FFXIV Patch 7.31 Relic Weapon Guide
With FFXIV Patch 7.31, a new step (or rather, three steps) of the relic weapon journey has been added. Meoni shared a guide on his YouTube channel, breaking down each stage in detail, explaining where to go, what items you'll need, and how best to approach the grind. Let's dive in.
Step 1 – Keeping the Old Ways Alive
You can unlock this stage in Phantom Village if you've completed the earlier relic weapon phases, including the tombstone phase from the 7.2 series.
For this step, you'll be tasked with gathering several items for Gerolt in Phantom Village. These requirements are a clear throwback to A Realm Reborn-era relic grinds, including vendor purchases, crafted items, and a gemstone item.
Required Items
- Dark Matter Alpha, Beta, and Gamma – crafted items (HQ required).
- Rroneek Glue – purchased from Goplu, an independent merchant near the Bayside Bevy in Tuliyollal, for 300,000 gil of FF14.
- Ut'ohmu Siderite – available from gemstone traders in Yak T'el for 600 bicolor gemstones (earned through FATEs).
Crafting Notes
- To make the Dark Matter items, you'll need masterwork XII unlocked. This can be obtained with scrips from Solution Nine or bought off the Market Board.
- Be sure to craft High Quality (HQ) versions—NQ will fail.
- Alternatively, you can skip crafting and buy everything directly from the Market Board (though expect inflated prices early on).
Once you've collected all items, hand them to Gerolt to complete this nostalgic step and unlock the next phase.
Step 2 – The Aetherwell Stage
This stage is essentially a light farming phase, similar to older relic steps but streamlined. You'll need to fill four Aetherwells by running different types of content.
Aetherwell Requirements
Each well requires 10,000 Aether from a specific category:
- High-Level Dungeons (Lv. 50–90 dungeons)
- Alliance Raids (all 24-player raids)
- Trials (via Trial Roulette)
- Normal Raids (via Raid Roulette)
Bonuses and Reset
- Each category grants a large bonus once per day (resetting at your server's daily reset).
- Outside of the daily bonus, the Aether gain is much smaller, making farming inefficient.
- Recommended strategy: log in daily, complete all four roulettes, and log out—this will complete the grind steadily in a couple of weeks.
Example Aether Gains for One Day
- High-End Dungeon: ~278 Aether (+376 bonus)
- Alliance Raid: ~830 Aether (+101 bonus)
- Trial Roulette: ~222 Aether (+614 bonus)
- Normal Raid: ~116 Aether (+614 bonus)
While you can spam content, the daily bonus is by far the most efficient method. For sanity's sake, most players should avoid grinding beyond the bonus.
Step 3 – Tombstones of Heliometry
The third stage, unlocked after completing the Aetherwells, will require 1,500 Tombstones of Heliometry. Rumor has it that this step rewards a new glowy version of the current relic models—adding a glow effect rather than a completely new design.
Final Thoughts
While opinions are mixed (some dislike the Aether grind disparity between roulettes, others appreciate the daily-structured approach), overall, this feels more approachable than past relic grinds like the infamous Atma stage.
If you're aiming for your relic weapon, take it slow—do your dailies, gather your items, and before long, you'll have a shiny new glow to show for it.