How to beat Erichthonios in Final Fantasy XIV

Warning: spoilers ahead. If you haven’t completed Endwalker, avert your eyes.

The Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker raid launched, calling all players to the twisted fortress of Pandaemonium. A research facility for the most dangerous creatures, this area is under the direct supervision of Lahabrea, ol’ “hammer of darkness” himself from way back in the Praetorium. If you’re looking for a guide on how to beat Erichthonios in Asphodelos: The First Circle, look no further.

Phase 1

This fight starts off with Erichthonios casting Gaoler’s Flail. He will anchor a hook to the ground briefly, and this is what tells you which side of the arena will be attacked. Always stay on the opposite half of the room of the hook. He will use this ability twice in succession, alternating halves of the room.

Next, he will cast Warder’s Wrath. This is simply a large AoE attack that must be mitigated or healed through. He will follow that up with Pitiless Flail, in which he targets a random party member that isn’t a tank. Whoever he targets will want to stand as close to the boss as possible, to avoid getting shoved into the death wall. The screenshot above shows the opposite of what you should do.

The next ability he will cast is True Holy, which is an AoE stack mechanic. He will cast this on whoever the target of Pitiless Flail was if that target is still alive. Healers may wish to Rescue the target after Pitiless Flail. He will follow that up with another Gaoler’s Flail before his next new ability, Heavy Hand. Heavy Hand is simply a tankbuster that must be mitigated or healed through.

The next mechanic is Intemperance. This ability will assign each player with an element — Hot Spell and Cold Spell. He will then alter the arena into four quadrants, with towers of alternating Fire and Ice blocks. This mechanic is simple — if you have Hot Spell, stand in a square with a Cold block that’s closest to the ground, and vice versa if you have Cold Spell. You will alternate elements three times, so make sure that you move to the appropriate square and keep an eye on your debuff.

Phase 2

He will rotate through Warder’s Wrath and Heavy Hand a few times before casting a new ability — Shining Cells. This divides the arena into multiple segments, split into two colors of Green and Red. Pay attention to the attack animations of the next few attacks: Aetherchain and Aetherflail. If he is casting Aetherchain, stand on the color opposite of the orbs flying around him. For example, if the orbs are white, stand on the red segments, and vice versa.

Aetherflail combines the mechanics of Aetherchain with Gaoler’s Flail. You want to stand on the opposite color of the orbs, as well as the opposite side of where the hook lands. The picture above shows the tells for you — in that instance, we wanted to be on a red segment, on his right side. Be aware that Erichthonios will occasionally cast Pitiless Flail and True Holy in-between and after Aetherflails.

After exiting Shining Cells, Erichthonios will enter into another Intemperance Hot/Cold mini-game. From this point on, you have seen all of the mechanics of Erichthonios, as he will alternate between Phase 1 and Phase 2 mechanics until you kill him.