Eorzean Evening Post: Beast Tribes and You .

Final Fantasy XIV’s lore and history tells the story of several nations who are constantly under threat by the beast tribes who reside within their boundaries. Each beast race varies greatly from the other, ranging anywhere from the more peaceful, mischievous Sylphs to the more feral-seeming Amalj’aa or Sahagin.

The very first cutscene you experience as a new player introduces the threat of the beastmen, who attack you on your way to your starting city. Early on in the main scenario quests, players learn of the Primals, who are huge god-like creatures that are summoned by the beast tribes. Time after time, your character has to defeat these Primals, who are also as varied as the beast tribes they arose from.

At first, things in Eorzea seem somewhat black and white. It seems obvious that the beast tribes are the enemies, with the exception of the Sylphs who appear to wish to work with the Gridanians as long as Gridania doesn’t pose a threat to the Sylphs and the forest. Sylphs eventually agree that the Empire is an enemy to Eorzea as a whole, and forge an alliance out of protection and necessity.

 

The Beginning of Beast Tribe Quests

In patch 2.1, however, things began to change. That’s when FFXIV released the first beast tribe quests. These are repeatable daily quests that reward the player with beast tribe reputation as well as a small number of tomes to be exchanged for end game armor.

Now, the number of tomes you get for these quests rarely rival the haul you get for completing something like one daily dungeon roulette. However, for players who don’t have time for a dungeon run, prefer to play solo, or just need a handful more tomes to purchase a piece of armor, beast tribe quests remain an option you can quickly complete every day.

Quests are short and repeatable, scaling in tier as you unlock higher ranks of reputation with the beast tribe. For a long time, players could only choose 6 beast tribe quests each day. With the release of Heavensward, this number was increased to 12. This is especially useful now that the Ixali quests are released, since they focus on providing crafters with experience and rare materials.

Higher beast tribe reputation unlocks special tribe vendors within the beast tribe camps. Depending on your rep, you can purchase dyes, minions, crafting components and eventually the beast tribe mount. These mounts are specific for the beast tribe, such as the Kobold’s bomb palanquin, which will become a flying mount in patch 3.0.

 

Beastman Lore

While quest rewards from vendors and tomes are the major focus for many players, one of the biggest elements the daily quests introduced to the game was lore surrounding the beast tribes. Playing through the quests provided a completely different slant on the beastmen and their motivations. In fact, you come to learn that the people of Eorzea and the beast tribes aren’t so different underneath it all.

It’s not too much of a stretch to see the Sylphs as a sympathetic tribe to the nations of Eorzea. But then you learn about the plight of the group of underdog Kobolds, who are constantly bullied by the more powerful Kobolds. And the fish-men Sahagin, who are only searching for a place to raise their family on the shores that men have taken from them.

The stories of the Amalj’aa and the Ixali prove that not all beastmen are on the same page when it comes to beliefs surrounding their Primal gods. This is because when a Primal is summoned, it tempers its followers, instilling within them a burning desire to worship, follow, and obey the Primal.

Many times, this leads to the tempered beast tribes becoming hostile against men, in a desperate attempt to retain their land or protect their tribe. After all, a Primal is summoned by beast tribes in response to their fear of the growing power and influence of men. This within itself is a moral complexity that the player must face during the main

There are beastmen who recognize this Primal tempering as a loss of their free will (which is exactly what it is). They have no desire to follow the Primals that their brethren have summoned, which often causes conflict between different sub-tribes. Those who are Primal-tempered see their non-tempered brothers as traitors to their Primal god. Those who are not tempered struggle to retain the culture and heritage that they would lose should their minds be taken by the Primal.

That’s where the player comes in. In assisting the friendly beast tribes and earning faction, you unlock new quest lines that expand your knowledge and understanding of the beast tribe’s situation and motivations. Time and again, the story in FFXIV has said that the cycle of violence between men and beast men and Primals will only continue… until someone can rise above it and make peace for all.

It’s hinted that your character will be that person. Even the Primal Ramuh seems convinced of this. I believe that coming to understand beast tribes through what seems optional side-quests is an important element of this story and lore. I hope that this continues to get expanded upon as the story of FFXIV continues.

Once you unlock max faction with all the beast tribes, you can undertake a new set of advanced quests called the allied beast tribe quests. I have to admit that though I have maxed factions with several beast tribes, I have not maxed it out with all of them. So, I haven’t personally experienced the allied beast tribe quests. It’s one of those goals I have to eventually complete, though, especially since patch 3.1 will be introducing a brand series of beast tribe quests.

 

Enter the Vanu Vanu

Despite the fact that beast tribe quests aren’t generally at the top of most FFXIV players’ to-do lists, they are making a return in patch 3.1. We met the Vanu Vanu while questing in the Sea of Clouds. There, the aggressive Vundu tribe summoned the Primal Bismarck, who was actually devouring the very islands that the bird tribes lived on.

The more peaceful Zundu tribe saw this as a terrible thing, rightly so, and enlisted the player’s help in putting a stop to the Vundu’s oppression and conquest. We did take down Bismarck in the Heavensward story, but the Vundu is still out there causing trouble, which is where daily beast tribe quests come in.

I was very pleased when I saw that the new beast tribe quests require only a level 50 job, outside of completing a level 57 main scenario quest during Heavensward. Why is this a good thing? Because folks who are attempting to level a second or third job to 60 are struggling up an extremely steep experience climb. Beast tribe quests have never been a fountain of experience, but considering many players have exhausted the standard quests around the Heavensward areas while leveling their first job to 60, any little bit helps.

It’s also the first time I’ve seen FFXIV using their new quest sync system. This is meant to adjust the difficulty and experience earned based on the character level. This makes me hopeful that these quests are designed to offer relevant daily rewards for all levels between level 50 and 60.

I don’t expect beast tribe quests to become a main method of leveling. However, I would love to see them become a supplement to dungeons, hunts and FATE running for players currently struggling to reach 60. If implemented correctly, they could earn a much more lauded place in progression for players. I don’t see why they shouldn’t.

The patch notes outline quite a few main quests dealing with the Vanu Vanu, so I’m going to guess it will have much more than 4 ranks of faction to earn, somewhat like the Ixali. Not to mention, you get a sweet flying mount once you max out your reputation with the Zundu tribe.  Even better, it’s confirmed that one of the quests unlocks the Vanu Vanu dance!