GamerEscape

Spoiler warning: This guide contains information from the FFXIV Endwalker Patch 6.1 Myths of the Realm Storyline!!!

Aglaia is the first 24-man raid in Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker. It’s available at level 90 as part of the quest The Realm of the Gods. It can be completed via the duty finder.

Byregot

Byregot’s arena has 2 forms. The first has railing, but is lined with a thin field that will apply an Electrocution DoT debuff if touched. The second has NO rails and you CAN fall from it.

Phase 1

• Ordeal of Thunder – Unavoidable, raid-wide damage.
• Byregot’s Strike – The blue indicator that shows up it probably familiar at this point, but for the unfamiliar, this will knock you away from it. Make sure that you position yourself in such a way that you don’t fly back into the bleed around the edge. You must stand outside the blue to avoid taking damage.
• Byregot’s Ward – A tank buster.
• Builder’s Build – Byregot charges himself with lightning, which flows from him in 4, shortened, conal AoEs pointing in cardinal directions relative to his center (aka, possibly not actual cardinal directions). For now these do nothing, but will at the resolution of the next mechanic:
• Byregot’s Strike – This time, when the knock-back goes off, the 4 conals from Builder’s Build will also fire off, stretching out across the entire arena. These do leave safe space of equal width between them, so you’ll need to aim to be knocked back in such a way as to avoid the conals and avoid running into the wall.

Phase 2

Here we have the aforementioned arena change. The big thing to keep in mind during this phase is that when the floor moves, you don’t.

• “To me, O hammer divine” – There is no cast for this, but you’ll see them! Byregot calls up 4 hammers to 4 of the 5 rows of the floor grid, 2 on one side, 2 on the other. They’ll swing in place for a while until they pause upright, glow and then slam into the sides of the floor and move each of their respective rows over by 1 tile. When these hit, only the floor moves, the players do not, so you’ll want to avoid being on an edge next to where a hammer is going to hit.

• Laser Hammer – Unlike the player, the hammer that Byregot places that’s projecting the purple linear AoE, will move with the floor when it’s hit. Byregot will summon a single swinging hammer that will eventually move the row of floor tiles that the Laser Hammer (completely official name) is on. Since, in this version, only 1 row is moving, you best bet is to stand in the purple AoE before the swinging hammer moves it.
• Hammer Divine – Play time is over. Each of the 5 rows gets a hammer to knock it about now. This happens in conjunction with:
• Byregot’s Spire – The boss will move to the front of the arena and project a wide, linear AoE down the center. With the exception of a few tile blocks, most of the floor will be covered, but don’t be fooled by the floor that looks safe initially. The Divine Hammers will move the blocks before Byregot’s Spire goes of, so you have to think in terms of how the arena with look after the floor shifts. The easiest thing to look for is a row of 3 blocks that complete covered by the AoE. Locate which side is going to be hit by the Divine Hammer, then stand on the opposite side. When the Divine Hammer hits, there will be a block extended out into safety. All you have to do is step over out of the AoE before it goes off.

Phase 3

• Builder’s Build – Byregot does not always use this ability when he has the opportunity to. It’s this writer’s theory that if he notices too many players dead, that he gives us a break!
• Byregot’s Strike
• Ordeal of Thunder
• Reproduce – Byregot will create 5 copies of himself down one side of the arena. Three will charge themselves with lightning and glow, then all 5 will strike the floor, sending waves of circular AoEs laterally across the floor. The 3 charged Byregots AoEs will move more quickly than the uncharged 2, so stand in line with the uncharged AoEs, then move over into the charged lines as they pass. You won’t have much time to do this, so standing away from the origin points is a good idea.

• Byregot’s Ward

Phase 4

• Hammer Divine + Laser Hammer – It’s time for this mechanic to get a little trickier, too… maybe. Both of these examples assume the rows are evenly lined up:
  • If the Laser Hammer lands on the centerline of the even rows, simply stand in the AoE and let the Divine Hammers do your dodging for you. Regardless of the direction it’s going to be hit, it won’t stay on that initial centerline.
  • In the event that the Laser Hammer doesn’t land in the center of the rows, stand on either side of the arena on an edge opposite a Divine Hammer.
• Hammer Divine + Laser Hammer – Now that things aren’t pretty and centered, we’ll have to use some spatial awareness. There are a few ways to handle this:
  • You can stick with our tried and true method: find a row of 3 where the purple linear is centered and stand in the AoE. When the hammer knocks the AoE aside, you’ll have clear ground under your feet.
  • The above method might not work for you. Maybe you can’t find a row with the AoE centered, maybe you’re a melee who wants their uptime and the simple method row is far, or maybe you just hate simplicity! Either way the nitty-gritty way to deal with this mechanic is as follows: locate the row the Laser Hammer landed on and figure out which way the Divine Hammer will knock that row. Keep that unsafe row in your mind as you pick the row you’re going to stand on and check which way its Hammer will knock it. If that row with have safe, clear ground after the hammer strikes, you’ve found your close proximity safe spot, you lucky melee, you. Boy, that’s a lot of words, here’s a video:

• Hammer Divine + Byregot’s Spire

Phase 5

• Builder’s Build
• Byregot’s Strike
• Ordeal of Thunder
• Byregot’s Ward
• Reproduce
• Phases 4 & 5 repeat until defeat.

Rhalgr’s Emissary

• Destructive Static – The Emissary swings its axe across the half of the arena in front of it.
• Destructive Charges – The boss waves its axe over its head, gathering up a charge. The charge splits and the 2 balls float out to the edges of the arena, tracing purple lines on the floor. They continue 90 degrees around the circumference of the floor, then return to the center of the room, visually enclosing 2 quadrants in purple lines. Stay out of those!
• Lightning Bolt – Three circular AoEs land under random players, then 3 more, then 3 more.
• Bolts from the Blue – Unavoidable, raid-wide damage.
• Destructive Charges
• Destructive Static
• Boltloop – First, a circular AoE appear on the north and south edges of the arena. Then, donut-shaped AoEs form around those just before the initial AoEs go off. Finally, 2 larger donuts form around the second AoEs to show up as those first donuts go off. You can dodge into the circles’ space after they go off, then move outward or inward to avoid the first donuts’ indicators- there are a number of ways to easily handle this.

• Destructive Strike – A tank buster.
• Bolts from the Blue
• Destructive Charges
• Lightning Bolt
• Pattern unclear/incomplete.

Rhalgr

Rhalgr knows your tricks, don’t bother with knock-back immunity here.

Phase 1

• Lightning Reign – Unavoidable, raid-wide damage. This one’s a little spicier than usual.
• Advent of the Eighth – Two of Rhalgr’s floating rings retreat to the far side of the arena and grow in size. One will take on a red glow, and the other a blue glow, and he will charge up one of them.
• Hand of the Destroyer – A huge, punching fist will fly forward out of whichever ring was charged during the previous mechanic. This will almost assuredly knock you from the platform if you stand on that half of the floor.
• Broken World – The boss will call down a meteor, which will do proximity based damage.
• Rhalgr’s Beacon – A pulsing, purple knock-back indicator will appear on the palm platform, with 4 lines of green arrows pointing away from it up the platform’s fingers. This first version indicates a few fingers that will catch the players as they fly back and a few that will not. Line up with the friendly, green indicators to avoid death.
• Advent of the Eighth + Hand of the Destroyer
• Destructive Bolt – All tanks will get a tank buster, for a total of 3.
• Advent of the Eighth + Broken World + Hand of the Destroyer – In this first instance, no blue ring will show this time. The meteor from Broken World falls in front of the red ring, which is simultaneously being charged to produce the fist from Hand of the Destroyer. When the fist comes out, though, it punches the falling meteor to pieces, which scatter across the platform’s fingers in several, smaller proximity AoEs. The meteor is meant to scare the players onto the fingers, so for every instance of this mechanic, you have to observe whether the red or blue (when it shows up in all other instances) ring is being charged:
  • If blue is charged, run away from the meteor on the red side.
  • If red is charged, run to the meteor on the red side.

• Advent of the Eighth + Broken World + Hand of the Destroyer – The blue ring will show up now. Once this first version of the pattern in established, it seems to go back and forth between charging red or blue, so you’ll just switch up which way you’re running every time.

Phase 2

• Bronze Work – Four, thin conals of lightning will radiate off Rhalgr with clear spaces between, then the clear spaces will be filled with conal AoEs as well. Stand on the second set of conals to show up, then move into the safe space left by the first set when they go off. Just before the first set resolves, 3 circular AoEs will show up under random players, then another set of 3 right after. You may wish to spread out around the boss to keep these from all clustering up at the rear.
• Destructive Bolt
• Advent of the Eighth + Broken World + Hand of the Destroyer
• Lightning Storm – As the previous mechanic finishes, 6 players will be marked with circular AoEs that will travel with them. If you’ve jammed onto the fingers with several other marked players, these can be annoying to spread out, but you have plenty of time.
• Hell of Lightning – This is presumably the charge for the next attack.
• Rhalgr’s Beacon – This time there’s only one choice for your pick of green arrows: the finger that has no ball of lightning placed by Hell of Lightning.

• Advent of the Eighth + Broken World + Hand of the Destroyer
• Lightning Reign
• Phase 2 repeats until defeat.

Lioness & Lion of Aglaia

These 2 are interesting in that when one dies and the other is above a certain percentage of health, the one with higher health shares half their health pool to keep the other alive. That’s real love.

• Double Immolation – Unavoidable, raid-wide damage.
• Slash and Burn – The Lions will jump to the center of the arena and face opposite directions, one with 1 dot over their head, the other with 2 dots. One will also be the center of a point-blank, circular AoE and the other will have a donut AoE. These overlap, completely covering the floor. Determine which AoE shape is represented by which number and do the “1” mechanic first, but be ready to move into the safe space for the “2” mechanic quickly afterward.
  • If “1” is the donut, stand in the donut and be ready to move away from the lion with the circular AoE.
  • If “1” is the circle, stand outside of the circle, next to the center of the donut, and move in when the circle goes off.
  • You may also notice that the lions are speaking during the fight. It could be that they’re talking to each other to coordinate, but the lion to speak is always the “1” and they’re also technically giving you directions on how to do their mechanic.

• Slash and Burn
• Roaring Blaze – Just as with Slash and Burn, the lions will be marked with a “1” or a “2”, but this time both of them with have 180 degree AoEs that cover the half of the arena they’re facing, Since they’re facing opposite one another, you have to stand behind the lion with “1”, then quickly move in front of it when it’s AoE resolves.
• Roaring Blaze
• Slash and Burn
• The entire sequence likely repeats until defeat.

Azeyma

Phase 1

• Warden’s Prominence – Unavoidable, raid-wide damage. Go fig’.
• Solar Wings – Large, conals AoEs will appear to Azeyma’s left and right, leaving 2 thing safe spaces directly in front of and behind her. These leave behind 6 Sunstorms (balls of fire), 3 to either side, that will eventually explode in circular AoE Solar Flairs.
• Warden’s Warmth – All tanks will get a tank buster, for a total of 3.
• Solar Wings
• Sun’s Shine(v1) – In this version of the mechanic, Azeyma summons up 3 mirages of herself called Azeyma’s Heats. All 3 Heats will jump to one side of the platform or the other behind 3 of the Sunstorms and charge Haute Air, eventually blowing the balls of fire across the floor. Position yourself so that you won’t be where they end up. Note that each Azeyma’s Heat has an arrow reticle on the floor to show which direction she’ll swing.
• Solar Fans – Azeyma flicks her fans out to the edges of the arena.
• Radiant Rhythm – The goddess spins, her fans following her movement, and leaving trails of fire in their wake along the edges of the arena. You can watch the fans for where they land, or you can watch Azeyma and count how many times she turns. You can also listen for the jingling noise of her dance with the rush of the flaming fans moving. Either way, 4 spins means front and back will be safe, and 5 means the sides will be safe for the next mechanic:
• Radiant Finish – Her fans explode in huge, circular AoEs, leaving triangular safe spaces at positions mentioned above.
• Warden’s Warmth
• Fleeting Spark – Azeyma will turn at random and kick through 3/4s of the arena. Move to the quadrant directly behind her.
• Solar Fold – The boss projects 2 intersecting linear AoEs in a cross shape centered in the arena. After these go off, they leave behind small patches of flaming ground that will eventually grow back across the floor in that same cross shape, but before they do:
• Sun’s Shine(v2) – Azeyma calls 2 Heat mirages of herself (this time), which land in the center and flit out to 2 opposite quadrants. The Heats charge Haute Air once more, the strikes aimed perpendicular to an arm of the cross shape now growing back as mentioned above. When the wind from Haute Air blows across the line of fire, the quadrant behind it will fill with flames, so you’ll want to move to the quadrant with the mirages before the cross shape completely reforms and locks you in.

• Warden’s Prominence
• Wildfire Ward – With the exception of a triangle at the center of the arena, the floor will be entirely blanketed in flames. An Azeyma’s Heat mirage will appear along the edge of the arena lined up with each edge of the center triangle and each will start charging Illuminating Glimpse one after the other. Illuminating Glimpse will knock players back from its origin point and, handily, displays arrow indicators for each of these. Center yourself on the side of the triangle that’s going to be hit with the first Illuminating Glimpse to be knocked into the opposite corner, then run up the side of the triangle to the center of the second side to bit hit. Repeat for the third side.

• Noble Dawn – The boss summons a small sun (you know, relative to the real thing), which scatters pools of growing fire in 3 waves. Make note of a patch of the first pools, then move to a blank space nearby after the second set of pools is placed. The third set will likely be placed right under your feet, but just wait until the first set of polls explodes and move into that safe area.

• Sublime Sunset – Azeyma throws the sun. Yup. After she begins this cast, move behind her, toward the wall, to avoid the proximity based damage of the sun hitting the ground.

Phase 2

• Solar Fans + Radiant Rhythm + Radiant Finish
• Fleeting Spark
• Solar Wings + Sun’s Shine(v1) – This time 4 Azeyma’s Heats will appear. Once they fan out (no pun intended- but now it is!) some of then will turn, to the balls of fire will not only be knocked toward the center, but also possibly up and down the side. The time allotment on this one can be tough, so very quickly make note of which fire balls are going where and… don’t be there.

• Warden’s Warmth
• Solar Fold + Sun’s Shine(v2) – This is the same as the previous iteration, except that there’s 1 addition Azeyma’s heat mirage. The easiest way to handle this is to find the quadrant with no mirage in it, then note the direction the Heats are going to blow Haute Air. If it’s clockwise, move clockwise of the open quadrant. If it’s counter-clockwise, go counter-clockwise.
• Warden’s Prominence
• Noble Dawn
• Fleeting Spark
• Sublime Sunset
• Warden’s Warmth
• Phase 2 repeats until defeat.

Nald’thal

There are several mechanics in this encounter that require you to observe which brother is turned right side up. If Nald, the brother with curling horns, is upright, the red colored mechanics will go off, while the blue will not. If Thal, the brother with a halo of blue flames, is upright, blue will go off and red will not. This stands true for almost all of the mechanics with names that follow the pattern: Something Above, Something Below.

Phase 1

• As Above, So Below – Unavoidable, raid-wide damage.
• Heat Above, Flames Below – You’ll see a circle of red AoE in the center and a donut of blue around the outside. As noted above (heh), observe the upright brother and choose your position.
• As Above, So Below
• Heat Above, Flames Below – Remember the watch the brothers to see if they switch places. (They always do in this second instance.)
• Heavens’ Trial – One player will be marked with a stack mechanic, and 3 others will have earth shaker style conals on them. Players with these indicators should fan out as need be, but then stay put so other can adjust.
• Golden Tenet – A shared tank buster. At least 2 tanks should help soak this, but really, if you’re a tank and not main tanking, what else are you doing?
• As Above, So Below
• Far Above, Deep Below – One player will be marked with a linear stack mechanic (consider this a red indicator), and 3 others will have blue pulsing arrows that drops AoEs that follow as they move. Observe the brothers to see which half of this mechanic will go off. Regardless if which one ends up being the true mechanic, players should still act as if they both will and stack or spread accordingly.

• As Above, So Below
• Once Above, Ever Below – Eight, circular AoE indicators with arrows pointing outward to their side will appear in a cross pattern. Four with be your red mechanic and 4 for be your blue and, luckily, they’re grouped together to make them easy to dodge. If Thal is upright, stand in the red cluster, and vice-versa for Nald.

Phase 2

• Hell of Fire – The upright brother will begin charging this mechanic with obvious lasers glowing at his eyeline, then fill 180 degrees of the arena in front of him with AoE damage. Note that the brothers can switch places during this cast and the safe space that was in the back, is suddenly in the front.
• Wayward Soul – If you ever wondered where the phrase “Thal’s Balls” came from or what might make someone exclaim it, wonder no longer. Balls start falling from the sky in sets of 3 and if you watch the floor you can make out brief thin line pulses indicating where they will land. Dodge these through 4 waves.
• Wayward Soul – This set of balls falls in a Shiva circles pattern, aka one after another around the edge of the arena. If you stick toward the middle, you only have to shift slightly to avoid these.

• Hell of Fire
• Fired Up I – Nald’thal places a single diamond indicator on the floor that will either show an image of knock-back above it (pulsing outward arrows) or a point-blank AoE circle (a circle!). As he casts either AoE on the diamond indicator, the image will also show up on him.
• Fired Up II – The same as Fired Up I, but the indicator has 2 diamonds.
• Fortune’s Flux – Nald’thal will jump to the diamond indicators in order, so make sure you’re positioned to avoid standing in a point-black, or being knocked into a point-blank or the wall. This first one always seems to be a knock-back first, followed by a point-blank.

• Fired Up I
• Fired Up II
• Fired Up III – The same as Fired Up I & II, but the indicator has 3 diamonds.
• Fortune’s Flux – This one always seems to be a point-blank, followed by a knock-back, with only the third varying.

Phase 3

• Soul’s Measure – All players will be briefly tethered to 3 glowing Soul Vessels that have been dropped randomly on the arena floor; note that it’s now split in half visually. These 3 mock souls will… change form, you’ll see, and each party must dispatch their respective mob. They cannot be moved and will do two abilities:
  • Twingaze– A long, conal AoE aimed at a random player.
  • Magmatic Spell – A stack mechanic
• Balance – Once the Soul vessels are defeated, the Twins will begin the process of weighing the alliances’ souls. Move to the opposite side of the floor from the one you were tethered to to help balance the GIANT scales at the front of the arena. There may little wiggle room of 1 to 2 players. Regardless, if it evens out, you live. If you fail to balance them by the time the cast finishes, the entire alliance dies.

Phase 4

• As Above, So Below
• Once Above, Ever Below
• Heavens’ Trial/Stygian Tenet – This depends on which brother is upright.
  • Heavens’ Trial – If Nald.
  • Stygian Tenet – If Thal.
• As Above, So Below
• Hearth Above, Flight Below – A combination of Heat Above, Flames Below and Far Above, Deep Below.

• Hell’s Trial/Golden Tenet – This depends on which brother is upright.
  • Hell’s Trial – If Thal.
  • Golden Tenet – If Nald.

Phase 5 – If Thal

• Hell of Fire
• Wayward Soul
• Hell of Fire – This includes a switch to Nald.

Phase 5 – If Nald

• Hell of Fire
• Fired Up I, II, & III + Fortune’s Flux
• Heaven’s Trial
• Golden Tenet
• Hell’s Trial – This happens after a switch to Thal.

• Phases 4 & 5 repeat until defeat. Note that Thal’s Phase 5 may not be entirely complete due to inefficient data.

Congratulations, you’ve completed Aglaia! You know, the normal congrats just don’t feel like enough for this… What a journey!

As always, thanks to everyone who helped me out with footage and runs!