Final Fantasy XIV Pandaemonium: Abyssos raid guide

The second part of Final Fantasy XIV's Pandaemonium raid, Abyssos, can be a great challenge for players to test their skills and get better gear. Featuring four boss fights with their own challenges and mechanics, Endwalker's main raid is sure to be a frustrating yet fun one. However, this guide will explain each boss fight found within for those looking to get over the hump of one of these bosses or gain an edge over other players when running Abyssos.

Final Fantasy XIV Pandaemonium: Abyssos boss guide

The Fifth Circle: Proto-Carbuncle

Proto-Carbuncle is the boss of the Fifth Circle encounter. A large bipedal lizard with horns and teeth sharp, the boss is menacing but manageable. However, the boss has many abilities to make note of:

Phase one

• Searing Ray: The boss jumps into a corner of the room and begins to cast this ability. The ray will hit the half of the room the boss is facing, making the corner of the room behind the boss the only safe zone.
• Ruby Glow: The boss creates red barriers of light that can either split the room in half or into quarters. These barriers will reflect and magnify the boss' attacks that occur in the same quadrant (for example, Searing Ray will only hit within the boss' quadrant but will deal significantly more damage to those hit).
• Crunch: A simple but effective single-target attack that will deal massive damage to the boss' current target. Tanks should be ready with defensive cooldowns, and healers should be ready as well.
• Topaz Stones: The boss summons four large floating orange stones above the arena that will create AoE explosions in a circle around themselves.
• Ruby Glow and Topaz Stones: The boss will split the room into four quadrants with Ruby Glow before summoning two Topaz Stones in random quadrants. These stones will be reflected and magnified in their respective zones.
• Sonic Howl: The boss will cast a howling attack that deals massive damage to all players. This attack is a healer check to be ready for.

Phase two

The beginning of phase two is noted first by the boss glowing, then leaping into the middle of the boss room and casting Acidic Slaver, stunning all players. After that, the boss gains some new abilities and the old ones become more powerful:

• Ruby Glow and three Topaz Stones: The boss summons Topaz Stones in three quadrants of Ruby Glow.
• Toxic Crunch: Exactly like Crunch from phase one, but now it deals even more damage and applies a poison debuff.
• Venom Squall: A three-part attack:
  • Venom Squall creates circles under players' feet that will be hit by a poison attack seconds later. Move out of the circle quickly.
  • Venom Rain creates more circles that will follow players. This poison attack is unavoidable but spread apart to avoid getting hit by multiple instances.
  • Venom Pool targets a single player for a potentially lethal poison attack. The rest of the group must stack on the target to share the damage.

• One Topaz and three Venom Stones: The boss will summon a Topaz Stone and three green stones that will create pools of poison beneath them. Players need to wait for the Topaz stone to explode before heading to its corner to avoid the poison pools.
• Starving Stampede: The boss will stop moving while four large blue markers appear, along with a large mouth marker. The mouth marker will travel to each blue marker in a pattern. Once completed, the boss will leap from marker to marker in the same order as the mouth marker, stunning all players hit, then eating them, then spitting them out onto the ground, killing them and anyone hit by their bodies. The best strategy is to avoid the first leap, then head far into the corner behind it to avoid the rest.
• Ruby Glow and Four Topaz: The boss creates quadrants filled with Topaz Stones that explode in random order. Make sure to note what order the stones fall in, for this is the order they will explode in.
• Ruby Glow, One Topaz Stone, One Venom Stone, Searing Ray: The boss splits the room in half, spawns a Topaz Stone and a green stone, and begins casting Searing Ray. The Topaz Stone will explode long before the boss finishes casting Searing Ray, so be sure to avoid the stone first, then Searing Ray.
• Ruby Glow, Two Topaz Stones, One Venom Stone: The boss splits the room into four quadrants, spawning varying stones in three. Players need to head to the safe quadrant to avoid the stones. During this, a Venom Squall will occur.

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The Sixth Circle: Hegemone

Hegemone, a pretty normal-looking person save for the bladed wing and wormlike parasite, is boss number two in the raid. Keyward is a fitting title for her, as she keeps players under strict movement the entire fight through her abilities:

• Hegemone's attacks apply the Vulnerability debuff, and the purple wall around her arena will instantly kill anyone who touches it.
• Aetheric Polyomonoid: The boss summons four dark needle-like pillars that will target differing quadrants around them. Avoid any platforms pulsating with dark energy to avoid explosions.
• Chorus Ixou: The boss creates large red orbs of dark energy to her front and back or sides that will explode outwards in a cone shape. The boss telegraphs the direction clearly, but make sure to pay attention because the cones are massive.
• Hemitheos' Dark IV: The boss channels before detonating, hitting all players for massive damage. This is a healer check, so all healers need to be ready for it.
• Transmission: The boss casts Transmission, hitting players with a green tether and debuffing them with a Glossomorph Parasite. This debuff can have differing timers but will visibly show a countdown above players' heads. At the end of the timer, it will freeze players in place before a massive frontal cone of poison blasts from their bodies. Players need to face the outside of the arena to avoid hitting allies.
• Synergy: The boss targets both tanks with an unavoidable AoE that deals massive damage and inflicts a bleed. Tanks need to use defensive cooldowns and healers need to be ready.
• Polyominoid and Chorus Ixou: The boss will first cast Polyominoid before then casting Chorus Ixou. Players should be mindful of safe zones on the ground and what direction Chorus Ixou is heading.
• Strophe Ixou: The boss will cast attacks similar to Chorus Ixou, but in a rotating pattern around herself. Players must observe the arrows that show which direction they will turn and avoid attacks by heading in that direction as the boss casts. Chorus Ixou's Frontal attack will damage players and inflict them with a Glossomorph Parasite, while the rear attack will deal damage and inflict a bleed on players.
• Dark Ashes: The boss will target all players for unavoidable AoE circle attacks beneath their feet. Players need to spread out to avoid being hit with multiple circles.
• Aetherial Exchange: The boss will cast a version of Polyominoid that will show arrows linking the dark needles. These arrows indicate that the needles will switch positions with one another, changing the safe zones. Players should find the closest needle but pay attention to its partner needle's safe zones, moving to match where the safe zones will be when the needles swap. Sometimes, the boss will also cast a Chorus Ixou or Strophe Ixou during Aetherial Exchange.

Related: How to get the Starlight Steed Mount in Final Fantasy XIV

The Seventh Circle: Agdistis

A massive malformed sentient tree, Agdistis is an easy target due to her massive hitbox, but be warned: her attacks are designed to make players move because falling off of the boss platform guarantees instant death. Her abilities are as follows:

• Because of her massive size, the boss auto-attacks both tanks at the same time. Furthermore, if she lands an ability on a player, they will gain the Vulnerability debuff.
• Bough of Attis: The boss raises her arms (limbs) either above her head or over the platform.
  • Above the head: The boss will strike for massive damage at the North end of the platform. Head South to avoid this. Arrows will appear after the first strike, indicating a second, more dangerous strike that will sweep players off the platform, instantly killing them. Stay out of the arrows to avoid the attack.
  • Above the platform: The boss will strike for massive damage at the South end. Move towards the boss to avoid this.

• Hemitheos' Holy: The boss will target all players with an unavoidable AoE circle that will explode shortly after. Move away from other players to avoid further damage.
• Hemitheos' Glare III: Immediately after Hemitheos' Holy, the boss will target the entire stage for a massive explosion save for the very middle. Players need to run to the middle safe zone as soon as possible to avoid the explosion.
• Immortal's Obol: The boss will begin to cast a full-platform AoE, covering the platform in darkness. Players need to move to one of the three light zones, as these will mitigate the damage of the attack. This attack will also destroy the platform, replacing it with the three safe zones and interlinking bridges.
• Hemitheos' Aero II: The boss will target both tanks with large AoE attacks. Tanks must avoid other players while casting defensive cooldowns, while healers need to be ready to save them.
• Spark of Life: The boss will cast a full-platform AoE that will deal damage and inflict a bleed on all players. Healers need to be ready for this attack.
• Forbidden Fruit: The boss will create three seeds that each spawn on one of the safe zone platforms. These seeds will transform into one of two enemies:
  • Immature Io: Large beasts sporting a noticeable set of horns that will cast AoE attacks in circles.
  • Immature Stymphalide: Large bird creatures that will cast AoE attacks in a line.

• Blades of Attis: Arrows will appear on the platform(s) before the boss casts this ability. Starting where the arrows began, two large AoE circles strike the ground before striking again in the direction the arrows were pointing. These strikes will continue across the stage until they stop at the far edge. Players need to note the arrow starting point to avoid strikes.
• Forbidden Fruit and Falling Meteors: The boss will create Immature Ios and Falling Meteors. Players need to position just outside of the Io explosions before running underneath the meteors to soak damage.
• Forbidden Fruit and Hemitheos' Aero IV: The boss will create Immature Stymphalide and begin casting a full-platform AoE knockback. All players stacking up at or very close to the epicenter of the knockback will negate it entirely, but positioning correctly will ensure survival as well.

The Eight Circle: Hephaistos

Finally, players come upon the mastermind behind this whole debacle: Hephaistos. His diabolical plan to use Erichthonios for his schemes can go on no longer! Hephaistos has quite a few abilities, so knowing what he does will go a long way towards defeating him:

• Many of Hephaistos' attacks will apply the Vulnerability debuff. Also, Hephaistos can create a fire wall around his arena that deals damage to those who touch it. This damage increases as the fight goes on.
• Genesis of Flame: The boss casts an AoE fire blast that hits all players and sets the outer edge of the arena on fire. Everyone needs to be ready with defensive cooldowns, and healers need to respond quickly.
• Sunforge: The boss surrounds himself with either a snake made of fire or a phoenix made of fire. Each of them are a signal for which AoE attack comes next:
  • Snake: The boss casts an AoE attack in a line that will affect the middle 1/3rd of the arena. Players need to position to the left or right of the boss to avoid this attack.
  • Phoenix: The boss casts an AoE attack in two lines that will affect the outer 2/3rds of the arena. Players need to stack on the boss to avoid this attack.

• Flame Viper: The boss casts a single-target attack targeting the tank. The attack deals damage in a line that players need to avoid and also inflicts bleeding.
• Reforged Reflection- Snake Form: The boss will transform into a monstrosity with snakes coming out of his body. He will also gain new abilities:
  • Into The Darkness: The boss creates two orbiting dark eye symbols that will fly around the arena. Once they stop moving, players need to look away quickly, or they will be stunned. Also, a Gorgon will spawn from each symbol that needs to be killed immediately to avoid further stuns.
  • Gorgospit: The boss targets a random player before casting a large AoE spell that strikes in a line. Players need to avoid this due to its massive damage output.
  • Ektothermos: The boss casts an AoE blast that hits all players. Healers need to be ready.

• Fourfold Fires: The boss casts four AoE blasts that emanate from each corner of the arena. Players can avoid most of the damage by stacking in the middle of the arena. After this, four Flame Vents will appear, and fire snakes will bounce into two of them. After the snakes enter the vents, massive AoE explosions will occur. Players need to watch which vents the snakes enter.
• Reforged Reflection- Centaur: The boss will transform into a four-legged monstrosity with a large tail. He will also gain new abilities:
  • Blazing Footfalls: The boss leaps to the arena's edge before displaying arrow markers emanating from different directions. Players need to note each round of arrows as these will dictate what direction the boss will knock them in.
  • Rearing Rampage: The boss casts an AoE blast that hits all players. Healers need to watch for this ability.

• Volcanic Torches: The boss creates three motes of blue flame that travel across the platform, forming full rectangles as they go. These rectangles will then explode, dealing massive damage to players caught in the shape.
• Volcanic Torches and Flare: The boss casts Volcanic Torches and Flare, a spell that creates an AoE explosion under the player that cannot be avoided. Players need to spread apart to avoid taking multiple hits while paying attention to the Volcanic Torches.
• Clones: The boss sometimes creates clones of himself that cast AoE attacks that will force players into the middle of the arena.

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