Raids

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

Raid.png 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.

Raid Categories

Raid.png 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.

Raid.png 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) and Eden's Verse: Refulgence (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 usually deliberately tuned to be easier to allow players to become accustomed to the expansion's job changes and additions. 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 icon1.png 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 Mage frame icon.png 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. 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 HQ icon.png 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. As of patch 6.57, the loot restrictions for the current raid tier, Pandæmonium: Anabaseios (Savage), were removed. Older tiers also do not have loot restrictions.

Ultimate Raid.png 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 Ultimate Raid 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. 90 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.[1])

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.

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 Duty Roulette: Alliance Raids in Patch 6.5, as to increase its diversity.

Raids (8 Players)

A Realm Reborn

See also: Bahamut Quests
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 Allagan Tomestone of Poetics 10 Feature QuestPrimal Awakening
The Second Coil of Bahamut 50 90–105 4 Nael deus Darnus - 110–115 Allagan Tomestone of Poetics 20 Feature QuestAnother Turn in the Coil
The Second Coil of Bahamut (Savage) 50 105 4 Nael deus Darnus - 110–115 Allagan Tomestone of Poetics 20 Feature QuestSing Me Another Song
The Final Coil of Bahamut 50 110–123 4 Bahamut Prime - 130–135 Allagan Tomestone of Poetics 30 Feature QuestFragments of Truth

Heavensward

See also: Alexander Quests
Duty Name Level IL Req Final Boss Roulette Loot IL Tomestones Unlock
Alexander: Gordias 60 170 The Manipulator Normal Raids 190 Allagan Tomestone of Poetics 10 Feature QuestDisarmed
Alexander: Gordias (Savage) 60 190–205 The Manipulator - 210–215 Allagan Tomestone of Poetics 15 Feature QuestA Song of Steam and Steel
Alexander: Midas 60 200 Brute Justice Normal Raids 220 Allagan Tomestone of Poetics 10 Feature QuestRearmed
Alexander: Midas (Savage) 60 215–225 Brute Justice - 240–245 Allagan Tomestone of Poetics 15 Feature QuestA Refrain for the Undaunted
Alexander: The Creator 60 230 Alexander Prime Normal Raids 250 Allagan Tomestone of Poetics 20 Feature QuestThe Coeurl and the Colossus
Alexander: The Creator (Savage) 60 245–255 Alexander Prime - 270–275 Allagan Tomestone of Poetics 30 Feature QuestWho Lives, Who Dies, Who Retells Your Story

Stormblood

See also: Omega Quests
Duty Name Level IL Req Final Boss Roulette Loot IL Tomestones Unlock
Omega: Deltascape 70 295 Exdeath Normal Raids 320 Allagan Tomestone of Poetics 10 Feature QuestInto the Deltascape
Omega: Deltascape (Savage) 70 310–320 Neo Exdeath - 340–345 Allagan Tomestone of Poetics 15 Magitek Terminal, Rhalgr's Reach
The Unending Coil of Bahamut (Ultimate) 70 345 Bahamut Prime - 345 Allagan Tomestone of Poetics 100 Wandering Minstrel, Kugane
Omega: Sigmascape 70 325 Kefka Normal Raids 350 Allagan Tomestone of Poetics 10 Feature QuestNo Slowing Down
Omega: Sigmascape (Savage) 70 340–350 Kefka - 370–375 Allagan Tomestone of Poetics 15 Magitek Terminal, Rhalgr's Reach
The Weapon's Refrain (Ultimate) 70 375 The Ultima Weapon - 375 Allagan Tomestone of Poetics 100 Wandering Minstrel, Kugane
Omega: Alphascape 70 355 Omega-M and Omega-F Normal Raids 380 Allagan Tomestone of Poetics 20 Feature QuestIn the Beginning, There Was Chaos
Omega: Alphascape (Savage) 70 370–380 Omega - 400–405 Allagan Tomestone of Poetics 30 Magitek Terminal, Rhalgr's Reach

Shadowbringers

See also: Eden Quests
Duty Name Level IL Req Final Boss Roulette Loot IL Tomestones Unlock
Eden's Gate 80 425 Titan Normal Raids 450 Allagan Tomestone of Poetics 10 Feature QuestDeploy the Core
Eden's Gate (Savage) 80 440–450 Titan and Titan Maximum - 470–475 Allagan Tomestone of Poetics 15 Lewrey, Amh Araeng
The Epic of Alexander (Ultimate) 80 475 Perfect Alexander - 475 Allagan Tomestone of Poetics 100 Wandering Minstrel, Kugane
Eden's Verse 80 455 Shiva Normal Raids 480 Allagan Tomestone of Poetics 10 Feature QuestBlood and Thunder
Eden's Verse (Savage) 80 470–480 Shiva - 500–505 Allagan Tomestone of Poetics 15 Lewrey, Amh Araeng
Eden's Promise 80 485 Eden's Promise Normal Raids 510 Allagan Tomestone of Poetics 20 Feature QuestFear of the Dark
Eden's Promise (Savage) 80 500–510 Oracle of Darkness - 530–535 Allagan Tomestone of Poetics 30 Lewrey, Amh Araeng

Endwalker

See also: Pandæmonium Quests
Duty Name Level IL Req Final Boss Roulette Loot IL Tomestones Unlock
Pandæmonium: Asphodelos 90 565 Hesperos Normal Raids 580 Allagan Tomestone of Causality 10 Allagan Tomestone of Comedy 5 Feature QuestThe Crystal from Beyond
Pandæmonium: Asphodelos (Savage) 90 570–580 Hesperos - 600–605 Allagan Tomestone of Comedy 15 Nemjiji, Labyrinthos
Dragonsong's Reprise (Ultimate) 90 605 Dragon-king Thordan - 605 Allagan Tomestone of Comedy 30 Wandering Minstrel, Old Sharlayan
Pandæmonium: Abyssos 90 585 Hephaistos Normal Raids 610 Allagan Tomestone of Causality 10 Allagan Tomestone of Comedy 5 Feature QuestAn Unwelcome Visitor
Pandæmonium: Abyssos (Savage) 90 600–610 Hephaistos - 630–635 Allagan Tomestone of Comedy 15 Nemjiji, Labyrinthos
The Omega Protocol (Ultimate) 90 635 Alpha Omega - 635 Allagan Tomestone of Comedy 30 Wandering Minstrel, Old Sharlayan
Pandæmonium: Anabaseios 90 615 Athena Normal Raids 640 Allagan Tomestone of Causality 20 Allagan Tomestone of Comedy 10 Feature QuestEater of Souls
Pandæmonium: Anabaseios (Savage) 90 630–640 Pallas Athena - 660–665 Allagan Tomestone of Comedy 30 Nemjiji, Labyrinthos

Dawntrail

See also: The Arcadion and The Arcadion Quests
Duty Name Level IL Req Final Boss Roulette Loot IL Tomestones Unlock
??? 100
??? (Savage) 100 -
Futures Rewritten (Ultimate) 100 -

Alliance Raids (24 Players)

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 Allagan Tomestone of Poetics 100 Feature QuestLabyrinth of the Ancients
Syrcus Tower 50 70 Xande Alliance Raids 100 Allagan Tomestone of Poetics 100 Feature QuestSyrcus Tower
The World of Darkness 50 90 Cloud of Darkness Alliance Raids 120 Allagan Tomestone of Poetics 100 Feature QuestThe 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 Allagan Tomestone of Poetics 100 Allagan Tomestone of Causality 60 Allagan Tomestone of Comedy 8 Feature QuestTo Rule the Skies
The Weeping City of Mhach 60 205 Calofisteri Alliance Raids 230 Allagan Tomestone of Poetics 100 Allagan Tomestone of Causality 60 Allagan Tomestone of Comedy 8 Feature QuestThe Weeping City
Dun Scaith 60 235 Diabolos Hollow Alliance Raids 260 Allagan Tomestone of Poetics 100 Allagan Tomestone of Causality 80 Allagan Tomestone of Comedy 10 Feature QuestWhere 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 Allagan Tomestone of Poetics 100 Allagan Tomestone of Causality 80 Allagan Tomestone of Comedy 10 Feature QuestA City Fallen
The Ridorana Lighthouse 70 335 Yiazmat Alliance Raids 360 Allagan Tomestone of Poetics 100 Allagan Tomestone of Causality 80 Allagan Tomestone of Comedy 10 Feature QuestAnnihilation
The Orbonne Monastery 70 365 Ultima, The High Seraph Alliance Raids 390 Allagan Tomestone of Poetics 100 Allagan Tomestone of Causality 100 Allagan Tomestone of Comedy 12 Feature QuestThe 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 Allagan Tomestone of Poetics 100 Allagan Tomestone of Causality 100 Allagan Tomestone of Comedy 12 Feature QuestOn the Threshold
The Puppets' Bunker 80 465 Compound 2P Alliance Raids 490 Allagan Tomestone of Poetics 100 Allagan Tomestone of Causality 100 Allagan Tomestone of Comedy 12 Feature QuestEverything You Know Is Wrong
The Tower at Paradigm's Breach 80 495 Her Inflorescence Alliance Raids 520 Allagan Tomestone of Poetics 100 Allagan Tomestone of Causality 120 Allagan Tomestone of Comedy 15 Feature QuestBrave 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 Allagan Tomestone of Causality 120 Allagan Tomestone of Comedy 15 Feature QuestThe Realm of the Gods
Euphrosyne 90 595 Menphina Alliance Raids 620 Allagan Tomestone of Causality 120 Allagan Tomestone of Comedy 15 Feature QuestReturn to the Phantom Realm
Thaleia 90 625 Eulogia Alliance Raids 650 Allagan Tomestone of Causality 150 Allagan Tomestone of Comedy 20 Feature QuestThe 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 icon1.png  To the Dungeons I 5 Successfully complete 5 unique instanced dungeon raids or trials. - 2.1
To the dungeons ii icon1.png  To the Dungeons II 10 Successfully complete 10 unique instanced dungeon raids or trials. - 2.1
To the dungeons iii icon1.png  To the Dungeons III 20 Successfully complete 20 unique instanced dungeon raids or trials. - 2.1
To the dungeons iv icon1.png  To the Dungeons IV 20 Successfully complete 30 unique instanced dungeon raids or trials. - 3.0
To the dungeons v icon1.png  To the Dungeons V 20 Successfully complete 40 unique instanced dungeon raids or trials. - 3.0
To the dungeons vi icon1.png  To the Dungeons VI 20 Successfully complete 50 unique instanced dungeon raids or trials. - 3.0
Dungeon siege i icon1.png  Dungeon Siege I 5 Complete 10 instanced dungeon raids or trials. - 2.1
Dungeon siege ii icon1.png  Dungeon Siege II 5 Complete 30 instanced dungeon raids or trials. - 2.1
Dungeon siege iii icon1.png  Dungeon Siege III 5 Complete 100 instanced dungeon raids or trials. - 2.1
Dungeon siege iv icon1.png  Dungeon Siege IV 10 Complete 300 instanced dungeon raids or trials. Achievement title icon.png Dungeon Master 2.1
Dungeon master icon1.png  Dungeon Master 20 Complete 1,000 instanced dungeon raids or trials. - 2.1
Lifer i icon1.png  Lifer I 20 Successfully complete 2,000 instanced dungeon raids or trials. - 3.0
Lifer ii icon1.png  Lifer II 20 Successfully complete 5,000 instanced dungeon raids or trials. - 3.0
Lifer iii icon1.png  Lifer III 20 Successfully complete 10,000 instanced dungeon raids or trials. - 3.0

Specific raids will also reward certain achievements upon completion.

Images


  1. The Balance, accessed 23 April 2023