One Japanese FFXIV player has pulled off a rather astonishing feat, clearing one of the hardest solo challenges in the critically acclaimed MMORPG – with an extra tough twist on top. If you’ve played Final Fantasy XIV, you might have encountered its Deep Dungeon system. They’re easily missable, but these giant, roguelike dungeons are considered some of the most exciting and demanding challenge modes the multiplayer game has to offer.
The Deep Dungeon in question, named Heaven on High, features 100 floors packed with extremely tough enemies and bosses. Players entering start at character level 61 (separate from their main game progression) and have to grind their way up as they progress through the floors – but death means the end of your run, forcing you to reset from floor one.
It’s a challenge designed to be completed with up to four players, but some of the most dedicated players have managed to beat it solo – a challenge that often takes between six to eight hours for a single attempt. A successful solo clear in either of the Deep Dungeons – Heaven on High or its predecessor Palace of the Dead – earns you a rare title, considered two of the most prestigious titles amongst the MMO’s community for the dedication and skill required to pull the challenge off.
User Fania Eckert takes it one step further, however. Not content with merely tackling Heaven on High with no allies by their side, they decided to undertake the challenge using each of the game’s nine base classes. Simply put, when you start out as a level 1 player in FFXIV, you begin your journey as a ‘class’ such as the Gladiator or Thaumaturge. At level 30, each class evolves into its respective ‘job’ – the Paladin and Black Mage, for the examples given previously. This is largely a holdover from an old system that was phased out; modern FFXIV jobs such as Endwalker’s Sage and Reaper don’t have a base class.
However, choosing to use the base classes rather than their job forms means that Fania misses out on several crucial skills that are specific to the secondary form. What it means in this instance is that they’re essentially handicapping themselves even further, on top of the already-ludicrous challenge of tackling the Deep Dungeons solo. Nevertheless, they have managed to successfully clear the challenge on all nine of the original FFXIV classes.
Users on the FFXIV Reddit responded to the achievement with plenty of awe. One explains, “On melee classes especially, this requires some masterful spinning of enemies to prevent them from auto-attacking or using abilities. Doing that for 10+ minutes is extremely tough.” Others comment that they struggle to come close even with a team, with one comment remarking, “I can’t even get a crew to beat floor 71.”
While the upcoming FFXIV patch 6.25 isn’t expected to feature a new Deep Dungeon, it will introduce a new Criterion Dungeon system previously detailed in FFXIV Live Letter 72. If you fancy turning the Final Fantasy MMO into one of the best farming games this year, check out our FFXIV Island Sanctuary guide for everything you need to know to get started.
