There are a grand total of 90 Dungeons currently within Final Fantasy XIV, with the vast majority of them being from the A Realm Reborn base game. Most of these dungeons are hugely enjoyable, with little to complain about, but some of them stand out more than others.
I’ve logged almost 7,000 hours playing Final Fantasy XIV over the last three years and a huge proportion of that time has been spent running dungeons. I’m not much of a raider, and while I do spend considerable amounts of time taking parts in Hunts, doing Treasure Maps, or doing FATEs, my favorite thing to do is run dungeons. I don’t know why, that’s just the kind of Eorzean I am, I suppose.
During my endless hours running dungeons, I’ve definitely developed some favorites for a variety of reasons; the gear they drop, the fight mechanics, the setting, or the music are all reasons that I’ve fallen in love with specific dungeons. Some of them are favorites purely because they’ve helped me to grow as a player, but more on that later.
By no means am I going to attempt to convince you that these are, without doubt, the 10 best dungeons in the game. Everyone has their own tastes and reasons for loving dungeons and I would never try to dissuade you from your own. However, this is my list of personal favorites. Hopefully, you agree with at least one of them.
10. Sashtasha
I know what you’re thinking and I urge you to hear me out. Sashtasha isn’t a favorite because it’s fun or engaging. The music is dull, the fights are lackluster and thanks to its age, the whole dungeon feels very… boring. However, Sashtasha is and always will be one of my favorite dungeons because it’s a shared experience for the vast majority of players.
It’s your first dungeon experience and everyone feels slightly nervous going into it, I know I was. And when you get over the hump of the first dungeon, you feel proud of yourself and excited to keep going, unlock more dungeons and carry on exploring. Sashtasha is a bonding experience and my first run is one I’ll never forget. I was a White Mage, with no knowledge that I was supposed to be the healer for the entire party. It was terrifying.
9. Bardam’s Mettle
Bardam’s Mettle is a strange dungeon, and I know that’s a weird way to start off this entry, but if you’ve ever experienced it then you’ll likely already know where this is going.
The second boss of Bardam’s Mettle doesn’t actually include a boss. Instead, it feels like a break from normality as you perform Dance Dance Revolution-style evasion tactics to pass three trials. It takes a long time to figure out what these mechanics actually are and it’s a beautiful thing when you get a whole party who knows them, sticks to their quadrant of the arena during the mini meteor stage, and everyone manages to make it through without being chained up at least once.
8. The Twinning
This dungeon is on this list for one reason and one reason alone — the music.
A Long Fall, which is the theme for this dungeon, is by far one of my favorite songs from the entire Final Fantasy XIV soundtrack and never fails to perk me up and make me fight harder. If you can avoid dancing in your seat while running this dungeon, then I envy your self-restraint.
Of course, there are other things about The Twinning which make it a joy to run. The setting is pretty to look at and the platform jumping definitely makes it interesting. There’s always a panic moment during the first boss when trying to keep the boss away from the containment units down the sides of the arena and the final boss is just pure chaos the first few times you encounter it.
7. The Qitana Ravel
The Qitana Ravel is not only set in an absolutely stunning location, but it also features one of my favorite enemies of all time which I desperately want to see turned into mount form — Batsquatch. Aside from that, though, The Qitana Ravel also has some really nice gear drops. If you’ve ever seen a healer or caster running around in a layered skirt complete with feathers and other accessories, it’s likely the one from The Qitana Ravel.
One of the most interesting things about this dungeon, especially once you’ve completed Endwalker and fought both Hydaelyn and Zodiark, is the cave paintings of them on the walls around Batsquatch’s arena.
6. The Grand Cosmos
The Grand Cosmos is one of those dungeons that will challenge you until something relatively simple clicks in your head and suddenly you find yourself enjoying the experience despite the challenge. The mechanics during boss fights in The Grand Cosmos are interesting, forcing you to pay attention. There’s no zoning out in this dungeon.
The final boss in The Grand Cosmos has mechanics that aren’t seen in any other dungeon, involving setting fire to the furniture and curtains. It’s weirdly therapeutic, in a way, to destroy the room as well as take down the boss.
5. The Great Gubal Library (Hard)
The hard version of The Great Gubal Library is not only pretty, but also challenging to complete when level synced. The final boss, Strix, is the reason that this dungeon makes the cut for this list.
When fighting the final boss, you not only have to contend with the boss itself but also the elemental and environmental effects that it throws out during the battle. To counter these effects, you have to stand on giant books which place themselves on the arena. I love running this dungeon with anyone who has never run it before and explaining what each book does, because it’s valuable knowledge, especially if you get The Great Gubal Library (Hard) during roulettes.
4. Smileton
One of the first couple of post-Endwalker dungeons to be added, Smileton is a complete head-trip of a dungeon, not least because it’s kind of hard to tell which way is up and whether you’re actually upside down or not.
The bosses feature interesting mechanics that to this day, if I’ve not run the dungeon in a while or taken a break from Final Fantasy XIV itself, I will forget. Each boss has its own challenge but figuring out the mechanics is only half of the fun of Smileton. Every time you run this dungeon, you’ll see something new. Whether it’s a small detail off in the distance or a hidden Loporrit that you’ve never noticed before, there’s always something to grab your attention in the twisted, not quite right setting of Smileton.
Smileton is also the dungeon which drops the Prince Lunatender minion, so if you’re not willing to pay for it on the marketboard, you’ll be running Smileton a lot.
3. The Fell Court of Troia
The most recently added dungeon on this list, The Fell Court of Troia is unbelievably stunning to look at in all areas and the boss fights are challenging, especially to begin with. Once you’ve figured out the mechanics, though, they’re actually fun to fight and this is a dungeon that I will happily go back to time and again.
The final boss in the Fell Court of Troia, Scarmiglione, comes with some theme music that’s instantly recognisable to fans of the Final Fantasy franchise previous to XIV, as it’s an updated version of Battle 2 from Final Fantasy IV.
2. Matoya’s Relict
Matoya’s Relict is a level 80 dungeon that will see you clearing pipes, heating up water and cooking a pig. The music in this dungeon is whimsical, the setting is gorgeous and the fights aren’t just challenging, but also fun. With so much whimsy and spectacle, there’s always something to see and there are secrets, too, like being able to use ‘/return’ to beat everyone back to the starting point of the dungeon.
Matoya’s Relict also offers some indisputably sought after drops. Drippy, the minion who has evaded me for all this time, is a possible drop from the final fight and Heirloom gear is beloved by casters and healers alike.
1. The Tower of Babil
While The Tower of Babil isn’t the prettiest dungeon, with its industrial, alien world setting, it is undoubtedly a fun one. The boss fights feature interesting mechanics, such as the second boss which requires you to either shrink yourself or turn into a giant frog to avoid arena-wide effects, while the trash mobs aren’t so daunting that you can’t wall-to-wall pull if you want to.
However, the reason The Tower of Babil makes my list is because of an entirely personal experience while leveling up my Paladin. The party had managed to reduce the final boss’s health to 50% before both DPS and the healer were wiped out, leaving me on my own to fight Eikon of Eikons alone. After what was possibly the most adrenaline-filled half an hour (it probably wasn’t that long, but it sure felt like it) of my gaming life, I managed to defeat the boss as my now revived party cheered me on from the sidelines.
