
I couldn't miss the chance to practice my drawing!
Exploratory Missions are a type of Duty in Final Fantasy XIV. They are large-scale public duties that allow multiple individuals or parties to share a single instance, generally without role restrictions. The objectives in exploratory missions can vary greatly between each mission, and they often feature mechanics unique to them. Originally designed for both combat and gathering disciplines, the concept underwent several revisions until they were split into separate categories for the respective disciplines—
Adventuring Forays and
Gathering Forays.
Exploratory missions contain several FATEs that make up the bulk of their content. Under certain circumstances, special dungeons within the mission area may become accessible, called open dungeons or large-scale battles. Similar to Alliance Raids, these areas are large "duties within a duty" that allow multiple alliances-worth of players to enter, with their own time limits to complete separate from the mission which houses them. Much like the exploratory mission themselves, they can be entered by multiple parties of any size without role restrictions.
The original Diadem[edit | edit source]
Introduced in patch 3.1, The Diadem was the first exploratory mission, and it has undergone several revisions in its history. It originally allowed up to 72 players of any role, and featured activities for both combat and gathering disciplines. Patch 3.4 introduced the Diadem Hunting Grounds, a combat-only version of the Diadem that existed in addition to the original. In patch 3.55b, all prior versions of the Diadem were removed and replaced with the combat-based Trials of the Fury and the gathering-based Trials of the Matron. Despite their focus, players could still freely switch between role in the Trials. The 3.55b version of the Diadem also featured what was called an Emergency Mission that could spawn in either version of the duty, which allowed players to enter a previously inaccessible area to challenge a raid boss, being the precursor to open dungeons.
The Hunting Grounds and the Trials would be a precursor to the split of exploratory missions into adventuring forays and gathering forays, while the Emergency Mission would be the predecessor to open dungeons. The original version of the Diadem was removed in patch 5.1, replaced with a new version that was exclusively a gathering foray.
Banner | Name | Player Limit | Level | Item Level | Open Dungeon | Unlock | Release | Removed |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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The Diadem (Easy) | 72 | 60 | 179 | ![]() |
3.1 | 3.5 | |
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The Diadem | 72 | 60 | 179 | ![]() |
3.1 | 3.5 | |
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The Diadem (Hard) | 72 | 60 | 179 | ![]() |
3.1 | 3.5 | |
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The Diadem Hunting Grounds (Easy) | 72 | 60 | 179 | ![]() |
3.4 | 3.5 | |
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The Diadem Hunting Grounds | 72 | 60 | 179 | ![]() |
3.4 | 3.5 | |
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The Diadem - Trials of the Fury | 72 | 60 | 220 | Emergency Mission | ![]() |
3.55b | 5.1 |
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The Diadem - Trials of the Matron | 72 | 60 | 179 | Emergency Mission | ![]() |
3.55b | 5.1 |
Adventuring Forays[edit | edit source]

Banner | Name | Player Limit | Level | Open Dungeon | Unlock | Release |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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The Forbidden Land, Eureka Anemos | 144 | 70 | ![]() |
4.25 | |
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The Forbidden Land, Eureka Pagos | 144 | 70 | ![]() |
4.36 | |
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The Forbidden Land, Eureka Pyros | 144 | 70 | ![]() |
4.45 | |
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The Forbidden Land, Eureka Hydatos | 144 | 70 | The Baldesion Arsenal | ![]() |
4.55 |
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The Bozjan Southern Front | 72 | 71 | Castrum Lacus Litore | ![]() |
5.35 |
Gathering Forays[edit | edit source]

Banner | Name | Player Limit | Level | Discipline | Unlock | Release |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Ocean Fishing | 24 | 1 | ![]() |
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5.2 |
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The Diadem | 72 | 10 | Disciples of the Land | ![]() |
5.21 |
Open Dungeons[edit | edit source]

Name | Player Limit | Level | Region | Final Boss | Unlock | Release | Removed |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Emergency Mission | 72 | 60 | The Diadem - Trials of the Fury The Diadem - Trials of the Matron |
Buer | ![]() |
3.55b | 5.1 |
The Baldesion Arsenal | 56 | 70 | The Forbidden Land, Eureka Hydatos | Proto Ozma | ![]() |
4.55 | |
Castrum Lacus Litore | 48 | 71 | The Bozjan Southern Front | Lyon the Beast King and Dawon | ![]() |
5.35 |