If you’ve been playing Final Fantasy XIV for a length of time, you probably already know that with each new large patch the team releases, the process of earning end-game armor changes. If you haven’t been playing FFXIV for a length of time, and you’re not familiar with end-game gearing, hopefully this little guide will help you organize your thoughts once you reach level 60 and complete the Heavensward story line.
I’m going to preface the article by noting that if you have access to an end-game crafting specialist, then this will help you make a significant leap into end game content, allowing you to by-pass some gearing progress completely. The new crafted Sky Pirate sets are ilvl 185, which is a big jump over the Law tome sets at 170. However, this isn’t without cost, as it does require materials from the Diadem to make. I doubt you’ll find it cheap on the Market Board, but if you are a crafter, or pals with a crafter, this is a good option!
As a fresh, new level 60 player, not much has changed with patch 3.1. If you can’t afford the crafted gear, no worries! That’s what Allagan Tomestones of Law are here for.
You can earn Law Tomes the moment you level to 60 from many of the daily roulettes. You then turn these Law Tomes in to a trader in Idyllshire for the ilvl 170 Yasha armor set and weapon. This is the fastest way to start gearing up in the beginning, helping you build up your ilvl to unlock more end game content.
Daily and weekly hunts still drop Centurio Seals, even before you reach level 60. So, not only do these hunts help supplement your leveling, but they help you gear up once you get to level cap. You can exchange these seals for items used to upgrade the Law Tome armor from ilvl 170 to the ilvl 180 armor pieces.
Once you have at least ilvl 145, you can unlock the dungeons that make up the Level 60 Roulette: The Fractal Continuum and Neverreap. These dungeons not only provide Law Tomes, but also drop ilvl 160 gear from bosses and just the random dungeon chests. On top of that, this is where you will first begin earning yet another Tome currency: Tomes of Esoterics (Eso).
You can trade your Eso Tomes in Idyllshire for ilvl 200 gear – quite a leap, isn’t it! However, Esos will come a good bit slower than Law Tomes, and are currently capped at 450 Tomes a week. You’ll also notice that the Eso gear costs a good bit more than the Law gear does, so just try to keep upgrading all the pieces you can, even if you start to get a combination of drops, Law and Eso gear going. As long as your ilvl is rising, that’s what’s important.
Patch 3.1 introduced two new dungeons as the Expert Roulette: Saint Mocianne’s Arboretum and Pharos Sirius (Hard). Once you reach a minimum ilvl 170, you can unlock this daily Roulette. While these dungeons are more challenging than Fractal and Neverreap (which used to be the old Expert Roulette dungeons), they also drop more Eso tomes. So, it may be worth your while to run both daily roulettes if Eso armor is a goal.
Also, keep in mind that both dungeons drop ilvl 185 gear from bosses and treasures. At this point, you’re starting to get much more seriously geared up!
Alexander is a normal mode 8-man raid made up of 4 different floors, and requires minimum ilvl 170 to enter. Upon completion, you can roll on tokens, which you turn in at Idyllshire for ilvl 190 gear. As of patch 3.1, you can roll for as many tokens as you like with no weekly limitation. Just keep in mind different floors drop different types of tokens. This is a good way to start filling in those accessory slots!
Once you reach a minimum ilvl 175, you can unlock the Void Ark. This is the new 24-man raid that was released in patch 3.1, and it significantly changes the way end game gearing works, especially for alt jobs. You can run Void Ark as many times as you want in a week, but you can only obtain one drop per week. However, these drops are ilvl 200 – which rivals the base Eso armor ilvl. Keep in mind, though, the Void Ark armor cannot be upgraded to ilvl 210 like the Eso armor can. It’s still a good option for casual folks who want to gear up, especially if you’re exhausted from running daily dungeon roulettes.
Not only does Void Ark allow you to roll on ilvl 200 gear, but it also guarantees one weekly drop of the Mhachi Farthing. This is a token you can take to Idyllshire to exchange for an item that can upgrade your Eso gear or accessories to ilvl 210.
The highest level gear currently in FFXIV is ilvl 210. As I mentioned above, you can upgrade your Eso gear to ilvl 210 using the weekly drop from the Void Ark.
However, if you’re in a rush, you can also do hunts and farm up Centurio seals to purchase clan mark logs in Ishgard. These logs can then be exchanged in Idyllshire for upgrades to Eso armor.
Alexander Savage is the more hardcore version of the 8-man raid. Completing this raid can score you a chance at ilvl 210 gear as well as Goridian Manifesto pages, which you can exchange for gear.
And finally, with a minimum ilvl requirement of ilvl 179, you can unlock the Diadem, which is new with patch 3.1. You can go with your Free Company using the airships launched from your FC house. Or, you can unlock the solo Duty Finder version at the airship docks in Ishgard. When you join a Diadem group, you clear the island of monsters for chests. There are different levels of chests including bronze, silver and gold. A gold chest usually offers an ilvl 210 drop.
However, the Diadem gear is far more random in nature. Not only do you have to actually land a gold chest, but the gear inside may not be for the job you need. Then you have to roll on it against other party members – not so much an issue if you’re with your FC, but maybe not so friendly in a PUG.
Finally, the secondary stats on the Diadem armor are quite random. This could make for a really awesome piece, or a rather useless piece depending on what you’re looking for. So there’s a whole lot of RNG at work in farming Diadem gear.
If you’re just starting on the path of gearing up at FFXIV end game, don’t let the sheer number of options overwhelm you. It may seem like a lot to take in at first, but trust me… you’ll be glad there’s options once you start Eso Tome gathering. That weekly Void Ark drop will be welcome!
Also, keep in mind, that FFXIV is known for changing the speed of progression with each patch. The Eso armor that seems so far away right now will be much, much easier to get in a few patches. So don’t burn yourself out. If you don’t care about raiding and cutting-edge end game content, then you may not need the ilvl 210 gear, and that’s perfectly fine.
Also, keep in mind that weapon progression is different from gear progression. Aside from Law and Eso weapons, some of the best weapons you get from the Extreme primal fights. This may also change as we’ll be getting a new relic weapon quest line with the next sub-patch. So please look forward to it!
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