The Minstrel's Ballad: Zodiark's Fall
This article is about the level 90 challenge-mode trial. For the story-mode Main Scenario trial, see The Dark Inside.
The Minstrel's Ballad: Zodiark's Fall
- Level
- 90 (Sync: 90)
- Item Level
- 560
- Difficulty
- Extreme
- Party size
- Full Party
8 man • 2
2 
4 
- Unsyncing
- Allowed
- Time limit
- 60 minutes
- Duty Finder
- High-end Trials (Endwalker)
- Roulette
- Mentor
- Tomestones
15 - Req. quest
I Wandered Sharlayan as a Minstrel- Location
- The Dark Inside
- Region
- The Sea of Stars
- Stone, Sky, Sea
- Available
- Patch
- 6.0
The Echo- On wipe: +5% (max +25%)
“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
Eternal Darkness: Zodiark
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.
However, the entire fight (apart from the Ania tank swap) can be done with the party stacked on top of one another, so one way to solve the fight is for everybody to follow a marked experienced player through the mechanics.
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 stationary adds that have specific patterns that require players to move to avoid. Can summon one or two of the following:
- 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.
- Quetzalcoatl: Bird-like adds in the corners of the arena that cast a donut AoE, with the only safe zones being on the small purple rune under each bird. Spawns in either all 4 corners, or 2 corners with the other 2 being Behemoths.
- 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. Note that this tankbuster hits in a small AoE around the target, so the tank needs to be away from the group for this ability.
- Exoterikos: The boss will fire a colored beam at one, two, or three sides of the edges of the arena, spawning a large rune with a colored shape within. The shape of the rune, as well as the color of the rune and tether, indicates what AoE shape is coming:
- Triangle: A massive cone that reaches to the corners of the opposite side of the arena. The rune and tether are both purple.
- Square: An AoE covers half the arena, requiring players to move to the opposite side of the arena to avoid. The tether is pink, and the rune is pink with a blue circle around it.
- 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.
- Astral Flow: Rotates the stage 90 degrees in the direction indicated by the floating arrows around the arena. This will also rotate any adds that are up from Paradeigma, but will not rotate the floating runes from Exoterikos.
- Adikia: The boss strikes the center of the east and west sides of the stage with massive untelegraphed circular AoEs that slightly overlap in the very center of the arena. There is a small curved-triangle safe zone at the center of the north and south edges of the arena.
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 adds. Players should stick together and group under the same add, 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, summoning a triangle on one of the two walls, then either a triangle or square on the front edge, which then fire simultaneously. Safe zone will be either in the back quadrant next to the triangle, if a square was summoned in the front, or the front corner on that side if two triangles were spawned. 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 add that won't be hit by the boss's attack. Note that the diagonal slash goes through roughly half of the bird's safe area, so stand on the side of the bird's rune nearer that corner of the arena. Next, the boss will use Phobos, dealing raidwide damage and inflicting Bleed on all players.
The boss will now start using abilities in combination. The next cast will be Paradeigma with 2 snake adds on one edge of the arena, plus a Exoterikos triangle or square on either the east or west side of the arena, plus a rotation of the arena via Astral Flow. Identify a column or row that will be safe from the snakes after the rotation and that is safe from the Exoterikos rune. Note that the snake lines will rotate, but the Exoterikos rune will not. This will be followed up be a Ania tankbuster.
The next combination is Adikia, plus a Paradeigma again summoning snakes, exclusively on either the east or west side of the arena. Identify which row of the arena will be safe and stand in the safe area for Adikia in that row (recommend the northern safe area, under the boss). After this, the boss will transition to phase 2.
Phase 2
The boss will summon 4 floating Roiling Darkness orbs that slowly feed power to the boss until its gauge reaches 100. These orbs must be defeated before the boss reaches 100 energy or the group will wipe. During this, the boss will cast Esoteric Pattern, causing AoE runes in each of the following 3 patterns, in a random order:
- A purple Exoterikos triangle rune at the front center, along with two green Esoteric Ray runes, which fires a column laser, on either side of it. The safe zone is a triangle on either side of the purple triangle rune.
- A green Esoteric Ray rune in the front center, with two purple Exoterikos triangles on either side of it. The safe area is similar to above, except on either side of the triangle runes on the sides.
- A pink Exoterikos square rune in the front center, along with two green Esoteric Ray runes on either side. The safe area is the middle third of the south half of the platform.
The boss will cast Apomnemoneumata after either the adds are defeated or its gauge reaches 100. This will deal heavy damage if the boss has less than 100 energy, and will instantly kill the group if the gauge has reached 100.
Phase 3
The boss will cast Astral Eclipse, leaving the stage and flying around the arena. As it passes each of the other 3 sides of the arena, a line will appear from the center of the arena leading to the sky off that side of the arena, where players will see several stars in a pattern in the sky. This pattern of stars indicates where the AoE circles will occur on the arena, starting from the pattern off the west edge and moving counter-clockwise. The arena is broken up into a 3x3 grid, and each pattern of stars will have 2 of the 9 grid spots safe.
Note that the star pattern can be a bit counter-intuitive to some players. The lower edge of the start pattern aligns with the edge of the arena nearer to that pattern in the sky. This can be thought of as if you are looking at the pattern of AoEs from below, or as if the star pattern is on the screen of a laptop, which is then rotated down onto the platform. For example, if you are in on the platform looking west at the pattern of stars and see this:
* * * * * * *
Then the safe zones will be the middle of the west side of the platform (nearest that star pattern) and the south-east corner. 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. Note that unlike the normal mode of this fight, the meteors have no telegraph at all, drop faster, and have a larger AoE that entirely covers their grid square plus a bit beyond, so aim for the center of each of the grid spots to ensure you do not get hit.
As the last meteor is landing, the boss will also be casting Triple Esoteric Ray. Players will need to move immediately to the safe zone for the lasers (either the center or the east/west thirds of the platform) after the third meteor, then back to where the first laser fired to dodge the second blast. The boss will then transition into Phase 4.
Phase 4
Starting in this phase, the platform rotations via Astral Flow will introduce a new element. A fire wall will spawn along one of the two diagonals of the platform, and will rotate with the platform. Any player standing in the hourglass-shaped path of this flame wall will take extreme damage and, if they survive, be left with a vulnerability stack.
At the start of this phase, boss will perform another Paradeigma, spawning two behemoths and two birds, as well as the above mentioned flame wall, then rotate the room via Astral Flow. The safe zone will be where the birds will rotate to, in the half of their rune that will not be hit by the flame wall's rotation.
After these attacks resolve, the boss will use another Ania requiring a tank swap, then another pink Exoterikos square on one of the two sides of the arena, plus Algedon at the same time, forcing the group into one corner on the safe side of the arena.
The next Paradeigma cast will summon four birds in the corners, plus two snakes on one edge of the arena, as well as the fire line AoE and Astral Flow rotation. This will leave only a small section of each of the 4 bird runes safe, as the players will need to avoid the flame wall and the snake AoEs within the bird runes, accounting for the arena rotation. As this attack resolves, the group will need to group up for another cast of Styx, which hits seven times this cast. The boss will cast Triple Exoterikos, summoning either a purple triangle or pink square portal on each of the two sides and the rear of the arena, which will fire off in sequence. Immediately after this resolves, the boss will cast Adikia, requiring the group to move to the north or south safe zone.
The boss will move into another Astral Eclipse phase, which behavies identically to the first one. However, instead of lasers at the end of this phase, the boss will move to a corner and use Algedon, so players should move to the safe zone on either side. Players will have enough time after the third meteor to traverse from one corner of the arena to and adjacent corner if they use sprint. The boss will use another Ania tankbuster, requiring another tank swap. Next, the boss will cast Paradeigma with snakes on one side of the arena, a random Exoterikos rune on the east or west side of the arena, and then the fire wall and rotation via Astral Flow. Note that while the fire wall and snakes will rotate, the Exoterikos rune will not. Immediately as this resolves, the boss will use Phlegethon, marking a sequence of three circular AoEs under each player in succession. Players should move together, avoiding AoEs, then stack for another Styx, which will hit eight times.
The boss will place an Exoterikos triangle or square rune on either the east or west side of the arena, followed by the 3 Esoteric Rays at the front. This will be followed by another Paradeigma, summoning 2 birds and 2 behemoths, plus an Exoterikos triangle or square on the back side of the arena, plus the firewall and rotation via Astral Flow. As with last time, the Exoterikos will not rotate, leaving only a single safe zone. Finally the boss will use Phobos again, inflicting heavy raidwide damage and applying 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 runes, on the sides and back walls, in succession, followed by an Algedon diagonal swipe. The boss will then cast Styx with nine hits, requiring the group to stack up for heavy healing. A Paradeigma with 4 birds, a Exoterikos rune on the back wall, and the fire wall and rotation from Astral Flow, followed by another Styx, rounds out the mechanics. After this, the boss will enrage with a long cast of Apomnemoneumata. Players will need to defeat the boss before this final cast goes off, or the party will be wiped.
Loot
- See also: Eternal Dark Accessories
- Each player will receive 1
Astral Totem per kill. Collect 5 totems to exchange for accessories or 99 for a 
Lynx of Eternal Darkness Flute at Nesvaaz in Radz-at-Han (X:10.6 Y:10.0). - 15 Allagan Tomestone of Poetics
Zodiark Card (Drops at a fixed rate.)
Treasure Coffer
Achievements
This duty is associated with the following achievements:
| Name | Points | Task | Reward | Patch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Darkness Falls
|
10 | Defeat Zodiark in the Minstrel's Ballad: Zodiark's Fall. | - | 6.0 |
