Variant and Criterion Dungeons are a new type of content inFinal Fantasy 14introduced in patch 6.25. These Dungeons offer explorable adventures with branching paths and tons of new stories and secrets to discover. Plus, they can be explored solo, perfect for farming up the newest Allagan Tomestone on your own.

Related:Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker - The Sil’dihn Subterrane Variant Dungeon Guide

Three doors representing different paths in the Sil’Dihn Subterrane Variant Dungeon.

Variant Dungeons are the normal story mode of the Dungeon, while Criterion Dungeons offer an increased challenge for more competitive players. Below, we’ll take a look at each of these types of Dungeons, what makes them different from normal Dungeons, and what their rules are.

What Are Variant Dungeons?

Variant Dungeons are level 90 explorable Dungeons that can be played byone to four players. In these Dungeons, you and your party will beaccompanied by an NPCthat will help you solve various puzzles that you will come across, butwon’t aid in combat.

There areno Job restrictions on parties in Variant Dungeons, meaning you don’t need to have one Tank, one Healer, and two DPS Jobs. To better facilitate this freedom, there are severalVariant Actionsthat you may use, which we will take a closer look at later.

v and c dungeon finder and variant action selection menu

As mentioned above,Variant Dungeons have three branching paths to explore. When you enter the Dungeon, you will be able to choose between three different doors to enter, each branching into its own section of the Dungeon, with different puzzles and enemy encounters. There are also severalhidden pathsthat you’re able to discover through various means.

There are currently two Variant Dungeons available to explore.

Related:Final Fantasy 14: How To Unlock The Mount Rokkon Variant And Criterion Dungeons

Variant Actions

There arefive different Variant Actionsin total that can be used while exploring Variant Dungeons either on your own or in a party. These Actions arerestricted by your current Job, but you’re able to choose any two to use for the duration of the Dungeon.

Healer

DPS

Places yourself at the top of nearby enemies' enmity list and increases enmity generation.

Tank

Deals damage over time to target and all enemies nearby it.

Reduces damage taken by 20%.

Variant Dungeon Rewards

As you clear objectives in Variant Dungeons, you’ll earnPotsherdsof the Dungeon you’re exploring. you’re able to trade these in toTrisassant in Old Sharlayan (X:12.0, Y:13.3)for various rewards, like outfit pieces,hairstyles, and emotes.

What Are Criterion Dungeons?

Criterion Dungeons differ quite a bit from their Variant Dungeon counterparts. The difficulty in Criterion Dungeons is much more comparable to harder content likeExtreme Trials or Savage Raids, and they must be undertaken byfour players of normal composition(one Tank, one Healer, two DPS).

Additionally, themap layout in Criterion Dungeons does not branch, meaning you willalways follow the same paththrough the Dungeon. You alsocan’t choose Variant Actions; instead, every player can castVariant Raise IIbut onlyonce each.

Final Fantasy 14 players attacking a boss in the criterion dungeon Another Mount Rokkon (Savage).

Essentially, Criterion Dungeons areharder versions of Variant Dungeonswith a few more restrictions. The bosses will be the same, but they will useadded attacksand havedifferent mechanics. Enrage timers are also present in each boss fight, meaning you’ll have todefeat this boss within a certain time limitbefore it wipes the entire party with a single attack.

Criterion Dungeon Rewards

Of course, this increased difficulty isn’t without its benefits. Here you’ll earn anexclusive currencythat can be used to buy Materia, Framer’s Kits, and specialMounts. The Mounts also have achance to drop during the Dungeonfrom Treasure Coffers.

Criterion Savage Dungeons

Criterion Savage Dungeons operate similarly to normal Criterion Dungeons, with a few key differences. First of all, all revive abilities, including Variant Raise II and Healer-specific revives, arenot available. Additionally, if the entire party dies at once,all enemies will respawnand you’ll have tostart over from the beginningof the Dungeon.

The individual boss mechanics are thesame as in normal Criterion Dungeons, but each boss hashigher healthanddeals more damage.

When you engage the first enemy in the Dungeon, ahidden timer will start ticking. If you don’t finish the Dungeon before this timer completes, all enemies will receive a buff that greatlyincreases their damage dealt while reducing their damage taken. As you might expect, this makes the Dungeon nearly impossible to complete without wiping.