The third dungeon in Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker is definitely one that sets a tone, establishing that this is the beginning of the Final Days. Vanaspati is the name of the mighty jungle of Thavnair, and your first visit there isn’t for a hunt. Instead, the forest is burning and the people of Radz-at-Han are becoming abominations.
Vanaspati is a dungeon that recalls Holminister Switch, a normal location that’s undergoing a dramatic catastrophe in real-time as you make your way through it. The Warrior of Light tries to save the world, but you can’t save everyone.
Be warned that dungeon guides contain spoilers. If you prefer to preserve the surprise of dungeons for yourself, give them a try first before referring to a guide. Then, come back here for some help if you have trouble!
First Mob Pull
The twist of running Vanaspati is that you’ll frequently run into citizens who will morph into deadly beasts. Take your first pull. While you’ll focus on the immediate threat of the Terminus Trampler, you might miss that the two soldiers will morph into Terminus Shrivers. They’re not hard to deal with, but tanks should take notice.
Tanks should also be cognizant of the Terminus Idolizer’s cone AoE attack. Face them away from the rest of the party.
First Boss: Terminus Snatcher
Time to tackle our first boss in this odd dungeon. Like many first dungeon bosses, it’s largely a straightforward encounter, though the Snatcher does have one mechanic that might trip up players. You’ll fight the Snatcher in a circular arena.
- Note of Despair: The first attack is a party-wide AoE you simply need to heal through.
- Mouth Off: The boss moves to the center of the arena and places six mouths in a circular pattern around the arena. Some mouths say, “Such… pain…” while others are silent. The talking mouths will eventually explode in large circular AoEs, so you want to quickly use the silent mouths to find the safe spots.
- Last Gasp: The single-target tankbuster. Tanks: use one of your cooldowns for this.
- What is Left: The boss rears back its left arm. When the cast ends, it will attack the entire left side of the arena. This will usually be combined with Mouth Off, so be prepared. There’s an alternate version called What is Right that does the same thing but reversed.
- Lost Hope: This, combined with Mouth Off, is likely what will get players killed. Lost Hope debuffs the entire party with Temporary Misdirection. Players may have previously seen this mechanic in raids like Omega and Rabanastre. You’ll see a spinning pointing hand above your head. Whenever you move, the hand will stop spinning and you’ll only be able to move in that direction. Time your movements in order to avoid Mouth Off. There’s no real trick to it; you simply have to learn the timing.
- Wallow: This puts circular AoE markers on every party member. Spread out to avoid stacking damage. This will usually be combined with What Is Left/What Is Right.
Mastering Mouth Off and Lost Hope mechanics is most of the fight here. Once you have a lock on them, the Snatcher is an easy foe to dispatch.
Second Mob Pull
In this group of pulls, you’ll first lookout for the Terminus Sprinter, which attacks with a long line AoE at a random target. Later, you’ll run into a mother Matanga and her children. The mother will transform first, but be mindful because the children will soon follow. This group of enemies will hit slightly harder than the rest, so be prepared.
Second Boss: Terminus Wrecker
Some monsters just want to get in there and wreck shit. That’s where the Wrecker comes in. You’ll fight the Wrecker in another circular arena — though this time, the edges of the arena are on fire. Don’t walk into the fire, or you’ll start burning and take a vulnerability debuff.
- Meaningless Destruction: A party-wide AoE you need to heal through. It also is the first attack that sets the edge of the arena on fire.
- Unholy Water: This action is the key to this fight. When cast, the boss will summon six water orbs around the arena. Standing in an orb will lock you in place temporarily.
- Aether Siphon: A prelude to one of two attacks. The boss will either draw water or fire into itself.
- Aether Spray: This attack comes in two versions, based on what happens during Aether Siphon. Check below to see what each version does.
- Aether Spray – Water: This version deals damage and pushes the party outwards from the center of the arena. You want to stack near the center because otherwise you’ll get pushed into the fire. Make sure you position yourself so that when you’re pushed out, you’re not pushed into a water orb.
- Aether Spray – Fire: This version is a circle AoE covering the entire arena. For this one, you want to touch the water orbs, which will protect you against the fire.
- Total Wreck: The single-target tankbuster. Use your cooldowns, tanks.
- Poison Heart: A standard stack marker. Stack up to share the damage.
Once again, this fight comes down to a key mechanic. In this case, you need to focus on both versions of Aether Spray and keep an eye on what the boss is doing during Aether Siphon.
Third Mob Pull
In the final leg of Vanaspati, watch out for the Terminus Twitcher. This crow-like demon will use a Glare-style attack called Double Hex Eye. Make sure to face away to dodge it.
Third Boss: Svarbhanu
This monster is the first major Blasphemy, a category of monster that harkens to the Final Days. Svarbhanu takes its name from an Asura involved with solar eclipses in Hindu mythology. You’ll fight the boss in a square arena.
- Flames of Decay: A party-wide AoE you need to heal through.
- Aetherial Disruption: When the boss begins to cast this, the arena will be split into four parallel lanes — two marked with a red circle and the other two marked with a blue triangle. One of these symbols will also appear overlaid on your screen. The lanes with this same marker will explode once the cast is done. Later, this will be combined with another attack called…
- Cosmic Kiss: A push marker radiating outward from the boss. It will eventually deal a bit of damage and knock you back. The twist is that it’s combined with Aetherial Disruption, so you need to position yourself so you don’t get knocked back into an exploding lane.
- Crumbling Sky: This puts circular AoE markers on every party member. Spread out to avoid stacking damage.
- Gnashing of Teeth: The single-target tankbuster. Use your cooldowns, tanks.
Enhanced Crumbling Sky Phase
At some point, the boss will move to one edge of the arena and cast Crumbling Sky again. This time, you’ll enter a slightly different phase of the fight. The boss will fly away and summon larger meteors. There are four lanes the meteors can appear in and three meteors — meaning there’s only one safe zone.
Right after the meteors hit, the area will be slammed by random circle AoEs of Crumbling Sky. This one-two punch happens three times. After the third time, the boss will return to the arena and resume standard combat.
Aetherial Disruption and the pushback of Cosmic Kiss are the main things you should worry about, outside of the additional phase where you need to dodge incoming damage. If you can survive all that, you’ll triumph over the doom that floats through burning skies.
Another dungeon down and the Scions step closer to finding out how to save the world. But you can’t save the world if you can’t do your job. If you’re curious about how to play the new Sage or Reaper in Endwalker, check out our guides for those Jobs as well as the expansion’s aether currents, dungeons, and trials.
If you’re looking for other dungeon or trial guides, you’ll find the links to those below:
- FFXIV Endwalker Dungeon Guide: Tower of Zot
- FFXIV Endwalker Dungeon Guide: Tower of Babil
- FFXIV Endwalker Trial Guide: The Dark Inside
- FFXIV Endwalker Dungeon Guide: Ktisis Hyperborea
- FFXIV Endwalker Dungeon Guide: The Aitiascope
- FFXIV Endwalker Trial Guide: The Mothercrystal
- FFXIV Endwalker Dungeon Guide: The Dead Ends
- FFXIV Endwalker Trial Guide: The Final Day
