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Eden's Verse: Refulgence, known by players as E8, is the final turn of the Eden's Verse Raid Raid in Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers. Refulgence was the first 8-player raid to have voice acting.

Story[]

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow. (Skip section)

Normal[]

With the dark entity that haunted Gaia defeated, at least for the time being, you return to the task of restoring balance to ice, the final element. Being the most strongly aligned in favor of stasis, it appears that Ryne's direct involvement will be required to properly manipulate the aether. Inspired by tales of Ysayle on the Source, Ryne decides to use her own body as a vessel and wield the power of Shiva.

In-game description

After the Warrior of Light tells her the story of Ysayle and Hraesvelgr, Ryne decides to use her own body as a host for Shiva to restore Ice, which will fully restore the ecosystem of the Empty. However, Ryne loses control of the summoning and finds herself adopting Ysayle's personality and desire to end the Dragonsong War, forcing the Warrior of Light to intervene to slay Shiva before she completely takes control of Ryne.

FFXIV Ryne Hydaelyn 2

Ryne after transforming into a summoned copy of Hydaelyn.

During the battle, Ryne transforms from a host for (her summoned copy of) Shiva into a host for (a summoned copy of) Hydaelyn, reflecting Ysayle's use of the Echo. Eventually the Light within Ryne unleashed by Hydaelyn becomes too powerful, causing the beginning of a second Flood of Light. However, the Warriors of Light are able to suppress the aether unleashed by Hydaelyn.

After Shiva is defeated, Ryne finds herself trapped in a block of ice, unable to her power, which causes the second Flood of Light to continue. However, Gaia summons the powers of Darkness that she is able to wield because of her identity as the Voidwalker to suppress Ryne's power, allowing the Warriors of Light to free her and prevent the Flood of Light once and for all. The defeat of Shiva restores Ice to the Empty.

Savage[]

The discovery of a second crystal within Eden's core leads to more questions than answers, and yet again, your mind is assaulted with terrifying visions upon gazing inside. You see foes previously vanquished reborn, more brutal and unrelenting than even your wildest imagination, yet your unwavering resolve forbids you from tearing your eyes away...

In-game description
FFXIV HraeRyne

In Eden's memory, Ryne calls Shiva's beloved Hraesvelgr to her side.

However, in Eden's memory, which is portrayed on Savage difficulty, the battle is somewhat different. After the Warriors of Light avert the Flood of Light, Ryne unleashes her Limit Break, Skyfall, which summons Hraesvelgr to her side, and the Warriors of Light must defeat Ryne's forms as Shiva, Hydaelyn, and Hraesvelgr's mate to prevail.

Spoilers end here.

Progression[]

Normal[]


Savage[]

The party fights Shiva on a circular platform that it is possible to fall off of. Most of her avoidable attacks will inflict a 50% damage down on anyone that is clipped by them.

Refulgence from FFXIV prebattle screenshot

Shiva before battle. Notice the numerical waymarks, which will be used for Diamond Frost, among other mechanics.

Throughout the fight, Shiva casts Mirror, Mirror. This mechanic spawns mirrors of three different colors: green, red, and blue. The mirrors mimic the next spell that Shiva casts before fading. The mirrors always spawn at the cardinal points (North, South, East, and West). The green mirrors always cast faster than the red mirror, while the blue mirror casts at the same time as Shiva, so the party should react to Shiva and the blue mirror, and then the green mirror, and finally the red mirror.

Introduction and Mirror, Mirror[]

Fools... You would stoke the fires of conflict?

Shiva, at the beginning of the fight

Shiva opens the fight by casting Absolute Zero, which does heavy raid-wide damage.

She then casts Mirror, Mirror, spawning two green mirrors and a red mirror. The red mirror will always be either at West or East, and the South will be left empty. Shiva then casts either Biting Frost or Driving Frost. Biting Frost is a 300 degree frontal AoE, while Driving Frost is a back cone AoE. The green mirrors, and then the red mirror, will reflect the cast. The reflection of Biting Frost is a circle centered on the mirror that doesn't quite cover the entire platform, while the reflection of Driving Frost is a cone that reaches all the way to the other edge of the platform, but leaves the area around the mirror safe.

So, to avoid the reflections:

  • If Shiva casts Biting Frost, the party should:
    • Move behind Shiva to dodge her.
    • Move close to the South point of the platform, but on the same side as the red mirror, to dodge the green mirrors.
    • Move close to the South point of the platform, but on the opposite side as the red mirror, to dodge the red mirror.
  • If Shiva casts Driving Frost, the party should:
    • Move in front of, or to the sides of, Shiva, to dodge her.
    • Move close to the North point of the platform, but between the green mirrors, to dodge the green mirrors.
    • Move close to the North point of the platform, but between the green and red mirrors, to dodge the red mirror.

Diamond Frost[]

Refulgence from FFXIV Diamond Frost screenshot

The party moves to avoid Diamond Frost. There are Icicles at the north and south, so that is where the party will eventually be knocked back to; meanwhile, the players with spread markers move to the numerical waymarks while the rest of the party stacks in Shiva's hitbox to avoid the spread attacks.

Your blood shall freeze!

Shiva, before casting Diamond Frost

Shiva then teleports to the front of the center of the platform to cast Diamond Frost. This deals heavy raid-wide damage and has several other effects:

  1. One tank and one healer are inflicted with Freezing, which will Freeze the party member in place if this debuff is not quickly cured with Esuna.
  2. One tank, one healer, and two DPS (none of whom were targeted for Freezing) are targeted for splash damage, known as Frigid Stone, which also inflicts Heavy. Shortly after, the areas that were hit with Frigid Stones are covered in star-shaped markers that shoot linear area-of-effect spells out from each of the points on the star.
  3. The tank and healer that were inflicted with Freezing are targeted for proximity-based damaged, known as Frigid Waters.
  4. Eight circles around the edge of the platform will be targeted for Icicles, which will drop down and kill anyone they hit.
  5. Six of the Icicles drop. The two Icicles that do not drop will always be either at the North and South, or at the East and West.
  6. Before Frigid Waters and Icicles resolve, the boss casts Heavenly Strike, a knock-back.
  7. The last two Icicles drop and Frigid Waters explodes.
  8. The two DPS who have not been targeted for anything yet are targeted for Frigid Eruption, which will target them with three circular area-of-effect telegraphs that must be dodged.

To survive this, the party should take the following actions:

  1. The healers should cast Esuna on the two Freezing party members.
  2. The Frigid Stone targets should spread to the northwest, northeast, southwest, and southeast of Shiva — still in melee range — so that the linear spells from the Frigid Stones leave the cardinal points (North, South, East, and West) untargeted. Meanwhile, everyone else will stack in the center to avoid Frigid Stone, as the two DPS targeted for Frigid Eruption and Frigid Waters must not be inflicted with Heavy.
  3. Notice where the first two Icicles spawned. If they are at North and South, the party should position themselves to be knocked back to North or South (with one Frigid Waters sent to each side). Similarly if they are at East and West.
  4. The party should all be knocked back by Heavenly Strike. If the above is executed correctly, the knockback will narrowly place the party in the safe space from the Icicles.
  5. The party should all dodge the first Frigid Eruption, and everyone should return to the center except the Frigid Eruption target, who should bait the Frigid Eruption casts around the edge of the platform.

To facilitate the above, the party should decide whether the tank or healer targeted by Frigid Waters should go North/East or South/West, with the tank taking the opposite.

Refulgence from FFXIV prepositioned Driving Frost screenshot

Shiva casts Driving Frost. Since she previously cast Biting Frost, the paladin knew to face her towards the party so that Driving Frost would miss.

Once Frigid Eruption resolves, the party should return to the center, as the boss will either cast Driving Frost or Biting Frost, always the opposite cast as the first cast. Since the party knows which spell she will cast, the tank can always reposition Shiva so that the center is always safe.

Redress[]

Refulgence from FFXIV Shining Armor screenshot

Shiva casts Redress to change into Shining Armor. When she puts her hands up, the party looks away from her.

The Light shall usher in peace!

Shiva, while casting Redress

Shiva then casts Double Slap, a tank buster that inflicts Physical Vulnerability Up. To survive this, either a tank swap or a tank invulnerability must be executed. In fact, this debuff only lasts for 15 seconds, but 8 seconds after the debuff was inflicted, Shiva will be in the Redress animation, and will resolve after the mechanic.

Shiva casts Redress, which inflicts anyone looking at her with Stun in a spell called Shining Armor. To avoid this, the party should turn away shortly after she says "peace"; thus, it is useful to have voice-acting turned on for this encounter. Redress changes Shiva's clothes into Ryne's Hydaelyn form.

Refulgence from FFXIV Scythe Kick screenshot

Shiva casts Scythe Kick.

Shiva then casts either Scythe Kick or Axe Kick. Scythe Kick is a donut AoE while Axe Kick is a big point blank AoE . The party should move to dodge the Kick. If Shiva is positioned at the edge of the platform, the ranged can be at the opposing edge and avoid this mechanic entirely.

Light Rampant[]

Light consume you!

Shiva, while casting Light Rampant
Refulgence from FFXIV The Path of Light screenshot

Shiva casts The Path of Light. The players with Refulgent Chains stand close to Shiva on the waymarks to take the attack; meanwhile, the others avoid the attack and prepare to detonate their orbs.

This phase begins proper when Shiva casts Light Rampant, which deals heavy raid-wide damage and causes several effects:

  • Four players get a stack, and two players get two stacks, of Lightsteeped. Every time a player takes damage (other than from auto-attacks) in this phase, they will get another stack of Lightsteeped. If a player attains five stacks of Lightsteeped, they will explode, dealing heavy raid-wide damage and probably killing the entire party, so this must be avoided.
  • One tank, one healer, and two DPS will each get two stacks of Refulgent Chains, chaining them to one of the other players with Refulgent Chains. If two players are chained together, they cannot move too far from or too close to each other, or the chains will explode and probably kill the entire party.
  • The other tank, healer, and DPS will be tethered to one of four large orbs that spawn at the north, west, south, and east points of the platform. These orbs explode if they touch someone, and will explode on their own after some time, but the size of the explosion depends on the size of the orb. They should be allowed to shrink twice before touching them, and otherwise must be kited around away from the other players. Touching an orb gives a stack of Lightsteeped.
  • Four towers form at the northeast, northwest, southeast, and southwest corners of Shiva's hitbox, with one light in them. In this phase, when there is a tower with, say, N lights in the tower, when the tower finishes collapsing, there must be at least N party members standing in the tower, or it will explode and kill everyone. Standing in the tower when the tower collapses gives a stack of Lightsteeped.
  • Shiva periodically casts The Path of Light, targeting the four closest party members to her with a cleave that inflicts a stack of Lightsteeped.

To survive this, the party will carry out the following maneuver:

  1. The four players with Refulgent Chains will each stand in a tower. To prevent the chains from exploding, the tank and healer should both take a northern tower and the two DPS should each take a southern tower (or these can be swapped, with DPS north). If the chains are about to form a square, the DPS will need to swap, so that they form an "hourglass" shape (either northwest tethered to northeast and southeast and southwest tethered to northwest and southeast, or a similar formation but rotated by 90 degrees).
  2. The four other players must kite their orbs around the outer edge of the platform, preferably all in the same direction.
  3. The Path of Light casts, hitting each of the Refulgent Chains players; this must be avoided by the orb players.
  4. The towers collapse and the orbs shrink.
  5. Two more towers spawn at north and south, with two lights each. The Refulgent Chains players rotate in the direction that they are not chained in, to get to their tower.
  6. The Path of Light casts, hitting each of the Refulgent Chains players; this must be avoided by the orb players.
  7. Towers collapse and the orbs shrink.
  8. A tower spawns in the center of the platform, with four lights. The Refulgent Chains players move out, the orb players move in.
  9. The Path of Light casts, hitting each of the orb players; this must be avoided by the Refulgent Chains players.
  10. The orb players touch their orbs. At this point 4 players have 4 Lightsteeped stacks while 4 players have 3 Lightsteeped stacks.
  11. The players with 3 Lightsteeped stacks stack in the final tower.
  12. The tower collapses, ending the phase.

The party members should all end the phase with 4 Lightsteeped stacks, which will fall off in the next phase.

Mirror, Mirror II: Kicks[]

Darkness begone!

Shiva, casting Banish III

Shiva then casts Mirror, Mirror, spawning four green mirrors at either cardinal or intercardinal points. Shiva casts either Axe Kick or Scythe Kick, the opposite of what she cast previously, followed by Banish III, which puts stack markers on each of the DPS. However, if there are 4 orbs floating over Shiva's head, these stack markers are actually an indication for everyone, including the tanks and healers, to spread. (If there is one orb, the stack marker is genuine).

If she casts Axe Kick, the player must move out to the mirror to avoid her kick, then return to the center to avoid the mi1rrors' kicks, and then deal with Banish III appropriately.

If she casts Scythe Kick, the player must be in her hitbox, then run into one of the mirrors with their assigned Banish III partner to avoid the mirrors' kicks. The player and their Banish III partner should then either stack or spread appropriately.

Lightsteeped will fall off at this time.

Shattered World[]

Divine Light, deliver serenity everlasting! Tranquility must be restored to the land!

Shiva, casting Shattered World

Shiva then goes invulnerable and divides the platform into two small circles. The players on each circle will be teleported to a small platform when the boss then casts Shattered World. To ensure that each party has sufficient members to carry out the next phase, each small circle should have a tank, a healer, and two DPS.

Refulgence from FFXIV Shattered World setup screenshot

Before Shiva casts Shattered World, the platform splits into two, allowing the party to divide itself into two light parties.

Refulgence from FFXIV Shattered World screenshot

Shiva casts Shattered World.

When the party is on the small platforms, Shiva will cast Heart Asunder at 13-second intervals, which deals heavy raid-wide damage and spawns adds at the edges of the small platforms. If the adds are allowed to float into the crystal at the center of the platform, Shiva will gain 25 stacks of Flood of Light. If she attains 100 stacks, she will cast Skyfall and instantly kill the party. If she has 0 stacks at the end of the phase, however, the party will go into the next phase with the Light's Blessing buff, which gives +2% damage up for 60 seconds, and can be invaluable, as the DPS check in the final phase is quite tight.

Refulgence from FFXIV Aqueous Aether stun screenshot

The paladin stuns an Aqueous Aether.

The adds are distributed as follows. On the left, the waves of adds are:

  1. 1 Aqueous Aether, 2 Electric Aether, 1 tether orb
  2. 1 Earthen Aether, 1 tether orb
  3. 1 Aqueous Aether, 1 Earthen Aether, 1 tether orb
  4. 2 Electric Aether, 1 tether orb

On the right, the waves of adds are:

  1. 1 Earthen Aether, 1 Aqueous Aether, 1 tether orb
  2. 2 Electric Aether, 1 tether orb
  3. 2 Electric Aether, 1 Aqueous Aether, 1 tether orb
  4. 1 Earthen Aether, 1 tether orb

The Aqueous Aether has the most HP of the adds, but can be Stunned. The Earthen Aether casts Stoneskin on itself, giving itself a large shield, but this can be avoided using an interrupt. The Electric Aether attacks anyone who damages it, so the party should be careful not to damage it too quickly. Finally, the tether orb does not approach the crystal, but rather tethers to it. This tether must be intercepted by a party member, who will then take some Light-elemental damage and be inflicted with Light Vulnerability Up (so a different party member must intercept the tether each time, and everyone else stay away from the interceptor so the debuff does not splash onto them).

If the party has two melee DPS, then one should be assigned to each side so that they can use Leg Sweep on the Aqueous Aether. If the party has two ranged physical DPS, then, similarly, one should be assigned to each side so they may use Head Graze on the Earthen Aether. If only one ranged physical DPS is available, then they should be assigned to the left side, since there are two Earthen Aethers in succession.

Skyfall[]

Refulgence from FFXIV phase transition screenshot

Shiva summons Hraesvelgr.

My love... At long last, we are reunited... And we shall never be parted again!

Shiva, summoning Hraesvelgr

The original platform is restored during the phase transition, and Shiva summons Hraesvelgr. If the party completed the add phase perfectly, they will receive Light's Blessing at this point.

Refulgence from FFXIV Morn Afah invuln screenshot

Shiva casts Morn Afah on the gunbreaker, who avoids the attack with Superbolide. Notice the rest of the party is still in position from Akh Morn.

Both tanks must first establish enmity on Shiva, as she will auto-attack the first two targets on the enmity list. She will then cast Akh Morn on each tank. This attack hits three times and inflicts Hated of the Wyrm or Hated of Frost on that tank. It must be shared with three other party members and mitigated and healed through, and cannot be stacked with the other tank, because if a player gets both Hated of the Wyrm and Hated of Frost, they will instantly die. So, the party should split into two groups consisting of one tank, one healer, and two DPS each, to survive Akh Morn.

She then casts Morn Afah on the primary tank, which deals massive damage that can be stacked with the party using heavy mitigation or survived using an invulnerability.

Mirror, Mirror III: Hallowed Wings[]

Refulgence from FFXIV Hallowed Wings Mirror Mirror screenshot

Shiva and the blue mirror cast Hallowed Wings, leaving one quadrant safe.

At this point, Shiva casts Mirror, Mirror again. This spawns a green mirror in the north, and a blue and a red mirror, in the east or west. Shiva then casts Hallowed Wings. This attack will cause one of Hraesvelgr's wings to glow blue and then target the side of the platform that that wing is on for heavy damage, so that the party must be on the other side of her. However, the blue mirror will reflect the Hallowed Wings attack at the same time as it is cast.

Therefore, the main tank should face Shiva either north or south, so that Hallowed Wings either hits the west or east half of the platform; at the same time the blue mirror will hit either the north or south part of the platform, so a quadrant will be left safe by these attacks. The green mirror then reflects Hallowed Wings. Shiva then casts Hallowed Wings again, at the same time that the red mirror reflects its first cast. Again, this will leave one quarter of the platform safe.

To always avoid every Hallowed Wings, the player can use the following strategy. The player should identify the safe quadrant from the first attack, and stand there to avoid the first cast and the blue mirror. If the blue mirror spawns in the west, the party will move clockwise by one quadrant from the original safe point after each time Hallowed Wings goes off; otherwise, they will move counterclockwise.

Wyrm's Lament[]

Smite our foes!

Shiva, casting Wyrm's Lament

Shiva then casts Wyrm's Lament, inflicting all tanks and healers with a red debuff known as Wyrmclaw, and all DPS with a blue debuff known as Wyrmfang. If these debuffs are allowed to expire, the player will instantly die. Every player has a different duration associated to their debuff: red players will have debuffs that last 13, 22, 30, or 38 seconds, while blue players will have debuffs that last 20, 28, 36, or 44 seconds.

A dragon head will spawn in the north and begin to rotate around the platform, randomly either clockwise or counterclockwise. If a red player touches the dragon head, they will take damage from Longing of the Lost, their debuff will be removed, and a white puddle will be left behind which cures one blue player's debuff.

Shiva teleports to the center of the platform casts Hallowed Wings four times in this phase, always targeting the half of the platform that the dragon head is on. Therefore the players must cleanse their debuffs in a controlled manner, taking care to never be hit by Hallowed Wings. This will be accomplished with the following timing (here [Color] [NUmber] refers to the player with the debuff [Color] whose debuff timer was [Number]).

  1. Red 13 cures their debuff.
  2. Shiva casts Hallowed Wings at east or west, depending on the direction the head rotated.
  3. Blue 20 cures their debuff using the Red 13 puddle, and Red 22 cures their debuff.
  4. Shiva casts Hallowed Wings, on the same side as previously.
  5. Blue 28 cures their debuff using the Red 22 puddle, and Red 30 cures their debuff.
  6. Shiva casts Hallowed Wings on the opposite side as previously.
  7. Blue 36 cures their debuff using the Red 30 puddle, and Red 38 cures their debuff.
  8. Shiva casts Hallowed Wings on the same side as previously.
  9. Blue 44 cures their debuff using the Red 38 puddle.


Redress II: Thin Ice and Akh Rhai[]

Resplendent ice, grant me strength!

Shiva, casting Redress

Shiva casts Redress, this time restoring to her ice, or Shiva, form. This will coat the platform in Thin Ice, which will cause the player to slide all the way across the platform if they attempt to move. Unless the player is on the edge of the platform (which may make the following mechanic impossible) this guarantees that the player will fall off the platform and die if they attempt to move at all.

Shiva then casts either Twin Stillness or Twin Silence; the cast finishes just as Thin Ice wears off. If she casts Twin Stillness, she attacks with Biting Frost and then Driving Frost immediately after; otherwise, she attacks with Driving Frost and then Biting Frost.

To survive this combination of attacks, Shiva should be positioned in the center of the platform still, and the player should be inside her hitbox when Redress casts. Then, as soon as Thin Ice falls off, the player should move appropriately to avoid Twin Stillness or Twin Silence. If Shiva is casting Twin Stillness, the player should run behind Shiva and then run in front of her; otherwise, the player should run in front of Shiva and then run behind her. The player should use the lines on the platform that look like snowflakes to notice the safe space from Shiva's attack, as she will always attack along the diagonal lines.

Shiva then casts Double Slap, forcing another tank swap. She then casts Redress again, resummoning Hraesvelgr. When he appears, he will cast Akh Rhai on the position of each player, which hits that location several times for heavy damage. The player should move to avoid this as soon as Hraesvelgr's wings spread, while also making sure not to stand in any other player's Akh Rhai. This can be guaranteed by stacking the party before Redress.

Mirror, Mirror IV: Hallowed Wings[]

Shiva then casts Mirror, Mirror. This spawns a green and a red mirror, either in the east or the west. She then teleports to either the north or the west and casts Hallowed Wings. This version of Hallowed Wings hits everywhere except the back half of Shiva's hitbox, so the party should run into her hitbox and run behind her to avoid Hallowed Wings.

The green mirror then reflects Hallowed Wings, dealing heavy raid-wide damage. The player closest to the green mirror will take the most damage, so this should be a tank; that player and the next three closest players will also receive a Magic Vulnerability Up debuff. The red mirror then reflects Hallowed Wings, and the players without debuffs should stand closer to the mirror than the players with debuffs, with the undebuffed tank standing in front of them all. The party can do all this while standing close to Shiva's hitbox still.

Mirror, Mirror V: Holy and Double Redress[]

Refulgence from FFXIV Holy Mirror Mirror screenshot

Shiva casts Holy. Because there is only one orb floating over her head, the party will take the least damage on the outermost ring of the platform. The blue mirrors have already despawned, so the party can look off the edge of the platform to avoid any further stuns.

Come to me, Hraesvelgr!

Shiva, casting Redress with Drachen Armor

Shiva begins the next phase by casting Mirror, Mirror. This cast places two blue mirrors at either east and west or north and south, two red mirrors opposite to the blue mirrors, and four green mirrors at the intercardinals. The mirrors then reflect this cast (with the blue mirror triggering immediately, then the green mirrors, then the red mirror). At the same time that the red mirror finishes reflecting, Shiva casts Holy, dealing heavy damage depending on proximity to the center of the platform. If there is only one orb over Shiva's head, the player wants to be close to the edge of the platform; if there are four orbs, the player wants to be close to the center of the platform.

Refulgence from FFXIV Holy Mirror Mirror setup screenshot

Shiva and the blue mirror cast Shining Armor. The party look away from both the blue mirror and Shiva to avoid the attack.

To survive this, the party should pull the boss to a blue mirror, stack under the blue mirror, and face perpendicular to the line between the boss and the mirror, so away from both the boss and the mirror. The party can then stack behind Shiva and look away from the center to avoid all green mirrors. Then they should identify the safe space for Holy, move there, and look perpendicular to the red mirrors.

Shiva then casts either Spiteful Dance or Embittered Dance. Embittered Dance first attacks with Scythe Kick and then Axe Kick (stand in, then run out) and Spiteful Dance first attacks with Axe Kick and then Scythe Kick.

Mirror, Mirror VI: Drachen Armor[]

Shiva again casts Mirror, Mirror, spawning a single red mirror, and Redress. This Redress resummons Hraesvelgr places Akh Rhais under every party member, so they should stack and move as a group as soon as she finishes casting; it is appropriate to move exactly when Hraesvelgr grows wings.

The red mirror then reflects the Akh Rhai cast, and the party should move immediately after the red mirror finishes casting. However, the party will have to again split into two groups when this happens, because Shiva is casting Akh Morn at the same time. Shortly after, she casts Morn Afah, ending the phase.

Icelit Dragonsong[]

I shall weave a new Dragonsong!

Shiva, casting Icelit Dragonsong

The next phase begins when Shiva teleports to the center of the room and casts Icelit Dragonsong, dealing moderate raid-wide damage and inflicting the following debuffs:

  1. Each tank is chained to both healers with Refulgent Chains.
  2. Each tank and two DPS are inflicted with Freezing.
  3. One tank and one healer get one stack of Lightsteeped.
  4. Two DPS get two stacks of Lightsteeped.
  5. Two DPS get three stacks of Lightsteeped.

These debuffs are identical to those that appeared in Diamond Frost and Light Rampant. In particular, if anyone receives five stacks of Lightsteeped, they will explode and wipe the raid.

Shiva then begins casting Draconic Strike. During the cast, Shiva spawns four towers around Shiva, on the north, south, east, and west edges of her hitbox. The towers explode if there is not someone standing in them when the cast finishes, inflicting Lightsteeped on everyone and surely wiping the raid. Meanwhile, the DPS are targeted with a Frigid Stone spread marker. Just like with Diamond Frost, Frigid Stone deals moderate damage and inflicts Heavy, as well as creating linear attacks from where the Frigid Stone landed. In addition, Frigid Needles begin chasing the DPS after Frigid Stone goes off.

At the end of the cast of Draconic Strike, anyone who has not been cured of Freezing will be turned into a block of ice. Draconic Strike deals moderate raid-wide damage and knocks back anyone who was not turned into a block of ice by Freezing. It also spawns two more towers at the westmost and eastmost points of the platform, and another inside Shiva's hitbox.

After casting Draconic Strike, Shiva casts Banish, which is a tank buster that targets one of the tanks at random. If there is one orb over Shiva's head it will be a stack marker; otherwise, there will be four orbs and Banish will consist of two spread markers on each of the tanks. After Banish, the tower in Shiva's hitbox registers. Finally, Shiva casts The House of Light, targeting everyone for a conal attack that deals moderate damage and inflicting a stack of Lightsteeped.

To deal with the above series of mechanics, the party should assign the following positions, standing next to Shiva's hitbox. Each tank should either be either north or south, each healer should be either east or west, and each DPS should be an intercardinal (northwest, northeast, southwest, or southeast).

Refulgence from FFXIV The House of Light diagram

A diagram of the party's assigned positions for Icelit Dragonsong and The House of Light. Notice that the DPS are at intercardinals, but rotate to stack with the tanks before Draconic Strike casts (before returning to their initial positions for The House of Light). Here the blue circle containing Ryne represents Shiva's hitbox.

The party should then take the following actions.

  • Tanks:
    1. Stand at assigned position when Icelit Dragonsong casts.
    2. Stand in the nearest tower when Draconic Strike casts.
    3. Be frozen by Freezing, allowing them to be in position for Banish.
    4. Use heavy mitigation for Banish and look at Shiva's head to see if it is a stack or spread marker. If it is a spread marker, stay put; otherwise, stack in her hitbox.
    5. Check if they have two or three stacks of Lightsteeped. If two, stay put, otherwise return to assigned position.
    6. When the central tower registers, return to assigned position for The House of Light.
  • Healers:
    1. Stand at assigned position when Icelit Dragonsong casts.
    2. Esuna Freezing from the DPS, but not the tanks.
    3. Stand in the nearest tower when Draconic Strike casts.
    4. Be knocked back and stand in the nearest tower.
    5. After the tower explodes, return to assigned position.
    6. Check if they have two or three stacks of Lightsteeped. If two, go into the central tower, otherwise stay put.
    7. When the central tower registers, return to assigned position for The House of Light.
  • DPS:
    1. Stand at assigned position when Icelit Dragonsong casts.
    2. After being cured of Freezing, run to the nearest point on the edge of the platform.
    3. Be hit by Frigid Stone, and then return to assigned position.
    4. Rotate to nearest north/south position (so northwest, northeast move to north, southwest, southeast move to south) before Draconic Strike casts.
    5. Be knocked back by Draconic Strike to the edge of the platform and be targeted by Frigid Needle.
    6. Bait three Frigid Needles along the edge of the platform.
    7. Return to assigned position.
    8. Check if they have two or three stacks of Lightsteeped. If two, go into the central tower, otherwise stay put.
    9. When the central tower registers, return to assigned position for The House of Light.

The goal of the above strategy (and in fact any valid strategy for Icelit Dragonsong) is to guarantee that there are four players with two stacks of Lightsteeped, and four players with three stacks, when the central tower is about to explode. Then, after it explodes, everyone will have three stacks, allowing them to survive The House of Light.

Mirror, Mirror VII: Frost Armor[]

Shiva casts Mirror, Mirror, spawning one red mirror, and then Redress, changing into Frost Armor. The mirror reflects this cast as Shiva casts Redress again, changing into Drachen Armor.

To avoid the Akh Rhai cast from Hraesvelgr, the party should stack under the red mirror before Shiva casts Redress and then stand still until Hraesvelgr's wings spawn, then use the ice from the mirror's Frost Armor cast to slide across the platform, dodging Hraesvelgr's Akh Rhai cast.

Wyrm's Lament II and Enrage[]

Shiva casts Wyrm's Lament, spawning two dragon heads and inflicting the tanks and two DPS with Wyrmclaw, and the rest of the party with Wyrmfang.

Shiva then casts Akh Morn. This cast hits five times, and then she casts Morn Afah. Immediately before the first Morn Afah cast, the tanks need to cleanse their Wyrmclaws. To this end, it is often useful to use an invulnerability here: by provoking after Wyrm's Lament, the main tank should be the one whose Wyrmclaw is about to fall off, so they are already away from the party when Morn Afah casts. The two healers should then cleanse their Wyrmfangs.

Shiva then casts Akh Morn again, hitting six times before rounding it out with a Morn Afah. The Wyrmclaw DPS should cleanse during the Morn Afah cast, and then the Wyrmfang DPS should cleanse after the Morn Afah cast. Again, it is strongly recommended to use an invulnerability on the Morn Afah (thus, the tanks should swap), so the DPS have more free time.

Shiva casts Akh Morn yet again, hitting seven times before the next Morn Afah. Since there is no dragon head here, it is recommended to simply survive this Morn Afah by stacking and using heavy party mitigation.

She then casts Mirror, Mirror, spawning eight red mirrors. She then casts Hallowed Wings with two wings, forcing the party to move behind her. The mirrors then reflect the Hallowed Wings, instantly killing the party, so Shiva needs to be defeated before this occurs.

Timeline[]

Musical themes[]

The theme during the first half of the fight is "Footsteps in the Snow", the same theme used during the first phase of the fight against Shiva in The Akh Afah Amphitheatre (Hard) The Akh Afah Amphitheatre (Hard) and The Akh Afah Amphitheatre (Extreme) The Akh Afah Amphitheatre (Extreme).

"A Sundering of Light" (分割された光 〜希望の園エデン:共鳴編〜, Bunkatsu sareta Hikari ~Kibō no Sono Eden: Kyōmei-hen~?, lit. Divided Light ~Garden of Hope Eden: Resonance~) plays during the transition between the two phases of the fight

The music during the second phase of the fight is "Return to Oblivion".

Behind the scenes[]

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Gallery[]

Etymology[]

Eden (עֵדֶן, éden) means "place of pleasure" in Hebrew. It often refers to the Garden of Eden in the Bible.

Shiva (also spelled Śiva) is a Hindu god. The Hindu Shiva once saved the world by consuming poison, giving him blue skin around the area of the neck and throat. Shiva is a male god, but can merge with his consort Parvati to become Ardhanari, an androgynous Hindu god of duality. Shiva is the god of destruction along with Vishnu, who is the god of preservation, and Brahma, the god of creation. Together they are the three principle deities of the Trimurti (Hindu Triad). It is believed he periodically destroys the world, then recreates it.

Shiva has different human forms, males and females. When he was in his avatar form, he spent most of his times in the Himalayan snow mountain. Shiva in the Final Fantasy series is likely inspired by one of his female avatars.

The Japanese pronunciation "Shiba" could refer to the English word "shiver", which in Japanese would sound like "shi-ba" or "shi-va".

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