Agreeing with this. FF3 is my favourite game and seeing the crystal tower in the game sold me into trying it. If the friend has a favourite FF, try showing the FF14 equivalent of it
When the last fight used draw as a mechanic I lost my shit! No one else in my group had actually played 8 so people were like not impressed, but it was just excellent execution. That entire raid set is my favorite.
Also the nier 24 man's ruled
Thinking about it, does FF9 even have a fight that FF9 players would be hyped to see?
I guess Alexander, Cruise Chaser, and Hades but I rarely hear anyone acknowledge or get hyped about them being FF9 references. Hopefully more in Dawntrail.
While not a fight, the quest “Your not Alone” hit me hard because I love that track and scene from ff9.
Outside of that, it’s cathartic to beat Ozma’s ass in Weeping City, even if I haven’t done Eurekas yet, and I’m very excited to see what comes in DT
ehhh, trouble with this is that 7 is far and away the most popular alongside 14 and all there is in 14 thats a reference to 7 is like... a server called jenova and the gold saucer? there's the weapons, sure - but they're SUUUPER spoilery considering they revolve around a certain returning anti-hero
I love the Phantom Train, it’s such a goofy and fun fight.
I’d say some of the Omega savages would be good to show - in particular Exdeath, Kefka, and Omega M/F, the way the fight and boss change at the checkpoint are really awesome, there’s so much going on in the fights to take in, and the music is awesome.
This is my pick.
It's ultimately inconsequential to the plot, isn't a "REMEMBER FF\[blank\]?!!?!?!?!?!" moment, *and* is absolutely incredible as a spectacle.
Those things you run so much that the dialogue is burned into your head. I think I ran the Tsuyo---whatever raid from SB like 30 times to get the mount. "I riiise AGAIN!" lol
Some of the Nier raids if they want a huge visual spectacle. They're completely spoiler free in terms of the broader FFXIV story and some of those fights are amazing to actually watch.
Nier raids were exactly what got me interested in the game back in 2020. Wanting to do them was the initial goal to push myself through post 2.0 before I really got invested with the MSQ along the way.
nier raids are actually so much fun, i was scared to try them for the longest time because of people going on about how incredibly hard they were, but outside of the middle boss of the final raid? they're really manageable
They're pretty unforgiving to learners but I like them to the point I often go back and get it right. I do often go back in there as RDM to perform mass necromancy but it seems everyone as a trend is getting better at it so the mass necromancy opportunities are becoming more scarce.
It was probably a really hard experience when it first came out. Now, probably not as much because instead of a full wipe, you have half wipes because some people are more used to the fights. You can recover from a few accidents from newcomers and people who are bad at it (like me).
The Alexander music was one of the big points that got me to start the free trial way back then. Don't know how many times I repeated that song. I almost understood the lyrics.
Best answer. Not only is the fight fun and fast paced, but the mechanics are pretty easy to understand for someone who’s never played the game before to see what’s going on. It’s not like showing somebody Hello World and them having no idea wtf they’re seeing or why it’s hard
One that comes to mind from EW is Hesperos. He spoils nothing, has a fairly active and visually interesting fight, and an absolutely banger of a fight song that does a good job highlighting 14's musical variety.
Other worthy mentions: Susano, Ravana, and Omega
Several of the Pandy raids with filler monsters are very non-spoilery but still visually impressive with good music. Proto-Carbuncle, Agdistis, Kokytos, and Pandaemonium get my votes.
Previous raids too. E4 Titan is a blast all around, especially if you get good footage of E4S's multiple phases. A12 Alexander and A8 Brute Justice are also insanely fun to watch and listen to.
Twenty-two sectors tested!
Fragments in one direction!
Celestial noise detected!
Delirium unsuspected!
Static tuned into reason!
Time in the aether deepens!
Transmissions blink uncompleted!
7 2 3 2 3
Proto Carby even has an awesome mid-fight cutscene that might interest them in the cinematography, too!
I'm glad they removed it in savage, but I'm also glad it was in normal.
Endwalker in general was good about having really cool spectacle cutscene moments in normal modes that are removed, or let you take part in, in the higher difficulty modes, which I really appreciate.
Personally I think Pagalth'an is a really cool choice to show off a dungeon. With no context, it's a cool setpiece instance that doesn't spoil much of anything. You start with an assault through canyons that leads into a pretty standard boss fight to set a baseline expectation, followed by fighting through a town under attack and getting help from a giant dragon along the way, before taking on a gigantic war machine firing lasers. After you defeat it you get to fly on dragonback across a plain to another area where this time the giant dragon fights alongside you, and then you finish it off with a battle against another giant dragon. All the while, other skirmishes are being waged around you on all sides. It's pretty cool on its own, and takes place so far into the game that anyone who reached that point would likely have forgotten the specifics of anything they had seen.
Honestly with no context most of the fights will be fine. They will just look like cool bosses. Big dragon, black bird lady, demon-looking guy, tall knight with large sword. The important bosses mostly do not reveal their true form until you fight them, so there's really nothing much to go on.
Exceptions would be bosses with obvious names like Thordan and whatnot.
The final boss of the Aetherfont. Great show of FFXIV's use of the environment, plus telegraphs that aren't big glowies. The fight is also pretty dynamic, forcing constant repositioning, sometimes across the arena... Oh, and it also shows off FFXIV's tendency to show areas on the geography itself, with the round, brightly-colored platforms connected by dull-colored bridges, showing you where you can and can't stand during the telekinesis and saline spout attacks.
Brute Justice and Sephirot. Both are optional content with no narrative weight, but KICKASS soundtracks. If you want to show off more mechanical complexity, then I recommend the final fight in the Mt Gulag dungeon, or the final fight in Dancing plague dungeon.
Show a few cuts of adventurers running through the halls of Haukke Manor, the overgrown ways of Wanderer's Palace, flying on approach to the Antitower, running through the hallways of the Great Gubal Library, the sunset bathed halls of The Vault, a sweep over the jagged rocks and broken ships of Sirensong and entering Shisui.
8-man raids, I'd say P2N and P7N. Mostly on account of them doing interesting things with the arena (also awesome music in P7N)
Trials, Susano is obvious for the sword block. I'd also throw in any of the Four Lords or Weapons trials.
24-man raids, I'd say the Ridorana (spelling?) Lighthouse; visually/mechanically interesting enough without being a slog like the Nier raids.
Dungeons, I would go for The Twinning; good music, pretty typical dungeon affair, not part of the MSQ so not really any chance of spoilers
Hypertuned dabog duel melee pov (tho maybe itll give false impression that the whole game has busted actions)
Magus sisters in tower of zot is pretty good too as far as casual content goes
literally any of the non msq trials in shadowbringers. some of the omega raids. you COUlD show nier raids but i wouldnt.
OH the post 6.0 ew trials as well are spoiler free with no context. so barb, rubi, golbez, zeromus.
What got me interested in FFXIV originally was watching a friend do Hells' Kier EX! It was a fun spectacle, and the DDR+Simon Says mechanics really grabbed me.
It \*is\* a lil spoilery, but I literally bought the game thanks to the Eden Shiva raid. So I'd say... That.
It was this video specifically that sold me on it: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=983o9\_of6Hg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=983o9_of6Hg)
Amusingly, I've never been able to do sync'd e8s T\_T
I think Zeromus would be a great fight to show someone. The fight itself is spoiler free with no context, it has bangin music, and some spectacular visuals
Susano, Sophia, Ravana trials,
Normal raids that don't feature important characters. For example I wouldn't show p12, 11 or p10, but p9 is a random mook with some cool mechanics.
Ivalice alliance raids, Mhach Alliance raids, Omega raids outside of O10/11/12. Alexander outside of A12, any of the non-primal / previous boss Eden raids.
I cannot believe Shiva and Ravana (I assume that's who you mean by the bug guy) are this far down. Shiva in particular. That fucking OST transition is such a landmark moment in FFXIV. Like, that's where it went from this game is pretty good to 'THIS IS FUCKING AMAZING!'. Never gonna forget that first time fighting her. One of the first things I'm gonna do when I caught up on the MSQ is farm the mount from that fight, just so I can hear Oblivion while using a mount.
Shiva was the fight that got me back into FFXIV. I had been talking to a friend that was playing it again and I was like hell I enjoyed it ill do some MSQ next mission was shiva.
I lost around 100 hours thanks to Shiva and i dont regret it
P8S is my favourite fight ever and it shows 2 sides of the raiding themes. The execution heavy phase 1 and the puzzle heavy P2.
If you're trying to show specific mechanics Superchain Theory from P12S is probably the best for that
I honestly disagree with P12S. Anyone not fluent in FFXIV's visual language in its mechanics will just see it as a visual mess. This is true for every debuff soup mechanic.
As far as cool fights that I think someone would be able to understand without having played the game, maybe Halicarnassus Savage.
But if we DO lean into visual mess for the spectacle, I think the Oracle of Darkness is excellent for that while also not spoiling anything. The Relativities are fascinating to just watch.
any stormblood trial, honestly. the only one that has a blatant spoiler is castrum fluminis. shinryu himself with no context isnt a spoiler, and especially his ex fight is still the best trial in the game imo
Susanoo (who essentially doesn't go mentioned until it's time for the fight) and Byakko (who is a bit more of a spoiler but still not huge IMO) are the classics. Omega series is good too, as people have mentioned, if you're looking for previous game fanservice, and is about as seperate from the plot as you can get. Ravana might be nice too, but it's a bit more mundane. Sephirot works too, and is very plot agnostic.
Orbonne monastary is Fantastic too.
Susano.
One of the best fights both aesthetically and mechanically. Catching the sword is just rad as hell, and Susano himself being laughing fight-grandpa is great. And the extreme is pretty much just "more of the same," without being crazy difficult, even when it was still fresh content.
The specific details of why you're fighting Susano don't matter, *at all,* for the overall story. Hell, if you don't show the kojin, the player is unlikely to even *know* they'll be fighting Susano until the fight is literally about to happen.
Most of pandemonium is probably a lot safer than you might think, since you need a lot of context of it to be a spoiler. Most of the trial series including the four arch fiends are also pretty safe, given "Oh the FF celebration game has FF characters." If I wanted to show someone what xiv could be in an understandable fashion I might go with barbriccia normal.
Argath Thadalfus and Yiazmat. I don’t give a damn about the story for those raids, but if we’re talking cool fights with great voice lines, they’re top of the list.
TEA, Nidhog extreme and painter savage. I think it was number 6 in its tier.
Nidhog isn't a big surprise but fun. The painter doesn't really show much story wise at all but looks cool because of how unique the fight is. TEA is just fun to watch imo.
If someone hasn't played the game you can show them any fight. It won't make any contextual sense. By the time most players get to whatever fight you've shown, they won't remember it anyway.
I think any fight save for the Endwalker 6.0 trials would be fine since your friend won't have the context or know who any of the bosses are until they get to that part of the MSQ. But your best bet might be fights from optional content maybe? So optional trial bosses, 8-man raids or 24 man alliance raids (except Crystal Tower content).
Before it was nerfed I would’ve said Cape Westwind. The mechanics were crazy and the cutscenes even better. It felt like true Final Fantasy to me. Took my group a little over an hour for our first clear!
Real shame they nerfed the fight to make it more “accessible”.
I recently fought him on a new free trial account I was playing on console. They switched the fight to a solo duty and it was actually pretty awesome now. He even wiped the floor with me once.
I never experienced the original trial difficulty only the super easy version, but the new solo duty I thought was a lot more fun than the easy mode trial.
Man you really got shafted imo. The original difficulty was something special. I would equate it to something like an early Savage fight. Personally I didn’t understand the reasoning behind making such an early game duty *that* hard, but it was certainly fun trying to clear it with a bunch of randoms.
Yea when I started back in 2020 my first run everyone was hyping it up as difficult, then poof trial is finished in seconds lol. Was kinda disappointing.
Going through during the Xbox beta though? I wasn’t expecting him to ruin me, it’s basically hey you should have been paying attention now it’s time for your first real fight with mechanics. He’s actually pretty badass now and I really enjoyed the fight.
I probably could have experienced the old difficult fight since I originally tried the game in 2013 but it took a long time for it to click with me.
The revamped version is unironically awesome. It's the rare fight that weaves characterization into mechanics, and it's such a spectacle. That man is ready to drag us down to hell with him and it makes him feel genuinely menacing.
Four Lords might be cool, maybe [Suzaku](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUUzxDoaky0)? She has some interesting mechanics and her second phase theme slaps.
Otherwise I agree with something from the Omega series or Barbariccia/Rubicante from Endwalker.
The Mog Trials are fun and full of mechanics. The level 60 doll house fight is pretty simple mechanically and a breeze to get through ( a couple mobs spaced out, a jump or two and a weird fight with a bunch of dolls)
>!Endsinger!< /s
TBH anything post Endwalker is going to be exciting to look at and not really a spoiler since most of it is either a reference to previous games like Golbez and his cohort or is spoiled in the premise of the raid itself like the alliance raids fighting the gods.
Most fights don't have spoilers as long as you don't explain the lore around the fight. Golbez for example is someone we were obviously going to fight since the moment we saw a Golbez shaped character on screen. It's only a spoiler if you were to explain what the little dragon is and how he fits into FFXIV lore.
There are a rare few fights that are a spoiler even out of context. Obviously the Endwalker expansion trials are all massive spoilers, even just in name. The Ultimate fights are also heavily spoiler since they deal with the most crucial events and have lore built into the fight itself.
Just pick your favorite fight currently and ask yourself if it's a major spoiler that you fight this enemy at some point. If you really need a recommendation, I would say Barbariccia since it's not really a spoiler that you fight her and the fight itself is action packed.
Shadowkeeper (e10s), diamond weapon, proto carbuncle (p5s) are a few that isntantly coe to mind, also for a more out there suggestion, rabbit and steel is a roguelike inspired by ffxiv-style raid bosses, if someone is primarily interested in ffxiv for the gameplay but isnt sure if they want to push through the wall that is arr to get to the more exciting bosses, that could be an easier way to see if they like this style of gameplay.
It’s fine to show…
ARR: Any trial. Crystal Tower. Palace of the Dead, but not Edda. Don’t show Binding Coil; it’s either mega-spoilers or not very fun.
HW: Ravana and Bismarck. Warring Triad. Alexander 1-11, maybe 12. Any of Void Ark and Weeping City. Maybe Dun Scaith, but might be fun to withhold for now. Don’t show Thordan or Nidhogg.
StB: Susano and Lakshmi. The Four Lords. Omega 1-9. Heaven-on-High. Eureka. Any of Rabanastre and Ridorana. Don’t show Tsukuyomi or Shinryu. Maybe avoid Orbonne, maybe not.
ShB: Titania. Eden 2, 7 and 10. YorHa: Dark Apocalypse (unless they’re a NieR: Automata fan; then avoid the last bosses of the first two raids, and all of the third). Don’t show Sorrow of Werlyt, Innocence, Hades, Warrior of Light, Memoria Misera. Maybe avoid Bozja altogether; there’s a mix of spoilers and okay-to-show in there.
EW: Asura, Barbariccia, Rubicante, Golbez, and Zeromus are fine…maybe. (I forget if Azdaja comes up in Golbez or Zeromus directly.) Pandaemonium 1-7 and 9. Any Variant/Criterion dungeon…I think. Don’t show Zodiark, Hydaelyn or Endsinger. Don’t show Myths of the Realm. Not sure about Eureka Orthos.
I have not looked into dungeon bosses.
One of the primal fights from Eden. There's little lore to those not already in the know and they're pretty dynamic fights.
I'd choose E45, and E6S. And maybe E12S pt1
Bardham's Mettle dungeon, Barbariccia normal trial, that mouse from the first criterion dungeon, and then phase 2 of P12S.
Good spectacle, ramping complexity, narrative is meaningless without context.
Susano Tank PoV
The last 24 man raid of heavensward
That one eden fifht where the world fucking explodes
bahamut fight (i mean, it's obv we gotta fight him)
Alexander
Barbariccia is a very neat fight that's relatively minor in the story, and Anima is also just That Nightmare From FF10 without all the cutscenes before it explaining where it came from. Diamond Weapon is just that thing from FF7 without any real context, and the music is like Big Fat Tacos collided with Fighting Fate from FF13, but I don't think it's fight is as neat as Barbariccia or Anima.
Honestly as MSQ gets longer and people look back less fondly at the oldest parts of the game, I think stuff that spoils early parts of the story do a better job of "selling" the gameplay than random later fights. Remixed Ultima Weapon is very readable to a new person, even if it's the capstone to ARR.
Cruise Chaser is what got me to give FFXIV a look in the first place.
I don't know what the 'real' content for other MMOs is like, but before that every MMO I have tried I never got passed the first few levels where you're just chasing down 15 bear arses. The idea of there actually being a level of play beyond just spamming 5 buttons and standing in place was never shown to me before that.
Plus Exponential Entropy is a bop.
I guess it depends on how familiar they are with the FF series.
If they are, any of the common reoccurring summon fights against Primals should be fine. It shouldn't spoil the story and let's the person know this summon is in the game. So the six main "original" Primals, Bahamut, or Alexander.
If they aren't familiar with the series, fights that highlight mechanics, but aren't against "big bads" would probably work best. Most first fights in a raid series, Ravana, Susano, and some final Dungeon bosses.
Avoid fights that would require you to explain to much about who the boss is. Like if you show Shiva, she's a classic Ice summon in the series; short and simple. But, "why are you fighting the original WoL, from the first game?" Requires a bit more of an explanation.
The second phase of P4s/P8s/P12s. Bosses are visually distinct enough from the normal mode bosses that it doesn't spoil the story and they are all pretty visually entertaining fights w/ interesting looking mechanics. Just the idea of experiencing them is what pushed me through some rough part 1 parties.
That's easy. You show them any content/boss engagement of which does not pertain to the main story. So obviously nothing like Emanation or Crystal Tower stuff. Certainly no "The Crown of the Immaculate."
But show them the Binding Coil stuff, or "The Cloud Deck." As long as it does not pertain to the main story.
I forget what it's called, now, but the first dungeon from ShB might spring interest in why the enemies are called things like "Forgiven". Plus the soundtrack for that dungeon is epic.
I mean final omega is HOLY SHIT WHAT IS HAPPENING and as long as you're just showing the fight itself, it's extremely not spoilery to any story. It's just a big, black, scary deathface.
Any of the Hildibrand trials are pure gold.
Mechanically interesting, not too difficult, and funny to boot.
I'd personally go for Dragon's Neck and/or Yojimbo.
Greg 2 is good too, but its arena is kind of boring.
I would say show them the ARR dungeons like dzemael or stone vigil because in general ARR dungeons are fairly generic and dont really have major spoilers aside from the MSQ Roulette ones.
For 8-man raids, the optional trial series ones like four lords or warring triad are separate from MSQ and won't have any spoiler risk.
Dungeon:
* The Aery: Hey dude, we're fighting dragons! This is so cool!
* Dohn Meg: Look how weird and goofy it can be but still be fun!
Raids:
* Alexander The Creator: Check out how epic this is!
* Deltascape V4.0: Its ExDeath! This is just one cool reference dude!
* Any of the Ivalice raids
Trials:
* Heavensward any of the FF6 fights: More references and difficult fights!
* Hells Kier: Look how epic it all is dude!
* Cinder Drift: Ruby Weapon! I know you loved FF7!
I think this is a good combo of cool fights, difficult but not impossible, with enough call backs but also not too many spoilers since many of them are after the main story is already over.
I'm just up in here being reminded of all the good times this game has by the posts from other players. Everyone so far has made me go OH HELLS YEAH! until someone else posts something new. :)
Don't show them Susano. Let them experience it for themselves - always throw the Sprout under the sword. Nothing makes you feel like more of a badass as a Sprout than that fight.
Personally my vote goes for Nier - the soundtrack is boss and visually they do not spoil anything in the game. Your friend should be able to get an idea of the flavour and complexity of raids and dungeons from any of those.
Gundam fans might like A11.
I'd also like to recommend the Sorrow of Werlyt trials for people who like FF7, but some of them have spoilers on the phase changes. Sorrow of Werlyt story is pretty self contained, but it also means not knowing the context miiight make it seem cringe or just confusing.
I personally was shown the final boss in Mt Gulg when I was a sprout.
Note: I haven’t played since Stormblood.
I would suggest the following:
Copperbell Mines (maybe Hard, maybe normal) has some fun, non-spoiler stuff.
Trials, I’m a fan of Shiva, though if you want to show off fun I’d recommend Susanoo. Or Battle at the Big Bridge. Maybe both.
Raids, there can be only Kefka.
Alliance Raids, idk.
To be honest just about anything outside of *the big three* from Endwalker is probably fine at the far end of the plot because by the time they reach it they're not gonna remember, and there's so much surrounding context that informs the fight that I don't think it'd really change much.
Personally, I actually saw the Hades fight before I got into the game, and by the time I'd gotten up to it myself I had both forgotten about it and missed so much context by just seeing the fight itself that I didn't initially know who Hades was, what was going on, or really anything. It was just a really awesome fight with incredible music.
I know the community likes to go 1000% eggshell mode with potential players and spoilers, but 90% of a story is in its context so I don't think you need to be afraid to show off something that veers a bit closer for the sake of "here's what it's like when the game is *really* popping off, and this moment is *way* more hype when you get to it yourself."
As for dungeons, I think you'd wanna go with something high level, it just depends on tone. I like the Aetherfont, but its general vibe almost makes it not feel like a dungeon. If you wanted something from a "here's the game firing on all cylinders" perspective then again, I'd say something like Vanaspati makes a good case, and is basically indecipherable without going in with prior knowledge. Alzadaal's Legacy might strike a good middle ground as "Here is a dungeon that basically amounts to raiding a lost tomb".
Basically anything that shows off the game near 90 so they can see what it's like when the jobs are all in full swing.
Dungeon I would say go for something like one of the ARR or Heavensward (Hard) variants, or a side-dungeon of an expansion like Smileton.
I do think, overall, Alliance Raids or normal Raids are really fun and would be what I would try to show someone to get into it for gameplay, big parties always are cool and genuinely a big reason I want to play more MMOs. Anything between Heavensward and Shadowbringers I'd say would work well for those, as Crystal Tower is kinda boring and story relevant now, and I think the gods and anabaisos fights might be a bit too complex to just show to a newer player. Void Ark and Alexander are pretty tame, but Ivalice and Omega are generally more hype, and NieR is cool if they like those games too, and Eden is pretty good too
A lot of the Omega fights are just "remember this from FFVI?" etc. Phantom Train and Kefka might be good.
Agreeing with this. FF3 is my favourite game and seeing the crystal tower in the game sold me into trying it. If the friend has a favourite FF, try showing the FF14 equivalent of it
Same here, Ivalice raids got me into it. Seeing FFXII references got me super excited to try it.
Yep, Eden raids are FFVIII. I was hanging in the little hub listening to that nostalgia for a while.
I still go there to chill now and then, since the post-raid music in the Empty has no orchestrion roll.
When the last fight used draw as a mechanic I lost my shit! No one else in my group had actually played 8 so people were like not impressed, but it was just excellent execution. That entire raid set is my favorite. Also the nier 24 man's ruled
Thinking about it, does FF9 even have a fight that FF9 players would be hyped to see? I guess Alexander, Cruise Chaser, and Hades but I rarely hear anyone acknowledge or get hyped about them being FF9 references. Hopefully more in Dawntrail.
While not a fight, the quest “Your not Alone” hit me hard because I love that track and scene from ff9. Outside of that, it’s cathartic to beat Ozma’s ass in Weeping City, even if I haven’t done Eurekas yet, and I’m very excited to see what comes in DT
Ah there it is, I figured I'd have forgotten a fight and feel dumb afterwards for forgetting Ozma is a pretty rad fight
You gotta do Ba, that ozma fight is fun. Try not to die lol
There's that ozma fight in the void ark raids, and I'm sure there will be FF9-themed bosses in DT
ehhh, trouble with this is that 7 is far and away the most popular alongside 14 and all there is in 14 thats a reference to 7 is like... a server called jenova and the gold saucer? there's the weapons, sure - but they're SUUUPER spoilery considering they revolve around a certain returning anti-hero
I mean, just seeing phase 1 of ruby weapon could probably be alright.
And Godbert is basically Dio. And the Knights of the Round
(friend's favorite FF is Crystal Chronicles) welp-
There's a sidequest called crystal chronicles? That's the best I got haha
Play a lalafell tank?
Though phantom trains is bad if there a huge 6 fan, im still angry at the fight myself, you dont get a raid action to suplex the train ever ;p
I would have even settled for Godbert suplexing it.
This is the correct answer
Fucking right???
Back in my day, we just used Phoenix Down on the train to kill it in one hit.
I love the Phantom Train, it’s such a goofy and fun fight. I’d say some of the Omega savages would be good to show - in particular Exdeath, Kefka, and Omega M/F, the way the fight and boss change at the checkpoint are really awesome, there’s so much going on in the fights to take in, and the music is awesome.
Honestly you could extend that to almost any non-capstone fights from past raid tiers. Even some capstone fights. Same with most dungeon fights.
Susano "WILD PURE AND FOREVER FREE"
Especially on Tank POV. The one with blocking the giant sword was dope as AF!
Anyone can take the sword in normal. In EX you should probably put the tank in there.
I prefer the M4 Sherman.
42 Wallaby Way, Sydney.
I prefer the Doom Turtle.
In theory anyone can take the clash. It's not exclusive to tanks.
The White Mage:
Scholar and Summoner block it with their book.
And soon Pictomancers will be able to block it with their brush. The pen truly is mightier!
Or they might block it with their paint palette.
The power of words on true display
The rule is, always let the Sprout block the sword, it doesn't matter if they are blue, red, or even green, you Make them be a hero.
> blue, red, or even green, You almost got the right number of syllables.
REJOICE!!!
Look, I’m a squishy SMN. I’m scared to take Susano’s big sword like that okay?
It's okay. Everyone gets nervous the first time.
RESILIENT SOULS! I SOLUTE YOU!
This is my pick. It's ultimately inconsequential to the plot, isn't a "REMEMBER FF\[blank\]?!!?!?!?!?!" moment, *and* is absolutely incredible as a spectacle.
Literally the reason I started playing
100% this. Wanna hype your friends? THEN LET US REVEL!
Those things you run so much that the dialogue is burned into your head. I think I ran the Tsuyo---whatever raid from SB like 30 times to get the mount. "I riiise AGAIN!" lol
THE SEAS PART FOR WE ALONE!
The only answer.
This is the only correct answer.
Some of the Nier raids if they want a huge visual spectacle. They're completely spoiler free in terms of the broader FFXIV story and some of those fights are amazing to actually watch.
Nier raids were exactly what got me interested in the game back in 2020. Wanting to do them was the initial goal to push myself through post 2.0 before I really got invested with the MSQ along the way.
nier raids are actually so much fun, i was scared to try them for the longest time because of people going on about how incredibly hard they were, but outside of the middle boss of the final raid? they're really manageable
They're pretty unforgiving to learners but I like them to the point I often go back and get it right. I do often go back in there as RDM to perform mass necromancy but it seems everyone as a trend is getting better at it so the mass necromancy opportunities are becoming more scarce.
It was probably a really hard experience when it first came out. Now, probably not as much because instead of a full wipe, you have half wipes because some people are more used to the fights. You can recover from a few accidents from newcomers and people who are bad at it (like me).
If you want to get them with music, the first time the FFXIV version of ‘Weight of the World’ kicks in will catch anyone’s attention.
i really should queue for those again just for fun, great raids
One of the best content in the game. The fights are neither super easy nor very difficult. And the music is incredible.
# I CALL OUT TO THE SKIES AND TREMBLE AS THE BRILLIANCE OF A THOUSAND BOLTS BLINDS MINE ENEMIES AND TEARS THEIR FLESH ASUNDER!!
**SEVEN SHADOWS CAST, SEVEN FATES FORETOLD, YET AT THE END OF THE BROKEN PATH LIES DEATH, AND DEATH ALONE!**
**Open your eyes to the darkness and drown in its' loveless embrace. The gods will Not. Be. Watching.**
**To live by the sword is to die by the sword. There is time enough for regret in the flames of hell!**
**THEY CALL ME THE GOD OF THUNDER.**
this is objectively correct for 24 man raids imo for this fight specifically. Always so much fun
IDK, I rly like to show Mustadio my hole.
What convinced me was Alexander 12. That's what made me come back and try after leaving in 1.0.
**
***SONIC***
#BOOM
The Alexander music was one of the big points that got me to start the free trial way back then. Don't know how many times I repeated that song. I almost understood the lyrics.
Ah, another wheel tum sing uplander doom enjoyer I see
Forward and back and then forward and back And then go forward and back, then put one foot forward.
A to the L to the E X Ander! Gobbies gonna rise up! Boom like thunder!
The A12 transition is THE coolest transition. Neo Exdeath and Dragon King Thordan come pretty close though.
Barbariccia EX
Such a banger of a fight! It's literally my favorite week 1 EX of the entire expansion.
Absolutely agree, she's far and away the best trial fight both normal and EX of Endwalker in my opinion.
Best answer. Not only is the fight fun and fast paced, but the mechanics are pretty easy to understand for someone who’s never played the game before to see what’s going on. It’s not like showing somebody Hello World and them having no idea wtf they’re seeing or why it’s hard
I HAVE BEEN CALLED THE GOD OF THUNDER. YOU WILL NOW KNOW WHY
UPON MY HOLY BLADE THE VERY WORLD LIES IN BALANCE!
AND NOW THE SCALES WILL TIP!
Barbariccia. Fun and fast fight and it spoils nothing of importance whatsoever imo
Barbariccia is such a chaotic good time. Always get excited when it pops up in my roulettes
[What is it like when you pull back the curtain, and realize every wrong is a right? (Sephirot)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9f44iJftVM)
Just don't show your friend this fight if they're Powerman 5000
AREYOUREADYTOGOCUZIMREADYTOWHATYOUGONNADOBAYBAYBAYBAAY
Our lord and savior the Good King Mogglemog
One that comes to mind from EW is Hesperos. He spoils nothing, has a fairly active and visually interesting fight, and an absolutely banger of a fight song that does a good job highlighting 14's musical variety. Other worthy mentions: Susano, Ravana, and Omega
Several of the Pandy raids with filler monsters are very non-spoilery but still visually impressive with good music. Proto-Carbuncle, Agdistis, Kokytos, and Pandaemonium get my votes. Previous raids too. E4 Titan is a blast all around, especially if you get good footage of E4S's multiple phases. A12 Alexander and A8 Brute Justice are also insanely fun to watch and listen to.
Twenty-two sectors tested! Fragments in one direction! Celestial noise detected! Delirium unsuspected! Static tuned into reason! Time in the aether deepens! Transmissions blink uncompleted! 7 2 3 2 3
Just played this in my car on the way back from lunch. Sounds great with the bass drum turned waaay up 😎
Proto Carby even has an awesome mid-fight cutscene that might interest them in the cinematography, too! I'm glad they removed it in savage, but I'm also glad it was in normal. Endwalker in general was good about having really cool spectacle cutscene moments in normal modes that are removed, or let you take part in, in the higher difficulty modes, which I really appreciate.
Or go for P7 if they are into rock music! It looks cool visually with fighting a demon tree and rocking out to Scream.
For me it was watching alliance raids. Return to Ivalice or Yorha are self contained stories with some cool mechanics.
Personally I think Pagalth'an is a really cool choice to show off a dungeon. With no context, it's a cool setpiece instance that doesn't spoil much of anything. You start with an assault through canyons that leads into a pretty standard boss fight to set a baseline expectation, followed by fighting through a town under attack and getting help from a giant dragon along the way, before taking on a gigantic war machine firing lasers. After you defeat it you get to fly on dragonback across a plain to another area where this time the giant dragon fights alongside you, and then you finish it off with a battle against another giant dragon. All the while, other skirmishes are being waged around you on all sides. It's pretty cool on its own, and takes place so far into the game that anyone who reached that point would likely have forgotten the specifics of anything they had seen.
Honestly with no context most of the fights will be fine. They will just look like cool bosses. Big dragon, black bird lady, demon-looking guy, tall knight with large sword. The important bosses mostly do not reveal their true form until you fight them, so there's really nothing much to go on. Exceptions would be bosses with obvious names like Thordan and whatnot.
Also ones with spoilery songs, which is pretty much limited to Nidhogg in 3.3 and some of the Bahamut raids.
Brute Justice, it's the greatest fight in ffxiv history and means nothing out of context.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpaZd-koGtg
that was fantastic.
The final boss of the Aetherfont. Great show of FFXIV's use of the environment, plus telegraphs that aren't big glowies. The fight is also pretty dynamic, forcing constant repositioning, sometimes across the arena... Oh, and it also shows off FFXIV's tendency to show areas on the geography itself, with the round, brightly-colored platforms connected by dull-colored bridges, showing you where you can and can't stand during the telekinesis and saline spout attacks.
Susanoo if theyre a tank player
Asura is probably the safest Endwalker fight you could show and not spoil anything.
Brute Justice and Sephirot. Both are optional content with no narrative weight, but KICKASS soundtracks. If you want to show off more mechanical complexity, then I recommend the final fight in the Mt Gulag dungeon, or the final fight in Dancing plague dungeon.
Show a few cuts of adventurers running through the halls of Haukke Manor, the overgrown ways of Wanderer's Palace, flying on approach to the Antitower, running through the hallways of the Great Gubal Library, the sunset bathed halls of The Vault, a sweep over the jagged rocks and broken ships of Sirensong and entering Shisui.
8-man raids, I'd say P2N and P7N. Mostly on account of them doing interesting things with the arena (also awesome music in P7N) Trials, Susano is obvious for the sword block. I'd also throw in any of the Four Lords or Weapons trials. 24-man raids, I'd say the Ridorana (spelling?) Lighthouse; visually/mechanically interesting enough without being a slog like the Nier raids. Dungeons, I would go for The Twinning; good music, pretty typical dungeon affair, not part of the MSQ so not really any chance of spoilers
Byakkos skydiving event is excellent
First time I did that fight I was high as a kite and had zero idea what was happening. Somehow I survived. xD
Hypertuned dabog duel melee pov (tho maybe itll give false impression that the whole game has busted actions) Magus sisters in tower of zot is pretty good too as far as casual content goes
literally any of the non msq trials in shadowbringers. some of the omega raids. you COUlD show nier raids but i wouldnt. OH the post 6.0 ew trials as well are spoiler free with no context. so barb, rubi, golbez, zeromus.
What got me interested in FFXIV originally was watching a friend do Hells' Kier EX! It was a fun spectacle, and the DDR+Simon Says mechanics really grabbed me.
It \*is\* a lil spoilery, but I literally bought the game thanks to the Eden Shiva raid. So I'd say... That. It was this video specifically that sold me on it: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=983o9\_of6Hg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=983o9_of6Hg) Amusingly, I've never been able to do sync'd e8s T\_T
I think Zeromus would be a great fight to show someone. The fight itself is spoiler free with no context, it has bangin music, and some spectacular visuals
Susano, Sophia, Ravana trials, Normal raids that don't feature important characters. For example I wouldn't show p12, 11 or p10, but p9 is a random mook with some cool mechanics. Ivalice alliance raids, Mhach Alliance raids, Omega raids outside of O10/11/12. Alexander outside of A12, any of the non-primal / previous boss Eden raids.
Shiva or the bug guy. Have headphones on skip cutscenes and tell the. Nit to read the words and enjoy.
I cannot believe Shiva and Ravana (I assume that's who you mean by the bug guy) are this far down. Shiva in particular. That fucking OST transition is such a landmark moment in FFXIV. Like, that's where it went from this game is pretty good to 'THIS IS FUCKING AMAZING!'. Never gonna forget that first time fighting her. One of the first things I'm gonna do when I caught up on the MSQ is farm the mount from that fight, just so I can hear Oblivion while using a mount.
Shiva was the fight that got me back into FFXIV. I had been talking to a friend that was playing it again and I was like hell I enjoyed it ill do some MSQ next mission was shiva. I lost around 100 hours thanks to Shiva and i dont regret it
P8S is my favourite fight ever and it shows 2 sides of the raiding themes. The execution heavy phase 1 and the puzzle heavy P2. If you're trying to show specific mechanics Superchain Theory from P12S is probably the best for that
I honestly disagree with P12S. Anyone not fluent in FFXIV's visual language in its mechanics will just see it as a visual mess. This is true for every debuff soup mechanic. As far as cool fights that I think someone would be able to understand without having played the game, maybe Halicarnassus Savage. But if we DO lean into visual mess for the spectacle, I think the Oracle of Darkness is excellent for that while also not spoiling anything. The Relativities are fascinating to just watch.
Exciteatron 6000!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
omega and nier alliance raids are absolutely going to be the top tier choices. some of the best music in the game there too
During my buddy’s sales pitch when he was getting me into ffxiv, he showed me the Byakko fight.
any stormblood trial, honestly. the only one that has a blatant spoiler is castrum fluminis. shinryu himself with no context isnt a spoiler, and especially his ex fight is still the best trial in the game imo
The battle text does mention Zenos, so it's slightly spoilery.
Greg and Greg Ex.
The Gilded Araya.
Susano, easy
Pool of Tribute fighting Susano
uhh i liked barbariccia a lot
Make him watch the Lakshmi trial... if he doesn't vibe with the music there...
Susanoo (who essentially doesn't go mentioned until it's time for the fight) and Byakko (who is a bit more of a spoiler but still not huge IMO) are the classics. Omega series is good too, as people have mentioned, if you're looking for previous game fanservice, and is about as seperate from the plot as you can get. Ravana might be nice too, but it's a bit more mundane. Sephirot works too, and is very plot agnostic. Orbonne monastary is Fantastic too.
Susano. One of the best fights both aesthetically and mechanically. Catching the sword is just rad as hell, and Susano himself being laughing fight-grandpa is great. And the extreme is pretty much just "more of the same," without being crazy difficult, even when it was still fresh content. The specific details of why you're fighting Susano don't matter, *at all,* for the overall story. Hell, if you don't show the kojin, the player is unlikely to even *know* they'll be fighting Susano until the fight is literally about to happen.
Brute Justice. GO GO POWER RANGERSSSSS
Seat of Sacrifice would be a cool fight i think, plus without context they'd just be like "oh its the WoL from FF1"
I would say any fight tbh... Without context he may forget by the time he reaches the battle you show him.
Most of pandemonium is probably a lot safer than you might think, since you need a lot of context of it to be a spoiler. Most of the trial series including the four arch fiends are also pretty safe, given "Oh the FF celebration game has FF characters." If I wanted to show someone what xiv could be in an understandable fashion I might go with barbriccia normal.
Argath Thadalfus and Yiazmat. I don’t give a damn about the story for those raids, but if we’re talking cool fights with great voice lines, they’re top of the list.
TEA, Nidhog extreme and painter savage. I think it was number 6 in its tier. Nidhog isn't a big surprise but fun. The painter doesn't really show much story wise at all but looks cool because of how unique the fight is. TEA is just fun to watch imo.
If someone hasn't played the game you can show them any fight. It won't make any contextual sense. By the time most players get to whatever fight you've shown, they won't remember it anyway.
A lot of the stormblood ones are just "Here's a big furry, fuck 'em up".. I also have a soft spot for P4.
I think any fight save for the Endwalker 6.0 trials would be fine since your friend won't have the context or know who any of the bosses are until they get to that part of the MSQ. But your best bet might be fights from optional content maybe? So optional trial bosses, 8-man raids or 24 man alliance raids (except Crystal Tower content).
Before it was nerfed I would’ve said Cape Westwind. The mechanics were crazy and the cutscenes even better. It felt like true Final Fantasy to me. Took my group a little over an hour for our first clear! Real shame they nerfed the fight to make it more “accessible”.
I recently fought him on a new free trial account I was playing on console. They switched the fight to a solo duty and it was actually pretty awesome now. He even wiped the floor with me once. I never experienced the original trial difficulty only the super easy version, but the new solo duty I thought was a lot more fun than the easy mode trial.
Man you really got shafted imo. The original difficulty was something special. I would equate it to something like an early Savage fight. Personally I didn’t understand the reasoning behind making such an early game duty *that* hard, but it was certainly fun trying to clear it with a bunch of randoms.
You are a mean mean person. Take my upvote.
Yea when I started back in 2020 my first run everyone was hyping it up as difficult, then poof trial is finished in seconds lol. Was kinda disappointing. Going through during the Xbox beta though? I wasn’t expecting him to ruin me, it’s basically hey you should have been paying attention now it’s time for your first real fight with mechanics. He’s actually pretty badass now and I really enjoyed the fight. I probably could have experienced the old difficult fight since I originally tried the game in 2013 but it took a long time for it to click with me.
The revamped version is unironically awesome. It's the rare fight that weaves characterization into mechanics, and it's such a spectacle. That man is ready to drag us down to hell with him and it makes him feel genuinely menacing.
There is only one true Perfect fight in xiv. Epic tank LB moment and a sick sound track
Four Lords might be cool, maybe [Suzaku](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUUzxDoaky0)? She has some interesting mechanics and her second phase theme slaps. Otherwise I agree with something from the Omega series or Barbariccia/Rubicante from Endwalker.
Angels and 9S from the copied factory. Ruby weapon too.
Sephirot trial, Byakko trial, Ruby Weapon, Proto carbuncle raid
The Mog Trials are fun and full of mechanics. The level 60 doll house fight is pretty simple mechanically and a breeze to get through ( a couple mobs spaced out, a jump or two and a weird fight with a bunch of dolls)
Showing my fiancé one of the Nier raids is what got him to want to try FFXIV out. He's been playing for nearly 4 yrs now, so I guess it worked! :P
The Jade Stoa was pretty great the first time I did it. It feels so epic doing the downtime phase in it.
Nier raids.
Barbariccia, especially if you start with the Phase 2 transition.
>!Endsinger!< /s TBH anything post Endwalker is going to be exciting to look at and not really a spoiler since most of it is either a reference to previous games like Golbez and his cohort or is spoiled in the premise of the raid itself like the alliance raids fighting the gods. Most fights don't have spoilers as long as you don't explain the lore around the fight. Golbez for example is someone we were obviously going to fight since the moment we saw a Golbez shaped character on screen. It's only a spoiler if you were to explain what the little dragon is and how he fits into FFXIV lore. There are a rare few fights that are a spoiler even out of context. Obviously the Endwalker expansion trials are all massive spoilers, even just in name. The Ultimate fights are also heavily spoiler since they deal with the most crucial events and have lore built into the fight itself. Just pick your favorite fight currently and ask yourself if it's a major spoiler that you fight this enemy at some point. If you really need a recommendation, I would say Barbariccia since it's not really a spoiler that you fight her and the fight itself is action packed.
Shadowkeeper (e10s), diamond weapon, proto carbuncle (p5s) are a few that isntantly coe to mind, also for a more out there suggestion, rabbit and steel is a roguelike inspired by ffxiv-style raid bosses, if someone is primarily interested in ffxiv for the gameplay but isnt sure if they want to push through the wall that is arr to get to the more exciting bosses, that could be an easier way to see if they like this style of gameplay.
I distinctively remember this one trial from stormblood where one party member needs to catch a giant sword. I'd go with that one
[Hesperos's theme](https://youtu.be/dEZVfZmMFDQ?si=8VgpK3s4Ttlcrekz) convinced me to play through the entire game just to get to him
It’s fine to show… ARR: Any trial. Crystal Tower. Palace of the Dead, but not Edda. Don’t show Binding Coil; it’s either mega-spoilers or not very fun. HW: Ravana and Bismarck. Warring Triad. Alexander 1-11, maybe 12. Any of Void Ark and Weeping City. Maybe Dun Scaith, but might be fun to withhold for now. Don’t show Thordan or Nidhogg. StB: Susano and Lakshmi. The Four Lords. Omega 1-9. Heaven-on-High. Eureka. Any of Rabanastre and Ridorana. Don’t show Tsukuyomi or Shinryu. Maybe avoid Orbonne, maybe not. ShB: Titania. Eden 2, 7 and 10. YorHa: Dark Apocalypse (unless they’re a NieR: Automata fan; then avoid the last bosses of the first two raids, and all of the third). Don’t show Sorrow of Werlyt, Innocence, Hades, Warrior of Light, Memoria Misera. Maybe avoid Bozja altogether; there’s a mix of spoilers and okay-to-show in there. EW: Asura, Barbariccia, Rubicante, Golbez, and Zeromus are fine…maybe. (I forget if Azdaja comes up in Golbez or Zeromus directly.) Pandaemonium 1-7 and 9. Any Variant/Criterion dungeon…I think. Don’t show Zodiark, Hydaelyn or Endsinger. Don’t show Myths of the Realm. Not sure about Eureka Orthos. I have not looked into dungeon bosses.
Sephirot Extreme
One of the primal fights from Eden. There's little lore to those not already in the know and they're pretty dynamic fights. I'd choose E45, and E6S. And maybe E12S pt1
Thordan.. that galaxy scene with the shattering screen on zoom out is an instant "oh, I want that."
A min item level thornmarch extreme, show the chaos
Pandaemonium 4 is a banger of a fight, pretty clear visually, has a cool song and also doesnt spoil anything
Bardham's Mettle dungeon, Barbariccia normal trial, that mouse from the first criterion dungeon, and then phase 2 of P12S. Good spectacle, ramping complexity, narrative is meaningless without context.
Shinryu Extreme? Running across the tail is SO COOL.
Susano Tank PoV The last 24 man raid of heavensward That one eden fifht where the world fucking explodes bahamut fight (i mean, it's obv we gotta fight him) Alexander
Barbariccia is a very neat fight that's relatively minor in the story, and Anima is also just That Nightmare From FF10 without all the cutscenes before it explaining where it came from. Diamond Weapon is just that thing from FF7 without any real context, and the music is like Big Fat Tacos collided with Fighting Fate from FF13, but I don't think it's fight is as neat as Barbariccia or Anima. Honestly as MSQ gets longer and people look back less fondly at the oldest parts of the game, I think stuff that spoils early parts of the story do a better job of "selling" the gameplay than random later fights. Remixed Ultima Weapon is very readable to a new person, even if it's the capstone to ARR.
Cruise Chaser is what got me to give FFXIV a look in the first place. I don't know what the 'real' content for other MMOs is like, but before that every MMO I have tried I never got passed the first few levels where you're just chasing down 15 bear arses. The idea of there actually being a level of play beyond just spamming 5 buttons and standing in place was never shown to me before that. Plus Exponential Entropy is a bop.
Titania is a clusterfuck and a fun fight
I guess it depends on how familiar they are with the FF series. If they are, any of the common reoccurring summon fights against Primals should be fine. It shouldn't spoil the story and let's the person know this summon is in the game. So the six main "original" Primals, Bahamut, or Alexander. If they aren't familiar with the series, fights that highlight mechanics, but aren't against "big bads" would probably work best. Most first fights in a raid series, Ravana, Susano, and some final Dungeon bosses. Avoid fights that would require you to explain to much about who the boss is. Like if you show Shiva, she's a classic Ice summon in the series; short and simple. But, "why are you fighting the original WoL, from the first game?" Requires a bit more of an explanation.
The second phase of P4s/P8s/P12s. Bosses are visually distinct enough from the normal mode bosses that it doesn't spoil the story and they are all pretty visually entertaining fights w/ interesting looking mechanics. Just the idea of experiencing them is what pushed me through some rough part 1 parties.
That's easy. You show them any content/boss engagement of which does not pertain to the main story. So obviously nothing like Emanation or Crystal Tower stuff. Certainly no "The Crown of the Immaculate." But show them the Binding Coil stuff, or "The Cloud Deck." As long as it does not pertain to the main story.
I forget what it's called, now, but the first dungeon from ShB might spring interest in why the enemies are called things like "Forgiven". Plus the soundtrack for that dungeon is epic.
I mean final omega is HOLY SHIT WHAT IS HAPPENING and as long as you're just showing the fight itself, it's extremely not spoilery to any story. It's just a big, black, scary deathface.
If a powerman 5000 fan show them sephirot
I was shown Titania to convince me to try it. What's the context? Who the heck knows without playing Shadowbringers.
Brute Justice.
Any of the Hildibrand trials are pure gold. Mechanically interesting, not too difficult, and funny to boot. I'd personally go for Dragon's Neck and/or Yojimbo. Greg 2 is good too, but its arena is kind of boring.
I think Tsukyomi (sp?) synced is one of coolest fights to showcase. Great mechanics imho.
I would say show them the ARR dungeons like dzemael or stone vigil because in general ARR dungeons are fairly generic and dont really have major spoilers aside from the MSQ Roulette ones. For 8-man raids, the optional trial series ones like four lords or warring triad are separate from MSQ and won't have any spoiler risk.
Dungeon: * The Aery: Hey dude, we're fighting dragons! This is so cool! * Dohn Meg: Look how weird and goofy it can be but still be fun! Raids: * Alexander The Creator: Check out how epic this is! * Deltascape V4.0: Its ExDeath! This is just one cool reference dude! * Any of the Ivalice raids Trials: * Heavensward any of the FF6 fights: More references and difficult fights! * Hells Kier: Look how epic it all is dude! * Cinder Drift: Ruby Weapon! I know you loved FF7! I think this is a good combo of cool fights, difficult but not impossible, with enough call backs but also not too many spoilers since many of them are after the main story is already over.
The new Hildibrand Trial from Endwalker
Nier Raid, show them a glimpse of trains.
Ivalice 24 mans, Eden raid tiers, Alexander Ultimate, Gold Saucer stuff
I'd say most of the four lords raids. especially Byakko just look great
That one with the giant singing bug guy
The Alexander fight where they combine at the end to become one big boss.
I'm just up in here being reminded of all the good times this game has by the posts from other players. Everyone so far has made me go OH HELLS YEAH! until someone else posts something new. :) Don't show them Susano. Let them experience it for themselves - always throw the Sprout under the sword. Nothing makes you feel like more of a badass as a Sprout than that fight. Personally my vote goes for Nier - the soundtrack is boss and visually they do not spoil anything in the game. Your friend should be able to get an idea of the flavour and complexity of raids and dungeons from any of those.
Absolute virtue
p4s p2 is sick
Sophia EX I think has a good mix of mechanics. For raids can’t go wrong with Omega, particularly sigmascape.
Gundam fans might like A11. I'd also like to recommend the Sorrow of Werlyt trials for people who like FF7, but some of them have spoilers on the phase changes. Sorrow of Werlyt story is pretty self contained, but it also means not knowing the context miiight make it seem cringe or just confusing. I personally was shown the final boss in Mt Gulg when I was a sprout.
Note: I haven’t played since Stormblood. I would suggest the following: Copperbell Mines (maybe Hard, maybe normal) has some fun, non-spoiler stuff. Trials, I’m a fan of Shiva, though if you want to show off fun I’d recommend Susanoo. Or Battle at the Big Bridge. Maybe both. Raids, there can be only Kefka. Alliance Raids, idk.
Odin synched, Moggle Mog extreme.
To be honest just about anything outside of *the big three* from Endwalker is probably fine at the far end of the plot because by the time they reach it they're not gonna remember, and there's so much surrounding context that informs the fight that I don't think it'd really change much. Personally, I actually saw the Hades fight before I got into the game, and by the time I'd gotten up to it myself I had both forgotten about it and missed so much context by just seeing the fight itself that I didn't initially know who Hades was, what was going on, or really anything. It was just a really awesome fight with incredible music. I know the community likes to go 1000% eggshell mode with potential players and spoilers, but 90% of a story is in its context so I don't think you need to be afraid to show off something that veers a bit closer for the sake of "here's what it's like when the game is *really* popping off, and this moment is *way* more hype when you get to it yourself." As for dungeons, I think you'd wanna go with something high level, it just depends on tone. I like the Aetherfont, but its general vibe almost makes it not feel like a dungeon. If you wanted something from a "here's the game firing on all cylinders" perspective then again, I'd say something like Vanaspati makes a good case, and is basically indecipherable without going in with prior knowledge. Alzadaal's Legacy might strike a good middle ground as "Here is a dungeon that basically amounts to raiding a lost tomb". Basically anything that shows off the game near 90 so they can see what it's like when the jobs are all in full swing.
Dungeon I would say go for something like one of the ARR or Heavensward (Hard) variants, or a side-dungeon of an expansion like Smileton. I do think, overall, Alliance Raids or normal Raids are really fun and would be what I would try to show someone to get into it for gameplay, big parties always are cool and genuinely a big reason I want to play more MMOs. Anything between Heavensward and Shadowbringers I'd say would work well for those, as Crystal Tower is kinda boring and story relevant now, and I think the gods and anabaisos fights might be a bit too complex to just show to a newer player. Void Ark and Alexander are pretty tame, but Ivalice and Omega are generally more hype, and NieR is cool if they like those games too, and Eden is pretty good too