Limits & Restrictions - When entering a BCNM, all spell and ability buffs are automatically stripped. Food effects remain, but all other buffs are removed upon entering the Burning Circle. All BCNMs have a character limit: some allow only 3 characters to go in, most are set up for a full party of 6, and a handful allow a full alliance. Almost all BCNMs are also level limited. This means that when you enter a BCNM at a higher level than the limit, you will have your level temporarily reduced while you are in the BCNM. For example, if your party goes into the level 40 capped Steamed Sprouts BCNM, everyone who is higher level than 40 will have their level temporarily set down to 40, with only the spells, abilities, HP and MP that any other level 40 character of their job would have. Once you leave the BCNM, through defeat or victory, the level limit is removed. It is important to make sure you bring the proper equipment for the level limit of the BCNM; any equipment that requires a higher level will automatically be removed and unable to be worn inside the BCNM. You can go into a BCNM at a lower level than the limit, although it is rarely wise to do so. Most BCNM are designed to be beat with the maximum number of characters allowed, who are all at the level limit. The hardest BCNMs in the game do not have any level limits; characters all the way up to level 75 can go into them without any reduction. Of course, the monsters in these BCNMs are appropriately high level as well! There is one other possible limitation when going into a BCNM. Sometimes if another party has gone into a BCNM at the Burning Circle where you are, you may have to wait 10 minutes before you can go in to your own fight.

The Fight - BCNMs are usually simple designs: you have to defeat the mobs in the time limit given in order to win. The type and amount of opponents vary greatly, depending on which BCNM you choose to do. Note that attempting the same BCNM multiple times can produce slight variations in the level of some of the mobs; many of them have level ranges just like regular mobs elsewhere in the game.

Winning & Loot - If you defeat the opponents in the BCNM, an Armory Crate will appear. When selected, it opens and puts a pile of rewards in the treasure pool. Most rewards are provided randomly from a large list of possible items that can load in that particular BCNM, although in some BCNMs certain items load all the time. As with other mobs drops, the best items that can load in any BCNM are the rarest. In most pickup groups who do BCNMs, the standard procedure is for all the loot to go to whoever used their orb for that specific BCNM. In a Linkshell group or other party of players who work together regularly, the proceeds are often made by selling all the item from all the BCNMs, and then the final gil profit is split up among the members of the BCNM group.