Deep Dungeons have been a staple in the Final Fantasy XIV community. These instances' rogue-like mechanics and randomness have players on their toes. While these challenges can be intimidating due to their ever-changing nature, they are good sources of Gil and other fantastic loots. Heaven-on-High is the second Deep Dungeon to be introduced in the game, and it is as unique as the first one that offers a distinctive leveling and reward system.
What is Heaven-on-High?
This Deep Dungeon that most people call HoH is a 100-floor challenge that shifts its structure every time players enter it. The dungeon was released during the Stormblood expansion while the Hildebrand questlines went live. Unlike Palace of the Dead, only the first 30 floors of HoH are story-based, and the remaining 70 floors are this dungeon's version of PotD's Hellsward floors.
FFXIV Heaven-on-High Unlock
HoH has more unlock requirements than the first Deep Dungeon. To be eligible to enter this instance, players need to meet several criteria aside from being level 61 in either Disciple of War or Disciple of Magic. The main requirement is that gamers should have already completed the "Tide Goes In, Imperial Go Out" main scenario quest. Aside from these two conditions, raiders should have also completed the 50th floor of the Palace of the Dead.
To unlock HoH, players need to complete the "Knocking on Heaven's Door" quest issue by Hamakaze in The Ruby Sea. For gamers to enter the dungeon, they just need to interact with the same NPC since he is the entry point for HoH.
Heaven-on-High Leveling System
Like PotD, Heaven-on-High level progression is also separate from the world outside the zone. Regardless of whether players are beyond rank 61 or not, every gamer's character level will be set to 61 upon entering the dungeon. Only actions or skills available for this level with being unlocked.
As players clear more floors, they will also gain exp to help them rank up. Exp gained is constant and will not change even if there are multiple members in a party. As raiders gain more levels, they will also unlock more abilities to use in the dungeon. However, gamers can only reach up to level 70 as this is the cap for HoH.
Heaven-on-High Gear System
Similar to the first Deep Dungeon, Heaven-on-High will also be featuring its own gear system and build. When players enter an instance of the second Deep Dungeon, they are given a new set of items known as Empyrean Aetherpool. More robust variants of these pieces of equipment can be found as raiders go through each floor and receive loot.
Empyrean Aetherpool can be enhanced up to a maximum strength of +99. However, there is a chance of honing failure depending on the gear's current level and where the enhancement materials were found. In addition, the strength of the Aetherpool will continuously sync with the players' current level. The gear's power cannot exceed the item strength limit set by the character's rank.
Pomanders
These unique items provide various bonuses and abilities when used or equipped by party members. The effects can range from delivering strong buffs to the party, debuffing or inflicting status ailments against floor enemies, or revealing information about the next floor. HoH shares the same list of Pomanders with the Palace of the Dead. However, there may be some differences. Here are all the available Pomanders in this dungeon:
For the Next Floors:
- Affluence – the number of treasure coffers is increased
- Alteration – replaces opponents on the floor with mimics or mandragora
- Flight – the number of enemies is reduced
For the Current Floors:
- Concealment – makes the party invisible to enemies and traps
- Fortune – the drop rates for treasure coffers are increased
- Frailty – enemies take increased damage and deal reduced damage
- Intuition – detects Accursed Hoard
- Petrification – petrifies all enemies for 30 seconds
- Purity – removes the Accursed Pox debuff
- Raising – a down party member is instantly raised
- Safety – all traps are removed
- Serenity – all floor enhancements are cleansed
- Sight – the entire floor layout is revealed
- Steel – damage received is decreased by 40% for 8 mins
- Strength – damage dealt, and HP recovery is increased by 30% for 8 mins
- Witching – all enemies within a 30-yalm radius are polymorphed for 30 seconds
Magicites
Perhaps the starkest difference between HoH and PotD, aside from the number of floors, is the existence of Magicites. As players traverse through the 2nd Deep Dungeon's floor, they will probably loot items called Magicites. These materials can be used to summon primals or espers that can help them during fights. Only three kinds of these items can be held simultaneously, and they are stored in a shared inventory with the party. Here are all the available Magicites per run:
- Crag – summons a simulacrum of Titan
- Inferno - summons a simulacrum of Ifrit
- Vortex - summons a simulacrum of Garuda
- Elder - summons a simulacrum of Odin
Floor System
In total, Heaven-on-High has 30 ordinary floors and 70 challenging floors. Most players and casual raiders only aim to clear the first thirty, while more hardcore gamers try to finish all the remaining levels. As a Deep Dungeon, the HoH floor setup varies for every entry.
Players cannot predict what type of enemies will appear, what floor enhancements will take effect, or what traps they should look for as they traverse the dungeon. However, the final boss for every 10 floors is always constant, so at least gamers will be able to prepare. Here is the list of notable enemies and bosses per set of levels:
Floors 1 to 10
- Notable Mobs: None
- Notable Patrols: Heavenly Shark
- Boss: Mojabune
Floors 11 to 20
- Notable Mobs: Heavenly Hand
- Notable Patrols: None
- Boss: Beccho
Floors 21 to 30
- Notable Mobs: Heavenly Hatamoto and Heavenly Yuki
- Notable Patrols: None
- Boss: Hiruko
Floors 31 to 40
- Notable Mobs: None
- Notable Patrols: None
- Boss: Bhina
Floors 41 to 50
- Notable Mobs: None
- Notable Patrols: Heavenly Mizumimizu and Heavenly Kuro-Usagi
- Boss: Gozu
Floors 51 to 60
- Notable Mobs: Heavenly Maru-Ishi, Heavenly Rachimonai, and Heavenly Tesso
- Notable Patrols: None
- Boss: Suikazura (Scylla)
Floors 61 to 70
- Notable Mobs: Heavenly Wakakuso (Morbol Sproutling)
- Notable Patrols: None
- Boss: Kenko (Hellhound)
Floors 71 to 80
- Notable Mobs: Heavenly Noyagi (Deer), Heavenly Mammoth, Heavenly Tofu, Heavenly Jujishi (Griffin), Heavenly Yuki-Otoko (Yeti), and Heavenly Ichijama (Wraith)
- Notable Patrols: Heavenly Hyoga (Tiger) and Heavenly Shiro-jishi (Lion)
- Boss: Kajigakaka (Fenrir)
Floors 81 to 90
- Notable Mobs: Heavenly Mukai-inu (Chimera), Heavenly Rowan (Gorilla), Heavenly Ryuji, Heavenly Gozu (Minotaur), Heavenly Araragi (Goobue), and Heavenly Hitotsume (Cyclops
- Notable Patrols: Heavenly Garula (Buffalo) and Heavenly Rakshasa (Manticore)
- Boss: Onra (Xande)
Floors 91 to 100
- Notable Mobs: Heavenly Nuppeppo (Warrior), Heavenly Nuppeppo (Monk), Heavenly Mifune (Rider), Heavenly Jinba (Centaur), and Heavenly Shabti
- Notable Patrols: Heavenly Gozu (Minotaur) and Heavenly Tenma (Pegasus)
- Boss: None
Traps
Each time players load into a new floor, there is a high probability that traps will spawn within that area. These traps are hidden and will only activate when stepped upon by gamers. The size of the effect of these contraptions mostly hits the person who steps on it and any nearby players. Gamers should note that only one trap can spawn per floor. Here are the available traps in HoH:
- Otter Trap – turns players into Otters for 20 seconds.
- Luring Trap – spawns enemies from the floor that immediately attacks the party
- Landmine Trap – causes an explosion dealing damage equal to 80% of the players' HP
- Enervation Trap - reduces the damage dealt by players and increases the damage they receive
- Impeding Trap – silences and pacifies all nearby raiders for 30 seconds.
- Mimic Trap (not a floor trap) - turns a treasure coffer into a Quivering Coffer mob.
Floor Enhancements
Every level in HoH will always have some sort of status effect on players. These enhancements can be beneficial or detrimental to the players. These augments appear randomly, so gamers will have no way of knowing what the following enhancement will be. Here are all the possible status effects in Heaven-on-High:
Beneficial
- Haste
- Sprint
- HP/MP Increase
Detrimental
- Damage Down
- Blinded
- Unmagicked
- Auto-Heal Penalty
- No Items
- Amnesia
- HP Reduction
- Gloom
Hall Of Fallacies
This floor enhancement can occur simultaneously with other augments since it does not take up a slot. This effect essentially enlarges the existing floor turning it into a "mega-room."
Auspices
Every now and then, Auspices have the chance to appear within rooms of the current floor players are currently traversing. These creatures provide AoE buffs to every nearby player, so party members should ensure that everyone is close to these beings. The effects last for five minutes, and activating the buff again requires a cooldown. Here are the current Auspices in the second Deep Dungeon:
- Komainu – increases damage dealt
- Inugami – decreases damage taken
- Senri – adds an HP regen effect
Rewards
To be eligible for rewards, players need to complete each floor set. However, gamers don't need to beat all 100 floors to receive the loot. Here are all the potential rewards for Heaven-on-High:
- Far East of Eorzea Orchestrion Roll
- Parting Ways Orchestrion Roll
- Revolutions Orchestrion Roll
- Empyrean Necklace
- Wind-up Cirina Minion
- Frilled Dragon Minion
- Silver-Haloed Sack
- Gold- Haloed Sack
- Platinum-Haloed Sack
- Ballroom Etiquette – Excessive Petticoats Emote
Tips and Hints for Clearing HoH
- Communicate with the Party – There are a lot of shared items between party members during runs of Deep Dungeons. Pomanders and Magicites are the best examples. Players need to communicate to designate who will pop the Pomanders or the Magicites to avoid any overlap and wastage of items.
- Hug Walls in General – Most of the traps don't spawn near the walls of the floor, so sticking to these perimeters will ensure the party's safety against these contraptions. However, gamers should still be careful since hugging walls limits the group's mobility.
- Be Wary of Accursed Hoards – Most of the time, traps spawn near these types of loot, so players should be very wary of looting one.
- No Fixed Parties Can Spawn Beyond 30 – When running from the 31st to the 100th floor, players can no longer return to their current level once they have exited the dungeon. Upon leaving at any point from these 70 floors, parties will have to restart from the 30th if they want to race towards the 100th level.
- Only Use HoH Special Items When There is an Extra – Pomanders and Magicites are very useful and rare. Ideally, players should only use them during boss floors or challenging levels. However, parties can use their currently equipped items if they can find an extra to replace the one they used.
- Spread Out Before Popping a Petrification Pomander – Petrified enemies only take one hit before they are slain. To make the most out of this, players should scatter out to cover larger areas to easily clear out the floor quickly.
- Include At Least Two Summoners or Red Mages for Every Run – Both SMN and RDM are very useful to have in a party since both can cast Raise. The spell essentially acts as a safety net for the party.
Heaven-on-High is some of the most challenging content in the game. Players should remember that everyone makes a mistake, and it is usually best for parties to avoid in-fighting during their runs. In general, keep everything fun and organized.
