FFXIV Hells’ Lid: How To Unlock + Dungeon Guide

You can unlock the Normal-difficulty dungeon Hells’ Lid by talking to Soroban in The Ruby Sea (X:5.7, Y:15.7) and accepting the quest “An Auspicious Encounter”. You’ll need to be at least at level 70 in a Disciple of War or Magic job.

But you’ll also need to complete some MSQs from patch 4.2 of the Stormblood expansion before you can talk to Soroban.

Let’s go through a quick step-by-step guide and a longer detailed guide on how to unlock this dungeon, plus we’ll cover all of the boss mechanics as well.

Quick Step-by-Step Unlocking Guide

1. Finish the Main Scenario Quest “Hope on the Waves” from Yugiri in Kugane (X:11.2, Y:9.6).
2. Accept the quest “An Auspicious Encounter” from Soroban in The Ruby Sea (X: 5.7, Y:15.7).
3. Meet Soroban and Tataru outside the entrance to Hells’ Lid in The Ruby Sea (X: 27.1, Y:38.2). Have the Confederate Skipper (The Ruby Sea – X:23.5, Y:10.3) take you to Sakazuki Ferry Docks to get to the entrance faster.

Detailed Unlocking Guide

Start by completing the MSQ “Hope on the Waves” from Yugiri in Kugane (X:11.2, Y:9.6).

“Hope on the Waves” is the third MSQ for patch 4.2 of the Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood expansion.

You’ll need to do every MSQ leading up to “Hope on the Waves” before you can continue, including all the MSQs from the A Realm Reborn and Heavensward expansions.

There’s an instanced solo dungeon in this quest, where you’ll fight against imperial forces with Alphinaud and Yugiri.

Clear the solo dungeon in under 30 minutes to complete the quest. After you’ve caught up with the MSQs, you’ll be able to accept the quest “An Auspicious Encounter” from Soroban in The Ruby Sea (X: 5.7, Y:15.7).

This is the first quest of The Four Lords questline, where you’ll be able to unlock numerous high-level trials and dungeons, including Hells’ Lid.

This questline will follow the story of Soroban, the Kojin you’ve met in the MSQs, and his journey to find a mythical treasure and unveil the secrets of The Ruby Sea.

Soroban would tell you that your battle with the Kojin’s Primal, Susano, caught the attention of a mysterious party in search of powerful adventurers. But before they ask for your help, they’d want to test your skills first.

This mysterious party invites you to their testing ground: Hells’ Lid. Meet Soroban and Tataru at The Ruby Sea (X: 27.1, Y:38.2) to continue.

As beautiful as The Ruby Sea is, it can take a while to fly from the two Aetherytes in the area (Tamamizu and Onokoro) to Hells’ Lid.

You can take a shortcut to the island where Hells’ Lid is located by talking to the Confederate Skipper in The Ruby Sea (X:23.5, Y:10.3) near the Onokoro Aetheryte.

For the low price of 30 Gil, he’ll give you a boat ride to the Sakazuki Ferry Docks in The Ruby Sea (X:32.7, Y: 38.2). From there, you can quickly fly over to Hells’ Lid.

Upon meeting with Soroban and Tataru, Soroban will recall an ancient tale of the legendary samurai, Tenzen, who drove out evil beings known as the Oni that resided in Hells’ Lid.

Together with the Four Lords, Tenzen defeated the Oni and brought peace to The Ruby Sea before disappearing into the mountains with his trusted companions.

A skeptical Tataru will walk away from the conversation, leaving you and Soroban to find out what really lies within Hells’ Lid.

After talking to Soroban and Tataru, Hells’ Lid will be unlocked.

To enter the dungeon you’ll need at least a level 70 Disciple of War or Magic job and an average item level of 310.

Since this dungeon was released back in patch 4.2, it’s easy to solo when you enter the dungeon unsynced with a level 90 or above character. Though if you encounter Hells’ Lid in a duty roulette, you will need to do it synced.

Here’s a breakdown of each boss and their rewards to help you clear the dungeon quickly.

Boss #1: Otake-maru

Mechanics:

Most of the boss’ attacks apply stacking “Vulnerability Up” debuffs, so try to stay away from the boss if you’re using a ranged job.

• 100-tonze Swing: The boss will wind up his cudgel and spin around, dealing damage, knocking back, and applying a stacking “Vulnerability Up” debuffs to anyone hit. Make sure you’re standing far away from the boss before the cast goes off.
• Volcanic Debris: A prompt will appear, saying “You sense something ominous above.” and circle AoEs will appear around the room. Soon after, volcanic rocks will fall from above, dealing damage and applying a stacking “Vulnerability Up” debuff to anyone that’s caught. Avoid these AoEs as necessary.
• 100-tonze Slash: The boss will target a random player with a large frontal cone AoE. The party should spread out to minimize unnecessary movement.

• Liquid Carapace + Stone Cudgel: The boss lunge toward a random player and throw his cudgel and shield onto the ground. Then, it’ll spit lava onto the targeted player, following them for a few seconds. Afterward, the boss will jump onto his weapons on the ground, use a spin attack for each weapon, and apply a stacking “Vulnerability Up” debuff to anyone hit.

  To handle this mechanic, the targeted player should face the boss away from the party and bait it away from his weapons. Then, let the boss pick his weapons up before the tank and melee users continue attacking.

Rewards

• 7 Allagan Tomestone of Poetics

Boss #2: Kamaitachi

Mechanics:

Similar to the first boss, most of the core attacks in this fight are non-telegraphed and apply stacking “Vulnerability Up” debuffs. Familiarize yourself with the prompts that appear along with the corresponding attacks that follow them.

• Whipping Whittret: A tankbuster attack on the primary target without a cast bar. Use damage reduction skills and heal through the damage.
• Circling Winds: The boss will curl up in a circle on the ground, and a prompt will appear saying “The wind begins to howl!” Then, the boss will use a donut AoE attack without a cast bar that applies a stacking “Vulnerability Up” debuff. As soon as the prompt appears, go inside the melee range or outside the maximum range to dodge.
• Rolling Winds: The boss will curl its body facing a random direction, and a prompt will appear saying “The wind shifts!” Then, the boss will use a long column attack in front and behind it without a cast bar that applies a stacking “Vulnerability Up” debuff. Move to the boss’ flanks as soon as the prompt appears to avoid.
• The Patient Blade: A 180-degree attack that covers the length of the room. Luckily, this attack has a cast bar. Move behind the boss to avoid getting hit and inflicted by a stacking “Vulnerability Up” debuff.
• Whisper in the Wind: Four “Tzumuji-kaze” mobs, four tornadoes, and four “Windage” traps will appear around the room. The tornadoes will slowly move around the edge of the arena. Then, the boss will form orange lines between each tornado, indicating which path it’ll take as it jumps toward each tornado. Kill the “Tzumuji-kaze” mobs while avoiding the traps and tornadoes.
• Tzumuji-kaze: Wind elemental mobs that need to be picked up by the tank and pulled away from the tornadoes. Kill as soon as possible to reduce incoming damage.
• Aero (Tzumuji-kaze): Constant, fast-casting attacks on the “Tzumuji-kaze’s” target.
• Tornado (Tzumuji-kaze): Slow-casting circle AoEs.
• Windage: Wind traps that knock players back if they run into them.
• Lake Harvest: The boss’ dashing attack that also inflicts a stacking “Vulnerability Up” debuff. Dodge the boss’ dashes using the orange line markers.
• Reaper’s Gale: A proximity-based AoE attack after “Whisper of the Wind.” Move away from the final tornado that the boss jumps onto.

Rewards

• 13 Allagan Tomestone of Poetics

Boss #3: Genbu

Mechanics:

Watch for the direction of the arrows within the glowing hexagon tiles to identify safe spots and spread out AoEs.

• Caduceus: A tankbuster attack on the primary target without a cast bar. Use damage reduction skills and heal through the damage.
• Hell of Water: A cross-shaped AoE around the boss.
• Hell of Waste: Up to two players will be marked with large AoEs. Party members should spread out to avoid overlapping damage.
• Sinister Tide: Arrows will appear on the glowing hexagon tiles. A water orb will also spawn on top of a random tile near the edge of the arena. This orb will move through the tiles depending on the direction of the arrows, making the tiles explode and apply a stacking “Vulnerability Up” debuff to anyone hit. Identify the orb’s starting tile and determine its path based on the arrows to avoid.
• Hell of Waves + Chelonian Gate: The boss will use a room-wide knockback attack, stunning players for a few seconds. Then, he’ll form a barrier around him that must be destroyed before the duty gauge reaches 100. During this time, hexagon tiles around the barrier will glow and explode after a few seconds, inflicting a stacking “Vulnerability Up” debuff to anyone hit. Attack the barrier while dodging the glowing tiles before the gauge fills up, or you will wipe.
• Divine Cataract: A room-wide attack after the shield is destroyed or when the duty gauge reaches 100. Its damage will depend on the duty gauge. Mitigate and heal through the attack.

Rewards

• 20 Allagan Tomestone of Poetics
• Genbu Triple Triad Card (not guaranteed)

Extra Treasure Coffers

Apart from the boss rewards, there are four treasure coffers located throughout the dungeon that you can open for more gear or crafting material rewards:

• (X: 11.9 Y: 12.2)
• (X: 11.8 Y: 9.9)
• (X: 12.5 Y: 6.5)
• (X: 12.6 Y: 4.5)

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Marc Vista

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Marc is a casual FFXIV Summoner veteran, retired TF2 Soldier main, and professional communicator. He's also a huge fan of anime, Hololive, and the Golden State Warriors.

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