Power-Locked: A Gear Guide for the Older Master Trials

The (not so) Master Trials

The Master Trials of FFXI are meant to offer the most difficult challenges in the game. However, the first batch of Master Trials was released in 2016. As a result, the more recent tiers of gear have made many of the older Master Trials trivial.

These fights are some of the most intricately designed encounters, and they highlight FFXI’s combat system like no other content. If you want to experience these encounters in a manner as close as possible to the way they were upon release, this guide will outline what tiers of gear and rewards you will want to avoid.

What is "Power-Locking"?
To power-lock an encounter means to take on that encounter with only the gear available upon release. The purpose of power-locking an encounter is to experience what the intended challenge for the respective encounter is. Because some of the older Master Trials went for weeks without clears, in this guide, the criteria that gear must meet to be considered appropriate for power-locking these encounters will be as follows; any gear available to the groups responsible for the world first clears. For example, the third Master Trial, Sealed Fate, came out in September, 2016. The first clear of this encounter appears to be in January, 2017. This means that, any gear in the game available in January, 2017 is considered appropriate for power-locking Sealed Fate, even if the gear wasn't available during the release of the encounter.

Reason for this Guide
The Master Trial rewards are purely cosmetic, lock-style weapons. But as the most intricate encounters, they were designed to offer players fun challenges through the combat system. The power-creep on these fights trivialized this category of content, which was designed specifically for those who appreciate the combat system that Square Enix has crafted for Final Fantasy XI. If the developers decide to rebalance all the power-crept Master Trials one day, than power-locking won't be necessary. But until then, hopefully this guide helps players better enjoy the most carefully designed encounters in the game.

Master Trial Requirements

The Master Trials that will be addressed by this guide will be the Master Trials released in Rhapsodies of Vana’diel, as the most recent Master Trials have not yet been powercrept. These encounters do have certain entry requirements:

• Must be level 99.
• Must have Job Mastered.
  • This means having 2,100 job points on the job you wish to play.
• Must have completed the Rhapsodies of Vana’diel story missions.
• Must be in possession of an entry item. These entry items can be purchased from Emporox for Potpourri (stored Merit Points). Emporox can be found in Reisenjima near Ethereal Ingress #8 which is unlocked by completing the Rhapsodies of Vana’diel story missions.
  • Letter from Reisenjima contains the additional requirement of having cleared the Letter from Iroha battlefield.

List of Master Trials

Black and White
This encounter was released on May 10, 2016 and it contains Alexander, Odin, and 9 Valkyries. The entry item is the Treatise On Monochromacy, and the entrance to the battlefield is in the Alzadaal Undersea Ruins at (I-9).

Unafraid of the Dark
This encounter was released on July 5, 2016 and it contains the Shadow Lord, and the Three Beastmen Leaders. The entry item is the Gloomy Charm, and the entrance to the battlefield is in Castle Zvahl Keep (S) by Home Point #1.

Sealed Fate
This encounter was released on September 6, 2016 and it contains Ultima and Omega. The entry item is the Beckoning Bell, and it’s entrance is in The Garden of Ru'Hmet near Home Point #1.

Letter from Reisenjima
This encounter was released on August 7, 2018 and it contains Iroha, Lion, Prishe, Nashmeira, Lilisette, and Arciela. It’s entry item is the Letter from Reisenjima, and the entrance is in the Reisenjima Sanctorium, near Ethereal Ingress #6.

Crystal Paradise
This encounter was released on September 11 2023 and it contains the Zilart Brothers and the 5 Ark Angels. The entry item is the Crystal Paradise and the entrance is in the Shrine of Ru'Avitau near Home Point #1.

Please Note: This fight has had no significant power creep, so it does not require to be power-locked in order to be experienced in the intended manner.

Oathsworn Blade
This encounter was released on February 13, 2024 and it contains August, Teodor, and the six wildskeeper naakuals. The entry item is the Oathsworn Blade and the entrance is in the Ra’Kaznar Inner Court near Home Point #1.

Please Note: This fight has had no significant power creep, so it does not require to be power-locked in order to be experienced in the intended manner.

Wing of War
This encounter was released on May 13, 2024 and it contains Bahamut and Chaos. The entry item is the Wing of War and the entrance is in Castle Zvahl Keep near Home Point #1.

Please Note: This fight has had no significant power creep, so it does not require to be power-locked in order to be experienced in the intended manner.

Power-Lock Criteria

Gear Categories
There are five categories of gear listed on the table:

• Weapons
• Armor
• Battlefield Rewards
• High-Tier Battlefield Rewards
• Content Rewards

For the weapons and armor categories, this will address entire classes of weapons or armor. For example, Relic weapons and Artifact armor are classes that belong in this category because acquiring these classes of weapons takes players through a plethora of different types of content.

For the last three categories, being Battlefields, High-Tier Battlefields, and Content, this refers to the rewards from the respective combat event. For example, the Null Masque doesn’t belong to a class of armor like the Artifact or Ambuscade armor, but it is a reward from a battlefield that was released years after some of the Master Trials.

Please Note: There will be some redundancy in the table below, but this is for the sake of making the table intuitive to read.

Gear Criteria
All gear will be broken into 3 categories:

Allowed
This is gear that was available to the world first groups at the time of their first clear. In some cases, this may include gear released after the encounter’s release, even if the first clear strategy didn’t utilize or depend on the gear in question. If you want to experience these encounters in a manner as close as possible to the first couple clears, use only the gear in the Allowed column.

Permitted
Not every early piece of new gear following the release of a Master Trial made the encounter significantly easier, and in some cases, the new gear didn’t offer any benefits at all. Master Trials were, no doubt, balanced with the soon-to-be released gear in mind. So, even if the permitted gear eases some of the challenges of the Master Trials, it will not keep players from experiencing the encounters the way they were intended to be experienced.

Not Allowed
Since the release of the older Master Trials, new tiers of gear have been released. Tiers of gear that the Master Trials were clearly not balanced for. Several High-Tier Battlefields, Odyssey, and Sortie reward gear that allows players to ignore certain key mechanics in the older encounters, so using gear within this category will fundamentally change the experience of clearing the respective Master Trial.

Power-Lock Table

This table outlines what gear is required and prohibited for a power-locked clear of the master trials.

Master Level System
Master levels were implemented after the following encounters. Therefore, it's strongly recommended to at master level 0, or at the lowest possible master level for your group when attempting them. This can be done by level syncing down to any party member.

The reason this is relevant is because master levels provide two benefits: Extra stats, and additional sub-job abilities. Both can change the experience of these encounters. So, level-syncing to the lowest leveled party member (preferably at master level 0) will better preserve the experience.

Power-Locking Criteria for Master Trials

Black and White
Gear	Allowed	Permitted	Not Allowed
Weapons	Relic 119 III Mythic 119 III Empyrean 119 III Aeonic 119 Geas Fete Weapons		Prime Weapons Ultimate Weapon Augments Ambuscade Weapons Dynamis Divergence Weapons Odyssey Weapons
Armor	Reforged Artifact +1 Reforged Relic +1 Reforged Empyrean +1 Geas Fete Gear	Reforged Artifact +2/3 Ambuscade Armor	Reforged Relic +2/3 Reforged Empyrean +2/3 Dynamis Divergence Gear Odyssey Gear Sortie Gear
Battlefield Rewards	Macrocosm Battlefields Microcosm Battlefields All Seekers of Adoulin Mission Battlefields All Rhapsodies of Vana'diel Mission Battlefields All pre-ilvl Battlefields		Peach Power Winds of Eternity (Quest) Phantasmic Hero (Mission) Moglesse Oblige (Mission) The Voracious Beast (Mission)
High-Tier Battlefield Rewards	All Rise of the Zilart Battlefields All Chains of Promathia Battlefields All Treasures of Aht Urhgan Battlefields All Avatar Phantom Gem Battlefields The Moonlit Path Waking the Beast Waking Dreams		Maiden of the Dusk The Wyrm God Divine Interference A Stygian Pact Champion of the Dawn Orb's Radiance
Content Rewards	Geas Fete Domain Invasion Unity NMs Sinister Reign Incursion Skirmish Delve Coalition Reives All Rhapsodies of Vana'diel Mission Rewards All Seekers of Adoulin Mission Rewards All pre-ilvl Content	Omen	Dynamis Divergence A.M.A.M. Trove Odyssey Sortie The Voracious Resurgence rewards
Unafraid of the Dark
Gear	Allowed	Permitted	Not Allowed
Weapons	Relic 119 III Mythic 119 III Empyrean 119 III Aeonic 119 Geas Fete Weapons		Prime Weapons Ultimate Weapon Augments Ambuscade Weapons Dynamis Divergence Weapons Odyssey Weapons
Armor	Reforged Artifact +1 Reforged Relic +1 Reforged Empyrean +1 Geas Fete Gear	Reforged Artifact +2/3 Ambuscade Armor	Reforged Relic +2/3 Reforged Empyrean +2/3 Dynamis Divergence Gear Odyssey Gear Sortie Gear
Battlefield Rewards	Macrocosm Battlefields Microcosm Battlefields All Seekers of Adoulin Mission Battlefields All Rhapsodies of Vana'diel Mission Battlefields All pre-ilvl Battlefields		Peach Power Winds of Eternity (Quest) Phantasmic Hero (Mission) Moglesse Oblige (Mission) The Voracious Beast (Mission)
High-Tier Battlefield Rewards	All Rise of the Zilart Battlefields All Chains of Promathia Battlefields All Treasures of Aht Urhgan Battlefields All Avatar Phantom Gem Battlefields The Moonlit Path Waking the Beast Waking Dreams		Maiden of the Dusk The Wyrm God Divine Interference A Stygian Pact Champion of the Dawn Orb's Radiance
Content Rewards	Geas Fete Domain Invasion Unity NMs Sinister Reign Incursion Skirmish Delve Coalition Reives All Rhapsodies of Vana'diel Mission Rewards All Seekers of Adoulin Mission Rewards All pre-ilvl Content	Omen	Dynamis Divergence A.M.A.M. Trove Odyssey Sortie The Voracious Resurgence rewards
Sealed Fate
Gear	Allowed	Permitted	Not Allowed
Weapons	Relic 119 III Mythic 119 III Empyrean 119 III Aeonic 119 Geas Fete Weapons		Prime Weapons Ultimate Weapon Augments Ambuscade Weapons Dynamis Divergence Weapons Odyssey Weapons
Armor	Reforged Artifact +3 Reforged Relic +1 Reforged Empyrean +1 Geas Fete Gear	Ambuscade Armor	Reforged Relic +2/3 Reforged Empyrean +2/3 Dynamis Divergence Gear Odyssey Gear Sortie Gear
Battlefield Rewards	Macrocosm Battlefields Microcosm Battlefields All Seekers of Adoulin Mission Battlefields All Rhapsodies of Vana'diel Mission Battlefields All pre-ilvl Battlefields		Peach Power Winds of Eternity (Quest) Phantasmic Hero (Mission) Moglesse Oblige (Mission) The Voracious Beast (Mission)
High-Tier Battlefield Rewards	All Rise of the Zilart Battlefields All Chains of Promathia Battlefields All Treasures of Aht Urhgan Battlefields All Avatar Phantom Gem Battlefields The Moonlit Path Waking the Beast Waking Dreams		Maiden of the Dusk The Wyrm God Divine Interference A Stygian Pact Champion of the Dawn Orb's Radiance
Content Rewards	Omen Geas Fete Domain Invasion Unity NMs Sinister Reign Incursion Skirmish Delve Coalition Reives All Rhapsodies of Vana'diel Mission Rewards All Seekers of Adoulin Mission Rewards All pre-ilvl Content	Omen NM - "Ou" Rewards	Dynamis Divergence A.M.A.M. Trove Odyssey Sortie The Voracious Resurgence rewards
Letter from Reisenjima
Gear	Allowed	Permitted	Not Allowed
Weapons	Relic 119 III Mythic 119 III Empyrean 119 III Aeonic 119 Geas Fete Weapons Dynamis Divergence Weapons	Ultimate Weapon Augments	Prime Weapons Ambuscade Weapons Odyssey Weapons
Armor	Reforged Artifact +3 Reforged Relic +3 Reforged Empyrean +1 Geas Fete Gear Ambuscade Armor		Reforged Empyrean +2/3 Odyssey Gear Sortie Gear
Battlefield Rewards	Macrocosm Battlefields Microcosm Battlefields All Seekers of Adoulin Mission Battlefields All Rhapsodies of Vana'diel Mission Battlefields All pre-ilvl Battlefields		Peach Power Winds of Eternity (Quest) Phantasmic Hero (Mission) Moglesse Oblige (Mission) The Voracious Beast (Mission)
High-Tier Battlefield Rewards	All Rise of the Zilart Battlefields All Chains of Promathia Battlefields All Treasures of Aht Urhgan Battlefields All Avatar Phantom Gem Battlefields The Moonlit Path Waking the Beast Waking Dreams		Maiden of the Dusk The Wyrm God Divine Interference A Stygian Pact Champion of the Dawn Orb's Radiance
Content Rewards	A.M.A.M. Trove Dynamis Divergence Omen Geas Fete Domain Invasion Unity NMs Sinister Reign Incursion Skirmish Delve Coalition Reives All Rhapsodies of Vana'diel Mission Rewards All Seekers of Adoulin Mission Rewards All pre-ilvl Content		Odyssey Sortie The Voracious Resurgence rewards

Job Changes

Since the earlier Master Trials were released, multiple jobs underwent several adjustments. While there aren't any job adjustments that fundamentally trivialize any of these encounters, they are worth mentioning. Some of these changes will allow for completely different strategies that weren't possible upon the Master Trials' release. Red Mage is one notable example, now having a set of abilities far better suited for these encounters than several years ago.

As a result, reading through the old clear posts may not be as helpful. If you would like to know how the jobs have changes over the last decade, they can be found in the version update posts on the official forums linked here:

https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxi/forums/84-Version-Updates/page6?order=desc

The majority of relevant job changes occurred in 2019 with a few before and after. If you or someone else is playing a job that has had any significant changes, it's encouraged that you test that job and new strategies.