Sleep II or Sleep to stick, this is a good alternative with Silence active. Nuke/sleep until you have to pop a Vile Elixir and keep going.

Why does this work? Elvaan and Galka run out of MP fast while STR/ATK base is above average, thus this needs to be used to have an edge over Maat. You'll also find that Maat becomes super Sleep Resistant after the first few casts. If you don't have Maat down to 40% life by the time Sleep is resistant, the fight is over and you're a corpse. By allowing a WS to be used not only is there a conservation of MP, and refreshing during attacks, you can keep Maat busy without having to sleep him.

Why isn't Chainspell used? It comes down to MP. By the time an Elvaan or Galka buffs up and sleeps Maat the first time, 30-40% of the MP is out. Even with Elixir's, the MP is used up fast. Thus, using TP moves and keeping him bound/gravity/silenced reduces the cost of MP needed to attack and defend. Increase of INT is very useful for these debuffs. If you feel the need to Chainspell have at it. Shoot for 40-35% HP on Maat before making your move. If you know the ways of Elvaan and Galka BLM spells, then you're aware of how often enemies will resist. Thus the Chainspell method can be a complete bust.

Everybody who chooses RDM as their first job will be living in plain blissful ignorance while they climb to level 65; the rate of invites making it quite easy. Upon hitting 66, though, it hits you in the head that you have to fight your worst enemy: an insanely overpowered you.

First and foremost, don't try the fight at 66. Don't even try it until level 70; you'll need all the enfeebling and elemental skill you can get. When you do finally hit level 70, make sure that you take your gear and haul over to the Qulun Dome. It's time for the pre-fight. This is probably the second most important time of all. You're going to need to be trained. You have to kill like a Black Mage and survive like a Paladin when you fight the old codger.

Your target is the Ruby Quadav, your new favorite playmate. After you get to him, you'll notice that there are two friends accompanying him. You have two options here: Buff up and aggro them all, and zone out quickly only to run in with probably half your buffs and have to fight an angry, and probably fully buffed, Ruby. The other, slightly wiser method is to wait for the other two other Quadavs to turn their backs and for the Ruby to be near the entrance to the entrance strip. The next thing is to pull him, fast.

Your spell of choice this fight is Silence. If he stands around to cast a spell, you'll probably end up fighting all three Quadavs at once. If you do get Ruby alone, run back a few feet until he's out of linking range and then Sleep him. If Sleep fails, on to Sleep 2, and then Sleepga if all else fails. You'll now want to dispel him. This takes a ludicrously long among of time on occasion, but do not stop dispelling until he's done. Sleep him as needed.

Alright, so you're ready for Ruby now. Make sure Stoneskin and Blink are up, as well as Refresh. It's time to go trigger happy. Launch Aero III at him and then immediately put him back to sleep. Keep him silenced at all times. If you're Elemental Skill is capped you should be able to easily take out around 10% of his HP in a single nuke. As he's asleep rest for 20-40 seconds, and launch the next nuke. Repeat, over and over.

Hey, no one ever said it was an exciting fight. When Ruby is dead, you may get a Test. If not, oh well; go kill another Quadav nearby and make yourself feel better. They drop some nice loot anyway. Ruby respawns in around 16-20 minutes after his previous death; plenty of time to kill his chums and rebuff.

When you finally have your Test, it's time to prepare. After many-and I mean more than some of the most horrid records ever-I had realized that they way to go was with a Moldavite Earring, and then an MP set mostly. I used two Electrum Ring, one Phantom Earring, my handy Marine M Gloves, my AF Hat, Body, and Pants, my Red Cape +1, a Qiqirn Sash, a Beak Necklace, a Bugard Strap +1, and my Custom M Boots. If you're not a human, substitute the RSE with similar pieces.

Also, prepare well, but not over-prepared. Then you get nervous easily. Get a friend with a cooking skill above 60, and have him make you Mulsums. Two stacks should be more than enough. Buy him the ingredients, it's cheap. When you have that, buy yourself a Marron Glace for your food. It's all about the MP. I also brought 4 Hi-Potion +2 with me. Go to the Gardens on Darksday-make sure you get there before 18:00 or so to give yourself ample time-give Maat your test, and be transported to your Burning Circle. Eat your food, rest to full.

Give yourself a pat on your back for making it this far. Have your friends cheer you on. You're ready for this monster. Trade the test, watch it tear, and run yourself up to the ledge of the arena; particularly do it as fast as possible. Start spamming your Sleep macro and get Maat to take his midday nap. As soon as that's done, cast Stoneskin, Blink, Refresh, and Phalanx. You will not need more than that.

This is were the Mulsums come in. They're extremely useful for quick MP since they have no side effects. I used six of them after I buffed. Sleep was a fair amount of time in, so I decided it was time to finish the fight. It's time to unleash the handy dandy Chainspell. As soon as it's used, make sure you start your nuking. In the midst of the nukes, I also got a Gravity and a Bind to stick. He'll hit you a fare bit through this, so be sure to cast Stoneskin and Blink as soon as needed while Chainspelling.

Pummel him, buff yourself. Time yourself though: 48 seconds into Chainspell, or when you hit below 200 MP, you should put all of your focus into getting him back to sleep. When he's asleep, rebuff yourself fully.

Convert, use one Cure IV and your hi-potions, run a little bit away from him, and get ready for the final shots. He should definitely be below 45% by now if you didn't have to go too buff crazy. You should have near full MP; any you don't have, use your Mulsums to get a fair bit back. Nuke him, sleep him, and rest.

Repeat that once or twice, and you should be done. Congratulations, because you just won the widely-agreed hardest Maat fight in the game. If the strategy worked as well for you as well as it did for me, you'll also have walked out with nearly full HP and decent MP. This isn't a time breaker, though; it'll take you 3:30-4:15 minutes. Still, that's good enough in anyone's book.