Welcome to Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood, everybody! Where once we’d be welcoming you to the heart of Eorzea, the latest Final Fantasy XIV expansion has us venturing outside of the place we’ve called home for the last 7 years.

Similar to how we shot off to Outland back during the Burning Crusade days of World of Warcraft, it’s time to walk a new path and push back the Garleans ever further.

But with each expansion likely comes a wave of newcomers. Hype hits fever pitch. So while media outlets give more love and attention to each announcement and preview of an upcoming expansion, those who might never have even heard of a Final Fantasy MMO decide that now is the time to jump into its weird and wonderful world. And we have to agree!

Any well-established MMO can be a daunting experience for a newbie. Heck, Final Fantasy XIV can be relatively confusing for a veteran. So that’s why we’re readying this new-player primer. Learn the ropes, catch up to the rest of us and come have wiping to Savage raids over and over sooner rather than later. It’s fun. I swear.

Oh! And did I mention it has one of the most incredible and bountiful soundtracks of any game? There’s so much original music in here that the game and its composer - Masayoshi Soken - was inducted into the the Guinness Book of World Records.

Contents

• Starting Out
• Leveling Guide
• Stats, Food And Materia Guide
• Crafting & Gathering (Disciple of the Hand/Land)
• High-Level Content
• Having Fun
• In-Game Help And Closing Thoughts

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We have to stress, however, that while this guide may be excruciating long (hence the contents list) it most certainly does not give you every single detail. The game is just too big. We recommend playing the game and discovering its nuances at your own pace; but googling ‘x leveling guide’ will usually net you a decent (if not outdated) result if you’re looking for a more in-depth look at any one specific topic. Think of this a ‘primer’ or ‘New Player Guide’.

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Starting Out

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Final Fantasy XIV handles things a little differently to most other MMOs. In Eorzea, your character isn’t stuck to a single class or profession - just like we’re not in real life;

Once you’ve introduced yourself to the guild of your wanted class, you’re free to take up their tools and switch whenever you’re not in combat. Each role runs off a separate level with its own side-stories. You’ve got your tanks, healers, DPS and damage-dealers that still focus on support at the sake of some slightly diminished damage numbers. Find your poison and have at it. For reference, here are the all the classes available to you with the brackets indicating the ‘job’ they’ll become at a later level;

• Damage Dealers (dps)
• Arcanist (Summoner)
• Thaumaturge (Black Mage)
• Archer (Bard)
• Pugilist (Monk)
• Lancer (Dragoon)
• Rogue (Ninja)
• Expansion roles
• Samurai
• Red Mage
• Machinist
• Healers
• Conjurer (White Mage)
• Arcanist (Scholar)
• Expansion roles
• Astrologian
• Tanks
• Marauder (Warrior)
• Gladiator (Paladin)
• Expansion roles
• Dark Knight

The class you pick during the character creation process is what will define your starting city - because each city houses specific guilds. Once you reach level 15, you’ll unlock the ‘Armoury System’ in play here - and likely progress the story enough to be given access to the airships that will take you between the three main city-states.

This gives you free-reign to pick up around 80% of the game’s roles. Others - like the expansion-locked Astrologian, Dark Knight, Machinist, Red Mage and Samurai are, more or less, only obtainable once you reach a far-higher level or specific point in the story.

While many have speculated the ‘job system’ to simplify over the years, it hasn’t. Basically, the term ‘class’ and ‘job’ refer to two different things. Your ‘class’ is a battle role without a ‘job stone’. Each ‘class’ receives a ‘job stone’ for its level 30 side-quest that turns them into the ‘job’ you’ll take to the level cap. But most classes still need another class to have reached level 15 before the job quest becomes available.

For example; If you want to become a White Mage, you’ll level ‘Conjurer’ to level 30 and Arcanist to level 15. This will cause the Conjurer job quest to become available granting you a Job Stone for your to equip turning your Conjurer into a White Mage.

It’s essential. A job gains many more abilities through periodic quests all the way to level cap. Without them, you’re useless. It’s as simple as that. Make sure you do them.

The exception here is a class introduced in an expansion - like Heavensward or Stormblood. For Heavensward classes, they’ll start at level 30 with a job stone already supplied. For Stormblood classes, they’ll be in the same situation - but at level 50.

Leveling Guide

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There’s no getting around it. If you’re not willing to shell out for a ‘level up’ potion, you’re going to have a long road ahead of you. EXP gains at lower levels are certainly higher than they were back in 2.0 - and for good reason - but with Story quests and unlocks along the way, there’s a lot to go through. A lot to see.

Leveling up in Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood takes many different forms now; there are lots of ways to mix it up. For the most part, side-quests blended with the main scenario will get your first class to the level cap. For the rest, though? And you’ll want them. It’s a little different once the side-quests have been exhausted on your first class. And traditional monster grinding isn’t one of them.

Before you dive right in, however, it’s best to know a few quick tips. Final Fantasy XIV has numerous ways of granting you additional EXP rates. For anyone who pre-ordered Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood, they were given a pair of in-game earrings capable of speeding up EXP gains by 30% so long as the wearer was on a class lower than level 50. And there are many other similar items available with less trouble.

• Gear Bonuses
• While most of these come from promotional giveaways (that were stackable), the easiest one to get hold of it the 'Brand-new Ring' granted to those who complete the 'Halls of the Novice' activity - essentially a trio of playable demonstrations designed to teach newcomers team-play etiquette and role expectations.


• Food Bonuses
• But not all the EXP gains are done through equipment. Near enough any food item will grant a 30-minute long 3% EXP boost that you're encouraged to keep on at all times. It might not be much, but it certainly mounts up. And food is so cheap, it's not to be snuffed at. Plus, most meals give stat boosts that will compliment your class as you fight.


• Free Company Buffs
• Then there's Free Company (guild) buffs. Bought and executed by the Guild Master and any capable Officer, these company-wide buffs grant anything from Battle Experience gains to lowered durability hits to gear, faster spiritbond rates and the reduction of the teleportation fee. There's a separate one for battle, craft and gathering EXP rates, though - so don't be surprised if they're not always running the Battle EXP buff


• Chain Bonuses
• Chain Bonuses are gradually increased EXP gains granted during successive kills on enemies of level close to your own. A big reason why we suggest running a dungeon that's of the same level as your current class is because killing monsters of your same level will grant more and more EXP if you kill them within the countdown displayed during the chain. As chains get higher - so do the EXP gains; but the timer will become shorter, meaning it's more difficult to reset it on a kill.


• Rested EXP
• Rested Bonus is one you've likely heard and seen in a variety of other MMORPGs. This is a 50% EXP buff that builds up while you're logged out in a 'Sanctuary' - like a town or city.


• Grand Company Buffs
• Grand Company Scrolls are bought by exchanging Grand Company Seals earned from FATEs, Leves and turn-ins. These scrolls provide hefty EXP boosts for the user for around 2-3 hours - or until a certain amount of EXP has been granted by the bonus.

It’s entirely possible to benefit from equipment, food, rested, free company and Chain bonuses boosts at the same time - making rapid multiplications in experience point gains possible with little effort.

FATEs have a strong focus. These are quick-fire quests found on the map of each and every zone - and they pop up and disappear just as quickly. Ranging from simple kill gauntlets to delivering the items scattered across the ground, they’re real-time events that take around 1-3 minutes to complete - with or without a group of public players - and reward a decent amount of EXP. You can either join a group in ‘farming’ these or just join in whenever you happen to venture into one on-route to your next quest. There’s no down-side to them, and they give out ‘Grand Company Seals’ as a minor incentive. It’s free EXP, basically, and a nice way to keep things from getting too stale. Stormblood even introduced bonus EXP FATEs, too.

From there, it’s key that you make used of Challenge and Hunting logs. While the former resets every week, the latter does not. Challenge logs reward bonus EXP for repeating certain actions (like completing a set number of FATEs across a few zones or finishing 3 dungeons) while the Hunting Log gives you 5 tiers of monsters to kill for a quick little boost. Again, it’s stuff you’ll find yourself accidentally working on you level up through more traditional channels - and they really mount up over time.

Levequests are a possibility to consider, too, but they’re mostly used for Crafting and Gathering classes due to their real-time ‘allowance’ - but this isn’t gospel. These are repeatable side-quests with a scalable difficulty level. If you’re able to complete a level 20 leve with a +4 handicap, you’ll be rewarded with more EXP than if you completed it at a level relative to your own. Guildhests, on the other hand, are scenarios designed as an introduction to group-based play. Each of these award a first-time EXP bonus that is repeatable on each class and rarely take more than 5 minutes to complete. Again - free EXP.

If none of these sound like something you’ll like to repeat for each class you want to level, Palace of the Dead (PotD) could be more up your street. This relatively new addition to the leveling regime is one of the most efficient - but also the most repetitive. Palace of the Dead is a randomised dungeon for 4 players with booby-traps scattered throughout with 200 floors available to us at this time. Each 10 floors (and a boss) awards players with a chunk of EXP for whatever class they go in as. Gear and weapons are separate for this activity and is improved as you find more silver chests throughout. While you start at level 1, it’s a temporary effect separate from your real-world level.

EXP gains are accelerated monumentally, too, meaning it’s a decent way of seeing how a class plays at a higher level before actually putting in the time to level up yourself. We’ve written about it before - so check that out over here.

Stats Food and Materia Guide

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These shinystones (that’s Goblin speak, apparently) aren’t really something most of us deal with at the lower levels - but they can make a tremendous difference to the whole experience; especially if you’re working on a gathering class.

Materia work like ‘gems’ in certain other MMOs - they’re stat-enhancing stones you ‘meld’ to your gear. Not all gear can take materia into them, but most have multiple slots to hold them and can usually hold more if you’re willing to meld at a severely reduced chance. They’re essential to the end-game experience - but they’re not to be overlooked when you’re starting off, either.

While affixing materia could once only be done by a person with a high enough crafting level on a specific class for each piece of gear, we’ve been given the gift of a shopkeep who’ll gladly do it for us for a small fee. Granted, these generous souls can’t handle ‘Advanced Melding’ (affixing extra materia to an item with no slots left), it’s still nothing to snuff at. Materia can be had relatively cheaply from the market board, picked up from quests, received by ‘converting’ gear you’ve spiritbonded by using for a prolonged period of time or through various merchants for different types of currency. You can even trade in a bunch of useless materia for a chance as a single, more usable piece - but it’s hardly the most effective method.

Once you’ve identified the stat you’d like to boost, it’s time to ensure the gear in question can take it. Each gear has a ‘cap’ on each stat - meaning it isn’t always possible to raise a given stat above a threshold. And with materia coming in various grades (I-VI) with each subsequent grade giving a higher boost while only being affix-able to gear of high enough level, you’ll have to plan ahead most of the time. This isn’t too big a deal while you’re leveling up (as you’re not really looking to min/max your flexible stats), it turns high-level content optimization into a bit of a puzzle.

The example being a White Mage who needs more Piety (Max MP + Regen) only to find out that 1/2 of their gear is already maxed out on Piety. They’ll still have empty slots to use, but which stat do they go for? Spell Speed? Direct Hit (crit)? Determination (base heal/damage numbers)? That’s something you’ll learn as you go on, but for now, just throw whatever you want in there. Something is better than nothing, essentially. If you’re gathering or crafting, however, ‘Gathering’ and ‘Craftsmenship’ materia will make your life much easier. And by that, we mean less bound by the classic random number game.

Crafting & Gathering Guide

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Supplying the realm with hand-made wares and finely chopped wood is paramount to its continued growth. Without those dedicated Disciples of the Hand or Land, the fighters of the realm would have no well-cooked meals, materia-affixed gear or handy potions in battle. While your character certainly doesn’t have to dedicate themselves to the world of produce, it’s typically the best way to make ends meet or just a relaxing pastime between all the bloodshed.

While Gathering only takes three forms (Fishing, Botany and Mining), crafting takes on many; from woodwork to cooking or from jewelry crafting to potion-making - there’s honestly no shortage of crafting classes; and the best find themselves having to take on every one of them.

Both activities take the form of a mini-game with one certainly being more confusing than the other. Gathering (like harvesting ores or wood) is fairly simple. You head out into the world with your tool in hand and bounce between ‘nodes’ visible on the mini-map and click to gather the item you want. Each node can only be harvested a set number of times, with the ‘gathering’ stat determining your chance of getting the item while ‘perception’ dictates the likelihood of it being ‘high quality’. Multiple bonuses can come into effect here with your own resource ‘GP’ being spent on skills that can temporarily increase those RNG chances or increase the amount of an item you’ll get in a single swing. Fishing it a little more laid-back, but becomes something similar in time.

Nodes carrying various different items are scattered all across Eorzea, and while some decide to level these classes through traditional ‘grinding’ methods, it’s typically gathering-specific Guildleves that offer the more efficient route if you’re willing to keep your gear relevant enough to beat the RNG. GP is key in these situations. Leveling at higher-levels, however, becomes a different beast altogether typically requiring stronger GP management as you start to gather ‘Collectables’ in exchange for generous EXP gains. But that won’t happen until at least level 50.

Crafting, however, requires a strong ‘CP’ game each and every time. A much more complicated mini-game has you crunching numbers to ensure you can fill the Progress gauge without running down the ‘durability’ of the item. If the later reaches 0 before progress is maxed out - you’ll fail the craft and, potentially, lose some high-value materials needed for the craft. Working on the secondary ‘Quality’ bar only adds to the challenge. It’s optional, somewhat, but crafting a high-quality item is a necessary evil later in the game. Raid teams don’t want sub-par gear.

While you’re at it, it’s worth nothing there are a few other sub-systems in place with crafting. Each class can ‘desynthesize’ the gear they’re typically able to repair with this building up a seperate skill rating that means you’re able to handle higher-level items at an increased success rate. You can either just dissolve what you make as you level up, or work on it separately later on. You typically gain some of the materials back used in the original craft, but it’s a viable way to obtain valuable ‘Demi-materia’ used in high-level crafts.

While crafting can be done semi-casually - and relatively quickly with guildleves and Grand Company turn-ins awarding massive bonuses - most crafters will tell you it’s absolutely essential that you level each crafting class to at least level 15. Or 50 if you’re really going all-in. That’s because each class gains a specific ability at these milestone levels that can be used on other crafting classes - and they make a huge difference. Without them, most high-level crafts will prove impossible. But if you’re just looking to craft your own leveling gear from time to time, there’s no rush. Dedicating yourself to the craft can be a nice distraction sometimes - and leveling gear is typically in short supply on the market board, making a quick buck not all that hard to manage.

High-Level Content / Reaching The Level Cap

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Much like any other MMORPG, reaching the level cap isn’t the end of the game. Heck, some would say it’s only the beginning. With the level cap now sitting at a modest 70 after the game’s second expansion - Stormblood - what was once considered the creme of the crop is no longer bound by the laws of cruel and testing mechanics. Something else has taken its place

So while you won’t be taking part in much 8-man content before you hit level 70, Stormblood will likely still follow a similar formula to past end-game sequences. That being each even-numbered patch (4.0, 4.2, and 4.4) will grant us new 8-man raiding scenes, each odd-numbered patch will give us an ‘Alliance’ raid - in which 3 8-man teams tackle bosses in a separate storyline while we’re given a ‘Trials’ at various increments - These are typically single monster brawls against a group of 8 players that sit somewhere between the odd and even numbered raids in terms of difficulty. Something to tide us over until the next raid, essentially. These usually give us the weapons we’ll use to tackle the next challenge.

For Stormblood, we’re looking at Omega being our new raid encounter with the ‘Return to Ivalice’ raids being our alliance encounters - and a nostalgia trip for Final Fantasy XII fans.

• 8-Man 'Raids'
• split into 4-5 separate fights
• an progressive storyline split across the entirety of the expansion's life-cycle
• Has a 'normal' mode for casual players to complete for the sake of story and decent gear
• Includes a 'savage' mode with more difficult versions of the standard encounters. Your typical 'World First' race.


• 24-man 'Alliance' Raids
• Large-scale dungeons with 3-4 bosses
• Progressive storyline split between the entirety of the expansion's life-cycle
• One difficulty level designed to give a decent challenge to casual players. Rewards included relevant gear typically locked behind a single weekly piece


• 8-man 'trials' - AKA: Primals
• Either main-story or side-story related
• Normal and Savage difficulties for casual and high-level players
• Savage mode rewards raiders with viable weapons for the next 8-man raid set


• Dungeon Instances
• Max-level encounters for 4 players
• Rewards 'tomestones' used to purchase high-level gear
• Side-story and main-story related

Each even-numbered patch typically involves players reaching weekly tomestone caps and earning one token from each of the 4-5 floors of the current level raid encounter. Various amounts of these can be traded in to receive stronger gear and weapons used to complete the ‘Savage’ raids for even stronger equipment. Casual players will typically work on obtaining every piece over the next few months while those capable of completing ‘Savage’ raids earning gear that will usually last until the next new ‘savage’ raid released every 7-8 months.

For casual players, the odd-numbered patch typically acts as a ‘catch-up’, with the alliance raid offering a single piece of similar gear every week to speed up the process. Another currency comes into effect here allowing those who continually clear the alliance raid each week to upgrade their current gear to something marginally higher - putting them in a stronger position to clear the Savage raids hardcore players have likely already tackled with less of a struggle.

While getting far into the Savage raids reward those brave enough with powerful weapons, casual players can go a number of different ways to obtain something less powerful - but still viable. These being ‘relic weapons’. A relic weapon is a class-specific weapon that gains stronger with each patch - growing in both looks and stats as the expansion goes on. They typically require heavy time investments through less-difficult mean, but at generally obtainable before the ‘next step’ by those who stick with it.

In the past, the stats of these weapons have been up to the individual player - meaning it’s possible to make a weapon that compliments your playstyle; like helping your mana regeneration, skill speed or overall damage. They’re grind-heavy items to acquire, but a good compromise for those who want something that’s entirely viable for high-level content without too much of the stress.

Finding a raid group can be tricky - but finding a decent one is even more of a challenge. You’ll usually posts in the ‘Party Finder’ looking for specific roles or classes with these groups having their own set times and days when they expect players to come together to tackle these high-level challenges. If you’re hoping to make a real dent in this type of content, be prepared to set aside at least 8 hours a week for the vast majority of the expansion’s life-cycle.

Raiding relies on teamwork - and a lot of it. Voice communications are generally a necessity, too; so you’ll need a microphone, a quiet place to play and a lot of patience on top of not being shy to speak to a group of strangers. But the rewards are generally a bunch of new friends as you all help each other reach a common goal. It’s a challenge in its own right, but a rewarding experience for those who see it through to the end.

But don’t worry if you’re not the talkative type or really all that capable of pushing through high-level content. Lots of us will beat ourselves up over a silly mistake in a fight and decide to call it a day - or give up before even trying. That’s fine too! Enjoy the less challenging content at your own pace, or lend your services to the server in a different way. Raiders need food, armor and potions - of which is all crafted by other players. And those crafters need materials to do their job. Either become a crafter yourself, or be the one to supply the hand that feeds the other players.

Take up a gathering class or just grind out monster drops. You’ll net yourself a pretty penny or two and can either invest that cash into building up your own crafting skills, spend it all on clothes or buy a nice house to deck out with new furniture. Final Fantasy XIV isn’t all about fighting. We all help in our own way.

If you’re going head-first into raid content, however, expect a lot of tiring guess work and ‘wiping’ as everyone struggles to figure out fight mechanics and second guesses what the other teams have instructed. Tutorial videos from the likes of Mr.Happy and MTQ usually only appear by the time the fight has been cleared by numerous groups as they’ll usually keep what they’ve learned to themselves until they’re secured a decent spot in the ‘World First’ race. After that, having seen tutorial videos is basically mandatory - so don’t be surprised you see Party Finder groups ensuring everyone’s watched a tutorial video for a fight before heading in.

Similarly, you’ll be expected to come prepared - obviously. Bring your best gear, make sure it’s optimised and repaired; then grab some high-quality food and potions for the stat boosts and prepare yourself for hours of torture. It’s rewarding, but certainly not without its difficulties.

Have Fun / Mini-Games & Miscellaneous

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Fighting isn’t for everyone. Sure, people might struggle to understand why you’re playing an MMO if you don’t intend to fight steel on steel. It’s a tough gig! It can get tiring. Thankfully, Final Fantasy XIV isn’t without its mini-games and pastimes.

Over the years, we’ve had more added to the list with one - the Gold Saucer - not coming until around two years after it was promised. It may sometimes take us a little while to get something new; but once it’s been promised, we get it eventually.

If you’re looking to spend your time away from the grind of high-level content, there’s tonnes of other ways to put your subscription to good use;

• Palace of the Dead
• This one might not actually take you away from the fighting, but it's method of progression is different enough to be a worthy distraction. Palace of the Dead consists of 200 randomly generated floors teeming with monsters, booby traps and loot. Players begin at level 1 rapidly climbing to the cap by the time they reach around floor 40. Every 10 floors is topped off with a boss encounter with players receiving a chunk of EXP to the class they went in as.


• It's a decent way to trial a class you might want to level in the future, but it's more about the experience for others. Chests usually contain potions that combat the floor's traps, award buffs or transmogrify the user into beasts more capable of shutting down the monsters that lurk without. Hidden spoils can be unearthed and exchanged for random loot ranging from decorative fireworks to valuable pets. If your party falls, it's back to beginning of the current set of floors.


• Weapons and armour upgrade by chance when opening a silver chest making repeated trips sometimes necessary to progress further. Once you've gone through the 'Story Mode' of the first 100 floors, however, the last 101-200 becomes a test of endurance not many will see through to the end. There's even a leaderboard for those ones.




• Gold Saucer & Chocobo Racing
• This place was a dream come true for Final Fantasy VII fans. Though it took a while to be implemented, the Gold Saucer is a fun little pastime for those into long-term progression - or for those just wanting something a little different.


• Housing multiple mini-games from UFO catchers, tests of strength and scratchcard lotterys, the Gold Saucer is a gambler's paradise without really being a gamble. There's a daily limit on the smaller 'mini cactpot' scratchcard with a longer 1-week lockout on the 'jumbo cactpot' lottery. Fill the rest of your time in Gold Saucer 'GATE' events or pump some time into the minigames to earn additional 'Gold Saucer Points' (MGP) exchangable for exclusive mounts, gear and emotes for those looking to flaunt their determination.


• Chocobo Racing makes a return with a breeding mechanic for good measure. Raising and racing multiple generations of Chocobo becomes a test of luck and strategy with the races themselves being divided into multiple classes of Mario Kart-esque mini-games where you control your bird to the finish line while fending off the opposition with items. They're a decent source of additional MGP and a tonne of fun.




• Triple Triad
• For those who fight to defend Final Fantasy VIII as the best in the series, it's crowning achievement - Triple Triad - makes a welcome return. Tournaments are carried out within the Gold Saucer, but NPCs the world over will challenge you to a match outside the mini-game paradise.


• Additional cards are earned by defeating the bosses of dungeons, raids and trials with others coming as rewards for besting your opponents.



Sightseeing Log
• Eorzea is a beautiful place. Hopefully you'll see that the moment you log in for the first time. Sure, it's not the most graphically impressive game; but the charm and world-building practically bursts from the seams. The sightseeing log aims to have you see it in its best light and from th best place.


• The sightseeing log presents you with picture and jumping puzzles aimed at letting you see the sights of Eorzea from some brand-new angles. Most recently, Stormblood has seen dozens of players cheering each other on as they scale the towers of Kugane in the hopes of completing the log. They're scary!




• Manderville Quests
• The 'Hildebrand' quest-chain isn't your average EXP grind. Instead, it's a wacky side-story filled with slapstick humor and so well-received that players convinced the developers to extend it across two additional expansions.


• Though the earlier quests introduce some familiar boss encounters from past Final Fantasy games, that isn't why people love the Manderville Man as much as they do. If you've ever watched the zanny creations within Source Film Maker, expect similar things from the Manderville quest chain.




• Diadem
• What was once fresh and new became stale and unforgiving. Rejuvenated and back to its former glory, the Diadem is a massive instance in which multiple groups of 8 venture around doing their own thing until a giant monster promises loot to those who come together for the greater good


• A great place for Gathering classes to find some valuable and exclusive produce, it isn't rare to find them take up arms once the other teams track down the boss monster.


• Successful trips yield randomly generated battle gear and spoils that can be exchanged for a multitude of other things.


• Treasure Maps
• Want more loot? Gathering classes can find multiple different levels of treasure maps from what they do every day - but they can only find one per day.


• Treasure Maps present the holder with a zoomed in section of the world map for them to cross-reference with the bigger picture. Upon digging in the correct place, a treasure chest - with a trap - will appear. Once the monsters are defeated, players are free to claim what's inside the box from rare minions and materials to fancy clothing, music and crafting crystals.


• On occasion, a treasure chest can spawn a portal to the 'Aquapolis' - a short dungeon with 7 possible floors. Each presents its own loot chest with monsters to defeat. Then, there's a 50% chance of progressing to the next floor - thanks to two inconspicuous doors - with the reward potentially generally increasing with each. Pick the wrong one, and you're cast out of the dungeon.


• There's even the chance of bonus monsters showing up that grant those who defeat it additional chests to crack open.





• Player Housing
• The cities of Eorzea are just that - cities. People live in them, and you can too. Limsa Lominsa, Gridania, Ul'dah and Kugane ready to give us shelter - if they have any to spare, that is.


• Should you find a free plot of land across the many divisions and subdivisions of each city's housing district, you'll be able to make your mark on the land with a house of either Small, Medium or Large size - each with a rapidly increasing cost. And yes, size certainly does matter.


• Houses can hold a set amount of furniture in both the outside garden area and inside across its multiple floors with a rather in-depth gardening, farming and cross-breed crop management system being available to those who place an allotment.


• Any size house can be used as a wider 'Free Company' house for you and your guildmates to help furnish with support-giving items, trophies from your kills or just as a place to relax. Free Company housing grants access to 'airship voyages' that rely on multiple guildmates to craft the items necessary to build your ships and ready them for their own treasure hunts. Guildmates without private housing can also buy their own seperate room within a Free Company house


• Hello, neighbor!


• Making Money
• With thousands of items across all of Eorzea with hundreds more being added with each patch, there's always a way to corner the market and run your own monopoly - for however long it lasts.


• With some many newcomers joining the game every day, there's always a need for low-level gear. Crafting these usually cost very little, are easy to handle and can generally be sold for a tidy profit.


• Rare materials are typically purchasable for the same currency other players may use on high-level equipment, meaning they're in short supply and are generally required for crafters to make living - making rare materials a good profit-churning machine.


• Similarly, gathering classes typically focus on grinding items closer to their own level, making low-level ores, wood, plants and fish hard to come by. Another easy way to play the market boards.


• Money can then be spent on speeding up the leveling process of your own classes or spent on similarly extravagant items like big houses, furniture and rare items from high-level raids like Orchestrion music rolls and similarly expensive materials.


• Buy low, sell high applies well here. With the purchase and price history of each item being readily available, it's entirely possible to lap up items in short supply and profit further from the shortage. Only 3 sets of Elm logs up for sale? Buy them and sell them on for more


• Take Some Pictures!
• Both the /icam and /gpose functions have been put in place to help players take some grand screenshots of Eorzea. While the /icam function works well already, /gpose is how most of us take our shots. And it's always getting more functions


• Entering /gpose allows players and groups to coordinate and freeze their emote animations and control the camera in more elaborate ways


• While amazing for taking group shots after difficult kills, cute moments or fabulous wedding photos, it's good for landscape shots too!


• Zoom, tilts and various camera controls pair with thoughtful filters, screen effects and frames to help players take striking screenshots of their surroundings.


• Most of the landscape shots of this article were grabbed through the /gpose feature!

In-Game Help & Closing Thoughts

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Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood has 5 around 7 years of community behind it at this point. There’s always someone ready and willing to help out however many newcomers find their way into the game over its lifespan. You’ll be asked to join the ‘Novice Network’ almost as soon as you arrive in Eorzea with the invitation leading to a chat room with around 200 other players. The purpose? To help out newcomers.

A large percentage of the group will be other ‘sprouts’ or ‘saplings’ - newcomers, like you - with the rest being ‘Mentor’ - players with many high-level classes under their belt. Their sole purpose is a voluntary vocation dedicated to helping out these with questions that need answering.

But if you’d rather speak to someone directly, there’s no shortage of friends to make, either. If you find yourself on the brand-new Omega EU server - hit me up. The name’s Lunaak Firespring and I’ll gladly help you on your way. I leave you with one of our community’s crowing achievement.