1,200 hours in, Final Fantasy 14 player trying to beat the MMO under RuneScape's Ironman rules clears biggest obstacle yet thanks to a backup strategy that took 300 hours to prepare

Of all the Final Fantasy 14 challenges I've seen, Rath Games' solo runs might just be the most impressive – and his latest, tackling the ever-infamous Hades trial from Shadowbringers, is arguably the most mind-boggling to date.

Rath started his journey three years ago, asking the question I never thought I'd see a player wonder: "Is it possible to SOLO Final Fantasy 14?" Thus began his legendary challenge, with a video showing him demolish Ifrit all on his own following a very lengthy grind.

Since then, he's taken on many a trial and raid on his lonesome, soloing entire expansions' worth of difficult, story-concluding content. Now, he's in Shadowbringers.

Surprisingly, 5.0 is actually where he's met his match, in The Dying Gasp, to be specific. The once-endgame trial pits players against Hades, and despite preparing, Rath nearly found it impossible.

Speaking in his YouTube recap of what turned out to be a 300-hour trial, he says, "The wall standing before us was nothing like any before it." Rath then exclaims, "After a thousand hours of solo, we've reached the wall we can't clear" – but that's not exactly true.

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The Final Fantasy 14 mastermind finds a way to get through Hades after all – spending 193 hours leveling up a brand-new character to fight alongside his main solo Warrior of Light champion, which he has already dedicated a whopping 1,008 hours to.

In other words, his Hades kill has come after some 1,201 hours in total, not to mention the sheer amount of skill and determination that's gone into playing as two roles in one right.

I can barely handle my one healer, and that's with a full static of other players, thank you very much. I'd argue it technically still counts as a solo win, then – I mean, it is just Rath. He's not done showing us all up in Final Fantasy 14 yet, either.

"We've made it," he says, but "our final goal is still 6.0." In other words, Endwalker. For now, though, let a man celebrate. "In this moment," as Rath puts it, "I am basking in my victory."

And boy, does he deserve to be able to. Part of me is hopeful he continues his journey, even through Dawntrail and beyond… It's not often we see RuneScape Ironman-style challenges make their way to Final Fantasy 14, and I'm in awe.

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