Not enough luck?

[Sabia]

Oh man I'm so cheesed right now with my summoner!

I've been doing my level 20 avatar battles over the last week and have fought every one of them except leviathan (not enough Norg fame.) On my first day, my wining chance was about 50/50 including my first battle with shiva which I lost because it was my first time. I beat Titan on my first try (on an earth day to boot, Oops!), fought Garuda- Lost, fought Ifrit - Won, Took on Ramuh - Lost, and then the next morning I fought Shiva again and won. That's about when my luck ran out.

I'm using the 3 searing light technique with the Yaggy drink, 2 Mulsum, Boiled crab and potions for emergencies. Now in every battle I'd done before this I only used 3 of my potions maximum and then BOOM - all hell breaks lose! I've fought Ramuh 5 times now and lost every battle...there were points when I swear he had like 2 hit points left and I just couldn't hit him...and then there was this morning when he wouldn't even look at carby and just kept smoking me in the face....and garuda...OH garuda! I've fought her 3 times now and in one battle she was kind enough to hit me with 2 of her 2 hours in a row, mere seconds apart!

Now I don't know if I'm doing something wrong (This technique seemed to work on everyone else fine) but I'm thinking these battles rely too much on luck rather than skill...and luck has never been in my favor! With lots on items of 2 (cast that beauty on my carbuncles ruby...which I LOST) and ending up in really bad circumstances time and time agian - I find myself broke, frustrated and ready to throw my computer out the window.

So are there any secrets you summoners out there can share with me to bring a swift end to my rapidly greying hair? Or am i pooched to remain in this eternal battle of wills with these cursed avatars? Also do you think the Avatar battles are more a battle of luck rather than skill? Are they worth it in the end? I"m sure hoping so ^^

 

[Sindarkus]

I used to think it was luck too, back when I did it using that three Searing Light technique. Then I found the tactic that seems to work best.
Basically, what you want to do is summon Carbuncle, tell him to attack, then run to about that half-way point bend in the trail leading to the avatar. This should take you right next to the area where you lose sight of Carby's HP bar. Wait until you see Carby get close to death, and then start jamming on your summon macro; seconds count dearly with this tactic. Once Carby is out, run to the end of the area, where you spawned. Carbuncle should still have the aggro to attack the avatar on his own. Use this technique, going up and down the trail, being careful not to get too close to the proto crystal that the avatar spawned from (it's been my experience that getting too close draws the avatar like a magnet). Keep this up until the avatar is about 1/4, then unleash Astral Flow on the avatar. Let one Searing Light go, and move off down the trail and use Mulsum or whatever until you're able to Searing Light again. This should kill the avatar.
This tactic worked best for me. I'm elvaan and I couldn't tank most of the avatars. This fight should last about 9 minutes, so be sure to take 3-4 yag drinks to keep the mp up, and to keep Carby out at the end of the fight. Other than that, Mulsum should be all you need, maybe with a potion or two in case of emergany (but Cures should be fine).
As far as Garuda goes... the battle takes a little longer than the others, mainly because of Aerial Armor, but it shouldn't be that big of a deal.