How To Get The Xanthos Mount in FFXIV

You can get the Xanthos Mount as a rare drop from “The Howling Eye (Extreme)” Trial. This is the third in a series of fights with the Primal Garuda, but it’s separate from the mandatory Story battles.

“The Howling Eye (Extreme)” is a level 50 Trial in A Realm Reborn. Garuda and her sisters don’t pose as much of a challenge as they used to, since the fight can be unsynced.

Throw up a Party Finder, and all that’s left is for you to win the Loot Roll against your fellow Adventurers.

Unlocking The Lady of The Vortex

Unlocking The Howling Eye (Extreme) is a bit of a process – as most things in A Realm Reborn are.

You’ll find yourself retreading several areas first visited early in the Main Story.

Try to enjoy your walk down memory lane.

The first requirement is to have completed the 2.0 Main Story Quest “The Ultimate Weapon” at level 50. With that out of the way, the majority of ARR’s sidequests open up to you.

Find your way to The Waking Sands (Western Thanalan – Vesper Bay, X:12 Y:14) either via Limsa Lominsa Ferry or by foot.

Chat with Minfilia in The Solar to grab the Quest “A Recurring Problem”. This marks the beginning of the “Primal” series of Quests, which you can view in your Journal.

Run out of the Solar and slightly to the North to find Urianger and your fellow Scions.

Speaking to Urianger will complete your Quest, and allow you to pick up “Ifrit Bleeds, We Can Kill It” from Thancred.

Head to Flame Commander Swift (Ul’dah – Steps of Nald, X:8 Y:9) to discover something unnerving is occurring in Southern Thanalan.

From there, make the trip to Zahar’ak (Southern Thanalan – Zanr’ak, X:35 Y:20) and attune to the Amalj’aa Aetheryte.

You’re then required to complete “The Bowl of Embers (Hard)” before returning to Thancred for your reward.

Papalymo (The Waking Sands, X:6 Y:5) will have your next Quest: “In for Garuda Awakening.”

This will similarly have you talking to an NPC and re-attuning to the Ixali Aetheryte in Natalan (Coerthas Central Highlands – Providence Point, X:34 Y:25).

Complete “The Howling Eye (Hard)” and head back to the Waking Sands.

The penultimate Quest in this series is given by Y’shtola, “In a Titan Spot.”

One final attunement of the Kobold Aetheryte in The U’Ghamaro Mines (Outer La Noscea – The Long Climb, X:24 Y:9) and you’ll be tackling “The Navel (Hard)”.

Your final step after toppling Titan will be to speak with Urianger and complete “Primal Nature.”

This will lead you directly to Vorsaile Heuloix (New Gridania – The Adders’ Nest, X:10 Y:11) to accept “Gale-force Warning” and unlock “The Howling Eye (Extreme)”.

You’re now all set to pluck your horse from this bird.

One final note is that in addition to Xanthos, Garuda has a slim chance of dropping the rare Nightmare Mount, pictured above.

It’s quite a bit rarer than the other ponies – so it may be worth extending your farm if it interests you.

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Judah Brandt

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Judah has been going hard at RPGs for nearing 25 years. From the honest days of the Sega Genesis to the current generation, their lust for experience points is all-consuming. They've been battling the forces of evil in both Vana'diel and Eorzea ceaselessly since those worlds were created, making them an expert on all things Final Fantasy XI & XIV. When not taking long walks on the beaches of Costa del Sol, a real one works just fine. Also loves dogs.

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