There are a number of single-player Duties you will have to overcome in Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker's main story. One of these Duties occurs in the level 87 Main Scenario Quest 'Worthy of His Back'. In this quest in the Unsundered Lands of Elpis, you will have to prove your worth to Argos by defeating Venat in combat.

Related: Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker - Ktisis Hyperboreia Dungeon Guide

Venat is a tough opponent, and she will use a wide variety of attacks in this Duty. Let's go over each of the attacks and mechanics you'll encounter in this Duty, and how you can defeat Venat.

Worthy Of His Back Duty Walkthrough

This battle will take place across four different phases, in which Venat will switch weapons and use different attacks. If you're having trouble with this Duty, you can change the difficulty of the fight to easy or very easy. In this guide, we will be discussing the normal version of the Duty.

There are several instances of unavoidable damage throughout this Duty, but that doesn't mean you need to play as a Job with self-healing. Your natural health regeneration will be increased for this Duty, allowing you to not worry as much about your health.

Phase 1 - Sword

Venat will begin the fight in Sword form, granting her access to the following attacks.

  • Kleos: Deals unavoidable damage and covers the edge in searing light. Entering the edge of the arena will deal damage and inflict bleeding, so move carefully as you avoid the following attacks.
  • Circumzenithal Arc: Venat will quickly move to one side of the arena and begin charging this attack. Circumzenithal Arc is a wide AoE to the front of Venat, covering the side of the arena she is facing. The AoE indicator won't appear until just before this attack finishes casting, so move quickly behind Venat once she jumps away.
  • True Blink: Venat will summon clones that jump to the edges of the arena and begin charging line AoE attacks, covering the majority of the arena. There will be two safe spots on either side of the clones at the edges of the arena; move there to avoid this attack.
    • Venat will begin charging Circumzenithal Arc immediately after True Blink, so move back behind her after avoiding the clones' attack from True Blink.
  • Circle of Brilliance: Venat will summon four moving AoEs around the edges of the arena. These will slowly move in a straight line across the arena, dealing damage at set intervals. Predict the path of each AoE as you dodge them to avoid this attack.

Phase 2 - Chakrams

  • Mousa's Mantle: Switches Venat's equipped weapon to Dancer Chakrams.
  • Epea Pteroenta: With her Chakrams equipped, Venat will cover the arena in three triangle-shaped AoEs, one at a time. Stand in the final AoE indicator to appear, then quickly move into the area where the first AoE explodes to avoid the remaining two AoEs.
  • Parhelion: Venat will begin attacking with a series of AoEs. Three thin cone AoEs will stretch to the edges of the arena, while a circle AoE appears in the center. Then, as Venat rotates, the cone AoEs will move in the same direction as her, dealing damage at set intervals. At the same time, a ring AoE will appear around the edge of the circle from before, followed by a final circle around the edge of the arena. Move quickly to avoid all of these attacks for the duration of Parhelion.

Phase 3 - Staff

  • Magos's Mantle: Switches Venat's equipped weapon to a White Mage Staff.
  • True Aero IV: Deals unavoidable damage, then summons a series of wind orbs around the arena. These will emit point-blank AoEs at set intervals, so stay away from them.
  • Afflatus Azem: While the wind orbs from True Aero IV are still on the field, Venat will target you with Afflatus Azem. This attack will send an AoE chasing after you, which you will need to run away from. Navigate through the wind orbs to avoid Afflatus Azem.
  • True Holy: Venat will move to the center of the arena and begin charging this attack. True Holy will knock you back from the center of the arena. You will need to position yourself so that you aren't knocked into any of the wind orbs.
  • True Stone IV: Venat will cover the arena in a series of large circular AoEs. Dodge these by moving into the ones that appear last, then quickly move into the AoEs that exploded first.

Phase 4 - Thelema

After you have reduced Venat's health to zero, she will move to the center of the arena and begin summoning Thelema adds. These orbs will appear around the edges of the arena and slowly move towards her. If any of the Thelema reach Venat, they will charge her Aether. You will need to defeat the Thelema before they reach Venat to complete this phase.

Additionally, Thelema Agape will appear periodically and will move faster than their normal counterparts. These are distinguished by their red appearance and should be focused before the normal Thelema.

As you destroy the Thelema, circular AoEs will spawn around the arena. Dodge these as you damage the orbs to avoid taking unnecessary damage.

After defeating a few waves of Thelema, Venat will use her final attack. The damage of this ability scales with how high her Aether is. If the Aether Guage is full, you will not survive.

When Venat is defeated, you will be able to continue the story quests. Follow the NPCs to finish off 'Worthy of His Back', and progress further through the MSQ.

Next: Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker - Sage Council Quest Guide