Category: Guides

FFXIV Red Mage Leveling Guide

Level up your Red MAGE (RDM) ASAP! Setting up – Early Rotations – Gear Checks and more!

If you’ve found yourself here, you’re likely leveling up a Red Mage. You’ve found the right place. Hopefully, our Red Mage Leveling Guide helps you out – especially with setting up and the early L50+ rotation!

Red Mage Leveling Guide Navigation:
Page 1: Unlocking, L50 Skills & Rotation, L50 Gear, Class Quest List
Page 2: Leveling RDM 50 to 60 (Basic info for now)
Page 3: Leveling RDM 60 to 70 (Basic info for now)

For those who jumped right into this page, we will add a little blurb about unlocking Red Mage, if you haven’t already.

Unlocking Red Mage (RDM) Job

Quest Name: Taking the Red
Quest Location: Ul’dah – Steps of Thal (Merchant Strip) (X:14, Y:12)
NPC Name: Distraught Lass

You will be rewarded with the Soul of the Red Mage, your main hand weapon (Mythrite Rapier), and a free coffer of 115 left side gear (Red Attire Coffer)! Equip them as soon you have them!

Since Red Mage starts at level 50, there are a few things you have to “catch up to”… Namely, your Skills, Rotation, and to a lesser extent, Gear.

Fresh Level 50 Red Mage Rotation & Skills

RDM Rotation Summary

Red Mage is all about generating Black and White mana “equally”, then subsequently dumping it using our melee combo. We use Dualcast on every “long spell”, which is Verthunder or Veraero.

It’s also HEAVILY influenced by procs.

In the next tab we go into the nitty gritty, and talk about EVERY SKILL you’ve unlocked just now.

L50 RDM Single Target Rotation
L50 RDM Basic Single Target Rotation

Gaining Mana Phase

Jolt (L2) (DUALCAST ON).
Verthunder (L4) or Veraero (L10), use what boosts your LOWER mana (DUALCAST OFF).
===
Proc triggered? Verfire (L26) or Verstone (L30), Use that (DUALCAST ON).
No Proc? Jolt (DUALCAST ON).
===
Verthunder (L4) or Veraero (L10), Use what boosts your LOWER mana (DUALCAST OFF).
Repeat from here (Either Jolt, or Proc Triggered)

It may seem a little odd reading it – but try it out first, it makes a lot of sense after a few cycles. After the gaining mana phase, it’s melee time.

80+ Black and White Mana? Melee Phase

Corps-a-corps (L6) (optional – to dash close to them)
Riposte (L1) (Melee Combo A)
Zwerchau (L35) (Melee Combo B)
Redoublement (L50) (Melee Combo C)
Displacement (L40) (Optional – backflips out)
(Go back to gaining mana phase)

Also, use Fleche (L45) whenever able.

L50 RDM Basic AoE Rotation
L50 RDM Basic AoE Rotation

For 2 Enemies: Use Single target rotation on one of them.

For 3 Enemies: Scatter (L18) spam is “ok”, but generates colored mana slowly. I would replace all Jolts with Scatter, and try to use as many Dualcasts on Veraero and Verthunder. Any procs gained should be saved for when 1/2 guys remain.

For 4+ Enemies: Scatter spamming seems best. While mana charges slowly, you’ll do far more damage.

At 52 (might as well give you an idea now), Moulinet is an AoE melee attack which uses your Black and White mana – so don’t worry, you have an AoE rotation for both ends.

L50 RDM Misc (Cooldowns, Utility)
L50 RDM Misc skills (Cooldowns, Utility)

Acceleration (L50): ENSURES that the next spell you cast will trigger its proc. Obvious uses, use as often as possible.

Fleche (L45): An off-GCD nuke to be used as often as possible.

Tether (L15): Binds enemies, largely useless.

L50 RDM Role Actions

TL;DR – for general usage:
Lucid Dreaming > Diversion > Swiftcast at 32

Caster role actions are pretty slim pickings…

For a more detailed write-up check out our Caster DPS Role Actions Guide.

 

Fresh level 50 Red Mage: Gear Check

The free gear you get from completing the Red Mage quest is item level 115. All things considered this ain’t so bad. HOWEVER, it is missing the right-side accessories, and belt.

Ignore this section if you plan to sully yourself in PotD forever.

I want better than 115 item level!

There are only 2 possible item level upgrades from 115, and 4 possible sources:

  • 120 gear from World of Darkness (hassle if you don’t have it already)
  • 120 Ironworks gear from “old tomestone” (not too bad to obtain!)
  • 130 Dreadwyrm gear from Final Coil (hassle if you don’t have it already)
  • 130 Augmented Ironworks gear (needs Carbontwine and Carboncoat…)

While I imagine many people have these lying around – I can only faithfully vouch for only ONE of these tiers – 120 Ironworks from older tomestone gear is easy to obtain, and can be fairly worth it as they’re shared between many classes.

And, if you happen to get Carboncoat and Carbontwine from WoD (queue up that Alliance Raid!), great!

If you read the clicky above, you can FILL UP THE BLANKS with the left table, or TRYHARD AND UPGRADE with the right table. I will not be listing Dreadwyrm or WoD gear in these tables, due to their difficulty to obtain for people who weren’t there at the time.

L50 RDM Basic GearL50 RDM Better Gear
L50 Red Mage Gear – Basic of the Basic (i115)
Weapon Mythrite Rapier FREE from coffer
Head Red Hat FREE from coffer
Chest Red Bilaud FREE from coffer
Hands Red Gloves FREE from coffer
Belt HQ Rainbow of Casting Crafting / Market
Legs Red Gaskins FREE from coffer
Boots Red Boots FREE from coffer
Earring HQ Mythrite Earrings of Casting Crafting / Market
Neck HQ Rainbow Ribbon of Casting Crafting / Market
Wrist HQ Mythrite Bangle of Casting Crafting / Market
Ring HQ Agate Ring of Casting Crafting / Market
Ring HQ Agate Ring of Casting Crafting / Market
L50 Red Mage Gear – Tomestone (i120+)
Weapon Ironworks Magitek Degen Tomestone
Head Ironworks Hood of Casting Tomestone
Chest Ironworks Doublet of Casting Tomestone
Hands Ironworks Gloves of Casting Tomestone
Belt Ironworks Belt of Casting Tomestone
Legs Ironworks Breeches of Casting Tomestone
Boots Ironworks Boots of Casting Tomestone
Earring Ironworks Earrings of Casting Tomestone
Neck Ironworks Choker of Casting Tomestone
Wrist Ironworks Bracelet of Casting Tomestone
Ring Ironworks Ring of Casting Tomestone
Ring (Cannot use 2 of the same!) –

Purchased from Auriana – Mor Dhona (X: 22.7, Y: 6.6)
For the other ring, use one from the other tab, Dreadwyrm, or Augmented Ironworks.

Red Mage Class Quests: Where!?

It happens to everyone, don’t worry. We will be listing the relevant chunks per tier on the respective page of this leveling guide as well, for easy reference.

Red Mage Job Quests 50 to 60
LVL
QUEST
LOCATION
 COORDS
ISSUER
REWARDS
X Y
50 Taking the Red Ul’dah -Steps of Thal – Merchant Strip 14 12 Distraught Lass
Soul of the Red Mage; Mythrite Rapier, Red Attire Coffer
50 The Crimson Duelist Central Thanalan 20 21 X’rhun Tia
52 A Rewarding Struggle Eastern Thanalan 12 22 X’rhun Tia
54 Tracking the Cabal Western Thanalan 12 13 X’rhun Tia
56 A Vermillion Vendetta Western La Noscea 28 28 X’rhun Tia
58 On Lambard’s Trail Western La Noscea 28 26 X’rhun Tia
60 Stained in Scarlet Northern Thanalan 20 21 X’rhun Tia Manafication
Red Mage Job Quests 60 to 70
LVL
QUEST
LOCATION
 COORDS
ISSUER
REWARDS
X Y
60 The Color of Her Hair Mor Dhona 23 8 X’rhun Tia
63 Traced in Blood Idyllshire 6 5 X’rhun Tia
65 Nightkin Idyllshire 6 5 X’rhun Tia
68 Child of Lilith Idyllshire 6 5 X’rhun Tia
70 With Heart and Steel The Pillars 11 11 X’rhun Tia Verholy, Duelist’s Attire Coffer

 

Red Mage Leveling Guide Navigation:
Page 1: Unlocking, L50 Skills & Rotation, L50 Gear, Class Quest List
Page 2: Leveling RDM 50 to 60 (Basic info for now)
Page 3: Leveling RDM 60 to 70 (Basic info for now)

I’m sure you’re itching to level up – and I hope you took the above preparations to heart! Just continue onwards with the links just above!

Don’t forget to like us on Facebook!
Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3

FFXIV Astrologian Leveling Guide

Level up your Astrologian (AST) ASAP! Setting up – Early Rotations – Gear Checks and more!

Praise the stars! If you’re here, then you wanna level up an Astrologian! The heavens guided you true then – cause your Astrologian Leveling Guide will help you out! Especially with setting up from L30 so you won’t get overwhelmed!

Astrologian Leveling Guide Navigation:
Page 1: Unlocking, L30 Skills & Rotation, L30 Gear, Class Quest List
Page 2: Leveling AST 30 to 50 (Basic info for now)
Page 3: Leveling AST 50 to 60 (Basic info for now)
Page 4: Leveling AST 60 to 70 (Basic info for now)

For those who jumped right into this page, we will add a little blurb about unlocking Astrologian, if you haven’t already.

Unlocking Astrologian (AST) Job

Quest Name: Stairway to the Heavens
Quest Location: The Pillars (X:15, Y:10)
NPC Name: Jannequinard

You will be rewarded with the Soul of the Astrologian, your main hand weapon (Star Globe), and a free coffer of 30 left side gear (Velveteen Cowl and Velveteen Tights)! Equip them as soon you have them!

Since Astrologian starts at level 30 (unlocked when you get another character to level 50), there are a few things you have to “catch up to”… Namely, your Skills, Rotation, and to a lesser extent, Gear.

GET A DPS CHOCOBO IF YOU PLAN TO SOLO.

Fresh Level 30 Astrologian Rotation & Skills

Thankfully, there aren’t too many skills unlocked by L30 so you won’t be overwhelmed.

AST Playstyle Summary

The heart of the cards… You gotta have faith when playing AST as it’s one of the classes more heavily affected by RNG!

Card management is a whole ‘nother layer placed on top of the already many list of things healers have to worry about – a daunting yet rewarding prospect! Inversely, mismanage your cards and you will suffer.

Astrologians just “feel” different… their unique cooldowns… how you can (and force) “stars to align” to maximize their effects… It’s unexplainable at this early stage but if this sounds amazing to you – continue forth!

L30 AST Dungeon and Group Basics
L30 AST Healing Basics

ALWAYS CHECK YOUR STANCE IF IT’S ON: At level 30 you only have Diurnal Stance – which adds a Heal over Time to some spells, as well as increasing all your healing potency, while reducing enmity.

Benefic (L2) is your basic, low mana low potency heal. Benefic II (L26) costs a lot more but heals for more as well. Use accordingly.

Essential Dignity (L15) is used to “fix” desperate situations. It quickly heals up any low life party member!

Use Draw (L30) as often as possible, so it goes on cooldown faster. The more buffs you can provide your team the better your runs will be!

L30 Ultra BASIC card usage notes:
Bole (green) on tanks (increased defense)
Balance (red) on highest DPS.
Arrow (light blue) on “class that benefits from reduced GCD”, or best DPS.
Spear (dark blue) on “class that benefits from crit”, or best DPS .
Spire (yellow) regenerates TP – very narrow use.
Ewer (bright blue) regenerates mana, usually use on self.

Helios (L10) is your basic AoE heal.

Ascend (L2) to ressurect fallen allies.

DPSING IN DUNGEONS:
open with Combust (L4) on each enemy.
Malefic (L1) when you’re not healing.

L30 AST Soloing Basics
L30 AST Soloing Basics

Combust (L4) on enemies who will last more than 12~ seconds.
Malefic (L1) Spam.

ASTROLOGIANS DPS IS SO LAUGHABLY BAD EARLY ON THAT YOU MUST MUST MUST GET A DPS CHOCOBO IF YOU PLAN TO SOLO

Use Draw OUTSIDE combat (it’s usually not worth the GCD). Balance > Spear > Arrow is what you’re looking for.

THERE IS NO AOE TO SPEAK OF. Simply “Combust all guys” is your best bet.

L30 AST Misc (Cooldowns, Utility)
L30 AST Misc skills (Cooldowns, Utility)

We may have touched on these lightly in the boxes above – but i’ll be listing all of these skills here again.

Lightspeed (L6) is a POWERFUL cooldown which increases healing potency, reduces MP used, and decreases cast time. Godly.

Ascend (L12) to resurrect allies during combat. Usually paired with the Role Action Swiftcast, or in utter desperation – Lightspeed.

Essential Dignity (L15) is an ULTRA off GCD heal that gets better the lower the targets HP is. This is one of the best heals in the game! More noticeable during raids – but this pulls its weight in ANY content.

Draw (L30) is your best friend, and I cannot fit all there is to know about it here. You will learn more and more about draw and its related skills as you journey as an Astrologian!

Undraw (L30) removes currently active card. Only used to throw away unwanted cards to speed up the cooldown of Draw.

L30 AST Role Actions
L30 AST Role Actions

Long story short, for general purposes:
Protect > Swiftcast > Lucid Dreaming > Any

For a detailed write up: check out Healer Role Actions Guide.

 

 

Fresh level 30 Astrologian: Gear Check

The free gear you get from completing the Astrologian quest is, ultimately, lacking. You only get a chest and leg armor, while lacking Helm, Belt, Gloves, Boots – and the entire 5 right-side accessories. If you plan to maximize your options in leveling – you wanna shore this up ASAP.

Ignore this section if you’re one of those pure PotD types.

ODDLY SOME OF THE HEALER GEAR AT THIS LEVEL IS 31.
You may as well level up once before upgrading.

L30 AST Basic of the Basic gear
Slot Item Note
Weapon Star Globe Free from coffer
Head Velveteen Cowl Free from coffer
Body Velveteen Cowl Free from coffer
Hands HQ Velveteen Dress Gloves Market board / WVR
Belt HQ Velveteen Sash Market board / WVR
Legs Velveteen Tights Free from coffer
Boots HQ Velveteen Dress Shoes Market board / WVR
Earring HQ Malachite Earring Market board / GSM
Neck HQ Malachite Choker Market board / GSM
Wrist HQ Malachite Bracelet Market board / GSM
Ring HQ Malachite Ring Market board / GSM
Ring HQ Malachite Ring Market board / GSM

OPTIONAL MELDING: Savage Might > Savage Aim > Heaven’s Eye > Quicktongue. Personally, I only melded the accessories (and I used them all the way to L50!)

Astrologian Class Quests: Where!?

It happens to everyone, don’t worry. We will be listing the relevant chunks per tier on the respective page of this leveling guide as well, for easy reference.

Astrologian Job Quests 30 to 50
LVL QUEST LOCATION COORDS ISSUER REWARDS
      X Y
30 Fortune Favors the Bole South Shroud 25 23 Leveva
35 Hanging in the Balance The Pillars 15 10 Jannequinard
40 A Lesson in Patience The Pillars 15 10 Jannequinard
40 Slings and Arrows The Pillars 15 10 Leveva
45 Ewer Right The Pillars 15 10 Jannequinard
50 Loved by the Sun The Pillars 15 10 Jannequinard
50 Spearheading Initiatives The Pillars 15 10 Leveva Astrologian’s Attire Coffer
Astrologian Job Quests 50 to 60
LVL QUEST LOCATION COORDS ISSUER REWARDS
      X Y
50 Sharlayan Ascending Coerthas Central Highlands 26 30 Jannequinard
52 Empty Nest The Pillars 15 10 Jannequinard
54 Conviction The Pillars 15 10 Jannequinard
56 Feather in the Cap The Pillars 15 10 Jannequinard
58 Trumped The Pillars 15 10 Jannequinard
60 The Hands of Fate The Pillars 15 10 Jannequinard Welkin Attire Coffer
Astrologian Job Quests 60 to 70
LVL QUEST LOCATION COORDS ISSUER REWARDS
      X Y
60 East Meets West The Pillars 15 10 Jannequinard
63 Ride Like the Wind The Pillars 15 10 Leveva
65 Come Rain or Shine The Pillars 15 10 Jannequinard
68 Behind Door Number Two Kugane 13 13 Kyokuho
70 Foxfire Kugane 13 13 Kyokuho Constellation Attire Coffer

Astrologian Leveling Guide Navigation:
Page 1: Unlocking, L30 Skills & Rotation, L30 Gear, Class Quest List
Page 2: Leveling AST 30 to 50 (Basic info for now)
Page 3: Leveling AST 50 to 60 (Basic info for now)
Page 4: Leveling AST 60 to 70 (Basic info for now)

I’m sure you’re itching to level up – and I hope you took the above preparations to heart! Just continue onwards with the links just above!

Don’t forget to like us on Facebook!
Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4

FFXIV Machinist Leveling

Level up your Machinist (MCH)! Setting up – Early Rotations – Gear Checks and more!

If you’ve found yourself here, you’re likely leveling up a Machinist. You’ve found the right place. Hopefully, our Machinist Leveling Guide helps you out – especially with setting up and the early L30+ rotation!

Machinist Leveling Guide Navigation:
Page 1: Unlocking, L30 Skills & Rotation, L30 Gear, Class Quest List
Page 2: Leveling MCH 30 to 50 (Basic info for now)
Page 3: Leveling MCH 50 to 60 (Basic info for now)
Page 4: Leveling MCH 60 to 70 (Basic info for now)

For those who jumped right into this page, we will add a little blurb about unlocking Machinist, if you haven’t already.

Unlocking Machinist (MCH) Job

Quest Name: Savior of Skysteel
Quest Location: Foundation (X:8, Y:10)
NPC Name: Stephanivien

You will be rewarded with the Soul of the Machinist, your main hand weapon (Steel-barreled Carbine), and a free coffer of 30 left side gear (Toadskin Jacket and Toadskin Brais)! Equip them as soon you have them!

Continue doing any and all quests in the chain. You should get the Hotshot skill before proceeding.

Since Machinist starts at level 30  (provided you have a level 50 character), there are a few things you have to “catch up to”… Namely, your Skills, Rotation, and to a lesser extent, Gear.

Fresh Level 30 Machinist Rotation & Skills

Thankfully, there aren’t too many skills unlocked by L30 so you won’t be overwhelmed.

MCH Rotation Summary

The MCH “rotation” or if we can even call it that, is all about bullets, procs, RNG, and frustration.

Reload and Quick Reload add bullets into your gun that “surely” proc your next combo in the chain. If you’re doing it “raw”, your combo is reduced to a chance.

You must be very keen of procs, and maximizing the use of every bullet!

It’s useless to go into detail this early at L30. In the next tabs, we will mention ALL AVAILABLE SKILLS and the context wherein they’re used.

L30 MCH Single Target Rotation
L30 MCH Single Target Rotation

Use Reload (L4) and Quick Reload (L26) as often as possible. Be mindful never to go above 5 bullets.

Is Hotshot (L30) buff up? If no, use Hotshot, if yes, proceed.

Split Shot (L1) Proc or bullet? Proceed. If not, spam Split Shot (L1)
Slug Shot (L2).

If you have Reassemble (L10), use it only on your strongest skill (in this case, Slug Shot with Ammo.

Heartbreak (L6) when the enemy is at low life.

L30 MCH Basic AoE Rotation
L30 MCH AoE Rotation

DO NOT USE YOUR AOE ON 2 TARGETS.  A case can be made for using spread shot on 2 guys IF YOU HAVE AMMO – but I don’t think it’s ultimately worth it.

Spread Shot (L18) spam on 3+ targets.  Obviously with 4 or more targets, Spread Shot becomes beastly – but be wary of the TP costs.

Remember to still keep Hotshot (L30) up.

L30 MCH Misc (Cooldowns, Utility)
L30 MCH Utility Skills

Reload (L4) and Quick Reload (L26), just a reminder, gives bullets which increase potency on most skills, and ensures proccing the combo chain.

Reassemble (L10) ensures your next weapon skill is a critical strike – always save it for your strongest shot.

Blank (L15) is a decent pushback, you can interrupt skills with it. Careful using it in dungeons – you don’t wanna loosen up piled enemies.

Rapid Fire (L30) speeds up your GCD considerably for 3 skills. Useful in the near future with Wildfire (L30). For now, it’s a generic DPS cooldown.

L30 MCH Role Actions
L30 MCH Role Actions

Long story short a basic solo setup is:
Invigorate > Second Wind > Peloton > Any

For a detailed guide check out our Ranged DPS Role Actions guide.

 

Fresh level 30 Machinist: Gear Check

The free gear you get from completing the Machinist quest is, ultimately, lacking. You only get a chest and leg armor, while lacking Helm, Belt, Gloves, Boots – and the entire 5 right-side accessories. If you plan to maximize your options in leveling – you wanna shore this up ASAP.

Ignore this section if you’re one of those pure PotD types.

FOR THE ACCESSORIES: Fluorite Tier, OPTIONALLY melded with Heaven’s Eye > Savage Aim > Savage Might. You can meld your other gear, too, if you like.

L30 MCH Basic of the Basic gear
Slot Item Note
Weapon Steel-barreled Carbine Free from coffer
Head HQ Steel Sallet Market board / ARM
Body Toadskin Jacket Free from coffer
Hands HQ Toadskin Armguards Market board / LTW
Belt HQ Toadskin Belt Market board / LTW
Legs Toadskin Brais Free from coffer
Boots HQ Toadskin Leg Guards Market board / LTW
Earring HQ Fluorite Earring Market board / GSM
Neck HQ Fluorite Choker Market board / GSM
Wrist HQ Fluorite Bracelet Market board / GSM
Ring HQ Fluorite Ring Market board / GSM
Ring HQ Fluorite Ring Market board / GSM

Machinist Class Quests: Where!?

It happens to everyone, don’t worry. We will be listing the relevant chunks per tier on the respective page of this leveling guide as well, for easy reference.

Machinist Job Quests 30 to 50
LVL QUEST LOCATION COORDS ISSUER REWARDS
      X Y
30 Master of Marksmanship Outer La Noscea 20 18 Rostnsthal
35 Always the Last Place You Look Foundation 8 10 Stephanivien
40 Rook Before You Reap Foundation 8 10 Stephanivien
40 Securing the Locks Foundation 8 10 Stephanivien
45 A Suppressive Strategy Foundation 8 10 Stephanivien
45 Blood on the Sands Foundation 8 10 Stephanivien
50 Rage against the Machinists Foundation 8 10 Stephanivien
50 The Power of a Tourney Foundation 8 10 Stephanivien
Junior Machinist’s Armor Coffer
Machinist Job Quests 50 to 60
LVL QUEST LOCATION COORDS ISSUER REWARDS
      X Y
50 A Joye-less Celebration Foundation 8 10 Stephanivien
52 Pushing the Brume Foundation 8 10 Stephanivien
54 A Joye-ful Reunion Foundation 8 10 Stephanivien
56 Wheels of Justice Foundation 8 10 Stephanivien
58 Taking the Fall Foundation 8 10 Stephanivien
58 Rusted Steel Foundation 8 10 Stephanivien
60 Rise of the Machinists Foundation 8 10 Stephanivien Machinist’s Armor Coffer
Machinist Job Quests 60 to 70
LVL QUEST LOCATION COORDS ISSUER REWARDS
      X Y
60 The Machinist’s Choice Foundation 8 10 Stephanivien
63 The Hrunting Heist Foundation 12 12 Hilda
65 Release the Hounds Foundation 12 12 Hilda
68 Snouts Down, Tails Up Foundation 12 12 Hilda
70 The Mongrel and the Knight Foundation 12 12 Hilda Gunner’s Armor Coffer

Machinist Leveling Guide Navigation:
Page 1: Unlocking, L30 Skills & Rotation, L30 Gear, Class Quest List
Page 2: Leveling MCH 30 to 50 (Basic info for now)
Page 3: Leveling MCH 50 to 60 (Basic info for now)
Page 4: Leveling MCH 60 to 70 (Basic info for now)

I’m sure you’re itching to level up – and I hope you took the above preparations to heart! Just continue onwards with the links just above!

Don’t forget to like us on Facebook!
Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4

FFXIV Dark Knight Leveling Guide

Level up your Dark Knight (DRK) ASAP! Setting up – Early Rotations – Gear Checks and more!

If you’ve found yourself here, you’re likely leveling up a Dark Knight. You’ve found the right place. Hopefully, our Dark Knight Leveling Guide helps you out – especially with setting up and the early L30+ rotation!

Dark Knight Leveling Guide Navigation:
Page 1: Unlocking, L30 Skills & Rotation, L30 Gear, Class Quest List
Page 2: Leveling DRK 30 to 50 (Basic info for now)
Page 3: Leveling DRK 50 to 60 (Basic info for now)
Page 4: Leveling DRK 60 to 70 (Basic info for now)

For those who jumped right into this page, we will add a little blurb about unlocking Dark Knight, if you haven’t already.

Unlocking Dark Knight (DRK) Job

Quest Name: Our End
Quest Location: The Pillars (X:13, Y:9)
NPC Name: Ishgardian Citizen

You will be rewarded with the Soul of the Dark Knight, your main hand weapon (Steel Claymore), and a free coffer of 30 left side gear (Steel Cuirass and Padded Velveteen Trousers). Equip them as soon you have them!

Since Dark Knight starts at level 30 (although unlocked if you have a level 50 character), there are a few things you have to “catch up to”… Namely, your Skills, Rotation, and to a lesser extent, Gear.

Fresh Level 30 Dark Knight Rotation & Skills

Thankfully, there aren’t too many skills unlocked by L30 so you won’t be overwhelmed.

DRK Rotation Summary

The DRK rotation is all about mana management. While it doesn’t fully show yet at this low level, traces of it are seen.

Grit is your tank stance, which reduces damage and increases enmity.
Darkside is a substance that STOP MANA REGEN but increases damage.
Blood Weapon converts damage to MP, but cannot be used with Grit.

It’s useless to go into detail this early at L30, but at least the above gives you an idea of the “shuffling” and “tradeoffs” of the various DRK “stances”.
In the next tabs, we will mention ALL AVAILABLE SKILLS and the context wherein they’re used.

L30 DRK Tanking Basics

This should be your basic flowchart when inside dungeons.

Do I need Grit (L30) ? (Probably yes)
Is Darkside (L30) on? (It probably should be)
Unmend (L15) Ranged pulling skill (Optional)
Unleash (L6) x2: AoE Bonus Enmity
– (More experienced tanks can ditch one or both of these Unleashes)

Single Target rotation on one enemy

Hard Slash (L1)
Spinning Slash (L4): Bonus Enmity.
Power Slash (L26): Bonus Enmity.
You can do this once per enemy in the pack.

After the enemy group is “near death” and the risk to you is lower, start asking yourself these questions:

  • I should have full or near full mana by the next enemy group…
  • Can I SAFELY off Grit (L30)?
  • Should I use Hard Slash (L1) > Syphon Strike (L10) to regain mana?
  • Can/should I save Blood Weapon (L18) for the next pile?

After the enemies die, make sure to OFF Darkside to regain any lacking mana before the next pull.

L30 DRK Single Target Rotation
L30 DRK Basic Single Target Rotation

It feels a bit strange discussing a single target rotation in the context of a tank (I guess for soloing and “last enemies in a pack”). It seems redundant after the above tab but here it is.

  • Can I SAFELY off Grit (L30)?
  • Is Darkside (L30) on? Can I Darkside?
  • Is Blood Weapon (L18) available? Can I maximize the mana gained?

Hard Slash (L1)
Spinning Slash (L4): Bonus Enmity.
Power Slash (L26): Bonus Enmity.

I desperately need mana!

Is Blood Weapon (L18) available?
Hard Slash (L1)
Syphon Strike (L10) Regains mana on hit!

L30 DRK Basic AoE Rotation
L30 DRK Basic AoE Rotation

It’s pretty bad. You cannot contribute any meaningful AoE damage this early on.

4 Enemies or less: Use single target rotation on one of them.

5 or more: Unleash (L6) spam.

Sadly, even FOUR targets isn’t enough for Unleash to outrun your single target rotation.

L30 DRK Misc (Cooldowns, Utility)
L30 DRK Misc skills (Cooldowns, Utility)

Grit (L30): Tank stance which increases toughness and enmity produced.

Darkside (L30): Increases damage but SHUTS OFF mana regen.

Blood Weapon (L18): CANNOT BE USED WITH GRIT. Increases damage, converts damage to MP, reduces TP cost of skills and increases “skill speed”. Quite a huge buff, which you should maximize each time it’s up.

Unmend (L15): Ranged pulling skill.

Unleash (L6): AoE enmity generating skill with weak damage.

L30 DRK Role Actions
L30 DRK Role Actions

Long story short, for general use:
Provoke > Low Blow > Rampart > Any

For more detailed info, check our Tank Role Actions Guide.

 

Fresh level 30 Dark Knight: Gear Check

The free gear you get from completing the Dark Knight quest is, ultimately, lacking. You only get a chest and leg armor, while lacking Helm, Belt, Gloves, Boots - and the entire 5 right-side accessories. If you plan to maximize your options in leveling - you wanna shore this up ASAP.

Ignore this section if you’re one of those pure PotD types.

FOR THE ACCESSORIES either:

  • Sunstone Tier + MELDING VITALITY I, OR
  • Sphene Tier + MELDING STRENGTH I.

Personally, I prefer Sunstone, with or without VIT I melded.

L30 DRK Basic of the Basic gear
Slot Item Note
Weapon Steel Claymore Free from coffer
Head HQ Steel Celata Marketboard / ARM
Body Steel Cuirass Free from coffer
Hands HQ Steel Gauntlet Marketboard / ARM
Belt HQ Steel Plate Belt Marketboard / ARM
Legs Padded Velveteen Trousers Free from coffer
Boots HQ Steel Sabatons Marketboard / ARM
Earring HQ Sunstone Earrings Marketboard / GSM
Neck HQ Sunstone Choker Marketboard / GSM
Wrist HQ Sunstone Bracelet Marketboard / GSM
Ring HQ Sunstone Ring Marketboard / GSM
Ring HQ Sunstone Ring Marketboard / GSM

Dark Knight Class Quests: Where!?

It happens to everyone, don't worry. We will be listing the relevant chunks per tier on the respective page of this leveling guide as well, for easy reference.

Dark Knight Job Quests 30 to 50
LVL QUEST LOCATION COORDS ISSUER REWARDS
      X Y
30 Ishgardian Justice Foundation 11 12 Fray
35 The Voice in the Abyss Foundation 11 12 Fray
40 Heroic Reprise Foundation 11 12 Fray
45 Declaration of Blood Foundation 11 12 Fray
50 Our Answer Foundation 11 12 Fray Dark Knight’s Armor Coffer
Dark Knight Job Quests 50 to 60
LVL QUEST LOCATION COORDS ISSUER REWARDS
      X Y  
50 The Wages of Mercy Coerthas C.H. 13 16 Unflinching Temple Knight
52 The Knight and the Maiden Fair Foundation 13 12 Sidurgu
54 Kindred Spirits Foundation 13 12 Sidurgu
56 Original Sins Foundation 13 12 Sidurgu
58 The Flame in the Abyss Foundation 13 12 Sidurgu
60 Absolution Foundation 13 12 Sidurgu Chaos Armor Coffer
Dark Knight Job Quests 60 to 70
LVL QUEST LOCATION COORDS ISSUER REWARDS
      X Y
60 In Memories We Walked Foundation 13 12 Sidurgu
63 The Widow and Her Love Coerthas Western Highlands 32 36 Sidurgu
65 The Orphans and the Broken Blade Dravanian Forelands 32 23 Sidurgu
68 We Can Never Go Home The Churnign Mists 28 35 Myste
70 Our Compromise Foundation 13 12 Sidurgu Abyss Armor Coffer

Dark Knight Leveling Guide Navigation:
Page 1: Unlocking, L30 Skills & Rotation, L30 Gear, Class Quest List
Page 2: Leveling DRK 30 to 50 (Basic info for now)
Page 3: Leveling DRK 50 to 60 (Basic info for now)
Page 4: Leveling DRK 60 to 70 (Basic info for now)

I'm sure you're itching to level up - and I hope you took the above preparations to heart! Just continue onwards with the links just above!

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FFXIV Samurai Leveling Guide

Level up your Samurai ASAP! Setting up – Early Rotations – Gear Checks and more!

If you’ve found yourself here, you’re likely leveling up a Samurai. Welp! You’ve found the right place. Hopefully, our Samurai Leveling Guide helps you out – especially with setting up and the early L50+ rotation!

Samurai Leveling Guide – Navigation:
Page 1: Unlocking | L50 Skills & Rotation | L50 Gear | Class Quest List
Page 2: SAM Leveling 50 to 60 (Basic info for now)
Page 3: SAM Leveling 60 to 70 (Basic info for now)

For those who jumped right into this page, we will add a little blurb about unlocking Samurai, if you haven’t already.

Unlocking Samurai (SAM) Job

Quest Name: The Way of the Samurai
Quest Location: Ul’dah – Steps of Nald (X:9, Y:9)
NPC Name: Ul’dahn Citizen

You will be rewarded with the Soul of the Samurai, your main hand weapon (Mythrite Uchigatana), and a free coffer of 115 left side gear (Nameless Armor Coffer)! Equip them as soon you have them!

Since Samurai starts at level 50, there are a few things you have to “catch up on”. Namely, your Skills, Rotation, and to a lesser extent, Gear.

Fresh Level 50 Samurai Rotation & Skills

SAM Rotation Summary

Lemme tell you the absolute basics of the Samurai rotation. It revolves around generating any number of those three fancy orbs (called Sen – Samurai’s Primary Resource) “Getsu, Ka, and Setsu” then expending these using Iaijutsu. Depending on how many of these you have, Iaijutsu’s actual skill changes.

At 52 onwards (I might as well mention it now), you will gain a secondary resource called Kenki to expend on various utility skills. You can Kenki naturally as you do various weapon skills.

In the next tab we go into the nitty gritty, and talk about EVERY SKILL you’ve unlocked just now.

L50 Samurai Single Target Rotation

Samurais have “3 basic combo trees” since you need to gain three different types of Sen. This is a basic single target rotation.

L50 SAM Basic Single Target Rotation

Hakaze (L1)
Jinpu (L4) (Grants 10% Damage up buff)
Gekko (L30) (Gain Getsu!)

Hakaze (L1)
Shifu (L18) (Grants 10% “Offensive Speed” buff)
Kasha (L40) (Gain Ka!)

Hakaze (L1)
Yukikaze (L50) (Gain Setsu!)

Iaijutsu (L30) (3 Sen: Midare Satsugekka)

“Repeat”

Note: For long fights such as bosses (or anything more than a minute) using Iaijutsu on 1 Sen is Higanbana – a ONE MINUTE DoT!

Note: Try to keep up both the “Speed” buff from Shifu and the damage buff from Jinpu at all times. Remember that while the Samurai doesn’t care WHICH Sen you choose for Iaijutsu, choosing the wrong “path” might lead to dropping one of these powerful buffs.

Note: Personally, I start with the chain which leads up to the “speed bonus” buff – as it’s more “valuable” than 10% damage UNLESS you plan to open with 1 Sen Higanbana – then the 10% Damage buff is better.

L50 SAM Basic AoE Rotation
L50 SAM Basic AoE Rotation

This is typically used on “3 or more guys”.

Fuga (L26) : This is a cone skill.
Mangetsu (L35) (Gain Getsu!) : Circular AoE centered on yourself.

Fuga (L26) : This is a cone skill.
Oka (L35) (Gain Setsu!) : Circular AoE centered on yourself.

Iaijutsu (L30) (2 Sen: Tenka Goken) : Large cone nuke.

Note: Against 2 guys, the “SPEED” wherein you gain sen is the upside here. You will be using Tenka Goken every 5th GCD. Using the AoE rotation against 2 enemies has a very very strong case, unlike most other classes whose clear breakpoint is usually at 3.

Note: The problem with this rotation is heavy TP use, and you will never actually trigger your buffs. This is the primary reason why the AoE rotation “sucks” against 2 enemies.

L50 SAM Misc (Cooldowns, Utility)
L50 SAM Misc skill rundown

Meikyo Shisui (L50): God… discussions on this can get complicated at max level but for now basically it allows you to “cheat” combos. If it isn’t obvious by now, the best use of this is to do combo finishers which grant you Sen! (Gekko – Kasha – Yukikaze > Midare!)

Third Eye (L6): Reduced your damage taken on the next hit by a tiny amount. This is connected to other skills later on, but try and practice it early and often.

Ageha (L10): Only usable on low life enemies. Grants a Kenki (more on this at L52…) bonus if its a “last hit”.

Enpi (L15): Is a ranged skill typical of most melee classes. Junk (for now…).

Iaijutsu (L30): Again, I might as well mention it here.
1 Sen: Higanbana – Long DoT, only used for long fights.
2 Sen: Tenko Goken – Large cone AoE.
3 Sen: Midare Satsugekka – Massive single target damage.

L50 SAM Role Actions
L50 SAM Role Actions

To summarize, for general purposes use:
Invigorate > Second Wind > Leg Sweep > Any

For more information about this, check our Melee DPS Role Actions Guide.

 

Fresh level 50 Samurai: Gear Check

The free gear you get from completing the Samurai quest is item level 115. All things considered this ain’t so bad. HOWEVER, it is missing the right-side accessories, and belt.

Ignore this section if you plan to sully yourself in PotD forever.

I want better than 115 item level!

There are only 2 possible item level upgrades from 115, and 4 possible sources:

  • 120 gear from World of Darkness (hassle if you don’t have it already)
  • 120 Ironworks gear from “old tomestone” (not too bad to obtain!)
  • 130 Dreadwyrm gear from Final Coil (hassle if you don’t have it already)
  • 130 Augmented Ironworks gear (needs Carbontwine and Carboncoat…)

While I imagine many people have these lying around – I can only faithfully vouch for only ONE of these tiers – 120 Ironworks from older tomestone gear is easy to obtain, and can be fairly worth it as they’re shared between many classes.

And, if you happen to get Carboncoat and Carbontwine from WoD (queue up that Alliance Raid!), great!

If you read the clicky above, you can FILL UP THE BLANKS with the left table, or TRYHARD AND UPGRADE with the right table. I will not be listing Dreadwyrm or WoD gear in these tables, due to their difficulty to obtain for people who weren’t there at the time.

L50 SAM Basic GearL50 SAM Better Gear
L50 Samurai Gear – Basic of the Basic (i115)
Weapon Mythrite Uchigatana FREE from coffer
Head Nameless Hachigane FREE from coffer
Chest Nameless Togi FREE from coffer
Hands Nameless Tekko FREE from coffer
Belt HQ Archaeoskin Belt of Striking Crafting / Market
Legs Nameless Hakama FREE from coffer
Boots Nameless Kyahan FREE from coffer
Earring HQ Mythrite Earrings of Slaying Crafting / Market
Neck HQ Rainbow Ribbon of Slaying Crafting / Market
Wrist HQ Mythrite Bangle of Slaying Crafting / Market
Ring HQ Agate Ring of Slaying Crafting / Market
Ring HQ Agate Ring of Slaying Crafting / Market
L50 Samurai Gear – Tomestone (i120+)
Weapon Ironworks Magitek Samurai Blade Tomestone
Head Ironworks Visor of Striking Tomestone
Chest Ironworks Cuirass of Striking Tomestone
Hands Ironworks Armguards of Striking Tomestone
Belt Ironworks Belt of Striking Tomestone
Legs Ironworks Hose of Striking Tomestone
Boots Ironworks Sollerets of Striking Tomestone
Earring Ironworks Earrings of Slaying Tomestone
Neck Ironworks Choker of Slaying Tomestone
Wrist Ironworks Bracelet of Slaying Tomestone
Ring Ironworks Ring of Slaying Tomestone
Ring (Cannot use 2 of the same!) –

Purchased from Auriana – Mor Dhona (X: 22.7, Y: 6.6)
For the other ring, use one from the other tab, Dreadwyrm, or Augmented Ironworks.

Samurai Class Quests: Where!?

It happens to everyone, dont worry. If you’re lost we have reminders on the relevant pages AS YOU LEVEL UP, but we may as well put the entire list here… for reasons.

Samurai Job Quests 50 to 60
LVL
QUEST
LOCATION
 COORDS
ISSUER
REWARDS
X Y
50 Master Musosai Ul’dah – Steps of Thal 9 12 Musosai
52 The Sands of Debt Ul’dah – Steps of Nald 12 10 Musosai
54 Blood on the Deck Limsa Lominsa Upper Decks 11 11 Musosai
56 A Fraudster in the Forest New Gridania 12 13 Musosai
58 Tears in the Snow Foundation 14 13 Musosai
60 The Face of True Evil Foundation 14 12 Momozigo Meditate
Samurai Job Quests 60 to 70
LVL
QUEST
LOCATION
 COORDS
ISSUER
REWARDS
X Y
60 A Dignified Visitor Ul’dah – Steps of Nald 12 10 Momozigo
63 Trials of the Sekiseigumi Ul’dah – Steps of Nald 12 10 Momozigo
65 Matsuba Mayhem Kugane 14 8 Makoto
68 The Hunt for Ugetsu Kugane 14 8 Makoto
70 The Battle on Bekko Kugane 14 8 Makoto Hisatsu: Guren; Myochin Armor Coffer

Samurai Leveling Guide – Navigation:
Page 1: Unlocking | L50 Skills & Rotation | L50 Gear | Class Quest List
Page 2: SAM Leveling 50 to 60 (Basic info for now)
Page 3: SAM Leveling 60 to 70 (Basic info for now)

Well, hopefully this page helped you out in setting up your Samurai so your leveling process will come along much more smoothly. Proceed to the next pages with the links above!

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FFXIV Stormblood Dungeons & Primals (STORY) Quick Guides

If you searched for this, I have bad news for you.

Here’s a quick little guide regarding all the dungeons and trials you’ll be facing in the 4.0 Stormblood STORY. Not in-depth ’cause they don’t need to be! I nicknames since many like to identify bosses by appearance.

***Forgive me if I use humor***, it’s to keep me sane during this hectic time. And light spoiler alert on boss names.

Stormblood Story Dungeons & Trials – Navigation:
Story Dungeons: Sirensong | Shisui | Bardam’s | Doma | Abania | AMO
Story Primals: Susanoo | Lakshmi | Shinryu

The Sirensong Sea (Dungeon)

Sirensong Boss 1: “OCTOPUS” (Lugat)

If you’re new, the 4 yellows arrows means STACK TO SHARE THE DAMAGE. So help a brother out when he’s targeted by hugging him! For the love of god, don’t run from your team!

Sirensong Boss 2: “SLENDER MAN” (The Governor)

If tethered, move away, otherwise you get a huge magic vulnerability debuff. This is the only truly punishing mechanic in this entire dungeon, as a 5 stack vuln can be deadly.

Move away from the general area of the shadows.

Sirensong Final Boss: “SEASLUGMAID” (Lorelei)

Morbid Advance and Morbid Retreat force you to move a certain direction depending on where you’re facing. Retreat makes you go backwards, Advance – forward (YOU DON’T SAY!?)

“I’ve seen enough aNime to know what’s next”,
Mahiko “Taku” San

Shisui of the Violet Tides (Dungeon)

Not really a “side” since you need it for Aether Currents…

Shisui Boss 1: “SCORPY MCCLAW” (RNF)

Those guys who get “stunned”… you actually have to attack the “arm” or whatever it is. Some classes are AoE light so you may not notice it’s a new enemy on the list. Free your friends!

*real name forgotten*

Shisui Boss 2:  “TOO MANY DRINKS” (Ruby Princess)

Seduce: Hide behind the boxes before this skill comes off. AVOID BOXES IF YOU DON’T NEED TO BE THERE! You get “silenced” otherwise.

Lasers from the sky? Sprint! This appears to be only countered by Sprint. You can outheal it, sure… but ah…

Shisui Final Boss: “WHOA” (Shisui Yohi)

Sharks & Water Balls: kill ‘em fast.

Mad Stare: for new players, the LARGE EYE ICON means “Look away before this is finished casting”.

 

Susanoo (Story Mode Primal)

If this is your first time to the primal rodeo, they’re colorful fights! But avoid those colors…

Remember the Yellow Arrows? Stack with friends.

Susanoo “Sword” phase:

Whoever picks up the “item” blocks his attack. (I’ve never done it, but I presume:) You can’t take actions while doing so. Have your MAIN TANK pick up the sword since healers need to heal during this mini phase.

It’s a DPS race – you gotta kill the sword before it hits ya! That’s it!

Oh, in the final phase, Itachi absorbs Susanoo’s essence to create an armor of… wait a second…

Bardam’s Mettle (Story Dungeon)

Bardam Boss 1 “COW” (Galura)

RUN FAR if targeted by the “rush” skill.  Older players will mistake this for the “rush go near!”, as it looks almost the same.

I suppose it mirrors real life, in this regard. I would share the same reaction to a rushing cow.

Bardam Boss 2 “DODGE BALL” (Ben Stiller)

Dodge as hard as you can.

Gaze = Look away.

For new players, you may not be familiar with the “expanding cone” mechanic yet. Basically, the smaller sections danger zone will disappear as the larger one resolves. Walk INTO the smaller one after it bursts.

Meteor = hide behind the rock.

“Like love, It’s all about timing” –
Mahiko “Stunned” San

Bardam Boss 3 “BIRD” (Yolo)

Watch out for the boss diving from the side when dealing with adds. You have to visually see from the edge of the arena where the bird is coming from, and move away from its path!

I believe this is the first “visual queue” mechanic new players would face. Old players will suffer from from a plethora of nightmarish nostalgia with visual mechanics

The circular AoE’s in the final phase don’t follow you… Like many seem to think. They just serve as a way to effectively reduce the arena.

Doma Castle (Dungeon)

Doma Castle Boss 2 “ROBO A” (Magitek Rearguard)

Basic stuff… dodge.

Doma Boss 2 “ROBO 2” (Magitek Hexadrone)

Towers mean “STAND ON THIS OR ELSE BAD THINGS HAPPEN”.

When the arena is sectioned off in lasers STAY IN THE LARGEST PART, is it’s likely safest.

Yellow Arrows: Stack with friends

Doma Final Boss “CHAINSAW” (Hypertuned Grynewaht)

BOMB Mechanic: The further you are from the epicenter, the less damage you take. However, keep an eye on your debuff and MOVE AWAY. Once the debuff drops off, you will leave the “bomb” there.

Older players may refer to this as a “Stardust” mechanic.

“What’s next, a group dance!? ….oh” –
Mahiko “ollywood” San

Lakshmi (Story Mode Primal)

You can fall off. Just so you know.

Dodge like hell, don’t go too far so you can stack afterwards.

ONCE BLUE BALLS APPEAR = GET ONE USING THE SPECIAL SKILL. Otherwise you die. Each ball can only be used once.

Castrum Abania (Dungeon)

Abania Boss 1 “BUFFWHEEL” Magna roader

Use cannons to stop Wild Speed

Abania Boss 1 “DUDE” Number XXIV

2 of 3 immunities: Pay attention to his buff, and stand on the circle he ISN’T COUNTERING, or you’ll have a BAD TIME.

Abania Final Boss “ALIENS IV” Inferno

“Bomb” mechanic: move away from the source of the pulse.

Kefu Left Arm: This boss has very painful abilities that are obviously telegraphed. This should be a learning point for healers and tanks to practice mitigating these “tank busters”. Use defensive cooldowns, and precast healing.

Ala Mhigo (Dungeon)

Ala Mhigo  Boss 1 “SCORPY MCCLAW II” (Magitek Scorpion)

Nothing notable.

Ala Mhigo  Boss 2 “WTF IS THIS” (Aulus Mal Asina)

Walk back to your soul! AKA Trace the line back to your body.

Ala Mhigo Final Boss: “ZYG” (Zyg)

A bunch of stuff going on here… Nothing “too” threatening.

When he says “Kill” prepare for a pretty strong tank buster.

Spreading out is a good idea as he has a line skill which targets all players. Can be deadly if you 4 stack. (?)

Lots of AoE healing here, especially in the final phase post swords.

“I Haven’t raised this much since a4s pentacle” –
Mahiko “Salt” San

Shinryu (Story Mode Primal)

You can fall, careful.

Tidal wave: move towards the water at the edge so you don’t get knocked off.

Earth Breath: Drop them at the sides of Shinryu!

Many bombs: Move in between two of them. So basically stay directly N S E or W.

AKH MORN IS A SHARED TANK BUSTER! Tanks: Use a cooldown, don’t absorb it alone! Other party members get away as it will kill you quickly.

Hellfire, Judgment Bolt etc… are basic AoE Nukes.

Press the grey button to fill up the bar when you phase change.

SECOND PHASE

Tethered together by a red chain: BREAK IT BY MOVING AWAY FROM EACH OTHER!

Diamond Dust: DON’T MOVE OR YOU SLIDE OFF!

Aerial Blast: MOVE TOWARDS THE CYCLONE OR YOU FALL OFF!

Hellfire & Earthen Fury: Basic meganukes as far as I can tell.

Stormblood Story Dungeons & Trials – Navigation:
Story Dungeons: Sirensong | Shisui | Bardam’s | Doma | Abania | AMO
Story Primals: Susanoo | Lakshmi | Shinryu

“Hey Mahiko, damn this guide sucks!” Yes.

The story dungeons are super simple, and this literally serves as a guide to help those who are in need or confused for a quick fix. If you need a full page guide for a story dungeon, I’m sorry, but you’re likely “MadCuzBad”.

GL wrapping up the 4.0 Stormblood MSQ!!!!!

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FFXIV 3.0 Relic / Anima Weapon Guide (ALL STEPS)

3.3 UPDATED Find out how to obtain and upgrade your new 3.0 relic weapon. Looks great, but will grind your soul to dust (:

Quick Navigation: [Start 170 :: 10 Dungeons 200] [Base Anima: 210] [230 Hyperconductive]
[240 : “Novus II”]

Go to: MOST RECENT UPGRADE STEP “Novus II” 240

Hey guys! So here comes the new relic quest chain. Infusing another weapon with more soul energy and the expense of our OWN soul energy. Wether you like it or not – here it is. We will detail every known step in the new relic process! Use the links above if you’ve been here before! To those curious of the new 3.0 relic names, it’s in the 210 base anima page.

Step 1: FATEs (iLevel 170 Pre-relic ‘Animated’)

Starting Quest: Soul Without Life
Rewards: 170 Animated Seraph Cane
Previous step: None (2.0 relic)
Next step: “10 Dungeon” 200

(***This step can be SKIPPED by “handing in” your ZETA 2.0 Relic.)

This step rewards you with an item level 170 “Pre-relic”, like ITEMLINKED. It’s very reminiscent of the 2.0 ATMA step, which was quite vile. In any case, this step can be summarized by saying you need to get 3 items that drop after completing FATEs, from each of the six heavensward zones.

These luminous elemental crystals drop by chance. so pray to the RNG gods. Let’s begin by listing which element drops where (ordered by level)

Reminder: You only need THREE from each of the SIX Heavenward maps (18 total)

Coerthas Western Highlands Ice
Dravanian Forelands Earth
Sea of Clouds Wind
Churning Mists Lightning
Dravanian Hinterlands Water
Azys Lla Fire

Of course this comes with some questions, and possible value moves –

Can I fate with any class? Yes! You can even level up other low-level classes while finding these ‘Atmas’. This is by far the best change they did in comparison to the 2.0 atma step.

Do I need to a specific weapon equipped? Nope. Since you can use any class, this would be in direct conflict.

Does the quest need to be active? I guess YES, and random fating wouldn’t drop these things if you didn’t have the quest active in your log (needs confirmation).

What participation in the FATE do I need? Gold? I need confirmation on this. ATMAS needed a single tag (Bronze up), but I DO NOT KNOW if it’s the same for this. To be safe, go for gold.

PROTIPS: Use the PF to find groups or make one yourself. It’s always better to FATE as a chunk. Also, complete and chase FATEs in a smart manner, try to finish ones with a lesser timer remaining (if you can make it). Sometimes, avoiding mega-boss FATEs is smart, simply due to the time spent. Any FATE that fails will be reset to the easiest difficulty when it spawns again, conversely, FATES which succeed repeatedly get tougher and tougher.

 

Step 2: 10 Dungeons (iLevel 200 Awoken pre-relic)

Starting Quest: Toughening Up
Rewards: 200 Seraph Cane Awoken
Previous step: “FATEs” 170
Next step: “Base Anima” 210

This portion is quite simple. Complete 10 dungeons and you’re done.

Dungeons in order
Snowcloak
Sastasha (Hard)
Qarn (Hard)
Keeper of the Lake
Wanderer’s Palace (Hard)
Amdapor Keep (Hard)
Dusk Vigil
Sohm Al
The Aery
The Vault

Do I have to wear a specific weapon? Yes you must wear the 170 relic AS YOU ZONE OUT. Unlike the Animus wherein you had to wear it while killing the final boss.These dungeons MUST BE COMPLETED in order. There’s not much else to say here. Again, listing down the usual questions and tips below…

Can I use any class? No, since you have to be wearing the weapon as you zone out.

Can the older dungeons be level synced? Yes! This saves us from some of the pain, at least.

PROTIP: DPS will have a harder time with this I assume, due to dungeon queue times. PF may or may not even help here, due to the fact that waiting for it to fill up might be slower than actually just queueing. Try it out, anyway. You may get a group willing to go all the way.

Ok so those first two steps weren’t so bad, right? Next step (3): Base Anima 210 – is where the TRUE grind begins. But before you worry about it, let me give you a short lived congratulations on your EZ 200 weapon.

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FFXIV 3.3 Gathering BiS Gear & Materia Melding

3.3 UPDATED Find out gathering best in slot & materia melding caps for DoL BiS! Info for Ironworks Gathering and Augmented Keep sets.

So you’re looking to spend on melding for your DoL BiS again? Luckily, our little guide here can hope to blunt the costs for you!

  • What is BiS and melding for 3.3?
  • Melding notes and intricacies per slot?
  • Is Augmented Keep (Red Scrip) set worth it?
  • Core 3.3 DoL Reminders?

3.3 DoL Gathering BiS (“Practical BiS”)

Thankfully 3.3 introduced a universal set which happens to be BiS. The set and melds outlined below has a few properties you should be mindful of:

DoL GearGat CapPer CapGP Cap12345
High Mythrite SEE NOTES50285GAT VPER IVFreeFreeFree
High Mythrite tier28505PER VFreeFreeFreeFree
Ironworks Cap of Gathering9285PER VPER VFreeFreeFree
Ironworks Vest of Gathering28140GAT VPER VGAT ?GAT ?PER II
Ironworks Gloves of Gathering2190GAT VGAT IVGAT IIIPER IIIPER II
Ironworks Belt of Gathering975GAT VGP IIIGP IIPER IIPER I
Ironworks Slops of Gathering1415GAT IVGP IVGAT IIIGAT IGP I
Ironworks Boots of Gathering1145PER IVPER IIIGP IIIGP IIPER I
Ironworks Necklace of Gathering9910SAMPLEMELDBELOWSeeNotes
Ironworks Earrings of Gathering9910GP VGAT IVPER IIIPER IIGAT I
Ironworks Armillae of Gathering9910SAMPLEMELDABOVESeeNotes
Ironworks Ring of Gathering995PER VGAT IIIGP IIIGAT IIGP II
SAME RING (Alternate melds)995GAT VPER IIIGP IIIPER IIGP II
Totals w/ melds & no food913929679
Sample w/ Pasta Ortolano947963692
13 OPEN Melds
  • Anything that can be practically capped is capped in the melds above.
  • Any uncapped gear is noted by ANY/FREE or in the Melding Notes above.
  • The set offers 12+ FREE/OPEN melds for any thresholds that may appear.
 

DoL BiS Melding notes for each slot

Mainhand: High Mythrite Pickaxe
GAT V – PER IV – OPEN – OPEN – OPEN

It becomes better than Red Scrip gear with those 2 melds. 3 open slots is a lot of flexibility for any stat soft caps you might need to chase, even just going with III’s.

Offhand: High Mythrite Sledgehammer
PER V – OPEN – OPEN – OPEN – OPEN

LEAGUES ahead of its predecessors. PER V is the only meld here I’d suggest and leaves 4 open flex slots.

Head: Ironworks Cap of Gathering
PER V – PER V –  OPEN – OPEN – OPEN

Brutally “impossible” to cap, but more flex slots for us!

Chest: Ironworks Vest of Gathering
GAT V – PER V – OPEN – OPEN – PER II

I would highly suggest just putting GAT IV GAT III in the open slots here as Perception will be capped.

Hands: Ironworks Gloves of Gathering
GAT V – GAT V – GAT III – PER III – PER II

Easily caps, thankfully uses only a single V.

Belt: Ironworks Belt of Gathering
GAT V – GP III – GP II – PER II – PER I

If only it were like this. “Painless” in comparison – caps using one V.

Neck, Earring, Bracelet SAME MELD!
GP V – GAT IV – PER III – PER II – GAT I

Okay so this is a “cheap meld” which leaves 4 GP uncapped. Does it really matter? No, not really. It’s very very expensive to cap this requiring an overmelded V and two IV’s to work out. All in all if you want to be “maxed out” on GP, consider replacing the perception melds in the suggestion above. Ultimately, everyone has their own budget but the meld I suggested has many good points.

Ring: Ironworks Ring of Gathering
I HAVE 2 MELDS IN THE TABLE ABOVE

Of those two melds, I like the the one that utilizes GAT V simply because they will be a little less in demand compared to PER V. It’s up to prices on the day you meld, anyhow.

It’s a painless meld that caps with a single V and not even an over-melded IV. Great!

Is Red Scrip Augmented Keep set worth it for DoL?

tldr no, except for fillers. If you’re swimming in Red Scrip might as well get weapon for a filler. Shirt is a far second. It doesn’t help that this set is class-specific… yuck.

3.3 DoL Core Reminders

The Moogle Beast Tribe rank-ups give materia V’s (Gathering too AFAIK) So they’re pretty worth doing.

Tricks and Stones Disciple of the Hand level 50
The Churning Mists (X:27.2 Y:34.5)
NPC: Seething Stonemason
Players must first complete the main scenario quest “Into the Aery” and the quest “Laying the First Brick.”

You’re going to need a decent level DoH to complete these, though. Unlocking the Moogle Tribe is connected to quite a few side-quests in the map so GL with that.

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FFXIV 3.3 Crafting (DoH) BiS and Materia Melding

3.3 UPDATED! Find out crafting best in slot, Melding caps for BiS Ironworks Crafting set and info on Augmented Keep set.

Welcome to our Crafting (DoH) BiS and Melding guide! It’s updated for 3.3 which means it has information on Ironworks Crafting Set and Augmented Keep Set. So, let’s see what’s going on with these…

  • Which set is ‘BiS’ for 3.3?
  • How does the Augmented Keep set line up?
  • Suggested melds for “ANY” and “FREE”
  • Core crafting reminders for 3.3

3.3 DoH BiS (“Practical BiS”)

We’ve come to a point that we don’t need a fully melded ‘BiS’ to do endgame crafting. But EXTRA STATS always help, right? So the properties of this list are as follows:

Thankfully BiS this tier is the universally usable Ironworks Set.

DoH GearCra CAPCon CAPCP CAP12345
High Mythrite+54+29+4CRA VCON IVFREEFREEFREE
High Mythrite Mortar+54+29+4FREEFREEFREEFREEFREE
Ironworks Cap of Crafting+10+14+0CON VCON IVCON IIICRA IIICRA III
Ironworks Apron of Crafting+45+14+0ANY VANY VFREEFREEFREE
Ironworks Sleeves of Crafting+10+14+0CON VCON IVCON IIICRA IIICRA III
Ironworks Belt of Crafting+10+14+4ANY VCP IVFREEFREEFREE
Ironworks Breeches of Crafting+2+14+4CON VCON IVCP IVCON IIICRA I
Ironworks Boots of Crafting+2+14+4CON VCON IVCP IVCON IIICRA I
Ironworks Necklace of Crafting+10+9+8ANY VFREEFREEFREEFREE
Ironworks Earrings of Crafting+10+9+8ANY VFREEFREEFREEFREE
Ironworks Armillae of Crafting+10+9+8ANY VFREEFREEFREEFREE
Ironworks Ring of Crafting+10+9+4CON VCP IVCRA IIICRA IIICON II
SAME RING (Alternate melds)+10+9+4CRA VCP IVCON IIICON IIICON III
Totals: no melds or food891813378
Grand totals w/ melds above935887394
w/ Seafood Stew (Need CON?)935918444
w/ Baked Onion (Need CRA?)963887442
With soul?+20+20
  • What can be “practically” capped is shown above
  • ANY and FREE represent melds that you can or should save in case any thresholds appear in the next tier. They are likely irrelevant in 3.3.
  • If any stat “tresholds” appear for rotations, this will be updated.
 

Craftin BiS Notes

***Stat summary is WITHOUT the ANY or FREE melds, and as you can see is more than enough stats for a baseline set in preparation for the next tier, with enough open melds to be able to compensate for any tresholds that may come.

Weapon? GET EITHER ONE, seriously. Both are a significant upgrade to the previous tiers weapon. Of course, they still aren’t equal.

FRESH OFF THE BAT: Augmented Keep is slightly better.
WITH MELDS: Crafted of course, comes out ahead.

So this all depends on your budget and red scrip amount. Personally? I’ll pick up crafted.

Earring? Bracer? Necklace? If you have a GODLIKE ASTRAL BIRCH ACCESSORY – use it. Otherwise, “not so tryhard” melding these is okay if you’re coming in with anything lower.

They aren’t “practical to cap” I listed that as ANY / FREE above. But they are cappable as of now using the below meld:

Capping Earring Bracer:
CON V – CRA V – CP IV – CP IV – CON II

Augmented Keep set? Worth it?

While an upgrade is an upgrade, I highly advise AGAINST getting any of these unless you are absolutely swimming with red scrip. EVEN THEN I WOULD ONLY CONSIDER THE CHEST PIECE.

The non-universal nature of this set is really a pain in the butt.

The Ironworks Crafting chest requires a bit of an investment for it to beat the Augmented Keep chest, but the pros heavily outweigh the cons. You can buy some chests for the core classes while gearing up, but don’t invest into any other piece.

Suggested melds for “ANY V” and “FREE”?

Again these are HIGHLY dependent on stat tresholds and budget. But at the very least SUREMELDS should be considered.

  • Control? Every bit of CON helps.
  • CP? Again, every bit helps.
  • Craftmanship? This purely depends on tresholds, and

So you can’t be sad if you stick CON V and CAP CP on each piece you can. And just try to cram in Craftmanship later on if you need it.

Again, it’s impossible to recommend a general scenario for everyone.

Core crafting reminders for 3.3

The MOOGLE BEAST TRIBE QUEST LINE Rewards DoH Materia! This starts out in Churning Mists:

Tricks and Stones Disciple of the Hand level 50
The Churning Mists (X:27.2 Y:34.5)
NPC: Seething Stonemason
Players must first complete the main scenario quest “Into the Aery” and the quest “Laying the First Brick.”

Unless I’m mistaken, there seems to be a chunky amount of pre-requisite sidequests so good luck with that sir.  I don’t know if the high level dailies give V’s, but the latter Rank Up quests do, so that’s worth it in any case.

Well that’s about it for Crafting BiS changes in this patch. Thank the heavens that they gave us a solid universal set!!!

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FFXIV 3.3 Astrologian (AST) Best in Slot (BiS) Gear

3.3 UPDATED! AST Best in slot guide! “Always play the hand ‘yer DEALT!”. AST Lore buy order, Melding, Pages & Normals, more!

So the cosmos have guided you home – back home to the grind for gear! If you’re looking AST BiS for 3.3 you’ve found well! Here, you can find three options for the AST BiS…

Note: It goes without saying that -Diurnal will be almost identical to WHM BiS, Nocturnal will be almost identical to SCH BiS. So if you follow that “Classic mindset” you can check those out. However, in this page I will be talking about the DET focused set.

3.3 Notes: Aside from filler gear, the only thing that affects BiS is Relic – Sphere of the Last Heir. While melding may depend on your main stance, PIE is always a good idea, followed by DET if you adhere to this pages’ ideology.

Navigation: Astrologian BiS
AST BiS | Discussion | Lore Buy Order (&Pages)  | Crafted TBA

3.3 Astrologian Best-in-Slot

ASTItemMeld 1Meld 2PieDetCritSSN
WeaponPrototype Midal Metal AstrometerPIE VPIE V112118
Offhand-----
HelmMidan Horn of HealingPIE VPIE V7266-
BodyAugmented Hailstorm Coat of HealingDET VDET V11799--
HandAugmented Hailstorm Gloves of HealingDET VDET V512469-ANY
BeltMidan Belt of HealingDET V-5446--
LegsMidan Trousers of HealingPIE VPIE V104-112-
BootsMidan Boots of HealingDET VCRIT V725812-
NeckAugmented Primal Choker of HealingPIE V-4949--
EarringAugmented Primal Earrings of HealingDET V-5446--
WristAugmented Primal Bracelet of HealingDET V-5412-36ANY
RingMidan Ring of HealingDET V-5446--
RingAugmented Primal Ring of HealingDET V--123651
FoodFrozen Spirits--2611--
StatsTotals from items ->81958722987
Totals w base, melds, gear ->1080805583441

AST BiS Discussion

Again if you follow the classic Diurnal=WHM,  Nocturnal=SCH you can check their respective BiS pages with the only chain being the weapon.

  • Diurnal: Augmented Hailstorm Astrometer
  • Nocturnal: Prototype Midan Metal Astrometer

Click on the tabs below – “Determination?” and “Gear Discussion”

Why DeterminationGear Options & Discussion

This page isn’t just about being cute and different. The set offers power and consistency beyond the usual AST setups.

I don’t like crit stacked Nocturnal AST. Let’s get that out of the way. Hoping for a crit shield is never ever a habit you should form, or better yet, never a situation you find yourself in often (It’s likely a tank or healer error if that’s the case). I’m not too sold on SS stacked Diurnal, either. The base stance bonus is much larger than you’d think.

Piety is still the most important stat for either sect, though, and this set reflects that. Without Assize or Energy Drain, AST’s only have ONE MAIN REPLENISHER OF MANA – Lumineferous Aether (+Celestial Opposition Extension, which should always be used). More Piety means less reliance on Ewer, and in effect more cards meant for raid efficiency – given how Royal Road on Ewer is the amazing AoE effect.

Why Determination? DET DIRECTLY COUNTERS AST’s downside which is “slightly weaker heals”. Yes, I understand crit does this too – but not as consistently as DET does. The problem with AST is the RNG reliant gameplay, and I DO NOT want to compound that with crit! So this set takes care of both the “weak” and “random” weakpoints of AST.

But still, after all that following either WHM BiS or SCH BiS is A-OK and I’m sure its A8S clearable. The power level of both setups definitely have their ups and downs.

There’s some discussion here, but the core remains… after all, the set is full of linear power – boasting 800+ DET and 1000+ Piety. Damn.

Melding Strategy can be changed if you’re the “DPS-er” in your healing duo. A lot of healers may tell you that CRIT is the most important stat for DPSing – this is false. Accuracy and Piety are the most stable DPS stats Since our set is packed in Piety – you can Meld accuracy to your hearts content!

Flex slots? There’s only a small bit of wiggle room in gear choices:

Augmented Hailstorm Bottoms of Healing: Is a legit swap for more DET, but sadly comes with SS which has indeterminate usefulness… depends on which stance you main and your co-healer class/dynamic. You do lose a hefty chunk of Piety, though.

Bracelet -another mindless swap. SS or Crit. Retains Piety. No loss in DET.
Gloves – Same story, the list above use one of each variant.

 

AST Lore Tomestone Buy Order

The tome spending strat below is to obtain BiS fastest:

  • Weapon: good “filler” until you down A8S. Meld PIE I guess.
    • Be mindful you need to time it with Hypercharged Tomestone
  • Body: Obvious second buy as any comparable Ilvl is from A8S
  • Hand: is “Equal to Midan”, but I guess just pick this up to save pages.
  • Ring > Earrings > Neck > Bracelet (is Equal to Midan)

ANYTHING ELSE IS OPTIONAL: Legs > Helm > Boots completing left (if you’re investing in fillers, left comes first).

USING UP PAGES AND MIDAS NORMAL PARTS

Click on the expandables below to see how you should spend pages, and which Midas Normal parts to get first –

Midan Savage Pages

MIDAN SAVAGE PAGES

The below spending strategy is purely to obtain BiS fastest:

A5S: Ring > Bracelet (equal to BiS) > Any
A6S: Belt > Boots > Helm > Illuminati Dark Gobcoat x 4 > Any
A7S: Pants > Illuminati Taut Gobtwine x 2 > Any
A8S: Weapon > Any (Gobdip is okay and just wait for Weapon drop)

Midan Normal Parts

MIDAN NORMAL PARTS

“what should AST’s pick up in Midas normal”! Is something I get asked often so here it is. This is a general thing, and people might have varying levels of gear or goals but as a catch-all good enough recommendation:

M1N M2N M3N M4N
Week 1 chain lens spring spring
Week 2 bolt lens spring spring
Week 3 pedal pedal crank crank
Week 4 bolt bolt any any (shaft)

Why avoid chest? Yes it has massive DET, but alas, this early on in the tier (and it’s gonna be replaced by Lore Chest very very quickly) PIE would be the smarter choice. Bolts -> Midan Ring > Midan Bracelet > Any

W5 and up – ANY.

Click the above!!!

AST Crafted Gear Viability

So we can quickly update all BiS pages, I wont discuss every detail just yet. But of course, the above will fulfill 90% of your needs. I usually update this later on…

Navigation: Astrologian BiS
AST BiS | Discussion | Lore Buy Order (&Pages)  | Crafted TBA

Let the stars guide your looting and robot dismantling – and GL gearing up your AST for BiS in 3.3!

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