Endwalker Leveling Guide for FFXIV

Endwalker will raise the level cap to 90 and introduce new zones, dungeons, and endgame content. This page contains information about leveling in Endwalker and serves to guide any players new to an FFXIV expansion about how leveling through the expansion will work. We will keep this page up to date with the latest Endwalker leveling information once the expansion drops, so stay tuned.

To learn more about the Endwalker expansion, visit our Endwalker hub.

Endwalker has not introduced any drastic changes to leveling. Getting to the level cap will be the same as it has been for previous expansions. It should be noted that in a player's first playthrough, the Armoury Bonus will not apply as the job the player uses in the main scenario will be their highest leveled job. Additionally, the developers have stated that leveling up other jobs will be easier, although they have not explained how they will implement this.

The single important change is that regular dungeon mobs in Endwalker do not reward experience points anymore. Instead, bosses will grant a larger amount of experience. Percentage-wise, experience gains in dungeons will stay the same.

You can learn about other systems changes coming in Endwalker on our dedicated Endwalker changes hub.

As with all FFXIV leveling, there are a few things players can do to smooth out their experience gains.

1. The Heat of Battle Free Company action increases combat experience gained by 5%, 10%, or 15%, based on the grade of the action.
2. The Squadron Battle Manual obtained from Squadrons increases combat experience gained by 15% for two hours. This does not stack with the Heat of Battle action.
3. Eating any food consumable grants a 3% bonus combat experience.

To learn about other passive experience bonuses in FFXIV, visit our passive bonuses page.

Leveling in Endwalker will work the same as it has in previous expansions. Players will have access to a multitude of leveling options, though they should always start with the MSQ and go from there.

The primary way to level your first job in the expansion is to complete the Main Scenario Questline. However, as was the case in previous expansions, only doing the MSQ is not enough to fully level one job up to cap. Players will likely have to supplement their questing experience with side quests, dungeons, roulettes, and FATEs while in queue. MSQ completion is also required to unlock endgame content in the expansion.

After completing the MSQ, players will have access to the Armoury Bonus for all combat jobs lower than their highest leveled job. This also means that players will have to level via other methods.

As always, roulettes are a great source of experience relative to the time investment. This should be every player's first priority when leveling, with Leveling, Frontline, Trials, Main Scenario, and Alliance Raid as the ones that give the most experience. Players who log on when servers come up during Early Access can complete an extra set of Endwalker roulettes before the daily reset!

As with previous expansions, there are likely to be five leveling dungeons in Endwalker. Each one corresponds to a level range. The first, the Tower of Zot, was revealed in the Media Tour. It unlocks at level 81. Dungeons will always be the best source of experience in FFXIV, and doing the dungeon corresponding to the alt job you are leveling will be the fastest way to level due to the Armoury Bonus.

To learn more about the dungeons in Endwalker, visit our Endwalker dungeon hub, which will be updated with information and guides once the expansion is live!

Daily Hunts are also expected to appear in Endwalker. Divided into three tiers, each is a great source of daily experience. However, hunts are not affected by the Armoury Bonus. It is a very good idea to pick these up while doing the MSQ, as they automatically grant experience when completed, and players will be exploring the zones for the MSQ regardless.

To learn more about Hunts in Endwalker, visit our Endwalker Hunts hub, which will be updated with information once the expansion is live!

Though the Armoury Bonus applies to FATEs, the experience gained from FATEs pales in comparison to dungeons. In addition, traversing between FATEs is much easier with flying unlocked, and in most circumstances, flying in a zone is unlocked as the player leaves the zone. Still, doing nearby FATEs will supplement MSQ experience, and it is a great way to optimize time spent queueing for dungeons.

To learn more about flying in Endwalker, visit our page detailing Endwalker flight, which will be updated with Aether Current locations once the expansion is live.

Like Shadowbringers, Endwalker side quests will employ a Quest Sync system, where the difficulty and rewards of any side quests are scaled to the player's level. Certain side quests will likely reward Aether Currents needed to unlock flight in each area. While these are not the most efficient source of experience, they can reward gear coffers, materia, or other items. They can be completed while doing the MSQ or while in queue for dungeons.

Wondrous Tails is a great source of experience. As all content in Endwalker is new, players will receive many Second Chance points. It is very easy to complete a low leveled dungeon unsynced and Retry it. It is likely that WT in Endwalker will still give roughly 50% EXP for a level. Additionally, as WT books last up to two weeks, players can prepare a book beforehand and hand it in when Endwalker goes live, granting an immediate experience boost. They can then immediately pick up another book to complete while doing the Endwalker MSQ.

To learn more about Wondrous Tails and how to collect seals, visit our Wondrous Tails guide!