FFXIV: What Should You Do With Old Gear?

Rushing through the loot-riddled world of Eorzea, you often find yourself with a pile of equipment quickly occupying all the space in your Armory Chest.

Managing your inventory can be one of the more difficult challenges for both fresh and veteran Warriors of Light alike.

Being aware of all your options for your seemingly outdated gear, aside from a trashcan, will keep your adventure from being derailed.

No one wants to put a quest to save the world on pause just to organize a massive collection of hats…

So here’s our tips on what you can do with your old gear when it’s time for a little spring cleaning.

Keep Gear for Alternate Jobs

You can swap between Jobs in FFXIV, and level them as you please.

So it’s a good idea to check your old equipment just to see if you could use it in the future.

Jobs can even be added by surprise, like the addition of Blue Mage.

Tanks, Healers, and DPS all generally share gear (aside from a few specific sets).

Holding onto them can keep your Item Level (ilvl) relevant, that way you don’t find yourself locked out of duties from meeting minimum requirements.

Dungeon gear specifically is worth keeping, because it fills in the odd levels while crafted equipment can fill out the even ones.

The actual best sets to keep are what would be considered “end game” during their respective Expansions.

They provide the highest ilvl at that particular cap, and can last you comfortably through long stretches of quests and dungeons.

These are usually purchased with a weekly or capped currency called Tomestones, acquired from any Duty that’s level 50 or above, in addition to Daily Roulettes.

Saving those level 50, 60, 70, and 80 sets is a fantastic way to conserve space, especially as they add more Jobs in the future.

Spirit Bond Gear for Materia

All your equipment, whether you’re crafting, gathering, or monster slaying, will acquire a stat called Spiritbond.

Different duties and zones can have varying effects on the rate it accumulates, but the result is the same.

Upon reaching 100%, opening the sub-menu on a piece of equipment will allow you to Extract a piece of Materia, resetting your Spiritbond to 1% in the process.

Some equipment (particularly Crafting and Gathering sets) is worth hanging onto because of how valuable it can be to Spiritbond them.

Depending on the Gear, you’ll end up with a different type of relevant Materia.

Gathering equipment will give you Materia that affect the stats of that Job, and the same stands true of Crafters and Disciples of War or Magic.

FFXIV Materia, in Final Fantasy tradition, can be slotted into your equipment to provide bonuses relevant to that Job – like Spell Speed or Critical Hit.

If you find yourself with a pile of Materia that is unusable, you can always take a short trip over to Mutamix Bubblypots in Central Thanalan.

There, you can play the Transmutation lottery.

For every five pieces of Materia you provide, you’ll get a different one in return.

Sometimes it can be even of a higher grade.

This can be especially useful when you’re trying to get specific stats onto your gear.

Desynthesize Gear for Materials

Once you hit level 30 in any Crafting Job, you can pick up the quest “Gone to Pieces” in Ul’dah.

Once completed, Desynthesis becomes available from the sub menu of almost any item in the game.

Desynthesis has several benefits, but it basically allows you to break down many of the items you come across into usable materials for Crafting.

Some of these are exclusively required for Quests.

This can this save you a bit of Gil when you’re in need of obscure or difficult to obtain materials.

It also increases an independent Skill, which at higher values allows you to receive even rarer materials in return for your efforts.

As of Patch 5.55, weapons received from Trials can even be broken down into rare Boss-specific components.

Those weapons can then be used in special recipes to make more extravagant versions of the weapons with special effects.

The only thing better than a fancy sword is a fancy sword that also emits lasers.

Turn Gear Into Your Grand Company

Around level 20 or so in the Main Story, you’ll join a Grand Company.

And you can then begin the arduous task of working your way up their Ranks.

There are many benefits to this, such as access to special gear, or a cool hat for your Chocobo.

The best returns come from achieving Sergeant Second Class, when Expert Delivery becomes available.

Expert Delivery allows you to turn in requested items (or random gear you have laying around) for Seals, or Crafting and Gathering Experience Points.

Seals can be spent at your Grand Company to purchase a myriad of useful items:

Free teleport tickets, Venture Coins (a currency used for your Retainers), special crafting materials, and even more gear to name a few.

Of special note, the items requested for the daily Supply and Provision Quests reward tons of Experience Points to the relevant Disciple of Hand or Land.

These reset every day and scale with your level, always giving you a huge chunk of Experience for the corresponding Job.

Turning in a High-Quality item even further boosts the Experience reward.

So even if you are just dipping your toes into the Crafting and Gathering pond, these are an excellent way to level quickly.

Put Gear on your Retainer to Increase Their iLvl

After hiring your Retainers, you’re also granted access to their invaluable 175 inventory slots (each).

The benefits don’t end there, though.

They also have several other functions that players can often overlook.

By providing your Retainer with a Venture, you can assign them various duties.

This could be rifling through the void for random items, such as fish (mostly fish) or unique dungeon-specific equipment, or high-value house furnishings.

The way to get the most out of your Retainers as they level is to keep them using at least reasonable gear.

Your Retainer’s ilvl corresponds to getting better rewards from their Ventures.

Specific level ranges have corresponding thresholds which maximize the number of materials you receive.

A terrific way to make sure your Retainers are up to snuff is sticking your old gear on them.

A Retainer’s Job shares its maximum level with yours, so if you’re only a level 5 Thaumaturge but a level 80 Dragoon, it’s better to have them as your highest Job.

Disciples of War and Magic have different Ventures available to them, as opposed to Disciples of Hand or Land.

Store Gear in Your Glamour Dresser or Armoire

Love the look, but need the space?

Before throwing your beloved favorite blouse out, take a trip to your local Inn.

Every major city in the game has one. In there, you can retire to a personal room filled with all your stashes.

The Armoire allows you to store any piece of equipment that you’ve received from a Seasonal Quest or Promotion, like purchasing a Collector’s Edition.

In addition, it can also store a very limited amount of Job gear. This is useful for squeezing out the most of your in-game space, albeit with certain limitations.

Although the true prize here is your Glamour Dresser, offering a whopping 400 slots for all your e-hoarding needs.

It can store any piece of equipment, and it provides you with access to your favorite outfits via Glamour Plates.

Glamour Plates can quickly apply a saved look onto a new gear set to keep you looking fresh.

Not only that, but gear can be pulled out of the dresser freely for regular use – allowing you to keep your inventory uncluttered.

Turn Gear into a Crafting Levequest for Experience

Levequests are repeatable quests available at almost every City or Settlement in the game.

And once unlocked, these can provide you with a quick burst of Experience Points while you’re rifling through your bag to make space.

Players gain 3 Levequest Allowances per 12 hours, and they stack up to 100.

Unless you’re binging these Quests, you’ll likely always have some available.

And while not every piece of Gear has a corresponding quest, many do.

The Leves come in batches every 5 levels, and are available for every corresponding Disciple of the Hand.

Turning in High Quality equipment is especially efficient here, as it provides double the experience.

Since weapons are exclusive to Jobs, keeping an eye out for Leves requesting them is a good rule of thumb, should you be on the crafting grind.