Oh, shut up and help me remodel the Eden's Gate: Inundation page!
Eden's Gate: Inundation, known by players as E3, is the third turn of the Eden's Gate Raid in Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers.
Story[]
Normal[]
Ryne is now able to concentrate on the task of turning Eden's immense power to the task of balancing the aetherial alignment of the Empty. Such a delicate task must be approached one element at a time, and Urianger suggests that the first should be water, essential to all life. However, for the aether to be restored, it must first be given shape through a process akin to summoning. As you call upon your memories of the dread Leviathan, the raging fury of the deluge begins to take form...
Description
Savage[]
At first glance, the faintly glowing crystal brought back from Eden's core appears to be little more than a pretty bauble. As you gaze deep within, however, you are bombarded with images of your encounters in the Empty─but your adversaries have been twisted into monstrosities far more ferocious than those in your memory. Though you know these to be naught more than illusions, you find yourself compelled to see them through...
Description
Progression[]
The battle takes place on a square platform created by Eden. Leviathan is a large omnidirectional enemy at the north end of the platform, and can break the platform, either destroying the left and right sides, or destroying everything except the left and right sides. After a time, Ryne will use Eden's power to reform the platform.
Normal[]
Savage[]
Throughout the fight, Leviathan targets both tanks with autoattacks.
First phase[]
Leviathan opens with Tidal Roar, dealing moderate raid-wide damage, and Rip Current, a two-hit linear area-of-effect tank buster which inflicts Magic Vulnerability Up. Either Rip Current must be tank-swapped and mitigated or dealt with using an invulnerability. Moreover, Rip Current must be aimed away from the party.
Leviathan then casts Tidal Wave, spawning a Tidal Wave either on the left or right of the platform. He then casts Undersea Quake, destroying the sides of the platform and triggering the Tidal Wave, which deals heavy damage and knocks the party back away from the Tidal Wave. Because the platform is very narrow after Undersea Quake, either party members must position themselves very carefully or use a knockback immunity late in the cast of Undersea Quake.
Leviathan casts Temporary Current, facing a part of the platform and targeting a very wide line in front of him for heavy damage. To avoid this, every player must either be in the far back, in front of Leviathan, or in the opposite front corner to where Leviathan's heads are.
Leviathan follows with Drenching Pulse, targeting each party member for telegraphed area-of-effect damage. This can be easily avoided by stacking up to bait all the markers in the same place. Drenching Pulse then targets each party member for splash damage, that should be spread. After another Temporary Current, the platform reforms.
Leviathan now casts Maelstrom and goes untargetable. This spawns small puddles on the platform that grow into much larger puddles that inflict Heavy and deal damage. It causes two portals to spawn, one after the other, from which Leviathan will charge across the platform, instantly killing anyone he collides with. Since the divebombs are always at a right angle to each other, this still leaves a quadrant of the platform free. After the second divebomb, the puddles fade and Leviathan becomes targetable again. He casts Tidal Roar and then Tsunami.
Second phase: First Tsunami[]
Tsunami does high raid-wide damage and inflicts each party member with two status effects. Everyone except one person is inflicted with Splashing Waters, while the last person is inflicted with Sundering Tsunami. Both healers are inflicted with Smothering Tsunami, while everyone else is inflicted with Swirling Waters. Sundering Tsunami is the first to resolve, spawning a wave from the player when it wears off that deals damage and knocks back anyone in front of the player, as well as removing Splashing Waters. Everyone must be hit by it in such a way that they do not fall off the platform, because Splashing Waters will instantly kill the player when it wears off.
After Sundering Tsunami, Leviathan casts Undersea Quake, this time only leaving the left and right sides of the platform intact, followed by a Temporary Current. Each side needs four party members, including a healer; this way, they can stack, as Smothering Tsunami is a stack marker and Swirling Waters instantly kills anyone standing in a small donut around the afflicted player. During this time, the two parties must dodge two Temporary Currents, as well as dealing with a Tidal Roar and Rip Current. The platform then reforms and Leviathan casts Tidal Roar.
Third phase: Refreshing Shower[]
Leviathan casts Refreshing Shower, upgrading several of his abilities. Tidal Roar is upgraded to Tidal Rage, which does heavy raid-wide damage. After a Tidal Rage, Leviathan again casts Tidal Wave, again triggered by a central Undersea Quake.
Leviathan now casts Temporary Current twice. The second cast is very quick, and in the opposite direction as the first Temporary Current; this will remain true for any pair of Temporary Current casts until the end of the fight.
Leviathan casts Drenching Pulse. This time, the Freak Wave spread markers leave puddles that inflict Dropsy and must be positioned carefully to avoid the incoming pair of Temporary Currents.
The platform reforms as Leviathan casts Maelstrom. This time, there are three portals, so the party has no safe quadrant, and simply must move in between dive-bombs. After Leviathan becomes targetable again, he casts Tidal Rage and Rip Current, ending the phase.
Fourth phase: Stormy Horizon[]
Leviathan opens this phase with Stormy Horizon. This causes heavy rain to fall, dealing raid-wide damage throughout the phase. It also repeatedly targets the party with Monster Waves, which are telegraphed area-of-effect attacks on each party member that must be carefully baited and dodged. A random tank is targeted with Backbreaking Wave, a tank buster that damages the entire party based on proximity to the tank. That tank must run to the back of the platform to soak the Backbreaking Wave while the rest of the party continues to bait and dodge the Monster Waves. Everyone must then dodge a pair of Temporary Currents, before stacking up for Plunging Wave, a heavy-hitting stack marker that hits five times.
After a Tidal Rage, the rain stops in time for another Drenching Pulse with puddled Freak Waves. These should be baited to the outer parts of the platform in preparation for a central Undersea Quake that ends the phase.
Fifth phase: Second Tsunami[]
Leviathan then casts Tsunami. This time, everyone will be inflicted with Splashing Waters, one tank and one DPS will be inflicted with Sundering Tsunami, a different tank will be inflicted with Scouring Tsunami, one healer and a different DPS will be inflicted with Smothering Tsunami, and a healer and a DPS will be targeted with Sweeping Tsunami. Sweeping Tsunami is a conal area-of-effect attack that will aim in the direction of the party member furthest away from the healer when it goes off, which should be mitigated through, while Scouring Tsunami is a huge splash marker.
There are many different strategies to resolve the debuffs inflicted by Tsunami, but here is a possible example. The party stacks in Leviathan's hitbox close to the edge of the platform while the DPS's Sundering Tsunami goes off. This removes Splashing Waters for everyone except that DPS. Then the two healers and a tank stack together, while the DPS all stack together and the remaining tank stands alone, in such that the three groups form a triangle whose "base" (the two stacks) is shorter than the "legs" (the distance between each stack and the lone tank). This will cause Sweeping Tsunami to hit that tank and only that tank, effectively serving as a tank buster. At the same time, Smothering Tsunami will resolve. The party then returns to the edge for the tank's Sundering Tsunami, which removes the last Splashing Waters and koncks the tank with Scouring Tsunami into a position so that they can run far away from the rest of the party, to the back of the platform, to absorb Scouring Tsunami.
After all the debuffs are cleansed, a pair of Temporary Currents pass as the platform reforms. Then Leviathan casts Tidal Rage twice and Rip Current.
Leviathan then casts Roiling Pulse, which again targets the party for telegraphed area-of-effect attacks that should be stacked, baited, and dodged. It also targets the tanks for Breaking Waves and the healers for Killer Waves. Breaking Wave is another proximity tank buster, while Killer Wave is a stack marker. The party then must break into their groups of four. On each side of the platform, the tank should bait Breaking Wave away from the group at the back end of the platform while the other three party members stack for Killer Wave. As this happens, an Undersea Quake goes off, stranding each group on their side of the platform.
Sixth phase: Black Smokers[]
Leviathan casts Black Smokers, targeting each tank and the two party members furthest from Leviathan. The tanks will be targeted with Spilling Waves, continuous tank busters that must be mitigated, while the two furthest party members will each be targeted with Hydrothermal Vents. These hit four times, each time dealing splash damage that must be baited and leaving a puddle that will explode if not stepped in, but that deals heavy damage and inflicts Magic Vulnerability Up. The Magic Vulnerability Up of the nth Hydrothermal Vent will fall off before the n+2th one.
Leviathan ends the phase with two Temporary Currents and two Tidal Rages. The platform reforms shortly before the second Tidal Rage.
Final phase: The Calm before The Storm[]
Leviathan casts The Calm to transition phases. He then casts Tidal Rage three times, before beginning to cast The Storm. The Storm is a hard enrage, but takes thirty seconds to cast and more time still for the animation to finish.
Musical themes[]
"Blinding Indigo" plays during the fight with Leviathan on both normal and Savage difficulties. The track is an arrangement of "Through the Maelstrom", which plays during the battle with the original Leviathan in The Whorleater.