With the final raid tier for Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers finally upon us, we are going to be progging through it at an incredible rate. While we do this, we wanted to take a look how the Savage raids have held up since Shadowbringers came out. Ever since 5.05, we were able to experience the story of Ryne and Gaia's attempt to erase the devastation the Flood of Light has left and revamp The First's nature.
There have been a lot of ups and downs over the last year and a half, but here is how everything we saw from each of the raids. If you haven't gone through the raids, note that there may be some minor spoilers.
Eden's Gate: Resurrection (Eden Prime): B
What a way to kick off the Eden raid series than having Eden Prime being the first boss. The Final Fantasy VIII Guardian Force appears not only as the giant contraption that looks to save the dying world, but is also a "miniature" boss. Right when you get into the raid you'll be bombarded by beautifully cosmic visuals and a remix of the Final Fantasy VIII track "Force Your Way" playing in the background. Suffice to say, the initial impressions of this fight started off strong. Getting into the core of the battle itself, it’s hit or miss. Mechanically speaking, the fight is a little bland. DPS do get to do more as it's not just heal checks and tank busters (although those are plentiful), but Delta Attack is a straightforward attack and the Dimensional Shifts are too easy to manage -- although I do appreciate the punishment if someone messes up. Even the altered second phase leaves much to be desired and there's even one of the most unremarkable add phases I've seen with a simple separate and interrupt. Extremes have more going on than this.
Regardless, Resurrection is a solid entry point for new players getting into raiding as the mechanics aren't all that difficult or complicated. I just wish some of the attacks, such as Delta Attack, had more randomness to their design and the adds had more oomph. At least it's a visual treat that will leave a good first impression.
Eden's Gate: Descent (Voidwalker): A
When I finished the Eden’s Gate tier, I liked Voidwalker maybe even more than Titan. Resurrection was a solid entry point, but this is where mechanics were starting to ramp up and put to the test with the overlaying mechanics. The whole idea with this fight is that there’s a fair amount of telegraphed mechanics, but those generally come with a time delay, so you need to manage who gets what and in what order. There's even a hand that pops out of the sky which depending on its colored aura will do a specific attack. All of this accumulated into such a satisfying experience. Now, I say there's a fair amount of telegraphs, but at the same time it's filled with non-telegraphed attacks such as Doomvoid Guillotine or Slicer, alongside the overly-chaotic final phase Quietus which throws numerous mechanics you've seen through the fight, but all guised under just Cycle of Chaos or Retribution names. It’s the only unique boss in the first tier, as the rest are revamped enemies from either Final Fantasy XIV or Final Fantasy VIII, and it’s a keeper.
Unfortunately, Descent doesn't have its own unique theme, sharing it with the Resurrection, but at least the battle arena is pleasant, being outside on top of Eden. Overall, Eden's Gate: Descent was one of my favorite fights among the first two tiers, offering mechanics that will start to test the players’ abilities.
Eden's Gate: Inundation (Leviathan): C-
Then we get to Leviathan. Oh, how I dislike this fight, and not for he reasons I listed above. Leviathan has a ton of mechanics that I love to see, such as the various debuffs that need to be managed during Tsunami as everyone has their own role, and the visual telegraphs for which part of the platform will be destroyed are elements I love to see, but there are so many unfortunate additions. For starters, I hate it whenever a boss disappears from the battlefield for an extended period of time, and Maelstrom is just that, being untargetable twice to dash across the field multiple times. It’s fine when it’s transitioning into something, but not for a standard mechanic. Stormy Horizon, while I love it in concept, is a muddled mess that amounts to the group just huddling up and moving together while a flare targeted tank goes to the back of the platform, all while dodging hydro blasts. Finally, Black Smokers is one of the worst, most-frustrating mechanics that comes out of nowhere and can wipe the entire party if you don't have all eight party members up. Nothing's more infuriating than getting to the end of this fight only for you to wipe to such a random mechanic. It’s not particularly ill paced, but the ending doesn’t blend in well with the rest of the fight. At least the music is solid, even though the arena is not entirely appealing to the eyes. From a technical standpoint, it's well structured to facilitate what parts are breakable, but other than that, it's not going to wow anyone.
I wanted to like Inundation, especially considering as a melee I didn't have to worry about positionals, but there are many mechanics did not flow well; some that felt thrown in last minute that can easily wipe a group with little effort.
Eden's Gate: Sepulture (Titan): A+
What can I say. Titan Savage is one of the most fun fights I’ve ever experienced, at least while it was relevant. Granted, even now with an echo and essentially skipping the merry-go-round phase, this is a master class raid. Titan (Extreme) in A Realm Reborn was one of those Trials I skipped over (although the most recent Unreal inclusion will fix that), so I missed out on the fantastic musical track of "balalala balalala balalala Titan." That changed with Sepulture as we're introduced to a rocking new Titan. First off, the mechanics in the first phase are just plain fun, from dropping the rocks in a specific order to Titan turning into a go kart -- which, let's be honest, should have been the mount reward -- there's just so much creativity to the fight.
Then Titan Maximum shows up and it's a whole other ball game. The design of the new Titan is fantastic, but then the giant forms in the mountains and we have to face it as it towers over us. Dodging his punches, his own weights of the lands and of course playing magical chairs, the second phase is drastically different from the first. Few times, if any, are we supposed to get hit by the telegraphed attack in order for us to complete the next mechanic and that's just the case with Uplift. And then the various debuffs come out. Prior to this, most of the debuffs have not been visualized in something over your head; sure there's something like Descent where a gaze will show up, but most of the time it's just an icon on your debuff bar. This helps better identify what group you fall into as you franticly try to figure out where you're going. The Merry-go-round final phase isn't my favorite, but I actually greatly appreciate having a healer check in here when the game has been so determined in making green DPS more of a thing.
Sepulture is well paced and the arena is properly displayed in a grid-like system. And of course, as I mentioned before, the music gets you hyped and rarely discourages you even when you wipe. Overall, Sepulture is one of my favorite raids in a long while and will be hard to beat.
Eden's Gate: A
As a whole, Eden’s Gate is a phenomenal raid tier that is held up by Sepulture but slightly dragged down by Inundation. Resurrection is a good entry level fight, but because of that the mechanics are dull. Virtually, though, it’s impressive as there’s a huge array of colorful effects, not to mention what feels like a minute long cutscene that will make you nostalgic for Final Fantasy VIII. Descent is a surprisingly enjoyable bout that deals heavily with time elements and is a good way to start to get into the more advanced mechanics savage raid offer. While Inundation has certain portions that give us exactly what we want, such as Tsunami adding random role specific debuffs, and the telegraphs are well visualized, Black Smokers and Stormy Horizon leave much to be desired. Finally, Sepulture is one of the most fun fights we got to experience whilst relevant, as the creativity of the mechanics and how it’s structured is Square Enix at their best. It’s worth going back through Eden’s Gate to experience what it has to offer as you won’t be disappointed.
Eden's Verse: Fulmination (Ramuh): B+
While Eden Prime kicked off the first raids in an easily accessible way, Fulmination is the opposite. It's far more demanding with mechanics such as Furious Fourteen and Chain Lightning being walls for some players, especially considering if someone is off during the former, or doesn't have a certain buff or doesn't hit a unique action, the entire party will wipe. Chain Lightning on the other hand is something that can be substituted if someone isn't alive going into it, but if one person makes a mistake into the mechanic, there's a good chance it's all over. To a certain degree these are solid mechanics and I don't hate either one, especially considering Furious Fourteen has a great sound effect from breaking your rod, but for a first fight of the tier, it felt more demanding than it should; like it should have been the third raid, not the first, but we’ll get to that later.
A big problem with Fulmination, as well, is that the main tank doesn't have much to do other than pressing their cooldowns and positioning the boss. The off tank has a more difficult job by baiting an add that will eat anyone he touches. Speaking of which, this all ties into the orb element of the fight, as you have to properly maintain your static buff in order to take specific hits otherwise you will get a vulnerability debuff or just straight die depending on the attack. This is an exceptional mechanic that will keep you on your toes and have melee screaming at ranged and casters for taking their orbs. Then there's the Fury's Bolt which will alter attacks, such as a knockback and Stepped Leader in different ways. If anything, I almost wish there was an additional knockback component during Furious Fourteen that you have to once more determine if it's a long or short knockback because that one part of the fight felt underutilized.
The battle arena is one of the best in the game purely for it essentially being the Thunder Plains from Final Fantasy X. There's no better suitable environment to face the Primal than this and it helps the remixed music is marvelous. Overall, Fulmination has fantastic mechanics that are dragged down by the overly-demanding Chain Lightning and the fact the main tank doesn't have a whole lot to do outside of hitting their cooldowns and positioning the boss correctly.
Eden's Verse: Furor (Ifrit & Garuda): B
This is the first in Shadowbringers' Savage Raids to have two Primals for the price of one. The shrieking Garuda and the fiery Ifrit have been reimagined for The First in a visually-appeasing way, but their involvement can be hit or miss. The two come out on the field one by one, pacing the raid nicely as you witness the various mechanics you can expect when they inevitably tag team. Each have their own spice to add, with Garuda being more involved with the whole party, having essentially stack enumerations, multiple tethers and orbs that need to be dealt with. I even love the giant cleave down the middle of the arena that's a black void of death. Ifrit on the other hand, while does have tethers for most of the party, has a stronger focus on tank busters thanks its concussion debuff that goes out when hit by him or one of his clones. There’s a good balance of melee and ranged/magical attacks between the two.
Then the two combine their efforts in an enjoyable way of Raktapaksa (or as I like to call it, Rock the Pasta). This newly-formed opponent repeats some of the mechanics from the first couple phases but with alterations, such as the tethered clone dashes will leave only a small portion of the arena safe, so you have to properly manage players' distance and placement. Then there's Strike Spark in which you'll have to use your brain a bit (or if you have enough mitigation, you can cheese). Conflag is the only component I'm not too hot on, although it's far from the worst mechanic. On one hand, it gives every player some responsibility, and if a healer or tank dies, it's basically over. On the other, all it amounts to is baiting fire tornados and the line attacks don't hit your tether. Everything past Conflag though feels like a victory lap as Raktapaksa just throws everything at you all at once, with the final tethers being chaotic and leading to a lot of deaths.
From a visual perspective, the arena has a good mixture of red and green, best representing the two Primals, and their new redesigns are better than their originals. I greatly enjoy the music too, as it mixes the raw energy of both "Fallen Angel" and "Primal Judgment." Overall, Furor is a fun fight that doesn't do anything too spectacular, but manages to keep our interest well into the months of play, even more so than what we’re going to talk about next.
Eden's Verse: Iconoclasm (The Idol of Darkness): C
Once more, the third raid of the tier is the one that drags it down. I entirely prefer it over Leviathan because it's far less demanding where they replace the overly complex Black Smokers with a far more respectable soak mechanic. You're actually able to sack someone and there still is an added party-wipe element in there that isn't punishing. Unfortunately, there isn’t a lot here that’s all that interesting. It's essentially fun with portals as you'll be dodging the various attacks that are sent through colored holes in the sky. There's a little more to it such as towers and baited tethers, or the adds phase which is arguably the most challenging part as there's the added teleportation stack mechanic in the middle of it, but all that this fight will be known for is sin eaters (birds) that fly through portals. Now there's nothing inherently wrong with the mechanics, it's just that they're on the dull side and make it too easy. It doesn't help that Square Enix essentially reuses the battle arena and music from Eden's Gate: Descent. It's better that we got three of the four fights with their own original music compared to only two, but it stands out regardless.
I don't hate Iconoclasm, but it feels like it should have been swapped with Fulmination. It's very much a beginner friendly raid with fewer mechanics that will truly penalize the party, making by a wide margin the easiest fight in the tier. The portals aspect of it is fun, but easy to read, and the music and battle arena are reused so it ends up being a passable raid that you can have a chill time on.
Eden's Verse: Refulgence (Shiva): A
The static killer, Shiva herself. This is one of the hardest Savage raid in the game only because there's one mechanic that many have deemed an Ultimate level mechanic: Light Rampant. This is a chaotic event where four people are tethered to their own ball and four are tethered to chains, but it isn't just as simple as baiting and keeping a certain distance apart. There will be four baited cone attacks that happen twice, alongside numerous towers that must be soaked by certain players, all while maintaining a debuff number that can't go above four, otherwise you will wipe the party. That last part is the most important part, and it has already given me PTSD from hearing the high pitch sounds of chains shattering over and over again. We're only talking about one mechanic; the rest of the fight is challenging but not that bad. Gaze mirrors still aren't the most fun mechanic, even though you can find ways to keep your uptime, but I actually enjoy the knockback mirrors and the Akh Morn stacks.
This is an engaging bout specifically in the second phase after you get past the heart-wrenching Light Rampant and Adds phase. It greatly makes use of tank enmity as one slip up during certain mechanics will mean an instant wipe for the party. Whatever your role may be, you have a significant portion to play, as there’s little room for slip ups and feels like a proper raid to end the tier, even though some would argue it’s too difficult (it’s really not that bad).
Refulgence is one of those battles you love to hate. I know many people who hate doing it because of their experience with their statics or party finder that they never want to look at it again. Then there's people like me who actually enjoy suffering through it. There's something about getting the kill with new players that's so rewarding. It helps that the music is some of the best in the game, redone from the original JPop track “Oblivion.” That’s not to mention that the arena is beautiful and well structured with every little design choice on the ground having a meaning for certain parts of the fight.
Eden's Verse: B+
I have a love/hate relationship with this tier. Similar to Eden’s Gate, the standout raid is the final boss and the one that drags the experience down, be it in slightly different ways, is the third. Ramuh is a surprisingly challenging Savage thanks to its party-wiping mechanics such as Furious Fourteen and Chain Lightning, making it seem better positioned for the penultimate raid of the tier. Regardless, it contains plenty of satisfying mechanics that will keep you on your toes. Ifrit and Garuda (Raktapaksa) is a solid second entry as it’s well paced and features a wonderfully done remix of the two’s themes, not to mention a visually appealing arena. It doesn’t do anything particularly spectacular but does few things wrong, as well. Then we have Idol of Darkness. This feels like a straight up copy of Leviathan in a number of aspects, from the line-based tankbuster to the puddle baits. It’s not particularly a bad fight, but it’s too easy and lacks much creativity outside of fun with portals and a surprisingly-challenging adds phase. It should have been the opener of the tier. Finally, we have Shiva. I both love and hate this raid as it contains a lot of compelling mechanics, but also one of the most challenging early on. Light Rampant should not have been as damning as it is, but outside of that everything is well designed, although maybe not as well paced.
Regardless, in the end, Eden’s Verse is one of those raid tiers that will probably be remembered for all the wrong reasons thanks to the extensive delay due to COVID-19. It stuck around far longer than it should have and because of that it became grating on a lot of people, but at least allowed more players to experience it, for better or for worse. It’s one of the better raid tiers, but falls behind what Gate had to offer.
We will be updating this article when we get through the Savage version of the final raid tier, Eden's Promise, that is available right now.