7 Things to Do to Prepare for FFXIV Dawntrail

THE Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail The expansion is almost upon us, and if you want to prepare as much as possible for this massive update, you definitely need to do the things we’re going to list here to get off to a good start.

How to prepare for the FFXIV Dawntrail expansion

THE Dawn Trail The expansion officially arrives on July 2, with early access beginning on June 28. Pre-ordering the expansion gets you in during Early Access, while also giving you the Wind-up Minion Zidane and Azeyma’s Earrings, which increase all experience gained from defeating monsters up to ‘at level 90.

Maintenance runs from June 26 at 2:00 a.m. PDT to June 28 at 2:00 a.m. PDT, so be sure to complete this list before the servers shut down!

Complete the MSQ (and some side quests)

Being aware of all current quests is mandatory if you want to experience the new storyline as soon as possible. If you see the message “To be continued…” on your MSQ indicator, you are good to go. But if you’ve been putting off those last few quests, it’s time to go finish them once and for all.

And while they’re not required, there are some side quests that could greatly improve your experience in the next expansion if you’re a story fan or always trying to learn more about the world. Game director Naoki Yoshida mentioned a few notable questlines during an interview in 2023, and here’s where you can start them.

• Gods of the Elders – The Pillars (X:11.7, Y:11.5), with Torsefers

THE Triad at war the questline introduces the namesake group of the Toward the sky Trial series, consisting of Sephirot, Sophia and Zurvan. They are directly inspired by Final Fantasy VIwhich is also a great source of inspiration for Dawn Trailso maybe we can learn a little more about their origins during the last MSQ.

• In the middle of nowhere – The Crystarium (X:9.7, Y:12.3), with Anxious Crystarium Guard

THE Eden The questline is a series of normal raids that puts Ryne in the spotlight after the Shadow Bringers MSQ, while introducing Gaia. THE Futures Contracts Rewritten Ultimate Raid (released with patch 7.1) will be based on this series, so players can learn more about the characters involved and, of course, what type of encounter awaits them.

Prepare your main tasks

It goes without saying, but you should have the best equipment available for your favorite tasks as soon as possible. Dawn Trail shots. Judging by the models of previous expansions, the current maximum iLvl (665) will take you until the end of the third new dungeon. From this point on, you will need to obtain new equipment from other sources. But don’t worry, the MSQ always provides you with materials to meet the challenge.

Related: FFXIV Yokai Watch 2024 Event Guide

You can obtain the most powerful gear available through Savage Raids drops or by purchasing them with Allagan Tomestones of Comedy. The best of the slot is always a mix of these two, alongside Manderville’s full weapon. If you’re not already a raider, the full Tomestone set is sufficient, so don’t worry about trying to learn those difficult fights at the end of the expansion.

Prepare for Viper/Pictomancer

Viper and Pictomancer are coming to Dawntrail, and it’s entirely possible to make the new MSQ with them if you’re dedicated enough to level them up to 90. They both start at level 80, and you can do some things to make your road a little easier.

• Buy the corresponding Lv. 80 Tomestone equipment beforehand at the Crystarium with the Mowen merchant (X:10.1, Y:11.8). Viper uses the same equipment as Ninja, and Pictomancer uses the same as any other spellcaster (Red Mage, Summoner, or Black Mage).
• Complete as many levels. 80 yellow quests maximum to use on VPR/PIC. Up to 30 quests can be saved in your quest log, but leave space empty for the job’s starting quest.
• Log out from the starting city of Job’s quest. These are Gridania for Pictomancer and Ul’dah for Viper.

Spamming Dungeons is great for getting to 90 quickly, but you need a bit of gear and be at least 81 to get into the first one. End Walker dungeon. Queues can also be a problem, so you can perform FATEs on the map while you wait.

Alternatively, you can head to the third Zadnor area (unlocked via the Protect the queen quest series Shadow Bringers), where you can level up by performing critical engagements with others. It may be slower when you reach around 87, but you avoid the queue problem altogether.

The Wonderful Tails Tour

Wondrous Tails is a weekly book you receive from Khloe in Idyllshire (X: 5.7, Yes : 6.0). You get seals by completing the tasks indicated there, and delivering the book with 9 seals gives you exactly 50% of the experience needed for your next level.

Making lines with your seals gives you additional rewards, and you can use second chance points (obtained as a bonus for the first time when completing tasks) to shuffle these lines or to be able to complete tasks again completed.

You can get one book per week, but each book lasts two weeks. Thanks to this, it is possible to finish two books in the same week. If you collect a Wonderful Tail from June 18 to 24 and complete it before maintenance on June 26 but don’t deliver it, you can use it later when Dawn Trail arrives to get half of your level 91 experience (or level 81, if you upgrade Viper or Pictomancer).

After that, immediately grab another Wondrous Tails (since you don’t have the current week’s book yet) and complete lower-level tasks (such as level 50-60 trials and raids) alone with the option Unsynchronized party as soon as possible, then use your Second Chance. points to reset and clear them again until you get 9 seals. Deliver the second book to complete a full level in under 15 minutes.

Along the same lines, you can abuse server reset timers if you manage to log in early. Daily Roulettes and Tribal Quests reset at 8 a.m. PDT, but servers will be open at 2 a.m. PDT. If you manage to log in before then, you can use Daily Roulette: Leveling for its EXP bonus before the reset, then start again later today. Tribal quests work similarly, with Arkasodara (endwalker level 80 tribal quest) being the best in terms of experience.

Related: FFXIV Reveals All Upcoming Dawntrail Job Actions

Clean out your glamorous inventory/dresser

This is advice for life, but especially important for the pre-expansion period. While hundreds of new crafting items and pieces of gear will be added with the expansion, now is the time to get rid of the ones you know you won’t use again. We only have limited space for Glamor gear, so it’s important to know when to ditch older pieces.

If you’re a crafter, you know exactly how crazy inventory management gets when you level up, so your best bet is to start now so you don’t have to worry about it later.

Avoid server congestion

Login queues are the bane of every major release, and FFXIV is unfortunately no exception. The queues were particularly bad during End Walker exit, Square Enix has therefore added certain security measures to avoid these 3-hour queues at the exit. The main addition was the creation of new data centers, giving players more alternatives as to where they want to connect. NA has Dynamis, while EU has Shadow.

You can go to either one before the maintenance. This will likely give you faster queues when the expansion releases, and you will eventually be able to return to your regular data center once congestion has reduced a few days later. Some times will be easier to log in than others (usually in the morning), so try to access the servers at those times if you can.

Free up space on your hardware

Whether you play on PC or console, the Dawn Trail expansion will cause the total file size to increase significantly due to the graphics update. Not to mention new areas, models, and all the other usual elements of a new patch. The Steam page recommends at least 140 GB for updating, so if you’re short on free space, it’s time to get rid of unused software and games.

Preload times haven’t been revealed yet, but they’ll likely be available well before the servers officially open, so you’ll have plenty of time for that. Have fun in Trail of dawn!

Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail will be officially available on July 2. Early access begins June 28.

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