The Ugly Duckling minion can be obtained primarily as a rare drop from the Dungeon “Neverreap”. Being first added in Patch 3.0 of the Heavensward expansion, Neverreap is a level 60 optional dungeon that should be easy enough for most players to clear.
To unlock Neverreap, you’ll need to have completed the Main Scenario Quest “Heavensward”. If that’s out of the way, seek out Sanu Vanu (The Sea of Clouds – The Blue Window, X:11 Y:14). He’ll offer the Quest “Reap What you Sow”.
Simply find Tonyu Vanu at the entrance to the Dungeon and it’ll unlock.
You’re now free to traverse the inner Sea of Clouds in search of your Ugly Duckling Minion!
Neverreap Dungeon Mini-Guide
As you venture into Neverreap, overrun by scheming Vundu and vicious beasts, you’ll have to contend with a few things.
One is the Cloud Altars, which each require a Thunder Egg to allow you to proceed.
The early areas are also filled with tornadoes which will knock you up, stun you, and inflict Vulnerability Up. So tread carefully or you’re going to have an annoying time.
This Duty can be unsynced, or completed with a Light Party.
But knowing what to expect will make you Ugly Duckling hunt much simpler.
Nunyenunc Mechanics
- Feather Squall – A targeted AOE on all Players. This can be baited and avoided. So don’t stand in the explosions.
- Nunyenunc’s Shadow – The Boss will periodically disappear and cover the arena in fog. You must run around the edge of the arena until you find its Shadow and destroy it to lift the mist. Failure will kill your Party.
- Nunyenunc’s Plumes – These feathery Adds will spawn periodically throughout the fight. They must be destroyed quickly, or they’ll explode for massive damage. The explosion will also inflict Vulnerability Up, meaning missing more than one is very dangerous.
Canu Vanu Mechanics
- Morrowcloud – Targets a random member of your Party and inflicts them with a heavy “Bleed” Debuff. This must be removed by your Healer with Esuna.
- Sacred Totem – All Players will be marked and then a Totem will drop wherever they were when the cast resolved. After a short delay, he’ll use his next attack.
- Totem Chant – A large purple AOE will appear in the arena. Any Totems left in this circle when the cast resolves will come to life. This makes Canu Vanu invulnerable, so you must move the Totems out of the purple AOE.
- Try to spread out to avoid having a lot of Totems in one place. If they do come to life, you’ll need to destroy them as quickly as possible.
Waukkeon Mechanics
- Divine Mist – Will mark a random Player, spawning a Divine Mist Add. This will periodically attack your Party Members. Isn’t all that dangerous.
- Divine Gale – Several of these Adds will spawn as Waukkeon becomes invulnerable. It’ll dash around the arena until all Adds have been defeated.
- Turbine – Wherever Waukkeon stops once the last Adds has been defeated, he will cast Turbine. This Party-wide AOE will knockback everyone in the arena. This means you need to stack on the Boss in order to be knocked to the center of the arena. Falling off the sides will remove you from the battle entirely!
- Tornado – Several Tornadoes will spawn in the arena, like the ones you had to deal with at the entrance to Neverreap. These will make traversing the arena especially difficult during Waukkeon’s dash phase. Try to end things quickly with a Limit Break or high DPS to avoid them entirely!
Once you’ve conquered the Waukkeon and claimed his scale for Sonu Vanu, crack open the Coffer.
Hopefully it’ll contain your Ugly Duckling Minion.
Now all you need to do is win the Loot Roll and claim it from your inventory.
If you’re curious, you can also spend some more time in the Sea of Clouds. Specifically lending some aid to the Vanu Vanu.
After a couple weeks of quests you can come away with your very own Waukkeon look-alike – the Sanuwa mount! Sure it’ll run you 200,000 Gil, but can we really put a price on showing it off to your friends?
Either way, happy hunting!
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Final Fantasy XIV
- How To Get The Ugly Duckling Minion in FFXIV