GamerEscape

Spoiler warning: This guide contains information from the FFXIV Endwalker Patch 6.5 Main Scenario!!!

The Abyssal Fracture is a Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker Main Scenario Quest trial. It’s available at level 90 after completing the dungeon The Lunar Subterrane (guide here), as part of the quest Down in the Dark. It can be completed via the duty finder.

For the sake of your fellow players, please remember that this is new content (at the time of this publication). A little friendly explanation can go a long way. Similarly, don’t be afraid to take advice. You may learn something you didn’t know.

Zeromus

Phase 1

• Abyssal Nox – An unavoidable raid-wide AoE that drops everyone to 1 hp and applies a Doom that cannot be esuna’d. All players must be healed to full to avoid Doom death.
• Four pillars of light will move out from the center of the arena along runic lines. After a few seconds at their endpoints, they will explode in sizeable, circular AoEs.
• Sable Thread – A linear stack AoE that hits 5 times.
• Visceral Whirl – The boss will rake its… tendrils? across the floor in 2 directions, covering what ends up being a giant arrow shape in AoE indicators. Get to 1 of the 2 triangular safe spots in opposing corners.
• Dark Matter – A tank buster with a large, splash damage AoE circle that hits 3 times.
• Flare – A tower will appear with a stack marker that all players must soak. The resulting fireball stays on the field and hides any players standing inside it, as well as doing damage over time for as long as you stay within it. Move out to avoid the damage, and so that you can see if you’ve been marked for the next mechanic:
• Nox – Two players will have pulsing arrow markers on them, indicating that any AoEs they drop will follow after them in waves. Move to the back of the arena to drop your large circle, then run toward the front (you could also run side to side). Unmarked players should observe and avoid the 2 marked players.
• Void Bio – The boss will spit 10, green balls of poison across the front edge of the arena, which will eventually start traveling straight south toward the back of the platform at different paces. Find the gaps and avoid them while moving into place for the next mechanic:
• Visceral Whirl
• Big Bang – Zeromus will drop approximately 1 million lightning bolts randomly on the floor (I thought this was a IV reference, not a X one), then fire off a blast of unavoidable arena-wide damage.

Phase 2

Big Bang left us with some fun debuffs, including, but not limited to: an hp down debuff.

• Big Bounce – In addition to the hp down debuff, you’ll notice a debuff with a short timer. It’s a weak DoT that a regen can take care of.
• Acceleration Bomb – The third debuff you’ll also notice is good ol’ Acceleration Bomb. When the timer for this completes, if you’re doing any actions (including white swings!), you’ll take damage. This will go off in conjunction with the next mechanic, so get there fairly quickly:
• Visceral Whirl
• A stack mechanic.
• Divisive Dark – This is the fourth debuff applied by Big Bang. After the stack mechanic hits, this will put a travelling, circular AoE on all players. Spread.
• Meteor Impact – All players will be tethered to a meteor symbol in the center of the arena. You’ll have to move far enough away from the center so that your pink arrow tether turns into a thin, glowing, yellow line. Also make sure to avoid your party members, as a meteor will hit each player in turn.
• Dark Matter
• Black Hole – Zeromus places a black hole (go fig’) on the floor that will grow during the course of the following mechanic:
• Fractured Eventide – The boss will sweep a long rectangle of dark energy across the field. One end of it is pinned at its feet, while the other end will move in an arc. Note the direction it will be sweeping, and get behind it before it starts to move. Then follow it across the arena, while avoiding the growing black hole. 7:49-8:18ish or 8:50

• Void Meteor – Four meteors will fall from the sky, avoid the proximity damage radiating from their impact points.
• Meteor Impact – Avoid hitting the meteors left by Void Meteor as you spread out with your tethers. If you’re in a position that will hit a meteor, the blue bar surrounding you and your tether will turn red.
• The meteors left by Void Meteor will explode on their own.
• Black Hole
• Fractured Eventide
• Big Crunch – This is the same as Big Bang, 1 million lightning bolts, a big blast of energy, but only the Big Bounce DoT this time.

Phase 3

• Abyssal Nox
• Four pillars of light will move out from the center of the arena along runic lines. After a few seconds at their endpoints, they will explode in sizeable, circular AoEs.
• Sable Thread
• Rend the Rift – A blast of unavoidable arena-wide damage.

Phase 4

• A series of small, circular, and thin, linear AoEs will appear, littered randomly across the floor. Do that dodge.
• Nostalgia – The boss will punch the ground 4 times, roar 2 times and then add one, final, massive roar to the bunch for a total of 7 hits of unavoidable raid-wide damage.
• Flow of the Abyss – Zeromus will tether to one side of the arena and fire a blast of energy from the rift on that side. Meanwhile, all players will be marked with red markers. Your first inclination might be to spread these out, but you can stack them up to optimize floor space. Each of these markers will drop a circular AoE that will then pulse with damage for 10 hits. These AoEs are very simple to step out of, so seriously, stack ’em up, move away, and forget about ’em.
• Chasmic Nails – The boss will execute 5 conals AoEs in a sequence that will be displayed clearly on the ground. Step into a cleave slice after the AoE goes off.
• *Phase 4 likely repeats until defeat.

Congratulations, you’ve completed The Abyssal Fracture!