Final Fantasy XIV’s release of Patch 6.35 today brings plenty of new exciting content for players to immerse themselves in once again, including an all-new Deep Dungeon challenge called Eureka Orthos and all the quests and unique rewards that come with it. As we know just how daunting deep dungeons can be, from figuring out how to start one and especially how to complete one, we’ve compiled a strategy to help get you on your way. Here is our guide for how to unlock the Eureka Orthos Deep Dungeon in Final Fantasy XIV.
As veteran players will recall, Eureka is a place that has been a focal point in a number of sidequest lines in FFXIV; mainly the special instanced area introduced in the Stormblood expansion that massively expanded on the relic weapon grind and remains an ever-popular area within the game. This time however, Eureka will be taking us into the dangerous depths of a deep dungeon.
What is a Deep Dungeon?
Deep Dungeons are a “roguelite” game mode that was first added to FFXIV during the Heavensward expansion. Essentially it is an instanced, multi-floor dungeon with its own leveling system, where each floor is procedurally generated and laid out in a grid-like fashion.
Up to a group of 4 players (either pre-fixed or via random queue at the respective NPC; we highly recommend the first option) traverse each floor, killing mobs of enemies and leveling up as they go using special “aetherpool weapons” that also level up separately. They are indicated by their aetherpool level which maxes out at 99, and these weapons can only be used within the deep dungeon.
The first deep dungeon introduced to the game in the Heavensward expansion is called the Palace of the Dead, and is comprised of 200 floors. This one is accessible at the Quarry Mill in the South Shroud area via an NPC named the Wood Wailer Expeditionary Captain. The second deep dungeon, called Heaven-on-High, was released in the follow-up Stormblood expansion and it contains 100 floors. This one is accessible at Onokoro in the Ruby Sea area, also via an NPC named Kyusei. The third, new deep dungeon Eureka Orthos contains 100 floors and is accessible in Mor Dhona via the NPC indicated below.
Note that both deep dungeons can only be accessed via these NPCs at their respective locations — they cannot be found in the Duty or Raid Finder. Also note that as with all new instanced content in FFXIV, there are pre-requisite quests that must be completed in order to access these dungeons.
How to Unlock the Eureka Orthos Deep Dungeon
In order to unlock the Eureka Orthos deep dungeon you must complete a few pre-requisites. First and foremost, you are required to unlock the Palace of the Dead deep dungeon in the South Shroud and reach up to Floor 50 inside the dungeon. You are NOT required to do this for the Heaven-on-High deep dungeon.
You also must complete the Main Scenario Quest “Endwalker”, and have at least one combat class at Level 81 or higher. After these pre-requisites are complete, the first quest towards unlocking Eureka Orthos will become available.
Travel to Mor Dhona and speak with the Miqote NPC named Koh Rabntuh to start a quest called “Delve Into Myth”. Upon completing this quest, the Eureka Orthos deep dungeon will officially unlock.
How to Enter Eureka Orthos
To access the Eureka Orthos deep dungeon, go and talk to a green-haired Au’Ra NPC named Khatun. Bear in mind that when preparing to enter, all 4 members of your party must be present in the Mor Dhona area, and only the party leader may queue the instance.
Once inside, your character will start at Level 81 regardless of your class or level outside of the instance. This is specificially your Eureka Orthos level and does not pertain to your level elsewhere in the game.
You will be equipped with an Orthos aetherpool weapon and armor (also specific to the dungeon), and you must level the aetherpool of your gear as high as possible via special chest rewards opened at random on the dungeon floors. The maximum aetherpool level is 99, and this ensures your weapons and armor are powerful enough to handle the toughest mobs and bosses within the dungeon.
As with the Heaven-on-High deep dungeon, once you reach Floor 30 in Eureka Orthos and complete the follow-up quest “Rage Extinguished”, you will be able to re-enter the dungeon from either Floor 1 or Floor 21 upon starting a new Eureka Orthos save file. Note that your loot inventory respective to the dungeon will be cleared along with your protomander inventory, meaning you start over from scratch in that regard. Also, if your party is KO’d while in the dungeon, you will be forced to start again from either Floor 1 or Floor 21.
Floor 30 onwards is considered an optional challenge for players, and thus you can only enter via a pre-fixed party. In order to effectively conquer the entire dungeon, you have to make use of protomanders (“pomanders” in previous deep dungeons), which combat negative changes to the floor’s environment and positive stat changes to party members. Proficient management of these will make your journey through the dungeon significantly easier, allowing you to collect as many secret Accursed Hoard chests as possible, and help you reach that elusive final floor.
Note that one final quest called “Orthos Unveiled” will be available from Koh Rabntuh upon completing all 100 Floors of Eureka Orthos. Be sure to drop by there after celebrating your victory.
That concludes our guide for how to unlock the Eureka Orthos Deep Dungeon in Final Fantasy XIV. We hope that you found it useful and be sure to let us know your thoughts on the new content so far.
Be sure to check out our other guides for all things Final Fantasy XIV.
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