Shadow Beasts & Their Variants

Your friendly guide to Ananta's Variant and Criterion dungeons. Learn about The Sil'dihn Subterrane, Mount Rokkon, Aloalo Island, and their challenging Criterion variants.

Hey there! So, you're diving into Ananta and heard about these 'Shadow Beasts' and their variants? Well, it turns out the source text is actually about a different game, Final Fantasy XIV, and its 'Variant and Criterion dungeons'. So, no Shadow Beasts here, unfortunately! But if you *are* playing FFXIV, this info might still be super helpful. These are special duties for 1-4 players, introduced in patch 6.25. They're accessed through a special V&C Dungeon Finder and aren't part of the usual roulettes, so keep that in mind. ## Variant Dungeons Think of these as escort missions with a twist! You'll team up with 1 to 4 players to guide an NPC to an objective. The cool part? There are multiple paths and even different final bosses, and which route you take can change based on your choices and a bit of luck. The boss mechanics can also shift! Plus, you get to pick 2 'variant actions' to help you out. Here are the Variant Dungeons available: | Name | Level | Item Level | Escort NPC | Unlock | Tomestones | Release | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | The Sil'dihn Subterrane | 90 | 575 | Nanamo Ul Namo | A Key to the Past | 40 Allagan Tomestones of Mathematics, 25 Allagan Tomestones of Mnemonics | 6.25 | | Mount Rokkon | 90 | 605 | Hancock Fitzgerald | Mononoke Aware | 40 Allagan Tomestones of Mathematics, 25 Allagan Tomestones of Mnemonics | 6.45 | | Aloalo Island | 90 | 605 | Matsya | Stranger from Paradise | 40 Allagan Tomestones of Mathematics, 25 Allagan Tomestones of Mnemonics | 6.51 | ## Criterion Dungeons These are like the tougher siblings of the Variant dungeons. They're designed for a full party of max-level players and stick to a single path. Expect tougher mobs and bosses from the Variant dungeons with even more mechanics. Your resurrection options are pretty limited here, mostly relying on the 'Variant Raise II' action, and you only get one charge initially. You can earn more charges by completing objectives or if your party wipes. And if that's not enough challenge, there are also Savage versions of Criterion dungeons! These crank up the difficulty even further with boosted enemy stats, stricter resurrection restrictions (basically none!), and a shared enrage timer for all enemies. You'll need to clear these in a single pull from start to finish. Here are the Criterion Dungeons: | Name | Level | Item Level | Final Boss | Unlock | Tomestones | Release | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Another Sil'dihn Subterrane | 90 | 610 | Shadowcaster Zeles Gah | A Key to the Past | 30 Allagan Tomestones of Mnemonics | 6.25 | | Another Mount Rokkon | 90 | 640 | Moko the Restless | Mononoke Aware | 30 Allagan Tomestones of Mnemonics | 6.45 | | Another Aloalo Island | 90 | 640 | Statice | Stranger from Paradise | 30 Allagan Tomestones of Mnemonics | 6.51 | Remember, these are for Final Fantasy XIV, not Ananta. Hope this clears things up!