What is a door boss in Final Fantasy XIV?

With The Arcadion (Savage) raid tier making its debut in Final Fantasy XIV, there’s been plenty of chatter around encounter design and what makes some of these fights really shine. Amid the discussions, you may see the term ‘door boss’ come up fairly often, but what does that mean?

For anyone who isn’t deep into FFXIV terminology, the term can be a little confusing. In short, a door boss is the first boss in a two-phase duty. Defeating this first boss creates a kind of checkpoint in the middle of the fight. When your enemy’s HP hits zero, there’s typically a cutscene and a new boss form.

Is this annoying? Sure, but it’s got its benefits. If the party wipes from this point on, you’ll start the fight over from the middle as long as you don’t leave the duty or run out of time. Should you exit either way, the party must start the fight over from the beginning and defeat the door boss again.

Duties with a door boss in Final Fantasy XIV

Door bosses crop up throughout all kinds of duties in FFXIV. Two notable door bosses are included in relatively low level duties – the level 50 trial Porta Decumana and the final boss of the level 60 dungeon The Aetherochemical Research Facility. They’re more common, however, in 8-player Raids and 24-player Alliance Raids.

The following Trials include a door boss:

• The Porta Decumana
• Battle on the Big Bridge
• Battle on the Big Keep
• The Crown of the Immaculate
• The Dying Gasp
• The Seat of Sacrifice
• Cinder Drift / Cinder Drift (Extreme)
• Castrum Marinum / Castrum Marinum (Extreme)
• Everkeep

As I said, door bosses are more common in Raids and Alliance Raids. Here’s the full list of door boss encounters in these types of duties: