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Perhaps some of the most fun and demanding content for casual players in Final Fantasy XIV is the trials and their extreme equivalents. These trials set eight players against one enemy, with difficulties varying depending on the level and how high-level the trial is.
There are a lot of trials in FFXIV, with the majority coming from MSQ progression. Hard or Extreme versions are usually unlocked via completing side quests, and Extreme trials are worth aiming towards.
Extreme trials usually drop sought-after materials, and all of them drop their own mounts. Completing all of the Extreme trials in an expansion and earning their mounts will then unlock a further mount that can’t be earned any other way.
Here’s every trial in FFXIV, and what quest you’ll need to complete to unlock it.
A Realm Reborn trials
Image via Square EnixMSQ trials
These trials are unlocked simply by playing through the MSQ of A Realm Reborn:
| The Bowl of Embers | 20 | Lord of the Inferno |
| The Navel | 34 | Lord of the Crags |
| The Howling Eye | 44 | Lady of the Vortex |
| The Porta Decumana | 50 | The Ultimate Weapon |
| Thornmarch (Hard) | 50 | You Have Selected Regicide |
| The Whorleater (Hard) | 50 | Lord of the Whorl |
| The Striking Tree (Hard) | 50 | Levin an Impression |
| The Akh Afah Amphitheatre (Hard) | 50 | The Instruments of Our Deliverance |
| The Chrysalis | 50 | An Uninvited Ascian |
Side quest trials
While these aren’t strictly necessary for the story of FFXIV, they do add additional lore and side stories that are fun to dive into, nonetheless. You also have to complete Hard trials in order to unlock their Extreme versions, and these are all level 50 trials:
| The Bowl of Embers (Hard) | Ifrit Bleeds, We Can Kill It |
| The Howling Eye (Hard) | In for Garuda Awakening |
| The Navel (Hard) | In a Titan Spot |
| A Relic Reborn: The Chimera | A Relic Reborn |
| A Relic Reborn: The Hydra | A Relic Reborn |
| Battle on the Big Bridge | The Three Collectors |
| The Dragon’s Neck | The Coliseum Conundrum |
| Battle in the Big Keep | Her Last Vow |
| Urth’s Fount | Fear and Odin in the Shroud |
High-end trials
High-end trials are the extreme versions of trials that already exist, with the difficulty taken up a notch (or a few). Extreme trials will always be the maximum level for the expansion in which they were released, so all A Realm Reborn trials are level 50.
| The Minstrel’s Ballad: Ultima’s Bane | The Ultimate Ballad |
| The Howling Eye (Extreme) | Gale-force Warning |
| The Navel (Extreme) | Quake Me Up Before You O’Ghomoro |
| The Bowl of Embers (Extreme) | Ifrit Ain’t Broke |
| Thornmarch (Extreme) | The King Lives |
| The Whorleater (Extreme) | Whorl of a Time |
| The Striking Tree (Extreme) | Judgement Bolts and Lightning |
| The Akh Afah Amphitheatre (Extreme) | Drop Dead Shiva |
Heavensward trials
Image via Square EnixMSQ trials
The following four trials are unlocked as part of the MSQ during Heavensward:
| Thok ast Thok (Hard) | 53 | Lord of the Hive |
| The Limitless Blue (Hard) | 57 | Bolt, Chain, and Island |
| The Singularity Reactor | 60 | Heavensward |
| The Final Steps of Faith | 60 | An End to the Song |
Side quest trials
The following trials are unlocked through side quests in Azys Lla, and all are level 60:
| Containment Bay S1T7 | When the Bough Breaks |
| Containment Bay P1T6 | Balance unto All |
| Containment Bay Z1T9 | The Last Pillar to Fall |
High-end trials
If you want an extra challenge, then you can unlock and complete the Heavensward Extreme trials to take on previously challenged enemies at a higher scale of difficulty and get those precious drops. These are all level 60 trials:
| The Limitless Blue (Extreme) | The Diabolical Bismarck |
| Thok ast Thok (Extreme) | Thok Around the Clock |
| The Minstrel’s Ballad: Thordan’s Reign | Thordan’s Reign |
| Containment Bay S1T7 | A Fiendish Likeness |
| Containment Bay P1T6 | A Deific Simulacrum |
| Containment Bay Z1T9 | A Demonic Duplicate |
| The Minstrel’s Ballad: Nidhogg’s Rage | Nidhogg’s Rage |
Stormblood trials
Image via Square EnixMSQ trials
Stormblood added another four new trials as part of the MSQ, and they’ll unlock at the following stages:
| The Pool of Tribute | 63 | The Lord of the Revel |
| Emanation | 67 | The Lady of Bliss |
| The Royal Managerie | 70 | Stormblood |
| Castrum Fluminis | 70 | The Primary Agreement |
Side quest trials
The following trials are unlocked by completing side quests in Stormblood, including the Four Auspices line of quests:
| The Jade Stoa | An Auspicious Encounter |
| The Great Hunt | The New King on the Block |
| Hells’ Kier | The Fire-Bird Down Below |
| The Wreath of Snakes | Surpassing the Samurai |
| Kugane Ohashi | The Past Is Never Past |
High-end trials
Many of the Stormblood trials, except Kugane Ohashi from the Hildibrand quest line, have Extreme versions to unlock and fight through. Luckily, most of them are unlocked by completing a single side quest:
| The Pool of Tribute (Extreme) Emanation (Extreme) The Minstrel’s Ballad: Shinryu’s Domain The Jade Stoa (Extreme) The Minstrel’s Ballad: Tsukuyomi’s Pain Hell’s Kier (Extreme) The Wreath of Snakes (Extreme) | Songs in the Key of Kugane |
| The Great Hunt (Extreme) | The Newer King on the Block |
Shadowbringers trials
Image via Square EnixMSQ trials
As was something of a pattern by this point, Shadowbringers added four new MSQ trials:
| The Dancing Plague | 73 | Acht-la Ormh Inn |
| The Crown of the Immaculate | 79 | Extinguishing the Last Light |
| The Dying Gasp | 80 | Shadowbringers |
| The Seat of Sacrifice | 80 | Hope’s Confluence |
Side quest trials
As part of the Shadow of Werlyt quest line, the following three level 80 trials can also be unlocked in Shadowbringers:
| Cinder Drift | Ruby Doomsday |
| Castrum Marinum | Blood of Emerald |
| The Cloud Deck | Duty in the Sky with Diamond |
High-end trials
Unlike other expansions, Shadowbringers added an Extreme trial (Memoria Misera) that does not have a normal difficulty counterpart. This is unlocked by completing quests in the Bozjan Southern Front. Completing this Extreme trial unlocks the ability to dye level 80 Artifact Armor.
Here’s how to unlock this trial, along with the rest of the level 80 Extreme trials:
| The Dancing Plague (Extreme) The Crown of the Immaculate (Extreme) The Minstrel’s Ballad: Hades’s Elegy The Seat of Sacrifice (Extreme) | Minstrel from Another Mother |
| Cinder Drift (Extreme) Castrum Marinum (Extreme) The Cloud Deck (Extreme) | Weapon of Choice |
| Memoria Misera (Extreme) | The Bozja Incident |
Endwalker trials
Image via Square EnixMSQ trials
Endwalker really upped the number of trials added as part of the MSQ, going against the established pattern and adding a total of 7 trials to unlock as you progress through the main story:
| The Dark Inside | 83 | The Martyr |
| The Mothercrystal | 89 | Her Children, One and All |
| The Final Day | 90 | Endwalker |
| Storm’s Crown | 90 | The Wind Rises |
| Mount Ordeals | 90 | Desires Untold |
| The Voidcast Dais | 90 | Abyssal Dark |
| The Abyssal Fracture | 90 | Down in the Dark |
Side quest trials
Only one level 90 trial is unlocked through completing a side quest during Endwalker, and it comes as part of the Somehow Further Hildibrand Adventures. To unlock the Gilded Araya, you’ll need to play through all of Hildibrand’s Endwalker quests until you complete “Gentleman at Heart.”
High-end trials
Each of the MSQ trials in Endwalker has an Extreme equivalent, and this can be unlocked by completing the level 90 side quest “I Wandered Sharlayan as a Minstrel.”
Dawntrail trials
Image via Square EnixMSQ trials
So far, three trials have been added to Dawntrail as part of the MSQ:
| Worqor Lar Dor | 93 | The Skyruin |
| Everkeep | 99 | The Resilient Son |
| The Interphos | 100 | Dawntrail |
Side quest trials
As of yet, there are no further trials that can be unlocked via side quests in Dawntrail. This may change with future patches, so this section will be updated accordingly.
High-end trials
Each of the MSQ quests in Dawntail has an Extreme version that can be unlocked by completing the level 100 side quest “How the West Was Sung.”
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