Tips for Leveling in Final Fantasy XIV

I just hit level 50 with my Black Mage last night, and here’s some advice for people trying to get there as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Experience Gain Priorities

First thing’s first, here is a list of what your priorities should be for progressing your first “main” class. These are obviously my opinion based on my experience leveling Thaumaturge (30) > Archer (15) > Black Mage (50) along with a few other classes along the way.

#1: Story Quests

These quests are marked with a meteor around the exclamation point. The main reason you want to do these first is that it unlocks almost every dungeon, and several benefits like the ability to use mounts and have your chocobo fight with you.

#2: New Dungeons

If you have a Dungeon in your Duty Finder that you haven’t completed yet, do it. Finishing them for the first time gets you bonus XP and Discovery Achievements (more bonus XP) for that dungeon.

#3. Hunter’s Log

Not only is it great XP, it’s also unique to your current class, so completing it takes no opportunities away from your later class leveling. It will also often lead you to new quest hubs that you haven’t noticed before. When you start getting in the upper levels of any set (27-29, 38-39, etc.) make sure you have your log for that set complete, so you don’t get behind when you hit the next set’s level and you can start seeing and killing the new marks right away without backtracking.

#4. Exploration Achievements

Once you get your mount, you can pretty much run anywhere because monsters won’t be able to stop you if you run the right way. Completing a map achievement gives you around 20,000 XP for the current class you’re on, and it’s another good way to find new quest hubs. Keep in mind that if you put this off till 50 because you’re too scared by the high level unexplored areas… that XP bonus will be zero. Do them all in your upper 40’s. (find Achievements under Personal Logs > Achievements to see which ones you’re missing)

#5: Guildhests

These are quick objectives you can undertake in the Duty Finder. The early ones are all tutorials in nature, but they grant decent xp the first time you complete each of them.

#6: Grind

If you’ve exhausted all the above options, you’ve hit the Grind. The most efficient thing to grind is FATEs, so find an area with FATEs at your level (or slightly above it), do a /shout to try to find a party to roll with, and watch your map for each one that pops up. See below for the best FATE grinding locations for each level range.

You can also hit the Duty Finder and repeat your most recent dungeon over and over. It’s not the most efficient use of time, but you can get a good amount of XP and Loot out of it. This is a good option for healers and tanks who rarely need to wait long for a queue.

NOTE: If you’re using this list the way that I did leveling up, you shouldn’t need to Grind until at least the late 30’s.

#7: Leves

From my experience, levequests are rarely worth the time and effort. The only time I do them is if they have a quest associated with them that requires the completion of a first Leve in a new zone. Then, the bonus quest XP makes up for the effort. For the most part, I save my Level Allowance for Grand Company Leves to grind Seals. You’ll probably do some of this to get your Chocobo Issuance at level 20.

That being said, sometimes you need a break from grinding FATEs and these aren’t a terrible option. You can also complete your Leves with one class and turn them in with a different one if you like. Not sure why you’d need to do that, but it’s an option.

Other Leveling Tips

• If you pick up a Quest that is 3+ levels beneath your current level, don’t do it. Leave it in your log or abandon it so you can do it with a future class that will benefit more from its loot and experience.
• Whenever you gain a level, open your map, zoom out, and look all over for new exclamation points. Do this every time you enter a zone. You’d be surprised how many new quests will pop up in places you thought you cleared them out of already. Remember that you need to have your character present in the zone to see these quests.
• Whenever you see a Red Exclamation Point, open up Notepad (or use pen and paper) and write down the name of the quest, the prerequisites, and what zone it’s in. Then, whenever you meet the requirements, you can refer to this list of quests to go and pick them up immediately.
• To maximize the bonus experience you receive, I recommend levelling 30-15-50. This means you level your main class (if you know what you want to do) to 30, unlocking your chocobo and the ability to use your it in combat (see notable quests below) along the way. Then switch to your secondary class (the one you need to level to unlock your Job) and level that to 15. Do your Job Quest and then continue to tunnel vision your way to 50. This maximizes your Armoury XP Bonus for all future classes you decide to level up.
  • Bard = 30 Archer / 15 Pugilist
  • Summoner = 30 Arcanist / 15 Thaumaturge
  • Scholar = 30 Arcanist / 15 Conjurer
  • Dragoon = 30 Lancer / 15 Marauder
  • Black Mage = 30 Thaumaturge / 15 Archer
  • White Mage = 30 Conjurer / 15 Arcanist
  • Monk = 30 Pugilist / 15 Lancer
  • Warrior = 30 Marauder / 15 Gladiator
  • Paladin = 30 Gladiator / 15 Conjurer
• Once you get into your upper 30’s and beyond, your Quests will start to dry up before you hit your next level. Make sure you check back at a few common locations for new quests to pop-up. Some examples are: Vesper Bay (inside and outside the Waking Sands), all the main cities, Camp Drybone, Falgourd Float, and Mor Dhona.
• In case it’s not obvious already, Aetherytes are awesome. Attune every single one you can. Here’s a good resource for getting used to travel in FFXIV:ARR.
  

Notable Quests

This list does not include Quests reached via the main storyline, with a few exceptions.

Quest Purpose	Level	Quest Name	Location	Notes
Chocobo Unlock	20	The Company You Keep	Waking Sands (Vesper Bay)	Story Quest. Requires 2000 Grand Company Seals. more details
Unlock Halatali Dungeon	20	Hallo Halatali	Nedrick Ironheart (Vesper Bay)
Chocobo Combat Unlock	30	My Feisty Little Chocobo	Camp Tranquil
Unlock Jobs	30	[varies per class]	[your class’s guild]
Unlock Sunken Temple of Qarn Dungeon	32	Braving New Depths	Nedrick Ironheart (Vesper Bay)
Unlock Cutter’s Cry Dungeon	35	?	Silbold (Ul’dah Market Wards)
Unlock Dzemael Darkhold Dungeon	41	Into The Dark	Grand Company Quest	Keep applying for Promotions and you’ll get there.
Unlock Aurum Vale Dungeon	47	Going for Gold	Nedrick Ironheart (Vesper Bay)
Unlock Amdapor Keep Dungeon	47	?	Nedrick Ironheart (Vesper Bay)	Requires completion of Aurum Vale
Relic Weapon	50	A Relic Reborn	Nedrick Ironheart (Vesper Bay)
Unlock Wanderer’s Palace Dungeon	50	?	Allene (Vesper Bay)

Recommended FATE Grinding Locations

This is not a complete list, of course.

Levels	Zones
1-9	Outside Starting Cities
10-19	Western La Noscea, East Shroud, Eastern Thanalan
20-29	South Shroud, Lower La Noscea, North Shroud, Southern Thanalan
30-39	Eastern La Noscea, Southern Thanalan, Coerthas Highlands
40-50	Coerthas Highlands, Northern Thanalan, Mor Dhona

Final Notes

If you guys have questions or suggestions for me to add more to this post, let me know in the comments below. I’m trying to keep this guide somewhat brief and spoiler-free, so I left out a lot of detail and more beginner-level tips.