Variant and Criterion Dungeons are a new type of content in Final Fantasy 14 introduced in patch 6.25. These Dungeons offer explorable adventures with branching paths and tons of new stories and secrets to discover. Plus, they can be explored solo, perfect for farming up the newest Allagan Tomestone on your own.
Variant Dungeons are the normal story mode of the Dungeon, while Criterion Dungeons offer an increased challenge for more competitive players. Below, we'll take a look at each of these types of Dungeons, what makes them different from normal Dungeons, and what their rules are.
What Are Variant Dungeons?
Variant Dungeons are level 90 explorable Dungeons that can be played by one to four players. In these Dungeons, you and your party will be accompanied by an NPC that will help you solve various puzzles that you will come across, but won't aid in combat.
There are no Job restrictions on parties in Variant Dungeons, meaning you don't need to have one Tank, one Healer, and two DPS Jobs. To better facilitate this freedom, there are several Variant Actions that you can use, which we will take a closer look at later.
As mentioned above, Variant Dungeons have three branching paths to explore. When you enter the Dungeon, you will be able to choose between three different doors to enter, each branching into its own section of the Dungeon, with different puzzles and enemy encounters. There are also several hidden paths that you can discover through various means.
There are currently two Variant Dungeons available to explore.
- The Sil'dihn Subterrane: Explore the canals and waterways buried deep beneath the deserts of Thanalan with the Sultan of Ul'dah, Nanamo Ul Namo.
- Mount Rokkon: Ascend the cliffs of Mount Rokkon, once home to the monks and pilgrims of Shishu with the merchant Hancock in search of treasure.
Variant Actions
There are five different Variant Actions in total that can be used while exploring Variant Dungeons either on your own or in a party. These Actions are restricted by your current Job, but you can choose any two to use for the duration of the Dungeon.
Variant Action | Available Jobs | Description |
|---|---|---|
Variant Cure | Tank DPS | Restores target's HP. |
Variant Ultimatum | Tank Healer DPS | Places yourself at the top of nearby enemies' enmity list and increases enmity generation. |
Variant Raise | Tank DPS | Resurrects target to a weakened state. |
Variant Spirit Dart | Tank Healer | Deals damage over time to target and all enemies nearby it. |
Variant Rampart | Healer DPS | Reduces damage taken by 20%. |
Variant Dungeon Rewards
As you clear objectives in Variant Dungeons, you'll earn Potsherds of the Dungeon you're exploring. You can trade these in to Trisassant in Old Sharlayan (X:12.0, Y:13.3) for various rewards, like outfit pieces, hairstyles, and emotes.
What Are Criterion Dungeons?
Criterion Dungeons differ quite a bit from their Variant Dungeon counterparts. The difficulty in Criterion Dungeons is much more comparable to harder content like Extreme Trials or Savage Raids, and they must be undertaken by four players of normal composition (one Tank, one Healer, two DPS).
Additionally, the map layout in Criterion Dungeons does not branch, meaning you will always follow the same path through the Dungeon. You also can't choose Variant Actions; instead, every player can cast Variant Raise II but only once each.
Essentially, Criterion Dungeons are harder versions of Variant Dungeons with a few more restrictions. The bosses will be the same, but they will use added attacks and have different mechanics. Enrage timers are also present in each boss fight, meaning you'll have to defeat this boss within a certain time limit before it wipes the entire party with a single attack.
Criterion Dungeon Rewards
Of course, this increased difficulty isn't without its benefits. Here you'll earn an exclusive currency that can be used to buy Materia, Framer's Kits, and special Mounts. The Mounts also have a chance to drop during the Dungeon from Treasure Coffers.
Criterion Savage Dungeons
Criterion Savage Dungeons operate similarly to normal Criterion Dungeons, with a few key differences. First of all, all revive abilities, including Variant Raise II and Healer-specific revives, are not available. Additionally, if the entire party dies at once, all enemies will respawn and you'll have to start over from the beginning of the Dungeon.
The individual boss mechanics are the same as in normal Criterion Dungeons, but each boss has higher health and deals more damage.
When you engage the first enemy in the Dungeon, a hidden timer will start ticking. If you don't finish the Dungeon before this timer completes, all enemies will receive a buff that greatly increases their damage dealt while reducing their damage taken. As you might expect, this makes the Dungeon nearly impossible to complete without wiping.