Final Fantasy 14 Endwalker: 5 things you should do first in the new expansion

Final Fantasy 14 Endwalker finally launched last week after roughly 10 months of hype, details and speculation about what to expect in the game’s largest expansion. While servers got off to a rocky start on launch day, it didn’t stop us from soaking in many of the new sights in our Day One live blog.

From the gargantuan main scenario questline that concludes Final Fantasy 14’s first major story arc, to delightful distractions like the overhauled spearfishing interface, there’s plenty to see and do across The Northern Empty, Ilsabard and beyond. But if you’ve just arrived at the new Endwalker content after finishing Shadowbringers, or have been contending with steep login queues until now, you might be wondering where to begin your new adventure.

So we’ve put together a checklist of the best content Final Fantasy 14 Endwalker brings to the table, offering suggestions on the best quests, jobs and changes to check out first. But our key piece of advice is to take your time; Final Fantasy 14’s ‘no FOMO’ (fear of missing out) philosophy persists in Endwalker, meaning all content suggested here will be available at any time, no matter if you access it today or a year from now.

Main Scenario Quests

Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker — (Image credit: Square Enix)

Our top suggestion, as many of you have probably assumed, is to get started with the Main Scenario Quests (or MSQ for short). The MSQ is the catalyst to unlocking all kinds of content including role quests, endgame raids and trials, and the ability to fly in the new zones.

However, as is always the case with Final Fantasy 14, Endwalker’s MSQ is far from busy work. For many, it’s the main attraction. And Endwalker’s storyline might just be the most masterfully told yet, even compared to the emotional rollercoaster of Shadowbringers.

No spoilers here, but prepare to meet characters both new and old as you traverse Endwalker’s six new major areas, which arguably play host to the game’s finest dungeons and trials. You’ll also get to experience the latest suite of music from revered FF14 composer Masayoshi Soken, and we’re happy to report that the man has outdone himself once again.

Reaper and Sage

Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker Reaper — (Image credit: Square Enix)

One big draw of every Final Fantasy 14 expansion is the new jobs we get to play around with, and potentially main. Heavensward added Machinist, Dark Knight and Astrologian. Stormblood brought Samurai and Red Mage on board, while Shadowbringers welcomed Gunbreaker and Dancer into the fold. Endwalker is no different, dropping Reaper and Sage onto the already massive roster of playable jobs. And they’re easily two of the best additions yet.

Reaper is a scythe-wielding melee DPS that draws upon the power of a voidsent avatar, which powers up your attacks and dishes out a healthy amount of damage. It’s delightfully edgy and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Sage, as a healer, is more about suturing wounds than creating them, though you’ll be doing plenty of that, too. This Sharlayan healer job employs the use of nouliths, four floating doodads that can apply powerful barriers to your allies, as well as sear hot laser beams of death through your enemies. It’s a little complex, even for a healer class, but learning Sage will reward you with experiencing a highly satisfying job with fantastic animations and sound design.

Both of the new jobs begin at level 70, so you’ll almost immediately be able to access the Shadowbringers dungeons, Pixie beast tribe quests as well as the Bozjan Southern Front, all three of which are excellent avenues of quickly earning experience to level up as fast as possible. Neither job requires you to start the Endwalker MSQ to unlock, so you can level Reaper or Sage to 80 and begin the storyline from there.

The Studium

Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker Old Sharlayan — (Image credit: Square Enix)

Based in Old Sharlayan, The Studium will be your go-to hub for leveling many of your crafter and gatherer classes. Much like the Shadowbringers' Crystalline Mean, each set of quests suits a different discipline, and all feature unique storylines that are worth checking out, offering insight into Endwalker’s new areas.

Square Enix elected not to fix what wasn’t broken with these quests, too. Much like Shadowbringers, you simply need to turn in the required amount of items per quest, with the location differing as you level up. Getting the maximum items required will net you a huge sum of experience, so the Studium is a superb way to quickly get your favorite crafters and gatherers to level 90.

Additionally, performing Studium tasks for the Fisher class will allow you to try out the overhauled spearfishing system. What previously felt somewhat underdeveloped is now a full-fledged minigame with its own UI. It’s now a wonderful change of pace from the more laid-back activity of fishing on land.

Your job's new abilities

Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker Alphinaud being a Sage — (Image credit: Square Enix)

Reaper and Sage may currently be in the limelight, but Square Enix hasn’t neglected the litany of other playable jobs available in Endwalker. Some changes are minimal, as with Red Mage for example, which has received a new finisher, a support ability and some quality-of-life adjustments.

Other jobs, however, have seen huge overhauls, particularly Summoner and Monk. Many of their older abilities have been pruned while adding entirely new actions and generally changing up how these jobs play.

If you’re diving headfirst into Endwalker’s MSQ without first leveling Reaper or Sage, it’ll benefit you greatly, as ever, to read through your job’s Actions and Traits menu to see what’s changed and what’s been added or removed.

Achievements

Final Fantasy XIV Reaper on mount — (Image credit: Square Enix)

Endwalker brings with it an overhauled Achievements menu with a lovely new notebook-style design. Its layout is similar to its Shadowbringers version, but there are some new things to check out when you log in and you’re not quite sure what to do.

The new Recommended tab is fantastic. This offers a selection of four achievements that, can usually be completed in a reasonable amount of time. However, most of these selections are now reserved for achievements that give tangible rewards, such as a new title, mount or minion. And if you don’t like the current selection, you can reshuffle them until you find one to your liking.

It’s a simple feature, sure, but one that should serve most Warriors of Light well in the long run, and could even help you uncover and explore a piece of content you never checked out. There’s a wealth of rewards available here that we didn’t even know were in the game, so we’ll certainly be busy checking off achievements here if we need a break from the MSQ.