If you are new to Final Fantasy XIV, you might be drowning in side quests when you are leveling, but the game doesn't tell you which ones are important and which ones you can put off till later. Here I listed some side quests that are important for you to unlock during your exploration.
There are four things you need to know first:
If your character is at the current level, but you still can't see the quest, then check for your main story quest level. It needs to be at that level too, or beyond it.
If you don't know where to get the quest, you can copy the quest's name and check it on Gamer Escape. It will show you the NPC location and the rewards, typically including EXP, FF14 Gil, and/or items.
I will not mention things you automatically unlock from doing the main story quests or your class and job quests because they are your top priority.
Those quests are only for your first battle class, no crafting and gathering content because you can always get them later.
Level 10
At level 10, you can unlock other classes, not only for those you have seen at character creation but also Rogue, which turns into Ninja later. If you like Rogue, don't miss it out.
Class Change: Unlocked upon completion of first level 10 class quest.
Rogue: Unlocked upon completion of So You Want to Be a Rogue class quest. It is available after completing level 10 class quest.
Level 15
At level 15, you can unlock the Challenge Log, which is super important. It is a weekly log that gives you a big amount of EXP just for doing stuff you'd probably do anyway.
Challenge Log: Unlocked upon completion of Rising to the Challenge side quest. It is available after completing Call of the Sea main story quest.
Optional quests at level 15:
Glamours: Unlocked upon completion of A Self-improving Man or If I Had a Glamour side quest.
Dye System: Unlocked upon completion of Color Your World side quest.
Aesthetician System: Unlocked upon completion Beauty Is Only Scalp Deep side quest. It is available after completing Call of the Sea main story quest.
Level 17
Retainer Access: Unlocked upon completion of The Scions of the Seventh Dawn main story quest. (This is your bank, and it is the way to put things up for sale on the Market Board, this is a way to make FFXIV Gil)
Retainer Ventures: Unlocked upon completion of An Ill-conceived Venture side quest.
- Retainer Ventures are little missions you can send your retainers out to get them to level up. It can take a while for them to level up, so you might as well get started on that.
Palace of the Dead: Unlocked upon completion of The House That Death Built side quest. (A dungeon)
Level 20
Chocobo Mount Access: Unlocked upon completion of My Little Chocobo quest. (Immortal Flames, Maelstrom, Twin Adder). This quest will appear right after you pick your Grand Company through the main story quest.
Level 29
White Wolf Gate Access: Unlocked upon completion of Broadening Horizons side quest.
Level 30
PvP Access: Unlocked upon completion of A Pup No Longer Grand Company quests.
Chocobo Companion Access: Unlocked upon completion of My Feisty Little Chocobo side quest. (You can call out your Chocobo to fight alongside you in the wild world)
Side Dungeons
I recommend that you unlock these side dungeons once they become available. As you were leveling, they can help you with EXP.
Level 35
The Sunken Temple of Qarn Dungeon Access: Unlocked during Braving New Depths side quest.
Level 38
Cutter's Cry Dungeon Access: Unlocked during Dishonor Before Death side quest.
Level 44
The Dzemael Darkhold Dungeon Access: Unlocked during Fort of Fear or Shadows Uncast Grand Company quests.
Level 47
The Aurum Vale Dungeon Access: Unlocked during Going for Gold side quest.
Level 47
Adventurer Squadrons: Unlocked upon completion of Squadron and Commander Grand Company quests. (To unlock the quest, you need to be second lieutenant rank in your Grand Company.)
Adventurer Squadrons are a team of AI bots that will carry you through A Realm Reborn dungeons, and you can level them up. When you are in dungeons, you can sit there and do nothing while they do all the hard work of clearing the dungeon for you, but do not take them through hard mode dungeons.
Level 50
If you own the Stormblood expansion, you can unlock Samurai (The Way of the Samurai) and Red Mage (Taking the Red).
The Hunt: Unlocked upon completion of Let the Hunt Begin Grand Company quest.
Hildibrand Quests
At level 50, there are a type of side quests that are fun, which are Hildibrand quests. You may want to get started on that for a change, and the starter quest is The Rise and Fall of Gentlemen, which is available after completing The Ultimate Weapon main story quest.
Side Trials
At level 50, there are many side contents you can unlock, but for now, you only need to do three of them:
The Bowl of Embers (Hard) Trial Access: Unlocked during Ifrit Bleeds, We Can Kill It Chronicles of a New Era quest.
The Navel (Hard) Trial Access: Unlocked during In a Titan Spot Chronicles of a New Era Quest.
The Howling Eye (Hard) Trial Access: Unlocked during In for Garuda Awakening Chronicles of a New Era quest.
It would be the best if you also do the side quest Legacy of Allag (this is the starting quest for The Crystal Tower raids). It is available after completing The Ultimate Weapon main story quest.
After completing the quests above, you are good to move on to Heavensward.
A Realm Reborn Side Dungeons, Trials, and Raids
These are the side Dungeons, Trials, and Raids in the picture, which you can unlock at level 50, but don't be overwhelmed because you can do them whenever you want.
If you want to do a few of them, I recommend The Lost City of Amdapor and The Tam-Tara Deepcroft (Hard) dungeons. If you wish to do Trials, remember don't do Urth's Fount and any Extreme Trials in Duty Finder, but use Party Finder for them.
Do not use Duty Finder for Binding Coils of Bahamut Raids. It is worth doing it unsynced with some friends, so you can see the cutscene because it is a very important story.
In The End
I hope the information here can help you safely through A Realm Reborn and save your time from doing all the side quests or prevent you from escaping important side quests. You can also bookmark MmoGah News for your future needs and information about important side quests for Level 50-80.