Final Fantasy 14features a large host of endgame activities; glamour hunting, chocobo racing, house-hunting, and more. For many side-goal focused warriors of light, however, raiding remains intimidating. The fear of toxic pick-up groups or the massive gear-grind requirements of other MMORPGS put them off. Fortunately, Final Fantasy 14’s entry-level gear requirement is very forgiving, meaning you may get stuck in right away.
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Make no mistake: the game is not lacking in challenges for hardcore players. The door is, however, open to players who are interested in dabbling in more intense tasks, without relying on a buy-in of routine dailies or randomised loot drops. In this guide, we’ll be going over what types of challenging raid content Final Fantasy 14 has to offer, where it can be unlocked, and beginner tips for any would-be warrior of light thirsty for a challenge.
What Are Raids?
End-game raids in Final Fantasy 14 are split into four categories:Normal Raids, Extreme Trials, Savage Raids,andUltimates. There are alsoAlliance Raids, but they’re designed aslow-stress 24-man spectacle battlesthat can be completed withminimal prior knowledge, and there areno harder versions of Alliance Raids,so we won’t be focusing on those for this guide.
They are worth doing, however, as they can net yougreat entry-level gear for the more difficult content. Normal Raids have a similar difficulty requirement, but we’ll talk about them in this guide as they arerequiredto unlock harder difficulties.
Normal Raids
“Normal"refers to the normal versions of theraid series.A raid series is a set of fights,released in batches of four, which can played after completing theMain Scenario Quest(or MSQ) for that expansion. These eight person duties aresimilar to Alliance Raidsin that they can be completed withlittle to no prior knowledge.It’s required to beat them on Normalbefore unlocking theirSavagecounterparts.
Extreme Trials
Extreme Trialsare “extreme” versions of the trials you encounter during theMain Scenario Questline. These dangerous variants of the game’s story content are challenging, andrequire a good knowledge of both your job and the fight itself to complete. However, they are not as punishing asSavage RaidsorUltimates.
You can often get a clear even with a few deaths, and mechanics won’t usually wipe the group if they’re failed by one or two people.We recommend starting with these as your first challenge,as they serve as a good bridge between normal content and harder content.
Savage Raids
These raids areSavageversions of theNormal Raids, and are the content that most players think of when they consider “raid content”.More punishing than Extreme Trials, these 8-person duties can takedozens of attemptsbefore achieving a successful clear.
On certain mechanics,one person dying can cause your team to wipe. They requirecoordination and practice, but they can be completed with ‘pick-up’ (public) groups.
Ultimate Duties
These fights are for masochists and perfectionists.Offeringno necessary gear upgradesbeyond a unique weapon glamour that screams status, Ultimate fights last roughlyfifteen to nineteen minutes.This doesn’t sound like a lot, but consideringtheir mechanics are punishing enough to wipe the group, they can takededicated groups months to complete.
While some people do attempt to tackle these with pick-up groups, a"static” (a group of regular players) is all but required. They are only unlocked after completing the entirety of thatcurrent Savage Raid tier.For example,Omega: Ultimate requires you to complete Abyssos: The Eighth Circle (Savage).
Despite being incredibly punishing, Ultimates are alsointensely rewardingexperiences for the players who complete them. Theysometimes contain fascinating ‘what-if’ story scenarios, but if you’re just a lore collector who isn’t interested in raiding, we recommend watching a playthrough.
How To Unlock Raids
These are the current raids (Normal Raids, Extreme Trials, Savage Raids, and Ultimates) in Endwalker. As previously mentioned,Alliance Raidswon’t be included on this list as they don’t have harder difficulties and arestraightforward enough to complete without a primer.
The current Endwalker Alliance Raids can be unlocked via the quest chain that starts with"A Mission in Mor Dhona", which is available from theFresh-faced Student in Old Sharlayan (X:9.1, Y:11.5) after completing the Main Scenario quest, “Endwalker”.As a baseline, every other duty mentioned here also requires you to have completed the same Main Scenario quest.
SPOILER WARNING:The title of some of these duties can be considered spoilers for the Main Scenario questline of Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker, including patch content.
Min. Item Level
Asphodelos: The First Circle
The Questline starting with: “The Crystal from Beyond”, from Nemjiji in Old Sharlayan (X:10, Y:12)
565
Asphodelos: The Fourth Circle
Abyssos: The Fifth Circle
The Questline starting with: “An Unwelcome Visitor”, from Claudien in Labyrinthos (X:8, Y:28)
Complete the Pandæmonium quest, “Who Wards the Warders?”
585
560
580
600
610
570
575
Complete the Pandæmonium quest, “Truth Imperfect”
605
635
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Finding A Party For Raiding
For playing and unlocking normal raids, the Duty Finder works just fine. However, inEnglish-speaking data centres(other data centres may have different raiding cultures), you’llrarely find a group via the Duty Finder. If you do, it’s unlikely you’ll clear the fight, due to the coordination required. Otherwise, you haveone of two options:
Depending on the raiding culture of your data center, you might see a lot of archaic terms being used in the Party Finder, such as “Dynamo” or “Group Colours” or “HH TT DD”. These are there to describe the tactics being used to deal with certain mechanics.If you’re unsure, ask your team-mates.
5 Beginner Tips For Getting Started In The Party Finder
Here arefive tipsto help you get comfortable with the terror oftackling a difficult challenge with complete strangers. The good news is,Final Fantasy 14 is a lot more accepting to newcomers than other games.We can’t promise you’llnevermeet unpleasant people -tensions can run high- but outright verbal abuse is thankfully rare.
Above all else, stay positive. Learning any endgame fight in Final Fantasy 14 is like learning a choreographed dance. It’s all aboutrepetition, patience, and a willingness to learn. Verbally lashing out at your team isagainst the terms of service,but it’s also aguaranteed way to cause more wipes.Embody the warrior of light, not only in strength, but in demeanour, and you should be clearing these end-game duties in no time.
