4.X Intermediate Machinist Guide
Table of contents
This is an intermediate guide for lvl 70 machinists starting endgame. It will compile information from The Balance Discord and cover rotations along with general ability details. However, tooltips will not be covered as by level 70 you should be familiar with them.
Openers and Rotations
Machinist is a class with a static 60 second rotation that involves little to no on-the-fly decision making or adjustments. Because all of Machinist’s cooldown timers align with each other (15s / 30s / 60s / 120s), they need to be always used in the same order with the same timing that is dictated by the opener. After the initial alignment, all you need to do is keep hitting every skill on cooldown to keep the rotation going and aligned. There are two general rotation types discussed below, 2 ammo and 3 ammo.
Visual overview of the rotations can be found here.
Differences between 2 ammo and 3 ammo rotations
The names come from the number of preloaded ammo used in the opener. A more practical difference is in the way Reload and Quick Reload are used. 2 ammo uses Reload to setup procs for Wildfire while 3 ammo uses Quick Reload.
Reload setup makes the Wildfire preparation longer for 2 ammo, but also allows it to use only 1 tick of Flamethrower, which can be used while fully mobile. On the downside, using Reload to setup procs for Wildfire means that it aligns again with Gauss Barrel + Barrel Stabilizer reapplication and can’t be used perfectly on cooldown. This makes the rotation 61-62 seconds long and misaligns from Trick Attack windows unless the NIN is syncing up with Wildfire. Skill speed can be a problem for 2 ammo because of the Reload timings, the rotation only works smoothly at 2.45 GCD or slower.
3 ammo is able to setup Wildfire faster with Quick Reload, but has to use Flamethrower for 2 ticks, which means Flamethrower must be used while remaining still. This can be a problem for mechanics, but there are ways around it. 3 ammo rotation is also typically 61-62 seconds long, but it can be shortened by clipping one GCD to allow for better Trick Attack alignment and to choose between 1 or 2 ticks of Flamethrower. Clipping in this manner is generally not a dps loss at low skill speeds due to shortened rotation length and better raid buff alignment.
Neither rotation is strictly better or worse but 3 ammo is generally more flexible with varying amounts of skill speed and better at high levels of optimization due to raid buff alignments. 2 ammo can be better in high mobility scenarios and when downtime prevents strict raid buff timings.
3 ammo opener
Ideal skill speed range 364-848 (2.43-2.50 GCD)
3 ammo → (Infusion) (Hypercharge) → Hot Shot (Quick Reload + Gauss Round) → Split Shot → Slug Shot (Flamethrower 5 tick + Overheat) → Split Shot (Reload + Wildfire) → Clean Shot (Rapid Fire + Ricochet) → Slug Shot (Reassemble) → Clean Shot (Gauss Round) → Cooldown (Rook Overload) → Cooldown (Quick Reload) → Split Shot → Slug Shot → Split Shot → Hot Shot (Gauss Barrel + Barrel Stabilizer) → Continue
Midfire Rotation
This mid-fight Wildfire setup is generally the same as the opener with some small changes in the preparation, highlighted in red below. You will naturally reach 70 heat with one Cooldown in the rotation before Wildfire.
70 Heat → (Quick Reload) → Split Shot (Flamethrower 2 tick + Overheat) → Cooldown (Reload + Wildfire) → Cooldown (Rapid Fire + Ricochet) → Slug Shot (Reassemble) → Clean Shot (Gauss Round) → Cooldown (Rook Overload / Heartbreak) → Cooldown (Quick Reload) → Split Shot → Slug Shot → Split Shot → Hot Shot (Gauss Barrel + Barrel Stabilizer) → Continue
3 ammo can be shortened by one GCD to allow for perfect Trick Attack alignment by starting Wildfire preparation at 65 heat but waiting before Flamethrower until Wildfire cooldown has around 4 seconds left. This causes Gauss Round to move to the last empty position in the sequence and Overload to after the last Cooldown.
65 Heat → (Quick Reload) → Split Shot (Flamethrower 2 tick + Overheat) → Cooldown (Reload + Wildfire) → Cooldown (Rapid Fire + Ricochet) → Slug Shot (Reassemble) → Clean Shot (Heartbreak) → Cooldown (Gauss Round) → Cooldown (Quick Reload + Rook Overload) → Split Shot → Slug Shot → Split Shot → Hot Shot (Gauss Barrel + Barrel Stabilizer) → Continue
If mobility is a concern, the 2 tick Flamethrower can be converted to 1 tick by forgoing the mid-rotation Cooldown which makes the rotation reach 95 heat instead of 65. This is a slight dps loss, but allows full mobility. It’s important to note that you will need to wait longer before using Flamethrower than with 2 ticks and can’t go back to using 2 ticks without delaying the next Wildfire slightly to wait for Flamethrower cooldown.
Proc optimization
Depending on what procs you have going into Quick Reload your GCD order will change to make the most out of them, however, all oGCDs should be used in the same order as before. The basic concept is to replace the procs you don’t have with a Cooldown.
No procs:
(QR) Split (FT) → CD (WF) → CD → Slug → Clean → CD → CD or
(QR) Split (FT) → CD (WF) → Slug → CD → Clean → CD → CD
Slug proc:
(QR) Slug (FT) → CD (WF) → CD → CD → Clean → CD → CD
Clean proc:
(QR) Split (FT) → CD (WF) → Clean → Slug → Clean → CD → CD
Changes at high skill speed
Below 2.40 GCD the rotation will start clipping before Gauss Barrel reapplication after Wildfires. Using an extra unheated shot before Barrel Stabilizer will solve most issues. At even higher speeds GCD will also need to be added before Quick Reload at the Wildfire preparation.
High ping 3 ammo opener
This opener is only able to get 5 GCDs under Overheat because it interrupts Flamethrower with Wildfire instead of a GCD. However, it guarantees that all Wildfire GCDs are under the Overheat buff so it works best if you can’t fit 6 GCDs into it because of high latency with the other rotations.
Ideal skill speed as low as possible
3 ammo → (Infusion) (Hypercharge) (Gauss Round) → Hot Shot (Quick Reload) → Split Shot → Slug Shot (Flamethrower 5 ticks + Overheat) → (Wildfire) → Clean Shot (Reload + Rapid Fire) → Split Shot (Gauss Round) → Slug Shot (Reassemble) → Clean Shot (Ricochet) → Cooldown (Rook Overload) → Split Shot (Quick Reload) → Split Shot* → Slug Shot* → Hot Shot (Gauss Round) → Split Shot* (Gauss Barrel + Barrel Stabilizer) → Continue
*example GCDs, use your procs if you get them
Midfire Rotation
This is a shortened rotation like the 95/65 heat version of the regular 3 ammo which means you will need to wait for cooldown timers before starting your midfire. It allows for perfect Trick Attack alignment even with high ping because of the natural room for GCD clipping. There’s a 95 heat version with Wildfire+Flamethrower entry and a 65 heat version with 2 tick Flamethrower entry.
95 Heat → (Quick Reload) → Split Shot (Wildfire + Flamethrower 1 tick + Overheat) → Cooldown (Reload + Rapid Fire) → Cooldown (Gauss Round) → Slug Shot (Reassemble) → Clean Shot (Ricochet) → Cooldown (Rook Overload / Heartbreak) → Cooldown / Split Shot (Quick Reload) → Split Shot* → Slug Shot* → Hot Shot (Gauss Round) → Split Shot* (Gauss Barrel + Barrel Stabilizer) → Continue
*example GCDs, use your procs if you get them
After reaching 95 heat and using Quick Reload, wait until there’s 1 second remaining on Wildfire timer before continuing. Using Wildfire+Flamethrower double weave allows you to get 6 GCDs under Overheat with good ping, but also guarantees that the 5 Wildfire GCDs are under it even in worse conditions. This is the more mobile version of the two because of 1 tick Flamethrower and allows for more latency-based clipping. Flamethrower and Wildfire can also be used the other way around to give more room for Wildfire duration and a more flexible heat entry.
65 Heat → (Quick Reload) → Split Shot (Flamethrower 2 ticks + Overheat) → (Wildfire) → Cooldown (Reload + Rapid Fire) → Cooldown (Gauss Round) → Slug Shot (Reassemble) → Clean Shot (Ricochet) → Cooldown (Rook Overload / Heartbreak) → Cooldown / Split Shot (Quick Reload) → Split Shot* → Slug Shot* → Hot Shot (Gauss Round) → Split Shot* (Gauss Barrel + Barrel Stabilizer) → Continue
*example GCDs, use your procs if you get them
Use one Cooldown in the rotation between Wildfires to reach 65 heat and wait until Reload has 4 seconds remaining on timer before using Flamethrower. Using 2 ticks of Flamethrower is slightly higher potency but less mobile. It makes you clip your GCD with the Wildfire application but since this is a shortened rotation it doesn’t actually result in further dps loss unless you have very low skill speed and lag a lot during Rapid Fire. If the amount of latency pushes back your Wildfire cycle, you can use the 95 heat version to allow more room for clipping.
Proc optimization
Depending on what procs you have going into Quick Reload your GCD order will change to make the most out of them, however, all oGCDs should be used in the same order as before.
No procs:
(QR) Split (WF FT) → CD → CD → Slug → Clean → CD → CD or
(QR) Split (WF FT) → CD → Slug → CD → Clean → CD → CD
Slug proc:
(QR) Slug (WF FT) → CD → CD → CD → Clean → CD → CD
Clean proc:
(QR) Split (WF FT) → Clean → CD → Slug → Clean → CD → CD or
(QR) Split (WF FT) → Clean → Slug → CD → Clean → CD → CD
Changes at high skill speed
At high skill speeds it’s better to use the 65 heat version of the rotation for the higher potency since you’ll still stay below the 60 second threshold anyway. If your skill speed reaches ridiculous levels (faster than 2.40s GCD), you can add another GCD before midfire for a 70 heat rotation, but that will likely make you drift out of raid buffs due to the increased cycle time.
2 ammo opener
Ideal skill speed range 364-714 (2.45-2.50 GCD)
2 ammo → (Infusion) (Hypercharge) → Hot Shot (Gauss Round) → Split Shot (Reload) → Slug Shot (Flamethrower 5 tick + Overheat) → Split Shot (Wildfire + Reassemble) → Clean Shot (Quick Reload + Rapid Fire) → Slug Shot (Ricochet) → Clean Shot (Gauss Round) → Cooldown (Rook Overload) → Cooldown → Split Shot* → Split Shot* → Hot Shot (Quick Reload) → Split Shot* (Gauss Barrel + Barrel Stabilizer) → Slug Shot* (Gauss Round + Reload) → Continue
*example GCDs, use your procs if you get them
Midfire Rotation
You will naturally reach 90 heat. Alternatively you can use mid-fight Wildfire under the High Ping 2 ammo rotation which makes you reach 95 heat before 2nd wildfire and 90 from there on.
90 Heat → (Gauss Round + Reload) → Split Shot → Slug Shot → Split Shot (Flamethrower 1-2 tick + Overheat) → Cooldown (Wildfire + Reassemble) → Clean Shot (Quick Reload + Rapid Fire) → Slug Shot (Ricochet) → Clean Shot (Gauss Round) → Cooldown (Rook Overload / Heartbreak) → Cooldown → Split Shot → Split Shot* → Hot Shot (Quick Reload) → Split Shot* (Gauss Barrel + Barrel Stabilizer) → Slug Shot* (Gauss Round + Reload) → Continue
*example GCDs, use your procs if you get them
Proc optimization
Depending on what procs you have going into Reload your GCD order will change to make the most out of them, however, all oGCDs should be used in the same order as before.
No procs:
(Reload) Split → Slug → Split (FT) → CD (WF)→ Clean → Slug → Clean → CD → CD
Slug proc with 2 tick Flamethrower (needs at least 85 heat):
(Reload) Slug → Split → CD (FT) → CD (WF) → Clean → Slug → Clean → CD → CD or
(Reload) CD → Slug → Split (FT) → CD (WF) → Clean → Slug → Clean → CD → CD
Clean proc (needs 90 or below heat):
Clean (Reload) → Split → Slug (FT) → Split (WF) → Clean → Slug → Clean → CD → CD
Changes at high skill speed
Generally 2 ammo doesn’t work well with faster GCD speeds than 2.45s. There’s no way to completely remedy the clipping that starts to happen with Reload and Quick Reload timings without extending the rotation. Below 2.47 GCD the Reload before midfires can be pushed ahead 1 GCD similar to the opener and Clean proc scenario to avoid clipping, however the Quick Reload around 85 heat will start to clip around 2.44 GCD and below. The proc optimization for the 95 heat rotation is covered in the external link.
General rotation details
Ammo and Procs
Outside of Wildfire, ammo should always be used to gain procs if possible, but Reload and Quick Reload should never be delayed because of it. Ammo by itself is 25 potency, but gaining a proc with it is an extra 20 potency (50% chance to gain 40 potency on the following GCD), granted that you’ll have time to use it. Therefore ammo should always be used on either Split Shot or Slug Shot unless both Slug Shot and Clean Shot are already loaded, then your best option is Clean Shot.
Flamethrower and Overheat
Flamethrower ticks once per second, for a total of 11 ticks, and it’s mainly used to Overheat for Wildfire. To get 6 GCDs under the Overheat buff, the first GCD under it must be used as soon as the Overheat starts. Generally Overheat is started either with 1 tick or 2 ticks of Flamethrower and both require different timing.
When Overheating at 80 heat or above, time Flamethrower 60-70% into the GCD cycle to start Overheat just before your next GCD is ready. Otherwise your Overheat will start way too soon and the 6th GCD will not be under the buff.
When Overheating at below 80 heat, 2 or more ticks are required. This means you’ll be clipping your GCD cycle and will have to predict the last tick. Use Flamethrower as early as possible and input your next GCD as soon as Overheat starts to make fitting 6 GCDs into the buff possible.
Hypercharge
Hypercharge buff fits 7 turret attacks and inflicts the attacked target with a total of 6*3+10 = 28 seconds of Vulnerability if focused the entire duration. It should be used to cover the highest potency part of the rotation: heated shots and Wildfire. A good rule of thumb is to use it 15 seconds before Wildfire. Potion usage follows the same principles.
Turret Overload
Overload is best used before downtime or snap shot at the end of raid buffs. All raid buffs besides Dragon Sight affect turrets. Personal buffs do not, except for attribute boosting ones (potions / food). Wildfire does not collect Turret or Overload damage but raid buffs are used in conjunction with the Wildfire burst window, so generally Overload will be used there the same way as in the opener.
When it comes to downtime, a good rule of thumb is that if a disconnect is 15 seconds or longer, it’s better to use Overload for the disconnect rather than for raid buffs, because the practical cap for stacked raid buff multiplier is around 1.5x which would make the Overload gain ~400 potency.
Overload condenses 30 seconds of Turret damage into a single instance and using it to cover a window of downtime is essentially equal to the turret never stopping its attacks. In 15 seconds Rook is able to output ~400 potency which is the same gain as you would get from stacked raid buffs and longer disconnects will only increase the gain, up to the maximum of 800 potency with 30 seconds of Turret Reset overlapping the downtime window.
Bishop Overload is a 400 potency gain on 2 targets even without downtime or raid buffs and at 3 targets already a 1000 potency gain, which overtakes Rook Overload even with a perfectly matched downtime window.
Role Skills
As of patch 4.4 you can now equip all 10 role skills and don’t have to choose.
Recovering from mistakes or death
There’s generally two ways of recovering from mistakes: delaying Wildfire or delaying an oGCD ability that has been misaligned. Assuming raid buffs timings haven’t been screwed up, the latter is usually the better option. So, if you forget to use an oGCD in time, the easiest way is to simply delay it until it comes up again in the rotation. That way it gets realigned to its normal position. If there’s downtime or raid buff rotation has been misaligned, or the mistake is a small one GCD delay for one or more abilities, delaying Wildfire is a valid option to let the misaligned timers catch up to the rotation. This minimizes the chance of losing usages over the encounter but changes the Wildfire timings.
Recovering from death is simple when you’re familiar with the rotation. The general idea is to get Hot Shot and Turret back up and hold all abilities that have a cooldown timer longer than there is time left on the Wildfire cooldown. This way all the necessary abilities are ready for the burst rotation and get realigned in their correct position when you use Wildfire the next time. If you’re unsure what should be held back, it’s better to hold everything rather than nothing.
Barrel Stabilizer and Flamethrower should be among the abilities held, because the loss from unheated shots is generally lower than the potency loss of a Non-Overheated Wildfire (30 potency loss per GCD vs ~800 potency loss from no Overheat). Just be prepared to do a longer burn with Flamethrower to Overheat from the lower heat count.
If you do use Barrel Stabilizer or Flamethrower accidently out of their usual place and want to keep Wildfire aligned with raid buff windows, your only choice is to do Wildfire without Overheat and realign the abilities for the next one. Replace Cooldowns in Wildfire with regular shots as necessary to maintain heat.
Fight specific tips
These will be updated as people find better ways to optimize the encounters.
O5S Phantom Train
Save the second Overload to use Bishop Overload on the adds. Avoid using long cooldowns on the train car ghost if you’re forced to kill it. At low gear levels Wildfire might be necessary but it’s preferable if a WAR, RDM or NIN skips the phase for you.
Dismantle is good for mitigating Head On and staying close. If you’re getting knocked back, pop Sprint beforehand to get quickly back in range.
O6S Demon Chadarnook
This is a near 100% uptime fight so use everything on cooldown. If you’re using the 65 heat rotation, you will be able to use 2 ticks of Flamethrower before dodging the stacked AoEs when prepping your 3rd Wildfire, pop Sprint for extra safety.
Airplane (black paint) removes Turret from the battlefield, remember to resummon it.
Depending on rotation or delays, you might have to paint for Siren during Wildfire. Try to do it during your prep and have someone else finish the painting at the right time. Tight Wildfire cycle should allow you to finish burst before painting.
Dismantle is great on Demonic Howls, the one after Lullaby being the most dangerous one.
O7S Guardian
Bring Head Graze (Silence) for Ultros’ Stoneskin cast.
You will need to do a Hot Shot → Flamethrower opener or hold Wildfire before Ultros if you get Biblio for first pattern because the boss jumps away before Wildfire has a chance to explode.
If you’re doing a regular opener, you will need to be pre-shielded and stand on the side, away from the party, to reduce chances of being targeted by the first Magitek Beam because you will be unable to move during Flamethrower.
Don’t use Wildfire on the Airforce adds. You should be able to get an extra use of Gauss Round and Quick Reload before moving back to boss for Wildfire when you end up delaying. If adds line up with your Gauss Lockout, ask for help as you’ll have trouble killing yours in time.
Biblio is the only potential target for Bishop Overload depending on kill time. Ultros doesn’t provide any gains since the boss will be untargetable for a period of time even after Ultros dies and Dadaluma aligns badly because of Hypercharge.
Dismantle is great for the AoE right after the second Airforce adds and during Biblio AoE spam.
O8S Kefka
The 2nd Wildfire needs to be delayed due to Graven Image so don’t use Hot Shot after your first Wildfire, you’ll save a cast if you reapply it before the first Graven.
Overload should be used in the opener and then before X:45 on the fight timer to optimally cover for all the disconnects. When encounter time gets shorter, don’t use Overload for the last Graven disconnect but save it for the end of the fight for better value.
When fighting against enrage, use Hypercharge on cooldown to get an extra usage. Otherwise coordinate with other raid buffs. Also hold 5th Wildfire until right after the 5th Graven to get another use at 6:25 with raid buffs. When you start killing below 6:35, start using your Wildfire before 5th Graven. This requires tight timings so 3 ammo is recommended.
Dismantle is great on the Light of Judgement, although the first one is tricky because it’s at the same time with Wildfire prep.
Remember to use your reloads during disconnects to keep alignments.
O8S God Kefka
Everything should be used on cooldown except for the Wildfire that aligns with the sleep and confusion tethers. If you’re using 2 tick Flamethrower, use North / South position for skull tethers so you get it out safely during the first Forsaken.
MP is very important in this fight so use Refresh on cooldown after getting the first one out sometime between Celestriad and the first Heartless Archangel.
Use Dismantle on the Light of Judgement and plan other uses around that. Palisade is good for Ultimate Embrace when tanks are low on cooldowns and sharing the buster.
O9S Chaos
With Blaze pattern Wildfire the Dark Crystal. With Tsunami you’ll have to hold.
O10S Midgardsormr
Shortened HS→FT opener and no-drift rotations can be used to try and hit 4 Wildfires on the boss before add phase, but it’s possible that a fast instance might make the explosion fizzle.
For normal opener and drifting rotations hold the 4th Wildfire and ask for a personal nail in the add phase to Wildfire solo while the party focuses on other ones.
It’s possible to squeeze 2 Wildfires before Hot Tail but you’ll have to start Flamethrower before boss is targetable, go into your HS→WF immediately when you can and do a zero-drift rotation with Flamethrower during the orbs. Doing this makes the rest of the Wildfires line up better with buffs but depending on kill time might not be worth the risk.
The Ancient Dragon in add phase and boss after Hot tail are good targets for Overload.
O11S Omega
Hold Hypercharge during Level Checker to have a complete reopener when boss comes back. Do use Overload though. Reopen with 2 GCD prep or you might have trouble finishing your Wildfire if you’re in the first group of people to be stunned by fists later in the fight.
O12S Omega-M and Omega-F
Overload in the opener and for each of the number phases disconnects.
O12S The Final Omega
Dismantle Ion Effluxes.
Suzaku Extreme
Shortened HS→FT opener can be used to land a Wildfire before first jump, but you can only land 2 in total before the DDR phase. Reopen with 1-2 GCD prep to fit a full Wildfire before being stunned by mechanics later in the fight.
Gear
General stat priority
Weapon Damage > Dexterity > Critical hit > Direct Hit >= Determination > Skill Speed
The reasoning behind this is that Critical hit is the best scaling secondary stat and with enough focus it provides higher expected damage than other stats. Direct Hit and Determination both offer similar linear gains with Direct Hit being slightly stronger for most gear sets. Skill speed is the least valuable stat because more than 30% of Machinist’s damage doesn’t scale with it, on top of causing some rotational issues. The main benefit is that it makes the 6 GCD Overheat window slightly less tight.
Best-in-Slot
Choose your gear set based on what GCD speed gets you the most consistent 6 GCD Overheat and what rotation type you’re most comfortable with. Faster GCD means easier Overheat timing and better raid buff alignment. Slow sets can use the shortened 3 ammo rotation for better raid buff alignment and faster cycle time if required or preferred.
Patch 4.55 gear sets
Hydatos Hat Crit overcap meld vs DH is better with 2 sources of crit buffs (DRG/BRD/SCH). Relic Weapon (ilvl405) with any non-SkS roll of at least 600 stats will be BiS.
2.50 gcd Tome Hydatos Set: http://ffxiv.ariyala.com/18LU9
2.46 gcd Raid Hydatos Set: http://ffxiv.ariyala.com/18LUB
Other sets
Tome Gloves can be used for easier 6GCD OH, the “Faster Set” also uses a SkS meld to break the GCD tier. Crafted Gloves and Omega Head are good if you don’t have Eureka gear.
2.44 gcd Fast Set: http://ffxiv.ariyala.com/17BFJ
2.43 gcd Faster Set: http://ffxiv.ariyala.com/17B4A
UCOB 2.50 gcd: http://ffxiv.ariyala.com/183HE (ty fox and clem)
UWU 2.50 gcd: http://ffxiv.ariyala.com/18BEP (ty clem)
Rotation and gear calculations
Low ping rotations assume 6 GCD Overheat.
High ping rotations assume 5 GCD Overheat.
Credits
Document written by Lynn Nuvestrahl (Odin). Feedback, suggestions and questions are welcome at The Balance discord Machinist channels or at Lynn#8794.
Special thanks
Bevin (Daddy Devito, Ragnarok)
Lavi (Lavieh Sevald, Sargatanas)
Fox (Fox Dyo, Shiva)
Sune (Sune Szihu, Balmung)
Clem (Clementia Kaiser, Ragnarok)
Nemekh (Nemekh Kinryuu, Exodus)
Laqi (Laqi Thish, Sargatanas)
Orinx (Pimoh Orinx, Gilgamesh)
The TheoryJerks community
And everybody in The Balance Machinist community!
