Final Fantasy XIV: How hard are the Ultimate Raids?

ByPatrick Souza Hours

Ultimate raids are considered the hardest content in Final Fantasy XIV, but how hard are they actually? Some people say some of them are quite easy, while others are still recovering from the trauma of attempting the same fight again and again with no success.

With the recent introduction of the new Ultimate Raid, Dragonsong’s Reprise (also known as DSR), more players than ever are starting to have an interest in those not-so-simple raids, and here we’ll explain more about them in particular.

What are the Ultimate Raids?

Released back in Stormblood, Ultimates are known for their infamous difficulty, usually requiring weeks to months of progress with the same group to get clear. The fights are very long, going from 13 to 20 minutes with little to no downtime, and you fight different bosses in succession, all of them from previous fights, but taken to the extreme.

In order to unlock them, you must clear the current raid tier fight at the time of the release of the Ultimate. For example, for the newly-released DSR, you must clear Asphodelos: The Fourth Circle (Savage). When The Epic of Alexander (TEA) was released, Eden’s Gate: Sepulture (Savage) was the last Savage fight, and this is the requirement for unlocking it.

What do you get from them?

It is estimated that less than 10% of the FFXIV community actually tackles Ultimate content, so there’s not much locked behind it. But they are exclusive to those raids and are your proof of completing them.

For clearing it, you get a “Legend” title (such as “Ultimate Legend” or “Perfect Legend”), as well as a totem which you can trade for a special glowing weapon that is also slightly better than the raid weapon (which is usually the strongest).

how hard are ultimate raids weapons
Credit: Entropy FC

READ MORE: Final Fantasy XIV: How to Get Dragonsong Ultimate Weapons of the Heavens

They are the definitive proof that you cleared an Ultimate, and are very charming for anyone who’s looking at them. Those weapons are based on existing ones, but with small new touches.

Also, there’s the famous “World First” run, in which many groups compete between themselves in order to get the first clear. The TPS (Thoughts Per Second) group is known for having achieved the World First for many fights, such as the recent Savage tier and the TEA Ultimate.

How hard are the Ultimate Raids?

Since they require you to clear the current Savage fights (which is no easy feat), they are a step forward in difficulty.

Along with hard, overlapping mechanics, there’s also a secret mechanic that’s not clearly explained and is required to clear the fight. It involves doing something in a “non-usual way”, such as letting a boss get stacks, using a Limit Break in a special situation, or even sparing the boss when it asks for mercy.

Deaths are very expected and are usually a wipe, and aside from the new DSR, there are no checkpoints. This means that if you die at the 4th boss, you have to go all the way back to the beginning. Multiple pulls can be exhausting since you’ll be repeating the same mechanics many times.

So if you couldn’t guess by now how hard are they, the Ultimate raids are extremely difficult and are on a whole different level from Savage. A single mistake could mean a wipe, and they require a lot of patience from the players.

Which is the hardest Ultimate?

DSR has recently been named “the hardest Ultimate”, for its sheer amount of phases (7), secret mechanics, tight DPS checks, and taking around 20 minutes to clear. But it could get easier with time, as people learn the fight.

But all of the fights are hard in their own way. People who have cleared them all rank them based on their experiences. From what we can find, most rank the fights, from hardest to easiest, as:

  • 1 – Dragonsong’s Reprise
  • 2 – The Unending Coil of Bahamut
  • 3 – The Epic of Alexander
  • 4 – The Weapons’ Refrain
how hard are ultimate raids uwu
Credit: Square-Enix

Ultima Weapon is mostly scripted with less RNG involved, and while the final phases could lead to an easy wipe, it’s usually regarded as the easiest Ultimate, which doesn’t make it easier than any Savage content.

Bahamut and Alexander are infamous for having some unforgiving phases right at the beginning, but they get more manageable with time, and people know them way better than they used to at release.

Dragonsong’s Reprise has been proved to be very challenging, and even as more groups have been clearing it, many have been dubbing it the hardest duty ever released

Ultimates is a very interesting aspect of FFXIV. While you don’t need to clear them for anything other than some shiny weapons, the fights make you learn the game in a very different way, which is very interesting. 

READ MORE: Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker Review (PC): A walk to remember

If you ever feel like torturing yourself in the same fight over and over to get a shiny weapon, go search for an Ultimate static. It’s funnier than you could expect.