FFXIV Gear Guide⁚ A Comprehensive Overview
This guide serves as an introduction to gearing and details how to acquire leveling and endgame gear in the latest expansion, Endwalker. Additionally, we will go over the various methods of gearing and how to quickly and efficiently gear your jobs up to tackle more challenging duties. Players who are already familiar with FFXIVs vertical …
Introduction
In the vast and ever-evolving world of Final Fantasy XIV, gear plays a pivotal role in shaping your character’s strength, abilities, and overall performance. From the humble beginnings of your journey to the challenging depths of endgame content, acquiring and optimizing your gear is an integral part of the FFXIV experience. This comprehensive guide aims to provide you with a clear understanding of the intricate world of FFXIV gearing, covering everything from basic concepts to advanced strategies.
Whether you’re a fresh adventurer just starting your journey or a seasoned veteran seeking to refine your endgame build, this guide will equip you with the knowledge you need to navigate the ever-changing landscape of FFXIV gear. We’ll explore the fundamentals of item level, the various sources of gear acquisition, and the importance of materia melding. We’ll also delve into the complexities of crafting gear, the significance of gear sets, and the pursuit of BiS (Best in Slot) equipment.
This guide serves as your comprehensive companion, guiding you through the intricacies of FFXIV gearing and empowering you to make informed decisions that will enhance your character’s capabilities and ultimately contribute to your success in this captivating world.
Gearing Basics
In FFXIV, gear is more than just a visual enhancement; it’s the foundation of your character’s power and effectiveness; Understanding the basics of gearing is crucial for progressing through the game’s content and maximizing your character’s potential. The primary factor determining a piece of gear’s strength is its Item Level (IL), a numerical value representing its overall quality.
As your character levels up, you’ll encounter gear with progressively higher ILs, unlocking new abilities and increasing your stats. Higher IL gear generally outperforms lower IL gear, providing better defense, attack power, and other valuable attributes. However, it’s important to note that even within the same IL range, gear pieces can vary in their stat distribution, making some items more desirable for specific jobs or playstyles.
Another crucial aspect of FFXIV gearing is the concept of Materia Melding. This process involves embedding Materia, crystals containing specific stat bonuses, into your gear. By strategically melding Materia, you can further enhance your character’s stats and tailor your gear to your specific needs. Mastery of Materia Melding is a key skill for optimizing your gear and achieving maximum performance.
Leveling Gear
Leveling gear in FFXIV serves as a stepping stone, providing the necessary stats and abilities to progress through the early game. The focus during leveling is on acquiring gear that keeps you competitive while you gain experience and unlock new content. While you can find suitable gear through various sources like quests, dungeons, and the market board, several key methods stand out.
One of the most efficient ways to acquire leveling gear is through the Duty Roulettes, a system that rewards you with gear based on your current level. Duty Roulettes offer a diverse range of activities, including dungeons, trials, and alliance raids, providing a balanced experience and valuable rewards. Additionally, the “Leveling Gear” option in the Duty Finder allows you to quickly obtain a full set of gear appropriate for your current level, making it a convenient option for new players.
As you progress through the game, you’ll unlock access to tomestones, a valuable currency used to exchange for higher-level gear. Tomestones of Soldiery, obtained by completing various endgame activities, are particularly helpful for leveling alts as they can be used to purchase gear for levels 50, 60, 70, and 80. While the market board offers a wide array of gear options, it’s generally more cost-effective to utilize the tomestones system, especially for leveling alts.
Endgame Gear
Endgame gear in FFXIV is a journey of constant progression, starting with the gear you acquire through the main story questline and culminating in the pinnacle of power, the BiS (Best in Slot) sets crafted for specific encounters. The path to endgame gear involves a diverse array of activities, from raiding and dungeons to crafting and gathering, each offering unique rewards and challenges.
One of the primary sources of endgame gear is the Tomestone system. Tomestones of Poetics, earned by completing various content, allow players to acquire high-level gear from vendors in the Crystarium and Old Sharlayan. These sets provide a solid foundation for endgame progression and are particularly valuable for players transitioning from earlier expansions. As you delve deeper into endgame content, you’ll unlock access to Tomestones of Aphorism, which are used to purchase even stronger gear from vendors in the Crystarium and Old Sharlayan.
Savage raids, notorious for their challenging encounters and rewarding loot, are a central aspect of endgame progression. These raids offer the highest item level gear in the game, along with unique weapons and accessories. Clearing Savage raids requires a high level of coordination and skill, making it a challenging but highly rewarding experience. Players who successfully conquer Savage raids can further enhance their gear through the “Augmentation” system, unlocking additional stats and power.
Tomestones
Tomestones are a valuable currency in FFXIV, allowing players to acquire powerful gear and valuable materials. They are earned by completing various endgame content, including dungeons, trials, raids, and alliance raids. There are three primary types of Tomestones⁚ Tomestones of Poetics, Tomestones of Aphorism, and Tomestones of Aspiration. Each type serves a specific purpose and is used to acquire different tiers of gear.
Tomestones of Poetics are the most accessible type, earned by completing various content, including older dungeons and trials. They are used to purchase gear from vendors in the Crystarium (Mowens Merchant) and Old Sharlayan (Agora Merchant). This gear provides a solid foundation for endgame progression and is especially useful for new players or those transitioning from earlier expansions. Tomestones of Aphorism are earned by completing more challenging content, such as Savage raids and Extreme trials. They are used to purchase even stronger gear from vendors in the Crystarium and Old Sharlayan.
Tomestones of Aspiration are the most recent type, introduced with the Endwalker expansion. These are earned by completing the most challenging endgame content, including Ultimate raids and the latest Savage raids. They are used to purchase the highest item level gear in the game, including unique weapons and accessories.
Crafting Gear
Crafting gear plays a crucial role in FFXIV, as it significantly influences the success rate and quality of crafted items. It’s divided into two main categories⁚ tools and armor. Tools are specific to each crafting discipline, such as a carpenter’s hammer or a weaver’s loom. They provide bonuses that enhance the effectiveness of certain crafting actions. Armor, on the other hand, provides stats that boost crafting skills and increase crafting speed, allowing crafters to complete tasks more efficiently.
Crafting gear is obtained through various methods, including crafting itself, purchasing from merchants, or acquiring through specific quests and events. The best crafting gear in the game is typically crafted, requiring specific materials and recipes. To craft the highest-quality gear, players need to invest time and effort in gathering materials, mastering recipes, and utilizing the appropriate crafting actions.
As players progress through the game, they’ll unlock access to more advanced crafting gear, each with its own unique bonuses and stats. This allows for constant improvement and optimization of crafting skills, ultimately enabling players to create the most sought-after items and contribute to the game’s economy.
Gear Sets
Gear sets in FFXIV refer to a specific combination of equipment designed to optimize a character’s performance for a particular role or activity. These sets are carefully curated to maximize a character’s strengths and minimize weaknesses. A well-crafted gear set can make a significant difference in a player’s success, especially in challenging content like raids and trials.
Gear sets are typically categorized by their primary function, such as DPS, healing, or tanking. Each role has its own specific stats and abilities that need to be considered when selecting gear. For example, a DPS gear set might prioritize damage output and critical hit chance, while a healer gear set might focus on healing potency and mana regeneration.
There are numerous resources available to help players create optimal gear sets, including online guides, spreadsheets, and dedicated websites. These resources provide detailed information on the best gear pieces for each role, as well as tips on maximizing stat allocation and materia melding. By understanding the principles behind gear set creation, players can effectively tailor their equipment to suit their playstyle and achieve their goals in FFXIV.
Materia Melding
Materia melding is a crucial aspect of FFXIV’s gear progression, allowing players to enhance their equipment with additional stats and abilities. This process involves inserting materia, small crystals imbued with specific stat bonuses, into designated slots on gear. The effectiveness of materia melding depends on the quality of the materia and the gear’s base stats.
Materia comes in various grades, with higher grades offering more significant stat increases. Players can acquire materia from various sources, including dungeon drops, crafting, and the market board. Melding materia requires specific materials and resources, including gil, Allagan Tomestones, and a certain level of crafter expertise. The process itself is straightforward, but it can be costly and time-consuming.
Choosing the right materia for a particular gear set is critical for maximizing performance. Players should carefully consider their role, desired stats, and the gear’s existing base stats. There are numerous online guides and resources available to help players select the most effective materia for their needs. By mastering the art of materia melding, players can significantly enhance their character’s abilities and unlock their full potential in FFXIV.
BiS (Best in Slot) Gear
In FFXIV, “BiS” refers to “Best in Slot” gear, the optimal equipment combination for a specific job, maximizing its performance in a particular scenario. Achieving BiS gear requires meticulous planning and a deep understanding of each job’s mechanics and stat priorities. It involves acquiring the highest item level gear available, carefully selecting pieces with the most desirable substats, and strategically melding materia to enhance those stats further.
The pursuit of BiS gear is a continuous process in FFXIV as new content and gear are released. As the game evolves, so do the stat priorities and optimal gear combinations. This means that BiS sets can change frequently, requiring players to stay informed about the latest changes and updates. While attaining BiS gear can be challenging, it offers a sense of accomplishment and allows players to push their character’s capabilities to the limit.
There are numerous online resources and communities dedicated to helping players identify and acquire BiS gear. These resources often provide comprehensive guides, simulations, and discussions on the latest meta builds. However, it’s essential to remember that BiS gear is not a guaranteed path to success. Ultimately, the most important factor is understanding your character’s strengths and weaknesses and adapting your gear accordingly.
Gear Progression
In FFXIV, gear progression is a core element of the gameplay experience. It’s the journey of acquiring increasingly powerful equipment as you level up, unlock new content, and face tougher challenges. This progression is primarily determined by item level (iL), a numerical value indicating an item’s strength. The higher the item level, the better the gear performs.
Gear progression is a structured process in FFXIV. Early levels involve acquiring gear through quests, dungeons, and crafting. As you reach higher levels, the focus shifts to acquiring gear through specific activities like raiding, crafting, and exchanging currency earned from endgame content. These activities offer gear with higher item levels, pushing your character’s power further.
The game provides various avenues for acquiring gear, ensuring a steady progression. You can obtain gear through⁚
- Leveling Dungeons and Quests⁚ These provide basic gear for new players.
- Tomestone Currency⁚ Earned by completing challenging content, this currency can be exchanged for powerful gear.
- Crafting and Gathering⁚ Crafting gear offers a unique path to progression, allowing players to create their own high-level equipment.
- Raids and Trials⁚ These challenging encounters offer the best gear in the game, rewarding players for their skill and dedication.
Advanced Gearing Concepts
Beyond the core principles of item level and gear acquisition, FFXIV offers advanced concepts for players seeking to optimize their character’s performance and delve into the intricacies of gear management. Understanding these concepts can significantly impact your character’s effectiveness and your ability to tackle the most challenging content.
Materia melding is one such concept, allowing players to imbue gear with additional stat bonuses. This process requires specific materials and careful planning to maximize benefits. A well-melded piece of gear can provide a significant advantage, enhancing a character’s damage output, defense, or utility depending on the chosen materia.
Another advanced concept is BiS (Best in Slot) gear, which refers to the optimal combination of gear for a specific job, maximizing its effectiveness. BiS gear involves careful consideration of item level, stat combinations, and potential synergies with other gear pieces. It often requires extensive research and experimentation to determine the ideal setup for a particular job and playstyle.
These concepts, along with others like gear sets, meld optimization, and specific stat priorities, offer a deeper level of customization and optimization for players who want to push their characters’ performance to the limit. Understanding these concepts can make a significant difference in your ability to conquer the most demanding content and excel in your chosen role.