The Weapon's Refrain

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The Weapon's Refrain
Expansion	[[Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood|Stormblood]]
Patch	4.31
Type	High-end Duty
Location	Ultimacy
Level	70
Time limit	120 minutes
Party comp	x2 x2 x4
Unlock quest	Songs in the Key of Kugane
Bosses	Garuda, Ifrit, Titan, Lahabrea, The Ultima Weapon

The flames hunger for thee, mortal!

Ifrit as he Awakens

The Weapon's Refrain, commonly abbreviated by players as UWU (for "Ultima Weapon (Ultimate)") is the Ultimate-difficulty raid released in Patch 4.31, Under the Moonlight, of Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood. The duty comprises of a single encounter, where players fight the game's original three primals, Garuda, Ifrit, and Titan, in succession, before once again facing off against Lahabrea and then the Ultima Weapon as it repeatedly summons the three primals.

The primal encounters have a twist on their previous incarnations that plays off player expectations from having faced each of them three times before (in their Normal, Hard, and Extreme trials), as the party must "improperly" act on some of their mechanics in order to trigger an empowered "Awoken" form so that the party can survive the phase transition into the Ultima Weapon. The mechanic is not immediately apparent either, as each primal can be defeated without awakening them, but this inevitably results in the party's death.

Story

Just as warriors temper their spirits in battle, so too does the wandering minstrel hone his craft through colorful retellings of heroic deeds. His rendition of your triumph over the Ultima Weapon takes the threads of history and weaves them into an epic tapestry. However, his ballad contains so many embellishments and fabrications that it bears little resemblance to your own tale, and you wonder if he was even listening to you. Nevertheless, you find yourself utterly captivated─whisked away to a battlefield that exists only in your mind's eye...

Progression

Throughout the first three Primal phases, there will be a secret means of giving the Primal a stack of Aetherial Charge; four stacks cause the Primal to Awaken, growing blue and becoming far more powerful. If an Awakened Primal is slain, it will drop a charge of Breaking Limits, a status which, if held by a player, will immediately refresh Limit Break 3 if it is held by a party member who uses their Limit Break 3.

Titan

Titan jumps down after Ifrit is defeated, casting Geocrush and dealing light proximity damage centered on the center of the platform. He then follows with Earthen Fury, which does moderate raid-wide damage and transforms the platform, creating a ring of yellow around the outside that grows with each Geocrush; standing inside it is fatal.

After a tank-busting Mountain Buster, Titan casts Weight of the Land, telegraphs that must be baited, twice. After another Geocrush, this time centered on the north end of the platform, Titan spawns several Bomb Boulders in the south of the platform, which have a tiny safe spot in the center of them. He will then knock the party back, and the only way to survive is to be knocked into the middle of the Bomb Boulders. Titan follows this knockback with a penta-Landslide (similar to his Extreme-difficulty Trial) and transform three party members in Granite Gaols while spamming Tumult, which is an instant-cast raid-wide damage. Because Titan is continuously Tumulting, he will not leave the north of the platform.

Unlike in The Navel, these Granite Gaols detonate when blown up with a Bomb Boulder, and can chain-detonate as well: a detonating Granite Gaol will blow up other gaols caught in the blast radius. Moreover, gaols leave behind puddles which grant Titan a stack of Aetherial Charge if he is inside them (it is not enough for the hitboxes to overlap; he must touch the center ring of the puddle).

Thus, to Awaken Titan, it is necessary to have the three Granite Gaol targets form a line from the last Bomb Boulder to explode, between two Landslides, all the way to the north end of the platform, such that Titan is caught in the blast while he is Tumulting.

Lahabrea and Magitek Bits

After Titan is defeated, six Magitek Bits spawn, causing proximity damage in the form of Freefire at several points on the platform. They then begin to Self-Destruct, wiping the raid; the only way to survive is to destroy them with a caster Limit Break 3 (though not even this may be enough).

After the Magitek Bits are defeated, Lahabrea will cast Blight, dealing massive damage and inflicting Doom on the party. This will be fatal, defying even attempts to Raise through it, unless cured with a healer Limit Break 3.

Lahabrea will then cast Dark IV, which will be fatal to the entire raid. The only way to avoid this is to kill him with a melee Limit Break 3.

Because the party must have a fourth Limit Break 3 before the Ultima Weapon spawns, the only way to survive this phase is to have Awakened all three Primals, and given one charge of Breaking Limits to a healer, a caster, and a melee.

Doom was the first major roadblock in world progression; after approximately ten hours of progression, raiders were baffled that the first three phases were so easy -- only to realize that the only way to survive Doom would be to Awaken each of the Primals.

Ultimate Predation

After Lahabrea is defeated, the Ultima Weapon will spawn and cast Ultima which will be fatal without a tank Limit Break 3. If the party survives Ultima, then Ultima Weapon will eat each of the three Primals, become targetable, begin glowing white, and cast Tank Purge, dealing massive damage to the party. Ultima Weapon follows with Homing Missiles.

Shortly after this, the Primals all return as the Ultima Weapon casts Ultimate Predation. This mechanic appears to fuse Awakened Titan's Landslide, Awakened Garuda's Wicked Wheel, and Awakened Ifrit's Crimson Cyclone.

Enemies

• Garuda
  • Satin Plume
  • Spiny Plume
• Ifrit
  • Infernal Nail
• Titan
  • Granite Gaol
• Magitek Bit
• Lahabrea
• The Ultima Weapon

Loot

Name	Type	iLv	Description
	Equip	Patch
Materials			Crafting
Ultima Totem	Miscellany	375	This unsettling metal totem of unknown origin depicts the Ultima Weapon as if it were a god.
	1	4.31
Holy Shield Ultima	Shield	375	Block Rate: 1326 Block Strength: 1326 Strength: 101 Vitality: 112 critical hit: 64 Determination: 91
	GLA PLD 70	4.31
Needle Ultima	Red Mage's Arm	375	Auto Attack: 120.4 Damage: 105 Delay: 3.44 Magic Damage: 141 Vitality: 352 Intelligence: 355 critical hit: 223 Determination: 318
	RDM 70	4.31
Amakura Ultima	Samurai's Arm	375	Auto Attack: 92.4 Damage: 105 Delay: 2.64 Magic Damage: 71 Strength: 355 Vitality: 391 Direct Hit Rate: 318 Determination: 223
	SAM 70	4.31
Atlas Ultima	Astrologian's Arm	375	Auto Attack: 112 Damage: 105 Delay: 3.2 Magic Damage: 141 Vitality: 352 Mind: 355 critical hit: 318 Determination: 223
	AST 70	4.31
Omnilex Ultima	Scholar's Arm	375	Auto Attack: 109.2 Damage: 105 Delay: 3.12 Magic Damage: 141 Vitality: 352 Mind: 355 Piety: 223 critical hit: 318
	SCH 70	4.31
The Veil of Wiyu Ultima	Arcanist's Grimoire	375	Auto Attack: 109.2 Damage: 105 Delay: 3.12 Magic Damage: 141 Vitality: 352 Intelligence: 355 critical hit: 223 Determination: 318
	ACN SMN 70	4.31
Stardust Rod Ultima	Two-handed Thaumaturge's Arm	375	Auto Attack: 114.8 Damage: 105 Delay: 3.28 Magic Damage: 141 Vitality: 352 Intelligence: 355 critical hit: 223 Spell Speed: 318
	THM BLM 70	4.31
Thyrus Ultima	Two-handed Conjurer's Arm	375	Auto Attack: 120.4 Damage: 105 Delay: 3.44 Magic Damage: 141 Vitality: 352 Mind: 355 Piety: 223 Spell Speed: 318
	CNJ WHM 70	4.31
Ferdinand Ultima	Machinist's Arm	375	Auto Attack: 92.4 Damage: 105 Delay: 2.64 Magic Damage: 71 Dexterity: 355 Vitality: 391 Direct Hit Rate: 318 Determination: 223
	MCH 70	4.31
Deathbringer Ultima	Dark Knight's Arm	375	Auto Attack: 103.6 Damage: 105 Delay: 2.96 Magic Damage: 71 Strength: 355 Vitality: 391 Determination: 318 Skill Speed: 223
	DRK 70	4.31
Yoshimitsu Ultima	Rogue's Arm	375	Auto Attack: 89.6 Damage: 105 Delay: 2.56 Magic Damage: 71 Dexterity: 355 Vitality: 391 critical hit: 223 Determination: 318
	ROG NIN 70	4.31
Artemis Bow Ultima	Archer's Arm	375	Auto Attack: 106.4 Damage: 105 Delay: 3.04 Magic Damage: 71 Dexterity: 355 Vitality: 391 critical hit: 318 Determination: 223
	ARC BRD 70	4.31
Gae Bolg Ultima	Lancer's Arm	375	Auto Attack: 98 Damage: 105 Delay: 2.8 Magic Damage: 71 Strength: 355 Vitality: 391 Direct Hit Rate: 223 critical hit: 318
	LNC DRG 70	4.31
Bravura Ultima	Marauder's Arm	375	Auto Attack: 117.6 Damage: 105 Delay: 3.36 Magic Damage: 71 Strength: 355 Vitality: 391 critical hit: 318 Determination: 223
	MRD WAR 70	4.31
Sphairai Ultima	Pugilist's Arm	375	Auto Attack: 89.6 Damage: 105 Delay: 2.56 Magic Damage: 71 Strength: 355 Vitality: 391 Determination: 318 Skill Speed: 223
	PGL MNK 70	4.31
Curtana Ultima	Gladiator's Arm	375	Auto Attack: 78.4 Damage: 105 Delay: 2.24 Magic Damage: 71 Strength: 254 Vitality: 279 critical hit: 159 Determination: 227
	GLA PLD 70	4.31

Achievements

Name	Type	Title	Description	Patch
Ultimatum	Battle: Raids	The Ultimate Legend	Defeat the Ultima Weapon in the Weapon's Refrain (Ultimate).	4.31

Musical themes

The Weapon's Refrain features themes by The Primals and the Eorzea Symphony.