I couldn't miss the chance to practice my drawing!
The Baldesion Arsenal is an open dungeon available in Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood as part of 
The Forbidden Land, Eureka Hydatos 
Field operation. Supporting up to 56 players, it sees adventurers battling the various creations of the eikon Eureka that have begun to go out of control.
Story[]
In the course of his investigations, Master Ejika made an unsettling discovery. When the founders unearthed Eureka, it had by then forged a fearsome arsenal of weapons. The founders made it their mission to locate these arms, which they sealed away in the headquarters' upper level─a place dubbed the Baldesion Arsenal. For years the weapons lay dormant, but the recent disturbances on the isle may have caused them to awaken. To become sentient. Now, according to Master Ejika's report, an arcane ward prevents access to the Baldesion Arsenal. However, by exploiting an anomaly in the Lifestream which occurs under certain weather conditions, it is possible to teleport inside. And here is where you come in.
Expedition Overseer
Following their encounter and defeat of the primal Eureka, the Warrior of Light learns that many of the weapons created by Eureka that Galuf and his colleagues sealed away in the upper reaches of the Baldesion Headquarters have become active. They are tasked with finding a way into this sealed-off vault and dealing with the weapons before they do serious harm.
Preparation[]
At least one player entering the Baldesion Arsenal must have the logos action 
Perception L available to use to detect both traps and a special portal to progress.
While inside the Arsenal, players can only be revived by the logos actions 
Spirit of the Remembered and 
Sacrifice L, and level 3 healer 
Limit Breaks. Spirit of the Remembered is available to all jobs and grants a 70% chance of automatic revival when KO'd, along with some minor stat buffs. Sacrifice L is only available to healers and acts more like a normal revive. However, it does so at the cost of inflicting an undispellable Doom-like status on the caster, which will inevitably kill them after 10 seconds. As such, healers carrying Sacrifice L may wish to pair it with Spirit of the Remembered to have a chance of counteracting the Doom.
Entering the Arsenal[]
Once the player has reached elemental level 60 and completed the main story objectives in Eureka Hydatos, they are then able to speak to an NPC at the base camp to unlock the ability to participate in the Arsenal expedition. Once this is done, players will then then need to participate in the Notorius Monster battle 
I Don't Want to Believe and earn gold rating upon the battle's completion.
This will grant eligible players the Aetherially Primed buff, and also spawn 48 blue portals around Hydatos. The blue portals can be entered with a special priority item called an Aetheric Stabilizer, exchangeable for either:
- an Aetherially Conductive Plate, which can be obtained from the treasure chests from Happy bunnies, a Hydatos Crystal, which can be obtained by completing FATES, and a Sharlayan Oil, which can be obtained from Moisture-Warped Lockbox;
- or by collecting 100 Anemos, Pagos, and Pyros Crystals each.
After 5 minutes pass, the blue portals will be replaced by red portals that all players with the buff can enter.
During progression of the Arsenal, the Notorious Monster battle The Baldesion Arsenal: Expedition Support will spawn. Completing this encounter is necessary for continued progression in the expedition. It also spawns 8 more portals for eligible players to enter and join the raid.
Objectives[]
- Conquer the Baldesion Arsenal.
- Arrive at one of the first two containment units.
- Clear one of the two first containment units.
- Arrive at the Shin-Zantetsuken Containment Unit.
- Clear the Shin-Zantetsuken Containment Unit.
- Arrive at the Lance of Virtue Containment Unit.
- Clear the Lance of Virtue Containment Unit.
- Arrive at the Proto-Ozma Containment Unit.
- Defeat Proto-Ozma.
Progression[]
The Basement[]
Entrance Way[]
Inside the Arsenal, players are given the opportunity to organise themselves into different parties and make use of both a Magia Melder and Logos Manipulator. Once ready, the raid should split into two relatively even groups and jump off the east and west side of the platform, each leading to different bosses. Barring the path on both sides will be an Arsenal Demon Wall that should be tanked and killed as approriate. Folllow the hall and along the way there will be a variety of adds that can and should be killed one at a time:
- Arsenal Vikings & Magi will perform basic telegraphed AoEs.
- Arsenal Poroggo adds deal heavy damage on their target, and should be mitigated against.
- Arsenal Byblos adds perform targeted AoEs and tail swipes.
Each group should continue forward until arriving at the first arenas. The west group will face off against Art, while the east group will fight Owain and the bosses should be pulled around the same time.
Orlasrach Containment Unit[]
This section is empty or needs to be expanded. You can help the Final Fantasy Wiki by expanding it.- Legendcarver - Point-blank AoE. Applies a stack of Mortality
- Legendspinner - Large Donut AoE. Applies a stack of Mortality.
- Thricecull - Tankbuster on current target.
- Acallam na Senorach - Raidwide damage.
- Mythcall - Art calls down four spears at the cardinals or intercardinals of the arena. These spears will copy Art's previously-used Legend- ability
- Legendary Geas - Short cast ability that creates a roomwide AoE puddle for a few seconds. During this ability, any movement will apply a stack of Heavy. Immediately followed by a star-shaped line AoE
- Pitfall - Art will leave the field, creating a proximity AoE marker somewhere on the ground. Art will reappear at this marker when it goes off.
- Betrayer's Desserts - Large tracking AoE targeting a singular player, dealing damage to nearby players when it strikes.
- Piercing Dark - Targets random players with circular AoEs.
Munderg Containment Unit[]
This section is empty or needs to be expanded. You can help the Final Fantasy Wiki by expanding it.- Elemental Shift - Owain switches his assigned element between Ice & Fire.
- Thricecull - Tankbuster on current target.
- Acallam na Senorach - Raidwide damage.
- Mythcall - Owain calls down eight spears around the edges of the arena, suffused with either Ice or Fire.
- Elemental Magicks - Point-blank AoE. At the same time, spears that match Owain's current element will also explode.
- Spiritcull - Circular AoE markers will be placed on random people.
- Legendary Imbas - Triangle markers will be placed upon people, indicating that they must stack together. Failing to do so will inflict heavy damage on members that stand alone.
- Pitfall - Owain will leave the field, creating a proximity AoE marker somewhere on the ground. Owain will reappear at this marker when it goes off.
The bosses will be defeated when both hit 0.1% health.
The Belly[]
After defeating the Twin Spears, the groups can continue onward to the Belly. In the segments leading forward, there will be traps hidden on the ground that can be uncovered with Perception L . The groups will reunite in a large room filled with a single bronze chest, the reward from beating the previous bosses as well as various enemies including:
- Arsenal Calcabrina - Enemy that has untelegraphed line cleave that should be faced away from players. Can also deal raidwide damage.
- Arsenal Centaur - Powers up with 'Berserk' to deal heavy damage. The 'Berserk' buff can be dispelled, or the ability cast interrupted with sleep.
- Arsenal Geshunpest - Patrolling mob.
- Arsenal Sprite - Patrolling mob that can be interupted.
Defeat the enemies present or navigate around them and the traps to proceed onto the next arena.
Shin-Zantetsuken Containment Unit[]
Players will face off against Raiden who will utilise the following abilities:
- Spirits of the Fallen - Raidwide damage
- Shingan - Tankbuster on current target
- Thundercall - Raiden summons clouds that place lightning to cover the outer parts of the arena.
- Ame-no-Sakahoko - Large point-blank AoE. Inflicts paralysis.
- Whirling Zantetsuken - Roomwide donut AoE centred on Raiden. Will instantly KO hit players.
- Lateral Zantetsuken - Raiden teleports to either the east or west side of the arena before performing a half-room cleave indicated by his sword. Will instantly KO hit players.
- Ball Lightning - Persisting AoE puddles that appear after Lateral Zantetsuken.
- Lancing Bolts - Six players are marked with circular AoEs which will leave behind a Streak Lightning add that must be killed to prevent Ultimate Zantetsuken wiping the raid.
- Ultimate Zantetsuken - Ultimate ability. Will wipe the raid if all Streak Lightning adds are not killed before the cast bar finishes.
- Booming Lament - AoE puddles that appear with other mechanics.
- Cloud to Ground - Travelling AoEs that spawn around the cardinals pointing across the arena.
- Bitter Barbs - Tethers pairs of players together and dealing heavy damage. Tethers can be broken with distance.
- Silent Levin - AoE Puddles that target tethered players.
- Levinwhorl - Proximity AoE centred on Raiden
- For Honor - Large point-blank AoE. Will instantly KO hit players.
After defeating Raiden, another singular chest will be available for individual players to claim. Once ready, the raid should proceed to the next section.
The Umbral Tier[]
Continue up the stairs into a room containing various enemies including the following:
- Aresenal Fan - Performs a line AoE.
- Arsenal Tome - Performs donut and point-blank AoEs.
- Arsenal Eye - Performs a gaze attack that will petrify those lloking at it.
- Arsenal Scribe - Performs an ability called 'Condensed Libra' that increases its damage with a buff that can be dispelled or interrupted.
Either defeat them or sneak past them while avoiding traps. Up another longer set of stairs will be another similar room, however this one will have a chest to loot guarded by a trap. Continuing onward will be a large hall containing six side rooms and various enemies including:
- Arsenal Logos - Patrolling mobs that perform large conal cleaves as auto-attacks
- Arsenal Calca - Mobs that spin around the area and perform line AoEs
- Arsenal Brina - Mobs that spin around the area and perform donut AoEs
- Arsenal Voidoroga - Enemies that will create persistent Lightning AoE puddles.
- Arsenal Skatene - Enemies that will eventually cast an uninterruptible 'Sleep' spell and should be killed before the ability is completed.
Though the next boss can be challenged at this point, it has a buff that allows it to oneshot KO any player with its attacks. As such, removing the buff is the players next objective. This is done by finding a portal in one of the six side rooms with the use of Perception L and entering through it to arrive at the Astral Tier.
The Astral Tier[]
In the new area, players can open the loot chest directly across from them before heading down the stairs. Clear out the enemies here before heading into the main hall and defeating the enemies there. In the six rooms along this hall, there are six buttons. Players will need to divide into six groups and activate the buttons simultaneously. This will trap players in the rooms, while initiating The Baldesion Arsenal: Expedition Support in Hydatos. While players are trapped, enemies will spawn that must be defeated. Once all the enemies are defeated, players will be able to leave the room and pass the newly opened door to return to the Shin-Zantetsuken Containment unit and subsequently the Umbral Tier. In the main hall of the Umbral Tier, new enemies will spawn that need to be defeated.
Expedition Support[]
In the main zone of Eureka Hydatos, the Notorious Monster battle The Baldesion Arsenal: Expedition Support will spawn. Adventurers out in the field must clear this encounter against Tristitia, upon which the buff on Absolute Virtue will be removed, allowing the players in the expedition a chance at defeating it. As a wind-aligned enemy, Tristitia will have high evasion that can cause attacks to miss. Use the Logos action 
Feint L to allow attacks to consistently hit. After Tristitia's death, eight more blue portals will spawn around Hydatos, allowing up to the same number of players to join in the expedition. Said players will appear at the beginning of the Umbral Tier.
If the encounter against Tristitia is failed by timing out, continuing on within the Arsenal will be impossible. In cases where there are not enough players to clear the battle, adventurers inside the Arsenal can warp out to complete it instead, using the subsequent portals to re-enter the raid.
Lance of Virtue Containment Unit[]
With the defeat of Tristitia and the extra players joining the dungeon, the raid is now able to face Absolute Virtue.
- Meteor - Raidwide damage.
- Auroral Wind - Tankbuster on current target with a small AoE.
- Medusa Javelin - Telegraphed conal AoE.
- Eidos - Grants Absolute Virtue either Light or Dark Bracelets which interact with future mechanics.
- Hostile Aspect - Places multiple Light and Dark AoE puddles around the arena. Puddles the same colour as the boss's current bracelets will grow in size, but all puddles will explode and cause damage.
- Impact Stream - Goes to the centre of the arena and divides the room in half, one light and one dark. Players should move into the half not the same colour as the boss's current bracelets.
- Turbulent Aether - Tethers many players with orbs of either light or dark, and places light and dark circles on the ground around the arena. Tethered players must stand in a circle of the opposite color to shield themselves from the orb chasing them. Stay in the circle until the orb explodes/disappears to resolve the mechanic. The orbs are non-interactive with other players.
- Jump - The boss leaves the arena, placing multiple proximity AoEs around the edge. Clones of the boss will spawn at the origin of each AoE after they detonate, which will each perform Impact Stream with their own bracelets. Dodge these as appropriate, then avoid a final Proximity indicator to resolve the mechanic. The boss will also repeat this mechanic later while not leaving the arena himself.
- Summon Wyvern - The boss will summon two Lightning Element Wyvern adds that should be killed quickly or they will explode for large raid-wide damage and a raid-wide damage down debuff.
The Loft[]
The final leg of the dungeon is trap free and contains two enemies in the form of the Arsenal Strix. These mobs will use an interruptible spell that will cleanse players of any buffs if it is successfully cast and so they must be defeated quickly. After their deaths, the door to the the final arena will open.
Proto-Ozma Containment Unit[]
For the battle against Proto-Ozma, split the raid into three groups assigned to each of the rectangular platforms of the arena. Each group should have at least one player to act as a tank in order to maintain threat, as the boss will auto-attack the highest enmity player per platform. If platforms do not have players on them, Proto-Ozma will randomly attack other players around the arena instead.
Proto-Ozma has the ability to switch between four forms, which change its available attacks and mechanics. The forms Proto-Ozma can transform into include:
- Sphere - Proto-Ozma's base form. Will always transform back this state after using one of the others. Auto-attacks during Sphere form are single target non-AoE attacks on the highest threat player per platform. Has the ability to use Black Hole and Summon Ozmashade.
- Black Hole - Sucks players out of the Arsenal and dumps them back into Hydatos. To prevent this players need to stand in all six of the circular platforms around the arena. If even one is empty, all players will be removed, otherwise currently KO'd players and players not standing in one of the platforms will be removed only.
- Summon Ozmashade - Summons Ozmashades at the far edge of the rectangular platforms that will transform into one of the three non-sphere forms and use the subsequent transitional attack. Cube transformations only involve Flare Stars.
- Star - Auto-attacks during Star form are stack AoEs on random players per platform. Also grants Proto-Ozma the abilty to use Meteor Impact(1) and Shooting Star.
- Mourning Star - Used immediately after transition, a large point-blank circle AoE forcing all players into the far edges of the platforms.
- Meteor Impact - Places six AoE markers on players; two players per major platform. These AoE markers turn into Proximity AoEs, then into adds. The adds must be killed before their Tornado ability resolves.
- Shooting Star - Radial Knock-back indicators will be marked on the three platforms. Either get knocked onto the front/back of the platform, or onto the rings to resolve the mechanic safely.
- Cube - Auto-attacks during Cube form a single-target line AoE attacks on the highest threat player per platform. Also grants Proto-Ozma the abilty to use Meteor Impact(2) and Holy.
- Flare Star - Used immediately after transition, a large donut AoE forcing all players into the close edges of the pltaforms.
- Following the attack, Proto-Ozma will also spawn orbs that will orbit along the ring that must be exploded by a tank with mitigation or they will explode for raidwide damage.
- Meteor Impact - A party-stack AoE, which deals magic damage and applies a magic vulnerability up. Players who are actively taking damage soon should not stack in this.
- Holy - A roomwide AoE with a small knockback from Ozma; stay slightly forward to avoid being knocked off.
- Flare Star - Used immediately after transition, a large donut AoE forcing all players into the close edges of the pltaforms.
- Pyramid - Auto-attacks are single target non-AoE attacks on the farthest player from Ozma per platform, which inflict a stacking bleed debuff. Also grants Proto-Ozma the abilty to use both variations of Meteor Impact as well as Acceleration Bomb.
- Execration - Used immediately after transition, large line AoEs covering the rectangular platforms forcing all players onto the ring connecting them.
- Acceleration Bomb - Places the Acceleration Bomb debuff on multiple players per platform. If players perform any movement, including auto-attacking of using abilities, when the debuff is removed, they will detonate in an AoE which reduces all players hit to 10% HP, and applies a Damage Down effect. The timer for the debuffs vary in length from 8 to 24 seconds.
Rewards[]
Completing the Notorious Monster battles associated with the Baldesion Arsenal will earn players Hydatos crystals, elemental experience, and Hydatos lockboxes.
First-time completion of the expedition will allow players to unlock and complete extra story objectives in Eureka Hydatos, culminating in earning a hidden achievement granting players the Demi-Ozma mount.
Eureka Fragments can be obtained as rewards from the chests left behind from defeating bosses, as well as chests scattered about the dungeon, which are used to augment Elemental Gear even further and the final stage of the Eureka weapon. The fragments are not required to complete an Eurekan weapon (it will have already been completed), but they will grant a bonus to the player's Elemental stat, while Elemental Gear will be upgraded to the +2 version which also grants an Elemental bonus.
The chests will also drop obscure logograms, and sometimes special materials that can be exchanged for armor that has little use outside of Eureka, but grant a large bonus to Elemental stats, have five materia slots, and even reduce the recast time of all spells and abilities while inside any of the Eureka instances.
Maps[]
Musical themes[]
This section is empty or needs to be expanded. You can help the Final Fantasy Wiki by expanding it.Behind the scenes[]
The door at the beginning of the duty is actually the same one present within the Baldesion HQ area within Hydatos, just on the other side.
One of the definitions of 'arsenal' means a place where weapons are stored, and in the context of the dungeon refer to it being where the founders stored all of the Eureka-made weapons they could not outright destroy.
