FFXIV: How To Unlock Alexander Raids

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Alexander Prime from Final Fantasy 14's Alexander Raids poses with its arms extended on the floor.

Updated Oct 5, 2026, 11:36 AM EDT

Alexander is one of the many optional yet captivating side-story arcs of Final Fantasy XIV that is worth players' time. While its compelling narrative is its main attraction, Alexander offers plenty of additional content, including challenging 8-player raids and unique unlockables. Notably, you can obtain pieces of the Gordias, Midan, and Alexandrian armor collections that are strikingly designed Glamour sets.

In addition, the Blue Mages in Final Fantasy XIV can also learn several useful spells from enemies found in Alexander Raids. You'll also have the chance to get the incredibly rare Arrhidaeus Mount by successfully farming the final Raid boss on Savage difficulty. Finally, if you're working towards an Amina Relic Weapon in Final Fantasy XIV, you'll find one of the Alexander Raids to be a great source of farming Anima Light.

How & Where To Unlock Alexander Raids In Final Fantasy XIV

Complete All Heavensward MSQ Up To Patch 3.0 Missions

A Final Fantasy 14 character talking to an NPC on the right and a boss from the Alexander Raids to the right.

To unlock Alexander Raids in Final Fantasy XIV, you must finish all of Heavensward MSQ until Patch 3.0. In particular, completing the story quest "Heavensward" will grant access to the Alexander story arc.

It should be noted that you will need to travel multiple times between these two points. As a result, it is highly recommended that FFXIV players unlock flying for their Mount in the Dravanian Hinterlands before continuing the Alexander quest line. Here are the steps to follow to unlock the Alexander raids:

Travel to Idyllshire, the small settlement of treasure hunters in the Dravanian Hinterlands.
Head to X: 7.5, Y: 6.6 in Idyllshire, and speak to Slowfix, the figurehead for the town's goblins. He will give you the quest "Disarmed," which will begin the Alexander quest line.
Visit the Bigwest Shortstop at X: 14.0, Y: 29.8 in the Dravanian Hinterlands and meet with Backtrix.
Go to X: 24.1, Y: 26.8, and speak to Biggs.
Return to the Bigwest Shortstop after the cutscene has finished.
After another round trip to the goblin's camp and back to the Alexander fortress, you can finally access the first Alexander Raid, "The Fist of the Father."

You will sequentially unlock Raids as the story progresses. The required Item level for the first Raid is 170. However, those aiming to complete every Raid, even at the Savage difficulty, should be equipped with gear at level of 255 or higher.

All Alexander Raids In FFXIV

There Are Twelve Different Stages

The Manipulator boss from Final Fantasy 14's Alexander Raids.

The Alexander Raids in FFXIV are composed of twelve different stages, with three sections of four raids each. This means there are 12 different stages for each stage, not counting the Savage difficulty level.

Alexander Gordias Raids

Raid Name

Alt Name

Min. Item Level

The Fist of the Father	A1N	170
The Cuff of the Father	A2N	170
The Arm of the Father	A3N	170
The Burden of the Father	A4N	170

The first raid, previously mentioned, is called "The Fist of the Father," also commonly referred to as A1N. This short 8-player raid will see you entering Alexander's body and clearing threats.

After completing this first encounter in the raid series and progressing with the raid's questl ine around Dravania, you will eventually unlock the second Alexander raid, called "The Cuff of the Father" or A2N.

Most of these raids are significantly short and simple and can be completed within just a few minutes.

After completing A2N and continuing the quest, you will then unlock "The Arm of the Father" or A3N, the third part of the Alexander raids. This raid occurs deep inside Alexander's body and will have you and your team face a challenging opponent with well-telegraphed attacks.

Once this fight is concluded and the story quests are caught up, you will unlock "The Burden of the Father" or A4N, the fourth encounter in the Alexander raid series in FFXIV—and the final one in the Gordias section.

Alexander Midas Section

Raid Name

Alt Name

Min. Item Level

The Fist of the Son	A5N	200
The Cuff of the Son	A6N	200
The Arm of the Son	A7N	200
The Burden of the Son	A8N	200

With Gordias concluded, you can progress into the Midas section, which also contains four distinct raids. The first of them is known as "The Fist of the Son" or A5N, followed by "The Cuff of the Son" or A6N, and then "The Arm of the Son" or A7N. The final encounter in the Midas section is called "The Burden of the Son" or A8N.

Completing the A8 will allow you to unlock the final section of Alexander raids, which is also composed of four additional encounters. The four Alexander: Midas raids require Item Level 200 instead of the 170 required for Gordias.

Alexander: The Creator

Raid Name

Alt Name

Min. Item Level

The Eyes of the Creator	A9N	230
The Breath of the Creator	A10N	230
The Heart of the Creator	A11N	230
The Soul of the Creator	A12N	230

The third and final section of the Alexander raids is called The Creator, where you may feel a spike in difficulty compared to the eight previous encounters. The minimum Item Level for Alexander: The Creator raids is increased to 230.

The first activity in this section is called "The Eyes of the Creator" or A9N. This is followed by "The Breath of the Creator" or A10N, whose completion then unlocks "The Heart of the Creator" or A11N. The final raid in the Alexander series in FFXIV is called "The Soul of the Creator" or A12N.

Even on normal difficulty, A12 can be a fairly challenging encounter, with the boss, Alexander Prime, capable of wiping the party. Team coordination and patience are key, especially for those who are challenging the Alexander raids for the first time or those returning to it after a long time.

How To Unlock Alexander Savage Difficulty Raids

Visit The Wandering Minstrel In Mor Dhona

Key Art for the Alexander Raids in Final Fantasy 14.

Once you complete the normal difficulties of each section of the Alexander raids, you may unlock their Savage difficulties. For instance, completing all Gordias raids unlocks the Savage difficulty of those first four raids. Unlocking Alexander Savage raids requires visiting the Wandering Minstrel at X: 21.7, Y: 8.7 in Mor Dhona.

Savage raids require a higher item level, starting at 190 for Gordias and increasing in five point increments for each subsequent stage. That means that the highest level of Savage raid requires an item level of 255. They have the same name as the normal raids, but their A number ends in an S instead of an N.

Savage raids also provide better rewards and rarer items, such as the aforementioned Arrhidaeus Master Key, for an exclusive mount. All these rewards make it worth taking on Alexander raids in Final Fantasy XIV, especially at the Savage difficulty level.