FFXIV Arcadion Savage Guide: Heavyweight Tier and Echo
Patch 7.56 removed the Heavyweight Savage lockout and added a +12% Echo. Here is what M9S to M12S drop, how to plan gear and what to finish before Evercold.
The FFXIV Arcadion Savage finale, the AAC Heavyweight tier (M9S to M12S), is now the most relaxed it will ever be: patch 7.56 removed the weekly entry and loot limits and switched on a +12% Echo. If you never cleared Heavyweight Savage, or stopped after one floor, the months before Evercold (January 2027) are the best window to finish it, get your title and mount, and unlock Dancing Mad (Ultimate). This guide covers what changed, what each fight drops, how we would plan gear, and what is worth doing before the level cap moves to 110.
What patch 7.56 changed for Heavyweight Savage
Square Enix shipped patch 7.56 on 8 September 2026 and, in the same notes as Beastmaster and the last Dawntrail story quests, loosened the Heavyweight tier. The three changes that matter for raiders:
- No weekly entrance restriction. You no longer have to clear the floors in order each week; any party that has the fights unlocked can go straight to the floor it needs.
- No weekly coffer restriction. Treasure coffers always appear, with no reduction in rewards, even if someone in the party already cleared that fight this week. Every kill is now worth something to the whole group.
- Echo from the first pull. Everyone gets +12% maximum HP, damage dealt and healing potency when the fight starts. Unlike the Echo in older dungeons, it does not grow stronger if the whole party wipes. Square Enix says it is there to compensate for the long gap since patch 7.4.
Two related changes landed at the same time: the weekly cap on Allagan tomestones of mnemonics went from 450 to 900 (the 2,000 maximum held is unchanged), and PvP Series 12 now runs until patch 8.0 releases. Nothing in the notes changes the Savage fights themselves, so the mechanics you learn today are the same ones from launch.
The four fights and what they drop
Heavyweight is the third and final Arcadion tier. It opened with patch 7.4 on 16 December 2025 and Savage followed a few weeks later. You unlock the Savage floors by finishing the Normal tier and talking to Gabbro. The table below uses the community loot tables; books are still listed as one per week per floor, so check your inventory limits before you plan a book route.
AAC Heavyweight Savage at a glance (community loot tables)
| Floor | Boss | Main rewards |
|---|---|---|
| M9S | Vamp Fatale | Accessory coffers (earring, necklace, bracelet, ring) at IL 790, 30 mnemonics, Edition I book |
| M10S | Red Hot and Deep Blue | Armour coffers for the remaining slots, upgrade materials, Edition II book |
| M11S | The Tyrant | Chest and leg coffers (IL 790), Thundersteeped Twine and Solvent, Edition III book |
| M12S | The Lindwurm | Weapon coffer plus a random job weapon (IL 795), Lowrider T1RANT key (mount), Grooving Green minion, orchestrion roll, Edition IV book |
M12S is the one most players are chasing: it is the Ultimate gate, the weapon floor and the mount. It is also a two-phase fight, so plan for longer progression nights than the first three floors.
Is it worth clearing before Evercold?
Short answer: yes, if you want the rewards that last. Level 110 gear in Evercold will replace your 790 armour within the first days of levelling, but the clears themselves do not expire. Here is how we weigh it:
Clearing Heavyweight Savage in late 2026
Pros
- Easiest the tier will be: Echo plus no lockout means more kills per night and more pulls per reclear.
- Mount, minion, title and the achievement stay on your account forever.
- M12S unlocks Dancing Mad (Ultimate), which needs a clear from all eight players.
- Good practice for Evercold's raids while your rotation is still the one you know (Reborn mode).
Cons
- IL 790 and 795 gear stops mattering once you level past 100 in January 2027.
- Party Finder is quieter late in an expansion, especially in smaller data centres.
- Echo makes the fight forgiving, so it is a weaker test of whether your group is ready for Ultimate.
If your only goal is item level for Evercold, skip it: the expansion's first dungeons will out-gear Savage. If your goal is the Lowrider mount, the achievements or Ultimate access, the weeks before Evercold are the cheapest time it will ever be.
A gear plan that wastes nothing
With no coffer lockout, your static can reclear one floor several times in a night. Our order for a fresh character at item level 760 or so:
- Cap mnemonics every week (now 900). Buy the tomestone pieces your current gear is weakest in, then upgrade them with twine and solvent.
- Farm M11S for twine and the chest and legs, then M10S for the smaller slots. These are the floors with the most item level per hour.
- Run M9S whenever someone in the group still needs an accessory. It is the shortest fight and a good warm-up before progression.
- Push M12S once your group has a stable four-floor routine. Each clear gives a guaranteed coffer and a random job weapon on top, so loot rules matter: agree on them before the first kill.
- Stop buying upgrades once you have the clear you want. Spend leftover tomestones on things that survive the level cap, such as glamour or items your crafters and gatherers can use.
A note on tomestones: Square Enix has not said how mnemonics will be handled when 8.0 launches. In past expansions the capped tomestone was converted at launch, so we would not stockpile them on purpose.
How to find or build a group with Echo on
- Party Finder first. Search by floor and tag your post "Echo farm" or "clear party". With no lockout, reclear groups are happy to take one more person who needs the kill.
- Watch the cross-world matching rollout. Square Enix is expanding matching across data centres in the same region during the 7.5x patches, starting with Japan; it should make late-tier Party Finder busier in NA and EU too.
- Bring a job you are comfortable with. Beastmaster is a limited job capped at level 50 and is locked out of Ultimate raids, so the new 7.56 job is not an option for this route.
- Use Echo to learn, not to skip. The +12% damage pushes many groups past the old DPS checks, but the M12S mechanics still wipe groups that have not practised them.
Dancing Mad (Ultimate): the next step after M12S
Dancing Mad is the second Dawntrail Ultimate, added in patch 7.51 (2 June 2026) with Kefka as the boss. To enter, every player in your party of eight must have cleared M12S, then talked to the Wandering Minstrel in Tuliyollal at level 100. It is pre-made party only (no unrestricted parties, no unsync) and syncs you to item level 795. The reward is one totem per week to trade for the Ultimate weapon, plus the title from the achievement.
If you want an Ultimate on your character before Evercold, the M12S clear is the only real blocker. Echo is not mentioned for Dancing Mad in the 7.56 notes, so expect it to be as hard as it was at launch.
What Evercold changes for raiders
Evercold is FFXIV's sixth expansion and launches in January 2027; no exact day had been announced when we checked. Square Enix has confirmed:
- Level cap 110 (up from 100) and two new jobs: Bastion, a tank that fights with a pair of greatshields, and a physical ranged DPS that has not been revealed yet.
- Beyond the Lifestream, a new eight-player raid series themed on FINAL FANTASY VII, plus a new Ultimate.
- Reborn and Evolved modes for the 21 existing jobs: Reborn keeps today's rotations, Evolved changes rotations and uses fewer inputs. The two new jobs are Evolved-only.
Reported from the Fan Festival keynote but not yet detailed: a third difficulty for eight-player raids between Normal and Savage, and a weekly Adventurer Activity system with new ways to raise item level beyond Savage and tomestones. The second new job and more progression details are on the agenda for the Tokyo Fan Festival (31 October and 1 November 2026). We will update this guide once Square Enix publishes them.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is there still a weekly lockout on FFXIV Heavyweight Savage?
No. Patch 7.56 removed both the weekly entrance restriction and the weekly treasure coffer restriction for the AAC Heavyweight tier (Savage). Coffers always appear, with no reduction in rewards, even if party members cleared the fight earlier that week. Community loot tables still list the floor books as one per week.
How strong is the Echo in Heavyweight Savage?
The Echo activates when the fight starts and raises maximum HP, damage dealt and healing potency by 12%. It does not increase further if the whole party is knocked out, unlike the Echo in some other duties.
What item level is Heavyweight Savage gear?
Savage armour and accessories from M9S to M11S coffers are item level 790, and the M12S weapons are item level 795. Dancing Mad (Ultimate) syncs players to item level 795.
What do I need to unlock Dancing Mad Ultimate?
Clear AAC Heavyweight M4 (Savage), also called M12S, then speak to the Wandering Minstrel in Tuliyollal as a level 100 combat job. Every member of your pre-made party of eight must have the M12S clear.
Is Heavyweight Savage worth doing before Evercold?
It is worth it for rewards that last, such as the mount, minion, title and the Dancing Mad unlock. It is not worth it purely for item level, because Evercold raises the level cap to 110 in January 2027 and new gear will replace Savage pieces while you level.
When does FFXIV Evercold release?
Square Enix has announced Evercold for January 2027. An exact date had not been published when we checked on 29 October 2026; more details are expected at the Tokyo Fan Festival on 31 October and 1 November 2026.
Related guides: plan your story, job levels and gear in our FFXIV progression guide, compare piloted vs self-play boosting, read how game boosting works, or browse every FFXIV guide. For services, see FFXIV Savage & Ultimate Raids, Weekly & Raid Bundles and all FFXIV boosting services.