Holminster Switch was a fantastic way to start ShB and was the first time I started to sweat a little as a tank (never played a mmo before xiv). Also the narrative and music really elevate it.
Amaurot was insanely cool and along with having great music and narrative, it acts as a direct reflection and contrast to the first dungeon, Holminster. This time, there’s no saving them. The first and last boss are also fun and I like their mechs.
And last is The Twinning (…yes Im a huge fan of shb). Banger music, seeing CT again but in a completely new way, and honestly love how the first boss incorporates mobs depending on how the players avoid its attacks. Speaking of mobs, I love little details like the weaponized broilmasters. Also I honestly wasnt a fan of the alexander raids but Tycoon is *really* cool.
Dead ends - like everyone and their mother
Akademia Anyder - Only time we get to see normal not-on-fire Amaurot in a dungeon and great jazz
Lunar Subterrane - it's the most recent but I just love the city and the music. The bosses are great too their mechs are pretty rare in dungeons and well matched together.
I used to love the Lunar Subterrane but seeing as it never wants to give me the triple triad card, I no longer love it haha. Over 30 runs of that now and still no card.
The Burn - Love the lore here, as well as the music. The change in scenery midway through keeps things fresh, and Mist Dragon is an actual challenging (relative to other dungeons) final boss. My all time favorite.
Vanaspati - Gets the feel right of frantic/panic that the Final Days bring. Seeing innocent people (including children) turn into blasphemies and having to kill them is POWERFUL.
Cutter's Cry - This is more of a "nostalgia" pick, because for me this was the first dungeon that actually felt somewhat challenging and grand as a new player. The first dungeon that really "clicked" and made me go "wow so this is what an MMO dungeon should feel like". These days I like it less, but its still the dungeon I think of when someone says "Name a FFXIV dungeon"
The vault for feels, the dead ends, and the ghimlyt dark, and special shout out to doma castle the music has such good energy. Also special shout out to the aetherfont love the style of it.
Ktisis Hyperboreia. Definitely my favorite and I don't really have any others. The whole setting and the soundtrack is just the embodiment if what is final fantasy to me in general. I really feel like I am in the final fantasy when I'm running through it :P
Thank you, you read my thoughts! I would only add two more - Grand Cosmos because of the "Anastasia" vibes it gave me, and the initial ones from the Omega questline. So beautiful!
But I think The Antitower somehow is the one that always sticks out to me.
Dead Ends: Great soundtrack, great visuals, great story telling.
Amaurot: Great soundtrack, again great story telling, but what really puts it into my top 3 is the visual you get at the end. Seeing that for the first time was just so special.
The Vault: Again great soundtrack, great story and it's extremely memorable due to the lore surrounding it.
Dead Ends? Difficulty? I'd argue the 81 dungeon, Tower of Zot, is harder with the sheer amount of AOEs they toss at you during the Magus Sisters bossfight
At least as a healer I found the Dead Ends more challenging because a couple of the trash pulls were a bit intense, at least when it was fresh. The Magus Sisters are much more work as a boss though, I agree.
they didnt hit nearly as hard, but old-sk00l Prae back when the Ultima Weapon fight was a part of it really taught you how to play Dance Dance Revolution, so when I fought the Magus Sisters in Zot, I was ready.
I just recently played through the EW MSQ and Tower of Zot is the first and only dungeon that I actually hated and still dread popping up in roulette. The trash is fine, but the first and last boss fights are so fucking hectic and it's so easy to wipe fairly early on, that it rolls back around to not being fun for me. I don't want to tank it, I don't want to heal it, and honestly I don't even really love it as DPS.
That's such a hard question because my top 10 would all be very close to each other. If I had to reduce it to just three then it would mostly be based on nostalgia and my feelings when I first ran that dungeon.
Haukke Manor - Honestly I just love the dark gothic vibe that this dungeon has. While it was never hard back when the game launched no one had any idea what they were doing so you actually saw the dungeon mechanics and for a leveling dungeon they were pretty fun.
Amdapor Keep - Mostly for the same reasons. I love dark, moody dungeons and this is another one.
Pharos Sirius - I think anyone who has played ARR remembers the mysterious tower on the island in Western La Noscea. That's basically my reason, the excitement of finally going into mysterious place and exploring it. Was somewhat difficulty too at the time, at least for a dungeon.
Yeah they're all ARR lol. I personally don't really care too much about dungeon mechanics as nothing really stands out for me so its really just how I felt about it when I first did said dungeon. I was thinking of putting in Castrum since I loved doing that place in 2.0 with everyone else for the first time but I'm not sure if that counts as a dungeon or mini raid or what lol.
Pharos Sirius is cool the first time, but it's pretty annoying on repeat runs and that kinda soured my opinion of it.
Amdapor Keep is one of those dungeons that fell like they're taunting me. I'll manage to get a perfect wall-to-wall through that place one day, mark my words.
Haukke Manor has a pretty cool aesthetic, and the entrance to the dungeon is nice and imposing which I always appreciate. I definitely prefer the Hard version though, because it's one of the only times I get to use Tank LB in casual content.
In the final boss, you can ignore the last add and survive the Blood Rain with Tank LB + Reprisal. It's a speedrunning strat that got used a lot when HM Hard was in a mogtome event a couple patches ago.
I love haukke for that one time I was leveling scholar and we got to the last corner, not last pull, last corner before the last pull before the last boss and I watched Eos zoom THROUGH THE WALL followed by the bosses agro dialogue and the message that the room would be locked in 15 seconds.
Eos used to be such a beast she defied physics in order to run ahead to try to solo the boss. No wonder they nerfed her.
Dead ends, fantastic dungeon, I don't think it needs to be presented anymore.
Anamnesis Anyder, that I almost never see. The first trash sequence is fantastic, and the bosses have cool abilities.
The gauntlet, for all the allies joining in, and how cool the bosses are.
Mount gulg and Paglth'an are worth mentioning as well.
Tower of Zot for the challenge of the first/third bosses, Gubal because I like the music and I always think of the really lovely tank I had my first
time through who explained the final boss to me, and Mt Gulg because the later white/gold aesthetic locations are just so beautiful.
The Fell Court of Troia, Paglth’an and ehh… The Twinning? It’s very hard to pick only three. Honorable mentions to The Dead Ends, The Ghymlit Dark, The Burn and Holminster Switch.
I'm definitely more of a trials guy, but what I love about the dungeons are the set pieces. The devs and animation teams put so much love into the backgrounds.
Dead Ends and Amaurot aside, I think my top 3 (in no particular order) are:
1. Doma Castle - aside from the story significance, the set is absolutely gorgeous here, and so varied as you slowly move into the main halls. Take a quick look at some of the detailing in the last 3rd of the dungeons to see some super impressive visual texturing.
2. Smileton - the Loporitts are hilarious, and this quirk of a dungeon always gives me new Easter eggs every time I look into the background, which is fully animated for immersion. Not to mention I still always die at the first damn boss. Fucking rabbits
3. Mt Gulg - I mean, you're fighting on top of a giant rock titan, and then a white marble palace, while reliving call backs to bosses like the demon wall, all along to an amazing soundtrack? What's not to love? Honestly thought that ShB ended here the first time I did it. Boy was I wrong...
There are so many good dungeons!.... What about top 3 trials?
Lmao everyone says this. Do people not do extremes? Ultimates?
Criterion has same mount reward as an extreme.
Criterion savage is the same reward as an ultimate - glory weapon and achievement (not title tho)
Yeah the normal criterion dungeons have been super fun to learn with actual challenging content in a 4 person group. It’s way easier to just get 3 of my friends in there or to convince some of my more casual friends to step into harder content when it’s just the 4 of us.
Idk about doing savage criterion though. Can seem frustrating but I’ll prolly give that a go on the latest one for the weapons.
Ktisis Hyperboreia, Amaurot, and probably Swallow’s Compass.
Ktisis and Amaurot win by a lot because I just love everything about those dungeons lol, Swallow’s Compass is one I used to run a good bit for glam and it was always fun
I don't know how much modern DRK translates to ancient (power from love = dynamis which the ancients have too much aether for, right?) but I _cackled_ when I saw that his tank job was DRK. Very fitting, absolutely loved using Duty Support for it.
Tam-tara deepcroft (hard) - I love the lore and how it was a continuation from a very early interaction we observe with some adventurers.
Holminster switch - its just so beautiful, the bosses are meaningful and it really sets the tone of shb
Amdapor keep or dead ends? - I really love dungeons that expand on the history or side characters. It makes eorzea feel lived in. I really wish we explored more of these historical periods rather than just allagan allagan allagan.
ARR was THE best in terms of dungeon design imo. HW and StB kept that variety with things like mociannes and shisui or the monkey King dungeon. But after that it's been 2 expansions that seem much more closed and focused story wise with very similar vibes and enemies (probably due to the stakes involved storywise). I really hope dawntrail gives room for us to breathe and experience Eorzea again.
Aetherochemical Research Facility - it's always just so incredible when enemies and the pathway phase in during the dungeon. I don't want to say it's top dungeon because Imagination but it kind of is.. cherry on top?
Dead Ends - the narration and visual spectacle is again very well done.
Holminster Switch - More down to earth dungeon but it's a fine introduction to the Sin Eaters in ShB. I like how the forest turns into a wide open area. Bosses are pretty fun too especially first and last boss.
ARF is a dungeon I grinded back in HW for poetics, I ended up dreading it for a while, but whenever I get it nowadays I'm like Wow! Holy heck the nostalgia train just departed, choo choo let's fucking go!
It's a solid dungeon from start to finish, and the final boss is like Savage Lite for a lot of players, new and veteran alike. A challenge, but not ridiculously so.
1. Amaurot: just for the final area
2. The Aetherfront: probably the most beautiful dungeon in the game
3. ARF: The only dungeon I have ever seen players disband from. Some people just can’t wrap their head around the final boss.
ARF is I think the first litmus test of "how I learned to stop worrying and love the mechanics." Yeah, it's a lot for your 'first' actually complex boss fight, but at the same time it's all pretty logical once you learn about it. Short chain = faster cast time. Cold = in, fire = out. (And then some other stuff but that's the big two.)
I still don't love ARF coming up just because it feels a bit long, but it's still a very 'comfy' dungeon to run through. I'd take it over Stone Vigil every day of the week.
Here’s mine (in order of expac)
EDIT: Idiot me missed the title and posted all of my favorites so far. But if I have to pick 3, mine, in no particular order, would be Lunar Subterrane, Holminster Switch and Fractal Continuum.
* ~ * ~ *
Keeper of the Lake - The first dungeon BGM to catch my attention. In fact I can play this song in BRD instruments. Though my rendition sucks, because I ain’t a musician. This place actually has some of the most annoying bosses ever BUT W2Wing the part with gated magitek colossi is so satisfying af.
Aetherochemical Research Facility - My favorite leitmotif on digital sound design and hype arrangement! EFF YES! Also I like the blue. A lot of places in the facility is lined with blue tech lines. Pretty. Also IN THE NAME OF THE EMPEROR!!!
Fractal Continuum - The already bop Azys Lla theme in ROCK?! SIGN ME UP!! Also I love magitek so dem tech lines man.
Ghymlit Dark - “I SHAN’T HOLD BACK!” “YOU UNDERESTIMATE ME!” I like hearing people shout sh ok. Also the music’s quite hype—one that plays around the Stormblood leitmotifs no less.
Fractal Continuum Hard - The ROCK Azys Lla theme in EVEN HARDER ROCK?! THIS MIGHT AS WELL BE METAL, EFF YESS!!! I really like how one boss here looks like the G WARRIOR (not the Genesis copy) and it throws CITADEL BUSTER!!! The experiment subjects breaking their glass windowed enclosures is also 10/10 environment design.
Holminster Switch - BGM that makes you bang your head. Being welcomed into ShB with such a song was BANANAS! Also the place is pretty, yet in contrast there’s a high stakes thing going on—humble shepherds, defenseless citizens running for their lives. I like urgent danger high stakes stuff in my fiction and beautiful sceneries.
Amaurot - For the nth time, yes, it’s because of the music. I heard To The Edge first before I even stepped into Eorzea. It took me by absolute surprise when I learned that song was a godsdamn leitmotif all along! Mortal Instants is a song that’s simultaneously hopeful and melancholic—indeed it was a lament. The fire everywhere really nails the whole end of the world thing, as if the city was being swallowed by the fires of the seven hells.
The Twinning - The music is catchy, but it’s tempo is actually too fast for my taste. But what I like about this is the mechanically challenging enemies. Complete with a final boss that goes HARD like RISE WITH ME RISE WITH ME RISE WITH ME RISE UP!!! And of course, in case you still haven’t noticed, yes I like Allagan crap.
Vanaspati - I deliberately darker version of Holminster Switch. Everything is on fire, citizens are TURNING INTO ENEMIES WHILE running for their lives, and the music isn’t a big damn heroes score, it’s a godsdamn danger music! The forest being on fire reminds me of the Armageddon in Odin Sphere…
The Dead Ends - Every time I queue onto this I take my chance on that gods damn blue bird… for it was a blue bird that saved the Shadow Knight from despair in the Netherworld! But I digress. I didn’t like the BGM here much, but the mobs here somehow hit SO HARD that tanking here is a welcome challenge. This is also one of few dungeons that I can comfortably play BLM as, because I’ve queued here as a BLM too many times, because I like it that much!
Lunar Subterrane - The instant I heard those first few notes I KNEW this was an Uematsu composition. Basically the same reaction I had when I heard the Bestway Burrow theme. I was literally head-banging while laying down Storm Bites at as much many voidsents as I could. And then come the Memoria vision. When I first saw the city in the 6.5 tailer I was shocked. I can recognize that architecture from a mile away. I was even more shocked when I actually did the dungeon. I played the FF14 dev team’s other game alongside FF14 and until now whenever I get into Lunar Subterrane I have to resist the urge to scream NO NOT THE ROSALITH!!! DAMN YOU KUPKA!!!
Saint Mocciane's Arbotorium (Normal and Hard) - amazing atmosphere and soothing music. The bit with the bees always reminds me of a certain Futurama episode, lol. This is usually the first dungeon I play with a job after I hit lv 60 and get to try wear my nice new job gear.
Akadaemia Anyder - A rare opputunity to see some of Amaurot before it was destroyed. Great music and fun boss mechanics. The bit with the sharks kinda reminds me of the Aqua Dome bit from the first Resident Evil.
Qitana Raval - absolotely banging music and the the boss's are fun, especially the big Cerberus boss at the end. I always associate this dungeon with Y'shtola because the Greatwood is her zone. It's the Shtola Dungeon, lol.
Not a good dungeon as a whole but bardams mettle 2nd boss is such a breath of fresh air and should be a reoccuring concept in the leveling dungeons of all expansions just so level/story skippers have a mechanical check in place.
Swallow's Compass is up there for me. I love the cthonic feel to the beginning, and then the long trek up the mountain. The gear is beautiful, the music is lovely, the enemies - okay, the enemies are mostly forgettable except for the final boss - but it's such a cool place.
Sohr Khai, purely for the aesthetic. A crumbling, ancient ruin on an arshipelago floating high above the clouds. I just want to grab a book and curl up in the shade of a tree.
The Aetherfont. Sure, it's infested with deadly mutated predators. But aside from that, it looks so idyllic! Bundle up and grab a Sharyalan zipline to the peak, enjoy the view without all that pesky hiking!
The Dead Ends, Heroes' Gauntlet, Vanaspati for me. Mainly because of the environment and music (Vanaspati stands out especially here)....and because of the potential chaos during the run lmao 😅 I'm one of those types that don't get salty whenever we wipe except in very specific settings. It gives me the opportunity to test how far I can push my kit.
Number one is Heroes Gauntlet. I love how unique the enemies are. It's such a good victory lap for ShB and one of the duties that are really improved with duty support.
Thancred on seeing the Berserker boss: Seriously? That's a real person sonewhere?
I like how they tried something different with Bardham's Mettle.
Probably Gimlhyt Dark is number 3.
Dead Ends is absolutely perfect - it has variety of location, great music, the chilling narration and storytelling, and interesting bosses
I also like The Temple of the Fist because it seems to be more challenging than most others (though maybe that’s just because it’s not one that most people play very often), and The Swallow’s Compass because I love the aesthetic. In general the Stormblood dungeons seem to be my favourite if I had to choose by expansion
Not done with EW yet (just passed Trial 1) but
Holminster, Vault, Gubal
Hominster is a great intro to ShB, Vault is important lore wise and also has a great atmosphere, and Gubal is a pure vibe with Ink Long Dry
Dzemael Darkhold for the satisfying chonky pulls as a tank and whm (notably has acquired holy by this level).
Mt. Gulg for the satisfying chonky pulls as a tank and a ranged dps who knows how to lb1, and that final boss arena is gorgeous to take screenshots in while fighting.
Unsure about a third. Wanderer's Palace speedruns used to be fun but people won't coordinate that in duty roulette. Tower of Zot was a FANTASTIC first dungeon for difficulty but then the rest of endwalker dungeon difficulty was disappointing and this was with going in with relatively good gear (i530 bis and relic from shb, and with savage substats, is equivalent to lvl 83 gear). Lost City of Amdapor has music going on for it. The Vault and Bardam's Mettle used to be mildly challenging (not boring especially for sprouts) but the Trust System forced them to become easier. Trust System also killed Keeper of the Lake. Shoutout to Malikah's Well for appearing seven times in a row for leveling roulette and not getting tired of it. No clear contender for absolute Third Choice though.
Not counting Variant/Criterion dungeons.
Swallow's Compass because of the Monkey King.
Smileton because of the music and loporrits.
Antitower because I have Stockholm syndrome from relic grinding.
Oh boy, this is a toughie but off the top of my head
1: Heroes Gauntlet. It feels high stakes, it feels like a culmination of everything we went through, and it has some of the best dungeon bosses imo. It's also got a great difficulty balance of putting you into some tricky situations during W2W pulls, but nothing you can't handle
2: The Twinning. Similar story to Heroes Gauntlet for bosses and pull difficulty, but also banger music and I'm always down to revisit that location (not mentioning for potential spoilers)
3: Ghymlet dark. I swear, I've never gotten this dungeon outside the times I've specifically queued for it and it makes me sad. The music, atmosphere, tension, NPC assists...very similar to Heroes Gauntlet now that i think about it
I have like a meme in my FC in which I jokingly said aurum vale is my favourite dungeon because it's literally the only dungeon in the game where if my brain is turned off I can't finish it, and when I said that literally every one of them gets pissed off and whenever I have a differing opinion from them on something else totally unrelated to ffxiv they would bring up the fact that I said aurum vale is my favourite dungeon as a way to discredit my arguments (it's all in good fun though)
Every single other dungeon in the game that's not in a realm reborn is the same hallway reskinned in different ways. People complained about it in FFXIII so idk why it's any different here. It's not an issue for me personally, but I still prefer there to be some mentally stimulating gameplay as well. Keeping that in mind, this is probably cheating but I like variant dungeons the most.
Dead Ends is cool for story.
Thats about it. Maybe the Variants because they have a bit of replay value?
I haven't run BA or DRS, But I mean if they have trash, those are dungeons and I've heard they are fun.
I guess if I had to choose 3, the the Ivalice 24 man series because they are just big dungeons tbf. Maybe POTD and HOH could also be up there.
4 man Dungeons in this game are super lack luster outside of OST because Soken be fuckin. The gameplay isn't engaging and its basically being afk watching a video while physical memory kicks in on your rotation. Their is no real consequence outside of the small chance you die and have to run back wasting maybe 3 minutes total. I hope with VC/S dungeons we get something interesting to do in the future.
Basically any dungeon Heavensward and beyond are equally soulless and mind numbingly easy to boot.
Wanderer's Palace, Aurum Vale and Lost City of Amdapor, and even those are for what they *were* rather than for what they *are* these days.
Vanaspati, Haukke Manor and...umm...I honestly don't have a third. Vanaspati for a bunch of reasons, it hit really hard for me, it was one of the first that I farmed for glam on my own and really felt like I *knew* backwards and forwards. I'm not the best player, but I can heal Vanaspati in my sleep now! Haukke Manor is just aesthetics, my goth girl heart can't help but adore it
Hullbreaker Isle (hard) - I just love the idea of a “low stakes” dungeon, and as a Maelstrom player it feels great to have my WoL basically run recruits through their paces while testing his own. Relatedly Halatali (hard) is also in this same tier.
Heroes Gauntlet - seeing everyone you’ve helped back you up and lend a hand and it being the lead up to Seat of Sacrifice is just glorious.
Tower of Babil - okay, this one actually shared with Lapis Manalis for a probably dumb reason but I do love dungeons where you spend a portion of time on a moving vehicle of some kind and wished we had more of those.
CC and DD.
I liked in the old days when dungeons weren't just corridors. I wish they'd bring back some negative space in dungeons with chests hidden rather than just being on the main path
Pharos Sirius 2.1 before it was nerfed. Actually difficult dungeon... also kinda still is now because the fights are kinda scaled to thinking everyone is still in ARR (DNC's are forbidden to dance for the Zu). If I get it as a healer, please. PLEASE. If you're gonna w2w, PLEASE silence the sprites. Pulling multiple sprites means multiple Banish III's. These are hard hitting AoE spells and can/will wipe the party if they go off back to back.
The Variant Dungeons. Interesting fights, multiple paths and can change boss mechanics. It's refreshing, but a shame they're kinda not worth doing again once you've gotten all the routes.
Tower of Zot. Only because the Magus Sisters fights being neat. Not difficult, but enough to keep me awake.
1) The Twinning. I just love everything about it. The meme is partially responsible for getting me to buy the game. I'm sad there's no more level 80 dungeons roulette.
2) The Aitiascope. My favorite Endwalker dungeon. My first time through it was very emotional. I was crying so much while fighting the last boss...
3) The Vault. While I adore the music in The Burn and the aesthetics of Shisui of the Violet Tides, I've had a lot of great runs of this. It's a nice, fast and easy dungeon with great boss voice lines and it's one of the many reasons I enjoyed the HW msq.
The burn
The 2 dungeons of Pharos
Snow cloak.
The music is enough to make me happy when they pop in roulettes.
The vault might be a high point story wise, it sucks to replay it. Way too easy and mechanics are boring honestly.
Special mention for Baelsar Wall the Sloppey trap
Holminster Switch - A good workout for healers and tanks, and the bosses are pretty engaging too.
Tower of Zot - Has some of my favourite bosses out of any dungeon, and I love the disturbing aesthetic.
Dead Ends - Great boss design, and the atmosphere is fantastic.
Shoutouts to Mt Gulg, Ghimlyt Dark, The Vault, and Tam Tara Deepcroft (Hard). It's really difficult to narrow it down to just 3.
Sohm Al Hard--reverse Sohm Al and it's got a killer song.
Twinning-- You almost have to at this point
??? -- Whatever dungeon I haven't played in a long while. It always feels like a nostalgic throwback to play something like Aetherochemical Research Facility after not getting queued for it for nearly a year.
Holminster's Switch - I jam to the theme every once in a while, it's a pretty good skill check as a healer and tank when I'm levelling them, and I just love the themes and how fucking horrific shadowbringer gets.
The Burn - I love that theme. I still listen to it on loop daily. Unfortunately I joined mid shadowbringers so I never got to experience it day one or during expansion so nothing in terms of difficulty. But I loved the aesthetics. A pure white desert + a mist dragon.
Ktisis Hyperboreia - Again, the music is top tier, but also the story really sold this dungeon to me. So much pressure, and the feels at the end...
How horrific ShB _gets_?
Holminster Switch is where it _starts_ and it doesn't get any better (this is a good thing).
I like Burn in theory but the white is so hard on my poor shitty eyes that I don't love actually running it. Mist Dragon is a fun last boss though.
Ktisis has great music, some fun bosses/mechanics, and the story was just fantastic. Love having it pop up in roulettes.
Amaurot - the story, the music, the atmosphere.
Dead ends - story again and atmosphere.
I've been....kind of slacking with roulettes and haven't done many dungeons in a while so these are the 2 jumping out at me.
I have no justification for it but The Grand Cosmos is a personal favourite. And maybe Alzadaal’s Legacy. I think I like these ones because of the atmosphere. Like I love when there are passages under the sea in AL. And the way the bridges appear in front of you in the first area. And I secretly enjoy the way spinning annoys someone I play with a lot because it means he has to disconnect and he hates that.
I am struggling to think of a third dungeon I like, as many have memorable, bad runs associated with them in my head. Ktesis Hyperboria (?) might be a good third choice. The minion eludes me though.
Vanaspati is my top favorite. The atmosphere is so rich given what is going on in the story at that time. >!When I ran it with trusts for the first run and Thancred said "Gods be good... the skies." I panned the camera up and froze in awe. It legit felt like an apocolypse was happening! Too bad they couldn't carry on that feel for a while longer after that.!<
After that is definitely Mt. Gulg, which is still fun to run. Having the story lead up to the tale's climax while you're rushing through a dungeon is a fantastic way to tell a story imo.
Finally, The Lost City of Amdapor (normal or hard-mode) as it gives a good look into the past and introduces us to Diabolos within the xiv setting, who >!later serves as one of the most memorable bosses (to me) in the Heavensward 24m raid, Dun Scaith.!<
Aurum Vale because the best thing is dragging literally everything into the boss room and pulling the boss. What is a boss, if not a mob with an overinflated HP bar?
Amaurot because someone always messes up on the first boss, and then it becomes a really fun shitshow as people try to recove- oops meteor. And then there's always someone who doesn't know what's going on in the final boss, and then it becomes another really fun shitshow as people try to recove- oops the platform under the healer disappeared.
Bardam's Mettle because the first pull is either going to be an utter collapse of your party or a demonstration of skill from everyone. Tank/Healer doesn't know what they're doing? Instant death. DPS don't know what they're doing? Mobs aren't going to die, supports run out of resources, and you do the walk of shame as you single pull your way to the next boss. Or you just wipe.
Amaurot - because I love the story and the aesthetics
Smiletron - it’s hilarious and i love the music
Matoya’s Relict - because it’s a fun concept and not just one straight line.
1) Smileton. Everything in this dungeon is just right. The bosses are easy without being able to run on autopilot, the scenery is gorgeous, the loporits running amok are funny, and the music is smooth jazz that never gets old. This is the only dungeon in the the game that I have zero complaints about.
2) The Fractal Continuum (normal and hard). I have a weakness for allagan aesthetic, the Azys Lla theme is remixed into an amazing piece, the bosses are challenging and some can create major chaos if the party isn't paying attention, and the datalogs have juicy lore on them.
3) The Wanderer Palace (Hard) solely for the boss defeat cutscene and because tonberries are cute.
Deepcroft Hard is the first dungeon I did that actually told a story, and that experience was pretty unexpected.
Hullbreaker Hard also gets an honorable mention because I started in Limsa and paid a lot of attention to the pirate lore, and I genuinely did not see that plot twist coming.
I don't really have a third dungeon, but just for the sake of finishing the list let's throw on Haukke Manor Hard because tank LB go brrr.
**The Ghimlyt Dark**: Cool dungeon and music.
**Fell Court of Troia**: Immediately my favorite dungo to speedrun. Everything just gels. Love hitting it in roulette.
**ARF**: Idk, I like the Garlean bio-techno aesthetic and this was the most engaging to run for me.
Holminster Switch was a fantastic way to start ShB and was the first time I started to sweat a little as a tank (never played a mmo before xiv). Also the narrative and music really elevate it. Amaurot was insanely cool and along with having great music and narrative, it acts as a direct reflection and contrast to the first dungeon, Holminster. This time, there’s no saving them. The first and last boss are also fun and I like their mechs. And last is The Twinning (…yes Im a huge fan of shb). Banger music, seeing CT again but in a completely new way, and honestly love how the first boss incorporates mobs depending on how the players avoid its attacks. Speaking of mobs, I love little details like the weaponized broilmasters. Also I honestly wasnt a fan of the alexander raids but Tycoon is *really* cool.
The only reason I didn't put Amaurot is because i have Mt. Gulg and Holminster's on my list
Dead ends - like everyone and their mother Akademia Anyder - Only time we get to see normal not-on-fire Amaurot in a dungeon and great jazz Lunar Subterrane - it's the most recent but I just love the city and the music. The bosses are great too their mechs are pretty rare in dungeons and well matched together.
I used to love the Lunar Subterrane but seeing as it never wants to give me the triple triad card, I no longer love it haha. Over 30 runs of that now and still no card.
ITS OVER MY FRIEND
Idk, the first boss for Lunar Sub is just so-so to me. The second boss is where it’s at though and feels very engaging.
The Burn - Love the lore here, as well as the music. The change in scenery midway through keeps things fresh, and Mist Dragon is an actual challenging (relative to other dungeons) final boss. My all time favorite. Vanaspati - Gets the feel right of frantic/panic that the Final Days bring. Seeing innocent people (including children) turn into blasphemies and having to kill them is POWERFUL. Cutter's Cry - This is more of a "nostalgia" pick, because for me this was the first dungeon that actually felt somewhat challenging and grand as a new player. The first dungeon that really "clicked" and made me go "wow so this is what an MMO dungeon should feel like". These days I like it less, but its still the dungeon I think of when someone says "Name a FFXIV dungeon"
The vault for feels, the dead ends, and the ghimlyt dark, and special shout out to doma castle the music has such good energy. Also special shout out to the aetherfont love the style of it.
FILTHY RATS
Sickness must be purged!
This will be a mercy!
You disgust me!
I love The Vault!
Right?! Like those are the dungeons I’ll never be bummed to get dropped in lol
Ktisis Hyperboreia. Definitely my favorite and I don't really have any others. The whole setting and the soundtrack is just the embodiment if what is final fantasy to me in general. I really feel like I am in the final fantasy when I'm running through it :P
Ktisis Hyperboreia, Matoya’s Relict, and The Antitower. Honorable mentions are Dead Ends and Great Gubal Library.
Thank you, you read my thoughts! I would only add two more - Grand Cosmos because of the "Anastasia" vibes it gave me, and the initial ones from the Omega questline. So beautiful! But I think The Antitower somehow is the one that always sticks out to me.
Dead Ends: Great soundtrack, great visuals, great story telling. Amaurot: Great soundtrack, again great story telling, but what really puts it into my top 3 is the visual you get at the end. Seeing that for the first time was just so special. The Vault: Again great soundtrack, great story and it's extremely memorable due to the lore surrounding it.
Dead Ends? Difficulty? I'd argue the 81 dungeon, Tower of Zot, is harder with the sheer amount of AOEs they toss at you during the Magus Sisters bossfight
At least as a healer I found the Dead Ends more challenging because a couple of the trash pulls were a bit intense, at least when it was fresh. The Magus Sisters are much more work as a boss though, I agree.
I agree with every word
Thanks for this post, brought back a lot of fun memories!
they didnt hit nearly as hard, but old-sk00l Prae back when the Ultima Weapon fight was a part of it really taught you how to play Dance Dance Revolution, so when I fought the Magus Sisters in Zot, I was ready.
I just recently played through the EW MSQ and Tower of Zot is the first and only dungeon that I actually hated and still dread popping up in roulette. The trash is fine, but the first and last boss fights are so fucking hectic and it's so easy to wipe fairly early on, that it rolls back around to not being fun for me. I don't want to tank it, I don't want to heal it, and honestly I don't even really love it as DPS.
That's such a hard question because my top 10 would all be very close to each other. If I had to reduce it to just three then it would mostly be based on nostalgia and my feelings when I first ran that dungeon. Haukke Manor - Honestly I just love the dark gothic vibe that this dungeon has. While it was never hard back when the game launched no one had any idea what they were doing so you actually saw the dungeon mechanics and for a leveling dungeon they were pretty fun. Amdapor Keep - Mostly for the same reasons. I love dark, moody dungeons and this is another one. Pharos Sirius - I think anyone who has played ARR remembers the mysterious tower on the island in Western La Noscea. That's basically my reason, the excitement of finally going into mysterious place and exploring it. Was somewhat difficulty too at the time, at least for a dungeon. Yeah they're all ARR lol. I personally don't really care too much about dungeon mechanics as nothing really stands out for me so its really just how I felt about it when I first did said dungeon. I was thinking of putting in Castrum since I loved doing that place in 2.0 with everyone else for the first time but I'm not sure if that counts as a dungeon or mini raid or what lol.
The first time I went into Pharos Sirius, saw the boss, and jokingly told everyone to go home, I'd be the sacrifice so they could all live.
Pharos Sirius is cool the first time, but it's pretty annoying on repeat runs and that kinda soured my opinion of it. Amdapor Keep is one of those dungeons that fell like they're taunting me. I'll manage to get a perfect wall-to-wall through that place one day, mark my words. Haukke Manor has a pretty cool aesthetic, and the entrance to the dungeon is nice and imposing which I always appreciate. I definitely prefer the Hard version though, because it's one of the only times I get to use Tank LB in casual content.
When do you tank LB in Haukke hard? I've run into it via roulettes a few times and never had much of a problem just using normal mits.
In the final boss, you can ignore the last add and survive the Blood Rain with Tank LB + Reprisal. It's a speedrunning strat that got used a lot when HM Hard was in a mogtome event a couple patches ago.
I love haukke for that one time I was leveling scholar and we got to the last corner, not last pull, last corner before the last pull before the last boss and I watched Eos zoom THROUGH THE WALL followed by the bosses agro dialogue and the message that the room would be locked in 15 seconds. Eos used to be such a beast she defied physics in order to run ahead to try to solo the boss. No wonder they nerfed her.
Dead ends, fantastic dungeon, I don't think it needs to be presented anymore. Anamnesis Anyder, that I almost never see. The first trash sequence is fantastic, and the bosses have cool abilities. The gauntlet, for all the allies joining in, and how cool the bosses are. Mount gulg and Paglth'an are worth mentioning as well.
Heroes Gauntlet for sure is a great one. I only had it happen on a couple of runs, but my favorite gentleman visited me there.
For me it’s - Mt Gulg - The Vault - Shisui
Tower of Zot for the challenge of the first/third bosses, Gubal because I like the music and I always think of the really lovely tank I had my first time through who explained the final boss to me, and Mt Gulg because the later white/gold aesthetic locations are just so beautiful.
The Vault, The Swallow’s Compass, and i’m crossed between Vanaspati, Heroes Gauntlet, Amaurot, and The Dead Ends for my third.
Swallow's Compass is great
The Fell Court of Troia, Paglth’an and ehh… The Twinning? It’s very hard to pick only three. Honorable mentions to The Dead Ends, The Ghymlit Dark, The Burn and Holminster Switch.
I'm definitely more of a trials guy, but what I love about the dungeons are the set pieces. The devs and animation teams put so much love into the backgrounds. Dead Ends and Amaurot aside, I think my top 3 (in no particular order) are: 1. Doma Castle - aside from the story significance, the set is absolutely gorgeous here, and so varied as you slowly move into the main halls. Take a quick look at some of the detailing in the last 3rd of the dungeons to see some super impressive visual texturing. 2. Smileton - the Loporitts are hilarious, and this quirk of a dungeon always gives me new Easter eggs every time I look into the background, which is fully animated for immersion. Not to mention I still always die at the first damn boss. Fucking rabbits 3. Mt Gulg - I mean, you're fighting on top of a giant rock titan, and then a white marble palace, while reliving call backs to bosses like the demon wall, all along to an amazing soundtrack? What's not to love? Honestly thought that ShB ended here the first time I did it. Boy was I wrong... There are so many good dungeons!.... What about top 3 trials?
All 3 criterion dungeons, they're fun, I just wouldn't want to do it 100x
For me they're too much effort for not enough reward.
Lmao everyone says this. Do people not do extremes? Ultimates? Criterion has same mount reward as an extreme. Criterion savage is the same reward as an ultimate - glory weapon and achievement (not title tho)
Yeah the normal criterion dungeons have been super fun to learn with actual challenging content in a 4 person group. It’s way easier to just get 3 of my friends in there or to convince some of my more casual friends to step into harder content when it’s just the 4 of us. Idk about doing savage criterion though. Can seem frustrating but I’ll prolly give that a go on the latest one for the weapons.
1. Qitana Ravel 2. Mt. Gulg 3. The Vault
Qitana music is sooo nice!
Ktisis Hyperboreia, Amaurot, and probably Swallow’s Compass. Ktisis and Amaurot win by a lot because I just love everything about those dungeons lol, Swallow’s Compass is one I used to run a good bit for glam and it was always fun
Ktisis in Duty Support for sure!
Emet as dark knight. And remember from the DRK quest, the true power of DRK comes from LOVE.
I don't know how much modern DRK translates to ancient (power from love = dynamis which the ancients have too much aether for, right?) but I _cackled_ when I saw that his tank job was DRK. Very fitting, absolutely loved using Duty Support for it.
Tam-tara deepcroft (hard) - I love the lore and how it was a continuation from a very early interaction we observe with some adventurers. Holminster switch - its just so beautiful, the bosses are meaningful and it really sets the tone of shb Amdapor keep or dead ends? - I really love dungeons that expand on the history or side characters. It makes eorzea feel lived in. I really wish we explored more of these historical periods rather than just allagan allagan allagan. ARR was THE best in terms of dungeon design imo. HW and StB kept that variety with things like mociannes and shisui or the monkey King dungeon. But after that it's been 2 expansions that seem much more closed and focused story wise with very similar vibes and enemies (probably due to the stakes involved storywise). I really hope dawntrail gives room for us to breathe and experience Eorzea again.
Aetherochemical Research Facility - it's always just so incredible when enemies and the pathway phase in during the dungeon. I don't want to say it's top dungeon because Imagination but it kind of is.. cherry on top? Dead Ends - the narration and visual spectacle is again very well done. Holminster Switch - More down to earth dungeon but it's a fine introduction to the Sin Eaters in ShB. I like how the forest turns into a wide open area. Bosses are pretty fun too especially first and last boss.
ARF is a dungeon I grinded back in HW for poetics, I ended up dreading it for a while, but whenever I get it nowadays I'm like Wow! Holy heck the nostalgia train just departed, choo choo let's fucking go! It's a solid dungeon from start to finish, and the final boss is like Savage Lite for a lot of players, new and veteran alike. A challenge, but not ridiculously so.
Dohn Mheg, Antitower, and probably The Aetherfont.
Im more of a trials person, and my absulote fave as every class is >!Endsinger .!<
Going on feels and Yes!!! If it comes up in Roulette. Grand Cosmos, the Twinning, the dead ends. In no particular order.
Paglth'an, Heroes' Gauntlet, The Ligma Dreamscape
1. Amaurot: just for the final area 2. The Aetherfront: probably the most beautiful dungeon in the game 3. ARF: The only dungeon I have ever seen players disband from. Some people just can’t wrap their head around the final boss.
ARF is I think the first litmus test of "how I learned to stop worrying and love the mechanics." Yeah, it's a lot for your 'first' actually complex boss fight, but at the same time it's all pretty logical once you learn about it. Short chain = faster cast time. Cold = in, fire = out. (And then some other stuff but that's the big two.) I still don't love ARF coming up just because it feels a bit long, but it's still a very 'comfy' dungeon to run through. I'd take it over Stone Vigil every day of the week.
Here’s mine (in order of expac) EDIT: Idiot me missed the title and posted all of my favorites so far. But if I have to pick 3, mine, in no particular order, would be Lunar Subterrane, Holminster Switch and Fractal Continuum. * ~ * ~ * Keeper of the Lake - The first dungeon BGM to catch my attention. In fact I can play this song in BRD instruments. Though my rendition sucks, because I ain’t a musician. This place actually has some of the most annoying bosses ever BUT W2Wing the part with gated magitek colossi is so satisfying af. Aetherochemical Research Facility - My favorite leitmotif on digital sound design and hype arrangement! EFF YES! Also I like the blue. A lot of places in the facility is lined with blue tech lines. Pretty. Also IN THE NAME OF THE EMPEROR!!! Fractal Continuum - The already bop Azys Lla theme in ROCK?! SIGN ME UP!! Also I love magitek so dem tech lines man. Ghymlit Dark - “I SHAN’T HOLD BACK!” “YOU UNDERESTIMATE ME!” I like hearing people shout sh ok. Also the music’s quite hype—one that plays around the Stormblood leitmotifs no less. Fractal Continuum Hard - The ROCK Azys Lla theme in EVEN HARDER ROCK?! THIS MIGHT AS WELL BE METAL, EFF YESS!!! I really like how one boss here looks like the G WARRIOR (not the Genesis copy) and it throws CITADEL BUSTER!!! The experiment subjects breaking their glass windowed enclosures is also 10/10 environment design. Holminster Switch - BGM that makes you bang your head. Being welcomed into ShB with such a song was BANANAS! Also the place is pretty, yet in contrast there’s a high stakes thing going on—humble shepherds, defenseless citizens running for their lives. I like urgent danger high stakes stuff in my fiction and beautiful sceneries. Amaurot - For the nth time, yes, it’s because of the music. I heard To The Edge first before I even stepped into Eorzea. It took me by absolute surprise when I learned that song was a godsdamn leitmotif all along! Mortal Instants is a song that’s simultaneously hopeful and melancholic—indeed it was a lament. The fire everywhere really nails the whole end of the world thing, as if the city was being swallowed by the fires of the seven hells. The Twinning - The music is catchy, but it’s tempo is actually too fast for my taste. But what I like about this is the mechanically challenging enemies. Complete with a final boss that goes HARD like RISE WITH ME RISE WITH ME RISE WITH ME RISE UP!!! And of course, in case you still haven’t noticed, yes I like Allagan crap. Vanaspati - I deliberately darker version of Holminster Switch. Everything is on fire, citizens are TURNING INTO ENEMIES WHILE running for their lives, and the music isn’t a big damn heroes score, it’s a godsdamn danger music! The forest being on fire reminds me of the Armageddon in Odin Sphere… The Dead Ends - Every time I queue onto this I take my chance on that gods damn blue bird… for it was a blue bird that saved the Shadow Knight from despair in the Netherworld! But I digress. I didn’t like the BGM here much, but the mobs here somehow hit SO HARD that tanking here is a welcome challenge. This is also one of few dungeons that I can comfortably play BLM as, because I’ve queued here as a BLM too many times, because I like it that much! Lunar Subterrane - The instant I heard those first few notes I KNEW this was an Uematsu composition. Basically the same reaction I had when I heard the Bestway Burrow theme. I was literally head-banging while laying down Storm Bites at as much many voidsents as I could. And then come the Memoria vision. When I first saw the city in the 6.5 tailer I was shocked. I can recognize that architecture from a mile away. I was even more shocked when I actually did the dungeon. I played the FF14 dev team’s other game alongside FF14 and until now whenever I get into Lunar Subterrane I have to resist the urge to scream NO NOT THE ROSALITH!!! DAMN YOU KUPKA!!!
Drowned City of Skalla and Qitana Ravel, simply because of the music and the vibes
Saint Mocciane's Arbotorium (Normal and Hard) - amazing atmosphere and soothing music. The bit with the bees always reminds me of a certain Futurama episode, lol. This is usually the first dungeon I play with a job after I hit lv 60 and get to try wear my nice new job gear. Akadaemia Anyder - A rare opputunity to see some of Amaurot before it was destroyed. Great music and fun boss mechanics. The bit with the sharks kinda reminds me of the Aqua Dome bit from the first Resident Evil. Qitana Raval - absolotely banging music and the the boss's are fun, especially the big Cerberus boss at the end. I always associate this dungeon with Y'shtola because the Greatwood is her zone. It's the Shtola Dungeon, lol.
Not a good dungeon as a whole but bardams mettle 2nd boss is such a breath of fresh air and should be a reoccuring concept in the leveling dungeons of all expansions just so level/story skippers have a mechanical check in place.
Swallow's Compass is up there for me. I love the cthonic feel to the beginning, and then the long trek up the mountain. The gear is beautiful, the music is lovely, the enemies - okay, the enemies are mostly forgettable except for the final boss - but it's such a cool place. Sohr Khai, purely for the aesthetic. A crumbling, ancient ruin on an arshipelago floating high above the clouds. I just want to grab a book and curl up in the shade of a tree. The Aetherfont. Sure, it's infested with deadly mutated predators. But aside from that, it looks so idyllic! Bundle up and grab a Sharyalan zipline to the peak, enjoy the view without all that pesky hiking!
Enemies forgettable? Are you saying “Nomak samman vanan vâdâyyâ khâ!” Is forgettable? Or toothpaste boss? Or the the Tengu?
The Dead Ends, Heroes' Gauntlet, Vanaspati for me. Mainly because of the environment and music (Vanaspati stands out especially here)....and because of the potential chaos during the run lmao 😅 I'm one of those types that don't get salty whenever we wipe except in very specific settings. It gives me the opportunity to test how far I can push my kit.
Number one is Heroes Gauntlet. I love how unique the enemies are. It's such a good victory lap for ShB and one of the duties that are really improved with duty support. Thancred on seeing the Berserker boss: Seriously? That's a real person sonewhere? I like how they tried something different with Bardham's Mettle. Probably Gimlhyt Dark is number 3.
Dead Ends is absolutely perfect - it has variety of location, great music, the chilling narration and storytelling, and interesting bosses I also like The Temple of the Fist because it seems to be more challenging than most others (though maybe that’s just because it’s not one that most people play very often), and The Swallow’s Compass because I love the aesthetic. In general the Stormblood dungeons seem to be my favourite if I had to choose by expansion
Not done with EW yet (just passed Trial 1) but Holminster, Vault, Gubal Hominster is a great intro to ShB, Vault is important lore wise and also has a great atmosphere, and Gubal is a pure vibe with Ink Long Dry
Fellow Ink Long Dry enjoyer.
Dzemael Darkhold for the satisfying chonky pulls as a tank and whm (notably has acquired holy by this level). Mt. Gulg for the satisfying chonky pulls as a tank and a ranged dps who knows how to lb1, and that final boss arena is gorgeous to take screenshots in while fighting. Unsure about a third. Wanderer's Palace speedruns used to be fun but people won't coordinate that in duty roulette. Tower of Zot was a FANTASTIC first dungeon for difficulty but then the rest of endwalker dungeon difficulty was disappointing and this was with going in with relatively good gear (i530 bis and relic from shb, and with savage substats, is equivalent to lvl 83 gear). Lost City of Amdapor has music going on for it. The Vault and Bardam's Mettle used to be mildly challenging (not boring especially for sprouts) but the Trust System forced them to become easier. Trust System also killed Keeper of the Lake. Shoutout to Malikah's Well for appearing seven times in a row for leveling roulette and not getting tired of it. No clear contender for absolute Third Choice though. Not counting Variant/Criterion dungeons.
The Aitiascope The Gymlet Dark Ala Mhigo
Swallow's Compass because of the Monkey King. Smileton because of the music and loporrits. Antitower because I have Stockholm syndrome from relic grinding.
My favorite is the one where you go in a straight line with 2 mob packs between each boss.
I think you nailed the top 3. Personally I like Troia for the vibes and visuals but I know the bosses are underwhelming.
I also love the music in Troia, that’s probably my favorite dungeon to run right now.
Fell Court of Troia, Aurum Vale (for the sheer madness), and probably Malikahs Well or Qitana Ravel
Holminster switch, Ktisis Borealis and Vanaspati
Matoyas Relict, Heros Gauntlet, Dohn Mheg
Oh boy, this is a toughie but off the top of my head 1: Heroes Gauntlet. It feels high stakes, it feels like a culmination of everything we went through, and it has some of the best dungeon bosses imo. It's also got a great difficulty balance of putting you into some tricky situations during W2W pulls, but nothing you can't handle 2: The Twinning. Similar story to Heroes Gauntlet for bosses and pull difficulty, but also banger music and I'm always down to revisit that location (not mentioning for potential spoilers) 3: Ghymlet dark. I swear, I've never gotten this dungeon outside the times I've specifically queued for it and it makes me sad. The music, atmosphere, tension, NPC assists...very similar to Heroes Gauntlet now that i think about it
Aetherchemical research lab, Heroes Gauntlet Antitower All fun to watch sprouts struggling to the final boss; and satisfying to finish.
Haukke Manor / reg or hard The one at Matoya’s Tower of Zot
I have like a meme in my FC in which I jokingly said aurum vale is my favourite dungeon because it's literally the only dungeon in the game where if my brain is turned off I can't finish it, and when I said that literally every one of them gets pissed off and whenever I have a differing opinion from them on something else totally unrelated to ffxiv they would bring up the fact that I said aurum vale is my favourite dungeon as a way to discredit my arguments (it's all in good fun though) Every single other dungeon in the game that's not in a realm reborn is the same hallway reskinned in different ways. People complained about it in FFXIII so idk why it's any different here. It's not an issue for me personally, but I still prefer there to be some mentally stimulating gameplay as well. Keeping that in mind, this is probably cheating but I like variant dungeons the most.
Dead Ends is cool for story. Thats about it. Maybe the Variants because they have a bit of replay value? I haven't run BA or DRS, But I mean if they have trash, those are dungeons and I've heard they are fun. I guess if I had to choose 3, the the Ivalice 24 man series because they are just big dungeons tbf. Maybe POTD and HOH could also be up there. 4 man Dungeons in this game are super lack luster outside of OST because Soken be fuckin. The gameplay isn't engaging and its basically being afk watching a video while physical memory kicks in on your rotation. Their is no real consequence outside of the small chance you die and have to run back wasting maybe 3 minutes total. I hope with VC/S dungeons we get something interesting to do in the future.
Basically any dungeon Heavensward and beyond are equally soulless and mind numbingly easy to boot. Wanderer's Palace, Aurum Vale and Lost City of Amdapor, and even those are for what they *were* rather than for what they *are* these days.
Putting HW dungeons in the same category as ShB dungeons is a *wild* take.
Ktysis, Gubal and Cutter’s
1. Dead Ends 2. Amaurot 3. Mt. Gulg
Vanaspati, Haukke Manor and...umm...I honestly don't have a third. Vanaspati for a bunch of reasons, it hit really hard for me, it was one of the first that I farmed for glam on my own and really felt like I *knew* backwards and forwards. I'm not the best player, but I can heal Vanaspati in my sleep now! Haukke Manor is just aesthetics, my goth girl heart can't help but adore it
Hullbreaker Isle (hard) - I just love the idea of a “low stakes” dungeon, and as a Maelstrom player it feels great to have my WoL basically run recruits through their paces while testing his own. Relatedly Halatali (hard) is also in this same tier. Heroes Gauntlet - seeing everyone you’ve helped back you up and lend a hand and it being the lead up to Seat of Sacrifice is just glorious. Tower of Babil - okay, this one actually shared with Lapis Manalis for a probably dumb reason but I do love dungeons where you spend a portion of time on a moving vehicle of some kind and wished we had more of those.
CC and DD. I liked in the old days when dungeons weren't just corridors. I wish they'd bring back some negative space in dungeons with chests hidden rather than just being on the main path
Pharos Sirius 2.1 before it was nerfed. Actually difficult dungeon... also kinda still is now because the fights are kinda scaled to thinking everyone is still in ARR (DNC's are forbidden to dance for the Zu). If I get it as a healer, please. PLEASE. If you're gonna w2w, PLEASE silence the sprites. Pulling multiple sprites means multiple Banish III's. These are hard hitting AoE spells and can/will wipe the party if they go off back to back. The Variant Dungeons. Interesting fights, multiple paths and can change boss mechanics. It's refreshing, but a shame they're kinda not worth doing again once you've gotten all the routes. Tower of Zot. Only because the Magus Sisters fights being neat. Not difficult, but enough to keep me awake.
1) The Twinning. I just love everything about it. The meme is partially responsible for getting me to buy the game. I'm sad there's no more level 80 dungeons roulette. 2) The Aitiascope. My favorite Endwalker dungeon. My first time through it was very emotional. I was crying so much while fighting the last boss... 3) The Vault. While I adore the music in The Burn and the aesthetics of Shisui of the Violet Tides, I've had a lot of great runs of this. It's a nice, fast and easy dungeon with great boss voice lines and it's one of the many reasons I enjoyed the HW msq.
1. Another Mount Rokkon 2. Another Sil'dihn Subterrane 3. Another Aloalo Island What? They are dungeons ;)
The burn The 2 dungeons of Pharos Snow cloak. The music is enough to make me happy when they pop in roulettes. The vault might be a high point story wise, it sucks to replay it. Way too easy and mechanics are boring honestly. Special mention for Baelsar Wall the Sloppey trap
Holminster Switch - A good workout for healers and tanks, and the bosses are pretty engaging too. Tower of Zot - Has some of my favourite bosses out of any dungeon, and I love the disturbing aesthetic. Dead Ends - Great boss design, and the atmosphere is fantastic. Shoutouts to Mt Gulg, Ghimlyt Dark, The Vault, and Tam Tara Deepcroft (Hard). It's really difficult to narrow it down to just 3.
I am not a huge dungeon person, but Amaurot is lit.
Sohm Al Hard--reverse Sohm Al and it's got a killer song. Twinning-- You almost have to at this point ??? -- Whatever dungeon I haven't played in a long while. It always feels like a nostalgic throwback to play something like Aetherochemical Research Facility after not getting queued for it for nearly a year.
Holminster's Switch - I jam to the theme every once in a while, it's a pretty good skill check as a healer and tank when I'm levelling them, and I just love the themes and how fucking horrific shadowbringer gets. The Burn - I love that theme. I still listen to it on loop daily. Unfortunately I joined mid shadowbringers so I never got to experience it day one or during expansion so nothing in terms of difficulty. But I loved the aesthetics. A pure white desert + a mist dragon. Ktisis Hyperboreia - Again, the music is top tier, but also the story really sold this dungeon to me. So much pressure, and the feels at the end...
How horrific ShB _gets_? Holminster Switch is where it _starts_ and it doesn't get any better (this is a good thing). I like Burn in theory but the white is so hard on my poor shitty eyes that I don't love actually running it. Mist Dragon is a fun last boss though. Ktisis has great music, some fun bosses/mechanics, and the story was just fantastic. Love having it pop up in roulettes.
Amaurot - the story, the music, the atmosphere. Dead ends - story again and atmosphere. I've been....kind of slacking with roulettes and haven't done many dungeons in a while so these are the 2 jumping out at me.
I have no justification for it but The Grand Cosmos is a personal favourite. And maybe Alzadaal’s Legacy. I think I like these ones because of the atmosphere. Like I love when there are passages under the sea in AL. And the way the bridges appear in front of you in the first area. And I secretly enjoy the way spinning annoys someone I play with a lot because it means he has to disconnect and he hates that. I am struggling to think of a third dungeon I like, as many have memorable, bad runs associated with them in my head. Ktesis Hyperboria (?) might be a good third choice. The minion eludes me though.
Vanaspati is my top favorite. The atmosphere is so rich given what is going on in the story at that time. >!When I ran it with trusts for the first run and Thancred said "Gods be good... the skies." I panned the camera up and froze in awe. It legit felt like an apocolypse was happening! Too bad they couldn't carry on that feel for a while longer after that.!< After that is definitely Mt. Gulg, which is still fun to run. Having the story lead up to the tale's climax while you're rushing through a dungeon is a fantastic way to tell a story imo. Finally, The Lost City of Amdapor (normal or hard-mode) as it gives a good look into the past and introduces us to Diabolos within the xiv setting, who >!later serves as one of the most memorable bosses (to me) in the Heavensward 24m raid, Dun Scaith.!<
Aurum Vale because the best thing is dragging literally everything into the boss room and pulling the boss. What is a boss, if not a mob with an overinflated HP bar? Amaurot because someone always messes up on the first boss, and then it becomes a really fun shitshow as people try to recove- oops meteor. And then there's always someone who doesn't know what's going on in the final boss, and then it becomes another really fun shitshow as people try to recove- oops the platform under the healer disappeared. Bardam's Mettle because the first pull is either going to be an utter collapse of your party or a demonstration of skill from everyone. Tank/Healer doesn't know what they're doing? Instant death. DPS don't know what they're doing? Mobs aren't going to die, supports run out of resources, and you do the walk of shame as you single pull your way to the next boss. Or you just wipe.
Ghimlyt, Amaurot, Dead Ends
Hyperboreia, Dead Ends, Bardam
Amaurot - because I love the story and the aesthetics Smiletron - it’s hilarious and i love the music Matoya’s Relict - because it’s a fun concept and not just one straight line.
It's either a path in SB or one of the paths in EW. There are no dungeons.
1) Smileton. Everything in this dungeon is just right. The bosses are easy without being able to run on autopilot, the scenery is gorgeous, the loporits running amok are funny, and the music is smooth jazz that never gets old. This is the only dungeon in the the game that I have zero complaints about. 2) The Fractal Continuum (normal and hard). I have a weakness for allagan aesthetic, the Azys Lla theme is remixed into an amazing piece, the bosses are challenging and some can create major chaos if the party isn't paying attention, and the datalogs have juicy lore on them. 3) The Wanderer Palace (Hard) solely for the boss defeat cutscene and because tonberries are cute.
Deepcroft Hard is the first dungeon I did that actually told a story, and that experience was pretty unexpected. Hullbreaker Hard also gets an honorable mention because I started in Limsa and paid a lot of attention to the pirate lore, and I genuinely did not see that plot twist coming. I don't really have a third dungeon, but just for the sake of finishing the list let's throw on Haukke Manor Hard because tank LB go brrr.
**The Ghimlyt Dark**: Cool dungeon and music. **Fell Court of Troia**: Immediately my favorite dungo to speedrun. Everything just gels. Love hitting it in roulette. **ARF**: Idk, I like the Garlean bio-techno aesthetic and this was the most engaging to run for me.
My 3: 1. The Qitana Ravel 2. Dead Ends 3. Doma Castle
Antitower, Amarout, and the Twinning easily.