What’s an adventure without a little bit of treasure? There are whole systems and features that a lot of Final Fantasy XIV players don’t know about. Some of those features offer excellent rewards and items that’ll give you a leg up in terms of resources — Treasure Hunts are one of the best features in this regard.
The FFXIV team added Treasure Hunts in Patch 2.1 and continues to build upon the system to this day. With this handy guide, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about Treasure Hunts, where to get Treasure Maps, and how to dig up all that shiny loot.
How To Unlock Treasure Hunts
You need to pick up the quest “Treasures and Tribulations” from H’loonh in Eastern La Noscea. Completing this Level 36 quest will give you the two actions you need in order to access Treasure Hunts. These actions are Decipher and Dig, which will then be available in your Actions & Traits menu.
So what do we use these actions with? Well, you’ll come across items called Timeworn Maps, which are spread across a number of different level ranges. You’ll find them at random when you gather resources from gatherer nodes. You’ll need a Disciple of the Land — Miner, Botanist, or Fisher — of a specific level to gather from the nodes. The Timeworn Maps and their corresponding levels are as follows:
- Timeworn Leather Map – Level 40
- Timeworn Goatskin Map – Level 45
- Timeworn Toadskin Map, Timeworn Boarskin Map, Timeworn Peisteskin Map – Level 50
- Timeworn Archaeoskin Map – Level 55
- Timeworn Wyvernskin Map, Timeworn Dragonskin Map – Level 60
- Timeworn Gaganaskin Map, Timeworn Gazelleskin – Level 70
- Timeworn Gliderskin Map, Timeworn Zonureskin Map – Level 80
- Timeworn Almastyskin Map – Level 85
- Timeworn Kumbhiraskin Map, Timeworn Saigaskin Map, Timeworn Ophiotauroskin Map – Level 90
They’re not soulbound, so you can also buy them on the Market Board from other players. Be sure to move your map to your retainer or chocobo before purchasing or gathering another, since only one unopened Timeworn Map can be in your inventory at one time. You can put one map in your inventory, chocobo saddlebag, and one in each of your retainers.
How To Get Treasure From Your Timeworn Map
Once you have a Timeworn Map, you’ll want to use the Decipher action on it. This will open the bottled map and place a Treasure Map in your Key Items inventory. You can only have one opened Treasure Map in your Key Items, but you can have another, unopened Timeworn Map in your standard inventory.
The map will include the name of a region and a red X on a zoomed part of the map. You need to figure out where that spot is. You can do this yourself or rely on online tools like Heavenswhere. Once you’re at the spot indicated on the map, you need to use the Dig action, which will unearth a Treasure Chest. You have five minutes to open the chest from when you dig it up.
Before you open the chest, realize that you’ll have to do some fighting. You’ll want to have a Disciple of War or Magic up to the level of the Map you deciphered, as the enemies will be of the same level. It’s also worth noting that these are intended to be group encounters for this part and the next potential phase. Endwalker added the Timeworn Saigaskin Map as an option for solo players, but every other version is meant to be tackled with a party. Use Party Finder to make a group or assemble some friends before you open the treasure chest.
Once you open the chest, you’ll also have a limited amount of time to defeat the enemies that spawn. When the enemies are defeated, the player that originally owned the Treasure Map can open the chest. Some of the rewards — experience, gil, and Allagan Tomestones — will be split among party members, while other rewards like minions and gear will be put up for a roll.
Already, we’re winning, right? Well, there’s actually more to Treasure Hunts!
How to Tackle Treasure Hunt Dungeons
Certain Timeworn Maps have the chance to spawn additional portals after the resulting treasure chest is opened. These portals lead to instanced dungeons that offer greater rewards compared to what’s in the original chest. Like the chests, these dungeons are meant to be tackled with a group. You can enter them solo, but it’s recommended to have a party of three to eight players.
Here are the specific Timeworn Maps and the potential dungeons they can unlock:
- Timeworn Dragonskin Map (Level 60)
- The Aquapolis (item level sync 180)
- Timeworn Gazelleskin Map (Level 70)
- The Lost Canals of Uznair
- The Shifting Altars of Uznair
- Sometimes, you’ll find the Timeworn Thief’s Map inside The Lost Canals of Uznair or The Shifting Altars of Uznair, which will open a guaranteed portal to The Hidden Canals of Uznair
- Timeworn Zonureskin Map (Level 80)
- The Dungeons of Lyhe Ghiah
- The Shifting Oubliettes of Lyhe Ghiah
- Timeworn Kumbhiraskin Map (Level 90)
- The Excitatron 6000
- Timeworn Ophiotauroskin Map (Level 90)
- The Shifting Gymnasion Agonon
- These maps are only found in Elpis
- The Shifting Gymnasion Agonon
For the typical 'choose a path' locations, you'll need to defeat the first set of enemies, and then after the first room and treasure chest, you’ll be presented with two to three doors to choose from. Choosing the right door moves you to the next treasure chest while choosing the wrong door kicks you out of the dungeon. The further you go, the better the rewards.
The two dungeons with “Shifting” in their names have a different mechanic. In these instances, the original owner of the Treasure Map can trigger a roulette wheel. Where the wheel lands determines what encounter players will tackle.
- Blue – Easy group of enemies
- Green – Harder group of enemies
- Red – A more difficult mini-boss
- Purple – An Atomos removes the group from the dungeon
- Yellow – The spots on the wheel shift and a Red-level enemy is summoned
- White – Summons either a Matanga prince or stuffed fauth, rewarding the group with more treasure
You’ll occasionally find that other random enemies will spawn as well. Killing these enemies will drop a treasure chest. They’ll also sometimes be marked in numerical order; if you kill them in the order marked, you get a chest with bigger rewards.
Treasure Hunts For the Solo Player
What if you’re hunting for treasure all by your lonesome? In Endwalker, the FFXIV team introduced a solo iteration of Treasure Hunts, which are available from the aforementioned Timeworn Saigaskin Map. There’s no dungeons tied to these Maps, but the rewards are well worth it if you’re hunting for some extra gil.
