Apex Expeditions are the server's Prestige-enabled level-99 challenge ladder. They use a private BCNM record and 30 dedicated enemies in Balga's Dais. No retail battlefield record, spawn group, or reward table is replaced.
Format
- one player; subjob and Trusts permitted
- level 99, no level cap, no EXP loss
- 30-minute limit
- three waves of three enemies, followed by one boss
- three private arenas can run concurrently
- rewarded and practice entries use the same progression gates, roster, scaling, phases, timer, and Trust rules
- no random drops, natural mob gil, or direct gil clear reward
- Prestige perks apply only while inside the battlefield
The Apex Marshal in Celennia Expedition Hall separates rewarded entry from practice entry and explains status, eligibility, scaling, mechanics, rewards, and the weekly repeat-reward cap before entry.
Shared progression gate
Every tier requires:
- current main job at level 99
- Paragon at 3,000 Expedition Renown
- Hunting League level 99 clear
- Dungeon Depth X clear
- a selected Prestige discipline on the current job
| Difficulty | Additional gate |
|---|---|
| Hard | current-job Prestige rank 1 |
| Extreme | current-job Prestige rank 4 and at least one Hard clear |
| Mythic | current-job Prestige rank 8 and at least one Extreme clear |
Reward-free practice
Practice runs are mechanically identical to the selected rewarded difficulty. They do not bypass level, Hall, Prestige, prerequisite-clear, party, staging, or safety gates.
A practice clear grants and changes none of the following:
- Boss Essence or Expedition Renown
- Hard, Extreme, or Mythic clear counts
- prerequisite-clear unlocks
- highest Apex difficulty
- first-clear state
- weekly reward week or repeat-reward count
- items, gil, EXP, or natural enemy rewards
The battlefield still logs the attempt, result, duration, job role, Prestige rank, party/Trust composition, and an explicit practice=true marker. Losses and manual exits also retain the practice marker while clearing all active/pending mode state. A successful practice run may satisfy a previously selected Compass combat recommendation, but that guidance record grants no power or currency.
Encounter families
Each difficulty has a distinct four-family identity. Regular families rotate position between waves so consecutive pulls do not repeat the same lineup.
| Difficulty | Wave families | Boss |
|---|---|---|
| Hard | Demon, Gnole, Gargouille | Behemoth |
| Extreme | Dullahan, Chapuli, Craklaw | Cerberus |
| Mythic | Yztarg, Ironclad, Soulflayer | Shadow Dragon |
Base scaling
Values below are bonuses over the level-99 family baseline. Bosses add another +50% HP, +5% ATK/DEF, +10 combat rating, +5 MDEF, +25 Regain, and +5 Regen.
| Difficulty | Regular HP | ATK/DEF | ACC/RACC/MACC/EVA/MEVA | MDEF | Regain | Regen |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hard | +50% | +15% | +20 | +10 | +50 | +5 |
| Extreme | +125% | +30% | +40 | +20 | +100 | +10 |
| Mythic | +200% | +45% | +60 | +30 | +150 | +15 |
These are production starting targets, not claims of completed job balance.
Boss phases and soft enrage
| Difficulty | Deterministic phase mechanics | Soft enrage |
|---|---|---|
| Hard | boss gains +10% attack and +10 combat rating at 50% HP | 20 minutes |
| Extreme | two reinforcements enter at 60%; boss gains +15% attack and +15 combat rating at 25% | 18 minutes |
| Mythic | three reinforcements enter at 70% and another three at 35%; boss gains +20% attack and +20 combat rating at 20% | 15 minutes |
Soft enrage adds tier-specific attack, accuracy, magic accuracy, ranged accuracy, and Regain to active enemies. Reinforcements that enter after enrage inherit it. The intent is to create priority-target and pacing decisions without blanket job immunities or an instant hard wipe.
Deterministic rewards
| Difficulty | First clear | Rewarded repeat |
|---|---|---|
| Hard | 6 Boss Essence, 150 Renown | 3 Essence, 75 Renown |
| Extreme | 10 Boss Essence, 300 Renown | 5 Essence, 150 Renown |
| Mythic | 16 Boss Essence, 600 Renown | 8 Essence, 300 Renown |
First clears are always rewarded and do not consume the repeat allowance. Afterward, seven rewarded Apex clears per Earth week can grant repeat rewards across all three difficulties. Additional rewarded clears remain recorded but grant no Essence or Renown until the weekly reset. Practice clears never enter this accounting. There is no random gear roll, jackpot token, or gil conversion.
Failure and cleanup
A loss or manual exit grants no clear reward. A practice clear or loss prints bounded duration, highest wave/Sovereign phase, soft-enrage state, and the Apex Marshal's mechanics/practice preparation route; a manual exit remains quiet. The recap is presentation only. Prestige modifiers are removed on every exit path. After staging, entry revalidates the complete progression gate plus zone, alive/charmed state, party size, combat, event, instance, and battlefield registration. A stale menu or changed character state therefore cannot create a private run.