While running dungeons, fates, leves and other challenges are great ways to grind for EXP in Final Fantasy 14, there are a couple of easy items and ways that can boost your EXP gain while you grind. Overall, most of these ways are restricted to giving you the EXP boost per enemy you kill and some boosts may not apply to all duties. For example, some may apply to dungeons and leves while others may work only on dungeons and the main story quests. Regardless, these five ways will give your character an easy EXP boost so you can reach level 80 in no time.
5) Item Buffs
A character wearing the Moogle Cap
Item buffs are simple way to gain an EXP boost without having to do anything other than equip the items. However, item buffs do come with a couple of downsides since some of the items are were pre-order bonuses for A Realm Reborn, Stormblood, and Shadowbringers expansions and can no longer be obtained. Additionally, certain items work only up to a certain level, but overall, the 20%-30% EXP boost can make the difference in those early levels.
Item Buffs Stats:
- Moogle Cap +20% (up to level 10)
- Helm of Light +20% (up to level 10)
- Friendship Circlet +20% (up to level 26)
- Brand-new Ring +30% (up to level 31)
- Ala Mhigan Earrings +30% buff (up to level 51)
- Aetheryte Earring +30% (up to level 71)
How to get Item Buffs:
- The Moogle Cap is a gift for pre-ordering A Realm Reborn
- The Helm of Light is a gift for buying the collector’s edition of A Realm Reborn
- The Friendship Circlet is a gift for recruiting a friend to FF14 or being recruited by a friend and staying subscribed for 30 days
- The Brand-new Ring is a reward for completing all adventure guild trials under one specific class
- Ala Mhigan Earrings are a gift for pre-ordering Stormblood
- The Aetheryte Earring is a gift for pre-ordering Shadowbringers
4) Preferred Server Bonus
The Preferred Server Bonus is likely one of the best EXP boosts in FF14 at the time. Lower servers are designated preferred servers and all new characters created on that server receive the “Road to 70” bonus, which doubles all earned EXP including any other additional bonuses. The bonus will last for 90 days after the character has been created. The only downside to this buff is, obviously, it only applies to new characters created on a certain server during a specific period of time. However, if you find yourself creating a new character in a preferred server, you’ll easily be able to level up multiple classes to level 70 within 90 days.
Preferred Server Bonus Stats:
- Grants double the amount of EXP including any additional EXP earned from other buffs
How to get the Preferred Server Bonus:
- Find a server that is designated a preferred server and create a character on it
- Bonus will last for 90 days
3) Free Company Buffs
Free Company buffs are just another advantage to joining a FC in FF14. These buffs can give you anywhere from a 5% to 15% boost in EXP gain when you defeat enemies. You can have only so many buffs in effect at a time depending on your FC’s rank, so your FC may choose to have a different buff in effect, but it is great for EXP grinding when it is active.
Free Company Buffs Stats:
- FC Buff: Heat of Battle provides a +5% EXP boost
- FC Buff: Heat of Battle II provides a +10% EXP boost
- FC Buff: Heat of Battle III provides a +15% EXP boost
How to get Free Company Buffs:
- Heat of Battle is free for a FC
- Heat of Battle II can be bought for 7,000 credits once the FC has reached Rank 8
- Heat of Battle III can be obtained through the Aetherial Wheel
2) Food and Rest Buffs
Food and Rest buffs don’t necessarily need to be used in conjunction, but they can be and they give your player an easy bonus. All food items give your character a +3% EXP boost, and while meager on its own, this bonus can add up when used alongside other buffs. The rest bonus is different than other EXP buffs because it works while you’re logged off. Simply log off in a Sanctuary near an aetheryte and you will gain an EXP bonus when killing enemies and engaging in other duties.
Food and Rest Buff Stats:
- All food items give a 3% EXP boost for 30 minutes
- The rest buff will give a 50% EXP gain and charge up to 1.5 level bars
How to get the Food and Rest Buffs:
- Buy any food at venders or on the marketboard and consume the food item for the food buff
- Log off in a Sanctuary near an aetheryte for the rest buff
1) Armory Bonus
Lastly, we have the armory bonus, which is intended to help you level up other classes you have picked up. This bonus grants a hefty EXP boost to whichever classes are of the lowest level. For example, if you have Dragoon at 56, Ninja at 43, and White Mage at 31, then Ninja and White Mage would be granted this bonus until they reach the same level as Dragoon. The nice thing about this bonus is that there are no requirements or actions needed to gain it, only have at least two classes at differing levels.
Armory Bonus Stats:
- Under level 70, the lower leveled class gains a 100% EXP bonus
- Over level 70, the lower leveled class gains a 50% EXP bonus
- These bonuses can be added on top of other bonuses like the FC buffs
How to get the Armory Bonus:
- Have two or more classes at different levels
