Patch 7.41 introduces the latest progression steps for Phantom Weapons in Final Fantasy XIV. MrHappy provided a clear and efficient breakdown of everything you need to know on his YouTube channel, from unlocking the questline to completing the final upgrade. Let’s dive into it.
Short on time? MmoGah’s FFXIV Phantom Weapon Boost helps you skip the grind and progress your weapon faster, so you can focus on the content you enjoy.
Prerequisites: Before You Begin
To start the Patch 7.41 Phantom Weapon step, you must be fully caught up on all previous Phantom Weapon quests. Specifically, you need to have completed and turned in “Wrought by Hands Phantasmal.” Once that’s done, head to Phantom Village and accept the quest “Timeworn Techniques.”
Timeworn Techniques: Required Items
After a few cutscenes, you’ll be asked to gather four items:
- Umbral Clay: Purchased from Tuliyollal’s markets for 500,000 gil
- Aspected Aether Agglomerate
- Aspected Aetheroconductor
- Aspected Aetherocatalyst
The three Aspected Aether items can be crafted or bought from the Market Board. Crafting them requires Master Recipe Book XII, but they are easy to make with current endgame crafting gear, and the materials are relatively inexpensive. Market prices should stabilize quickly on most worlds.
This is a one-time quest — you’ll never need these four items again for future Phantom Weapons. Turn in the items at Phantom Village to unlock the next quest.
In Pursuit of Perfection: Crystal Paste Grind
This quest is the main grind of Patch 7.41. Your goal is to collect Crystal Paste, a new item earned through various activities listed in your Phantom Glass key item. You’ll need a total of 1,200 Crystal Paste, completed in stages: 100 Paste - 200 Paste - 300 Paste - 600 Paste.
Paste is a physical inventory item, and any excess carries over between phases. You can even continue earning Paste after finishing a phase or farm all 1,200 in advance before turning anything in. This grind is also one-time only and will not be required again for future Phantom Weapons.
Crystal Paste Sources
1. Duty Roulettes
- Expert Roulette – 15 Paste
- Level Cap Roulette – 15 Paste
- Leveling Roulette – 20 Paste
Daily bonuses are not required, meaning you can farm roulettes repeatedly. You also don’t need to be level 100 for Leveling Roulette, making this one of the fastest and most flexible options—especially if you’re leveling alternate jobs.
2. Occult Crescent (Critical Engagements Only)
South Horn Critical Engagements – 5 Paste each
FATEs, pots, chests, and The Forked Towers do not reward Paste. Since Critical Engagements appear infrequently (roughly every 8–10 minutes), this is a slower method unless you’re already working on Phantom Jobs or high-end accessories.
3. Deep Dungeons
- Pilgrim’s Traverse
- Final Verse: Quantum
Pilgrim’s Traverse is extremely efficient. Paste rewards scale significantly with higher floors. Floor 80 has been confirmed to reward 26 Paste. This makes repeating floors 71–80 one of the best farming strategies. It’s also excellent if you’re leveling, attempting solo clears, or completing challenge logs.
4. Heavyweight Raid Tier
Normal Raids: Each fight rewards 8 Paste
Savage Raids
- M9S – 10 Paste
- M10S & M11S – 11 Paste
- M12S – 18 Paste
This option pairs well with weekly reclears, Party Finder groups, or players already farming normal raid loot.
5. Doomtrain (Extreme)
You can get 9 Pastes per clear. If you’re still mount farming, the Paste will accumulate quickly—as long as your group avoids excessive wipes.
6. Dawntrail FATEs
You can get 3 Pastes per FATE. A solid option if you’re working on Shared FATE ranks or leveling jobs at the same time.
Fastest Crystal Paste Farming Method (120–200+ Paste per Hour)
Below is an efficient method shared by MrHappy, which is capable of producing 120–200+ Crystal Paste per hour under optimal conditions. This is currently the fastest known farming strategy, though it works best if you have at least two friends to play with.
Form a three-player party consisting of 1 Tank, 1 Healer, and 1 AoE-focused DPS. The DPS should ideally be a job with low-level AoE, such as a physical ranged job or Black Mage. In testing, Bard and Dancer performed exceptionally well due to mobility and AoE efficiency.
One player in the group should temporarily lower their item level by equipping a level 1 weapon, their job soul crystal, and no other gear. If you no longer have access to a level 1 weapon, you can purchase one using Trophy Crystals at the Wolves’ Den. Alternatively, choose a job that naturally has easy access to low-level weapons.
Why This Works
With an extremely low average item level and a party that still includes a tank and healer, queuing into Leveling Roulette will almost always place you into A Realm Reborn–era dungeons. The highest possible dungeon is The Aurum Vale, but most runs will be even faster. You are ideally hoping for Ifrit, Garuda, and Titan. These are by far the quickest clears. Most ARR dungeons can be completed in 5–10 minutes, with exceptions like Cutter’s Cry and Stone Vigil being slightly longer.
Once inside the dungeon, the stripped player can re-equip their normal gear, allowing the group to blitz through the instance with large pulls and heavy AoE damage. After completion, exit immediately and requeue.
Each run rewards 20 Crystal Paste, making this method extremely efficient when repeated.
Execution Tips
- Have the gear-removing player create two gear sets (normal and stripped) and place them on a hotbar for quick swapping.
- Always remember to re-equip gear before pulling, especially in trial-style encounters where combat starts immediately.
- Dancer is particularly effective, as it can thin enemy packs while moving, enabling massive wall-to-wall pulls.
Q1: Why not queue as a full group of four?
When queuing Leveling Roulette with a full party, the game ignores item level restrictions, which can place you into much longer high-level dungeons, significantly reducing efficiency.
Q2: What if I’m playing mostly solo?
Solo queuing while stripped down can still work, but the results are inconsistent. The advantage of a three-player group is guaranteed access to a tank, healer, and AoE DPS, ensuring fast pulls and smooth clears. Without that, dungeon speed depends heavily on random party members.
Q3: What if I have a full group of four friends?
In that case, other methods may be more practical:
- Limited Leveling Roulette (levels 93–99), averaging 10–15 minutes per run
- Pilgrim’s Traverse, especially floors 71–100, which reward 26 Crystal Paste per clear
- Expert Roulette, offering reliable returns at around 10–12 minutes per run
Final Step: Phantom Reborn
Once you’ve turned in all 1,200 Crystal Pastes, you’ll receive the final quest: “A Phantom Reborn.” To complete it, you must purchase 3× Waning Arcanite for 500 Tomestones of Mathematics each. Then, turn them in to finish your weapon. For all future Phantom Weapons, you only need these three Waning Arcanites. The earlier steps are completely skipped. Your completed Patch 7.41 Phantom Weapon will have an item level of 775.
Final Thoughts
This step stands out for offering genuine variety. Between roulettes, raids, Deep Dungeons, FATEs, and field content, players can choose what fits their playstyle best. It works equally well for casual players passively earning rewards and for efficiency-focused grinders targeting optimal routes. Overall, Patch 7.41 delivers a flexible and engaging Phantom Weapon progression that rewards both consistency and choice.
