Conquering Nidhogg: Your Guide to Final Steps of Faith in FFXIV

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Unlocking The Final Steps Of Faith

Nidhogg Fight Guide

The Final Steps of Faith is a level 60 trial in Final Fantasy 14, serving as the peak of the post-Heavensward main story quest (MSQ) and concluding the Dragonsong War storyline. After gaining Hraesvelgr’s favor in Sorh Khai, you’re fully prepared to face Nidhogg in the ultimate showdown.

Nidhogg, taking control of the Azure Dragoon’s body, confronts you at the Steps of Faith. Here, we’ll outline everything you need to know for this battle, including strategies for managing Nidhogg’s unique attack patterns.

Unlocking The Final Steps Of Faith

This trial becomes available through the post-Heavensward MSQ introduced in Patch 3.3. You can access it during the quest titled ‘An End to the Song’, but you’ll need to have an item level of 205 to join.

Nidhogg Fight Guide

Nidhogg ready to battle at the Steps of Faith in Final Fantasy 14.

This encounter is broken into four phases, each featuring different mechanics that are important to know.

Phase 1

In the first phase, expect the following attacks and mechanics from Nidhogg.

Attack Name	Type	Details
Deafening Bellow	Roomwide AoE ADVERTISEMENT	Causes unavoidable damage to the entire group. Utilize AoE healing to recover.
Horrid Roar	Circle AoEs	Lines will appear beneath random players that quickly expand into circular zones that inflict damage. Move away when the line shows up.
Hot Wing	Line AoEs	Deals damage on both sides of Nidhogg in two large line AoEs. Stay in the center area to avoid these attacks.
The Scarlet Whisper	Conal AoE	Delivers untelegraphed damage in a cone in front of the boss. The Tank should angle Nidhogg away from the party.
Cauterize	Line AoE	Nidhogg will become untargetable, fly away, and create Horrid Roar AoEs on several players. Next, he will begin a line AoE down the center of the arena. Dodge the Horrid Roar, then move aside to avoid Cauterize. Nidhogg will land, dealing damage in that area before the fight continues.

When Nidhogg reaches about 70% health, he will disappear and summon three enemies marking the beginning of the next phase.

Phase 2

This phase introduces three enemies: a Shadow Brobinyak, Shadow Dragon, and Shadow Falak. The Shadow Dragon cannot be tanked and will move unpredictably, using a sweep attack that applies a Damage Down debuff. Make the Shadow Dragon your top priority while each Tank manages one of the other two adds away from each other.

Watch out for the Shadow Brobinyak and Shadow Falak, as both have breath attacks that target their front. Be mindful not to position yourself in front of these enemies when engaging.

Defeat the Shadow Dragon first, followed by the Brobinyak and Falak. After eliminating all three, Nidhogg will use Final Chorus, dealing damage to the party and moving you into phase three.

Phase 3

During this phase, Nidhogg will take on the form of Estinien and utilize a different set of attacks, as outlined below.

Attack Name	Type	Details
Ala Morn	Tankbuster	Deals high damage to the main Tank. Use defensive cooldowns to mitigate damage from this attack.
Geirskogul	Line AoE	Causes damage in a line AoE. Simply step out of the AoE marking to avoid damage.
High Jump	AoE Markers	Targets several players with AoEs that create puddles on the ground dealing continuous damage. Spread out to prevent overlapping damage.
Super Jump	Proximity AoE	Targets a section of the arena with a proximity AoE that inflicts greater damage the closer one is to it. Relocate to the far side of the arena.
Geirskogul	Line AoEs	While executing Super Jump, Nidhogg will hit several players with Geirskogul line AoEs. Ensure you avoid both the proximity and line AoEs while moving.

Nidhogg will continue using these attacks until his health is around 30%. He will then jump away and unleash Bloodrage, damaging the entire party before transitioning into the fourth and final phase.

Phase 4

This phase begins with Nidhogg simultaneously casting Horrid Roar and Cauterize. Avoid the circle AoEs and sidestep out of Cauterize’s range before re-engaging Nidhogg.

In this phase, Nidhogg will repeat attacks from the first phase but will introduce new mechanics as well.

Attack Name	Type	Details
Akh Morn	Continuous Stack Marker	Targets one player with a continuous stack marker. Group together with the affected player while Nidhogg bombards the vicinity with damage. Healers should maintain healing throughout this attack.
Flame Blast	Line AoEs	Nidhogg will create several flame orbs that explode into cross-shaped line AoEs after a short duration. Position yourself diagonally to avoid these orbs.
Hot Tail	Line AoE	This attack follows immediately after Hot Wing, dealing damage with a line AoE down Nidhogg’s center, replacing the previous safe area. Once Hot Wing resolves, steer to one side to dodge Hot Tail.

Nidhogg will repeat these mechanics until he is defeated. This final confrontation is relatively quick, but you must pay special attention to Akh Morn, as insufficient healing or grouping can easily lead to a wipe.