Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail is fast approaching, so it’s time to get prepared. If you’re wondering where to start or think you’ve got nothing to do before the next expansion, I’m here with a checklist of things you may have missed; a little prep work for Version 7.0.
I’m not talking about catching up on FFXIV’s MSQ or making sure your main Job is geared, either. That’s a pretty basic requirement at this point. I’m talking about the details, the things you might have forgotten or overlooked. There’s a lot to do, some of which I’m only just starting to do myself, so let’s get into the nitty-gritty with an explainer on how to prep for Dawntrail.
Clean out your (and your Retainers’) inventory
Let’s be honest, we’re all prone to giving things to our retainers and then forgetting they exist. My retainers still have hundreds of coins from previous Alliance Raids stored away, and I know they’re never going to be useful again, but I can’t help but hold onto them. I’m weirdly sentimental over my now-defunct coin collection.
However, some things can be disposed of, like the strange hoard of Approved Skybuilders materials that I’m never going to use, or that collection of starter gear for races I’ve never played. It’s time for them to go.
As for your own inventory, do you really need to be carting around dozens of different dyes and materia? Probably not. Clear out some space on your Retainers and make use of the newly acquired extra storage. There’s going to be a lot of new items in Dawntrail, and you’ll be kicking yourself if your inventory is full of junk.
Declutter your Armoury Chest, too
I tend to avoid looking in my Armoury Chest, and if you’re the same, you might want to bite the bullet and comb through what’s lurking there. Be brutal – anything that isn’t assigned to a gearset (you can tell if something is by the small white graphic in the bottom right corner of an item) can be thrown out, handed in to your Grand Company for seals, sold for Gil, or put into your Glamour Dresser if you think you’re going to use it in future for glamours.
Clear out your Glamour Dresser
Speaking of the Glamour Dresser, don’t forget we can now put Online Store outfits into the Armoire!
This is something that I admittedly did forget, and I spent a very long time transferring everything over just today. Is it time consuming? Yes. Do I wish there was a “transfer all” button? Absolutely. Is my Glamour Dresser looking better now that I’ve done it? Marginally. I still have 630 of the available 800 slots filled with items, but it’s a lot better than it was before I started this task.
Adopt your best Marie Kondo mindset and if you haven’t worn it in the entirety of Endwalker, maybe it’s time to let it go.
Level up an alt job
Heading into a new expansion, it’s always a good idea to level up an alt Job. In this case, this is even more important if your main Job is a DPS one. With two brand new DPS Jobs on the way, you’re likely to face incredibly long queue times as you contend with all of the players diving in as either Pictomancer or Viper.
If you have a partially leveled Tank or Healer, I’d recommend getting it to the current level cap and using it to progress through the story of Dawntrail. You’re guaranteed shorter queue times and you never know, you might find a new love for whichever role you choose.
Stock up on Poetics
Not only are you going to need Poetics to obtain the best level 90 gear once it switches over to the basic Tomestones, you’re going to need better gear for the new Jobs as well. The basic gear for any new job is okay, but it’s never great.
If you’re looking to pick up Pictomancer or Viper, you’ll need to head to Eulmore and pick up the appropriate Cryptlurker gear for each Job.
Unless you’ve stored it away, in which case I envy your forward thinking.
Catch up with the Myths of the Realm content
Yoshi-P has said that the Myths of the Realm Alliance Raids is one thing people should do before heading into Dawntrail and who am I to argue with the director of Final Fantasy XIV himself? When Yoshi tells you to do something, it’s a good idea to just do it.
If you haven’t already begun these quests, you can pick up the first quest of the storyline by talking to the Fresh-faced Student in Mor Dhona (X:9.1, Y:11.5).
Stock up on dyes
The cost of dyes is going to skyrocket once Dawntrail drops, thanks to the newly added two channel dye system. Everything is going to be experimenting with glamours and this means one thing: a price hike.
If you’re looking for a specific dye, check to see if it can be crafted. Dye Pigments can be gathered at a very low level and easily crafted into certain dyes. Otherwise, check with the dyemonger. It’s pretty common for people to purchase dye from a dyemonger and sell for an increased price.
Dyemongers can be found in the following locations:
- Uldah – Steps of Thal (X:14.2, Y:11.0)
- Old Gridania (X:14.3, Y:8.8)
- Limsa Lominsa Lower Decks (X:6.0, Y:12.3)
- The Pillars (X:6.0, Y:9.9)
- Kugane (X:12.9, Y:12.2)
Stock up on EXP boosts
It goes without saying that with a newly increased level cap, players can start to gain levels again. To help with this, make sure you’ve got plenty of foods stocked up, as any food will increase your EXP gain by 3%. Eggs are a good bet, because they’re usually pretty cheap, although this may also change once Dawntrail drops so it would be a good idea to stock up now.
As well as this, if you’re part of an FC, make sure to activate The Heat of Battle Action. This will increase your EXP gain by 5, 10, or 15%, depending on which grade of Action you activate.
As a side note, if you’ve passed rank 8 with your FC, you can activate two Actions at any one time. Alongside The Heat of Battle, it’s always a good idea to activate Reduced Rates, which will reduce your teleportation fees by a minimum of 20%.
Hoard Glamour Prisms and Grade 8 Dark Matter
With all of the new gear coming our way with Dawntrail, you’re definitely going to end up making some Glamour Plates and, for that, you’ll need Glamour Prisms. There’s a few different ways to get these:
- Craft them (recipe depends on which crafting class you use to do so)
- Purchase from the Marketboard
- Purchase from the GC using Seals
- Purchase using Bicolor Gemstones in Shadowbringers zones
- Purchase using Islander’s Cowries
You’re also going to need some Grade 8 Dark Matter in order to repair your gear after the new fights.
Run the Dawntrail Benchmark software
Look, all of this is pointless if you’re not going to be able to run Dawntrail once it releases. To figure out if your set-up is going to let you play, you’ll need to run the Dawntrail benchmark.
On the plus side, this is a good opportunity to fiddle around with Character Creation and figure out whether you need to make use of the newly tweaked Fantasia system once the graphical update takes effect.
