Oh, shut up and help me remodel the Memoria Misera page!
Memoria Misera is an Extreme 
Trial in Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers, unlocked as part of the Save the Queen: Blades of Gunnhildr storyline.
Story[]
The Emperor was said to be a cruel man, ruling Garlemald with an iron fist. But he was no less cruel when still known as High Legatus Varis yae Galvus, commander of armies. Few are the men who would dare recall the dark days of his military career, and yet reliving such memories was the key to Bozja's liberation. As you recount your harrowing journey into the past to the wandering dramaturge, a wan smile plays across his face—inspiration strikes. He quickly sets quill to paper and prepares to immortalize your deeds in words—an otherworldly tale of adventure that would leave even the boldest men aquiver with fear, and the Warrior of Light perhaps aghast at the embellishments to this climactic encounter.
In-game description
Progression[]
Introduction[]
To prepare for this fight, the party must be evenly split up into two groups consisting of a tank, healer and two DPS as he has an attack that targets both healers and must be stacked separately from each other. Secondly, Varis must be kept in the center ring anytime he moves forward. This helps to judge how large his AoEs are and how far everyone should be standing form him. Lastly, mark the outer circle with 8 markers in a clockwise position and assign them to each party member. This will be important for a couple of damaging AoEs to avoid. Finally, at all times, the party except for the main tank must be in a single file and stand behind him at all times. The border trap behind you when the fight starts will Fetter you in an add called Confines of Memory which deals massive damage over time. There are a few knockback attacks designed to push you into this.
The first phase of the fight is fixed and always uses his attacks in the following order
In the beginning of the fight, Varis opens with a party-wide AoE called Altius. When it sets off, it also spawns a Terminus Est to the rear of every party member's immediate location, then follows it up with Alea Iacta Est in which he performs four massive slashes that cover the entirety of the general direction he's facing before unleashing a fifth swipe behind him before the Terminus Est waves go off. To avoid both attacks, the party must be standing in a single file behind him so that all of the Terminus Ests are facing one direction when Altius sets off, then immediately run to his side behind him as he is casting Alea. While he's casting Alea, the Terminus Est waves will also start casting to launch and will go off after the final swipe. Afterwards, he uses his tankbuster Citius. It's recommended that the off tank runs in front of the main tank to mitigate damage as this will assuredly kill them even with cooldown skills. Furthermore, Citius targets the entire side of whatever direction he's facing and can easily kill anyone else not paying attention.
Next, he faces a random opponent and begins casting Ignis Est, a fire-aspected version of Terminus Est. The initial cast is a short AoE that needs to be avoided, with the second part of it casting shortly after, resulting in a large explosion as the wave itself travels forward. He then targets both healers with a stack marker and attacks simultaneously with a leaping attack and an untargetable phantom. Both groups need to be out of the Ignis' explosion radius while stacking for the attack
Now begins his Gunshield attacks. These are timed attacks that are set to go off whenever the Duty Gauge reaches 100. To begin, he starts with Electrified Gunshield. When this sets off, it induces a party wide knockback attack. Though the attack itself does little damage, players must be mindful of the dangerous border trap. When this attack starts, Varis will cast Ignis Est. Keep your distance and wait for the Duty Gauge to reach 95 as the Ignis AoE will set off, giving you a few seconds to close in before the knockback occurs. You can also nullify knockback using Arms' Length as a melee/ranged DPS/Tank or Surecast as a magic DPS or healer. The AoE range can be marked by the size of the inner circle.
Next is Reinforced Gunshield. Rather than an AoE, he'll form twin barriers on opposite sides to himself. Attacking this barrier causes significant knockback and inflicts a Damage Down buff. Wait for the gauge to complete and watch where the barrier forms so that the party can attack where he's vulnerable. While Reinforced Gunshield is charging, he'll use Citius again on the main tank.
Last is Loaded Gunshield. This attack targets everyone with explosive shells and hits everyone with splash damage a couple of seconds after he fires. Everyone is to immediately take their positions so as to not overlap and kill one another. While Loaded is being charged up, he'll cast Ventus Est. Rather than explode in his immediate vicinity, this generates a powerful torrent with a large circular safety zone near him. While Ventus is being cast, stay within the inner circle to avoid the AoE, then immediately move to your marker to avoid the shell the attack and the shells go off at the same time. Remember there is a delay for when he shoots them in the air and they fall back down.
Vivere Militare Est[]
Once going through all of his Gunshield attacks once, he flies away from the party and prepares a massive Terminus Est attack called Vivere Militare Est. This is a DPS check as the two tanks have to block the attack by clicking on the markers. It is recommended that both tanks put up Rampart to mitigate damage. Everyone else must attack the large crosswave as before it wipes the party. At the same time, the entire party periodically receives damage, requiring the healers to heal through long enough, while prioritizing the tanks while the DPS use their strongest attacks to ensure a quicker win.
Second phase[]
The second phase is more randomized as he'll randomly use his three Gunshield attacks, but with altered tactics. Additionally, each Gunshield attack will have Varis generate phantoms outside the northern border performing Terminus Est. There's an opening that the party will need to look out for when the Terminus Est cast begins
Loaded Gunshield will now have him use Ignis Est rather than Ventus, requiring the party to take up their positions outside the inner circle. At this same time, Varis will set up the Terminus Est waves outside the northern border. After the Ignis and Loaded attacks set off, he'll begin the twin stack attack. Both groups are to run to the opening but stay far apart from each other to avoid a wipe.
Electrified Gunshield now has Varis deploy Magitek Bit adds. Two of these have a tethered that will deal massive damage to a single target, so both tanks must immediately snag the tether. Varis will also have his Terminus Est waves set up for this one. Around the 90% mark, the waves will go off. Again, look for an opening and immediately run close to him after they've set off to avoid knockback. Do not worry about a disadvantage of space or repositioning the boss as Varis will always warp to the center when preparing Electrified Gunshield.
Reinforced Gunshield's tactic effectively boxes in the party as he casts Altius, then Ventus Est. Altius's crosswaves go off once he uses Ventus Est. Remember to wait for the barriers to flash before adjusting to attack.
Second intermission[]
Varis will now warp to the center north edge of the room and erect a barrier with his Gunshield. This is another DPS check as the party has to destroy the Gunshield barrier. He'll also retaliate twice. Magitek Torch fires a single large beam ahead of him that the party must stack together to mitigate damage. The other is Magitek Spark as he hits everyone with a spark of energy that travels in a straight line and inflicts Physical Vulnerability Up. Have the party fan out to avoid overlapping.. Once he's used both attacks, the party can focus solely on DPS before he casts a party-wide Altius that will wipe everyone if his shield isn't destroyed in time.
Fortius[]
The final stretch of the battle is another fixed phase, but now adding in an attack called Fortius. Everyone is to take up their positions but run to the edge of the border trap. Varis will start this cast with a rotating marker. After it sets off, he hits each party member with a dark wave of energy that generates a pitch void at the point where they stood. Remember which direction the rotation marker is pointing. First stay in your lane for the first swipe as it will miss, then move slightly to the opposite direction of the rotation marker to avoid the second, then move back into position for the last swipe. To help visualize, pay attention to the gaps from the clock formation of the attack.
Varis uses Fortius a total of four times and uses them in between his Gunshield attacks.
He will always start with Loaded Gunshield after the first Fortius. This time, he'll immediately prepare the twin stack attack, then a Citius.
Next is Electrifed Gunshield, but the Terminus Est waves will be prepared simultaneously. Another Fortius cast will ensue. Position yourself accordingly and don't worry about the Terminus Est waves just yet. Merely focus on dodging the Fortius attack. Once it's finished, run to the safe zone to avoid the attack, then back to Varis to mitigate knockback.
Varis will alternate with another Terminus Est line, but will then cast Altius at the same time. Line up as usual and run to the safe zone after Altius has finished casting. At the same time the AoE finishes, he'll begin the twin stack attack. Split up accordingly and you and the party will be out of the Terminus assult range. To mix it up further, he'll cast Ventus Est and then Alea Iacta Est. Do not panic as by the time you dodge this attack and reposition yourself to his rear, you'll avoid all of the attacks simultaneously. Next will be another Citius attack.
Varis will then warp to the center and cast Ignis Est and then Alea Iacta Est. Run around the inner circle away from him as you strafe from his slashes and the explosion AoE.
Another Electrified Gunshield and Fortius cast. This is the same as before.
If your party's DPS is high enough with a spare Level 3 Limit Break, he should be down by this time, assuming everyone has done their part with little error.
Enrage[]
If Varis has performed enough Gunshield and Fortius attacks, he'll prepare one final Altius attack, but this will instantly kill the party once it goes off. It has a slightly longer cast time than normal, so if you have a DPS Limit Break ready, use it immediately
Timeline[]
Musical themes[]
Unusually for a Trial, Memoria Misera does not have its own unique theme but instead uses the standard Shadowbringers boss theme, "Insatiable", during the battle with Varis.
Behind the scenes[]
Memoria Misera was billed as a "secret" raid, being the first Extreme trial to be released in a x.x5 patch, and the first Extreme trial to be part of a Relic storyline. It is only the third standalone Extreme trial, as it based on a battle in The Bozja Incident solo duty rather than a Hard trial, though the special instance gives the player 7 NPC allies to mimic an 8-person trial. Those allies are Y'shtola, Thancred, Urianger, Alphinaud, Alisaie, Ryne, and Mikoto.
Gallery[]
