The Minstrel's Ballad: Zodiark's Fall
- See also: The Dark Inside
The Minstrel's Ballad: Zodiark's Fall
- Level
- 90
- Item Level
- 560
- Difficulty
- Extreme
- Party size
- Full Party
8 man • 2
2 
4 
- Unsyncing
- Allowed
- Time limit
- 60 minutes
- Roulette
- Trials
- Tomestones
- Req. quest
I Wandered Sharlayan as a Minstrel- Patch
- 6.0
“The account of your triumph over the god of Darkness has prompted the wandering minstrel to once again perform the impossible, by taking an already senses-shattering encounter and exaggerating it to ludicrous extremes. His mellifluous musings transport your mind to that fateful moment, where your terrifying foe awaits, His unfathomable strength surpassing even your wildest imagination...
— In-game description
The Minstrel's Ballad: Zodiark's Fall is a level 90 trial introduced in patch 6.0 with Endwalker.
Guide
Zodiark
It should be noted that unlike other similar fights, most of Zodiark's mechanics require players to react to them and happen at random, meaning there is no set way to mark the fight, players must simply learn the attacks and movement associated with them.
This arena does not have a border, so players can fall (or be knocked) off the edge of the arena and fall to their death.
Phase 1
Abilities:
- Kokytos: The boss opens with this ability. A raidwide AoE, all players will have their HP reduced to one. Group up for AoE healing to get back to full.
- Paradeigma: This attack will spawn various ads that have specific patterns that require players to move to avoid. The first use of this attack will summon four bird-like ads that perform a wide donut attack that overlap. Other ads that can spawn are:
- Behemoths: Spawn in pairs, creating an AoE that covers a quadrant of the arena.
- Snakes: Spawn at the edge of the arena and fire line AoEs that cover one quarter of the arena.
- Styx Requires players to all stack up and take multiple hits of an attack. Players need to stay stacked for all six hits, as each player mitigates the damage.
- Ania A heavy-hitting tankbuster that inflicts a Vulnerability Up, requiring a tankswap.
For now only the birds will spawn, the others will appear later in the fight.
- Exoterikos: The boss will summon two large portals along two of the edges of the arena with a colored shape within. This shape indicates what AoE shape is coming:
- Triangle: A massive cone that reaches to the opposite edge of the arena. Has a purple tether.
- Square: An AoE covers half the arena, requiring players to move to the opposite side of the arena to avoid. Has a pink tether.
- A third variety can fire, a red tether, that can be either of the above mentioned.
These attacks will fire at the same time so players need to quickly determine where to stand to avoid both attacks.
- Algedon: The boss moves to a random corner of the arena and charges across to the opposite corner in a wide AoE. This can knock players off the arena if they are hit by this.
- Phobos: An unavoidable raidwide AoE that inflicts a heavy Bleed on all players.
Strategy: The boss opens the fight with Kokytos, reducing all players HP to one. Players should group up to make healing easier. Shortly after, the boss will cast Paradeigma and summon four bird ads. Players should stick together and group under the same ad, as the boss follows this with Styx, requiring players to stack to mitigate damage. After this, the boss will cast Ania, inflicting a Vulnerability Up and hitting with a tankbuster, requiring a tankswap mid-cast.
Following this, the boss will cast Exoterikos and summon both a triangle and square portal to two edges and fire simultaneously. Players need to move to a safe zone to avoid both attacks. The boss will cast Paradeigma again, this time summoning two birds and two behemoths, while also using Algedon, moving to one of the corners of the arena and preparing to charge across the stage. Players will need to watch where the boss moves to and move to the bird ad that won't be hit by the boss's attack. Finally, the boss will use Phobos, dealing raidwide damage and inflicting Bleed on all players.
Phase 2
Abilities:
The boss will use combinations of the above mentioned abilities, along with some new ones:
- Astral Flow Rotates the stage 90 degrees, along with any mechanics that are physically on the stage.
- Adikia: The boss strikes the stage leaving massive AoEs that slightly overlap in the very center of the arena, rendering the center north and center south of the stage as safe zones.
- Esoteric Pattern: The boss will fire three of the portals while introducing a new one: a green diamond, a line AoE. Two of these green portals will be on either side of the north edge of the arena, with a random pattern in the center of the north edge.
- The boss will also summon ads this phase, four Roiling Darkness orbs that slowly feed power to the boss until its gauge reaches 100.
- Apomnemoneumata: The boss casts this after either the ads are defeated or its gauge reaches 100. If it's the latter, the party wipes.
Strategy:
The boss will cast Paradeigma, summoning two snakes to the edge of the arena, as well as 'Exoterikos. The boss will then use Astral Flow, rotating the platform 90 degrees underneath the platform. This will move the hitbox of the snake's attacks but not the hitbox of the portals. Players need to position themselves in a manner that will allow them to avoid both attacks. After these both resolve, the boss will perform another Ania, requiring a tankswap. Another Paradeigma follows this, then the boss will use Adikia, striking the east and west sides of the arena, leaving the north and south the only safe areas.
After this, the boss will summon four Roiling Darkness ads that must be defeated before the boss's power gauge reaches 100. While players are taking out these ads, the boss will use Esoteric Pattern, firing three random portals while introducing a new portal type: a green diamond that fires a line AoE that covers one fourth of the platform. Determine the safe zone, let the attacks resolve, then return to destroying the ads. If they are destroyed before the gauge reaches 100, the boss will cast Apomnemoneumata, dealing damage requiring mitigation and healing. If the gauge reaches 100, the attack will wipe the party.
Phase 3
Abilities:
- Astral Eclipse: The boss will leave the stage and fly around the arena. For every side it passes, a line will appear on the edge of the arena leading to the sky, where players will see several meteors in a pattern in the sky. The boss will fly around the stage dropping these lines on three sides. Players will be able to look into the sky facing the edge to determine the safe zones of the falling meteors. If players are standing on the edge facing outwards to the meteors, then the bottom edge lines up with the bottom row of tiles on the arena. Each set of meteors will have two safe zones available. Players will have roughly thirteen seconds to determine all the safe zones from the moment the boss starts moving to when the first set of meteors drop. Move accordingly to the safe areas to avoid damage.
Strategy:
Once players move to the safe area for the third set of meteors, they should turn to face the boss to see which order the Triple Esoteric Ray portals spawn. Players need to move immediately after the meteors land to the safe lane of the portals, then once one of them fires, move to that lane to avoid the portals that spawned later.
The boss will perform another Paradeigma, spawning two behemoths and two snakes, as well as a line AoE that stretches from one corner diagonally to the other corner. When the boss uses Astral Flow, this line will turn to a fire line AoE that will cover a quadrant in fire and damage anyone who touches it. After these attacks resolve, the boss will use another Ania requiring a tankswap, then another random Exoterikos and Algedon at the same time.
Once again, the boss will cast Paradeigma, this time summoning four birds, two snakes and a fire line AoE. The boss will also cast Astral Flow With the bar, only two of the birds hitboxes will be safe. Players should determine which hitbox is safe. Once the attacks resolve, players need to group up for another cast of Styx, which hits seven times this cast. The boss will cast Exoterikos and summon three more random portals, then use Adikia.
Phase 4
The boss will use another Astral Eclipse, then after the meteors land, will move to a corner and use Algedon, so players should move to the safe zone on either side. After returning to the arena, the boss will use another Ania, requiring another tankswap. This will lead into another combination of Paradeigma, a random Exoterikos and Astral Flow. The boss will summon two snakes and a fire line. With Astral Flow these will move, but not the Exoterikos. Finally, the boss will use the skill Phlegethon, marking three AoEs under each player. Players should move together, avoiding AoEs, then stack for another Styx, which will hit eight times.
The boss will use an Exoterikos and Esoteric Rays at the same time. Players will need to identify what ray(s) spawn first, then determine the safe zone from the individual Exoterikos. This will be followed by another Paradeigma Exoterikos Astral Flow combo, his time with two birds, two behemoths and a fire line. This will leave only one safe zone. Finally the boss will use Phobos, a raidwide hit with a strong Bleed debuff. This will send the boss into its final attack phase which ends in an enrage.
The boss's final attack pattern is three Exoterikos and an Algedon, then Styx with nine hits, requiring a group up, a random Paradeigma, followed by another Styx, then the boss will enrage. Players will need to defeat the boss before this final cast goes off, or the party will be wiped.
Loot
- Each player will receive 1
Astral Totem per kill. Collect 5 totems to exchange for accessories at Nesvaaz in Radz-at-Han (X:10.6 Y:10.0). 
Zodiark Card (Drops at a fixed rate.)
Treasure Coffer
