Character Progression Guide 1-75 for New Players
| CAUTION! | ||
| This article is only a guide. Information expressed in a guide is usually more opinion than fact and should be taken as such. Guides are written by players, based upon their experiences, successes and mistakes, and are meant to aid other players. However, there may be differing opinions than those expressed in a guide. Strategies and information in guides may not work for everyone. | ||
Final Fantasy XI can be a daunting game if it's your first time. It certainly doesn't hold your hand, and instead dumps you into its open world and hopes you'll figures things out on your own - and if you don't, well, chances are you're about to die to a bunny.
Before We Begin
Please note: This guide is a work-in-progress, and further info as well as better formatting will be added in later versions.
The purpose of this guide is to provide a quick overview of character progression from level 1 to 75 for new players, including how to complete major milestones such as unlocking a support job, advanced jobs, and limit breaks.
The guide will assume you already have a basic grasp of the controls, and will not cover things like when to do missions, how to make gil, etc.
Character Creation
Hardcore
No one explains this well but when you make a character there is 0 reason NOT to make a Hardcore character. There is no penalty at all when you die other than no longer being hardcore and being locked out of the HC rewards. Everyone I spoke to assumed like I did that hardcore mean the character would die, or you would lose all gear or something. Nope. Start as a hardcore character because why not, there is no downside, and there might be an upside if you live long enough. (NOTE* the only downside is no bloodwarping (e.g. dying on purpose to go back to home point.))
Race
You can choose between five races for your character. Each race comes with different stats, and so will have some effect on your gameplay. However, unless you are determined to min/max, do not let the different race's strengths and weaknesses influence your decision too much.
- If you really want to play a tarutaru warrior (despite their lower strength) or a galka mage (with their lower max mp), then go for it. Most stat differences can be made up for with gear at higher levels, and any race can play any job without issue once you reach endgame.
That said, if you are looking to take advantage of certain stat bonuses for your preferred job, then we got you covered with this handy-dandy guide.
- Hume - Average stats all round. No real weaknesses, but also won't excel at anything either. A solid pick if you like playing a variety of roles in a party.
- Mithra - Mostly average stats, but excels at Dexterity and Agility. Has low Charisma and Strength. Mithras make great Thiefs and Rangers, and good mages with their decent MP pools.
- Elvaan - High Strength, Dexterity, and Mind. Second highest HP of the five races, however, has second lowest Intelligence and MP.
- Galka - Highest HP and Vitality, decent Strength and Mind. Lowest Intelligence and MP of the races. With their high health, Galkas make a solid choice for players looking to maximise their ability to tank or melee.
- Tarutaru - Best Intelligence and MP, and have decent Agility. Lowest Strength, HP, and Vitality. Taru excel at mage jobs with their ungodly amount of MP.
Job
During character creation, you have access to only 6 starting jobs. You will gain access to further "advanced" jobs at level 30. Since you can level every job on a single character, your choice of starting job isn't that big of a deal.
- My personal recommendation is to just pick something you like the look of and go with it, you can always change job later by speaking to a Moogle in your Mog House, or a Nomad Moogle located in various settlements around the world.
- Warrior - The classic fighter job. Has access to a wide variety of weapons, though usually sticks with axes or great axes in the later levels. Deals good melee damage, and makes a decent tank at low levels. Can provoke mobs to gain their attention away from other party members. Later gains the abilities to increase their attack power by sacrificing defense, increase their defense shield block and enmity gain by sacrificing attack, and increase their accuracy by sacrificing their evasion.
- Monk - Do you like hitting stuff with your fists? Then this may be the job for you. Great melee damage, high HP and VIT allows it to take a few hits. At later levels can boost their own attack power and accuracy, self-heal, and dispel mob buffs every so-often. All round, a solid pick.
- Thief - A utility DPS that can help control aggro on the battlefield. Thieves mainly use daggers to deal melee damage (but can make use of hand-to-hand and sword weapons at lower levels) and are often used as pullers using a cross-bow with debuffing status bolts to lure monsters back to their party. Gains "Sneak Attack" to deal critical damage from behind. At later levels can "Trick Attack" monsters into hating a party member more. Can also "steal" and redirect hate from one party member to another, saving their party mates from taking a beating and helping the tank to keep aggro easier. Also gains access to Treasure Hunter, increasing the rate at which items drop.
- White Mage - The healer class. Uses various healing and enhancing magics on the battlefield to keep their party members alive. Can make good use of clubs/hammers and shields for soloing. At later levels can sacrifice some of their HP to give a party member a chunk of MP. Eventually will specialize in potent AoE healing "curaga", and cost-effective "regen" hp over time magics. Gains the ability to boost a regen spell's potency every so often. Can get expensive with scrolls needed for learning spells.
- Black Mage - Call down the power of the elements to blast your foes. Becomes a bit technical as the job advances. High damage, but low survivability. Typically uses wands and staves in parties but can also make some use of daggers when soloing at lower levels. You will eventually need to learn how to manage your enmity, and how to magic burst to maintain high damage. Can be a tough first class to level. Can get expensive with scrolls needed for learning spells.
- Red Mage - A jack of all trades mage that gains access to some unique spells at later levels, such as Refresh to help keep your mages MP topped up. Can decently wield swords, daggers, wands, staves, shields, and use heavier armor compared to the other mages for soloing. Specializes in enfeebling and enhancing magics, but capable of being the main healer in parties in the absence of a white mage. At later levels can "convert" their hp to mp to maintain their mp pool. Can get expensive with scrolls needed for learning spells.
Nation
There are three nations to choose from, each with their own aesthetic and storyline. In addition to this, you will also be representing that nation in their weekly conquest efforts. It is important to note that your choice of nation will have minimal impact on gameplay itself, so it would be best to choose the nation you feel best suits you.
Note: New players used to receive a level 1 ring if they picked a certain race/nation combo (E.g. Bastokan Ring was only available if you chose Bastok as a Hume or Galka). This is not the case on Horizon - instead you will receive your nation's ring - Bastokan Ring, San d'Orian Ring or Windurstian Ring - upon attaining rank 2 with your nation, regardless of what race you chose.
Starting out
- You may want to check out the Mog Satchel and enable that. Accessable by hitting menu->menu->view house->mog satchel or by typing /satchel, this space starts as 0/0 by by linking your in game name to your horizonXI discord name you can earn 30 additional inventory slots!
- You will also want to set the inventory to AUTOMATICALLY sort items. Accessible by entering menu->config->gameplay , under inventory on that page you can select Sort(On) and you may wish to change the Type to 'Type 2' as this allows for item stacking.
- Under Config->Misc 3 there is also an option to show icons of other players when you have them selected. This will help if you are a healer or otherwise need to see if someone is poisoned or still has refresh or regen or protect or whatever.
Levels 1-12
| Goals: |
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After the opening cutscene you will find yourself in one of a few random spots somewhere in your chosen city. Roam around and acquaint yourself with the controls and your surroundings.
The Tutorial Quests
Once you have familiarised yourself with the map and your controls, it's time to get started on the tutorial quests. These will teach you a few basics, and also reward some free items such as food and an experience band, so they are well worth completing.
| Tutorial Quest Locations |
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| Alaune - Southern San d'Oria (G-10) |
| Gulldago - Bastok Markets (D-11) |
| Selele - Windurst Woods (K-10) |
Start off by heading over to the tutorial NPC in your city. They will have 3 quests for you to complete, which ends with you obtaining a voucher for a free experience band.
The first quest can be completed without leaving the city. The tutorial NPC will ask you to obtain Signet and then return to them. Speak to the nearby gate guard (will have W.W., I.M., or T.K. after their name) to obtain this buff.
Signet is probably the most important buff in the game as it:
- allows monsters to drop elemental crystals (as long as they give experience)
- lets you gain Conquest Points, a currency that can be spent at your nation's gate guards for various items and equipment, and,
- increases your defense and evasion against monsters that are the same level or lower than you, which can make soloing much safer
Once you have this and return to the NPC you will be rewarded with some free food. The next quest they give will start by asking you to eat a piece of your newly acquired food, so go ahead and do this. Upon speaking to the NPC again they will tell you about Weapon Skills.
So for now, head on outside. If you're a mage, make sure you learn your level 1 spell from the scroll in your inventory. And kill the level 1 monsters just outside your city until you've reached 5 skill with your starting weapon.
Head back to the NPC and you'll be taken through a couple of more tasks, including doing your very first synthesis and inspecting the auction house. Once you are done with these, the tutorial NPC will give you a voucher for an experience ring.
The three choices for Horizon are:
- Chariot Band - 3 charges, +100% bonus exp (max 4000 bonus), but with a 16 hour cooldown between charges. Gives 12,000 bonus exp per week.
- Emperor Band - 5 charges, +75% bonus exp (max 2250 bonus) with a 1 hour cooldown between charges. Gives 11,250 bonus exp per week.
- Empress Band - 10 charges, +50% bonus exp (max 1000 bous) with a 15 min cooldown between charges. Gives 10,000 bonus exp per week.
You may only purchase one experience ring a week, with the reset happening at 11am EDT / 4pm BST / JP Midnight every Sunday.
- While there can be arguments made about which ring is best for certain circumstances, the difference in total bonus per week isn't going to make or break your character. Emperor Band is a solid pick if you're unsure, and you're always free to try a different ring the following week and see how it suits your playstyle.
Levelling up to 12
Before heading back out, make sure you refresh Signet at the guard npc - you need this to obtain crystals from monsters, and they're probably going to be your main source of income to start off with.
Also check to see if any of the other drops you have are worth selling on auction house, or can be used in any repeatable quests (seprate info on quests coming soon, though this google doc can be used in the meantime - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1iM7tpyJVSiscorfLREVO5m5RdwC2JairAK6aKI4LVjA/edit#gid=211228980). Generally it is best to let items stack to 12 first before selling, as you only have 21 slots to sell items at any one time. You'll also likely find they sell quicker as stacks than as individuals.
If you're a mage, you may want to check out your local magic shop for any new spells you can use once you have a bit of gil to your name. For melees, don't worry too much about upgrading weapons and armor just yet. Save your hard-earned gil for later.
Once you're ready, head out there and continue grinding on the level 1 mobs until you reach level 10. At this point, the level 1's will no longer grant experience. So move on to some higher level enemies, usually level 2-5 mobs, and grind up to level 12.
Check Your Supply Missions
Supply missions are an important step in being able to quickly traverse the world of Vana'diel. Take a look at your region map (accessed through /rmap, or by selection 'Region Info' in your main menu).
- A region is made up of several zones, and in one of these zones is usually an outpost (There are a couple of exceptions such as Movalpolos and Tu'Lia, but don't worry about these for now).
- A supply mission will ask you to deliver supplies to one of your nation's guards near the outpost. Once done, you can use the outpost to teleport back to your home nations at the cost of some gil, or by expending some of your conquest points. (Note: This option is disabled if the area is currently Beastmen controlled. See Conquest for more info.)
Once you meet a certain level requirement (this varies depending on which zone you want to teleport to), you can also speak to an NPC to teleport from your home nation to any outposts you have completed the supply missions for. This makes supply missions very valuable as you can quickly move from one side of the map to the other in the blink of an eye!
- But there's a catch! You can only complete a supply mission to the regions that your nation currently controls. Each week on Sunday at JP Midnight, the conquest tally takes place and whichever nation is leading in that region will take control of it for the following week.
- Check which supply missions you can complete by speaking to one of the gate guards, the same ones that give you Signet. You'll want to at least grab the one for your starting zone if it's available.
To complete the mission, check which zone the outpost is in for that region. On the region map, it'll be the zone with the nation's symbol next to it. Once there, talk to any gate guard in that zone and they will take the supplies off you.
Top tip: You do not have to give the key item to the guard at the outpost itself. Generally there will be a guard posted somewhere near the zone line as well. For example, the guard at the zone to Konschtat in Valkurm Dunes.
From now on, whenever you're about to head out somewhere, check to see if you have a supply mission you can complete that's nearby. This will save you a lot of time in the future.
Get Rank 2
Speak to one of the guards in the city next the exit to your starting area - not the ones we get Signet from, there should be some others nearby.
They will give you a list of missions you are able to complete. Since this is your first one, there should only be one available. At level 12, you should have no issue in completing the first three missions, and upon all three will be awarded with a bit of gil and a unique ring, the stats of which vary depending on which nation you chose to start in.
For guides on what to do for the missions, please see:
Levels 12-18
Goals:
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Grab some new equipment
By now, you'll be in need or some new equipment. Hopefully you've been selling those crystals and completing any nation quests you can for a bit of extra gil.
Before buying, check out your nation's local armor and weapon shops to see what they have available, then check their prices against what is being sold on the Auction House. You can usually save yourself a fair bit of gil by shopping around before purchasing.
Also, don't forget about those conquest points you've been acquiring. You did remember to always have Signet while exping, right? If you speak to the Signet NPCs, choose the option "I want to spend my conquest points" and see what equipment they have available to purchase. You will only have a few options to spend on at this point, but again you could save yourself some gil this way.
For melees, focus on getting a good weapon before anything else. Then pick up some new armor, the level 10 scale set works nicely, or if you can't wear heavy armor there's always the level 7 leather set. The available weapons/armor to buy may be limited in the city's shops depending on what place your city is in for weekly conquest. You may want to consider creating a character that starts in another/first place city to obtain armor/weapons and mail them to your main character. Or check the auction house.
Mages, focus on getting all the necessary spells you'll need first. The available spell scrolls to buy may be limited in the magic shop depending on what place your city is in for weekly conquest. You may want to consider creating a character that starts in another/first place city to obtain scrolls and mail them to your main character. Or check the auction house. A good weapon doesn't hurt either. Armor is less important when you're in a party as you should rarely be taking any hits, but if you can find some upgrades for your main stats then feel free to grab them if you can afford.
From now on, I would recommend checking your equipment for upgrades at least every 10 levels. You don't need to go overboard and buy new gear every time a new upgrade becomes available - this is a great way to waste a lot of gil. Most of the time, weapons and accessories will be more important than armor, unless you're a tank.
Your first teleport crystal
These crystals enable you to be teleported by a White Mage to the corresponding locations, making travel across Vana'diel much quicker.
If you started in Windurst, make sure to head to the Crag of Mea, which is found at Tahrongi Canyon (I-6), and interact with it to pick up the 
Mea Gate Crystal.
For San d'Orians, head to the Crag of Holla at La Theine Plateau (J-8) for the Holla Gate Crystal.
And for Bastok, head to the Crag of Dem at Konschtat Highlands (I-7) for the Dem Gate Crystal.
Get to level 18
The zones with the teleport crystals are also good for soloing some experience from level 12+. Most people will start to party up at level 12, usually in Valkurm Dunes or Buburimu Peninsula, though Horizon has added a lot of custom exp camps that weren't around in retail. Follow the link if you want to view more EXP Camps.
To look for a party, go into your Menu, select Party, then Seek Party. Alternatively, you can type '/inv'. This will put a green exclamation mark in front of your name to show to others that you are looking for party.
Check out New to_XP_Parties_Guide for some guidance on how partying works.
If you're up for starting your own party, check out the EXP Party Leader Guide for guidance on how to put an exp party together.
If you're from Windurst, note that you will require some additional travel time if you get an invite to Valkurm Dunes. You will need to head east from Tahrongi Canyon to Buburimu Peninsula, then southeast to the town of Mhaura. Once here, you can grab a boat to Selbina and then exit to Valkurm Dunes. If you're heading there, make sure to check if you can complete the Zulkheim region supply mission. Also, take the extra time to pick up the Dem and Holla Gate Crystals while you're there so you can skip the boat ride in future.
Unlock Your Support Job
Level 18 is an important step in your character's progression as it allows you to unlock a support job - this gives you some extra stats and unlocks the abilities and traits of a second job (up to a maximum of half your main job's level).
For example, a level 5 warrior can use the provoke ability to generate a large amount of hate on a single enemy. If a level 10 monk selected warrior as their support job, they can use warrior abilities up to level 5, which includes provoke.
Note that you have to level your support job separately. So if you had only leveled monk so far up to level 18, then if you selected warrior for your support job you would be 18MNK/1WAR, and therefore unable to use the level 5 warrior ability.
You will need to complete one of two quests to unlock the ability to use a support job:
Isacio in Selbina will ask you to obtain the following three items from monsters in Valkurm Dunes:
Vera in Mhaura will also ask for three items, these being from monsters in Buburimu Peninsula:
It doesn't matter which of these two quests you choose to complete, as the outcome is the same in the end. Hopefully you got one or two of the items needed while in exp parties up to this point.
If not, don't worry. Do a /shout in Dunes/Buburimu depending on which zone you're in, and ask if anyone can help. Alternatively, consider using the /yell function in Selbina/Mhaura (this shouts across all cities so more people will see your message). You will more than likely find someone who is willing to help grab any items you still need for the quest.
Level up your support job
In order to get the most out of support jobs, you need to level that job separately. For example, let's say you got THF to level 18 and decide to choose MNK as your support job. You haven't touched MNK yet so it's at level 1, making you THF18/MNK1. Any experience you get while on THF/MNK, will go only towards your main job, THF.
To level your support job, you'll need to speak to a moogle in your mog house to change jobs. Then head out into the starting area and level from 1 again. Don't worry though, you'll find the leveling is a little easier than the first time now you have a support job and should go much smoother.
Leveling different jobs can be a great way to earn some extra gil for your main job by collecting crystals and mob drops. As well as accruing conquest points and beastmen seals - you have been keeping your beastmen seals, right?
Levels 18-37
Goals:
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The Run to Jeuno
It is entirely possible to stay in Valkurm/Buburimu all the way to around level 29, thanks to the wonders of Level Sync. And there is an argument to be made for staying at these lower level areas at least until level 20, as this means you can unlock your Chocobo License as soon as you reach Jeuno.
So stay in Dunes if you wish, or run to Jeuno first before looking for more exp parties. The choice is yours.
But whether you go at 18, 20, or later, getting to Jeuno will likely be a daunting task for a new player due to monsters along the way being up to the low-30's and potentially being able to kill you in a few hits. Tread slowly, try and stick to the paths where possible, and set your home point at any outposts along the way to make things easier on yourself.
If you're heading from Windurst and have yet to visit the Holla and Dem crags for their teleport crystals, I would highly recommend making the trip to Selbina via the boat in Mhaura, and from there picking up at least the crystal in La Theine Plateau, just in case you need to quickly get to Valkurm for a party.
As always, check which supply missions you might be able to complete along the way.
Jeuno is a great place to set your home point once you've made it there. Most players will hang out there so it's an easy place to grab a teleport, as well as being close to several late teens / early 20's exp camps. In addition to this, once you have rank 3 you can utilise Jeuno's Goblin outpost warps, which generally have a lower level requirement than those from your home nations, as well as being cheaper!
Unlock Your Chocobo License at Level 20
Once you hit level 20, you'll want to do this quest as soon as you can. Head to Upper Jeuno and speak to Brutus at the chocobo stables. You will need 4 pieces of Gausebit Grass, which can usually be bought for quite cheap on the Auction House.
Once you've started the quest, you will need to try trading the grass to the chocobo 6 times in order to complete it. You must wait a short amount of time between each trade attempt, usually around 2 minutes or so. Once the chocobo has accepted the last bit of grass, you'll complete the quest and Brutus will aware you your license.
Congratulations, you now have a quick and safe way of travelling through the zones around Jeuno. Monsters cannot attack you while mounted, so it will make getting to exp camps much easier for you. Note: Chocobos can get quite pricey at up to 1,000 gil for each rental, so I hope you've stocked up on a bit of gil.
Reach Rank 3
I know, I said this guide wouldn't be going through when to complete missions, but this is an important one as it unlocks the ability to Outpost warp using the goblins in Jeuno. This will save you a ton of time (and gil, they're ridiculously cheap compared to warping from your home nation).
As before, check out the relevant page depending on which nation you're with:
Note that Mission 2-3 will require a fair bit of travelling, as you'll be sent to visit the other two nations to complete some tasks there. So make use of those teleports, outpost warps, and chocobos to speed things up.
For the final part, you'll be required to enter a battlefield with both an Ahriman and a Dragon enemy. You'll more than likely want to grab a party of at least three people for these fights, though you can take up to six people into them. The fight is also capped at level 25, so you can't just take in a high level friend.
Optional: Kazham Access
Kazham is an often used levelling spot from around level 24 onward. However, it's on a remote island and the only way to get there is via Airship.
Now, you could purchase a Kazham Airship Pass, but this will set you back around 150,000 gil, and I'm going to assume that unless you've got rich friends in-game, or you've been fishing non-stop for days, you probably can't afford this right now.
Well, never fear, because there is an alternative. You will need to obtain a chest key from the three beastmen strongholds of Giddeus, Palborough Mines, and Fort Ghelsba.
Note that you will head to two of these areas while obtaining rank 3, so you can combine the two activities to save yourself some time. The monsters can generally be soloed at level 25, but due to their close proximity to each other it can be very dangerous. Therefore, I would recommend having a higher level help with this.
For more info, including what monsters drop the keys, check out Kazham Airship Pass.
Once you have all 3, trade them to Guddal in Port Jeuno and you'll get your airship pass.
Optional: Unlock Advanced Jobs at Level 30
At level 30 you have nine extra jobs to choose from. Maybe you need some of them for support jobs, or maybe one of them is your planned main job. Whatever the reason, you now have the ability to unlock them.
- Paladin - complete A Squire's Test, A Squire's Test II, and A Knight's Test to unlock. Paladins support their parties by being a tank with high mitigation through shield blocking and defensive job abilities. They also have abilities to cure and protect party members from taking damage. At later levels can recover MP with TP.
- Dark Knight - complete Blade of Darkness to unlock. Specializes in big 2-handed weapons, and uses abilities to increase their attack (sometimes at the cost of your HP). Has access to dark magic spells to drain stats and HP from enemies. At later levels can stun mobs in their tracks. Creates a lot of hate. You'll need to learn how to manage your enmity or face the floor.
- Beastmaster - complete Save My Son to unlock. Beastmasters can charm enemy monsters to fight for them, and can call upon stalwart familiars to aid them in battle. Excels in soloing. But can also contribute as a DPS in leveling parties with jug pets.
- Bard - complete The Old Monument, A Minstrel in Despair, and Path of the Bard to unlock. Bards buff their party members, and debuff enemies using the power of song and music. A welcome to addition to any party, and often used as pullers. A true support class!
- Dragoon - complete The Holy Crest to unlock. Dragoons use their spears to deal high damage to enemies, and are aided by a wyvern familiar that can unleash a range of breath attacks to either damage their enemies, or heal their allies. Can shed their enmity with jumps at higher levels.
- Ranger - complete The Fanged One to unlock. Masters of ranged attacks, Rangers used their bow/crossbow/gun to deal high damage to enemies from afar. At higher levels Rangers will need to be mindful of their enmity in battle due to how much damage they can do.
- Samurai - complete Forge Your Destiny to unlock. Samurais are masters of weapon skills. Their traits and abilities allow them to generate TP quickly, opening up more skillchain possibilities for your party. Has some tanking capability using stances.
- Ninja - complete Ayame and Kaede to unlock. Ninjas use tools to cast Ninjutsu, which can range from elemental damage, to crippling debuffs. Their ability to cast "Utsusemi" and create clones of themself lets them avoid attacks, making them a great tank. Also a versatile damage dealer with a choice of specializing in auto-attacks from their dual-wielding katanas, elemental spells, or high damage shurikens.
- Summoner - complete I Can Hear a Rainbow to unlock. Often fills the support role in parties but capable of being a party's main healer at higher levels. Summoners make pacts with the sleeping Gods of Vana'diel, allowing them to summoner Avatars. These summons can perform a range of physical and magical attacks (called "Blood Pacts"), or even buff and heal their allies.
Levels 37-75
Goals:
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Artifact Weapon Quest at Level 40
Once you reach level 40, you can advance your job-specific questline with a quest to obtain your "artifact weapon", commonly referred to as AF1.
If you've played this game on other private servers or retail, then you may remember some of these weapons being quite lackluster. On Horizon, there have been a number of buffs to the AF weapons, making almost all of them very useful for at least the next 10 levels or so.
I'm not going to list every quest here due to the number of them, but for information on each job's weapon and quest, please check the relevant job page on the Horizon Wiki.
Limit Break 1 at Level 50
The level cap is initially level 50. You can keep gaining experience until you are 1 exp away from level 51. But at this point you will need to a quest to raise the level cap to 55.
Once you're level 50, speak to Maat in Ru'Lude Gardens to obtain the quest In Defiant Challenge. Reminiscent of the support job quest you completed all those levels ago, Maat will send you out to collect three items from various monsters:
- Exoray Mold from Exorays in Crawler's Nest
- Bomb Coal from Explosures in Garlaige Citadel
- Ancient Papyrus from Lichs in The Eldieme Necropolis
You will either need a party of level 50 players, or a high level to help you out with these.
Note that there is no other way to get the items other than fighting the monsters. If you were hoping to hunt down the ??? and get them that way, then I'm sorry to say that those aren't implemented on Horizon.
Once you turn these items in to Maat, congratulations you can go back to levelling up.
Artifact Armor Quests
Available from level 50, this set of job-specific armor contains a headpiece, body, gloves, legs, and feet. They various in usefulness depending on your job, but are still worth completing.
The armor pieces themselves will be wearable at level 52, 54, 56, 58, and 60 (which piece is which level varies depending on job). To view the stats and levels of each piece, as well as the quests to obtain them, please check out your job page on the Horizon wiki.
Limit Break 2
Limit Break 1 raised the level cap to 55. As before, you can get all the way to 1 exp from 56 before you'll be capped again. This time though, the quest for Limit Break 2 Atop the Highest Mountains can be picked up as soon as you're level 51 from Maat - get used to this guy, you'll be visiting him for the remaining Limit Breaks as well.
This time Maat will send you to obtain three pieces of magicite located deep within the snowy north of Xarcabard. Each item is guarded by a high level monster that has a lot of health. You will need a party of level 51-55 players, or a couple of high levels to help you out.
Once completed, you'll be able to reach level 60.
Limit Break 3
You probably get the gist of this now. Available from level 56, this quest Whence Blows the Wind raises the cap from 60 to 65.
Maat will send you out to collect three quests from the Beastmen strongholds of Castle Oztroja, Beadeaux, and Davoi.
It is possible to solo the latter two, though you will be travelling through some dangerous areas with lvl 70+ monsters, so make sure to have sneak/invisible on you.
The Castle Oztroja section is technically soloable if you have some movement speed enchancement such as a thief's Flee ability, but more than likely you will need help from another player to open the door at the top of the castle.
After obtaining all 3, speak to Maat once more to raise the level cap to 65.
Limit Break 4
Available from level 61, and raises the cap to 70. The quest is called Riding on the Clouds.
After all the running about in the last quest, you'll be pleased to know this quest involves tracking down 4 NPCs from a vague clue and trading them a Kindred's Seal - you'll have probably seen some of these drop from level 50+ monsters and hopefully have at least 4 by now.
Use the quest page on this wiki to work out where the NPCs are, trade each of them, then return to Maat to raise the level cap to 70.
Limit Break 5
From level 66 you can choose to undertake the ultimate quest to shatter your limits and raise the level cap all the way to 75! This quest, Shattering Stars will have you face off against Maat himself, and he's often no joke!
Before you challenge him, Maat will ask you to obtain a Testimony for your job. These drop from high level (usually 65+) beastmen - for example, a BLM Yagudo will drop a Black Mage's Testimony.
Once you have the Testimony, trade it to Maat and he'll warp you to one of several arenas depending on your job. There the fight will begin.
If you manage to beat Maat, then congratulations on reaching the true level cap of 75! Note that Horizon will be staying capped at 75, and will not be raising it to 99 like in Retail.
Unlock Merit Points
So now you're 75, what do you do next? Well, your character can still become even stronger!
Speak to the Nomad Moogle in Ru'Lude Gardens right next to where Maat is. You'll obtain the Limit Breaker Key Item.
You can now choose to switch yourself between EXP mode, or Limit Mode. In EXP mode, you can continue to gain up to 44,000 exp at level 75 - this acts as a buffer so you don't delevel when you die while at the level cap. Yes, you can go back to level 74 if you die enough times. It's recommended to max yourself out at 44,000 exp where possible so you never have to worry about this.
If you switch to Limit Mode, or if you reach the cap of 44,000 exp at 75, you'll start to earn Limit Points. These take the place of experience points, and for every 10,000 LP earned you'll gain 1 Merit Point.
These Merit Points can in turn be spent on further enhancements for your character. For example, you could choose to increase your stats (HP by 10, MP by 10, STR by 1, weapon skill + 2, and so on). These stat changes carry over to your other job, though there's a limit to how many will actually take effect at once when playing lower level jobs.
You can also choose job-specific merits, which will enchance specific traits and abilities, or may grant access to new abilities and spells. For further information, make sure to check out your job's page.
What now?
In terms of main character progression, you're done. But worry not, there's always lots more to do.
Complete WSNM. Each weapon has a quest to unlock their final weapon skill. The unlocked WS are typically more powerful in damage and/or more versatile in creating level 3 skillchains. Very helpful to have for your merit parties, end game linkshell, and even for soloing.
Haven't completed your nation missions yet? You'll at least want to get to rank 5 for your airship pass, and rank 6 to unlock the Zilart Missions and Dynamis.
Zilart Missions will unlock access to "Sky", a popular place for high level experience parties, as well as containing various endgame bosses.
Promathia Missions unlock "Sea", a place for endgame linkshells to farm some more bosses for that sweet, sweet loot. Also lets you do Limbus, instanced content that drops items needed to upgrade your Artifact Armor, and where you can take on Omega and Ultima Weapon!
Dynamis transports you and your friends into the shadow realm to do battle against various beastmen foes, and eventually take on the Dynamis Lord himself! Drops Relic armor (a level 70-75 equivalent of Artifact armor).
Endgame players may also join linkshells to hunt HNM, "Hyper Notrious Monsters," which are giant monster bosses that require multiple players to conquer and reward great treasures that will further enhance your character.
Join BCNM groups, where you spend beastmen seals to fight a group of monsters in a level capped arena for valuable treasures/scrolls to either boost your character or sell on the auction house for tons of money. KSNM are uncapped and use kindred seals.
HENMs are a Horizon-specific endgame activity, similar to HNMs, but are forced-popped instead of timed spawns.
Start leveling another job. Having multiple jobs at 75 makes your character more versatile. If you level all jobs to at least level 66, and beat Maat in LB5 with them all, you gain a powerful, stat-boosting, teleporting hat.
Help out new players. There are always folks who are in need of coffer keys for AF, quest/mission completion, etc. HAAP is a system that rewards you for helping fellow adventures.
