FFXIV: All ultimate raids ranked from worst to best

❘ Published: 2024-05-08T00:55:47

Square Enix

Final Fantasy XIV’s ultimate raids are the premier PvE experience of the MMO, retelling the highlights of a story in an immensely difficult boss gauntlet. Here’s our ranking of every ultimate raid from worst to best.

Ultimates are the pinnacle of the raiding experience in Final Fantasy XIV. Offering a challenging boss rush like no other, the content is unmatched when it comes to sheer quality alone.

Just as they are difficult for the players, the MMO’s ultimate raids are also incredibly difficult to produce, with only five being made within the game’s lifespan. But with that list no doubt set to grow in the coming years, there’s always going to be a tough challenge on the horizon.

We’ve put together our rankings of all the FFXIV ultimate raids currently on offer, listing them from worst to best.

5. The Weapon’s Refrain (UWU)

The Weapon’s Refrain aka UWU was the second ultimate released in Final Fantasy XIV. Retelling the events of the main scenario in A Realm Reborn, it has players face off against the original 3 primals of Garuda, Titan, and Ifrit, eventually fighting the Ultimate Weapon itself.

UWU is arguably the easiest of all the ultimates, with the main mechanic being awakening each primal by fulfilling a hidden condition. Whilst the idea of this hidden mechanic was great for watching the world’s first race, the ultimate has become far more trivial since that time. With revised strategies, the first three phases (the first primals) become far less interesting than the final phase.

On top of that Titan Gaols are still one of the jankiest mechanics to ever be introduced in an ultimate, and it can succinctly end a pull because someone got hit by the landslides or didn’t stand close enough with the Gaols.

UWU is by far the most beginner-friendly ultimate out of the bunch, however, and still stands as a challenging experience for any experienced raider. Most of the mechanics aren’t too challenging, one person dying doesn’t instantly wipe the party and the main thing players have to focus on is healing and mitigating damage.

4. Unending Coil of Bahamut (UCOB)

The Unending Coil of Bahamut was the first ultimate released into Final Fantasy XIV. As the first of its kind, it’s pretty obvious that the devs were still experimenting with what they wanted. Based on the storyline of A Realm Reborn’s raid series, UCOB has five phases in total, where players take on Twintania, Nael, and Bahamut.

UCOB has the most jank out of all the ultimates, which makes it more flexible than the others. Not everything needs to be done quite precisely, and the DPS check for every phase is incredibly lenient. The jankiness of UCOB does come with a double-edged sword, however, as the impreciseness can lead to wipes that just don’t feel fair at times. You could be standing in what seems like the right spot, only to be swept off your feet by a dive or Twister.

The third phase of UCOB essentially made the player base familiar with mechanics called Trios, in which the bosses would go untargettable and perform skills. This formula is used throughout several other ultimates that came after it, including some savage raids as well.

All in all, UCOB still ends up being one of the more straightforward and simplistic of ultimates. Being the first one released, it makes sense the devs were still exploring what they could do with an ultimate. However, with more janky mechanics that can feel unreliable and frustrating at times, it comes in at fourth place.

3. Dragonsong’s Reprise (DSR)

Dragonsong’s Reprise was an ultimate originally supposed to be released with the Shadowbringers expansion. The raid ended up being delayed until the first patch of Endwalker, where we finally faced off against Thordan and his holy knights. DSR was a unique ultimate that posed an alternative timeline in which a beloved character had survived the events of Heavenward.

With a whole seven phases in total, DSR is one of the longest ultimates by far. And you can tell because it can drag on when you get to the later stages of the fight. Each phase closes with a small amount of downtime as well, giving you a short breath, but equally lengthening the fight. All in all most clears of DSR take around 17 to 20 minutes to clear, making it one of the longest ultimates to run through.

DSR has some of the flashiest mechanics ever seen in Final Fantasy XIV. Death of the Heavens, Sanctity of the Ward, and even Wroth Flames are all magnificent to look at and even more satisfying to solve. This is all followed by facing Dragon King Thordan himself, a final phase that’s a true choke check.

Dragonsong’s Reprise is easily one of the best fights ever made in Final Fantasy XIV. From the lore to the mechanics, to the music, and more, the only thing holding it back from being one of the greatest is just how lengthy and drawn out it is to clear at times.

2. The Omega Protocol (TOP)

Putting The Omega Protocol (TOP) as second on this list might be a bit of a controversial take. But TOP was one of the most enjoyable and satisfying ultimates to clear. Based on the Stormblood raid series, TOP has you fight off against Omega in several different forms, including one where they discover Dynamis.

TOP has one of the worst progging experiences of all ultimates. With mechanics that require you to pay attention the entire time, running pull after pull can really put a mental strain on your party. Program Loop, Party Synergy, and all of the Dynamis trios are pretty hefty mechanics that require full focus, or you will immediately wipe the party.

The Omega Protocol also has one of the most difficult DPS checks in all of FFXIV, requiring players to use Tinctures to bypass consistently, and even if you perform your rotation optimally, you may just wipe to not critting enough.

Despite this, TOP doesn’t run into the same issues DSR does with its pacing. Due to needing to pay attention the entire way through, TOP feels like it never overstays its runtime. Each phase feels pretty short, there’s not a lot of downtime as you’re constantly hitting the boss and meeting each DPS check.

TOP is the most difficult ultimate in FFXIV as of writing, but its satisfying and unrelenting pace makes the fight never drag on and constantly keeps players on their toes.

1. The Epic of Alexander (TEA)

The Epic of Alexander is hands down the best ultimate in all of Final Fantasy XIV. TEA has four phases that see you fight Living Liquid, Bruce Justice and Cruise Chaser, and finally Alexander himself.

Firstly, every phase of TEA has amazing music. From Locus to Metal to Rise and to Moebius, you will be bopping your head along while progging the fight. TEA also has the benefit of being pretty front-loaded, with both Living Liquid and Brute Justice Cruise Chaser being the more difficult parts of the fight.

TEA’s mechanics aren’t quite as complex as DSR and TOP, which makes them far easier to understand and not quite as challenging to solve. But it works in its favor as an easier ultimate which still has solid mechanics and a level of difficulty that’s apt for its status.

Also worth noting is TEA’s enrage sequence being the most creative one ever made. While most ultimates have an enrage sequence that essentially kills off party members one by one, TEA slowly locks each party member away in a time prison, eventually locking everyone in a permanent timestop if they aren’t able to meet the DPS check.

The Epic of Alexander is still a fan favorite of the FFXIV community today, with people still making memes about Perfect Alexander how many years after the fact. While DSR and TOP might have had more difficult mechanics, or UWU and UCOB have the nostalgia factor, TEA remains the perfect mix of everything you want in an ultimate, giving it the top spot on our list.