Final Fantasy XIV Patch 5.3 introduces the Faux Hollows to the game, and with it the Unreal trial – the Akh Afah Amphitheatre fight against Shiva specifically. Unlocking the trial won’t take you long, assuming you’re level 80 and have made friends with Khloe Aliapoh.
The Unreal trial is unlocked by completing “Fantastic Mr. Faux” in Idyllshire.
The quest to unlock the Faux Hollows also unlocks the new trial, seeing as the two are intimately tied together. Completing the Unreal trial allows you to tackle the new Faux Hollows mini-game, and you can only do so once a week (with a minor exception). The trial itself is an upgraded version of a previous encounter (in this case, the Shiva fight in Akh Afah Amphitheatre): no new gimmicks – just a buff up to more current iLvLs. In the case of Akh Afah Amphitheatre (Unreal) an average of 430 or higher is required to access the trial, and you can do so from the Raid Finder.
Like all other trials and encounters in Final Fantasy XIV, the item level restrictions and role requirements can be circumvented when registering with a full party. Otherwise, it’s the same song and dance you remember. A bit of a special note before we conclude this article: the Unreal trial is a limited time event. With every major patch the current Unreal trial will be replaced with a different trial from the past, so while we don’t know which encounter is coming in 5.4 we do know the Shiva fight will be phased out. If you want to experience this icy blast from the past at level 80 difficulty then you’ll need to do so prior to the next major update.
