While they may continue to be a source of ongoing fan dispute with the game’s recent shift in content, Final Fantasy XIV’s Variant Dungeons have still become one of the most popular activities to date.
They’re flexible with party size, allowing players to even run them solo if they wish, and provide an abundance of puzzles and valuable loot from minions, to glam, to mounts.
Aloalo Island is the latest Variant Dungeon added to the game in Patch 6.51, and the new tropical locale brings with it plenty of new surprises for players, along with a special new mount as usual for those who complete every route and record. If you’re wondering how to go about unlocking all of them, here is our handy guide for FFXIV Aloalo Island – All Variant Dungeon paths.
All Routes in Aloalo Island Variant Dungeon
Below we’ve listed and described how to complete all 12 routes for Aloalo Island’s Variant Dungeon in Final Fantasy XIV. Just as with other Variant Dungeons, accurate completion of a route rewards you with a new, uniquely named record, which you can keep track of at any time in your V&C Dungeon Finder menu.
If you haven’t unlocked Aloalo Island yet, make sure you have the Main Scenario Quest “A Satrap’s Duty” completed first. You do not need to have completed the previously released Variant Dungeons (The Sil’dihn Subterrane, Mount Rokkon) to access Aloalo Island.
Then you can speak to Osmon in Old Sharlayan (X:12.0, Y:13.3), then to The Shallow Moor nearby him to pick up the “Stranger From Paradise” quest. Quickly fulfill its objectives and the Aloalo Island will unlock for you. You need a Level 90 combat job with a minimum ilvl of 605 to queue for the dungeon.
We’ve indicated each route by the record you receive at the end of the duty.
Record #1 – “A Not-quite Deserted Island”
For the first record, you’ll need to take the Left Path at the start. Defeat the mobs of enemies that come your way as you pass through the rocky overcrop. Defeat the first mini-boss summoned by the Lalafell and press onward. Defeat more mobs until Matsya stops to ask if he can fish at a certain spot. When a yellow exclamation bubble appears over his head, interact with him and when presented with dialogue options, pick “we should press on”.
Further ahead past the log barricade, you’ll see the same Lalafell (Zeal-blind Zozone) getting attacked by monsters. Do NOT intervene, and allow his HP to be depleted until he runs away. Defeat the mob afterward and press on to the final boss.
Record #2 – “The First Settlers of Aloalo Island”
Take the Left Path again for this one, and it will be very similar to the first run. When Matsya asks to fish, again tell him “we should press on”. This time, however, when you see the Lalafell being attacked by monsters, run in to help before he’s defeated. Kill the mob and proceed onward as normal to complete the dungeon.
Record #3 – “God of Heaven and Sea”
Again, we’ll be taking the Left Path for the third record, and this time when Matsya asks to go fishing, you can finally tell him “Fish to your heart’s content”. A short cutscene will ensue with the day passing by until sunset, at which point Matsya spots another good fishing spot and asks you to help him pick out bait.
There are two options, and for this record you want to go to the Patch of Sand on the right side of the dune. Interact with it to obtain the bait, and give it to Matsya.
Afterward, proceed onward to finish the dungeon normally.
Record #4 – “A Noxious Gift”
This is the last time you’ll be taking the Left Path, and for this record you’ll again tell Matsya to “Fish to your heart’s content”. Proceed through the cutscene, and when asked for bait, this time go to the Mound of Rocks on the left side of the dune to obtain it. Give it to Matsya and go on to finish the dungeon.
Record #5 – “The Roots of Arcanima”
This time you’ll be heading up the Middle Path. Defeat each mob of enemies as they come along, along with the first mini-boss. Soon you’ll head up a big tree trunk with Matsya, and the next mob will consist of Aloalo Crawler worms and one Treant. Pull the entire mob away from the stone sigil on the ground on the right side of the area (seen above), and kill them. If any die on the sigil, you’ll likely be locked out of obtaining the record.
Proceed forward through the rest of the dungeon to defeat the final boss.
Record #6 – “Under the Boughs of the Great Tree”
Again take the Middle Path, and initially follow the same steps as Record 5. Kill the Treant and worms away from the sigil again. After that, upon engaging the next mob you’ll notice a large bush with red flowers on the left side. After defeating the enemies, head through the bush and down a large branch to see a small group of Armadillos eating. Approach them to spook them and let them run away.
Head back up the branch to the main path, and there’s another red bush on the right side. Head through it to do the same thing as before, scaring the other pack of Armadillos until they flee. Then go on and finish the final boss.
Record #7 – “A Dear Friend”
We’re going up the Middle Path again, and this time when you reach the mob with the Treant and worms, initially pull them away from the sigil. Single-target focus and kill the Treant enemy first, then pull the worms over onto the sigil and kill them on top of it to activate it. If you accidentally kill the Treant on the sigil, it will absorb the magic emitted by the sigil and not allow it to activate.
Take the new branch path that emerges from the sigil, and head up to a new area where you’ll see 3 wood golems standing still, a mob of enemies in the center, along with a Miqo’te hiding behind the golem to your left. Pull the mob enemies away from the Miqo’te, making sure you don’t hit her with any attacks.
Soon the golems will come to life, which frighten the Miqo’te and she’ll then run away in fear. Defeat the golems and then proceed on to the final boss.
Record #8 – “Fish for the Mind”
Taking the Middle Path for the last time, follow the same instructions as Record 7, killing the Treant first away from the sigil, then killing the worms on top of it to activate it. Head up the path to the 3 golems, and this time you’ll want to damage the Miqo’te right away before she runs. She’ll still flee either way, this time after remarking about being spotted, but this will keep the golems from activating.
Kill the mob in the center, then move on to the final boss.
Record #9 – “A Familiar History”
This time we’re taking the Right Path. Deal with the mobs along the way, and defeat the first mini-boss. After that, you’ll encounter mischievous fairy who offers to help you navigate your way through. Choose to accept her help by selecting, “Well go on, don’t keep them to yourself”.
She’ll then create a portal for you to go through. Proceed through the rest of the dungeon as normal.
(Note: The small statues you see lying on their sides before the mini-boss do not affect anything in terms of records. They only slightly change the sequence of mechanics the boss executes, so you can freely choose to adjust them or not.)
Record #10 – “The Remnants of Faith”
Take the Right Path once again. This time when you reach the fairy, you’ll want to refuse her help at every juncture, so choose the following dialogue options when prompted:
- “I’m not interested in your secrets.”
- “I don’t know if I can…”
- “You just have…a wicked air about you.”
She’ll then rebuff you and vanish. Take the path Matsya makes for you to the left through some bushes. Continue ahead until you come across a group of suspicious-looking chests in the middle of the road. For this record, you want to IGNORE them, so run right past them. The fairy will appear once again and lament that you didn’t fall for her trick, then opens the next section of the path.
Later on, when you cross through an area with three large stone statues in a circle, proceed to the door on the far side and pull the lever next to it. Move on to the final boss.
Record #11 – “A Lalafell or a Fish?”
Up the Right Path we go, and once again deny the fairy’s help. After she vanishes and Matsya opens the new path for you, this time you want to approach the group of chests in your way. Upon interacting with them, they’ll of course turn out to be mimics. Kill them all and then proceed forward just as in Record 10, pulling the lever in the room with the statues when you reach it, and then head to the final boss.
Record #12 – “Wellspring of Golden Memories”
The 12th record is considered the final, “secret” route of the bunch that will bring you to a unique final boss and unlock the fairy mount for your character (provided you’ve successfully completed all other 11 records). Thus this route requires a bit of extra effort towards the end to properly complete.
Take the Right Path one last time, and when you reach the fairy, deny her help. Take Matsya’s path, and you can choose to interact with the mimic chests or not (we opted not to). The focal point of this record is the room with the three large statues (seen above). You’ll need to perform a sequence of special rituals on the pads in front of each of them, and they can be done in any order.
- Whale Statue: In say chat, type out “O messenger from beyond the horizon, hear me.” This then gives you a unique, timed buff. Next, run clockwise around the statues once and stop back at the Whale Statue’s Pad. Then run back around in the opposite direction once, ending on the Whale Pad. Perform the ‘/dance’ emote to finish the ritual.
- Sparrow Statue: In say chat, type out “O dancer of the skies, hear me.” You’ll get another timed buff. Use the ‘/blowkiss’ emote towards the statue, then run clockwise once around the statues, coming back to the Falcon Pad. Perform the ‘/dance’ emote to finish the ritual.
- Turtle Statue: In say chat, type out “O wayfarer of land and sea, hear me.” Again, you’ll get a timed buff. Now run counter-clockwise around the statues twice. Upon returning to the Turtle Pad after, perform the ‘/bow’ emote.
After finishing all three rituals, a new underground path will open in the center of the room. Head down it and through the fog. Defeat the mobs you encounter, until you see a looter named “Wobble-kneed Whasbyrm”. Defeat him and interact with the sack he drops. You’ll obtain three small statues from it, essentially miniature versions of the ones you saw before.
You need to place them in the correct order on the pedestals ahead of you. First the Sparrow statue on the one closest to you, then the Whale statue, then the Turtle statue last.
This finishes all the necessary steps to clinch your completion of Record 12. Defeat the secret final boss, and the achievement and mount will be yours.
That concludes our guide for FFXIV Aloalo Island – All Variant Dungeon paths. We hope you found this helpful, and let us know how you enjoyed the newest of the Variant dungeon series.
Be sure to check out all of our other guides for Final Fantasy XIV, such as how to get the Island Adenium Mount.
