FFXIV fans are now preparing themselves to face the apocalyptic Final Day. However, the Goddess Hydaelyn will have to test players first before she allows them to face the final boss.
The FFXIV Endwalker Expansion is proving itself to be a hit among fans of the popular and long-running MMORPG. The new patch is the culmination of the Warrior of Light’s standoff against the apocalyptic Final Days. Along with the epic storyline, players are treated with new classes, the Sage and the Reaper. Aside from that, fans of the game can now earn from the new dungeons and raids like the Trial Bosses.
What are Trial Bosses?
Endwalker brings the end of the epic story of the Warrior of Light’s fight against the cataclysmic event known as the Final Days. In the storyline, before players can challenge the Final Day trial, they will have to first defeat the bosses of the Dark Inside and the Mothercrystal Trials. Players will face the former primal god, Zodiark, and their patron goddess, Hydaelyn. After defeating the two deities, raiders will be able to face off against the final form of Meteion, the Endsinger. Defeating these trial bosses in extreme mode can yield players rewards which they can sell to earn lots of FFXIV gil.
Fighting the trial bosses can be quite difficult, especially if the raiders do not know the spells and attack patterns of each boss. Being fully prepared, having the right party members, and knowing how to react to specific spells can help players increase their chances of success.
How to Clear the Mothercrystal Trial?
Hydaelyn is a level 89 boss with a three-phase battle in the Mothercrystal Trial. Players will be battling her in a circular arena. In her first phase, the goddess can use multiple forms that will have unique attacks of their own. In the second phase, Hydaelyn will be charging a major attack while she casts multiple magic spells to stall for time. The last phase will feature a better version of the first phase. This trial boss will be very tricky as Hydaelyn has a lot of spells, so players will have to be wary of many attacks. Challenging the goddess without any prior knowledge will make the raid a bit harder. Fortunately, there is a list of things that raiders can remember before they go on to battle the goddess.
Trust Allies
For players who are going to clear the Mothercrsytal Trial for the first time, it is more advisable to challenge it with Trust Allies. Raiding the trial with trust allies will allow players to learn more about the trial. These companions will automatically dodge attacks and call out players to where they should move to during certain attacks or mechanics. This is extremely helpful in memorizing what to do for future raids.
Fighting Hydaelyn with Trust Allies also grants players two Stacks of Willful. Stacks of Willful allows players to resurrect or revive themselves if they die during the trial. Raiders will also be granted another stack of Willful if they exhaust the existing two stacks and still fail the trial.
Phase One
In this phase, most of Hydaelyn’s attacks will revolve around her switching forms and weapons. Whenever she switches weapons, she will unleash unique attacks, so players should be observant when this happens. Here is the list of spells for the first phase of the trial:
Dawn Mantle – a spell that allows Hydaelyn to change weapons or forms. She can cast this spell multiple times in this phase. There will be floating symbols that float around her that will determine what form she will take. Raiders should observe to which weapon she changes into.
- Dancer Chakram (Red Symbol) – a large AoE spell will hit most of the arena. There is a safe space under Hydaelyn which raiders should stand in to avoid damage.
- Paladin Sword (Blue Symbol) – a cross-shaped directional attack that will hit paths along the cardinal directions. Moving to the corners of Hydaelyn will help players avoid this attack.
- White Mage Staff (Green Symbol) – a point-black attack that will cover the area surrounding Hydaelyn. Moving to the edges of the arena will help raiders avoid the attack.
Hero’s Radiance – an unavoidable attack that deals moderate damage to all party members. Healers will have to heal the party to recover everyone’s health.
Heroes Sundering – a high-damage cone-shaped AoE attack that will target the main tank of the party. The main tank should move away from other members of the party to avoid getting them hit by the attack.
Mago’s Radiance – an attack that deals damage to all party members.
Mousa’s Scorn – another tank buster attack with a stack marker. Another member, preferably the off-tank, should stand together with the main tank to distribute the damage taken.
Phase 2
Once players reduce her health to around 80%, Hydaelyn will focus on attacking players with magic spells while she charges up the Conviction gauge. Players will have to destroy the six crystals that will appear in the arena to end the phase and stop the boss from accumulating more Conviction. Here is the list of attacks and spells:
Hydaelyn’s Ray – an orange line AoE spell that is similar to a proximity spell. Raiders should move as far away as possible from the center of the line to lessen the damage taken.
Crystalline Blizzard III – a spell that targets every player producing an AoE attack marker. Players should stay away from one another to avoid stacking the damage.
Crystalline Stone III – a spell that will target one random party member. The party should group up before the spell hits to spread the damage among them.
Exodus – the highest damage dealing spell in phase. The attack will also increase its damage depending on the amount of Conviction gauge charged up. Hydaelyn will cast the spell once all six Crystals of Light are destroyed.
Phase 3
In this phase, Hydaelyn will cast empowered versions of her previous attacks. Here is the list of spells:
Crystallize – a target spell that will hit a party member with a stack marker or the whole party. Hydaelyn will cast this spell before she uses empowered versions of Dawn Mantle. Crystalline Stone and Crystalline Blizzard will also be cast randomly, so players should be very careful during this spell.
Lightwave – a spell that will summon waves of light coming from the cardinal directions. These spells will move slowly and damage everything in their path. The waves of light will not move at the same time, so players can take advantage of this feature to pick which lightwave they will avoid first. Hydaelyn will use this spell when in her empowered Paladin Sword form.
Echoes – a spell that will target a random player with a stack marker. This attack will be used during Lightwave. The party should stand close to each other during this spell to divide the damage, but they should still be wary of other attacks from Lightwave.
Parhelion – a spell with three sets of lines of AoE. Chakrams will appear at the edge of each line in the arena. These lines will attack depending on the order in which they appear. After the first wave, Hydaelyn will cast Subparhelion. This attack occurs during the Dancer Chakram form.
Subparhelion – a spell that activates the chakrams left at the edges of the lines. These chakrams will shoot following the line they are attached to. This attack will cover most of the arena and will be in the same order as before. To avoid this spell, players will have to wait for the first set of chakrams to pass then stay at the zone that the first set left.
Parhelic Circle – a spell that will summon green lines which will explode after a few seconds. Orbs of light will appear above each green line which will deal AoE damage to the area surrounding them. To avoid damage, party members should stay in gaps between the green lines and wait for the orbs to explode. This attack will be used during the White Mage Staff form.
Radiant Halo – an unavoidable spell that will deal damage to every party member. This attack will be used during the Paladin Sword form.
These are all the phases players will have to face throughout their run in the trial. Finishing the Mothercrystal for the first time will unlock the extreme mode for the trial. Players can profit from completing the extreme mode because they will be rewarded with Divine Light weapons that they can sell for FFXIV gil. They can also get a Crystal of Divine Light, a Lynx of Divine Light Flute, and a Faded Copy of Your Answer. Make sure to consult and study this guide before taking on the goddess.