Cinder Drift trial guide

Trial quick facts

Though the original Ultima Weapon, piloted by Gaius van Baelsar, was destroyed in the decisive battle at the Praetorium, Garlemald has been secretly developing its successor. Now, this diabolical melding of Allagan and Garlean technologies has been deployed to annihilate those who would oppose the Empire. At the behest of none other than Gaius Baelsar himself, you cross the scorched battlefield of the Ghimlyt Dark to halt this crimson menace before it lays waste to Eorzea.

• Category: Trial
• Difficulty: normal
• First Appearance: Patch 5.2, *Shadowbringers*
• Level: 80
• Item Level Requirement: 455
• Party Size: Full Party (8 players)
• Required Quest: Ruby Doomsday
• Entrance: Eorzean Alliance Headquarters
• Entrance Coordinates: 6.2, 6.1
• Location: Cinder Drift
• Region: Gyr Abania

Before queueing

Use the quick facts to check level, item level, party size, required quest, entrance, roulette, and time limit before queueing for Cinder Drift.

• Repair gear and meet the listed level/item-level requirements.
• Tell the party if it is your first clear.
• Use the local wiki link for exact duty facts and related articles.

Boss and mechanic notes

Cinder Drift has local boss notes for: Mark III Anti-Eikon Warmachina: The Ruby Weapon. These notes are pulled from the local wiki and should be treated as source-backed prep unless separately marked as human-reviewed strategy.

• Stamp - causes Ruby Weapon to stomp on its primary target with a vicious tank-buster.
• Optimized Ultima - unleashes unavoidable raid-wide damage.
• Flexiclaw - causes Ruby Weapon to plunge its elongated claws into the ground whilst hovering in the air, forming eight cracks in the floor which begin traveling in cardinal and inter-cardinal directions, alternating between long and short distances - long cracks reaching the outer edge of the arena, and short cracks stopping beyond halfway to the edges. Once the cracks finish traveling, Ruby Weapon unleashes Ravensclaw.
• Ravensclaw - spawns an AoE circle directly under Ruby Weapon. Shortly afterward, AoE circles will also appear at the end of all eight cracks that were formed by Flexiclaw. After a brief delay, all AoE circles explode, inflicting moderate damage and applying a stackable Vulnerability Up to anyone caught in the blast(s).
• Undermine - causes all cracks to explode after a brief delay, indicated by a glowing telegraph surrounding all crack-lines. To avoid, players must move away from the cracks or stand between them, as failure to do so will result in high damage and a stack of Vulnerability Up.
• Liquefaction - causes the entire arena to degrade into swirling quick-sand that slowly pulls all players into the ground. To avoid being dragged to an early grave, players must stand on the cracks.
• Ruby Ray - causes Ruby Weapon to face a random player and charge up a massive straight-line AoE that will slaughter anyone standing in its path. As the name implies, Ruby Ray is indicated by a swelling of red energy. Once you see Ruby Weapon charging up, move behind it (or beside it) as soon as possible.
• Helioclaw - causes Ruby Weapon to hover in the air and plant its flexible claws into the earth once more. While hovering, three AoE circles will form beneath Ruby Weapon, as well as a tri-lined "fan" pattern. After a brief delay, the AoE circles beneath Ruby Weapon will continuously explode while traveling in the direction of the pattern. To avoid, players should stand in-between the fan-lines and be ready to move away from the center (initially), then inward as the circles begin traveling to the outside of the arena.
• High-Powered Homing Laser - applies a stack-marker to two random players. As a result, the group will need to split in half to help soak each marker.
• Ravensflight - causes Ruby Weapon to leap to the outer edge of the battlefield and begin charging up. After a delay, Ruby Weapon will repeatedly dash across the arena in different directions, inflicting high damage to anyone caught in its path. Whilst charging up, telegraphs will display the order (and direction) of Ruby Weapon's flight, giving players a brief opportunity to discern safe locations. Anyone caught in Ruby Weapon's path will suffer high damage, and poor placement can easily result in taking multiple hits in a row. Watch out!
• Ruby Dynamics - after completing its flight-path, Ruby Weapon will land in the arena and prepare the swipe the entire arena with its extended claws, indicated by a massive donut AoE. To avoid, players must move within Ruby Weapon's hitbox as soon as possible.
• Homing Laser - marks the entire raid with large AoE circles, forcing everyone to spread out. After a brief delay, all circles will explode simultaneously for high damage. As always, make sure not to overlap other players with your own AoE circle.
• Meteor Project - starts a background timer that eventually leads to the summoning of Dalamud. The timer's progress will be indicated via text-comments throughout the course of the battle. Players will also notice the backdrop gradually undergoing various changes. At the timers climax, Dalamud crashes down into the background, resulting in a catastrophic spectacle that heavily damages the entire raid.
• Negative Personae - spawns two Nael-themed adds - each called Raven's Image - which must be tanked away from each other, one add per tank. Whilst these adds are alive, Nael van Darnus will remain untargetable.

Duty finder and rewards context

Use this section to decide whether the duty belongs in roulettes, high-end queues, mentor roulette, or repeat farming.

• Duty Finder: Trials (Shadowbringers)
• Roulette: Trials
• Time Limit: 60 minutes
• Tomestones: 12 Poetics

Completion notes

After your first clear, check whether the duty has mapping, clear, Blue Mage, loot, music, or collection reasons to return.

• Music: Phase 1: Ultima (The Primals)
• Music: Phase 2: Rise of the White Raven (Orchestral Version)

Verification boundary

This page is generated from local TJPedia wiki data. It does not invent missing mechanics, NPC coordinates, loot tables, or current-party-finder strategies. High-end positioning and current-prog tactics still need human review before being labeled as a full strategy guide.

• Source-backed: duty facts, local boss notes, achievements, and music.
• Needs human review: exact high-end progression strategy.
• Use official patch notes for changed requirements or rewards.

Related on TJPedia

Wiki: Cinder DriftDungeon route indexTrial and raid routeGuides hub