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Hmm... It occurs to me that no one bothered to tell you the name of the island we mean to explore. Am I correct? It's a bit grandiose and melodramatic, but we've tentatively named it for a place from Allagan legend. A forbidden land where fearsome weapons were hidden away for safekeeping... We call it...Eureka.
The Forbidden Land, Eureka (禁断の地エウレカ, Kindan no Chi Eureka?), is a series of 
Field operations introduced in patch 4.25 of Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood. It is an island with a thick atmosphere of various aspects of aether, a veritable land of elementals. The island is the displaced Isle of Val (バル島, Baru Tō?), which was thought to have been destroyed during the events of the Seventh Astral Era.
The area is accessed by speaking to Rodney in Kugane after clearing the sidequest 
And We Shall Call It Eureka, which unlocks after clearing the main scenario quest 
Stormblood. Its main purpose is to let players to obtain and evolve the new Relic gear, and to investigate the mystery about the isle's original disappearance.
Differences from other instances[]
Unlike other instances, players can enter Eureka by themselves, even without the Undersized Party option. Upon entering, the player's item level is synced to 300. There are no definitive objectives to clear and any objectives given are never listed, requiring the counseling of other players to help complete them. The instance will last until the timer runs out, though players are free to immediately reenter.
Players start in certain settlements and can interact with several characters to either monitor the weather, repair gear, redeem acquired Lockboxes, etc. as well as change classes. Parties can be formed or disbanded, letting players plan out their next attack while assisting lower-level players. The Return ability teleports back to the settlement. Though the instances can be entered and played solo, it still requires the assistance of other players and party formations due to the vagueness of objectives and increased strength of enemies.
Eureka gradually received updates adding additional areas to explore as well as new content.
Elemental EXP and the Magia Board[]
Similar to the Palace of the Dead, Eureka uses a different leveling system: Elemental Levels. Players can level up normally by defeating enemies, with the maximum level being capped depending on the instance; levels exceeding the cap will be synced down. Due to the thick atmosphere that permeates the land, the player has to attune to the elements as the monsters on the island are elemental-based.
Each player is given a Magia Board, which attunes to any of the six elements of the player's choosing: Fire, Lightning, Ice, Earth, Water and Wind. By clicking on the board, the player can redistribute points by rotating them to any of the elements, though this can only be done five times before the board will need to recharge, which can be done by interacting with the Magia Melder at the settlement, or by defeating enemies.
After achieving certain level milestones, Krile will inform the player of Magicites, which are located in various areas. In Anemos, collecting these will allocate additional points to chosen elements, further enhancing strength. In Pyros and Hydatos, obtaining items from certain fates will allow the player to add 2 more magicites for the magia board.
Elemental damage and EXP gain can be further enhanced by encountering Elementals, special fairies which provide an EXP and damage buff to those who stand within its area of effect. These elementals are also be targeted by enemy monsters and must be protected.
When the player reaches level 6, extra caution must be taken as a penalty will be invoked if the player is KO'd and chooses to return to the starting Aetheryte instead of being revived by another player. They will lose a portion of their collected EXP, and upon reaching level 11, level down, similar to Final Fantasy XI.
Enemies and Elemental affinities[]
The enemies present throughout Eureka are alligned to one of the six elements. Through usage of the Magia board, players can assign their points to elements that provide offensive advantages or allign themselves to the same element as the enemy for increased defense. Mobs alligned to certain elements also have qualities alligned to that element, e.g. wind-element enemies have a higher evasion, and thus are more likely to dodge attacks. Certain mobs also have the chance to undergo an 'adaptation' or 'mutation' which restores their health to full and increases their offensives capabilities, while increasing the chance of obtaining loot rewards and more elemental exp. Enemies that undergo 'Mutation' will often change to a new type of enemy, sometimes of a different element to their base form.
Aetherytes[]
Aetheryte shards are scattered throughout each instance. One is located at the main settlement, which can be attuned to immediately, while other shards require being at certain levels to attune with. They can be teleported to freely by interacting with them. Due to being instanced content, the Return ability can be used to return to the start of the instance, whereas the Teleport ability is disabled.
Mounts[]
Originally, Anemos let players unlock mounts at level 17 after completing objectives, while the later instances required them to be at their respective max level to unlock them (Pagos at level 35, Pyros at level 50, and Hydatos at level 60). However, mounts are now available from the get-go. It is possible to use multiple-passenger mounts to grant weaker party members safer passage throughout instances, though they are still vulnerable to enemy attacks. Flying with mounts in unavailable in Eureka.
Notorious Monsters[]
Notorious Monsters spawn as FATE bosses, which have their own elemental affinity. Completing these battles rewards all participating players a large sum of EXP and Allagan Tomestones of Mendacity, along with Lockboxes and Crystals, which can be redeemed for additional items. Notorious Monsters spawn after defeating a large number of enemies within a certain area. Some also require certain weather to appear.
In Pagos, Pyros, and Hydatos, special FATEs related with "Happy Bunnies" appear. Completing these will cause friendly NPCs to temporarily follow the participants and allow them to find hidden treasure located somewhere in the instance, indicated by a key item.
Relic Gear Augmentation[]
By defeating mobs and Notorious Monsters, players can receive Protean and Anemos Crystals, which can be redeemed when speaking with Gerolt to enhance the player's Lv. 70 job relic gear. By exchanging gear and Protean Crystals, the player can obtain the proper version of their weapon and gear along with +1 and +2 variants. The strongest variant is the Anemos gear, which can be dyed any color.
While the gear can be bought by exchanging Anemos Crystals and the correct +2 gear, the weapon requires the +2 variant plus three feathers of Pazuzu to augment, which drop for gold-ranked players whose level is 19 or higher. Though the Anemos weapons can be dyed any color, they produce a unique magical aura, the color dependent on the job class. The player can exchange Anemos Crystals for a large number of Protean Crystals to buy more gear
Logos Actions[]
In Pyros and Hydatos, players gain access to the Logos System, a mechanic that allows players to obtain and use extra actions not typically assigned to their current class. By finding items known as Logograms throughout the zones, by participating in Notorious Monster battles, defeating enemies in the field, Happi Bunni chests, or various lockboxes, players can speak to Drake to appraise the logograms to obtain base actions. These actions can then be set to a Logos slot via the Logos Manipluator. The Logos Manipluator can also be used to combine base actions to form stronger rarer actions, and even 2 actions at once. Initially, players can set upto 3 pairs of actions into slots at once, but this can be increased to 6 pairs by obtaining special slot items. Using a slot sets the actions in that slot to the duty action buttons, and frees up the slot to store more actions.
Baldesion Arsenal[]
After completing all of the Eurekan quests, players will have the privilege to participate in a new 56-man public dungeon called the Baldesion Arsenal, the hardest content in Eureka, and can only be entered in Hydatos. To enter, players must meet certain requirements: Attain Elemental level 60, complete the Eureka story in Hydatos, and complete the FATE called "I Don't Want to Believe," which only spawns in the Umbral Turbulence weather, only triggering when at least one Level 60 player is present in an instance.
Successful completion of the Baldesion Arsenal will reward any players currently alive extra epilogue quests to the Eureka story as well as an achievement through which they can claim the Demi-Ozma mount.
Instances[]
| Banner | Name | Player Limit | Level | Unlock | Release |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
The Forbidden Land, Eureka Anemos | 144 | 70 |  And We Shall Call It Eureka
|
4.25 |
|
The Forbidden Land, Eureka Pagos | 144 | 70 | And We Shall Call It Pagos
|
4.36 |
|
The Forbidden Land, Eureka Pyros | 144 | 70 | And We Shall Call It Pyros
|
4.45 |
|
The Forbidden Land, Eureka Hydatos | 144 | 70 | And We Shall Call It Hydatos
|
4.55 |
Etymology[]
The Forbidden Land, Eureka is named after the dungeon of the same name from Final Fantasy III. Eureka is an interjection used to celebrate a discovery or invention. "Eureka" comes from the Ancient Greek word εὕρηκα heúrēka, meaning "I have found (it)".
The island's original name, the Isle of Val, comes from the Castle of Bal from Final Fantasy V; Val and Bal are both spelled the same in Japanese.