FFXIV Variant Dungeons, explained – what you should know for patch 6.25

Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker’s patch 6.25 is here, and introduces Variant Dungeons with it. This is a bit like older duties. Final Fantasy 14These dungeons require players to navigate dangerous paths and defeat enemies. Variant Dungeons are a challenging game that requires players to master a new system. You can also get amazing gear and other goods for your efforts. Here’s everything you need to know.

What is Variant Dungeon?

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Variant Dungeons allow players to perform a variety of duties, either solo or with up to four others. To start, you’ll need need at least one job that has reached level 90 and the minimum item level of 575. These dungeons are known for their branch system. This allows you to choose from multiple paths, with different enemies and situations.

Every time you complete a different path, you’ll receive new pieces of information regarding the place’s lore. This info is registered in the Survey Record, which can be accessed on the V&C Dungeon Finder menu. Since paths change depending on the choices you make, you’ll need to run Variant Dungeons more than once and explore different choices to have a complete experience.

Another system that is important is Variant Actions. Whenever you’re in a run of a Variant Dungeon, you’ll have access to a set of skills meant to compensate for the lack of one or another job in the party. For example, if you’re playing as a monk, you can use the Variant Rampart — based on the Paladin’s mitigation skill — to protect yourself while tanking an enemy.

Square Enix via Polygon

In case players are looking for bigger challenges, it’s not a problem. Once you complete Variant Dungeons, you’ll unlock Criterion Dungeons — basically the Hard- and Savage-level versions of the Variant Dungeon.

Criterion dungeons are more dangerous and have tougher enemies. Parties can only have one tank, one healer and one melee DPS. They cannot also have one DPS from the physical or magical range, unlike its simpler version. Players cannot be revived with the Variant Raise II skills.

As of the time of patch 6.25, players can only access the Sil’dihn Subterrane Variant Dungeon and the Another Sil’dihn Subterrane Criterion Dungeon.

Variant Dungeons: How can you unlock them?

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To unlock the Variant Dungeon system and enter the Sil’dihn Subterrane, you first have to complete the main scenario quest “Endwalker.” After that, speak with the NPC Osmon (X: 11.9; Y: 13.3) in Old Sharlayan. Only then players can accept the quest “A Key to the Past” from the NPC Shallow Moor (X: 12.0; Y: 13.3) in Old Sharlayan too.

Once you complete this quest, you can talk to Osmon in Old Sharlayan again to unlock the Criterion Dungeon “Another Sil’dihn Subterrane,” which requires a minimum Item Level of 635. You can finish that once you’re done. then you can unlock the Savage difficulty of the Another Sil’dihn Subterrane.

By running Variant and Criterion Dungeons, you’ll earn not only Allagan Tomestone of Astronomy and Causality but also Sil’dihn Potsherd and Sil’dihn Silver, which can be exchanged for items with the NPC Trisassant (X: 12.0; Y: 13.3). You can buy the Noir set as well as the Sil’dihn Throne mount with these currencies.

The Sil’dihn Subterrane’s routes, explained

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You can find new information and paths during Variant Dungeons. In the Sil’dihn Subterrane Variant Dungeon, there are a total of 12 paths that unlock the entries in the Sil’dih Survey Record.

While finding the moments where the path forked into a new course is not difficult, it’s important to keep a record of your choices during a route. Right at the beginning of the dungeon, you’ll be asked to choose from three doors. You will be asked to select from one of the three doors to open a particular route. Or, you might need to pick two from a group of 4. By writing down which option you picked in each situation, it’s going to be easy to open a new path the next time you run the same door.

As you wait to see new dungeons added in the next patches, your Manderville weapon relic can be pursued.