On this page you can find all the details needed to defeat Svarbhanu, the final boss in the Level 85 Dungeon, Vanaspati in Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker (FFXIV). Details on the mechanics along with how to tank and heal.

Mechanics¶

Arena Damage¶

The entire edge of the arena is out of bounds and stepping into it will apply a bleeding debuff along with light damage.

Flames of Decay¶

This is a group-wide attack that strikes all party members, simply heal/shield up to mitigate this.

Aetherial Disruption¶

This is the main mechanic for the Svarbhanu boss, and one it’ll repeat multiple times. The arena will be split into four rows, two of which will be blue and two red. Shortly after the rows appear, you’ll see a color overlay your screen, this will indicate which parts of the floor are unsafe and explode so head over to the opposite color to avoid this mechanic. Following the first time this mechanic happens, subsequent uses will see other mechanics layered on top.

Crumbling Sky¶

There are two variations to this mechanic. For the first, Svarbhanu will target all party members with a circle marker during Aetherial Disruption, split up and ensure you’re standing on the correct color to avoid both attacks.

The second variation of this mechanic will see it conjure a knockback marker in the center of the arena. Ensure you’re standing in a position that will knock you back into the correct color. After the Meteor phase, Svarbhanu will use bother variations during Aetherial Disruption.

Gnashing of Teeth¶

This is a simple Tankbuster with no additional effects, simply use shields and defensive cooldowns to mitigate it.

Crumbling Sky - Meteors¶

This is another major mechanic, and Svarbhanu will begin it by casting Crumbling Sky as it moves to the edge of this arena. This will not cast anything on the party but instead, it will fly off to the distance. Position your camera to view him and you’ll spot him conjure three meteors that are positioned on the rows of the arena (similar to Aetherial Disruption).

You’ll notice a gap in this pattern here so run to the gap and you’ll be safe when the meteors land, causing a line-AoE down that row. Getting struck by these will knock you back and inflict Vulnerability Up and after the first wave, you’ll need to deal with dodging circle-AoEs on the ground while getting into position. Svarbhanu will use three waves of Meteors before returning to the arena.

Strategy¶

Svarbhanu is slightly more difficult than the other bosses of this dungeon, but there’s only two real mechanics you need to understand to safely navigate it. The battle arena will be out of bounds for this battle, stepping into it will cause bleed and damage so be sure to avoid running into it. Svarbhanu will always begin the battle with Flames of Decay, this is a group-wide attack that should be dealt with by casting Shields/Regen pre-battle.

Svarbhanu will then launch into its first use of Aetherial Disruption following this. You’ll notice the arena is split into four rows, each with a different color, two with a blue marking, two with a red marking. Shortly after this, you’ll get a colored effect overlaying your screen, either a large blue triangle, or a large red circle. This will inform you which of the colors are unsafe, so position your character on the opposite color to avoid the explosion that follows after Aetherial Disruption is done casting.

There’s a simple Tankbuster that Svarbhanu will use at points in this battle, Gnashing of Teeth, and you can mitigate it with both shields and defensive cooldowns. When the next time Svarhbanu uses Aetherial Disruption, you’ll have to deal with Crumbling Sky at the same point. The first time around, this will place a circle-AoE marker on all party members, spread out and stand on the correct color to mitigate this. The second time, you’ll have to deal with a knockback in the center of the arena, ensure you’re standing in the correct position to be pushed back into the correct color.

Once you see Crumbling Sky appear the next time, you won’t actually see any of the above mechanics, instead Svarbhanu will fly off into the distance. Position your camera so you can see it and it will conjure three meteors, each of these will hit a specific row so make sure you’re standing in a row where a gap appears, and you’ll avoid the line-AoE that follows upon impact. After the first wave, circular-AoEs will appear around the arena, so you’ll need to avoid them while getting to the correct spot of the arena before the meteors impact. Svarbhanu will use three sets of Meteors before returning to the arena.

At this point, every time Svarbhanu uses Aetherial Disruption, you’ll have to deal with both variations of Crumbling Sky at the same time. If you’ve had no issues dealing with this mechanic before now, not much is different, and the rest of the battle should be simple to see out.

How to Tank¶

For a final boss, Svarbhanu is rather simple to Tank and all the really matters is your own positioning. There’s the typical Tankbuster to mitigate through with your defensive cooldowns, and it’s sensible to tank Svarbhanu in the center of the arena as it will move to that location to perform most of its mechanics anyway.

How to Heal¶

There’s not much in the way of group healing/shielding in this battle, outside of Flames of Decay that it uses at the start of the battle and sparingly throughout the rest. Instead, what’s most important is that you nail the positioning for the mechanics, failing them will lead to a quick death which can result in a wipe for the party. Ensure you understand how Aetherial Disruption works and you should be able to clear this battle without issue.