Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail — Vanguard Dungeon Guide

Vanguard is a level 97 Dungeon in Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail. A mysterious dome has appeared over what was once Erenville's hometown of Yyasulani, and Zoraal Ja's army of mechanical soldiers has emerged from it, staging a vicious attack on Tuliyollal.

With a train outfitted with explosives, you're taking the shortest and loudest approach to the entrance to this strange domed village. Vanguard is the checkpoint between whatever is inside of the dome and the outside, so you'll need to fight your way through. Here's how to beat every boss in the level 97 Dungeon, Vanguard.

How To Unlock Vanguard

Quest Name: All Aboard
- NPC Location: Wawlika — Shaaloani (X:18.6, Y:13.8)

You'll unlock this quest naturally as you progress through the Main Scenario at level 97.

Vanguard Commander R8

The first boss of Vanguard is Vanguard Commander R8, who rides into battle on a futuristic motorcycle. Here are its attacks.

Attack Name	Type	Details
Electrowave	Roomwide AoE	Deals damage to all players and covers the edge of the arena in a dangerous AoE.
Enhanced Mobility	AoE	The Vanguard Commander will mark a circular AoE on the ground before engaging its Wingblade to the left or right. The Commander will then drive around the circle, dealing damage in its path and to whichever side the Wingblade is on. Visualize the path of the Wingblade and either move to the center of the arena or the edges to avoid taking damage.
Dispatch	Line AoE	Summons four Vanguard Sentry R8 that will each perform a line AoE from one side of the arena. This AoE isn't telegraphed until a split second before they move, so watch where the Sentries appear to avoid taking damage.
Dispatch — Aerial Offensive	Circle AoE	Four Vanguard Sentries will spawn around the arena before creating circle AoEs that grow over time. Move out of the telegraphed areas and keep moving until they stop growing to avoid this attack. Subsequent uses of this version of Dispatch will have two sets of four Sentries appear, creating two sets of growing circle AoEs. Watch the expanding areas carefully and move accordingly to avoid this combo.
Dispatch/Electrosurge	Line AoE/AoE Markers	Summons eight Vanguard Sentries, two sets of four on adjacent walls of the arena, then marks each player with an AoE Marker. The Sentries will Dash down the arena while each player is struck by the AoE Marker, Electrosurge. Watch where the Sentries intersect while spreading out to avoid this combo.

The Vanguard Commander R8 mainly relies on Dispatch, but these positional AoEs should be second nature to avoid at this point. The main attack to watch out for is Enhanced Mobility; there are really only two ways this attack can resolve, but keep in mind the side and direction of the Wingblade regardless.

Protector

The second boss is the Protector. Its mechanics are detailed below.

Attack Name	Type	Details
Electrowave	Roomwide AoE	Deals damage to all party members and turns the edge of the square arena into an AoE. Avoid moving here for the duration of the battle.
Search and Destroy	Line AoE/Circle AoE	Summons several untargetable Explosive and Laser Turrets that will then repeatedly fire Line and Circle AoEs at all players. Keep moving to avoid this. Luckily, these AoEs do not inflict Vulnerability Up, so getting hit by a few is expected. Subsequent uses of this attack will create maze-like Fulminous Fences that you'll need to navigate through while avoiding line and circle AoEs.
Fulminous Fence	Summon	Summons six Fulminous Fences around the center of the arena that inflict Paralysis on players who pass through them. These will persist through the Protector's next attack.
Battery Circuit	Rotating Conal AoE/Circle AoE	Protector will attack with conal AoEs to its front and back before slowly rotating in a circle. At the same time, circle AoEs will randomly target the arena. To avoid this attack, you'll need to move around in a circle with the Protector, but remember to avoid passing through the Fulminous Fences, as these will inflict Paralysis, which will periodically stun you for a second.
Rapid Thunder	Tankbuster	Deals high damage to the Tank.
Motion Sensor	Acceleration Bomb/Line AoE	Inflicts each player with an Acceleration Bomb that will explode if you are moving when the debuff expires. At the same time, untargetable turrets will fire line AoEs in sequential order from the sides of the arena. Avoid these line AoEs while the Bomb debuff ticks down, then stand in place during the last second to avoid its explosion.
Tracking Bolt	AoE Markers	Targets all players with large circular AoE Markers. Spread out to avoid overlapping these.
Heavy Blast Cannon	Line Stack Marker	Targets a random player with a line Stack Marker. Group up on their position to spread out the damage of this attack.

There is a lot to this fight, and avoiding the AoEs during Motion Sensor can get hectic, especially when the Fulminous Fences are active. Although the AoEs of Motion Sensor don't inflict Vulnerability Up, you'll still want to do your best to avoid each one. If you pass through a Fence at any point, you're much more likely to be hit with additional AoEs, so make avoiding this your top priority.

Zander the Snakeskinner

The final boss of Vanguard is Zander the Snakeskinner, Ophidian Outrider. This boss has two phases; his attacks and mechanics in each phase are detailed below.

Phase 1

Attack Name	Type	Details
Electrothermia	Roomwide AoE	Deals damage to all party members and makes the edge of the arena dangerous.
Soulbane Saber	AoE	Deals damage in a line AoE to the boss's front, which will then explode a few seconds after the line AoE resolves. Get behind the boss to avoid this two-hit combo of AoEs. Subsequent uses of this attack will have the boss use Soulbane Saber multiple times in a row, targeting different parts of the arena. Additionally, this attack will be paired with Soulbane Shock, targeting each player with AoE Markers. Spread out while avoiding the explosions from Soulbane Saber.
Saber Rush	Tankbuster	Deals high damage to the Tank. Use defensive cooldowns to mitigate this damage.

Attack Name

Type

Details

Electrothermia

Roomwide AoE

Deals damage to all party members and makes the edge of the arena dangerous.

Soulbane Saber

AoE

Deals damage in a line AoE to the boss's front, which will then explode a few seconds after the line AoE resolves. Get behind the boss to avoid this two-hit combo of AoEs.

Subsequent uses of this attack will have the boss use Soulbane Saber multiple times in a row, targeting different parts of the arena. Additionally, this attack will be paired with Soulbane Shock, targeting each player with AoE Markers. Spread out while avoiding the explosions from Soulbane Saber.

Saber Rush

Tankbuster

Deals high damage to the Tank. Use defensive cooldowns to mitigate this damage.

Zander will repeat these attacks until his healthbar reaches zero, at which point phase two will begin.

Phase 2

Zander will regain all health and transform, gaining a new set of attacks.

Attack Name	Type	Details
Syntheslean	Conal AoE	Deals damage in a cone to the front of the boss.
Syntheslither	AoE	Zander will move to one edge of the arena before preparing a four-hit attack. Four sword markers will appear in a line down the arena; Zander will strike each one with a conal AoE as he moves down this line. The direction of this AoE depends on the side that the area just ahead of the marker favors. For example, if the line turns to the right after the marker, then Zander will strike to the right side. This attack will be repeated after Zander moves to the other side of the arena. You can easily avoid this attack by avoiding the first conal AoE and then staying behind Zander as he moves, as he will only strike in front of himself.
Shade Shot	Tankbuster	Deals high damage to the Tank. Use defensive cooldowns.
Slitherbane Foreguard	AoE	Deals damage in a line AoE similar to Soulbane Saber from the first phase, but with an added half-circle AoE in the same direction. Stand behind the boss to avoid.
Slitherbane Rearguard	AoE	Deals damage in a line AoE also similar to Soulbane Saber or Slitherbane Foreguard, but with an added half-circle AoE to the back. Stand either to the left or the right of the boss to avoid both AoEs.
Screech	Roomwide AoE	Deals damage to all party members. Recover with AoE healing.

Zander will repeat these mechanics until he is defeated. Compared to the second boss, this fight should be fairly straightforward. Syntheslither may look intimidating at first, but avoiding it is pretty easy. Be sure to pay attention to the cast bars when Zander uses Slitherbane Foreguard and Rearguard, as this could trip you up if you're not careful.