Transcendence Tier 1

Dimension's End Transcendence 1 Stages

Reminder: Avoid claiming your BT tokens from the Rewards menu, they do NOT expire! Simply wait until there is a BT you want to claim!

For general information on Transcendence, please read our Transcendence FAQ!

Transcendence #1 Left Crucible vs 2x Target Sniper

Orb Timeline:

-1 count per ally action, -2 count per enemy turn 

Holy DMG: +5 count

White Crystal required in party

Key Character Examples

Boss Notes

Key Character Notes

Required (all):

Primary Strategies (pick one):

We'd kindly ask that you avoid calling this gate easy if you take a powerful team comp with ideal characters like those mentioned above. This fight can either be a cakewalk or a nightmare, and it all depends on how you approach it. Offer help to those struggling!

Transcendence #1 Right Crucible vs 2x Jeweled Turtle

Orb Timeline:

-1 count per ally action, -2 count per enemy turn 

Launch enemy: +8 count

Blue Crystal required in party

Key Character Examples

Boss Notes

Key Character Notes

Required (all):

Strategy:

Note: This stage is confirmed to be capable of completion without a BT. Krile LD, Jack LD, Keiss EX+ can complete with tight gameplay.

Transcendence #1 Reckoning vs 2x Affect & 2x Flame Mask

Orb Timeline:

-1 count per ally action, -2 count per enemy turn 

Wave 1

Inflict 2+ debuffs in a turn: +2 count 

Wave 2 (weak to holy, absorbs fire)

Any Ally HP 100%+ freezes count

Key Character Examples

Boss Notes

Wave 1

Wave 2

Key Character Notes

This is a punishing fight, there's a lot to unpack here, but we want to make one thing clear. 

This difficult fight can be cleared using just 1 of the key character *examples* above. See below for alternative characters that can be used to clear this difficult quest.

To clear this, you will need to be able to address these issues in the fight

Paladin Cecil is one of the most popular choices, simply for his HP overhealing, coupled with HP DMG reduction, and enchant. His imperil is applied AoE, boosting the orb in the first wave, while his healing covers the orb in the second wave. Wide roled characters go a long way in this fight, and he is no exception. Hope & Rude are honorable mentions that can protect the team and battery. Rude has massive heals, while Hope has minor heals.

Ramza is very wide, covering launch and instant break, and he has some healing as well. Similar to Paladin Cecil, his EX debuffs, helping with the 1st wave orb while also slowing the enemy down. Penelo is worth mentioning as she has 100% gravity on her EX, and speeds your party up. Her healing is excellent, but she has no debuffs, and her gravity is single target.

Keiss is of course an excellent launcher, but also his chase BRV+ has 100% gravity with it, allowing you to easily shave wave 1 bosses. His enablement of high damage via launch ends the fight more quickly. Caius also could fill this role if timed properly. He handles the orb in the first wave, his LD handles instant break, and his EX launch tackles the second wave (just note it charges slowly).

Gabranth has instant break and debuffs for wave 1, and his debuffs go a long way in helping to protect you in wave 2. Having the easiest access to instant breaks is a luxury for this tier. Arciela, Exdeath, & Kefka slot here as alternates, shutting down the boss in various ways. Exdeath is a premium BRV shaver, the best in the game, and can help negate wave 2's AoE HP attacks. Kefka has instant break (single target) on his EX in addition to his crippling debuffs. Note that Arciela's LD debuff will prevent the wave 1 bosses from gaining BRV, and can make it tricky to inflict break to remove their BRV DMG reduction aura. Arciela & Kefka can lock enemies with their HP Attack Disable (just be careful of the HP Poison in the second wave).

Cloud only launches in addition to his damage output, but his paralysis can help to manage the bosses and give you time to recharge an instant break EX (like Kefka's for example). Noctis can fill a similar role if you'd like to place him here, as his EX and S1 help with the wave 1 orb, and S1+ enables launches in wave 2.

Gladio protects the team versus single target attacks, so he removes the need for instant break in wave 1, and protects you on the recast in wave 2. His battery & damage go a long way and help make the fight much safer. Eight if you have him, is an excellent alternative, dodging everything in the fight, just be sure to have a healer to cover what Gladio was providing.

Useful Calls!

Launch: Cloud (AoE), Dark Knight Cecil, Ramza (LD call, AoE), Keiss (AoE if your selected character does an AoE attack)

Instant Break: Caius LD

Burst Heal: Rem, Rude, Firion, Maria, Ramza

Notes on Solos/Duos

Due to the slow release of Transcendence and the power of our units growing, many previous Reckonings (Middle Gates) can be done with 1-2 units which means using 1 unit on each Crucible (Side Gate). While it helps save units, some Solos/Duos have luck or specific strategy components so we will help identify at least which units have been extremely useful in the tier as of this update (made June 2023) so if Solo/Duo strategies aren't your thing, you can at least see what unit does great in a fight so you can throw some more units at it. 

When we mention a character we assume them to have as many upgrades and weapons as possible. These will also be added to each tier page.

REMINDER: start at the latest tier and go backward as you can use your strongest units faster that way with little fear of needing to shuffle units around. These units are great if you have them, but you can overpower stages without them.