How to unlock the Arcadion raids in FFXIV

You’ll need to know where to find the Arcadion unlock quest location to get stuck into the latest raid tier for Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail. Here’s the location of the quest, what you’ll need to do to unlock it, and what to expect from it going forward.

The Arcadion is the name of the 8-player raid series set to play out through the Dawntrail expansion. It follows in the footsteps of Pandaemonium in Endwalker, Eden in Shadowbringers, Omega in Stormblood, Alexander in Heavensward, and The Binding Coil of Bahamut from A Realm Reborn.

Where is the Arcadion unlock quest location?

To unlock the Arcadion raid in Dawntrail, speak to the Stylish Strange NPC in Solution Nine coordinates X:19.1 Y:18.8 to begin the quest ‘A New Challenger Appears’.

To grab the Arcadion unlock quest, you’ll need to have cleared the Dawntrail main storyline. It concludes with a quest of the same name.

You’ll know if you’re at the right point if the MSQ indicator says “To be continued…” If not, follow it until it does. There’s a post-credits scene that shows the Arcadion re-opening to cheer up the citizens of the penultimate zone for reasons we won’t explain here. Just know that that’s why you’re set to take part in the colosseum-style competition.

Between each Arcadion fight, you’ll want to talk to the NPCs to advance the story and unlock the next fight in the sequence. As is typical for the 8-man raid series fights, you can expect four battles total for patch 7.01 and a total of 12 throughout the expansion.

When will the next Arcadion fights release?

8-man raids like Arcadion release in even-numbered patches. After the 7.01 release (which is really just a delayed 7.0 patch), expect fights 5-8 and 8-12 to release in patch 7.2 and 7.4 respectively. The story will conclude with the final set in the trio.

These patches typically land around six months apart. Release dates won’t be finalized until a few weeks before they release, but it’s safe to assume around January 2025 for 7.2 and July 2025 for 7.4.

When does Savage Arcadion release?

Following a two-week delay from the expansion’s launch for the Normal mode Arcadion release, the Savage difficulty Arcadion is set to unlock a further two weeks later on Tuesday, July 30. We’ll add the quest unlock location for that as we find it.

Where do I get Arcadion gear and weapons?

You can exchange the gear tokens you earn from Arcadion fights via Hhihwi in Solution Nine. As you can only get one weapon token after clearing the final of the four fights each week, you’ll need to come back seven weeks after the launch of the tier for the weapon.

How to get 685 ilvl for Arcadion

The Arcadion has a minimum item level requirement of 685 to enter. The Artifact gear unlocked during the Dawntrail campaign (which increases in potency when equipped at level 100) will suffice, but you’ll need to source accessories to raise your average item level high enough.

Until the launch of the Savage tier and the crafting recipes that come with it, you’ll need to rely on the three level 100 dungeons to pad out the right side of your equipment screen. There’s the MSQ one, one from Nostalgia by the Backrooms of Solution Nine (‘Something Stray in the Neighborhood’), and another in Tuliyollal (‘It Belongs in a Museum).

Looking to unlock the latest classes? Here’s how to unlock Pictomancer and where to unlock the Viper class. And if you’re looking to tweak your character for the new expansion, check out how to get a free Fantasia for Dawntrail’s graphical upgrade and how to unlock the facewear slot to switch up your style.