Perhaps some of the most fun and demanding content for casual players inFinal Fantasy XIVis the trials and their extreme equivalents. These trials set eight players against one enemy, with difficulties varying depending on the level and how high-level the trial is.
There are a lot of trials inFFXIV, with the majority coming fromMSQ progression. Hard or Extreme versions are usually unlocked via completing side quests, and Extreme trials are worth aiming towards.
Extreme trials usually drop sought-after materials, and all of them drop their own mounts. Completing all of the Extreme trials in an expansion and earning theirmountswill then unlock a further mount that can’t be earned any other way.
Here’s every trial inFFXIV, and what quest you’ll need to complete to unlock it.
A Realm Reborn trials
MSQ trials
These trials are unlocked simply by playing through the MSQ ofA Realm Reborn:
Side quest trials
While these aren’t strictly necessary for the story ofFFXIV, they do add additional lore and side stories that are fun to dive into, nonetheless. You also have to complete Hard trials to unlock their Extreme versions, and these are all level 50 trials:
High-end trials
High-end trials are the extreme versions of trials that already exist, with the difficulty taken up a notch (or a few). Extreme trials will always be the maximum level for the expansion in which they were released, so all A Realm Reborn trials are level 50.
Heavensward trials
The following four trials are unlocked as part of the MSQ duringHeavensward:
The following trials are unlocked through side quests in Azys Lla, and all are level 60:
If you want an extra challenge, then you can unlock and complete theHeavenswardExtreme trials to take on previously challenged enemies at a higher scale of difficulty and get those precious drops. These are all level 60 trials:
Stormblood trials
Stormbloodadded another four new trials as part of the MSQ, and they’ll unlock at the following stages:
The following trials are unlocked by completing side quests inStormblood, including the Four Auspices line of quests:
Many of theStormbloodtrials, except Kugane Ohashi from the Hildibrand quest line, have Extreme versions to unlock and fight through. Luckily, most of them are unlocked by completing a single side quest:
Shadowbringers trials
As was something of a pattern by this point,Shadowbringersadded four new MSQ trials:
As part of the Shadow of Werlyt quest line, the following three level 80 trials can also be unlocked inShadowbringers:
Unlike other expansions,Shadowbringersadded an Extreme trial (Memoria Misera) that does not have a normal difficulty counterpart. This is unlocked by completing quests in the Bozjan Southern Front. Completing this Extreme trial unlocks the ability to dye level 80 Artifact Armor.
Here’s how to unlock this trial, along with the rest of the level 80 Extreme trials:
Endwalker trials
Endwalkerreally upped the number of trials added as part of the MSQ, going against the established pattern and adding a total of 7 trials to unlock as you progress through the main story:
Only one level 90 trial is unlocked through completing a side quest duringEndwalker, and it comes as part of the Somehow Further Hildibrand Adventures. To unlock the Gilded Araya, you’ll need to play through all of Hildibrand’s Endwalker quests until you complete “Gentleman at Heart.”
Each of the MSQ trials inEndwalkerhas an Extreme equivalent, and this can be unlocked by completing the level 90 side quest“I Wandered Sharlayan as a Minstrel.”
Dawntrail trials
So far, three trials have been added toDawntrailas part of the MSQ:
As of yet, there are no further trials that can be unlocked via side quests inDawntrail. This may change with future patches, so this section will be updated accordingly.
Each of the MSQ quests in Dawntail has an Extreme version that can be unlocked by completing the level 100 side quest“How the West Was Sung.”
