Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker tasked us, the Warrior of Light, with some very important quests like dueling with the forces of evil and saving the world. But little did Hydaelyn know I spent an outrageous amount of time Gposing in-between urgent questlines. I suspect she would’ve reconsidered leaving the fate of humanity to me if she did. The world? It can wait. This glamour photo? It cannot.
At this point, I pay a monthly subscription mostly to spend my time as the Warrior of Light scouting Eorzea for perfect backdrops for perfect glamours (FFXIV‘s extensive cosmetics system) and, of course, giving into masochistic tendencies like getting my ass beat in raids. Discovering the right location is an often overlooked part of Gposing (FFXIV’s extensive photo mode). It’s the final bit of magic to putting together glamour photos and making them pop. And FFXIV is vivid with biodiversity, hidden nooks and crannies, and backdrops for every occasion.
I interviewed various glam masters who have generously shared their wisdom, recounting their favorite places to Gpose, hidden gems, and how they choose locations to Gpose in. Hopefully, the information shared below will serve as inspiration for all players on where to Gpose, as well as provide a small glimpse into where the community likes going for their in-game photoshoots.
How to Choose Where to Gpose?
The best spots to Gpose usually depend on the glam, according to the joint consensus among the FFXIV players who chatted with me. Most players I spoke to tend to build their glam first before scouting for the right location.
FFXIV player Cake Pop focuses on matching details between the glam and location, like pairing an outfit with crystals and a background with crystals. Other players such as Potato Gloomer and Adeline Sorciere echo this approach. Both usually choose locations thematically in-line with their glams as well, “like Mt. Gulg for something angelic or the Golden Saucer for something that looks classy,” Potato Gloomer says. Adeline Sorciere also selects places based on the overall feeling of the glam, saying: “If I’m doing a very angelic or dreamy glam, I want somewhere that has soft lighting and pastel colors.”
Nya Nya suggests players consider locations that not only complement the glam, like sharing a color scheme, but also display contrasting options. “Contrast is so important in making sure a glamour pops and stands out,” Nya Nya says. “A dark area for a sinister outfit might seem like the obvious choice, but it’s very easy for the character to get lost in the background.”
She also heavily considers not only the relationship between colors for a location and the glam, but also the lighting. “The Gpose menu gives us a lot of lighting settings to work with, but I always feel like starting off with good natural lighting will do most of the work for you,” she states. “Places like Rhalgr’s Reach are very good for this.”
There are also resources online for players to check out if players are in need of inspiration. DunoHarmonia uses EorzeaCollection and r/FFXIVGlamours quite often. “Sometimes you just run into posts with really nice backdrops, and usually you’ll be able to piece colors and landmarks together, and then go hunt for their spot,” DunoHarmonia says. “Sometimes you’ll just be walking somewhere and go, ‘Hey, that spot’s cute!'”
I second this sentiment. If you’re really out of ideas, take your chocobo on a flight. There’s nothing like flying over a random map to stimulate the brain cells responsible for creating glam shots.
The People’s Favorite Places to Gpose
Below, I’ve included screenshots from a few of the Gposing experts I spoke with, who provided insight into how they craft their screenshots.
DunoHarmonia: For those looking for a faerie-like atmosphere, FFXIV player and Reddit user DunoHarmonia, who puts together “druid/nature/faerie aesthetic” glams, enjoys Rak’tika Greatwood, “which has some really good locations with overgrown ruins, and a lake with mangrove-like roots you can stand on.”
DunoHarmonia also enjoys checking out the “hidden nooks in the areas around the Black Shroud — hollow logs, cute wooden bridges, that sort of thing.”
Loe Vaen: For her high fantasy glams, Loe Vaen goes to The Drowned City of Skalla and The Burn. For “witchy, gloomy” photos, she likes The Aery; for dark ones, she favors The Final Steps of Faith. For a location that can do it all, she heads to The Dead Ends dungeon for its “diverse scenery.” Loe Vaen also does quite a bit of original cosplay glams of games like Genshin Impact and Fire Emblem, which you can check out on her Reddit page.
Shin Okusawa: Shin Okusawa likes The Silent Monopteros in Old Sharlayan because the pillars serve as great compositional devices. Shin also enjoys Stone Vigil’s beginning area and The Iron Feast in The Dravanian Forelands.
“What they have in common is that they’re both ruins, but that’s pretty much it. Stone Vigil’s general castle aesthetic makes it great for a lot of dark fantasy-based screenshots,” Shin comments. “In contrast, The Iron Feast takes a different route, where the detailing and surrounding waterfalls, as well as symbols carved throughout the walls, make it great for any high-fantasy screens.”
Nya Nya: The Crystarium, in front of the Aetheryte, and specific parts of Rak’tika Greatwood are Nya Nya’s favorite spots.
“The blue windows in the [Crystarium’s] background make for a beautiful backdrop,” Nya Nya says. “They’re interesting to look at but not quite too distracting to remove attention from the character in the foreground. However, what makes it so special to me is the staircases. When you position your camera and character just right, the staircases make for very pleasing leading lines towards the subject matter of the picture.”
While she finds the Rak’tika Greatwood to be incredibly versatile, Nya Nya considers the location at (X: 9.7, Y: 20.9) to be special in her heart, as it’s one of the first areas Nya Nya visited when she really got into Gposing and glamour.
Cake Pop: “Bright and colorful places or nature-filled maps are my go-to for Gpose — Dohn Mheg, Rak’tika, the Shrouds, just to name a few cool ones.”
Peij Fei: “One of my favorite spots is in the East Shroud where the Sylphs live. The forest has such nice warm colors, and the Sylph houses light up, making them a great background!”
Potato Gloomer: “My favorite areas are Mt. Gulg, The Foundation in Ishgard, and in our Free Company house.”
Adeline Sorciere: Building on her character’s Astrologian job, Adeline Sorciere’s main glam is inspired by the lore and her favorite locations. “In my mind, my character is a celestial witch who uses the stars and the elements to heal,” she says. “My favorite places to Gpose are Elpis, Il Mheg, and Ishgard!”
Leon Aquitaine: “About favorite spots, there are three main scene composition schemas that I use: environmental settings, open world, and studio shots,” Leon says. “Duties are great for the first type. For example, Haukke Manor gives an excellent spooky vibe, while The Ghimlyt Dark has a dark, heavy battlefield setup. The open world is chock full of neat spots. Due to its age, a lot of A Realm Reborn content is ignored, but there are amazing nooks and crannies for photo ops. East Shroud (X: 24.6, Y: 10.4) is a great spot for a mystical forest setting.”
Scouting for Hidden Gem Locations
The various people interviewed agree that dungeons, trials, and raids often escape the mind when thinking about locations for glamour shots. Players can use Explore Mode to get their Gpose shots and leisurely walk through dungeons without getting pursued by enemies. However, this is only available for post-Stormblood dungeons, and you must’ve already completed the duties to access the function.
With regards to using instanced duties, DunoHarmonia’s personal favorite underrated Gpose location is Saint Mocianne’s Arboretum, a dilapidated dungeon inhabited by various overgrown Morbols. Loe Vaen recommends The Drowned City of Skalla’s first pink crystal area and Kefka’s arena in Sigmascape V4.0 from the Omega raid series. Shin Okusawa mentioned Stone Vigil again but also suggested other locations, such as Haukke’s Manor for gothic-esque glamour.
Nya Nya has a crew of friends who exchange shader presets, ideas for poses, and location finds. She credits Xennon Song for discovering two dungeons that go underappreciated.
“I’d say his best finds are two low-level dungeons: the Stone Vigil and the Sunken Temple of Qarn. It’s usually been a while since we last visited low-level areas and because of that, we tend to overlook them,” Nya Nya comments. “The lighting conditions are what makes these two dungeons stand out so much to me. The Sunken Temple of Qarn, for example, has what I can only describe as a dungeon-like area, with these interesting green lights along its walls. And the Stone Vigil has lots of broken up ceilings letting in rays of light, illuminating specific spots and setting those locations apart from the environment.”
Another instanced dungeon area that was mentioned is The Qitana Ravel’s last segment. “Just after beating the second boss, you exit the ruins and get greeted by a gorgeous view with trees and vines growing everywhere, light shining through the branches… it makes for an excellent picture background,” Cake Pop comments.
Shin Okusawa and Aikanar also shout out lesser-known areas that may be underappreciated since they’re tied to specific content — in this case, the Sorrow of Werlyt questline from the post-Shadowbringers patches.
“Terncliff (X: 7.2, Y: 6.5) could use some more love,” Shin Okusawa states. “Terncliff itself has not only a great backdrop but also beautiful day lighting. The difference between [it and] Limsa Lominsa is subtle, but I find that if you’re looking to take screens with glamours that are suited more for warmer weather, you should consider Terncliff.”
Aikanar then mentions a few spots from A Realm Reborn that may be overlooked due to the base game’s age — particularly Central Shroud’s Waterfall cave, as well as Lower La Noscea’s Windmill road near Cedarwood (X: 32.0, Y: 18.5, Z: 0.6).
Can Glams Be Inspired by the Environment?
Upon being asked if a location ever inspired a glamour, instead of the other way around, the responses varied. The majority of the players I talked to start from a single piece or by building an outfit, but some do start with taking inspiration from FFXIV‘s locales.
“I’ve found myself making three Bozja-based glamours just on locations alone, and one of my favorite Red Mage glamours had its location decided way before I decided to look through pieces to put it together in the first place,” Shin Okusawa says. “This game has so many places to take screens in that I find myself still getting surprised when I look at certain locations that I hadn’t even bothered to look at before!”
Nya Nya also usually takes the glamour first, location second approach. But she also brought up two glamours she brainstormed while checking out Amh Araeng, a desert-themed zone available in Shadowbringers. While playing, Amh Araeng’s weather switched to heatwaves, and the area’s deep orange aesthetic instantly reminded her of Mad Max.
“I immediately jumped to action and put together [Mad Max-inspired glams],” she recounts. “You could say the movie inspired the glamours, but without the in-game area and its weather effects, I would have never thought to make two of my favorite glamours.”
A rather special take on the location-to-glamour approach, Cake Pop made glams for locations teased in Endwalker in advance of the expansion’s release.
“When Endwalker got delayed, I tried to hype myself up even more by making glamours based on already known new locations. One for Sharlayan, Radz-at-Han, and the moon,” Cake Pop comments. “Of course, I wasn’t able to take my shots in those locations exactly, since they weren’t released yet, but I wore them every time I visited those locations while playing through the story.”
Does Anybody Hijack Player Houses for Gposing? Just Me?
It seems like this one is just me. Apparently, everybody’s got a Free Company house or their own personal abode to strike poses in. Only I, the gil-less player, cavort over people’s garden gnomes and sneak into open houses for photoshoots. My only comrade was Nya Nya, who says she also sometimes borrows someone else’s house for photoshoots.
“There’s this beautiful mansion in my ward that I’ve used more often than I’d like to admit to taking screenshots in. This house feels like a witch’s workshop and I absolutely adore that kind of aesthetic,” Nya Nya says. “Speaking of locations that have inspired glamours, this one definitely has. It has a lot going on inside and every time I visit it, it feels like I discover something new about it. For anyone looking for a nice spot on Aether (Data Center), I definitely recommend having a look at Lavender Beds, Plot 28, Ward 22 on Faerie (World).”
Loe Vaen, perhaps to comfort me, says she has considered sliding into residences as well. “I actually haven’t done it yet but funny coincidence: I was thinking today if I should google player houses which offer role-player areas for picture taking. Like cafés or bakeries, for example.”
So, there you have it — a small window into ideas for where you can strut and Gpose in FFXIV’s expansive world. I personally believe part of the fun in putting together a glamour photo is exploring in-game ecosystems I otherwise rush through. For most players, time spent in dungeons passes by in a whirlwind due to the fast-paced nature of the Duty Roulette. But entering Explorer Mode offers a more leisurely-paced tour of atmospheric doom and gloom (see Tower of Zot) or underwater adventures (like Akadaemia Anyder), leading to observations easily missed during a normal dungeon run.
If you’re wondering what to do on your post-Endwalker adventure since all our Scion friends are currently doing their own thing, consider joining the FFXIV Gposing community in becoming Eorzea’s Next Top Glamour Master.
