Final Fantasy 14 players looking for a bit more of a challenge and exclusive mounts will want to unlock extreme trials. We list where to find them all.
Final Fantasy 14 has tons of fights in varying difficulties, including extreme trials, which are easier than savage raids, but harder than the story trials players will encounter.
Below, we explain everything you need to know about extreme trials in FFXIV, as well as where to unlock each extreme trial in each expansion.Extreme trials in FFXIV, explained
Extreme trials are harder versions of existing trials that reward high-level gear (at the time of its launch) and other rewards like mounts, crafting materials, and orchestrions.
At the time of their respective releases, extreme trials are difficult and require a party that’s willing to communicate positions and patterns to complete (unlike a normal trial, which you can just queue into and defeat). Rather than using the duty finder to find a group to clear extreme fights with, you’ll need to revert to using party finder.
Once a new expansion drops, you can unsync the trials from the previous expansion, so you can fight it without your gear being synced down to the level of the boss. For example, after Shadowbringers launched, you could then unsync Byakko, beating him down quickly with a higher level and better gear. This allows you to farm out a mount or gear without having to pay too much attention to the usually complex mechanics.
Clearing the extreme trial will reward one of the boss’ weapons as well as a chance to drop the other aforementioned loot. Each clear will also reward you with a totem for that boss (except for the extreme trials in A Realm Reborn, which do not utilize totems). Some lengthier fights will even reward two totems, like Hades or Barbariccia. You can trade totems to merchants to get specific weapons you may want at a 10:1 ratio or the mount at a 99:1 ratio, if you’ve been unlucky with your loot rolls.
All extreme trials require you to complete the normal version of the trial first before you can unlock it, so if you haven’t unlocked all the trials yet (especially since some are optional), you should do that first.Where to unlock A Realm Reborn extreme trials
ARR’s extreme trials are the only ones that have a somewhat convoluted method to unlock them. Most of the trials (Garuda, Titan, Ifrit, Good King Moggle Mog XII, Leviathan, Ramuh, and Shiva) are unlocked via talking to Urianger in the Waking Sands (in Western Thanalan):
He’ll give you a quest chain starting with “Primal Nature,” and as you complete each quest, you’ll move along in the story, unlocking the next quest to unlock the next extreme.
Unfortunately, you have to unlock them in order, as they are part of an actual quest chain. Luckily, these fights can be completed quickly with unsynced settings, if you’re at about level 70 and above (with appropriately leveled gear). If not, you can always make a party finder group and say it’s for a first clear — veteran players will come help you, as they get Poetics and Wondrous Tails retries as a reward.
