ffxiv [6.0 Spoilers] Endwalker Pays Tribute to Final Fantasy X

[Alhena 221]

[6.0 Spoilers] This post contains spoilers for Endwalker. Please proceed with caution!

This post contains spoilers for Endwalker and Final Fantasy X. Please proceed with caution.

Final Fantasy XIV has provided countless references to previous installments in the Final Fantasy series throughout its expansions, and Endwalker is no exception! This time around, Final Fantasy X fans will certainly be happy to see a familiar face in Endwalker's second dungeon - Anima, the iconic aeon representing both darkness and death.

Before I get too into Anima's story, let me provide a little bit of background information about Final Fantasy X.

Final Fantasy X

Final Fantasy X follows Tidus, a Blitzball star from the modernized city of Zanarkand. One day, while Tidus is performing in a Blitzball match, he is forced into the world of Spira by a terrifying force known as Sin. After landing in the world of Spira, he meets Yuna and her guardians, who are about to take off on a journey to save their world from Sin's wrath.

Tidus joins Yuna and begins traveling with her to acquire powerful aeons, which are physical manifestations of the dreams of those who have moved on from their bodies after death. The Aeons available to be summoned by Yuna in battle are as follows: Valefor, Ifrit, Ixion, Shiva, Bahamut, Yojimbo, the Magus Sisters, and Anima!

Anima in Final Fantasy X

Anima is a boss and optional summon available in Final Fantasy X. You can see a glimpse of Anima's power in the Shirrako clip below, which shows her first appearance in game.

Later in the game, the party encounters Anima during their first face-off against antagonist Seymour Guado. During this fight, Anima uses the Pain ability, which inflicts Instant Death on her target.

Throughout Final Fantasy X's story, the party learns that Anima is the physical manifestation of Seymour's mother, who became an aeon so that Seymour could defeat Sin. Unfortunately for Seymour's mother, this plan never came into action, as Seymour locked her up in an abandoned temple due to the fear of losing her.

Anima is well known for using Oblivion, a powerful attack in which the horned demon on Anima's bottom half is set free from her shackles and punches the enemy repeatedly with great force before dealing an explosion of non-elemental damage.

You can see Anima's Oblivion ability at work in the Josu Games clip below.

To obtain the game's main summons, the player must successfully complete various Cloisters of Trials, which are sets of puzzles located in the temples of Spira. These trials often have optional hidden treasures located in them, and by obtaining all of the cloisters' hidden treasures, the party can obtain Anima!

Anima in Final Fantasy XIV

During Endwalker's announcement showcase, Square Enix announced that Anima was coming to Final Fantasy XIV in 6.0.

Endwalker's story pays tribute to Seymour and his mother in Final Fantasy XIV with a similar parental theme. In the realm of Hydaelyn, Anima is Varis zos Galvus, former emperor of the Garlean Empire and father of Zenos yae Galvus.

During our time in Garlemald, we learn that Varis zos Galvus's death has led the Garlean Empire to further ruin. Fandaniel and Zenos use this to their advantage and manipulate the Garlean people into believing their emperor has been reincarnated, which in turn summons Varis as the primal Anima.

Now, the iconic aeon is a boss encounter in the Tower of Babil, Endwalker's level 83 dungeon!

From the ruins of the Garlean imperial palace rises the Tower of Babil, a monstrous edifice constructed by Fandaniel and Zenos's enthralled hordes. While its exact purpose has yet to be ascertained, it is here that the would-be orchestrators of the Final Days await the Warrior of Light, who now spearheads a daring mission to infiltrate the tower and vanquish the Telophoroi once and for all.

In the dungeon's last boss encounter, the Warrior of Light must face both halves of Anima in battle!

The fight begins with Anima using a Lunar Nail ability. If four nails connect, a square AoE will appear inside of them, dealing heavy damage and giving a vuln stack to players inside. Later in the fight, players will need to run away from a Mega-graviton orb, in addition to dodging Boundless Pain, an expanding circular AoE in the center of the arena.

After the first phase of the fight, the party will be transported to a new realm where they must defeat the demon of Anima's lower half.

In phase two, players must avoid Obliviating Claw, which spawns nails that cast line AoEs in the order they were spawned. The party must also watch out for a circular AoE marker that targets two players and follows them across the arena.

At the end of this phase, Anima will perform her infamous Oblivion move against the party before sending them back to the original boss room, where they must perform the first phase's mechanics again.

Once players have defeated the encounter, there is a chance that an Anima minion will drop as a reward! The below screenshots show a preview of what this minion looks like in game.

The minion's special animation features Anima's lower half punching the air, much like the Oblivion move!

What did you think of Anima's appearance in FFXIV?