Legal Gobbldygook:
Final Fantasy XI and anything found within it or said about it or even thought about it is owned, lock, stock, and barrel by the nice folks over at Square-Enix. So.uh.why did I have to write that? Is any one of you going to go trying to sell the stuff I'm gonna mention? If you can find a buyer, you can probably worm your way around those pesky copyrights, so do me a solid and try not to incriminate me into your crazy scheme. One time I tried taking out my brain. The easy part was taking the brain out. But the hard part was taking the brain OUT. Oh.wait.I think this officially became a rant. Wait. What the hell's a rant?

Introduction

This is a guide to the new fights Square-Enix put into the game. In the olden days of a few weeks ago, you had to go fight a level 60 Avatar to be able to summon it. This was crap, because no one wanted to raise a job to level 60 just to be able to effectively start the job he or she wanted in the first place. But this raised the problem among existing summoners who were afraid that there would be an influx of newbie SMNs that would crap up the job. This wasn't their real reason for anger; this was what they said to save face. What really angered them was the fact that you used to be able to demand respect as a summoner. 'Fear me and my avatars! I have another class that's at least level sixty! Whooo! Scary!' But, if these jerks ever start to lay into you, you can calm their woes by bringing up this point: you cannot get Fenrir at level twenty. You need to be around level seventy-five to get him, so the elitist SMNs can still parade around their Fenrirs and show off their mad lootz.

Stuff what's gonna be in here:
A:I Stuff you'll need to do first.
A:II Stuff you'll need to have.
A:III The meat and potatoes - how to fight the avatars.
A:IV Reasons why you'll die.
A:V Common questions.

If you wanna jump, search this page for the A:xxx code listed before the section.

A:I Stuff you'll need to do first.
1: You'll need to unlock Summoner. I'm not gonna tell you how to do that; there are ample guides for it already. In fact, there are good ones on Allakhazam and GameFaqs. Go read those.

2: You'll need to raise SMN to level twenty. The actual minimum level is fifteen, but wouldn't you feel better with a few more levels under your belt? These fights are TOUGH.

3: Max your summon skill. Sit outside somewhere and keep summoning and dismissing. Max that skill for a bit more oomph in your summon.

4: Get a bit of fame. I'm not sure what fame you need, but I had abysmal fame in Norg and Mhaura and I was still able to get those fights.

5: Get the quest. You know those odd pairings you find throughout the world that consist of a Taru and a taller person? The Taru is all, 'Owie, ow, ow! I hurt all over!' And the taller one is all, 'Channel that anger into a better strategy.blah-frickedy-blah.' Yeah. Those give you your avatar quests. The Taru, if you have really high fame in that town, will give you a tuning fork. This is for the high-level fights. The taller one in the pair, if you have fame enough, will give you a mini-tuning fork. This is for the level twenty fight. I'll give you a list of where these people are, and for what avatar.
Shiva: Near the home point crystal by the gate in Northern San d'Oria.
Titan: Just north of the drawbridge in Port Bastok.
Garuda: Fairly close to the Moogles in Rabao.
Ifrit: Near the crystal in Khazam.
Leviathan: About fifty feet from the entrance in Norg, by the water.
Ramuh: Upstairs, just outside the Inn in Mhaura.

A:II Stuff you'll need to have.

1: Equipment. In these fights, only one thing is important in equipment. Protection from Spell interruption. Nothing else matters. MP be damned in these battles. Seriously. For a weapon, you'll want a Hermit's Wand. Around 3K on Shiva server. For a belt, a Heko Obi +1. These are the only important pieces of equipment. Fill the rest of your armor slots with the best armor you wanna equip. And make sure none of it is above level twenty.

2: Consumables. There are people who tell you to load up on Yagudo Drinks, Hi-Potions, and Hi-Ethers. This way works. But, if you're like me, you're a cheap bastard and/or poor as hell. So here's what you'll need. Three Yagudo Drinks and two or three Hipotions, however many you feel like buying. This comes to a total of at least 7.5K on Shiva. But this is necessary. If you're even more like me, you'll say, 'Up to nine thousand gil, just for a fight? Count out this light warrior. I ain't gonna pay that.' But, think of it this way: you're spending nine thousand for a spell, essentially. Now, it doesn't seem so bad, do it? Especially if you consider that each of these avatars has seven abilities, plus its own 2hr. Quite economical, I'd say.

A:III The meat and potatoes - how to fight the avatars.

When you're all dolled up in your sunday best and are raring to go, take your mini-tuning fork to the person that gave it to you and trade it back to him or her. You'll then be warped to the room with the Protocrystal for that avatar. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT: When you're ready to go in, TRADE THE FORK TO THE CRYSTAL. If you don't, you'll enter the high-level fight. You'll be taken down so quickly, I'm laughing at the thought of it. Seriously, I'm laughing. It's funny. You stupid piece of.sorry. If you luck out, there may be some high level people there who may be kind enough to give you some good buffs before you enter the crystal. But probably not. After you enter, you'll see a cutscene and you'll be in a little arena-type area. The area is built like this: a winding path leading up to the avatar. The path has a 90 degree bend about halfway up. Go to this bend. In this order, do these things:
Cast aquaveil on yourself. If you have a WHM sub, use this spell. If not, don't worry. It's just a bit of a help.
Use a Yagudo Drink. Very important to have these drinks. Don't substitute. I tried once with Pineapple Juice. Ouch.
Summon Carbuncle.
Okay, now you're ready to go face the avatar. Run up the path, but don't run into the avatar. There's a point where the path spreads into a wider area. Around here is where you'll want to sic Carby on the avatar. You can use the Assault command from a further distance than the avatar needs to aggro you. This is important. This will help Carby keep hate off you. Now, Carby and the avatar will go at it. You run as far away as you can and still see Carby's health bar. Throughout this battle, when it's just Carby fighting, you'll keep your distance. NEVER hit the avatar yourself. Anyhow, if you're lucky, Carby will take down around 5% of the avatar's HP. That's all. Then he'll die. Resummon. You'll go through around a dozen Carbuncles in each of these fights. This is also important: don't use the Assault command. Carby will automatically go after the avatar again. And the fewer commands you use, the easier it is for Carby to keep hate. Remember to keep your distance. Whenever you recast, there's a fair chance the avatar will decide to go after you. Let it. After it hits you once or twice, it'll usually rofocus on Carby. Then, you get your distance again. And make sure you use a Hipotion if you're missing 100 HP or more. After a while, your Yagudo Drink's Refresh will wear off. Use another, and prepare to start the fireworks. You should have the avatar down to at most 80% HP now. As soon as your Carby dies, resummon and get ready to use your 2hr. Here's the time when you won't want to keep your distance. Use 2hr, and have Carby use Searing Light. This will take down around 210 HP from the avatar. And, since you have Refresh on you, Carby will not disappear. You'll contintue to gain MP, 2 at a time, while your 2hr is active. After he uses his SL, get away from the fight. Wait a minute for Blood Pact to wind down again, and run in and use another SL. Get your distance. Carby will probably die a couple times through this; keep calm and resummon. If your second SL doesn't kill the beast, your third will dismember it. Congrats! You've beated the summon and you automatically get the spell! You also get a scroll of instant warp to get you home again. There ya go.

A:IV Reasons why you'll die.

1: Letting Refresh wear off at an inopportune time. If it wears off right before you use Searing Light, you'll have zero MP when the SL is over. This triggers Carby's disappearance. You'll have to resummon, and you may not have enough time.

2: Misfortune. The avatars use strong attacks intermittently. If you're unlucky enough to have one of these kill Carby right after you summon, poo. Carby has about a thirty second recast timer. You have to wait for that to reach zero, giving the avatar a big chance to rip out your spleen. Also a danger: if Carby gets killed by a big move right before he uses Searing Light. This blows heartilly.

3: Spell interruption. I died about a half a dozen times because the avatar kept hitting me while I was trying to summon Carby. This was a very slow, infuriating way to die. If it happens, go flip off a box of kittens. Or something. I was blind with rage when it happened.

A:V Common Questions.

1: I'm a non-Taru. Can I hope to win these fights?
Hells, yeah, boy! Fact of the matter is, HP matters more than MP in these fights. That's why my Galka was able to beat Titan and Ifrit first try. I stood up and took more punishment. But, overall, just like the game itself, race has very little to do with anything. Don't go deleting your character and making a new one with a more favorable race. It's all cool, baby.

2: Wow! Your guide helped me immensly! I want to have your children!
That's not a question. Come back when you can read.

3: Wow! Your guide helped me immensly! Can I send you gil?
Thankee, thankee, feel free. I'm on Shiva, the sexy server, and am a Galka named, "Hikigaeru." But, even if you just drop me a line of thanks, I'll be happy as can be.

4: I've heard that the avatars you get through these fights are weaker in some imaginable way to the other ones. Really?
No, no, no. They're the exact same avatar. NO DIFFERENCE, WHATSOEVER.

5: What's the true nature of existence?
I don't really see what that has to do with the game.

6: Really. Existence. Explain it.
I must point out that that's not a question.

7: Fine. What's the true nature of existence?
Damn! Three times! Okay, here it is: we're all extensions of the soul of God, living in a reality that is merely a manifestation in his mind. Happy?

8: But, what about karma and...
Shut up! I'm taking questions about this game, this quest! So eat me!

9: Okay, then, if Buddha were to fight these avatars, would his philosophic views in any way enter into.
That's it: no more questions. Jeeze.confused adolecents seem to be grasping for any straws they can find.