Garuda is the FFXI goddess of wind. She is thought to be one of the weaker avatars in FFXI, so you can fancy your chances of beating her if you plan your attack well.
Remember, the Prime FFXI Avatars are strong to every element except their weakness. If you want to damage Garuda with a magic spell you'd be better off trying in the Blizzard line, or you can be sure of heavy resistance. The idea is to attack on the weak day of the Final Fantasy XI Avatar you are facing, or do it on the Lightsday. So effectively, you should look to take on an Avatar at its weakest ebb, FFXI Garuda included.
To get the ability to summon Guruda, you have to defeat her in battle first. Whether you want a low level solo fight, or a Prime Fight at 60+ is up to you. You can find the NPC in Rabao near the nomad moogles. The NPC is next to Agado-Pugado and you can easily pick him out because NPCs always stand next to a Taru. The NPC will give you a tuning fork. Simply trade it with him, and he will teleport you to the Cloister, where you can initiate the battle.
| Skill | Level | MP | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claw | 1 | 7 | Physical damage to the target |
| Aero II | 10 | 24 | Inflicts wind elemental damage to the target |
| Aerial Armor | 25 | 92 | Casts 'Blink' on the clan members in the range |
| Whispering Wind | 36 | 119 | Fills the HP tank of the party members within range |
| Hastega | 48 | 129 | Casts 'Haste' on party members in the area |
| Aero IV | 60 | 118 | Deals wind elemental damage of higher potency |
| Predator Claw | 70 | 164 | Inflicts physical damage of three attacks |
| Aerial Blast | 2 HR | * | Mammoth AOE wind elemental damage |
* The 2HR damage requires at least double the MP of your current level to be implement, and it drains all the available MP
