Labyrinth of the Ancients (Crystal Tower) Raid Guide - Part One!

::Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn::
Labyrinth of the Ancients (Crystal Tower) Part One
JUMP TO BOSS:
BONE DRAGON: • Labyrinth of the Ancie...
THANATOS: • Labyrinth of the Ancie...
Questions? Comments? Drop me a line and I'll get back to you!
::Music::
Sampled from....Ahrix - Nova
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[@th0rne_999]

I'm watching in 2022! It's bittersweet seeing the amount of mechanics we breeze through nowadays and that I will never be able to experience myself. But it's fun seeing what it was like when this content was new and it will help me optimise runs in the future now that I know what mechanics actually do. Great guide as always!

[@Cloud7050]

Organising MINE events is the way to go!

[@Matt1yu]

Outdated, but still so much more informative than anybody I'm matched with in the Duty Finder, including 'mentors'. All I get when I ask is insulted for being new to it and tired, sarcastic jokes.

[@TheTundraTerror]

Even thought parts of the guide are outdated, a lot of the core mechanics of the raid fight are still sounds.

[@ArtForSwans]

During Xande I didn't know what the blue circular AOEs did, I thought they were bad so I would stay out of it and I didn't notice people were floating because I was trying to focus on not dying. One guy kept waving goodbye at me right before Xande's nuke and I had no idea why he was doing that. I asked in party chat what to do for that part and he says "it's crystal clear dude." Dunno why people take 24-mans so seriously. :/

[@kongqianfu]

How is this outdated? Did they change the mechanics at some point? New player just getting into Alliance Raids.

[@icantthinkofaname1009]

kongqianfu Just ran it for the first time. Party composition was entirely different (each party is 1 Tank, 2 healers, 5 DPS). The AOE caused by skeletons reaching the dragon boss seemed laughably inefficient. I don’t also think anyone touched the towers once. It seemed like we were burning through everything super fast but we wiped twice at the last boss because not enough people got to the platforms on time. If he uses that attack again while your sprint is still on cooldown from the last time, it can be a close call.

[@SlayerKid]

I don't get why they make "being new to the game" as a form of an insult, if anything they SHOULD be telling you everything you should know. That kinda mentality can make new players less motivated to playing the game more if those kinda people act like that when all you asked was a simple question.

[@Xylarxcode]

The recently made this mandatory to progress the MSQ right before you access Heavensward content. As a new player, I had no idea what the fuck they meant when they said I had to progress in the crystal tower quests before I could continue my MSQ, so I had to do some looking up online. It's not enough that you just unlock the raid, you have to actually run the damn thing and complete the entire quest series before you can continue MSQ. Apparently, it's tied to some pretty major content in Shadowbringers (which I haven't even come close to reaching yet, but still). I gotta admit, I was none too pleased when I found out about this and seriously considered just not playing this game anymore. If it hadn't been for the fact that I had only just recently renewed my sub for another month, I probably would have stopped playing, but yea, I decided to try and see it through anyway. At this point, I'm pretty much just clinging on to hope that things get better in the following expansions, as everyone constantly says it does. Don't get me wrong, this game does a lot of things right and can be very fun to play, but holy shit do I hate being forced into dungeons and big raid groups just to progress the MSQ. Particularly raids. I don't enjoy them, I have no desire to learn them and being forced into them is really putting a damper on my mood. I've always been more drawn to pvp in MMO's and try to stay away from PvE content, save to enjoy the bits and pieces of lore and story I can unlock as a solo player. tl;dr Sorry about the rant. Just thought I'd bring this up to date. August 24th 2020, this raid is mandatory now to unlock Heavensward content. I don't like that.

[@Stephanie-qy3dv]

I'm in the exact same situation. I just want to finish ARR lol and then this shit comes up. Put the game down for a couple of days because I was going so ARR heavy and was pumped for HSW, so this disappointed the hell out of me. I mean sure, it's still good content and whatever, I'm just being pissy. Hopefully your queue times weren't too crazy!

[@DragonKnight90001]

Oh........... f*ck my life im going to get stuck here

[@tehsweetehmahn]

How'd you fare in the raids?

[@Xylarxcode]

@@tehsweetehmahn Ended up not doing them and cancelling my sub anyway. So, not too well, I suppose. I just wasn't feeling the game anymore and when I found out that mandatory dungeons keeps being a thing in all expansions so far, I just decided not to bother and look for other games to play instead.

[@MW-tq6wd]

@@Xylarxcode dunegeons aren’t that bad tho and u can run them brain dead and be fine raids r different tho but to each his own ig

[@LobsterFusion]

I did this for the first time ever in 2021. It was super easy at this point but it’s good to know mechanics and what to expect. Oddly enough, this was the first time I encountered toxicity in the FFXIV player base. Can’t believe it took this long. Lol

[@LLL417]

This scares me! Too much to remember.

[@Teachidoll]

who esle is doing crystal tower for the first time cause of shadowbringer coming?

[@brandonh4796]

Just unlocked this one lol

[@chris41952]

Yup

[@darionlee2588]

@safnhuo dude..yes. If I were a DPS I would feel alright with it. But I recently switched from PS4 to PC and am a tank on top of that...I feel so much pressure just watching it lmfao

[@sergel02]

Darion Lee it’s really not that bad these days.

[@numberc8420]

Just unlocked it. I hope I can actually play it.

[@TheHaiku2]

Watching this now for shb. Used to watching your new videos now, glad you ditched the loud music in later guides.

[@damnyiffers]

0:41 Hugh Jass standing in the purple goo like a god

[@Inuko15]

I just unlocked this. I really hope I can do this.

[@NeoSaturos123]

Twenty four people...damn. And I thought 8 was a lot.

[@Sforschondetta]

i love Hugh Jass who is in most your videos

[@ZangiefNoob]

I'm downloading all these vids for personal use into my computer, these are SO useful!!!

[@HotRefuse]

I didn't know this raid existed until I saw a video where the content creator was saying we will need to complete this to progress in Shadowbringers.

[@numberc8420]

You don't *need* to, it just makes a twist make more sense.

[@Xylarxcode]

@@numberc8420 You do need to, now. They made this stupid thing mandatory now. I started playing this game a little over a month ago and just reached the point in the MSQ right before Heavensward content unlocks. I was pretty psyched about finally reaching my first expansion and its content, only to be greeted by a several hour long (not including queue times!) fucking mandatory raid and its series of quests, because it's tied to some BS in Shadowbringers I haven't even come close to reaching yet. As you can tell from my language, I was very salty to find out about this. To a point where I seriously considered not to bother and just stop playing this game altogether. I decided to keep going anyway, but this was definitely a big speedbump for me to overcome.

[@numberc8420]

@@Xylarxcode Oh, I wrote that before they announced that it would be mandatory. If it's any consolation, that's probably the only raid that's required to play for MSQ, hopefully.

[@Indrijid]

Omg Thank you! I was so nervous going into this for the first time, I'd hate to be "that one player" who has no idea what's happening. Dx I only with it didn't take so friggin' long for people to join up.

[@KRDsonic]

I'm glad I went back and watched this. My first experience with Labyrinth was last week, and it was a pretty bad experience. Someone kept rushing into the boss fights, locking lots of us out, so I didn't even get to be there for 2 of the fights, and no one explained anything, so I was so confused. For the Atmos fight, 4 of us in group C were locked out, and other groups had 1-2 people locked out as well, so we just kind of had to sit there watching as people were arguing in the chat, Group A yelling at Group C for not having enough people on the platform when there were only 4 people in our group who actually made it into the boss fight, etc. One of the other boss fights, half of the raid got locked out, so they obviously wiped, and then couldn't understand how they wiped. I'm just glad I had much better groups for the 2nd and 3rd parts to Crystal Tower. I wouldn't have attempted them if it wasn't for your helpful videos.

[@Demiurge13]

never understood people who have so little patience, must havs a.d.d. or something. Ultimately its self-defeating, but they are too dumb to realize it.

[@Caterineliem]

Your comment was made 2 years ago, yet what happened then still happened just yesterday to me with an addition of mocking the new players.

[@HohMahGawd]

Wow great introduction to CT, I am very thankful that you take the healers role into account. I will take my friends to your excellent guides. Thanks for the help.

[@EliSantana]

Your accent gets more and more Canadian with each video. I like it.

[@MTQcapture]

Haha, that's awful!!

[@Marigoldenn]

Thank you for this guide. I just started playing and people are wayyyy too strong for these mechanics to matter any more so I never properly learned them. Nice to see how it was supposed to be done. Nowadays everything's just burned down lol

[@thricerighthere]

Exactly. I did this raid for the first time yesterday. People were just plowing through everything. I was so confused. Didn't understand the mechanics one bit. But hey, can't complain. That 100 allagan tomestones is all I need. lol

[@Zedek]

@@thricerighthere Actually, I think that is cool in its own. What would be levelling worth if you, the saviour of the world, would still crumbe at Level 50 enemies? x)

[@RealNekoGamer]

I like how "Hugh Jass" is standing in the goo as if to show us what happens when we do.

[@kovnsk]

The Platinals are triggered by HP percentage, so there are always 3 sets. You *don't* want to DPS the boss too hard or you might kill it with Platinals still alive (so without the Enladen debuff), and if you have more than 2 run into the boss, it's a wipe. Also, it's better to kill skeletons on top of the pads so they're easy to see from afar, so tanks don't accidentally put skeletons too close to each other. The Astral Realignment buffs overlap for exactly 20 seconds -- tanks should pay attention and stop using threat combos when their buff is at 20 seconds.

[@doramas1079]

Thx for the awesome guides, =D. Keep the incredible work! This raid seems pretty straightfoward.

[@silverwolf115]

Queing up for this is a nightmare x3x

[@akiroize]

yap.. u most likely want to prepare a group before, cause it might never pop lol

[@achilles_wiggen]

i saw Hugh Jass! Always a nice sight ;D

[@winonaryder5000]

I don't know how many times I've gone through CT without knowing what to do during the thanatos fight.

[@KeaganKellogg]

Spicy Frontal Cones has to be the name of my next fantasy team. Great guide, thanks!

[@plumbcrazy9195]

Well hopefully rewatching this for 8 hrs until I get home will have me ready lmao and this is only part 1. Jokes aside thank you for help

[@babygiraffeman]

once again, thanks for the recap. catching up after some years and I'm stoked they actually tie this to the MSQ. would be daunting without this. thanks homie.

[@Rc3651]

I'm really happy to see that you're making videos again, I missed your succinct and straight-to-the-point guides. There might be some quibbles about strategy, but this should give anyone who needs it a solid introduction to the dungeon. Can anyone confirm something for me, though? On Atomos, what's the split for the platforms? I had originally thought it was 4 on the back platform, but I'm starting to think it's 6 people split between both the front and the back platform. One group that I was in that had no melee couldn't activate the back platform until we had 6 people on it, and some groups told us that you had to have 2 people on the front one. I've never had a problem with it since, but I'm curious what the specific mechanic is.

[@dustpal]

Where am I supposed to click for part 2? Mentioned a few times in the video, but idk where it wants me to click.

[@KGhaleon]

I just saw it in my suggestions, it was the next video on the auto play list. kzbin.info/www/bejne/l5Sahnqll9h5p7M

[@Solinaru]

Awesome guide! I just finished my first run of CT blind today, and (as a WHM) it was hectic as I had no idea what was going on. (We still survived thankfully!) But really great and clear explanation here as to the mechanics of the fights and what everyone should be doing on them!

[@freakygeeky485]

hi to you I like to say thank you for all that you do. for me you are my one go to for all my raid need's and more keep it going thnx :-)

[@nekrovx]

luv ur hud displays everything yet so clean had to copy it :p

[@keithnaori9923]

Your guides are so clean, clear and pristine, thank you! Only thing I am having hard time is the sharp "S" , I am autistic, my hearing is very sharp xD but nothing you can do about.

[@zactheninja]

Yay Mizzteq! HUZZAH! Thanks for the new guides, I'd been waiting to run CT!

[@luluchickenhead7375]

Thank you so much for the guides!

[@nathanielballesta3355]

Excellent explanation of mechanics!

[@MultiJellybones]

love your voice

[@SergioSource]

So far this seems pretty straightforward for healers

[@Tommyrob12]

Looking forward to your 2.2 videos =D

[@TizzTv]

People make it hard to play for new player or player who havent played this yet

[@DragonKnight90001]

......is it bad im a dragoon for this?, i see 2 dragoons but.......... should i start raising other classes???

[@xdroxorz009]

Avoid purpl, avoid orang, stand on uppy platform, smack the thing when it come close, stand on platform when it go glow.

[@vvarbug]

Really great videos MT

[@heavensentlol]

Hi - Great video, I like your stuff (yay, subscription); However, I disagree entirely about where you suggest tanking Bone Dragon. I don't understand why groups do this, but tanking the Bone Dragon in the far North platform doesn't make practical sense from a melee dps standpoint. The platforms are so small that the dps will need to position in awkward positions. Maybe your Bone Dragon guide works for a 24-person FC, but when you are playing as a PUG as you most certainly are in CT, well... keep the dragon in the centre and everyone can hit it. There is plenty of time to kill the skellies before they explode. Enjoy!

[@k2m297]

omg, she sounds so young in this video

[@taelok]

Oh hai, Hugh Jass again!

[@That1GamerDad]

About to do this once I get queued 😳😫😫

[@kitsunehanyou09]

Thank you for this fun and informative video :D Admittedly, I'm just watching this to think "I wish we were this coordinated" while giggling at my past runs. If I could ask, there are times when I'm playing Dragoon and volunteer to sit on the pad when we have like 3 melee dps and 1 ranged (usually myself, a monk(or 2) and a ninja (or 2), and then a bard or BLM). Which would be better suited for pad sitting in that situation?

[@PandaPowerable]

kitsunehanyou09 This concerns me too as a monk. What if there aren't enough ranged dps in the raid?...and who decides who goes into which group when it splits into three groups?

[@eveoleson5160]

Do you play normally with so few hotbars? No buttons for your mount or to change class or whatever?

[@Serxne_]

+Eve Oleson She probably has them, but uses the shift toggles for each hotbar when needed. That's what I do. Having a clean HUD is really great when streaming or recording and makes your videos look better.

[@eveoleson5160]

What's shift toggling?

[@Serxne_]

When playing the game, holding Shift + # changes your bar to whatever number you press. So if ! and 2 are visible, but you have icons on 4,5,6; You can go to the bars with Shift + 4/5/6 without having them as dedicated pop ups. Try it out. It's easier to do and understand then for me to explain with my broken english

[@eveoleson5160]

Eric Gibson No I get you. I didn't realize you could do that and I've been playing awhile lol. The options menu is kind of a mess :P

[@Serxne_]

So-so. I find the HUD customization options to be splendid.

[@energiadeestrella]

Hi MTQcapture, the signs that represent the other alliances dont let me see because they are in front of me. Do you know how can i move it? :)

[@CeliLarsonient]

Did you do two runs or did you switch between healing and tanking? If you were switching, why? Or are there just two characters with the same name somehow?

[@Dordracnor]

The Warriors of light are the true heroes of Marvel's Endgame

[@DayinShade]

I just want to gather in Coerthas Western Highlands.

[@z0ro_62]

Gonna have to fix my hud it put the other partys right in th middle of my screen

[@Lorijenken]

Any advice for a WHM? New to the game.

[@endlesseclipse6367]

While it is important to focus on your tanks/dps, its also VERY important that you prioritize yourself over everyone else. Just dodge AOEs, pay attention to the boss mechanics and you're good.

[@endlesseclipse6367]

Oh, also, its good to communicate with your tanks about pacing. If they're pulling too much than you can handle, be sure to let them know and they'll (hopefully) adjust that for you. GLHF.

[@aaronr.265]

Alliance Raids used to have 2 tanks?

[@mavis5428]

tanks

[@skye3107]

how to find crystal palace

[@ioan_jivan]

oh so that's what was happening :P

[@indefinableification]

the fact you're still forced to do this in 2023 among other raids simply to get to the first expansion is nothing short of stupid though. i mean they were supposed to cut and make the experience easier (they've cut what 10 quests, 10 easy to do quests that take less than 30 mins - that's it).

[@juvygenius]

Almost curious if the fact of being in a high end raiding guild for WoW just makes these fights seem simple to me =P. Your guides do an amazing job of simplifying them though.

[@susanne3317]

Great video :) very nice voice.... but much to fast spoken... when you have the chance to translate this guide into german, I would be the happiest person in the world : )

[@magnificent0215]

Hello and can someone plz help when can I open this. I'm lvl 50 and finished the main story and played all of like extra mean mission and still don't get it plz help and thx

[@bertmollar]

it starts with a quest in Revenants Toll. an NPC named Outlandish Wanderer or something will have a quest that lets you talk to Remmbroes. The quest is called Legend of Allag or something like that Hope that helps

[@magnificent0215]

Yeah thx man I got

[@Vinex3431]

I wonder if anyone even like still does this or whatever I really wanna expirence the very first raid

[@Vinex3431]

+Fiona Byrne how did you know? xP

[@arturius9715]

New people joining everyday...i just started and haven't had a problem getting into any dungeon or raid

[@inquity6]

oh god

[@Diephoon]

spicy!

[@ThaFreggy]

I like your videos but you talk a bit to fast sometimes

[@Sinnessa]

You might be the only person in the world who thinks that.

[@shadowthehedgehog181]

I didn't realize how deep her voice got over the years... 😳

[@anungunrama9344]

bruh im new why do tanks do everything cringe man

[@rosamiyako4398]

I despise this raid DESPISE LOL...it’s so long and crappy

[@Demi_Nguyen]

FFXIV meets Log Horizon

[@magnedeusfenrir9582]

Thai Nguyen umm how?

[@syriquez]

Please don't pull the Bone Dragon to the back platform. It is an awful, awful idea. The only reason people do it is because the first group to post a video did it. It creates a lot of wasted effort for everyone and gives no benefits *other* than the reduced chance that people eat the giant cone breath attack (you shouldn't be standing in front of bosses if you're not the main tank in general anyway). And the skeletons don't spawn on a timer, they spawn based on a percentage of the dragon's health. It has nothing to do with the raid's DPS. Three groups of two skeletons, always.

[@MTQcapture]

This is a better strat. However, the only time I've ever seen someone attempt this they were met with EXTREME opposition by the rest of the PUGs. This video isn't the only way to do things, obviously..but I make these in such a way to show the average person what to expect in the average PUG. Hopefully once the stigma of "omg why are you thinking outside the box OMG what are you doing this isn't how mr happy said to do it!?!?!?" wears off people will settle into the easier strategies :)

[@syriquez]

MTQcapture The problem is that the people who advocate the strategy, like yourself, fail to actually provide a reason for why it is supposedly better. It's awful for literally every single person on the raid to have to deal with for the again, dubious benefit of preventing the cone breath attack from hitting anyone.

[@hollengrhen1]

I bet she does TikTok!!!

[@hollengrhen1]

THE FUCKING MUSIC!!! STOP IT