The Balance
FFXIV Resources / gnb_resources
No Mercy Opener and Rotation Loop
This is the standard Gunbreaker rotation that operates at a GCD of 2.47 or faster.
-❗Ideal openers are dependent on what fight and what comp you are playing with. Please refer to the FAQ to learn more about how to plan an opener.
-❗The 
Lightning Shot in the opener is optional and may not be ideal in some environments.
- Other openers previously shown such as 123NM are still perfectly viable opener options that you can freely choose to do. Openers aren't strict on this job. Please refer to the FAQ in regards to openers.
https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1034203718045945967/1070450189032243270/40GNB9NM.png
No Mercy.
-❗Ideal openers are dependent on what fight and what comp you are playing with. Please refer to the FAQ to learn more about how to plan an opener.
-❗The Lightning Shot in the opener is optional and may not be ideal in some environments.
https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/583964873151610910/1069131912049856583/GNB250_v2.png
Grade 7 Tincture of Strength (HQ).
No Mercy.
The cartridge gauge is managed by actions that generate and spend cartridges. Below is a brief list of these actions: 
Solid Barrel combo will grant one cartridge to the gauge, and should be used in single-target.
- The 
Demon Slaughter combo will grant one cartridge to the gauge, and should be used at 2+ targets.
- The 
Bloodfest ability will completely refill the cartridge gauge.
- Bloodfest should not be used unless the cartridge gauge is empty, or cartridges will be overwritten.
It is important to never overcap the cartridge gauge. Casting Solid Barrel or Demon Slaughter while the cartridge gauge is already full will waste that cartridge permanently. If the cartridge gauge is full, then a weaponskill that spends a cartridge must be cast before completing a combo.
Gnashing Fang is a a combo chain that is composed of three actions costing one cartridge.
- 
Continuation should be cast with every action in this combo chain.
- Failing to cast Continuation on the same GCD will lose that usage.
- This should be cast once inside No Mercy, and once outside of it.
Double Down is a powerful AoE action costing two cartridges that should be used within No Mercy.
Burst Strike is a single-target action costing one cartridge, and will proc Continuation at level 86+.
- Used in No Mercy or used to prevent overcapping the cartridge gauge.
- Prioritize spending cartridges on Gnashing Fang and Double Down first.
Fated Circle is the AoE version of Burst Strike, costing one cartridge.
- This replaces Burst Strike at 2+ targets, and replaces Gnashing Fang at 4+ targets.
No Mercy is a 20% damage buff that lasts for 20 seconds.
- Any available cartridges should be spent within No Mercy, alongside any available damage cooldowns.
- No Mercy should be cast as a "late weave" to allow 9 GCDs to be cast inside of the buff. This rule does not apply to 2.50 GCD players.
https://i.imgur.com/VEV9uhQ.png
No Mercy is activated, and the filler phase begins when No Mercy ends.
Solid Barrel combo should be used to fill the cartridge gauge for No Mercy.
- Cast Burst Strike if the cartridge gauge is full and the next GCD is Solid Barrel.
Use Gnashing Fang and 
Blasting Zone off cooldown once.
- Gnashing Fang may also come off cooldown once more right before No Mercy. If this happens, hold it into No Mercy.
Once No Mercy comes off cooldown, move to the burst phase. No Mercy should be cast and all available damage cooldowns should be used within it.
Try to cast No Mercy off cooldown with a full cartridge gauge, but do not delay No Mercy if the gauge is not completely full.
- The Solid Barrel combo can be used to generate enough cartridges as long as there are two cartridges.
No Mercy should contain one Gnashing Fang combo, one Double Down, one 
Sonic Break, and as many usages of Burst Strike as possible.
- Prioritize Gnashing Fang and Double Down over Burst Strike.
- Use a combo action when nothing else can be cast.
- If outside melee range, then Lightning Shot is okay to fill the downtime gap.
Blasting Zone, 
Bow Shock, Continuation, Bloodfest, and 
Rough Divide are oGCD actions that should be used within No Mercy.
- Bloodfest should not be used until all cartridges have been spent.
- Bloodfest should not be prioritized over other oGCD actions unless a cartridge is required for the next GCD action.
- Rough Divide may be used elsewhere if additional melee uptime can be gained by gap closing to the boss.
Once No Mercy fades, return to the filler phase.
Do I need to use the opener listed in the openers section exactly as shown?
️ No. The opener is no different from any other No Mercy, the only unique aspect of the opener is casting Bloodfest somewhere early to gain the cartridges to cast actions like Gnashing Fang or Double Down.
It is entirely up to you when you want to start your opener. In a fresh prog environment, prioritize starting with your group's raid buffs. As you document and take note of downtime/mechanics that affect or restrict your ability to use cooldowns, evaluate if changing your opener will allow you to use those cooldowns. If that gains you those usages, then you should use that new opener instead. Should I play 2.50, or should I play standard speed?
️ This is your choice depending on how comfortable you are with the job. It is easier to learn and easier to recover from mistakes on a standard speed rotation, since 2.50 relies heavily on your ability to press things continuously off-cooldown, where standard speed grants some leniency with something known as reverse drift. What is reverse drift?
️ All weaponskills are affected by skill speed, and abilities are not. All off-global cooldowns are called "abilities". This means that your weaponskill cooldowns will come off cooldown faster than your ability cooldowns when you have skill speed equipped or melded, causing your weaponskills to "drift" away from No Mercy by coming off cooldown faster than No Mercy can. The solution to this is simple: hold it into No Mercy. What is a forced two-cart No Mercy?
️ This refers to when you have to cast Burst Strike in your filler to prevent a cartridge overcap on the same GCD that No Mercy comes off cooldown, forcing you to begin your burst phase with two cartridges. It only occurs when the cartridge gauge is already full, the next GCD is Solid Barrel, and No Mercy will come off cooldown after casting the next GCD.
- There are two solutions to this that you can use, located in this infographic: https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/583964873151610910/1059690809814941716/2CARTGNB30_6.3.png
I noticed I don't have enough cartridges to re-open after downtime in (insert name here) fight. What can I do?
️ Consider holding Burst Strike usages that would occur before the downtime in favor of future Gnashing Fang and Double Down uses that would be used after the downtime ends. You may also consider if a Demon Slaughter combo can generate an extra cartridge in place of Solid Barrel. This is a case-by-case basis and should only be performed if there is no better way of getting a cartridge for that re-opener. What should I do if I died mid-fight?
️ Ideally No Mercy is still used on cooldown, but it may be preferable to delay an upcoming No Mercy slightly by a few GCDs until you can enter No Mercy with enough cartridges to use your major cooldowns inside of it.
- If Bloodfest is coming off cooldown within the next No Mercy, just use No Mercy on cooldown and use Bloodfest as a cartridge recovery tool.
- If you revive right as No Mercy comes off cooldown and you do not have Bloodfest, you may need to bite the bullet and use Demon Slaughter combo to minimize drift.
- You have up to 4 spare GCDs to build cartridges inside No Mercy. Use these to help build cartridges for Gnashing Fang and Double Down.
- If Gnashing Fang is available and No Mercy has 15 seconds or less on the cooldown upon your revival, hold it into the next No Mercy. When should I use AoE actions instead of my single target actions?
️ Please refer to this AOE priority list:
- https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/610019474673762347/890088072304291840/unknown.png
Can I use other GCD actions inside of my Gnashing Fang combo without breaking it? What about my cartridge-generating combo like Solid Barrel?
️ You cannot use any other type of combo action while you are using the Gnashing Fang combo, but you can use any weaponskill that does not contribute to generating a cartridge. In addition, the Solid Barrel and Demon Slaughter combos are not broken when using any non-generative GCD action, but they will break if you use your combo out of order or switch to using a different combo. See this infographic:
- https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1034203718045945967/1047336101708300318/GNB_combobreaker_v2.1.png
No Mercy over time.
Most lenient choice for high-latency users.
- Less lenient on user error. No reverse drift means no realignment for drifting cooldowns.
No Mercy drift, which may cause you to drift out of raid buffs over time.
- Less lenient for high-latency users which can make this set not worth choosing.
- Higher DH rate than 2.42.
No Mercy over time.
- More lenient for high-latency users.
- Lowest DH rate of all sets.
