That’s three expansions behind you in Final Fantasy XIV leveling process. You’ve made your way through A Realm Reborn, Heavensward, and Stormblood. Now it’s time to tackle Shadowbringers, the expansion that added Levels 70 to 80 and a few new Jobs. This guide will help you wade through the endless light, so you can finally end one grand journey in Endwalker. We also have a guide for the entire leveling process in one place, if that helps. But here, this FFXIV leveling guide 70-80 will focus on the finer details.
You should be aware that the Jobs introduced in Endwalker, Sage and Reaper, begin at level 70. While that lets you skip all of the level 1 through 70 grind, here is where you want to start if you pick up those Jobs.
Level 70-80 General Details
There are a number of items that offer experience bonuses within certain level ranges. However, at this point, you’re down to one item: Menphina’s Earring, which grants 30% bonus EXP until level 81. It was only available as a pre-order bonus for Endwalker, so if you don’t have it, you’re out of luck. If you do have it, equip it.
You should also probably have a stack of any basic consumable food item. All food gives you a 3% bonus to EXP gains from killing enemies. These effects last for 30 minutes per food item consumed and caps at 60 minutes at a time. It’s not a ton, but it will add up over time and shave a bit off your overall leveling grind.
Finally, there’s the Armoury Bonus. This feature gives players a 100% experience bonus for any Job that is lower than their max level Job. So for example, if your primary (highest-leveled) Job is at level 80, then every other Job below 80 will benefit from the Armoury Bonus. This bonus applies to main story quests, dungeon bosses and completion, FATEs, Leves, and Deep Dungeons. Note that the Armoury Bonus is only an additional 50% for the current expansion — this means from level 80 to 90, the Endwalker levels. For subsequent expansions, you can expect the same.
Levels 70-80
As always, be sure to hit your daily Duty Roulettes. Prioritize Leveling, Main Scenario, and Alliance Raids, but you can tackle them all if you have the time — Leveling and Main Scenario Roulettes still offer the best EXP for time spent.
If you wish, you can start using the Duty Support / Trust system at level 71 as another way to earn good chunks of EXP. This may be the preferable option for DPS players who face long queue times. Generally, you’ll earn 1/3 of your EXP bar per run of the highest level dungeon available. But again, it can get repetitive — be sure to mix things up.
Pick up the Nutsy Clan Hunts in the Crystarium to fill out the time while you’re waiting for Duty Roulette queues to pop. You can unlock them by picking up the quest “Nuts to You” from Hume Lout in The Crystarium (X: 12.1, Y: 15.0). (You’ll need to have unlocked the previous Hunts already. See: Leveling 50-60.)
Another bit of questing for additional EXP comes from the Beast Tribe quests. In this level range, you’ll be tackling daily quests for the Pixies. To unlock this series of daily quests, you’ll want to grab the quest “Manic Pixie Dream Realm” from Pink Pixie in The Crystarium (X: 13.1, Y: 15.3). Once unlocked, you’ll want to take on these dailies for a good chunk of quick EXP.
Otherwise, your best bet for leveling alts from level 71 to 80 (and beyond) is in the Bozja Southern Front. Outside of your dailies, this is where you’ll live. So let’s explain how it works.
The Bozjan Southern Front
Welcome to the Bozjan Southern Front and Zadnor. Introduced as a standalone instance and zone in Patch 5.35, this area allows you to partake in an ongoing conflict with its own storyline. Within Bozja, Job levels are synced to level 80 and you can enter with any Job that’s at least at level 71. Essentially, you get synced up and access the rest of your Job’s kit. Item levels are also synced to 430, so you don’t need to worry about gear.
While in Bozja, you can tackle Skirmishes, which are essentially FATEs. There are also Critical Engagements, which are like Trials — these instanced encounters pop up randomly while in Bozja and Zadnor, and you have to sign up for them. They’re akin to boss fights but with 24 or 48 players in the fight.
There is a priority system with Critical Engagements in case the queue exceeds capacity. Priority is gained through completing Skirmishes or paying Bozjan Clusters that drop from mobs on the battlefield. Basically, do Skirmishes until the Critical Engagements pop, and then do those. Rinse and repeat. This can be done at a fast pace, making the leveling grind rather brisk.
The overall composition of Bozja basically encourages a freeform FATE train in a way that most other zones in the game do not. Plus, in addition to all the EXP you’re gaining, you’ll also be working on your Job’s Resistance Weapon and getting tons of Gil. This was one of the most efficient ways to level from 71-80 in Shadowbringers, and that didn’t change for Endwalker. Generally you can gain a level in under an hour.
You’ll unlock the Bozjan Southern Front by picking up “Hail to the Queen” from Keiten in Kugane (X: 12.2, Y: 12.3). To access this quest, you need to be level 80. You’ll also need to have completed the Shadowbringers main scenario quest “Vows of Virtue, Deeds of Cruelty” and the entire Return to Ivalice Alliance Raid questline. Again, once you’ve unlocked the region, you can enter with any Job at level 71 or higher.
Zadnor is a later instance and zone in the Bozja questline. You’ll gain far more Mettle, Bozja’s separate zone-based leveling system. If you’re focusing on getting that Resistance Weapon in addition to leveling, Zadnor may be a better choice. I’d personally stick with Bozja, but generally, the FATE spawns tend to be better in Zadnor, particularly the last area of the zone you unlock once you make Resistance Rank 22.
Hopefully, this gives you a solid foundation to work with in regards to leveling. Like the Stormblood levels, there are a lot of options available for the leveling process.. We also have a guide for the entire leveling process in one place, taking you all the way to level 90 as fast as possible.
