Content
- Why is Mining Important?
- Why Should Players Level Mining?
- How to Start Mining?
- Recommended Gearsets
- 1-90 Mining Guide
Final Fantasy XIV gives players the chance to live a fun and enjoyable life in the world of Eorzea. Gamers can do so many things to enjoy their virtual life in the popular MMORPG. From fighting celestial beings to gathering crafting materials, players will never run out of things to do in the magical world of FFXIV. Mining is one of the most relevant skills that adventurers can invest in among the trade skills that can be done in the game.
Why is Mining Important?
Crafting and gathering materials are equally important in this game. The former needs ingredients produced by the latter. Meanwhile, gatherers need crafters to use their products to create something beneficial. Among the many life skills in FFXIV, Mining is the most excellent source of materials for making armor and weapons.
Classes like the Paladin, Dark Knight, and Warrior wear heavy armor and weapons made with steel, iron, and other mineral ores. Knowing where the most abundant ore veins are and how to harvest them helps gatherers acquire the most important rocks in the game while making some Gil. Miners tend to become Blacksmith later since they can create items from all the materials they gather.
Why Should Players Level their Mining Skills?
Aside from increased gathering speed and durability, maxing this specific gathering skill tree will provide players with various other mining abilities. Taking the mining rank up to level 90 will help players make the most out of it. In particular, the Lay of the Land talent is one of the most critical abilities that miners can pick up while ranking up. This skill helps players locate ores, precious stones, and fossils in Eorzea.
How to Start Mining?
Like most jobs in FFXIV, unlocking this trade skill requires players to do a quest first. For adventurers to start their mining career, they will have to go to the Miners’ Guild in Ul’dah and interact with the receptionist. The NPC will provide players with the Way of the Miner quest.
Initially, the players will only be given a weathered pickaxe by the guild master. It may be the lowest quality item, but it gets done. Pickaxes are a core tool used in mining activities, so getting a better quality of this item is essential. Eventually, gamers will be given a sledgehammer that will diversify the number of minerals that players can gather.
Recommended Gearset per Bracket
There are specific sets that are more appropriate for certain levels. Having the right items for the job makes Mining much easier. Here is the best gear for each level bracket:
- Level 20 to 26 – Iron Pickaxe (Main Hand), Initiate’s Sledgehammer (Off Hand), Cotton Dalmatica of Gathering (Body), Cotton Work Gloves (Hands), and Initiate’s Slops (Legs)
- Level 27 to 34 – Iron Dolabra (Main Hand, Novice’s Sledgehammer (Off Hand), Velveteen Wedge Cap of Gathering (Head), Velveteen Coatee of Gathering (Body), Fingerless Goatskin Gloves of Gathering (Hands), Toadskin Survival Belt (Belt), Velveteen Sarouel of Gathering (Legs), and Goatskin Crakows of Gathering (Feet).
- Level 35 to 52 – Steel Dolabra (Main Hand), Wrapped Steel Sledgehammer (Off Hand), Angler’s Hat (Head), Apprentice’s Doublet (Body), Fingerless Boarskin Gloves of Gathering (Hands), Linen Sarouel of Gathering (Legs), and Boarskin Crakows of Gathering (Feet)
Notice: Upon reaching level 53, miners should ensure that all their Gear is High Quality.
- Level 53 to 62 (Meld G +6 Materia to Each Item) – Mythrite Pickaxe (Main Hand), Myrthrite Sledge (Off Hand), Holy Rainbow Hat (Head), Wyvernskin Jerkin (Body), Holy Rainbow Work Glove (Hands), Wyvernskin Culottes (Legs), Wyvernskin Workboots (Feet), Mythrite Earrings of Gathering (Ears), Wyvernskin Choker (Neck), Wyvernskin Ring (Left Ring), and Wyvernskin Ring (Right Ring)
- Level 63 to 70 (Meld G +10 Gatherer’s Guerdon Materia V to Each Item) – High Steel Dolabra (Main Hand), High Steel Sledgehammer (Off Hand), Gyuki Leather Hat (Head), Gyuki Leather Jacket (Body), Gyuki Leather Gloves of Gathering (Hands), Gyuki Leather Chaps (Legs), Gyuki Leather Boots of Gathering (Feet), Gyuki Leather Earrings (Ears), Gyuki Leather Choker (Neck), Gyuki Leather Wristband (Wrists), Gyuki Lether Ring (Left Ring), and Gyuki Leather Ring (Right Ring)
- Level 71 to 80 (Meld G +15 Gatherer’s Guerdon Materia VI to Each Item) – Deepgold Pickaxe (Main Hand), Deepgold Sledgehammer (Off Hand), Brightlinen Turban of Gathering (Head), Brightlinen Coat of Gathering (Body), Smilodonskin Gloves of Gathering (Hands), Brightlinen Bottoms of Gathering (Legs), Smilodonskin Shoes of Gathering (Feet), Smilodonskin Earrings (Ears), Smilodonskin Choker (Neck), Smilodonskin Wristband (Wrists), Smilodonskin Ring (Left Ring), and Smilodonskin Ring (Right Ring)
- Level 81+ (Meld G +20 Gatherer’s Guerdon Materia VIII to Each Item) - High Durium Pickaxe (Main Hand), High Durium Sledgehammer (Off Hand), Horse Chestnut Kasa (Head), Darkhempen Tabigoromo (Body), Gajaskin Tekko (Hands), Darkhempen Kyakui (Legs), Gajaskin Zori (Feet), Horse Chestnut Earrings of Gathering (Ears), Horse Chestnut Necklace of Gathering (Neck), Horse Chestnut Bracelet of Gathering (Wrists), Horse Chestnut Ring of Gathering (Left Ring), and Horse Chestnut Ring of Gathering (Right Ring)
Leveling up to 90
The fastest way to rank up adventurers’ mining level is to keep gathering every ore they can mine and do trade skills quests and levequests. Players are restricted to only several types of ores, depending on their mining rank. This reason is why gamers should quickly raise their level in this particular life skill.
Level 1 to 25
After getting the weathered pickaxe, players will be given a rank 1 quest to complete. Several tasks can be done after satisfying the first mission. Ideally, miners should keep mining materials until they reach a particular milestone before handing the ingredients to the quest givers.
- Level 1 to 5 – Gather Copper Ore until rank 5 before completing the level 1 Miner Quest. The recommended reward is the Hempen Dalmatica of Gathering.
- Level 6 to 10 – Gather Bone Chip until rank 10 before completing the level 5 Miner Quest. The recommended reward is the Leather Culottes.
- Level 10 to 15 – Gather Obsidian until rank 15 before completing the level 10 Miner Quest. The recommended reward is the Straw Hat.
- Level 16 to 20 – Gather Cinnabar until rank 20 before completing the level 15 Miner Quest. The recommended reward is the Hard Leather Espadrilles.
- Level 20 to 25 – Gather Earth Rock or Silver Sand until rank 25 before completing the level 20 Miner Quest requiring 15 Grade 1 Carbonized Matter. The recommended reward is the Cotton Coif of Gathering.
Note: By level 15, miners would have unlocked Mountaineer’s Gift, which grants a 10% increased chance of gathering high-quality materials. This is one of the core abilities needed to level up fast since gathering HQ minerals yield double exp. Stocking up on Cordials will help players replenish their GP to keep using Mountaineer’s Gift I as much as they can.
Level 25 to 50
Starting at rank 25, miners will no longer have a 100% gathering chance if their gear, stats, and level do not meet the recommended conditions. By this time, players should be using the required gear sets.
- Level 25 to 28 – Gather Effervescent Water until rank 28 before completing the level 25 Miner Quest. The recommended reward is the Velveteen Coatee of Gathering.
- Level 29 to 30 – Gather Wyvern Obsidian until rank 30 before completing the level 30 Miner Quest. The recommended reward is the Toadskin Culottes.
- Level 31 to 35 – Gather Raw Garnet until rank 35.
- Level 36 to 40 - Gather Raw Tourmaline or Raw Spinel until rank 40 after completing the level 35 Miner Quest.
- Level 41 to 43 - Gather Jade until rank 43 after completing the level 40 Miner Quest.
- Level 42 to 45 - Gather Raw Turquoise or Electrum Ore until rank 45 while completing the level 45 Miner Quest.
- Level 46 to 50 – Gather Basilisk Egg or Cobalt Ore until rank 50, then do the level 50 Miner Quest.
Levesquests
After reaching level 30, doing Levequests is highly encouraged since it helps players significantly boost their progression. Using King’s Yield while doing these tasks will make them much more manageable. Here are some of the missions that adventurers can accept for this bracket:
- Level 30 to 35 - Costa Del Sol Levequests
Level 51 to 60
- Level 54 to 56 – Gather Titanium Ore or Raw Star Sapphire until rank 56 while completing the level 55 Miner Quest.
- Level 57 to 58 – Gather Hardsilver Sand or Cloud Mica until rank 58, complete the level 58 Miner Quest.
- Level 59 to 60 – Gather Hardsilver Ore or Raw Chrysolite until rank 60 before completing the rank 60 Miner Quest.
Levequests
- Level 50 quests in Ishgard
Level 61 to 70
- Level 61 to 63 – Gather Raw Chrysolite until rank 63.
- Level 64 to 65 – Gather Crescent Spring Water until rank 66 while completing the rank 65 Miner Quest.
- Level 66 to 68 – Gather Durium Sand or Doman Iron Sand until rank 68 before completing the rank 68 Miner Quest.
- Level 69 to 70 – Gather Palladium Sand until rank 70, then achieve the rank 70 Miner Quest.
Levequests
- Level 60 quests in Kugane
Level 71 to 80
At this stage, doing Crystarium Deliveries will help significantly in the progression. Here are the tasks that adventurers can take from the Crystarium Levequests:
- Level 71 to 73 – Gather Animal Trace until rank 73 before completing the rank 70 Crystarium Delivery Quest.
- Level 74 to 75 – Gather Animal Droppings until rank 75 before completing the rank 73 Crystarium Delivery Quest.
- Level 76 to 78 – Gather Megafauna Leftovers until rank 73 before completing the rank 75 Crystarium Delivery Quest.
- Level 79 to 80 – Gather Megafauna Trace until rank 78 after completing the rank 78 Crystarium Delivery Quest.
For those who don’t have the Crystarium Levequests available to do them, here are the things they need to do to gain exp:
- Level 71 to 72 – Gather Animal Trace
- Level 73 to 74 – Gather Truegold Ore or Highland Spring Water
- Level 75 to 77 – Gather Bluespirit Ore
- Level 70 to 80 – Gather Underground Spring Water
Level 80+
At this stage, players should now focus on looking for Collectibles to reach level 90. Doing Gathering Rotations can also be helpful, but miners might find them quite tedious. Stadium Deliveries are should also be considered. However, they have shared quests, so they are not repeatable for other characters. Old Sharlayan Levequests are also a good source for exp.
Other Need to Know:
At certain milestones, players can start using Company-issue Survival Manuals, which will provide +50% EXP from gathering. Here is the list of all manuals that miners should use:
- Company-issue Survival Manual (can be used up to level 40)
- Company-issue Survival Manual (can be used up to level 50)
- Commercial Survival Manual (can be used up to level 70)
- Revised Survival Manual (can be used up to level 80)
- For miners who are part of a Free Company, they should ask their guild officers if they are willing to activate the Earth and Water II company buff, giving 10%+ EXP while gathering.
- For faster experience gain, equipping gear that boosts experience gains like Friendship Circlet (+20%) or Ala Mhigan Earrings (+30%) will help the progression.
- Try bringing high-quality Carrot Nibbles and Mushroom Saute since they provide an additional +3% EXP Boost.
- There are specific Miner Abilities that players should activate whenever they can. Here are some of the most helpful talents from this trade skill:
- Sharp Vision – Increases the chance of obtaining items.
- Sneak – Avoid aggroing NPCs that are up to four levels higher than the character
- Unearth – Increase the chance of unearthing high-quality items
- The Twelve’s Bounty – Increases elemental shard, crystal, and cluster rewards by 3
- Luck of the Mountaineer – Discover gathering node’s hidden items.
After reaching level 90 in Mining, there is not much progression since players would have reached the current pinnacle of this specific trade skill. Gamers can use their accumulated skills and materials to earn more FFXIV Gil. Alternatively, adventurers can consider leveling up their other trade skills like Botany.
