Everkeep Trial Guide
Welcome to our guide to Everkeep, the second trial of Dawntrail. This guide aims to prepare players for the encounter so they will know what to expect, with simple mechanic instructions and notes on what to watch out for.
Introduction
Known as the Resilient Son for the miracle of his birth, the First Promise Zoraal Ja was driven solely by the desire to prove his worth. So it was that he had embarked upon the path of conquest, but it led him nowhere save to an empty summit. Having failed to win the throne and surpass his father, he remains consumed by his obsession and has devoured the souls of his own people in a bid to achieve his ends. For the sake of not only Tuliyollal, but the entire star, you must put an end to the struggle of this tormented man.
Unlock Requirements
Everkeep can be unlocked at level 99 during the main scenario quest "The Resilient Son." It is the second trial players will encounter in Dawntrail and is located in Heritage Found. Players above Level 100 will be level synced to Level 100 when entering.
Zoraal Ja Trial Guide
Phase One
In phase one, you fight Zoraal Ja in his normal form. The arena is surrounded by a blue zone that gives a DoT if players run in or are knocked back into it.
Mechanics
Zoraal Ja uses the following mechanics in phase one:
- Soul Overflow: Raid-wide magical damage. Zoraal Ja gains one stack of a damage up buff.
- Double-edged Swords: Cleaves one half of the arena, and then the other half.
- Patricidal Pique: Magical tank buster.
- Calamity's Edge: Raid-wide magical damage. The circles on the ground explode in a point-blank AoE.
- Vorpal Trail: Swords from the outside fan in with line AoEs, meet in the middle, and then fan out.
Strategy
While Zoraal Ja's first phase isn't too complicated, there is one pattern that might prove dangerous. Vorpal Trail combined with Double-edged Swords requires all players to move out when the swords reach the middle, move back in after they fan out, then dodge into the safe side.
After the second set of Vorpal Trail swords, Zoraal Ja will jump and cast Soul Overflow, beginning the transition to phase two.
Phase Two
In phase two, you fight Zoraal Ja in his ultimate form. In the distorted world, players can fall off the arena.
Mechanics
- Smiting Circuit: Zoraal Ja will ready his blades. If they spawn inside his hitbox, it will be a point-blank AoE. If they spawn outside, it will be a donut AoE.
- Dawn of an Age: Massive raid-wide magic damage. Zoraal Ja ushers the world to a distorted dawn, changing the arena to a platform with four other inaccessible platforms surrounding it.
- Vollok: Summons swords on the arena that do a square AoE on half the arena. These swords can spawn on other platforms as well.
- Bitter Reaping: Magical tank buster on both tanks.
- Sync: Swords that spawn on other platforms will hit the main platform in the same pattern they spawned on the other platform.
- Gateway: Summons blue lines that connect the platform's rows and columns diagonally.
- Blade Sync: Summons blades on other platforms that move across the arena. If they meet a blue line, they'll move through them to other rows and columns.
- Forged Track: Sends the blades flying.
- Actualize: Massive raid-wide magic damage. Returns the arena to normal.
- Half Full: Zoraal Ja cleaves half of the arena depending on which side his blade is raised.
- Half Circuit: Combines Smiting Circuit and Half Full. All players will receive a marked AoE between two instances of the cast.
- Duty's Edge: A multi-hit line stack marker.
Strategy
The main mechanic in this phase comes from Sync in the distorted world. Zoraal Ja will summon swords on the four surrounding platforms that are synced to the main platform. For example, in the image shown above, those swords would hit the main platform exactly in that configuration. Transpose the AoE from the other platforms onto the main platform to dodge the AoEs.
Bladesync is the other version of the mechanic. You'll notice that the platform is divided into sixteen squares of four rows and four columns. When the blades launch with Forged Track, they'll travel down the path and meet the blue lines. They'll follow that path onto the main platform, so adjust your positioning based on where the blades end up.
Changelog
- 30 Jun. 2024: Guide updated.
- 28 Jun. 2024: Page added.
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This guide has been written by Lyra an accomplished raider in FFXIV and has written raid guides for the game for the past five years. You can follow him on Twitter and he streams raids on Twitch.
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