Futures Rewritten (Ultimate)

This article is about the ultimate raid. For the patch, see patch 5.4. For the quest, see Futures Rewritten.

Futures Rewritten (Ultimate)

Level

100 (Sync: 100)

Item Level

735* (Sync: 735)

Difficulty

Ultimate

Party size

Full Party
8 man • 2 2 4

Unsyncing

Not Allowed

Time limit

120 minutes

Duty Finder

Raid Finder (Ultimate Raids)

Tomestones

 30 

Req. quest

How the West Was Sung

Location

A Future Rewritten

Region

Norvrandt

Patch

7.11

“

Drawing upon his ever-fertile imagination, the wandering minstrel weaves his own interpretation of events surrounding the Flood of Light, the calamity that engulfed nigh the entirety of the First. From the cause of the Flood to the outcome of the struggles that followed, the man's evocative verse conjures up vivid images in your mind's eye─images of an alternate future that may have unfolded for Ryne, the young Oracle of Light...

— In-game description

Futures Rewritten (Ultimate) is a level 100 ultimate raid introduced in patch 7.11 with Dawntrail. The raid, which is abbreviated FRU, is based on the Eden raid series from Shadowbringers and is the sixth ultimate raid to be added.

Unlock and Requirements

• After completing  AAC Light-heavyweight M4 (Savage), speak with the Wandering Minstrel in Tuliyollal (X:11.1 Y:14.6) as a level 100 Disciple of War or Magic.
• Futures Rewritten (Ultimate) can only be accessed via the Raid Finder after forming a pre-made party of eight players who have all completed  AAC Light-heavyweight M4 (Savage).
• Limited jobs not allowed
• Unrestricted Parties not allowed
• Having more than one of any job in the party will eliminate passive limit break generation
• If a player logs out or disconnects when combat is initiated, they will be KO'd upon returning to the game.
• Players are expected to have item level 730-735 "best-in-slot" gear to participate. Best-in-slot sets for each job are provided by The Balance and Icy Veins. These primarily consist of Dark Horse Champion's Weapons, Dark Horse Champion's Armor / Augmented Quetzalli Armor, and Dark Horse Champion's Accessories / Augmented Quetzalli Accessories, all fully melded with certain materia depending on the set.

Guide

All throughout this battle, the arena will be surrounded by a border that will kill any player who touches it.

Failing mechanics or being hit by avoidable AoEs will inflict a crippling -90% Damage Down debuff that lasts for 3 minutes. In addition, taking certain stack mechanics with fewer than the intended number of players will inflict a stack of Mark of Mortality to all players in the stack, which functions and lasts identically to the Damage Down debuff. If any player receives 2 or more stacks, they will die. If a player has both Damage Down and Mark of Mortality, their damage will be reduced by 99%.

If the player does not need to be immediately alive for a mechanic, they should incapacitate themself by walking into the wall and then be resurrected to remove these debuffs, as the Weakness debuff is only around a 25% damage loss that lasts for half the time.

The party should assign clock spots, with supports on cardinals and DPS on intercardinals, along with light parties consisting of 1 tank, 1 healers and 2 DPS. Note that the off-tank should be on the east clock spot while the group 2 healer is south. Waymarks can be placed in a standard clock configuration with the 1 waymark northwest. For Phase 1, pairs of players are determined based on waymark color (e.g., the main tank at A will be paired with the ranged DPS at 1). In addition, the party should assign "conga line" positions, e.g. HRMTTMRH.

The following strategies are directly based on the "LesBin" that is commonly referenced in North American data centers.

Phase 1: Fatebreaker

• Cyclonic Break: The boss will imbue itself with either fire or lightning. All players should go to their clock spots.
  • Each player will be hit with a conal AoE that deals physical damage. These AoEs will repeat in the same locations once, then twice more but rotated ~30 degrees each time, essentially creating an alternating pattern of conal AoEs during the final three sets.
  • If the boss imbued fire, then all DPS or all supports will be hit with a split damage AoE (Sinsmoke) that deals magical damage and Magic Vulnerability Up. Each player should rotate to stack with their assigned partner.
  • If the boss imbued thunder, all players will be with an AoE (Sinsmite) that deals magical damage and Magic Vulnerability Up, requiring the party to fully spread.
  • During the stack/spread AoEs, the second set of conal AoEs will go off, requiring the party to dodge them while resolving the stacks/spreads.
  • The third set of conal AoEs then go off, requiring them to dodge back into where the first AoEs hit.
  • Finally, the fourth set of conal AoEs will go off, requiring the party to dodge back again.
• Powder Mark Trail: A telegraphed tankbuster on the main tank that deals heavy physical damage and inflicts Physical Vulnerability Up and a 16-second Powder Mark Trail debuff. When this debuff expires, the tank will emit a large, untelegraphed tankbuster AoE that deals heavy magical damage (Burn Mark). In addition, the closest player to the tank will also be hit with a similar AoE, requiring the two tanks to be the closest to each other.
  • The main tank can heavily mitigate the initial hit and the off-tank must provoke during the cast bar to prevent death to the subsequent auto-attack, or the main tank can use an invulnerability cooldown, which will not require a tank swap. Note that the invulnerability cooldown will not last for the follow-up tankbuster AoE.
• Utopian Sky: The boss will imbue itself with either fire or thunder, then become untargetable and begin a series of mechanics:
  • The arena background will be covered in fog, similar to the Prismatic Deception mechanic in  Eden's Promise: Anamorphosis (Savage).
  • Each player should go to the wall at their clock spot, except the off-tank and group 2 ranged DPS must switch. The off-tank should inch towards the main tank (approximately one border crystal notch in) to ensure that the follow-up proximity tankbuster is baited on them.
  • An untargetable clone of the boss (Fatebreaker's Image) will spawn on each cardinal and intercardinal, which only players very close to them can see. Each clone will either raise its weapon up or keep it down. Raised weapon clones will use an untelegraphed line AoE (Blasting Zone) directly through the arena. There will be three of these, leaving two opposite sectors safe.
  • Looking at their clone, if it raises its weapon, the player should move towards the center of the arena. If they see the player opposite from them move in, then they will also move in.
  • If done correctly, two players will remain at the wall, denoting where the safe areas are. It is common for those players to also jump a few times to signal to others they are in a safe area.
  • Each light party must then move to their assigned location, typically sorted by waymark color (e.g. group 1 to red or purple waymarks, group 2 to yellow or blue waymarks).
  • If the boss originally imbued with fire during the Utopian Sky cast, then each light party must stack, as both healers will be hit with a split-damage magical AoE (Sinbound Fire III).
  • If the boss originally imbued with thunder during the Utopian Sky cast, then each player must spread in a T-shaped formation within the safe area, as all players will be hit with a magical AoE (Sinbound Thunder III). The outer players can go two border crystals from the middle of the safe area.
  • The line AoEs and stacks/spreads will resolve, and the boss will spawn in the middle of the arena and cast another Cyclonic Break, which is resolved as before.
  • During this, a Fatebreaker's Image add will appear near north and cast Turn of the Heavens, spawning four orange fire circles (Halo of Flame) and four blue lightning circles (Halo of Levin) at each cardinal and intercardinal. These will each begin casting Brightfire, a circle AoE directly where they are located. The west side will have the same color circles, and the east side will have all of the other color. The add will imbue itself with either fire or lightning, which determines which color circles will emit a larger circle AoE, making that entire side unsafe.
  • The party must maneuever to the safe side, splitting north and south, while dodging the follow-up conal AoEs from Cyclonic Break.
  • Two Fatebreaker's Images (southwest and southeast) will each imbue fire and tether a random player (Bound of Faith), giving them a 15-second Prey and 15-second Fated Burn Mark. If these players die when the latter debuff is active, they will explode and wipe the raid. When the Prey debuff resolves, the players will temporarily be lifted up with Floating Fetters and hit with Sinsmoke, a magical stack AoE inflicts Magic Vulnerability Up and must be shared between four players to prevent Mark of Mortality. Therefore, the party must evenly split up for the two stacks.
    • To resolve, the supports can default to the north group, and the DPS can default to the south group.
    • The group the tethered players go to depends on the length of the tether. Because the adds always spawn in the same positions, one tether will always be short and the other will always be long if the entire party is pre-positioned on the safe side.
    • The short tethered player will go south, and the long tethered player will go north.
    • When the tethers spawn, if they both appear on two supports or two DPS, one player from the role group that initially has no tethers must move to the other to ensure an even 4/4 split. Typically, this is designated to the main tank and the group 1 melee.
  • A Fatebreaker's Image will spawn east or west, imbue lightning, and cast Burnt Strike, a line AoE through it that will expand. This will be automatically dodged if the party is already at north and south on the safe side.
  • Another Fatebreaker's Image will spawn north or south, imbue fire, and cast Burnt Strike, which will instead inflict a follow-up lateral knockback, requiring players to move towards the middle after the initial line AoE resolves to be knocked back towards the safe side. This knockback cannot be prevented with knockback immunities.
  • After the knockback, the fire/lightning circle AoEs will resolve, followed by the stacks. There are a few seconds after the knockback to adjust if the party was not evenly split prior to the stacks resolving.
• The boss will become targetable again and cast Burnished Glory, dealing heavy magical raidwide damage and inflicting a potent 15-second bleeding, requiring mitigation and healing.
• Fall of Faith: All players should report to their "conga line" spread positions directly south of the boss for this mechanic.
  • The boss will imbue fire or thunder, and tether a random player, giving them a Prey debuff. The element can be determined based on the boss's animation, the color of the tether, or the flames/electricity sound effect.
  • During the Fall of Faith cast, three Fatebreaker's Images will sequentially spawn and each tether a different random player with a random element. The northwest add will tether the second player, the north add the third, and the northeast add the fourth.
  • Several seconds after being tethered, the tether and clone's element animation will disappear, and the player will be lifted up and targeted for an attack based on the element telegraph.
    • Fire: A wide split-damage conal AoE (Sinblaze) directed at the nearest player to the target that inflicts high magical damage, Magic Vulnerability Up, and must be soaked by three players to prevent Mark of Mortality.
    • Thunder: Three wide conal AoEs (Bow Shock) directed at the three nearest players to the target that inflict high magical damage and Magic Vulnerability Up, requiring three players to bait them while spreading to avoid overlap.
  • To resolve, the party must again split into two groups of four, each containing two tethered and two non-tethered players. The groups should be located east and west of the boss within melee range.
  • Fire tethers are resolved by having three players stack behind the active tether player, which will aim the cone away from the other group.
  • Thunder tethers are resolved by having three players spread around the active tether player: one north, one south, and one to the side, which will safely bait the three cones.
  • Due to the duration of the Magic Vulnerability Up from the AoEs, each group can only handle two alternating tethers, i.e. the first and third tethers should be on the west group, and the second and fourth tethers should be east.
  • The tethered players should immediately go to their correct group upon being tethered, which will also be indicated with the Prey debuff.
  • The remaining four untethered players must split evenly based on the conga line spreads, with the two left-most players going west and the two right-most players going right.
  • For lightning tether spread positions, the other tethered player in the group can take the outer (east or west) position, the player closer to the center of the conga line can take the south position, and the player towards the end of the line can take the north position.
  • While the party can use the tether colors as a short-term reminder of which element will resolve, it will likely have already disappeared for the first tether when the two non-tethered players get into position, so the party must pay particular attention to the first tether element. The order of elements can also be input in the party chat via macro as an additional reminder.
• Burnished Glory
• Powder Mark Trail
• Burnt Strike: The boss will face north, imbue either fire or thunder, and cast this attack, which functions as before. However, three towers will all spawn either east or west. Each tower will require 1-4 players to soak (Explosion), or they will inflict high magical damage (Unmitigated Explosion) and a raidwide Damage Down. The types of towers that spawn are random, but will always require six players in total to resolve all three.
  • Both tanks must go to the opposite side of the towers, as their Burn Mark AoEs from the previous tankbuster will resolve.
  • The rest of the party must go to the opposite side to soak the towers. Each healer can take the north and south tower, while the magical ranged DPS claims the middle. The melee DPS can fill in from north to south.
  • If the boss imbued fire, the party must be knocked back to their assigned tower. Knockback prevention does not work.
  • If the boss imbued lightning, the party can preposition in their tower.
  • After the line AoE, the tankbuster AoEs will resolve, so the tanks must be the closest to each other. The other players should avoid gap closing to the boss until they go off.
• Burnished Glory (enrage): The boss must be defeated before this long cast finishes or the party will wipe.
• If the boss is defeated during the towers mechanic or if any tankbuster debuffs are active, they will disappear and not resolve.

Phase 2: Usurper of Frost

• Quadruple Slap: A telegraphed tankbuster on the highest enmity player dealing massive physical damage and inflicting a 14-second Physical Vulnerability Up that can be cleansed for   Esuna. This attack repeats with the same effect. One way to resolve this is for the target tank to heavily mitigate and a healer or bard to cleanse the debuff after each hit. However, for convenience, it is common to take both hits with an invulnerability cooldown, which does not require the debuffs to be cleansed.
• Mirror Image: The boss summons an untargetable Oracle's Reflection clone of herself, which will be in her light form.
• Diamond Dust: Heavy raid-wide magical damage, requiring mitigation. The boss will become untargetable and begin a series of mechanics:
  • Two icicle circle AoE telegraphs (Icicle Impact) will initially spawn opposite each other, on random cardinals or intercardinals.
  • Four additional AoE telegraphs will appear adjacent to the initial spawns, followed by two final telegraphs in the remaining empty areas, which will be 90 degrees from the initial spawns.
  • Meanwhile, the Oracle's Reflection will use either Axe Kick or Scythe Kick, which will be indicated by a voice line in addition to the cast in the enmity list.
    • Axe Kick is a large point-blank AoE that will leave the outside of the arena safe. Its range is denoted by the outer blue circle. The add will say "Cleave!".
    • Scythe Kick is a large donut AoE that will leave the middle of the arena safe. The safe spot is within the length of the four-pointed star in the middle. The add will say "Reap!".
    • During the circle or donut AoE, the clone will also aim a narrow, untelegraphed conal AoE (The House of Light) at the four closest players, which deals magical damage and inflicts Magic Vulnerability Up.
    • Regardless of which attack the boss uses, four players (all DPS or all supports) will be targeted with a spread AoE marker (Frigid Stone) that deals magical damage and inflicts Magic Vulnerability Up. These resolve approximately 2 seconds after the kick and conal AoEs, and will leave behind a "starburst" AoE telegraph that consists of four overlapping line AoEs (Frigid Needle).
  • During this sequence, the icicle circle AoEs will begin resolving, and the boss will spawn in the middle and use Heavenly Strike, an untelegraphed radial knockback. This cannot be prevented with knockback immunities.
  • To solve the first part of this mechanic, each player should first report to their clock position.
    • Players should first take note of the boss's voice line to determine whether it is an in or out dodge.
    • If the icicle circles first spawned on cardinals, then the House of Light conal AoEs must be aimed at the cardinals, and the pink spread AoEs must be dropped on intercardinals.
    • If the icicle circles spawned on intercardinals, then the House of Light conal AoEs must be aimed at the intercardinals, and the pink spread AoEs must be dropped on cardinals.
    • Because the mechanic is role-based, each player will either stay on their original clock position or swap to their color-matched waymark position, depending on whether they are marked and where the icicle circles initially spawned.
    • If the add uses Scythe Kick, the entire party must be in the middle of the arena to avoid the donut AoE, with the non-marked players closer towards the center to bait the conal AoEs. After the kick goes off, the marked players must quickly run out and drop their AoEs on the inner blue ring of the arena, then run back in to dodge the icicle circles.
    • If the add uses Axe Kick, the entire party must be past the outer blue ring of the arena to avoid the point-blank AoE, with the non-marked players closer towards it to bait the conal AoEs. They must observe the cast in the enmity list and run in immediately when it fills to avoid the icicle circles. Waiting for the Axe Kick animation will cause them to be hit by the icicles. Meanwhile, the marked players will go to to the wall and wait until their AoE markers disappear, then run back to the middle of the arena. Using   Sprint is highly recommended.
    • When the party is back to the middle, they should be knocked back to one of two opposite safe spots based on their light party assignments, with group 1 taking the red or purple waymarks, and group 2 taking the blue or yellow waymarks. The safe spots will be in the same locations as the first set of icicle circles that appeared.
  • The Oracle's Reflection will then re-appear on a random cardinal or intercardinal towards the center.
  • After the knockback, the Oracle's Reflection will use Sinbound Holy, targeting each healer with four untelegraphed stack AoEs that each deal heavy magical damage, inflict a brief Magic Vulnerability Up, and leave behind a light puddle that will inflict a lethal bleeding to anyone who lingers in it.
  • After the stack AoEs, both the boss and the clone will Redress, transforming into the opposite form. The Usurper of Frost (initially ice, transforming into light) will release a 360 degree gaze attack that will stun anyone hit, causing them to die to the next attack. The Oracle's Reflection (initially light, transforming into ice) will freeze the arena floor and give everyone Thin Ice, causing them to slide nearly the entire diameter of the arena if they move.
  • The Oracle's Reflection will then use Twin Silence or Twin Stillness, a two-hit AoE based on the cast bar (in the enmity list) or her voice line. Anyone hit will instantly die. The party must avoid this attack while considering the slippery floor.
    • Twin Silence is a 90 degree cleave to the rear of the add, then a 270 degree cleave to its front, making the front then rear safe. The add will say "Sink into silence!".
    • Twin Stillness is a 270 degree cleave in front of the add, then a 90 degree cleave to its rear, making the rear then front safe. The add will say "In stillness freeze!".
  • To solve the second part of this mechanic, the party must first observe where the Oracle's Reflection is after the knockback.
    • If the add is in line with both light parties, each light party must quickly move clockwise until they end up close to the other party's starting position. The players who are now closer to the add should slide to the far players to allow movement space to dodge the cleaves.
    • If the add is not in line, each light party must slowly rotate away from the add and meet up with each other opposite the add (or at least 135 degrees away). If either healer moves too quickly, they risk placing the bleed puddles in locations that are impossible to dodge.
    • It is not strictly necessary to evenly divide the party after the knockback, as the stack AoEs do not inflict Mark of Mortality, but one group will take more damage. However, the healers must be in separate groups.
    • Once players drop their puddles, they must look away from the boss who is transforming into her light form to avoid being stunned.
    • The add's cleaves snapshot early, so the party will need to observe the enmity list castbar to avoid being hit. Assuming the party starts opposite the add and in front, if it uses Twin Silence, they must slide behind it immediately when the castbar fills, or they will be hit with the second cleave. If the add uses Twin Stillness, the must slide behind it before the castbar is mostly filled to dodge the first cleave, then slide back in front when the castbar fills to dodge the second cleave.
• The boss will then become targetable again, and the slippery ice floor will disappear.
• Hallowed Ray: A telegraphed line stack marker on a random player, dealing heavy magical damage that must be mitigated.
• Mirror, Mirror: The boss will summon three Frozen Mirrors at the edges of the arena.
  • One blue mirror will be on a random cardinal or intercardinal.
  • Two red mirrors will be on random cardinals/intercardinals but will always be 90 degrees away from each other.
  • The main tank must move the boss directly opposite the blue mirror.
  • The boss will use Scythe Kick, which functions similarly as before, with the four closest players to her being targeted with a narrow conal AoE. However, the blue mirror will instantly copy the attack (Reflected Scythe Kick), using another donut AoE centered on it, along with targeting the four closest players to the mirror with a narrow conal AoE.
  • The tanks/melees should be well inside the boss's hitbox and bait the conal AoEs from the boss. Note that the safe area from the donut AoE is smaller than her hitbox. The ranged DPS/healers must bait the conal AoEs from the blue mirror. The radius of the conal AoE from the mirror is around 2 border crystals. Players must avoid hitting others with their AoEs to prevent deaths.
  • Several seconds after the first set of AoEs, the red mirrors will also use Reflected Scythe Kick, and the party must handle those appropriately.
    • For most mirror patterns, the melees and ranged groups can take the closest red mirror to them from their initial bait positions.
    • If the blue mirror spawned between the two red mirrors, both groups should take the red mirror clockwise from them.
  • Because the red mirrors are always 90 degree from each other, it is more likely to hit other players with poorly aimed conal AoEs. For each group, two players should be slightly less than 2 crystals and at the wall. One player should be directly in front and aim their conal AoE middle. The final player should be between the middle and wall players in a location that is further away from the other red mirror. The conal AoEs are narrow, so players can be very close to each other at the mirrors.
• Banish III: An attack that depends on the number of orbs floating above the boss's head:
  • One orb: All DPS or all tanks/healers will be hit with a split damage AoE (Banish III) that deals magical damage and inflicts Magic Vulnerability Up, requiring players to pair with their partners (tanks+melee, healers+ranged).
  • Four orbs: Each player will be hit with an AoE (Banish III Divided) that deals magical damage and inflicts Magic Vulnerability Up, requiring the party to fully spread.
• Light Rampant: Heavy raid-wide magical damage, requiring mitigation. The boss will become untargetable and begin a series of mechanics, along with assigning debuffs to each player:
  • Two random players will receive a pink spread AoE marker, indicating they will be targeted with a five-hit AoE (Luminous Hammer), each time inflicting a brief Magic Vulnerability Up and dropping a light puddle that will inflict a lethal bleeding to anyone who lingers in it.
  • The remaining six players will be tethered together and be given a 10-second Chains of Everlasting Light debuff. When this debuff expires, it will activate the tethers and turn into a 10-second Curse of Everlasting Light debuff. When active, tethers that become too short will explode (Refulgent Fate) and instantly wipe the raid. Dying with the debuffs or starting the mechanic with not all players alive will cause the tethers to instantly explode.
    • Each player will always be tethered to the two closest players to them, excluding those who have the pink AoE markers.
  • Two adjacently tethered players will receive a 16-second The Weight of Light. This is also indicated by an orb of light above their head. When it expires, they will be targeted with AoE (Powerful Light) that deals moderate magical damage, Magic Vulnerability Up, and must be shared between four players to prevent Mark of Mortality. This will also increase the stacks of Lightsteeped by 1.
  • Each player will receive 0-2 stacks of Lightsteeped. The number of stacks will increase from being hit with most attacks during this mechanic (except for Luminous Hammer). Anyone who receives 5 stacks will explode (Lightsteep) and wipe the raid.
  • Six towers will spawn at the walls, in a regular hexagon. Each one must be taken by one player, which will cause minor magical damage (Bright Hunger) and increase Lightsteeped stacks by 1. Towers that are not taken will explode (Inescapable Illumination) for massive damage, Damage Down, and increase everyone's Lightsteeped stacks by 1. The Luminous Hammer AoEs will begin dropping, then the tethers will activate immediately before the towers resolve.
  • Afterwards, six Holy Light orbs will spawn in two sets of three where the towers previously were. These will use Burst, a large telegraphed point-blank AoE that will deal high damage, Damage Down, and increase Lightsteeped stacks by 1 to anyone hit.
  • A four-person tower will spawn in the middle, while the boss will telegraph another Banish III spread or pair stacks that resolves after the tower.
  • Finally, the boss will become targetable and cast The House of Light, hitting all players with a conal AoE that deals high magical damage, Magic Vulnerability Up, and increases Lightsteeped by 1.
  • To solve, the party should position in a "4/4" formation around the boss during the Light Rampant cast, with supports north and DPS south.
    • It is important that players all stand along a circle (e.g., the blue ring on the floor) in order for the tethers to spawn in a predictable pattern, as an irregular initial tether shape may cause confusion. The tether spawns appear to snapshot early, so players should not hesitate to go to their starting location before the cast finishes.
    • If done correctly, the tethers will spawn as a convex hexagon on 6 players.
      • If 3 supports and 3 DPS are tethered, then no correction is needed, and the initial hexagon will already be close to regular.
      • If all 4 of one role and 2 of the other role are tethered, the hexagon will initially be lopsided. The most clockwise player of the 4-tethered role will need to shift clockwise into the other group to correct.
    • After making a regular hexagon, each player will be directly in front of a tower. To satisfy the length requirements for the tethers once they activate, the north and south players, along with the northwest and northeast players, will need to swap with each other. Afterwards, all players go to their closest tower. The tethers will now resemble a six-pointed star.
    • After the towers resolve and tethers activate, the three tethered players at the north half should meet up north, and the three players south meet up south. It is critical not to move to the center of the room, as this will cause the tethers to break.
    • Observing the Holy Light orbs, if there is a first set orb directly north or south, the group of players near it should shift clockwise ~3 crystals to give enough time to dodge the first orb AoE.
    • The other group will move clockwise into the first orb explosion after it goes off.
    • The two players with the pink AoE marks will start west and east to drop their AoEs, with the west-most player going west and east-most player going east from the initial line-up. If the players are directly north and south of each other, they should go clockwise. These players need to be in position before the tethered players, as the puddles begin dropping first.
    • The puddle players should drop the first three puddles by walking towards the middle of the arena, then turn left (looking at the middle) to drop the remaining puddles and meet up with three tethered players near north/south for the stacks. The Luminous Hammer AoEs do not give Lightsteeped stacks.
      • Instead of curving at a 90 degree angle, it is safer to curve at a slightly obtuse angle and meet up with the stack ~3 crystals clockwise of the cardinal, or one risks being hit by an orb explosion if it is a fast pattern (i.e., the first orb spawns directly on the cardinal).
    • After the 4-player stacks resolve, the first set of orbs will explode. The tethers will then disappear, and the second set of orbs will explode. Players can observe the Burst castbars in the enmity list to determine the orb snapshots in addition to looking at when the ground telegraphs disappear.
    • If done correctly, 4 players will now have 2 stacks of Lightsteeped, while the other 4 players have 3 stacks. The 2-stack players must quickly soak the middle tower, keeping in mind the lingering bleed puddles which will begin to disappear. Using   Sprint is recommended.
    • Afterwards, all players should report to their clock positions (if spreads) or stack with their partner on their assigned intercardinal (if stacks).
    • Finally, all players should go back to their clock positions if not already there for The House of Light conal AoEs. If all mechanics were done correctly, all players will have 4 stacks of Lightsteeped. If not (e.g. a player was hit by an orb explosion or a 3-stack player soaked the middle tower), the party will wipe.
• Absolute Zero (enrage): The boss must be reduced to below 20% HP before this cast finishes or the party will wipe. If the DPS check was met, the party will instead take high magical raid-wide damage that must be mitigated.
  • All players should be inside the hitbox and towards their assigned crystal position (see next section) before the cast finishes, as there will be an untelegraphed knockback shortly after from the boss.

Intermission: Ice Veil

• The party will be knocked back and frozen with Deep Freeze, while a short cutscene plays similar to the ending sequence of  Eden's Verse: Refulgence. Ryne will be trapped in an Ice Veil, while Gaia will appear and attempt to free her.
• Once players are unfrozen, four Crystals of Light will appear at the outside on the cardinals, while four Crystals of Darkness will appear towards the center on the intercardinals.
• The goal of this short intermission is to defeat the Ice Veil before it finishes casting Endless Ice Age, which will wipe the party. The Ice Veil will be invincible until the four Crystals of Light are destroyed.
• Melees and tanks should be each assigned a Crystal of Light to focus. Ranged and healers will each stand by one Crystal of Darkness and assist their melee/tank color partner with destroying their crystal.
• The Crystals of Darkness will continually use Sinbound Blizzard III, aiming a red conal AoE telegraph at the nearest player. These must be baited by ranged players to avoid hitting other players, the Crystals of Light, or the Ice Veil. If they hit the other enemies, they will gain a significant Vulnerability Down that will effectively make them unkillable in time.
• The Crystals of Light will spawn red circle AoE telegraphs (Hiemal Storm) underneath the closest player to them, which should be their assigned melee. These also should be baited away from other players.
• The Crystals of Light will also each tether the closest player, targeting them with an AoE (Hiemal Ray) that inflicts magical damage and leaves behind a light puddle that inflicts a lethal bleeding. These should be baited at the outside of the arena. Ideally, the crystals should be defeated before they are allowed to use this attack.
• Once their assigned Crystal of Light has been destroyed, players should assist with defeating the other light crystals.
• When all Crystals of Light have been destroyed, Gaia will say "My power surges!" and the Ice Veil will lose its invincibility (but still have Vulnerability Down), allowing the party to destroy it. Ranged players must continue baiting Sinbound Blizzard III during this sequence.
  • If a conal AoE accidentally hit the Ice Veil, its Vulnerability Down will be made significantly more potent, but this will not be indicated on its status effect bar.
• The Crystals of Darkness have low HP and must be kept alive in order to progress to the final phase of this encounter, so player should be careful with cleaving AoE attacks. If they are all kept alive, Gaia will use an attack that will remove 50% of the Ice Veil's HP towards the end of its enrage cast, meaning that the party will only need to take care of the other half beforehand. If any are destroyed, Gaia will not use her attack. Conversely, the party must fully reduce its health to progress past this mechanic. If all of the crystals are destroyed, the Ice Veil will also lose its Vulnerability Down buff.
  • During early progression, some groups may opt to use a level 3 magical ranged DPS limit break to destroy all of the dark crystals and significantly damage the light crystals for the sole purpose of practicing the next phase.
  • As there is no mandatory limit break check until the final phase of the fight, it is acceptable to use a level 3 melee DPS limit break to help dispatch the Ice Veil if damage is lacking.
• If the Ice Veil is defeated in time, another short cutscene will play in which the Usurper of Frost corrupts Gaia and causes her to transform into the Oracle of Darkness. During of this, she will release a magical raid-wide attack (Junction) that should be lightly mitigated.
• If the Crystals of Darkness were all kept alive, an Eternal Ice Fragment will appear, which will automatically be collected by Ryne. If any of them were destroyed, the ice fragment will shatter and disappear, but the party can still progress to the next phase.

Phase 3: Oracle of Darkness

• Hell's Judgment: Reduces all players' current HP to 1, requiring healing. (If their Well Fed buff fell off during the cast, this attack will kill them.)
• Ultimate Relativity: Heavy raid-wide magical damage, requiring mitigation. Assigns debuffs to players and begins a sequence of mechanics:
  • Debuffs (each resolve when their timer expires):
    • Spell-in-Waiting: Dark Fire III: A large AoE centered on the player that deals magical damage and inflicts a one-second Magic Vulnerability Up and 12-second Fire Resistance Down II.
    • Spell-in-Waiting: Dark Blizzard III: A donut AoE centered on the player that will kill anyone hit.
    • Spell-in-Waiting: Unholy Darkness: A medium-sized split damage AoE centered on the player that deals magical damage, inflicts a one-second Magic Vulnerability Up, and must be shared by five players to prevent Mark of Mortality.
    • Spell-in-Waiting: Return: The player will drop a Rewind icon where they were standing, while this debuff turns into Return. When it expires, the player will be briefly stunned and be forcibly moved back to the location they dropped the Rewind.
    • Spell-in-Waiting: Dark Eruption: A medium-sized AoE centered on the player that deals magical damage and inflicts a one-second Magic Vulnerability Up.
    • Spell-in-Waiting: Shadoweye: A 360 degree gaze attack centered on the player that will inflict an uncleansable doom to anyone who is looking at them when it resolves.
    • Spell-in-Waiting: Dark Water III: A medium-sized split damage AoE centered on the player that deals magical damage, inflicts a one-second Magic Vulnerability Up, and must be shared by four players to prevent Mark of Mortality.
  • Assignments (3-4 debuffs per player):
    • One player: A 21-second Blizzard
      • If this debuff was on a support, one DPS will receive a 31-second ("long") Fire
      • If this debuff was on a DPS, one support will receive an 11-second ("short") Fire
    • Two players (one support and one DPS): A 21-second ("medium") Fire
    • Two supports: A 31-second ("long") Fire
    • Two DPS: An 11-second ("short") Fire
    • Three players (always the long Fire players and Blizzard DPS): A 26-second Rewind that will turn into a 14-second Return.
      • The remaining five players will receive a 16-second Rewind that will turn into a 24-second Return. This will cause all of the Returns to resolve at once.
    • Three players who do not have long Fire or do not have Blizzard as a DPS: A 11, 21, or 31-second Unholy Darkness, one timer per player
    • Three players who either have long Fire or Blizzard as a DPS: A 43-second Shadoweye
      • Of the remaining five players:
      • One will receive a 43-second Water
      • The other four will each receive a 43-second Dark Eruption.
  • Eight Delight's Hourglasses will spawn around the boss's hitbox, one per cardinal and intercardinal. At certain points of time, arrow telegraphs that rotate clockwise or counterclockwise will appear around each, indicating they will use a line AoE aimed at the closest player (Sinbound Meltdown). After a brief delay, the AoE will repeat 9 more times and rotate in the direction of the arrows, traveling around 110 degrees. These AoEs inflict a 12-second Fire Resistance Down II, killing anyone who already have this debuff or Magic Vulnerabilty Up.
  • At the start of the mechanic, the boss will cast Speed, tethering five hourglasses in a fixed relative pattern. After a few seconds, the tethers will disappear.
    • Three yellow tethers, forming a Y shape.
    • Two purple tethers, forming a line that divides the Y tethers into north and south.
    • This tether pattern may be rotated to any cardinal or intercardinal.
    • Yellow tethers will speed up the hourglass and cause their line AoE bait to resolve first.
    • Untethered hourglasses will resolve second.
    • Purple tethers will slow down the hourglass and cause their line AoE bait to resolve third.
  • Most mechanics resolve in increments of 5 seconds:
    • 0s: Debuffs are assigned.
    • 3s: Tethers appear.
    • 8s: Tethers disappear.
    • 10s: Short Fire spreads (3 players) and first 5-player stack resolve.
    • 15s: Short Rewinds placed (5 players) and yellow tethered Hourglass baits (3 players).
    • 20s: Medium Fire spreads (3 players) and Blizzard donut plus second 5-player stack resolve.
    • 25s: Long Rewinds placed (3 players) and non-tethered Hourglass baits (3 players).
    • 30s: Long Fire spreads (2 players) and third 5-player stack resolve.
    • 35s: Purple tethered Hourglass baits (2 players).
    • 37s: All players are stunned and teleported to where they dropped their Rewind. The remaining debuffs: Dark Eruption spreads (4 players), Shadoweye gazes (3 players), and Water 4-player stack (1 player) resolve during this.
  • Despite its apparent complexity, this mechanic is relatively simple to execute:
    • Initial positions:
      • Based on their role and debuff, each player will be assigned a new clock position for this mechanic only. They are responsible for baiting the hourglass at that position.
      • During the Speed cast, the top of the yellow Y (the empty space) is treated as relative north.
      • The support with either or a short will go north.
      • The support with medium will go west.
      • The two supports with long will go northwest or northeast.
      • The two DPS with short will go southwest or southeast.
      • The DPS with medium will go east.
      • The DPS with either or a long will go south.
      • For players with two possible positions based on their debuff, they can use a simple priority system (e.g. M1 > M2 > R1 > R2 from west to east) to determine who goes where.
      • These positions are determined to ensure that players do not have already Fire Resistance Down II when they bait their hourglass or their fire spread.
    • Resolution:
      • All players should stack middle by default.
      • At around 3 seconds left on their debuff, players should move out to the wall at their clock position to avoid hitting others.
      • When the player sees arrows around their hourglass, they will need to move out and bait it in a way to avoid hitting others. They should stand on the blue rim of the hourglass and position such that the "dot" in the middle of their overhead clock marker just disappears.
      • Rewind placements have two possible locations. If the player also has , they should place their Rewind to be very slightly in front of their hourglass and out of the boss's hitbox to prevent overlapping others. If they do not have this debuff, they should place their Rewind to be near the center of the arena but leaning slightly towards their clock position.
      • Once the Return is about to resolve, all players should look out at the wall to avoid being hit by others' gaze attacks.
      • If a player noticed they have incorrectly placed their Rewind (e.g., putting it middle when they have Dark Eruption), they can incapacitate themselves in the wall right before the Return resolves, to avoid killing others.
• Shell Crusher: The boss will jump on a random player and inflict a hard-hitting physical split damage attack that requires mitigation. Has a fast cast. The party should immediately stack middle after they are no longer stunned.
• Shockwave Pulsar: Heavy raid-wide magical damage, requiring mitigation.
• Black Halo: A telegraphed, split damage physical tankbuster on the main tank that will cleave in a 90 degree cone. Both tanks should stack together with mitigation.

Reward

• 1   Oracle Totem

Upon completing Futures Rewritten (Ultimate), players can earn a separate reward once per week. Players who have yet to receive that week's reward can still claim it even if other members of the party have completed the duty prior to the weekly reset. This restriction will be removed in Patch 7.2.

The reward can be exchanged with Uah'shepya in Solution Nine (X:8.7 Y:13.5) for Ultimate Edenmorn Weapons.

Completion of this duty will unlock a new Adventurer Plate design in a later patch.

Achievements

This duty is associated with the following achievements:

Name	Points	Task	Reward	Patch
Alternative Destiny	10	Bear witness to a different future for the Oracles of Light and Darkness.	Genesis of Legends	7.11

World First

• The world first clear, as recognized by unofficial leaderboard site MogTalk, was achieved by the North American team Kindred on stream on 28 November 2024 at 23:41 PST (07:41 UTC).
• The Japanese team Lucrezia achieved world second on 29 November 2024 at 16:50 JST (07:50 UTC).
• This ultimate had the fastest world first time in the history of the game at 2 days, 21 hours, and 41 minutes.
• The first reported clear was from the Japanese team GRIND on November 28, 2024 at 19:28 PST (03:28 UTC), after 2 days and 17 hours of progression time. This team did not stream their progression to the public. However, after allegations that one member was using a third party tool to display a red dot representing the hitbox of their character, their clear was disqualified by MogTalk.

Dialogue

Cutscene

Ryne: There's a voice in my head... I-I can't control Eden.

Ryne: Ungh... Ahhhhhh!

Usurper of Frost: At last, by the Oracle of Light's power, I have broken free!

Usurper of Frost: Here and now, I shall fulfill our promise!

Usurper of Frost: Unto the mightiest being, in this child's heart, I give form!

Phase 1

Fatebreaker: I'm the only one fit to protect her... (Upon pull)

Fatebreaker: You're no match for me! (Cyclonic Break)

Fatebreaker: A feeble shield protects nothing! (Powder Mark Trail)

Fatebreaker: Come! Show me your strength! (Utopian Sky)

Fatebreaker: Light claim you! (Turn of the Heavens)

Fatebreaker: Have at you! (final Burnt Strike)

Fatebreaker: Only I can protect her! (Burnished Glory enrage)

Phase 2

Usurper of Frost: Fools... You would stoke the fires of conflict? (upon spawn)

Usurper of Frost: Your blood shall freeze! (Diamond Dust)

Oracle's Reflection: Cleave! (Axe Kick) or Reap! (Scythe Kick)

Usurper of Frost: The Light shall usher in peace! (Redress)

Oracle's Reflection: Sink into silence! (Twin Silence) or In stillness freeze! (Twin Stillness)

Usurper of Frost: Darkness begone! (Banish III)

Usurper of Frost: Light consume you! (Light Rampant)

Usurper of Frost: Still you resist. Then we shall unleash the Light within! (Absolute Zero enrage)

Ryne: No! I won't let you!

Ryne: Aaaaaahhh! (boss untargetable)

Intermission

Gaia: Ryne!

Gaia: She won't last much longer!

Gaia: Yaaaaaargh!

Gaia: Hold on, Ryne! (crystals targetable)

Gaia: Is my Darkness not enough!? (if Dark Crystals were defeated)

Gaia: My power surges! (all Light Crystals defeated and if Dark Crystals were not defeated)

Gaia: Ryne, are you alright!? (Ice Veil defeated)

Usurper of Frost: I am thanks to you, Gaia.

Gaia: You're Mitron! Ugh... Aaaaaahhh!

Phase 3

Oracle of Darkness: I am Loghrif, servant of Zodiark. (upon spawn, Hell's Judgment)

Oracle of Darkness: I shall restore the power of Darkness to this star.

Oracle of Darkness: Past...present...future. (Ultimate Relativity)

System: The laws of time are in chaos!

Oracle of Darkness: Infinite possibilities condensed into a single moment! (Ultimate Relativity)

Oracle of Darkness: Succumb to the darkness! (Shockwave Pulsar)

Oracle of Darkness: O ruination! (Spell-in-Waiting Refrain)

Oracle of Darkness: O Chaotic Dark, descend and quench Light! (Apocalypse)

Oracle of Darkness: Shadows fall! (final Shockwave Pulsar)

Phase 4

Usurper of Frost: Her awakening is incomplete... Their memories weaken the link. (upon spawn)

Usurper of Frost: Such impediments to our resonance must be expunged. (Materialization)

Usurper of Frost: Come to me, Hraesvelgr! (Redress/Akh Rhai)

Usurper of Frost: I shall weave a new Dragonsong! (Darklit Dragonsong)

Vision of Gaia: I told you it would make a great necklace. (The Path of Light)

Vision of Ryne: Ohhh...It's beautiful! I think it'll really suit you! (The Path of Light)

Vision of Gaia: Me? But I thought you should have it... (Hallowed Wings)

Usurper of Frost & Oracle of Darkness: Light and Darkness, gather to me! (Akh Morn)

Oracle of Darkness: Pain shall be fleeting, joy everlasting... (Crystallize Time)

Oracle of Darkness: As I wish it, so shall the river of time flow! (Crystallize Time)

System: The laws of time are in chaos!

Cutscene

Usurper of Frost: You endure? Another approach, then...

Usurper of Frost: I am yours, and you are mine!

Gaia: I won't let you do as you please!

Ryne: What is this!?

Gaia: Ryne... Are you there?

Ryne: Gaia?

Pandora: Raaaaaargggh!

Pandora: No one will erase our promise. No one!

If the dark crystals or fragments of fate were destroyed

Usurper of Frost: The time is come. Together, we shall rejoin the Darkness!

Guardian of Eden: We shall bring eternal harmony. (upon spawn)

Guardian of Eden: Tranquility and vitality in perfect balance... (Paradise Lost enrage)

Phase 5

Pandora: I'll never stop. As many times as it takes! (upon spawn)

Pandora: So close to realizing our perfect utopia... (Paradise Regained)

Ryne: We're not going to disappear!

Gaia: Aye, we're too stubborn for that!

Gaia: We'll get through this, Ryne!

Ryne: Yes, together!

Pandora: This cacophony... My head... (Pandora's Box)

System: Transcend your limits to survive!

Pandora: Begone from my memories! Every last trace of you! (Pandora's Box)

Ryne: Our friend won't fail us!

Gaia: You'd better not, or I'll never let you hear the end of it!

Pandora: When next I return, I will succeed! (second Akh Morn)

Gaia: We won't give up on the future! (third Akh Morn)

Ryne: Please, let our prayers be heard!

Pandora: If this place cannot be our utopia...

Pandora: Then naught in existence holds meaning! (Paradise Lost enrage)

Gaia: That's a little melodramatic, don't you think!?

Ryne: You can weather this! I know you can!

Ryne & Gaia: Yaaaaaargh! (enrage cast finishes)

Pandora: Our promise fades... (if wiping to enrage)

Images

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  2024 Chinese Fan Festival Fatebreaker preview - Fall of Faith mechanic

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  Fatebreaker

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  Oracle of Darkness - Apocalypse mechanic

External Links

• Pastebin containing strategies - North America
• Mitigation/healing spreadsheet - North America Ultimate Raiding (NAUR)
• Solo simulator for Light Rampant, Ultimate Relativity, and Crystallize Time
• Site containing strategies used by Elemental DC

Trivia

• The raid was first revealed at the 2024 Japanese Fan Festival, making it the first ultimate raid to be revealed in a Fan Festival prior to an expansion release, instead of a Live Letter prior to a major patch.
• This is also the first ultimate raid to be referenced in the key art of a major patch.
• The theme of this raid breaks the existing pattern of prior ultimate raids (8-man raid > main story > 8 man raid > main story, etc.) because the prior ultimate raid,  The Omega Protocol (Ultimate) was also based on a raid series. An ultimate raid based on the Stormblood main story was apparently skipped.
• This ultimate is named after Shadowbringers Patch 5.4 "Futures Rewritten", which introduced the final tier of the Eden raid series the ultimate is based off.
• This is the first ultimate where all dialogue is fully voice acted. There are also several new voice lines compared to the original fights, including lines that have been re-recorded.

References

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Raids

Duties