Currency is everything in Final Fantasy XIV, as most rewards players earn are locked behind some form of currency exchange for one of the many different tokens earned in-game. One such currency that Warriors of Light will likely have an overabundance of is Allagan Tomestones of Poetics, which are invaluable at low levels but lose their worth as the player reaches the endgame.
Allagan Tomestones of Poetics, or simply "Poetics" to FFXIV's community, are a currency earned through most in-game content. Typically, Poetics are spent every 10 job levels on gear once considered "endgame" items for the expansion they were introduced. A piece of gear bought with Poetics, like the level 60 Augmented Shire Custodian's Armor, has the highest item level possible for its level. Each piece of "tomestone gear" is sufficient to use in its armor slot for the next 10 levels until the next expansion's gear replaces them.
Upon reaching level 90, however, the focus on tomestones shifts from the previous Poetics to the current endgame iteration, which is Allagan Tomestones of Causality and Allagan Tomestones of Comedy as of Endwalker's Patch 6.55. With no need to purchase lower level gear with Poetics once moving into the endgame, the overall usefulness of Poetics drops considerably. There are minions and orchestrion rolls you can obtain using Poetics, but unless you have a specific use-case for them otherwise, it can be a struggle to avoid going over the cap of 2,000 Allagan Tomestones of Poetics. To avoid having so many Poetics they won't fit in your pockets, you can use those tomestones to earn a currency that you have plenty of room for — gil.
Where to spend Allagan Tomestones of Poetics in FFXIV
Each of Final Fantasy XIV's expansions introduced new items to be earned by trading in tomestones, along with a new vendor specific to said expansion to carry them. Here are the four "main" vendors where you can exchange your Allagan Tomestones of Poetics:
| Vendor Name | Location |
|---|---|
| Auriana | Mor Dhona (X: 22.7, Y: 6.6) |
| Hismena | Idyllshire (X: 5.7, Y: 5.2) |
| Ema | Rhalgr's Reach (X: 13.9, Y: 11.6) |
| Aymark | Eulmore (X: 10.2, Y: 11.8) |
Along with the named vendors, various Rowena's Representatives can be found in each expansion's main city hub after making progress through the game's Main Scenario Quests. These Sundry Splendors vendors offer poetic gears tied to the expansion of whichever location they're found in like their named counterparts. They also keep miscellaneous items like materia and crafting materials. Here are the locations of every Rowena's Representative and the requirements to unlock them:
| Rowena's Representative Location | Main Scenario Quest Required to Unlock |
|---|---|
| Limsa Lominsa Lower Decks (X: 9.0, Y: 11.1) | The Ultimate Weapon |
| Ul'dah - Steps of Nald (X: 9.1, Y: 8.3) | The Ultimate Weapon |
| New Gridania (X: 11.9, Y: 12.3) | The Ultimate Weapon |
| Ishgard, the Brume (X: 10.5, Y: 11.8) | Heavensward |
| Kugane (X: 12.2, Y: 10.8) | Stormblood |
| The Crystarium (X: 10.1, Y: 11.8) | Shadowbringers |
How to make gil from Allagan Tomestones of Poetics in FFXIV
Trying to earn gil through Allagan Tomestones of Poetics may not be the most profitable business venture since it's a currency that many players find they have an overabundance of. Still, it's essentially passive income since you have no choice but to earn Poetics when doing content. There are a few routes you can take when figuring out how to best spend your Poetics and time.
From vendor to market board
One quick, and possibly the most direct, way to earn gil using Poetics is to buy one of the many tradeable items with your tomestones and then sell it on the market board. Tomestone gear can't be traded, so you'll likely purchase a particular crafting material. Since new players start their FFXIV journeys every day, there will always be a demand for certain materials as people are working to obtain specific items and work through their crafting log.
Which item to buy is entirely dependent on the server you play on. By cross-referencing the items available to purchase with Poetics and their market data with a service like Universalis, you can discover which items sell quickly on your server and if they're worth posting on the markets.
Crafting using materials bought with Poetics
You could also buy materials to then craft into potentially more valuable items to sell. By opening the subcommand menu on any material, you can find which recipes require it. As with posting an item to the market board directly from the vendor, you'll need to reference which items on your server will most likely sell and if the lengths you'll need to go for any additional items the recipe calls for are worth the potential profit.
Tomestone gear to Grand Company Seals
Your gil doesn't have to come directly from Poetics. Instead, you could purchase multiple of the cheapest, highest-level accessory slot items you can afford, like the Augmented Crytpurker's Ring of Aiming from the Rowan's Representative in the Crystarium, and then turn those rings into your Grand Company Expert Delivery for nearly 2,000 seals each. You'll still need to find what items are most likely to sell on your specific server, but you'll have more options when choosing what to make your money with using Guild Seals.
Gardening
Those with subscription time, patience, and an in-game home can use the gardening system and sell the fruits (and vegetables) of their labor. You can find both Unidentifiable Shell and Unidentifiable Ore in a Rowena's Representative's Special Arms category for 150 Poetics each, but which to buy depends on the specific gardening soil you'll require. Bertana in Idyllshire (X: 5.9, Y: 5.2) carries Grade 3 Shroud Topsoil and Grade 3 Thanalan Topsoil in her Uncanny Knicknacks category, the Shroud soil increasing harvest yields and the Thanalan soil increasing the likelihood of crossbreeding with a neighboring plant. Grade 3 Shroud Topsoil requires one Unidentifiable Shell to purchase, and Grade 3 Thanalan Topsoil requires one Unidentifiable Ore.
There are items like the Thavnairian Onion that can only be found by selective crossbreeding in a garden. Not every player can be so lucky to win the housing lottery, leaving them to set aside their gardening dreams for another day. Like the previous methods, check your server's market prices for any growable items and the work involved in growing them to find the most efficient ones to sell.
Sell items from Poetics to other vendors
Selling items to a vendor is much less profitable than the market board, but the amount of gil you'll earn is consistent. For those who want to avoid the fluctuating prices of a player-driven market, check each item's tooltip to find how much each item is worth handing over to an NPC. Items like Goblinol and Goblacquer cost only 10 Poetics and can be sold for 64 gil a piece. With a full 2,000 Poetics in your pockets, you'll earn an immediate 12,800 gil without waiting on the markets working in your favor. You shouldn't plan to get rich quickly using this method, but it's by far the most consistent.
