A typical dungeon run in Final Fantasy XIV has a party of four following a laid-out, railroaded path from start to finish, and each instance has little variation from one another in its core design. That isn't the case when referring to the Variant Dungeon, Aloalo Island, which came with Patch 6.51.
Variant Dungeons present Warriors of Light with multiple options in how they should proceed and which of the paths in front of them to follow. Depending on the steps taken, players are given a mark of completion in their V&C Dungeon Finder to show which of the dungeon's routes they've finished. With each run of a Variant Dungeon, certain decisions can have a party face off against bosses unique to their route and take them to entirely new location.
Aloalo Island, like its predecessors Sil'dihn Subterrane and Mount Rokkon, has 12 different routes for you to complete. There are specific variations in decisions you must make during each run to earn an Aloalo Conservation Record in the V&C Dungeon Finder for that particular route. Once all 12 Conservation Records are collected, you'll complete an achievement that gives the Spectral Statice mount as a reward.
With the V&C Dungeon Finder unlocked and the initial quests to unlock Aloalo Island completed, you're ready to explore the island. The beginning of each run starts with the same choice — pick which of the three paths to take. The decisions presented and the final boss of the Variant Dungeon change depending on whether you choose the left, middle, or right paths. Matsya, your Matanga companion, will suggest a route each time, but following his suggestion only rewards an additional spoils chest later in the dungeon and doesn't affect any possible outcomes.
Here are all of 12 Aloalo Conservation Records and the steps required to complete them.
Disclaimer: All 12 routes were tested by the writers at Fanbyte and have been confirmed to work. While some adjustments may be made, Fanbyte writers have unlocked all routes to confirm they are as accurate as possible.
Conservation Record one – "A Not-quite Deserted Island"
Follow the left path and defeat enemies as they appear. When Matsya stops to fish and presents you with a dialogue option, tell him you should press on. The lalafell who appeared during the mini-boss earlier in the dungeon will be in the middle of the next pack of mobs at half-health. Get close enough to the enemies for them to begin attacking the lalafell, but don't interfere. Let the enemies attack the lalafell until he drops to zero health and then runs away. Defeat the mobs, then continue to the final boss.
Conservation Record two – "The First Settlers of Aloalo Island"
The second record is nearly identical to the first. Take the left path, and tell Matsya to press on when he wants to fish. This time, make sure to pull the enemies off of the lalafell as quickly as you can to prevent him from being defeated. You can protect him by taking enmity from all mobs or healing him with any available actions.
Conservation Record three – "God of Heaven and Sea"
For the third Conservation Record, take the left path and continue until Matsya's sixth sense tells him to fish. Choose the second option to allow him to fish to his heart's content, showing a short cutscene of time passing until sunset. Follow the available path once the cutscene has ended, and Matsya will want to fish again. You can choose his bait, and interacting with the pile of sand will give you the record for this route.
Conservation Record four – "A Noxious Gift"
Following the left path, tell Matsya to fish to his heart's content and follow the route that opens after the cutscene. When choosing which bait for Matsya to use during his next fishing attempt, select the pile of rocks and give what you find to him.
Conservation Record five – "The Roots of Arcanima"
The fifth Conservation Record is the most straightforward of the 12 routes. Take the middle path and keep pressing forward. After the mini-boss in the middle of the dungeon, there is a pack of mobs containing a treant and worms, along with a large stone sigil on the ground. Defeat the pack away from the sigil, or you'll potentially lock yourself out of the fifth Conservation Record. Once those enemies are defeated, stay on the beaten path and don't interact with anything, following the route until you reach the last boss of the dungeon.
Conservation Record six – "Under the Boughs of the Great Tree"
Follow the same steps as the fifth Conservation Record, making sure to keep the treant and worms away from the sigil as they're defeated. Move onto the next pack of enemies, where you'll see a large bush with red flowers. You can move through this bush to find a group of armadillos enjoying a snack. Move toward them to scare them off, then head back to the main path. There is another red-flowered bush near the next pack of enemies, where you'll repeat the same process. With the two groups of armadillos now fled, proceed to the final boss.
Conservation Record seven – "A Dear Friend"
Follow the middle path until you reach the worms and one treant. Defeating these worms on top of the sigil will unlock a secret path, but you'll need to defeat the treant first, or else it will absorb the magic used to create the desired path. You can grab enmity on the pack and only use single-target attacks on the treant to ensure it goes down first. With that mob defeated, move the remaining pack of worms onto the large, circular stone sigil on the ground. The sigil will glow with each worm slain, and will grow a new branch for you to follow.
After pushing forward on this new path, you'll reach an area where three inactive wood golems stand guard, as well as a pack of enemies. Behind one of these golems is a miqo'te, but make sure you mind your AOE attacks and don't damage her. Eventually, the wood golems will become active and hostile, causing the miqo'te to run away. Defeat them and continue to finish the route.
Conservation Record eight – "Fish for the Mind"
Like Conservation Record eight, take the middle path and defeat the worms on the sigil once the treant is taken care of. Once you reach the wood golems, damage the hiding miqo'te before she can flee. She'll run away regardless, but you'll know if you succeeded from her comment on being spotted and the golems never activate.
Conservation Record nine – "A Familiar History"
Start by taking the right path, continuing past the first boss until you reach a dead end where a fairy will magically appear and offer assistance. Agree to the fairy's help by choosing the first option, where she'll create a teleportation portal for you to interact with. Take the portal, then continue on the remaining path.
The fallen statues seen earlier in the dungeon before the mini-boss do not affect the outcome of the route. The boss utilizes totems in its battle, and turning the statues upright beforehand only changes those mechanics.
Conservation Record 10 – "The Remnants of Faith"
Take the right path. When you encounter the fairy who offers assistance, choose the second option to deny her help. She'll try to convince you, but choose the second option each time to deny her. Matsya will clear a new path, and you'll continue on until you spot a group of suspicious chests in the middle of the route. Ignore the chests and move past them, which will cause the fairy to appear and clear the blocked path. Once inside the chamber with the three totems, move toward the door and open it by pulling the lever near it.
Conservation Record 11 – "A Lalafell or a Fish?"
Take the right path and follow the same steps as Record 10, denying the fairy's help and continuing until you reach the group of chests. Interact with any of them to find that they're, unsurprisingly, mimics. Defeat the mimics, resume following the available path, then open the door with the lever.
Conservation Record 12 – "Wellspring of Golden Memories"
The twelfth Conservation Record starts similarly to the others but is considered the "secret" route. Take the right path and deny the fairy's help when offered. You can choose to interact with the chests, but it's quicker just to ignore them and move on. Once you reach the room with the totem, you'll need to perform three separate rituals described in the completed Conservation Records three, seven and 10. The rituals may be done in any order.
- Falcon Statue: One player must say "O dancer of the skies, hear me." in say chat. This will grant a short buff window where you'll have to complete the required steps. Prove your sincerity to the deity by using the /blowkiss emote, then run clockwise around the center "island" once. After you return to the pad, /dance to finalize the ritual and cause the statue to glow.
- Whale Statue: Say "O messenger from beyond the horizon, hear me." This will give another buff, where you must now run clockwise around the statues once. After your first lap, starting where you ended on the whale statue's pad run the opposite direction, then /dance to finalize the ritual.
- Turtle Statue: In say chat, type "O wayfarer of land and sea, hear me." With the buff active, run counter-clockwise around the statues twice. When you return to the turtle's pad, perform the /bow emote.
A new path will open in the center of the room once all three rituals are complete. Follow it to a foggy area, defeating enemies along the way. A looter will eventually appear, and you must defeat him to get the requirements for the final step. Interact with the bag he drops to obtain three statues that depict the deities you performed rituals for. The next room will have three pedestals to place them on. The falcon statue should be placed in the first, the whale in the middle, and the turtle furthest from where you arrived. When all statues are placed correctly, they will glow and allow you to continue forward to face the secret boss of Aloalo Island.
Aloalo Island's routes can be done in any order despite the fact Conservation Record 12 requires information found in their descriptions. Upon completing the final Conservation Record in your V&C Duty Finder, you'll obtain the achievement "Good-willed Hunting," which rewards the Spectral Statice Whistle to add to your mount collection.
