Smileton is a tough level 90 dungeon in Endwalker that tests awareness, timing, and teamwork. I’ve run it dozens of times and I’ll tell you what actually matters—straightforward, no fluff. If you want clear runs and useful loot, read on. Honestly, this place will punish sloppy play.
Why bother? Because the fights teach you to move and think under pressure, and the rewards (item level 560 gear, solid weapon drops) are worth farming if you need upgrades in 2025. This doesn’t always work the same for every player—depends on your job and what you already own—but I’ve noticed clear patterns that repeat across groups.
Unlocking Smileton — quick facts
You’ll need level 90 and roughly item level 540 on average to enter. The dungeon opens after the main quest “The Aitiascope” in Endwalker (patch 6.0, November 23, 2021) — yes, that’s when the scenario first introduced the facility. Use Duty Finder or a premade. Queue times vary by role: tanks and healers usually wait less than DPS.
- Level: 90
- Recommended average ilvl: 540
- Drops at ilvl: 560
Trust parties work for learning, but between us: Trust AI won’t teach you good callouts. If you want to get fast, run with players who call mechanics. You’ll learn faster that way.
The Big Cheese — what to focus on
The arena rotates every 30–45 seconds. That’s the anchor of the fight. Watch the rotation and reposition early. If you wait for the visuals you’ll be late. I’ve seen healers get punished because they tried to heal through movement instead of pre-casting.
Key mechanics: Piercing Laser creates moving safe zones; Cheese Cutter lays line AoEs. Healers must keep small MP buffers for emergencies. Tanks should keep the boss near center—small adjustments, not big ones. Why? Because larger moves force melee DPS to drop GCDs and lose uptime (and that compounds over minutes).
“Positioning beats raw numbers—every time.” — advice from runs where we wiped twice in a row
| Phase | Mechanic | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 | Rotation + basic AoEs | Hold position, avoid lines |
| Phase 2 | Piercing Laser shifts safe zones | Pre-move, heal pre-casts |
| Phase 3 | Overlap of mechanics | Use big DPS windows, defensive CDs |
Face — add control wins fights
Face spawns Synthetic Face adds that must die fast. DPS who tunnel the boss instead of switching die a lot. Tanks keep aggro; DPS swap instantly. Overwhelming Charge forces a stack behind the target—miss it and the targeted player often dies. Yes, I said it: some groups still get this wrong in 2025, and it’s maddening!
Tip: call your stack loudly. If nobody calls, assume you do. Communication is cheap and saves wipes.
Loot and why it matters
Every boss drops at least one piece of ilvl 560 gear. Weapons are particularly useful for upgrading jobs moving from main story gear to endgame (again: ilvl 560). The final chest often increases accessory chances. If you’re gearing multiple jobs, Smileton is efficient because drop rates are generous compared to some other dungeons.
One caveat: if you already have fully melded tomestone gear from January 2025, the glam might be the only reason to farm—so pick your goal first.
Role-specific advice
Tanks. Position for the arena rotation. Use small moves. Save one major cooldown for overlapping mechanics. Dark Knights: time The Blackest Night when adds die; Warriors: Nascent Flash helps on heavy pulls.
Healers. Pre-cast and manage MP. Lucid Dreaming early is okay if the group drags fights (I’ve used it at start when runs felt messy). Scholar: Sacred Soil placement matters; Astrologian: time Collective Unconscious during spikes. Why? Because movement-heavy fights punish slow or expensive heals more than raw throughput.
DPS. Melee struggle more here—use mobility tools. Ninja: Shukuchi, Dragoon: avoid landing jumps into AoE paths. Ranged: maintain casts around mechanics (Triplecast + Swiftcast on Black Mage are lifesavers). Summoner offers safe burst windows with instant casts, which is why we often pick them for learning groups.
Common mistakes (and fixes)
Poor arena awareness is the top cause of wipes. I’ve noticed people stare at their rotation and forget to glance at the arena rim. Check every few seconds. Seriously—make it a habit!
- Ignore arena rotation → die (fix: pre-move).
- Save cooldowns poorly → insufficient healing (fix: plan by timeline).
- Wrong add target → chaotic damage (fix: mark and call targets).
Here’s the funny part: some players believe stacking every cooldown is smart; in reality, mis-timed cooldowns kill momentum. Align them to boss windows for real gains.
Speedrun notes (if you care)
Speedruns rely on efficient trash handling and minimizing downtime. Pre-position before visual cues, coordinate cooldowns, and practice transitions. It’s controversial, but yes: skipping mechanics via DPS checks can be legit if your group knows what they’re doing—do it with caution. This strategy can shave minutes but will punish mistakes immediately.
Checklist:
- Coordinate cooldowns.
- Pre-position for rotations.
- Use consumables.
Advanced groups push bosses into next phases before some mechanics fire. Watch this: if you can push through, you skip the hardest patterns, but you need gear and timing (and frankly, nerves of steel).
Practical macros and quick calls
/ac "Pray"
/p Stack behind target! /p Knockback ready!
Use a simple macro like that to call stacks. It’s not elegant but it works (and yes, we used it on 2025 runs).
“Call early, call often.”
Oddly enough, repeating callouts helps. It sounds redundant, yes, but redundancy beats silence when things go wrong.
Final notes — real talk
Mastering Smileton takes practice and patience. I’ve wiped more times than I want to admit (ugh), and each wipe taught something useful. If you’re learning, run with people who explain why they do things. If you’re speedrunning, accept that some wipes are the price of shaving seconds.
One counterintuitive tip: don’t always push DPS hard on trash when learning. Slower but clean runs build muscle memory faster than chaotic speed attempts. You’ll be faster later if you learn it right now.
Good luck—see you in the facility. If you want, tell me your role and I’ll give a short, specific rotation tweak (quick and dirty). Oh—wait, I should stop. Or not. 😉
