Back in the Realm Reborn and Crystal Tower Alliance days, The Cloud of Darkness might have been considered fearsome in Final Fantasy 14. But time and the MMORPG have moved on. Now, when Crystal Tower comes up in the random roulette, you’re more likely to let out a sigh than a shriek – you still get level capped, but gear doesn’t scale down properly for the old alliance raids, and in the era of Dawntrail, they feel like more of a chore. But that’s all about the change. The new Final Fantasy 14 chaotic alliance raid is finally here, and with it a fresh 24-player challenge that makes The Cloud of Darkness formidable again. Ditch Diablo 4. Let go of Last Epoch. Park Path of Exile 2. This is the challenge to beat.
When Final Fantasy 14 7.1 was first unveiled, director Naoki Yoshida, better known as ‘Yoshi-P,’ explained that the chaotic alliance raid might accidentally be harder than the MMORPG’s creators originally intended. “We wanted to have sort of an extreme feel,” Yoshi-P said, “but then the developer Mr Ozma said, ‘oopsie, it turned a bit more into a savage than an extreme.’” With that, The Cloud of Darkness is back for another round, and if you don’t lean into Final Fantasy 14’s new 24-player configuration, the chaotic alliance raid is likely to overwhelm you.
Ditching the usual progression of an alliance raid, this is just a single fight, mandating the eight-person raid composition: two tanks, two healers, and four players on DPS, separated into three parties. Likely, tanks are going to have a lot more to deal with here, like separating enemies and substituting for one another when it comes to taking aggro mid fight. Premade alliance parties can tackle the raid with as few as 12 players, but that’s probably something to try out later, once you’ve bested it with a full complement.
As for rewards, you get two mounts, one of which transforms you into the Cloud of Darkness itself, level 730 gear, minions, and – if you’re lucky – tradeable reward tokens. You also get a bonus for every player who’s completing the chaotic alliance raid for the first time, so your initial clearance should yield a large 24 bonuses. If you’re feeling bold, have at it. The Final Fantasy 14 chaotic alliance raid is live today, Tuesday December 24.
With an influx of players likely logging on, check out the latest FF14 server status. You should also track down all the Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail Aether Current locations while you have the chance.
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