How to Unlock Void Ark!? Unlocking Void Ark is done via the quest chain Sky Pirates, found in the Pillars (14,10) NPC: Unquiet Trader (Nearest Aethernet would be Athenaeum Astrologicum). Its only pre-requisite is beating the main story quest (Heavensward).
Void Ark is a 24 man raid that drops iLevel 200 gear, and an Item you can trade in for Illuminati Gobcoat and Illuminati Gobtwine. The duty is in a weird place, design wise, since Diadem Gear is better than this and it was implemented in the same patch. I won’t question SE’s intent, I’m just here to help you guys out lol.
As with any 24 man raid in FF, “When in doubt, avoid the shiny colorful AoE“. Another useful tip is to always focus target the boss so you will know if it’s casting something funny.
Update note: Mechanics are fully fleshed out (the really important ones, or at least the ones I can remember). I cannot update item links since XIVDB wont go live with 3.1 until after the weekend! Will fix on second pass.
Void Ark 1st boss: Stingray (Cetus)
Adds! Have a line AoE that you can “reduce” by WALKING TOWARDS it.
Green Marker, Divebomb: Boss travels from his current location to the marked guy, while dropping water bombs with a large AoE. If you’re the target, try to make the “least hassling path” for the group. Don’t stress, the divebomb is really slow.
Donut AoE: after some divebombs he will land at a certain place, wherein the safe spot is right around him. Don’t be too far from him.
Help, we’re drowning! Chill, just kill the nearest water ball near you. People inside can’t help people outside and vice versa. It’s a mini DPS check.
Void Ark 2nd boss: Dog and Pole (Sawtooth & Irminsul)
!Important – Boss Proximity: Tank them away from each other. The pole pulses periodically (purple AoE). If it hits the dog, it gains a permanent damage+ buff. At 16 stacks, it will begin one-shotting people.
!Important: After a short time each of them gains a certain buff: One will always be immune to magic, one will always be immune RANGED.
- Melee can hit anything.
- BRD/MCH has to hit the magic immune guy.
- Casters / Healer has to hit the “immune to ranged”.
Mucus: Tethers a bunch of people together, rendering them useless. Breaking these chains is easy – simply “cut” it by walking across them!
Muddy AoE: This grey bubbling AoE spawns randomly, and also spawns wherever adds die. While the damage isn’t really noteworthy – if enough (16?) people get hit the boss goes into enrage mode that will probably wipe the party shortly after.
Void Ark 3rd Boss: Tentacle Fat (Cuchulainn)
There’s a raid-wide bleed that increases in power the longer the fight goes. Healers don’t be afraid to use AoE healing! You can and will wipe if DPS is really slow.
Avoid the vomit! This skill is DEADLY. There’s no floor effect so be careful! It can and will kill you after only a few short seconds inside.
Tentacles Raised up! Go in between two tentacles so you wont get hit.
Floor turned to poison! Find the nearest safety platform – there’s on in every corner.
Slime adds! When these spawn, try to kill them asap. The boss will use a cone AoE. If it hits a slime, he will eat it and gain a permanent damage+. Pull them away from the AoE if they cannot be bursted.
Black Ball! Facetank this (run into it) if you’re near it. After a short duration it will do raidwide damage.
Void Ark Last Boss: Mantis Melusine (Echidna)
Petrifaction: Just like SCoB T7 Melusine – you must FACE AWAY from her so you wont get stunned & VUL UP. Thankfully unlike T7 it wears off after a few seconds. (Skillname unsure)
Abyssal Reaper – Circular AoE with no floor effect: it’s a large circle that gives VUL UP to all people afflicted. It’s the only worrisome mechanic here really. RUN OUT OF THIS!
Sickle Strike: is a basic tank buster. Pre-cast heals, and light tank mitigation preferred. Deadly with VUL UPs. Easily taken for granted, but don’t slack off on these.
Shared AoE: Large arrows appear on a random raid member. HELP THIS GUY by stacking with him/her.
Deez Snakes: Two of the three snakes will be tethered. You must bring them far away from each other. The two tethered snakes are always Dexter and the non-Echidna one (What’s his name again!?).
Void Ark: Loot list & Notable Loot
| Class | Head | Chest | Hand | Belt | Legs | Feet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tank | 1, 2 | 3, 4 | 1, 4 | 1, 3 | 2, 4 | 2, 3 |
| Healer | 1, 2 | 3, 4 | 1, 4 | 1, 3 | 2, 4 | 2, 3 |
| Caster | 1, 2 | 3, 4 | 1, 4 | 1, 3 | 2, 4 | 2, 3 |
| BRD/MCH | 1, 2 | 3, 4 | 1, 4 | 1, 3 | 2, 4 | 2, 3 |
| DRG | 1, 2 | 3, 4 | 1, 4 | 1, 3 | 2, 4 | 2, 3 |
| MNK | 1, 2 | 3, 4 | 1, 4 | 1, 3 | 2, 4 | 2, 3 |
| NIN | 1, 2 | 3, 4 | 1, 4 | 1, 3 | 2, 4 | 2, 3 |
Grats to SE for eliminating the question ‘Which boss drops what item!?‘ with very intuitive loot drops in 3.1. Note that the final boss also has a chance to drop Coffin Lid (Furniture Crafting Item) and Wind-up Echidna (Minion).
At the end of your first Void Ark every week you get a Mhachi Farthing. Trade these in Idylshire (5,5) NPC: Bertana, Wondrous Sundries I for Illuminati Gobcoat or Illuminati Gobtwine.
As the game enters later patches, weekly limitations on gear / turn-in item will likely be removed.
Important mechanics are all noted (If I forgot something critical please lemme know!). Item linking is the main concern here, but I can’t update that since XIVDB 3.1 won’t be up till after the weekend.
Good luck with Void Ark! While the gear is largely overshadowed by Diadem, these can be great for glamours!
Diadem gear is in the same patch, but not everyone will have easy access to it, whereas everyone will have access to Void Ark. Why was there even a question of intent?
On the contrary, Diadem gear is AVAILABLE TO EVERYONE! 210 mistbreak can drop from NORMAL or EASY mode (albeit at a slightly reduced chance). You only have to go to pillars to unlock it – then you can Q up for Normals or Easy.
Only hard-mode is gated behind FC airships, and it simply increases the chance for 210 mistbreak.
So yes, it really is a bit strange.
The brd pants are pretty awesome with 86 crit and 57 det if you can still meet acc caps for savage. Also the head is the same stats as the gordian one just the i200 version so also really good if you’re having trouble with a3s.