User:Boblers/Raid rework

See also: Dungeons, Trials, Deep Dungeon, Field Operations, Variant Dungeons, Criterion Dungeons

Raids are the core of the endgame, posing the greatest challenges and offering the strongest loot. Unlike dungeons or trials, current-tier raids have limitations on how much loot players can receive per week. These limitations are removed once the raid is old, to make it easier to catch up. Raids are almost always optional content for Main Scenario Quest progression (the only exception being the level 50 Alliance Raid series), although some raids are prerequisites for other optional questlines.

Normal Raids

Normal raids are fought by 8 players against a single boss, similar to a trial. Older raids may have other enemies or mini-bosses before the final boss, but the single-boss format has been consistent since Omega: Deltascape. Normal raids are similar in difficulty to story-difficulty trials and can be completed using Duty Finder matchmaking. The exception is the Lv. 50 Bahamut raid series, which is closer to Savage difficulty by default.

Participation

Normal raids are released in sets of four duties in the x.01, x.2, and x.4 patches of an expansion, for a total of 12 duties over three raid tiers in an expansion. They can be unlocked by completing certain blue unlock quests, which become accessible after completing the Main Scenario Quests in the base (x.0) expansion. These duties must be completed in sequence, e.g, completion of the first tier is required to unlock the second tier. Players who meet the minimum item level requirement for a normal raid can queue for it through Duty Finder.

Item Level Sync

Unlike Dungeons, most Raids do not have item level syncs, which means your item level will be synced to the maximum obtainable gear at the job level you are synced to. This over time can make Raids rather trivial, especially if they have a low minimum item level compared to the max obtainable for the expansion. For example, Alexander: The Fist of the Father has a minimum item level of 170, but high level players joining from Roulettes will often be synced to only 270/275, making the fight much shorter and less healing intensive than the original experience. Savage Raids are especially susceptible to this, as even a small increase in gear can drastically reduce the difficulty of such otherwise tightly tuned fights. Players that are looking for a more engaging and balanced experience may want to consider doing certain Raids in a preformed group via Party Finder with the Minimum Item Level option enabled. This will adjust the gear for all involved to provide an experience somewhat closer to the original release.

Note that Minimum Item Level will only make the content as hard as the developers designed it to be at that item level. Normal Raids - with the exception of Coils of Bahamut - will still be easily clearable, while Savage Raids can be expected to generally be extremely brutal on this setting.

Rewards

Normal raids drop a variety of equipment "tokens" which can be exchanged at certain vendors for high item level gear. In addition, the final duty of a current-expansion Normal raid will grant a Completion Reward, of which seven can be exchanged along with 500 of the current capped tomestones for a weapon that is 10 item levels higher than current crafted gear. In a later patch, this requirement is lowered to four of the rewarded item. When a Normal raid series is current, players may obtain one token per duty and one reward item from the final floor per week.

List of Normal Raids

A Realm Reborn

See also: The Coils of Bahamut

Duty Name	Level	IL Req	Turns	Final Boss	Roulette	Loot IL	Tomestones	Unlock
The Binding Coil of Bahamut	50	70–82	5	Twintania	-	90–95	10	Primal Awakening
The Second Coil of Bahamut	50	90–105	4	Nael deus Darnus	-	110–115	20	Another Turn in the Coil
The Final Coil of Bahamut	50	110–123	4	Bahamut Prime	-	130–135	30	Fragments of Truth

Heavensward

See also: Alexander

Duty Name	Level	IL Req	Final Boss	Roulette	Loot IL	Tomestones	Unlock
Alexander: Gordias	60	170	The Manipulator	Normal Raids	190	10	Disarmed
Alexander: Midas	60	200	Brute Justice	Normal Raids	220	10	Rearmed
Alexander: The Creator	60	230	Alexander Prime	Normal Raids	250	20	The Coeurl and the Colossus

Stormblood

See also: Omega

Duty Name	Level	IL Req	Final Boss	Roulette	Loot IL	Tomestones	Unlock
Omega: Deltascape	70	295	Exdeath	Normal Raids	320	10	Into the Deltascape
Omega: Sigmascape	70	325	Kefka	Normal Raids	350	10	No Slowing Down
Omega: Alphascape	70	355	Omega-M and Omega-F	Normal Raids	380	20	In the Beginning, There Was Chaos

Shadowbringers

See also: Eden

Duty Name	Level	IL Req	Final Boss	Roulette	Loot IL	Tomestones	Unlock
Eden's Gate	80	425	Titan	Normal Raids	450	10	Deploy the Core
Eden's Verse	80	455	Shiva	Normal Raids	480	10	Blood and Thunder
Eden's Promise	80	485	Eden's Promise	Normal Raids	510	20	Fear of the Dark

Endwalker

See also: Pandæmonium

Duty Name	Level	IL Req	Final Boss	Roulette	Loot IL	Tomestones	Unlock
Pandæmonium: Asphodelos	90	565	Hesperos	Normal Raids	580	10	The Crystal from Beyond
Pandæmonium: Abyssos	90	585	Hephaistos	Normal Raids	610	10	An Unwelcome Visitor
Pandæmonium: Anabaseios	90	615	Athena	Normal Raids	640	20	Eater of Souls

Dawntrail

See also: The Arcadion

Duty Name	Level	IL Req	Final Boss	Roulette	Loot IL	Tomestones	Unlock
AAC Light-heavyweight Tier	100	685	Wicked Thunder	Normal Raids	710	20  10	A New Challenger Appears

Savage Raids

Each normal raid also has a higher-difficulty equivalent, called a savage raid, which uses the same boss but with more difficult mechanics, more health, and higher outgoing damage. In addition, all Savage bosses have a time limit in which they must be defeated or they will wipe the party with an enrage ability. Savage encounters usually follow a gradually increasing difficulty curve, with the first two encounters usually comparable or slighty higher in difficulty to an Extreme trial, and the last two encounters being significantly more challenging, although there are exceptions to this trend. Beginning with Omega: Deltascape (Savage), the final duty of each Savage raid tier is usually split into two boss encounters, with a checkpoint in between, meaning that wiping to the second phase will reset the party to the start of that phase. However, leaving the instance and resetting will require defeating the first phase again to re-acquire the checkpoint. The exceptions are Eden's Gate: Sepulture (Savage), Eden's Verse: Refulgence (Savage), and AAC Light-heavyweight M4 (Savage), which are long singular encounters containing boss phases exclusive to the Savage version, but no checkpoint. The first phase is usually referred to as a door boss by the community.

Since Deltascape (Savage), the first Savage tier in an expansion is deliberately tuned to be easier to allow players to become accustomed to the expansion's job changes and additions, and to encourage newer players to participate in high-end raiding. The second and third tiers are then designed to be more challenging than the first.

When a savage raid is no longer new, The Echo will applied to all players upon entering the duty, and the strength of this buff will not increase upon wiping. Savage raids from prior expansions are typically done with an Unrestricted Party (i.e., with level sync disabled) to complete them more easily, which does not impact rewards. However, some achievements require completing the final encounter of a previous savage raid tier with a full party of blue mages with silence echo and level sync enabled.

Participation

Savage raids are released 2 weeks after normal raids in the x.05 patch of an expansion, and 1 week after the normal raid tier in the x.2 and x.4 patches. They can be unlocked by completing the respective Normal raid tier and associated quests, then speaking to a certain NPC depending on the raid series. Completion of the previous tier's Savage encounters is not required to unlock the current Savage tier. Savage raids are typically too difficult to be completed using Duty Finder matchmaking, so players in most data centers opt to use Party Finder for both practice and duty completion, or form "static" raid groups with other players.

Savage raids have a higher average item level requirement than the corresponding Normal raids, with the requirement for the first floor being the same item level as the maximum item level armor in the previous patch, the second floor being 5 item levels higher, and the third and fourth floors being 10 item levels higher. Savage raids are always released with new crafted and normal raid gear that meet the minimum item level for the last floors, along with weekly-capped tomestone gear that is 10 item levels higher. Players who wish to aim for an early clear of the tier are strongly advised to acquire a full set of High Quality crafted gear and fully meld it with materia ("pentamelding"), although this is a costly process. For the second and third Savage tier of an expansion, the extreme trial that was released with the patch will drop weapons that are 5 item levels higher than the crafted weapon, providing a good starting point for players who wish to participate in the tier.

With the advent of Data Center Travel, players looking to participate in high-end duties, especially savage and ultimate raids, have started congregating in one data center per geographic region. These are

• North America: Aether
• Europe: Light
• Japan: Mana

Players on other data centers who wish to participate in current high-end content through Party Finder may find it necessary to travel to their region's primary "raiding" data center in order to form a party in a reasonable timeframe.

Rewards

Savage raids drop coffers that can be used to obtain equipment 20 item levels higher than the respective normal raid tier's loot. In addition, Savage raids reward items that can be used to augment the current weekly-capped tomestone equipment to the same item level as Savage gear. The final duty of each Savage raid tier rewards weapons that are at the maximum item level and exclusive mounts. For each job, the "best-in-slot" gear for a patch usually comprises a mixture of Savage gear and augmented tomestone gear based on which pieces provide the most desirable sub-stats.

Each duty in a Savage raid tier will also reward each party member with a book, of which a certain number can be exchanged for equipment coffers and upgrade materials. When a Savage raid series is current, players may obtain one book per duty per week. In addition, the number of rewards that appear upon completion and can be rolled for will depend on how many players have completed the duty for the week. If one to four party members have completed the duty for the week, fewer items will appear in the treasure coffer. If more than five party members have completed the duty for the week, the treasure coffer will not appear. Unlike Normal raids, there is no restriction on how many rewards a single player can win from loot rolls as long as a chest appears. However, once a player has completed a duty for the week and leaves the instance, they will not be able to roll for loot upon defeating the boss again, regardless of whether they rolled or won any items the first time, until the weekly reset time.

Upon registering for and completing a current Savage raid, the player's weekly progress will be updated to that point, preventing them from obtaining rewards from previous raids regardless of whether they have completed them for the week. Older tiers also do not have loot restrictions.

Example: A player has yet to complete AAC Light-heavyweight M1 (Savage) for the week. They cannot register for AAC Light-heavyweight M2 (Savage). However, they join a premade party in which the leader has completed AAC Light-heavyweight M1 (Savage) for the week and can register for AAC Light-heavyweight M2 (Savage). The player can enter AAC Light-heavyweight M2 (Savage), but upon entering, they will forfeit all rewards from AAC Light-heavyweight M1 (Savage) until the next weekly reset.

Reward eligibility is reset every Tuesday at 8:00 (GMT).

• In the event a raid is underway when reward eligibility is reset, players will still be permitted to vie for items during the upcoming week.

List of Savage Raids

A Realm Reborn

See also: The Coils of Bahamut

Duty Name	Level	IL Req	Turns	Final Boss	Roulette	Loot IL	Tomestones	Unlock
The Second Coil of Bahamut (Savage)	50	105	4	Nael deus Darnus	-	110–115	20	Sing Me Another Song

Heavensward

See also: Alexander

Duty Name	Level	IL Req	Final Boss	Roulette	Loot IL	Tomestones	Unlock
Alexander: Gordias (Savage)	60	190–205	The Manipulator	-	210–215	15	A Song of Steam and Steel
Alexander: Midas (Savage)	60	215–225	Brute Justice	-	240–245	15	A Refrain for the Undaunted
Alexander: The Creator (Savage)	60	245–255	Alexander Prime	-	270–275	30	Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Retells Your Story

Stormblood

See also: Omega

Duty Name	Level	IL Req	Final Boss	Roulette	Loot IL	Tomestones	Unlock
Omega: Deltascape (Savage)	70	310–320	Neo Exdeath	-	340–345	15	Magitek Terminal, Rhalgr's Reach
Omega: Sigmascape (Savage)	70	340–350	Kefka	-	370–375	15	Magitek Terminal, Rhalgr's Reach
Omega: Alphascape (Savage)	70	370–380	Omega	-	400–405	30	Magitek Terminal, Rhalgr's Reach

Shadowbringers

See also: Eden

Duty Name	Level	IL Req	Final Boss	Roulette	Loot IL	Tomestones	Unlock
Eden's Gate (Savage)	80	440–450	Titan and Titan Maximum	-	470–475	15	Lewrey, Amh Araeng
Eden's Verse (Savage)	80	470–480	Shiva	-	500–505	15	Lewrey, Amh Araeng
Eden's Promise (Savage)	80	500–510	Oracle of Darkness	-	530–535	30	Lewrey, Amh Araeng

Endwalker

See also: Pandæmonium

Duty Name	Level	IL Req	Final Boss	Roulette	Loot IL	Tomestones	Unlock
Pandæmonium: Asphodelos (Savage)	90	570–580	Hesperos	-	600–605	15	Nemjiji, Labyrinthos
Pandæmonium: Abyssos (Savage)	90	600–610	Hephaistos	-	630–635	15	Nemjiji, Labyrinthos
Pandæmonium: Anabaseios (Savage)	90	630–640	Pallas Athena	-	660–665	30	Nemjiji, Labyrinthos

Dawntrail

See also: The Arcadion

Duty Name	Level	IL Req	Final Boss	Roulette	Loot IL	Tomestones	Unlock
AAC Light-heavyweight Tier (Savage)	100	700	Wicked Thunder	-	730–735	30	Gabbro, Solution Nine

Ultimate Raids

Beginning with Stormblood, some raid tiers are also followed by a single ultimate raid released two weeks into the following odd-numbered major patch (i.e., x.11 or x.31). With the exception of Shadowbringers, each expansion contains two ultimate raids. Ultimate raids are boss gauntlet style encounters where players encounter a series of significantly more powerful bosses from previous raids, trials, and dungeons. The final boss of an Ultimate raid is an original enemy design that was not present in earlier duties. Wiping at any point in the gauntlet will reset the encounter to the beginning. The sole exception is  Dragonsong's Reprise (Ultimate), which has one checkpoint after the first phase of the encounter.

Participation

Ultimate raids can be unlocked by completing the fourth encounter of the Savage raid tier released in the previous patch from when the ultimate raid was released. Players must form a full party of 8 people to enter an instance; matchmaking through Duty Finder or Raid Finder is unavailable. Moreover, to mostly preserve the difficulty of ultimate raids even as newer content is released, each ultimate raid has a strict item level sync and no option to complete using an Unrestricted Party (i.e., with level sync disabled). However, due to job overhauls and other battle system changes, older ultimate raids are currently more forgiving than when they were first released in terms of DPS, healing, and mitigation requirements, allowing much more room for error. More recent ultimate raids are also designed to be more mechanically punishing than older raids, allowing essentially no deaths outside of very specific areas.

Newly-released ultimate raids are designed for players who have maximum item level, best-in-slot gear. Note that the item level of best-in-slot armor and accessories is 5 item levels lower than the item level sync for a newly-released ultimate raid. Two major patches after an ultimate raid is released, players may acquire gear from the newly released dungeon, which will be at the same item level as the item level sync for the Ultimate raid. Unless if an ultimate raid is from a previous expansion, it is not desirable to sync down current item level gear, because sub-stats from materia melds will not carried over. For older ultimate raids, players are free to equip any Lv. 100 gear, as the item level sync calculations will maximize the possible sub-stats. (To be precise, The Unending Coil of Bahamut requires item level 470 gear, The Weapon's Refrain item level 500, and The Epic of Alexander item level 595 for maximized sub-stats.)

Many players choose to form or join "static" raid groups with other players to progress and complete ultimate raids. However, it is also possible to use Party Finder to clear them, especially for older ultimate raids, due to the presence of standardized strategies. In addition, on some data centers there are Discord servers that coordinate guided clears or party finding. While all Ultimate raids are very difficult, The Weapon's Refrain ("UWU") is considered the most accessible ultimate raid, followed by The Unending Coil of Bahamut and The Epic of Alexander. The most difficult raids are generally considered to be Dragonsong's Reprise and The Omega Protocol.

Limited jobs and free trial players cannot participate in ultimate raids.

Rewards

Due to their very high difficulty, ultimate raids are meant to be prestige content that is not part of normal gear progression. Ultimate raids reward totems that can be traded at certain vendors for weapons with special particle effects. These weapons are of the same item level as the previous Savage raid tier's but contain an extra materia melding slot. Completion of ultimate raids also unlock achievements, exclusive titles, and Adventurer Plate designs. When an ultimate raid is newly-released, each party member may obtain one totem per week for completion; this restriction is lifted in the next major patch.

List of Ultimate Raids

Stormblood

Duty Name	Level	IL Req	Final Boss	Roulette	Loot IL	Tomestones	Unlock
The Unending Coil of Bahamut (Ultimate)	70	345	Bahamut Prime	-	345	100	Wandering Minstrel, Kugane
The Weapon's Refrain (Ultimate)	70	375	The Ultima Weapon	-	375	100	Wandering Minstrel, Kugane

Shadowbringers

Duty Name	Level	IL Req	Final Boss	Roulette	Loot IL	Tomestones	Unlock
The Epic of Alexander (Ultimate)	80	475	Perfect Alexander	-	475	100	Wandering Minstrel, Kugane

Endwalker

Duty Name	Level	IL Req	Final Boss	Roulette	Loot IL	Tomestones	Unlock
Dragonsong's Reprise (Ultimate)	90	605	Dragon-king Thordan	-	605	100	Wandering Minstrel, Old Sharlayan
The Omega Protocol (Ultimate)	90	635	Alpha Omega	-	635	100	Wandering Minstrel, Old Sharlayan

Dawntrail

Duty Name	Level	IL Req	Final Boss	Roulette	Loot IL	Tomestones	Unlock
Futures Rewritten (Ultimate)	100			-

Alliance Raids

Alliance raids are fought by 24 players against a sequence of bosses and mobs, similar to a large-scale dungeon. These are all considered normal-difficulty content.

Participation

Alliance raids are released in odd-numbered patches (x.1, x.3, x.5), for a total of three alliance raids per expansion. They can be unlocked by completing certain blue unlock quests, which become accessible after completing the Main Scenario Quests in the base (x.0) expansion. For each raid series, these duties must be completed in sequence, e.g, completion of the first alliance raid of an expansion is required to unlock the second raid. To participate, players who meet the average minimum item level requirement can register using Duty Finder matchmaking.

Rewards

Each boss encounter in an alliance raid drops treasure chests containing equipment that can be rolled on, with the final boss also rewarding exclusive minions, Triple Triad Cards, and orchestrion rolls. The equipment is meant to be "catch-up" and is the same item item level as current, non-augmented tomestone gear. The final boss also drops a guaranteed coin, which can be exchanged at certain vendors for tomestone gear upgrade materials that were previously exclusive to the current Savage raids. When an Alliance raid is current, each player can obtain one piece of equipment and one coin per week.

Additional Information

Owing its lack of an item level sync and substantial player power creep over time, the Crystal Tower alliance raids (with the third at a lesser extent) have become tediously easy duties that are often completed with little difficulty, to the point where mechanics on several bosses are ignored or outright skipped. As a result, many guides include mechanics that players will normally not experience unless on minimum item level mode. Owing to this, players have developed a technique to deliberately lower their item level in the Alliance Roulette, so that it would select a Crystal Tower raid by default. As a result the developers decided to implement item level restrictions for the  Duty Roulette: Alliance Raids in Patch 6.5, as to increase its diversity.

List of Alliance Raids

A Realm Reborn

Main article: Crystal Tower

Duty Name	Level	IL Req	Final Boss	Roulette	Loot IL	Tomestones	Unlock
The Labyrinth of the Ancients	50	50	Phlegethon	Alliance Raids	80	100	Labyrinth of the Ancients
Syrcus Tower	50	70	Xande	Alliance Raids	100	100	Syrcus Tower
The World of Darkness	50	90	Cloud of Darkness	Alliance Raids	120	100	The World of Darkness

Heavensward

Main article: Shadow of Mhach

Duty Name	Level	IL Req	Final Boss	Roulette	Loot IL	Tomestones	Unlock
The Void Ark	60	175	Echidna	Alliance Raids	200	100 60 8	To Rule the Skies
The Weeping City of Mhach	60	205	Calofisteri	Alliance Raids	230	100 60 8	The Weeping City
Dun Scaith	60	235	Diabolos Hollow	Alliance Raids	260	100 80 10	Where Shadows Reign

Stormblood

Main article: Return to Ivalice

Duty Name	Level	IL Req	Final Boss	Roulette	Loot IL	Tomestones	Unlock
The Royal City of Rabanastre	70	305	Argath Thadalfus	Alliance Raids	330	100 80 10	A City Fallen
The Ridorana Lighthouse	70	335	Yiazmat	Alliance Raids	360	100 80 10	Annihilation
The Orbonne Monastery	70	365	Ultima, The High Seraph	Alliance Raids	390	100 100 12	The City of Lost Angels

Shadowbringers

Main article: YoRHa: Dark Apocalypse

Duty Name	Level	IL Req	Final Boss	Roulette	Loot IL	Tomestones	Unlock
The Copied Factory	80	435	9S-operated Walking Fortress	Alliance Raids	460	100 100 12	On the Threshold
The Puppets' Bunker	80	465	Compound 2P	Alliance Raids	490	100 100 12	Everything You Know Is Wrong
The Tower at Paradigm's Breach	80	495	Her Inflorescence	Alliance Raids	520	100 120 15	Brave New World

Endwalker

Main article: Myths of the Realm

Duty Name	Level	IL Req	Final Boss	Roulette	Loot IL	Tomestones	Unlock
Aglaia	90	565	Nald'thal	Alliance Raids	590	100  100 12	The Realm of the Gods
Euphrosyne	90	595	Menphina	Alliance Raids	620	100  100 12	Return to the Phantom Realm
Thaleia	90	625	Eulogia	Alliance Raids	650	100  120 15	The Heart of the Myth

Dawntrail

Main article: Echoes of Vana'diel

Achievements

Raid completion is associated generally with the following achievements:

Name	Points	Task	Reward	Patch
To the Dungeons I	5	Successfully complete 5 unique instanced dungeon raids or trials.	-	2.1
To the Dungeons II	10	Successfully complete 10 unique instanced dungeon raids or trials.	-	2.1
To the Dungeons III	20	Successfully complete 20 unique instanced dungeon raids or trials.	-	2.1
To the Dungeons IV	20	Successfully complete 30 unique instanced dungeon raids or trials.	-	3.0
To the Dungeons V	20	Successfully complete 40 unique instanced dungeon raids or trials.	-	3.0
To the Dungeons VI	20	Successfully complete 50 unique instanced dungeon raids or trials.	-	3.0
Dungeon Siege I	5	Complete 10 instanced dungeon raids or trials.	-	2.1
Dungeon Siege II	5	Complete 30 instanced dungeon raids or trials.	-	2.1
Dungeon Siege III	5	Complete 100 instanced dungeon raids or trials.	-	2.1
Dungeon Siege IV	10	Complete 300 instanced dungeon raids or trials.	Dungeon Master	2.1
Dungeon Master	20	Complete 1,000 instanced dungeon raids or trials.	-	2.1
Lifer I	20	Successfully complete 2,000 instanced dungeon raids or trials.	-	3.0
Lifer II	20	Successfully complete 5,000 instanced dungeon raids or trials.	-	3.0
Lifer III	20	Successfully complete 10,000 instanced dungeon raids or trials.	-	3.0

Specific raids will also reward certain achievements upon completion.

Images

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Notes

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Raids

Duties