Finally something more than Extreme Trials.
Square Enix recently held a live letter regarding patch 6.2 for Final Fantasy XIV. This new patch will include main story additions, balance changes, personal islands and also dungeon variants.
Dungeon variants were originally called Criterion Dungeons when they were first announced. In Variant Dungeons, players can play solo or with friends through a dungeon with a branching story, creating a new type of content for knowledge-hungry players. These dungeons are replayable so players can see every branch and outcome.
The first dungeon variant will be called The Sil'dihn Subterrane and players will explore the dungeon with a certain NPC character relevant to the dungeon's story. These dungeons can also be done with unsynced groups that don't fit the generally required roles (like in one tank, one healer, and two DPS).
Criteria dungeons still exist, and the name has been reused for more difficult versions of variant dungeons that follow a traditional format. Criterion dungeons will take variations of dungeons but only follow one path, require a typical group format, and are also more difficult as they do not allow players to freely respawn.
To make things even more intense, Criterion Dungeons will have a “Savage” difficulty option for highly equipped players. These Savage Criterion dungeons are reminiscent of Mythic+ in World of Warcraft. Players will need to act quickly as enemies will grow stronger over time. Players will also not be able to resurrect at all, and a full party wipe will force the entire dungeon to reset.
This means that players will have to clear the dungeon in one go with as few errors as possible. Rewards for Criterion Dungeons are unknown, but we can assume they will be of a similar item level to other end-game gear sources.
Players can try Variant and Criterion dungeons for themselves when they release with patch 6.2 in August.
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