FFXIV Leveling Gear Guide

If you’re deep into Final Fantasy XIV, then you’re probably always leveling. Once you’ve maxed out one Job by doing the main scenario, it’s time to start anew on your second or third Job. While FFXIV is designed to keep you flush with the right gear as you level up the first time, additional bonuses like the Armoury Bonus, pre-order items, and rested experience mean you’ll be ahead of the curve with alternate Jobs.

There are systems in place for leveling help since you won’t have those main scenario quests for EXP, and you’ll potentially be running the same dungeons. You’ll find your gear situation will be different for subsequent Jobs, however. That’s where this FFXIV leveling gear guide comes in. We’ll give you some general tips for efficient gearing while leveling those alt Disciples of War and Magic, and show you where to pick up gear in specific level ranges.

General Tips

Item Level is more important than Gear Level for longevity. Especially at the major leveling breakpoints — 50, 60, 70, and 80 — you’ll find that there are many options available for gearing. Generally, if you’re speeding through, it’s the choice between Job Quest gear, Vendor gear, and Tomestone of Poetics gear. The latter will usually have the higher Item Level. It’s not always necessary to go with the Tomestone of Poetics gear, but the higher Item Level will mean the gear will last longer.

Tomestones of Poetics gear can technically last the longest. At each leveling chunk — 50, 60, 70, 80 — the best gear available to purchase using Poetics can potentially last you through the next 10 levels. They’re a high enough item level to get you into content up until you hit the next level milestone. For example, Ironworks Gear at Item Level 130 is high enough to get you into the Great Gubal Library level 59 dungeon. However, this depends on whether or not you routinely earn enough Poetics to keep up this pattern. Take note that for tanks and healers, it will be wise to upgrade sooner — around 57, 67, 77, and 87 — since the nature of the roles requires survivability and healing output, which is provided by the upgraded gear stats.

Look at the stats. This is related to the previous tip. If you look at normal quality gear versus high quality (HQ) or higher rarity counterparts, you’ll find that while the Item Level remains similar, the stats can see an improvement. Stats are what really matters here.

Don’t replace your Gear at every level. You’ll be moving through A Realm Reborn’s level range, 1 to 50, very quickly. If you try to keep up with every level or even every couple of levels, you’ll be burning through Gil very quickly. I’d say you can survive replacing vendor gear every five levels early on, and even lower than that a bit later on. Poetics gear, as stated before, will last longer.

Store any gear that you might use later. If you’re never going to use a piece of gear again, then your thoughts will turn to discarding it. First, check and see if another Job you want to level in the future uses the same gear. Most of the Tank or Healing sets can be used for other Jobs of the same Role. Likewise, if you’re leveling a Bard now, but want to do Dancer or Machinist later, keep that Aiming gear. You can store the gear on your Retainer or Chocobo Saddlebag.

Don’t forget about Spiritbonding when you discard gear. When you’re getting rid of gear, always check your Spiritbond. If any piece is at 100%, then it’s time to pull out that Materia. In the gear’s context menu, select “Extract Materia.” Now you can sell the gear without worry.

Synced content means not having to worry about gear. It’s monotonous, but certain content in FFXIV is automatically Item Level synced, meaning it doesn’t matter what you’re wearing, as long as you meet the minimum requirements to enter. If you stick purely to this stuff, you don’t have to worry about gearing at all. Here’s the content that syncs automatically and the level ranges it covers. Note, that there is a single-level gap between each of these, where you’ll need to level through another type of content.

• Deep Dungeon: Palace of the Dead– Level 17 to 60
• Deep Dungeon: Heaven-On-High– Level 61 to 70
• The Bozjan Southern Front– Level 71 to 80

Eureka also syncs Item Level for gear, but it doesn’t offer any normal EXP, unlike the above content. And remember, if you do anything other than this content, you’ll need proper gear again.

With those tips out of the way, it’s time to get into the actual gear progression as you level up your alt Jobs.

Gear at Levels 1-49

Let’s begin. Once again, this guide assumes that this is your second or third Job (or beyond), so you don’t have access to the EXP from main scenario quests. The first place to look is Vendor Gear, which is available in the three capital cities. There will be three vendors in each city, focused on Weapons, Gear, and Accessories.

Remember, you don’t need to always get the next best gear, otherwise you’ll burn through Gil for minimal benefits. Try to stay around five or so levels of your gear, though.

Limsa Lominsa (Main or Hawker’s Alley Aetheryte)

• Weapons for levels 1-49: Faezghim, the Battlecraft Supplier – X: 6.5, Y: 12.0
• Gear for levels 1-49: Iron Thunder, the Battlecraft Supplier – X: 8.1, Y: 11.7
• Accessories for levels 1-49: Sorcha, the Independent Jeweler – X: 8.5, Y: 11.5

Gridania (Leatherworker’s Guild & Shaded Bower Aetheryte)

• Weapons for levels 1-49: Geraint, the Battlecraft Supplier – X: 14.6, Y: 9.7
• Gear for levels 1-49: Domitien, the Independent Tailor – X: 14.3, Y: 9.8
• Accessories for levels 1-49: Ilorie, the Independent Jeweler – X: 14.4, Y: 9.6

Ul’dah (Sapphire Avenue Exchange Aetheryte)

• Weapons for levels 1-49: Jealous Juggernaut, the Independent Arms Merchant – X: 13.9, Y: 11.0
• Gear for levels 1-49: Gwalter, the Battlecraft Armorer – X: 13.7, Y: 10.0
• Accessories for levels 1-49: Lolonu, the Independent Jeweler – X: 13.6, Y: 9.8

If you’re running dungeons on the way up, you’ll be able to augment vendor gear with dungeon gear. In fact, if you want to put in the extra legwork, you can take your high-level job and run early-level dungeons unsynced. The runs can be done in under 10 minutes and you’ll get all the available gear yourself. Then you can use that gear on your alt job, or trade it in to your Grand Company for Seals.

Where to Get Level 50 Gear

At Level 50, certain Jobs will get a new Job Quest. Once completed, this quest will give you a new ability and a Coffer with a full set of Item Level 90 gear. The Heavensward Jobs — Dark Knight, Machinist, and Astrologian — have to do a few Job quests after the level 50 unlock quest in order to get this coffer. Stormblood Jobs — Samurai and Red Mage — will receive coffers that give a full set of Item Level 115 gear upon unlocking them since they start at level 50. The Jobs that this doesn’t apply to are Gunbreaker, Dancer, Reaper, and Sage.

Ironworks Gear (Item Level 130) and Tomestones of Poetics (Mor Dhona)

What about level 50 Weapons, you may ask? This is where it’s better to spend a few Tomestones of Poetics. There are two vendors in Mor Dhona who will give you some great gear in exchange for Poetics.

• Level 50 Weapons: Aelina – X:22.6, Y: 6.7
• Level 50 Gear: Auriana – X:22.7, Y: 6.7

For Aelina, talk to her and select “Ironworks Gear” to access the correct weapon set. Selecting “Gerolt’s Masterworks” also offers level 50 weapons, but they’re Item Level 110. Ironworks Gear pieces are all at Item Level 130, which is the highest at this point in the leveling process. The prices are the same for both sets, however: 600 Tomestones of Poetics for each weapon. (430/170 Tomestones for the Paladin Sword/Shield.)

For Auriana, talk to her and select “Allagan Tomestones of Poetics (DoW)” or “Allagan Tomestones of Poetics (DoM)” depending on your Job. A full set of Item Level 130 armor (sans Accessories) will cost 2,055 Tomestones of Poetics.

• Ironworks body and legs gear: 510 Tomestones of Poetics each
• Ironworks head, hands, and feet gear: 345 Tomestones of Poetics each
• All Ironworks accessories: 280 Tomestones of Poetics each

There are also three vendors, one in each of the main cities, who offer the same gear as Aelina and Auriana. For all these vendors, you want to choose your role from the drop-down tab and then select “Ironworks Gear.”

• Rowena’s Representative – Limsa Lominsa Lower Decks (X: 9.1, Y: 11.1)
• Rowena’s Representative – New Gridania (X: 11.9, Y: 12.3)
• Rowena’s Representative – Ul’dah – Steps of Nald  (X: 9.1, Y: 8.3)

 This gear will last you a good long while. In fact, you can ride out the Ironworks Gear until you hit level 60 on your Job. Level 54 gear from vendors (see the next section) will start outclass this gear in Item Level, but not stats. Really, only tanks and healers should look toward this or dungeon gear at around level 57.

If you have Poetics to spare, Ironworks Gear is the preferable option, but if you have more Gil and don’t want to also grind out extra Poetics, stick to vendors.

Gear at Levels 50-60

The vendors at this level will actually offer you level 30-60 gear, but let’s focus on the items that apply to this level range. The level 50 gear will be Item Level 115, while the level 60 gear will end up at Item Level 255. Here are the vendors in question.

Ishgard (The Jeweled Crozier Aetheryte)

• Weapons for levels 30-60: Elbert, the Weaponsmith – X: 6.9, Y: 10.0
• Gear for levels 30-60: Norlaise, the Armorer – X: 7.1, Y: 10.2
• Accessories for levels 50, 60: Seghuie, the Independent Jeweler – X: 7.4, Y: 10.4

Where to Get Level 60 Gear

As the previous section stated, the vendors in this range actually sell level 60 gear at Item Level 255. The level 60 Job Quests will only give you a coffer of Item Level 210 gear for all the A Realm Reborn and Heavensward Jobs. For some reason, the Stormblood Jobs — Samurai and Red Mage — do not get any gear coffers. Finally, Gunbreaker and Dancer are awarded gear coffers with Item Level 255 gear just for finishing their Job unlock quest. Basically, the vendor gear here is pretty good!

Augmented Shire Gear (Item Level 270) and Tomestones of Poetics

There are two vendors available for Augmented Shire Gear, which is your best option at level 60. It’s going to cost you Tomestones of Poetics again, however. You can find the vendors in the following locations:

• Rowena’s Representative – Ishgard, Foundation (X: 10.5, Y: 11.8)
• Hismena – Idyllshire (X: 5.8, Y: 5.3)

For Rowena’s Rep, you want to choose your role from the drop-down tab and then select “Shire Gear.” To purchase the same gear from Hismena, talk to her and select either “Allagan Tomestones of Poetics (DoW) II” or “Allagan Tomestones of Poetics (DoM) II” depending on your Job. This will give you a list of the Augmented Shire Gear at Item Level 270. These pieces cost the same as the Poetics gear from the previous tier.

• Augmented Shire body and legs gear: 510 Tomestones of Poetics each
• Augmented Shire head, hands, and feet gear: 345 Tomestones of Poetics each
• All Augmented Shire accessories: 280 Tomestones of Poetics each

The Item Level 270 gear will be surpassed by the Level 67 dungeon gear or Level 68 vendor gear from the next section. However, you can use your Augmented Shire Gear all the way until level 70 since you won’t be gated from content. That is if you have the Poetics to spend. If you’re still loaded up on Gil, you can easily rely on regular vendors.

Gear at Levels 60-70

The vendors at this level tier will offer level 62-70 gear, but let’s focus on the new items that are relevant to our leveling pursuits. The level 62 gear will be Item Level 265, while the Level 70 gear will end up at Item Level 385. Here are the vendors in question:

Kugane (Kogane Dori Markets Aetheryte)

• Weapons for levels 62-70: Itto, the Arms Dealer – X: 12.0, Y: 12.2
• Gear for levels 62-70: Muto, the Armorer – X: 11.9, Y: 12.2
• Accessories for levels 62, 70: Urake, the Independent Jeweler – X: 11.8, Y: 12.2

Where to Get Level 70 Gear

The Level 70 Job Quests will give you a coffer of Item Level 290 gear for all the A Realm Reborn, Heavensward, and Stormblood Jobs. This time, these coffers will also give you a weapon! The Shadowbringer Jobs — Gunbreaker and Dancer — do not get any gear coffers for their Level 70 quests. Finally, Reaper and Sage are awarded gear coffers with Item Level 385 gear just for finishing their Job unlock quest. Basically, the vendor gear here is pretty okay if you’re not Reaper or Sage!

Augmented Scaevan Gear (Item Level 400) and Tomestones of Poetics

By this point, you know the deal with Tomestones of Poetics. There are two vendors available who sell Augmented Scaevan Gear, which is your best option at level 70 — you can use this gear set through level 79 as well. (77 for tanks and healers.)

• Rowena’s Representative – Kugane (X: 12.2, Y: 10.8)
• Enna – Rhalgar’s Reach (X: 13.8, Y: 11.6)

For Rowena’s Rep, you want to choose your role from the drop-down tab and then select “Scaevan Gear.” To purchase the same gear from Enna, talk to her and select either “Allagan Tomestones of Poetics (DoW) II” or “Allagan Tomestones of Poetics (DoM) II” depending on your Job. This will give you a list of the gear at Item Level 400 with the costs being the same as the Poetics gear from the previous tiers.

• Augmented Scaevan body and legs gear: 510 Tomestones of Poetics each
• Augmented Scaevan head, hands, and feet gear: 345 Tomestones of Poetics each
• All Augmented Scaevan accessories: 280 Tomestones of Poetics each

Gear at Levels 70-80

The vendors at this level will offer level 70-80 gear, but let’s focus on the new items that are relevant to this new leveling tier. The level 70 gear will be Item Level 385, while the Level 80 gear will end up at Item Level 515. Here are the vendors.

The Crystarium (Musica Universalis Markets Aetheryte)

• Weapons for levels 70-80: Shai-Tistt, the Arms Merchant – X: 8.7, Y: 13.1
• Gear for levels 70-80: Doddard, the Armorer – X: 8.6, Y: 13.4
• Accessories for levels 72, 80: Ania, the Jeweler – X: 8.8, Y: 13.8

Where to Get Level 80 Gear

The coffers are gone! The Job Quests end at Level 80 as simple side quests, replaced by Role Quests. The Role Quests do not give out any gear. That means the vendor and Poetics gear is a good place to start.

Augmented Cryptlurker Gear (Item Level 530) and Tomestones of Poetics

As always, the gear you can buy with Poetics is the best at this level. There are two vendors available who offer Augmented Cryptlurker gear sets in exchange for Poetics:

• Mowen’s Merchant  – The Crystarium (X: 10.1, Y: 11.8)
• Aymark – Eulmore (X: 10.2, Y: 11.8)

For Mowen’s Merchant, you want to choose your role from the drop-down tab and then select “Cryptlurker Gear.” To purchase the same gear from Aymark, talk to him and select either “Allagan Tomestones of Poetics (DoW) II” or “Allagan Tomestones of Poetics (DoM) II” depending on your Job. This will give you a list of the gear at Item Level 530, with the costs being the same as the Poetics gear in the previous tier.

• Augmented Cryptlurker body and legs gear: 510 Tomestones of Poetics each
• Augmented Cryptlurker head, hands, and feet gear: 345 Tomestones of Poetics each
• All Augmented Cryptlurker accessories: 280 Tomestones of Poetics each

Augmented Cryptlurker gear will technically be surpassed by the level 84 vendor gear found in the next section. Again however, most can ride out this new Poetics gear set up until level 89 if you don’t feel the need to seek out other gear in the process. Tanks and healers might want to think about replacements from dungeon and vendor gear a little earlier. As always, that’s contingent upon you having the Poetics to spend. Otherwise, vendor gear is the better way to go if you have the Gil necessary.

Levels 80-90

This is a weird one — things change slightly as you enter the Endwalker phase of leveling. The easily-accessible vendor at this level will offer Level 80 gear at Item Level 515. It’s also a single vendor. The other vendors offering gear are actually in the main regions of Endwalker. You can find them in the following locations:

Old Sharlayan (Main Aetheryte)

• All gear at level 80: Y’sohnjin, the Full Plate Armoire Proprietor – X: 12.1, Y: 9.7

Garlemald (Main Aetheryte)

• All gear at level 82: Junkmonger – X: 12.9, Y: 30.5
• All gear at level 82: Junkmonger (Tertium) – X: 31.3, Y: 17.4

Thavnair (Palaka’s Stand Aetheryte)

• All gear at level 84: Junkmonger – X: 29.4, Y: 17.1

Mare Lamentorum (Bestways Burrow Aetheryte)

• All gear at level 84: Junkmonger – X: 21.0, Y: 12.2

Elpis

• All gear at level 86: Junkmonger (Twelve Wonders) – X: 9.5, Y: 32.3
• All gear at level 88: Junkmonger (Poieten Oikos) – X: 10.1, Y: 16.7

Ultima Thule (Base Omicron Aetheryte)

• All gear at level 88: Merchant & Mender – X: 30.8, Y: 28.0
• All gear at level 88: Provisions Node (Ragnarok) – X: 14.1, Y: 33.7

Level 89 MSQ Gear (Item Level 560) for Every Job Type

By completing the Level 89 Main Scenario Quest “A Bold Decision,” you’ll unlock the NPC named Varsarudh in Old Sharlayan (X: 11.8, Y: 9.9), who will give you any level 90 Artifact Gear and Weapon absolutely free! All of this gear is Item Level 560, which will start you on the road to the current Tomestone gear!

Hitting level 90 with your alt Job means the leveling grind is done. However, you’ll probably get back on the endgame gear grind. Through the current batch of endgame content, you can easily get your hands on gear at Item Level 580 to 590 — and if you clear Savage/Extreme content, even higher. Check out our current FFXIV endgame gear guide to find out how to earn these high-end gear sets.

Where to get Level 90 gear

Congratulations are in order for hitting the level cap, but your work isn’t over yet. While your job’s level may be the highest it can go, your item level isn’t. As of Patch 6.55, the highest item level required for non-Savage and Extreme content is 625, a big leap from the Artifact Gear’s 560.

If you’ve been following the Main Scenario Quests, doing dungeons available at your current item level will provide you with the gear you need to progress through any remaining story. There are also a few options available that will ensure that you’ll be geared appropriately for most of FFXIV’s content outside of Patch 6.4’s Savage-tier Raids.

Lunar Envoy Set (Item Level 620) and Allagan Tomestones of Causality

Once you reach level 90, the days of relying on Allagan Tomestones of Poetics for gear are gone. Completing level 90 content will now reward two new types of tomestone — Allagan Tomestones of Causality and Allagan Tomestones of Comedy.

Tomestones of Causality are the level 90 equivalent of Poetics. They are rewarded for completing level 90 content, and you can earn them doing your Duty Roulettes as a level 90 job. These tomestones cap at 2,000, just like their predecessor.

The item level 620 Lunar Envoy gear set requires these Tomestones of Causality and will be enough for players to access most content that Patch 6.4 brings, other than its Extreme Trial and Savage Raid. There is only one vendor that supplies the Lunar Envoy set and accepts the new tomestones:

• Cihanti (Tomestone Exchange) – Radz-at-Han (X: 10.8, Y: 10.4) 

Augmented Lunar Envoy Set (Item Level 630)

Players can augment the Lunar Envoy set with various "Moonshine" materials by speaking to Khaldeen (Gear Exchange) standing by Cihanti's side. You can earn these Moonshine materials by trading both an Aglaia Coin and Euphrosyne Coin from completing the Alliance Raids of the same names to Nesvaaz, the Totem and Sundry Exchange at Radz-at-Han (X: 10.6, Y: 10.0). Trading these and the armor piece in question to Khaldeen will give you its Augmented version, which comes with increased stats and an item level of 630.

Credendum Set (Item Level 650) and Allagan Tomestones of Comedy

Allagan Tomestones of Comedy are the newest end-game tomestone of Patch 6.4. Players earn these the same way as their Causality counterparts – completing content as a level 90 Job. The difference is that you can only earn 450 per week, though you can still carry up to 2,000. With the chest piece alone costing 825 Allagan Tomestones of Comedy, it will take you over a month to get every part of the Credendum set.

Those looking to add Credendum pieces to their gearset can exchange their tomestones with the same vendor as the Lunar Envoy set:

• Cihanti (Tomestone Exchange) – Radz-at-Han (X: 10.8, Y: 10.4) 

The Credendum Set is a must-have for those looking to begin the higher-tier content such as Savage Raids. The Credendum gear could be considered a bit overkill for those interested in the more casual content. Still, a higher item level never hurts, and obtaining pieces of this gearset is the first step in obtaining some of the best in slot (BiS) gear as of Patch 6.5.

Augmented Credendum Set (Item Level 660) 

As with the Lunar Envoy gear, you can further augment the Credendum set by trading in currency earned from Alliance Raids to increase its stats and item level to 660. Some pieces are considered BiS across all jobs as of Patch 6.55 when mixed with gear earned from the Pandæmonium: Anabaseios (Savage) raids. If Savage raiding isn't in the cards for you, obtaining the complete Augmented Credendum set will ensure you're more than prepared for the patches leading into the upcoming expansion, Dawntrail.