You will be able to unlock The Navel (Hard) if you have reached level 50 and accomplished the MSQ “The Ultimate Weapon,” which concludes the material of the ARR.
Then, in order to unlock The Navel, you will need to make your way back to the Waking Sands and finish a couple more of the Primals there (Hard).
This is a short list for your reference, and it concludes with Titan:
- A Recurring Problem (Location – Minfilia, The Waking Sands X:6.9, Y:6.1)
- Ifrit Bleeds, We Can Kill It (Location – Thancred, The Waking Sands X:6.1, Y:5.1)
- In for Garuda Awakening (Location – Papalymo, The Waking Sands X:6.1, Y:5.0)
- In a Titan Spot (Location – Y’shtola, The Waking Sands X:6.1, Y:5.1)
We are all familiar with the Primal Titan, also known as the huge boy that stomps around in Duty Roulette. If you’ve played the game, you’ve undoubtedly defeated him more than once.
Titan is frequently something of a stumbling block for newly formed organizations. At the early age of level 34, you haven’t really been introduced to a lot of intricate mechanics, and because of this, he can come as a bit of a surprise.
However, the battle will become much less difficult if you have already prevailed over him a few times.
Rest assured that taking on The Navel (Hard) is a good way to make the level 50 Trial more difficult.
When compared to other MMOs, one of the coolest things about Final Fantasy XIV is that Square Enix often completely changes how the fights work to make them harder.
It’s not just that the boss takes less damage and deals more. No, they change in pretty big ways that require new strategies while keeping the “theme” of the first fight. Even more so with these early Primal fights.
How To Unlock The Navel (Hard)
Before you can fight Titan again, you’ll need to meet a few requirements.
You need to be level 50 and have finished the main scenario quest “The Ultimate Weapon” to get started.
This quest is the last thing you can do in A Realm Reborn.
Once you’ve reached those points, you can go back to The Waking Sands to get the quest “A Recurring Problem” from Minfilia (X:6.9, Y:6.1).
This is where it starts to feel like a mission.
You have to beat the other Primals on Hard before you can start the quest to unlock The Navel (Hard).
You’ll need to start with “Ifrit Bleeds, We Can Kill It,” which you can get from Thancred in the Waking Sands. This is the first step in a chain of quests.
This will make the Bowl of Embers available (Hard).
If you beat Ifrit’s harder form, the quest will move on to “In for Garuda Awakening,” which you can get from Papalymo at The Waking Sands.
When you beat Garuda, you will finally be able to use “In a Titan Spot.” (I hope all these puns are making you laugh out loud.)
After you’ve done all of that, Y’shtola will finally let you into The Navel (Hard), but you’ll have to do a few fetch quests first.
Is The Navel (Hard) Pretty Difficult?
I think that at some point in the past, yes.
Before any of the expansions came out, these were basically the endgame content for A Realm Reborn, so they had to be hard to keep players interested.
Now, it would take a lot of bad luck for a whole group to die even once in one of these dungeons.
To put it simply, most players now have too much gear and experience for these challenges.
Level sync can get everyone to about the same level, but it can’t do much more than that. If most of the party knows the encounters by heart, they’re easy.
It’s even possible for higher-level players to fight these bosses on their own, without help from anyone else.
I can beat Titan by myself in a few minutes, and I’m not even a very good player!
Is There An Even Harder Version Of The Navel?
Yes, absolutely. If you feel that your Hard meeting with Titan has made you want more, then you are able to unlock the Navel (Extreme).
The issue was first introduced with Patch 2.1 and requires significantly more teamwork and coordination to overcome.
Similar to unlocking the first series of difficult Primal fights, your path towards The Navel (Extreme) begins with Urianger at The Waking Sands.
They are only available after you have cleared The Navel (Hard) in addition to giving in the quest.
Simply pick up “Primal Nature”, then the quest “Primal Nature” after that, and then follow the next series of Extreme difficulty tests for a chance to go to the Navel and back.
Strategy
1. It is possible to instantly die if you fall off the edge. It is most likely to happen when he employs the “Landslide” attack (rectangular AoE ahead of him, can push you off in the event that you’re hit). Think of it as an attack that is one-hit-KO and be sure to avoid it!
2. When you play “Geocrush” (boss jumps up in the air, disappears, and then smashes into the ground), there is no risk of falling off the ledge from the shockwave. But, the arena will be shattered over (outside) an outline of red, which will appear at the edges of the field. Thus, keep within the circle in red (so you do not fall off). However, try to remain as near to the red lines (inside their boundaries!) as you can to limit any damage.
3. When the boulders in the rock start to begin to appear, just avoid them (stay away from them to avoid injury and don’t attempt to take them down as they’re an unneeded waste of DPS).
Phase 1: 100% – 90% HP
Landslide -> Tumult -> (Repeat)
In the initial phase, an invisible wall stops players from falling over the edge, as well as Titan himself, who will utilize Landslide and Tumult repeatedly.
If Titan is running around 90 percent HP and he is able to fly in the air and utilize Geocrush.
Players must move towards the outer edges of the boss’s room as far from the center as they can.
However, players must remain in the area of the red circle, since that area of the arena is likely to disappear into the lava below.
Phase 2: 90% – 75% HP
Weight of the Land -> Landslide -> Tumult -> (Repeat)
At this moment, the wall that was at the edge of the boss’s room is gone. This means that players are able to be thrown off the platform by attacks such as landslides.
The Weight of the Land is the brand new power used by Titan during this phase. The players must get out of the sand traps which are visible on the ground.
With around 75 percent, HP Titan is able to leap in the air and use Geocrush again. The players should make their way towards the outer edges of the boss’s room close to when the indicator for ground turns red. Geocrush marks the end of Phase 2.
Phase 3: 75% – 55% HP
Landslide -> Weight of the Land -> Bomb Boulders -> Landslide -> Weight of the Land -> Rock Throw -> Tumult -> (Repeat)
Bomb Boulders and Rock throws are new abilities utilized by Titan in this stage. Bomb Boulders are spawned by bombs that spread around the arena and eventually explode according to the order in which they are dropped.
Rock Throw place an image of a clock at the feet of any player. After a few seconds, the player is encased inside the Granite Gaol, incapacitating the person.
Other players may destroy the Gaol to release the player (who receives a cleansed debuff – the Determination down).
Bomb boulders can be found in two distinct patterns. In the first, bombs are spawned near the edges of the room, and then in the middle.
The bombs near the edge area will first explode before the bombs that are in the middle will explode.
To avoid this, players should first make a move towards the middle of the room in order to avoid explosive bombs that are at the edges of the room.
They should then relocate to the empty space on the outside of the room, to stay clear of the bombs that are in the middle.
In the opposite design, bombs explode in the central and corners of the space. Players must stay away from the corners and in the middle of the room in order to avoid explosions.
Phase 4: Titan’s Heart
Rock Throw -> Landslide -> Weight of the Land -> Tumult -> Rock Throw -> Landslide -> Weight of the Land -> Earthen Fury
The players must destroy Titan’s Heart before they can complete the ability’s rotation, as the failure to do this will result in the wipe. Titan is not able to use Boulder Bombs in this phase.
Titan will utilize Rock Throw twice during this stage. The players must kill Titan’s Heart with the Granite Gaol and free the player to use one rock throw.
The player should not pay attention to your Granite Gaol in order to DPS on the Titan’s Heart for the second Rock Throw. Don’t forget to wash the Determination down.
Utilize the Limit Break to take out the Heart in case your group isn’t able to provide enough DPS.
After taking out the Heart Players, the players should then remove the player from the Granite Gaol. Healers must apply AoE heals prior to Earthen Fury.
Phase 5: 55% – 0% HP
Mountain Buster -> Tumult -> Weight of the Land -> Bomb Boulders + Landslide -> Mountain Buster -> Weight of the Land -> Rock Throw -> Landslide -> (Repeat)
In the fifth and final stage, Titan gains the Mountain Buster ability that deals massive damage to tanks.
If Titan’s HP falls and he casts Tumult up to 7 times in one row.
Additionally, two bomb boulder spawning patterns from Phase 3 Titan will also have a new pattern.
In this pattern, 9 bombs are dropped in three columns to create a three X three formation. The 3 bombs that are in the middle column will explode first, so players must move either north or south in the two columns of bombs on the sides.
When the bombs in the center have been destroyed the players must return to the center of the room in order to stay clear of the explosives on the sides.
