FFXIV Diadem Guide – A Gatherer’s Paradise

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Emily Medlock

Emily is our resident MMORPG specialist here at Final Fantasy Insider. While she has a soft spot for the FF main titles, it is FFXIV that has truly sank its hooks into her psyche, and as a result, her free time is usually spent grinding away online. Outside of FFXIV, she loves mainstream RPGS and survival games, with Ark Survival Evolved being her main squeeze.

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The Diadem is one of my favorite places in Final Fantasy XIV. As a crafter/gatherer main, the Diadem is where I go to level, relax, and turn up the Spotify volume. I can spend hours chilling and watching the nonsense going on in chat. The Final Fantasy XIV community is the single most positive and least toxic I’ve seen. The people at the Diadem may be slightly absurd, but I’ve never seen a hostile word. The good-natured atmosphere is just one of the many reasons I love the place.

The other reasons? Well, leveling the gatherers helps level crafters, making life in Final Fantasy XIV much more profitable and self-sustainable. Like gardening, another fun hobby of mine in FFXIV. However, that’s a discussion for another day. For now, in this FFXIV Diadem guide, I’ll take you on a journey through the Diadem.

What Is the Diadem?

The Diadem is an instanced area in Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward, in which you must play a gatherer class. The nodes, fish, and vegetation in the Diadem are not the same as those outside the Diadem.

In this instance, there are special materials you gatherer called Skybuilders’ material, each with a particular grade, depending on your level. I think of it as a mini-game within Final Fantasy XIV.

How to Unlock the Diadem

To unlock the Diadem, you must reach the Heavensward expansion and be able to interact with the Aetheryte in Foundation, Ishgard. Since it can be confusing with everything else there is to do in Isghard, let me walk you through the steps.

Step 1: Unlock Ishgard

While this step consists of a few stages, it is part of the process. All you have to do is start the Heavensward MSQ as you unlock Ishgard in the very first quest via Alphinaud. Since you have to complete the entirety of Heavensward before unlocking the Diadem, I’ll leave it at that.

Step 2: Complete “Litany Of Peace”

• Quest Giver – Aymeric
• Region – Foundation
• Coords – x: 13.7, y: 11.3

To unlock the Diadem, you have to complete not only the Heavesward questline, but you also need to reach a certain point in Dragonsong War. Dragonsong War is the Post-Heavesweard questline. The quest Litany of Peace is found at the end of 3.3 and about halfway through Dragonsong War. The quest is straightforward and gives some fantastic rewards, but you have to watch a fifteen-minute cutscene.

Step 3: Complete “Towards the Firmament”

• Quest Giver – Recruitment Notice
• Region – Foundation
• Coords – x: 9.7 y: 11.5

After you listen to Aymeric’s nostalgic story, you can head to the Recruitment Notice in the Foundation. If memory serves me right, this isn’t a person but a post on a Fairy Tail-like board. You interact with it and learn about the Isghardian Restoration project. Then, you visit Thomelin in Brume, an area in Isghard. After doing a simple, but daunting task, you are invited to accompany Thomelin to the Firmament. Finish this short questline, and you are almost ready to dive into the Diadem.

Step 4: Speak To Aurvael de Haillenarte

If you have a Lvl 10 gatherer, the final step is to speak to Aurvauel, located at x: 10.8 y:14. He is the one to talk to each time you enter the Diadem. So make sure that you have gatherer equipment on and speak to him as he will only let you enter if you are a gatherer class.

Leveling Gatherers at the Diadem

The Diadem is the fastest way to level gatherers, from my experience, all the while benefitting your crafters and your gil wallet. I recommend ignoring anything except for the basics at first because you’re going to level fast no matter what. However, before you get started, there’s something you should do if you want to level much, much quicker.

Get Company-Issued Survival Manuals

• Requirement – Private First Class at Grand Company
• Cost – 1,440 company seals
• Location – GC

If you are Private First Class, then head to your Grand Company. If you’re not, then I recommend doing it anyway because, in the end, it will save so much time and benefit your entire game. If you don’t have the seals, do some turn-ins at your Grand Company of dungeon items that you aren’t going to use. Turning in items usually ends up being more beneficial than desynthesizing. However, I keep the higher-level trial items to desynth.

Anyway, once you have the seals and the required class, then buy Company-Issued Survival Manuals as they increase the experience earned from gathering by 150%. That’s definitely worth it, especially since it lasts 18 hours. Just don’t make the same mistake I did and try to activate a gatherer and a crafter one simultaneously.

Ask Your Free Company For a Boost

If you’re in a Free Company, ask in FC chat if there is a boost that someone can activate to make gathering faster. If you can’t get someone to initiate an action like this, don’t worry, the manual is enough.

Start Gathering

Once you’re in the Diadem, gather everything. Gathering in here isn’t different than gathering anywhere else. Meaning, you activate the ability that shows you where the nearest nodes are and then you go to it and gather. Super simple.

Note: don’t leave the Diadem until you use your Aetheromatic Auger. More on this later.

Progressing Through the Diadem

At first, there’s only one option until you get to, I believe, level 50-60. Yes. You can get by with the beginner gear (lvl 10-20) until you are level 50-60. Of course, if you’re also doing levels, class quests, and gathering outside of the Diadem, then you will naturally progress and receive better gear. I highly recommend taking a break every ten to fifteen levels and moving through your gatherer class questline to get better equipment for free. If you don’t do this until level 51, that’s fine. But at this point, new gear is imperative if you want to progress.

Now, I should let you know that if you’re not going to do any crafting, I do not recommend the Diadem for your gatherer. It works great paired with crafters, as the best way to level crafters involves using the items you’ll gather at the Diadem. The combo leveling system with Ishgard Restoration is what I do.

Leaving the Diadem/Appraising Materials

To leave the Diadem, simply leave Duty. Yes, this may be difficult to do, but no, there is no penalty. Just do it. After you do, visit Flotpassant who should be located right next to Aurvael. Flotpassant is the appraiser who will turn your materials into materials that you can sell and use for crafting. Keep appraising until you have appraised all of the materials you gathered as they are useless otherwise.

Advanced Diadem Tips

While the simple steps above can get you through the Diadem with ease, a few extra tips can help you make the most of your time.

When to Use Aetheromatic Auger

You should use the Aetheromatic Auger whenever it is full or whenever you’re ready to leave the Diadem. There will be an icon on the screen you can click or activate to use it on monsters. The creatures will not attack you and will always die in one hit. While there isn’t a “best” creature to use it on, later on, you should save it for the items that you need for your crafters. I won’t go into detail as that could take ages, but I will leave this simple reference to help out.

You can go for the Grade 2 and Grade 3 materials, but I highly recommend skipping to Grade 4 as this is what you need for crafting most efficiently. The other grades not only drop less consistently from monsters, but they also consist of a longer list. In fact, I always approve and sell the other grades rather than use them to craft. The index for Grade 4 items is shorter and used to craft a wider variety of items. In Grade 4, each monster only has one unique material, their Artisanal material.

The Color of the Sky – Weather Conditions

• Red – Umbral Flare – Miner – X: 12.9 Y: 9.7
• Green – Umbral Tempest – Botanist – X: 9.5 Y: 30.3
• Purple – Umbral Levin – Miner – X:33.9 Y: 13.2
• Yellow – Umbral Duststorm – Botanist – X:33.9 Y: 13.2

The prominence of the change in the weather took me a long time to figure out. I didn’t notice it until someone in chat pointed it out. However, it didn’t matter because, at that point, my gatherers weren’t level 70. Level is significant because when the sky changes, special nodes appear that allow you to gather unique materials. But the materials are level 80.

Ask Chat For Locations

Chat is super friendly and will almost always give you a direct answer. So if you need coordinates for a specific monster or node, don’t be afraid to reach out. In-game directions are way quicker than Googling locations, which can get confusing. In chat, they can ping coordinates so that you can mark them and follow them. The ping is excellent if you’re one of the many players who often fly in the wrong direction, getting X and Y mixed up.

Skybuilders’ Scrips Shop – What to Buy?

Skybuilders’ Scrips are one of my favorite currencies for a few reasons. For one, they are where you get some of the most extraordinary items in the game. Secondly, their “resale” value is phenomenal. You can buy almost anything in the shop with the Scrips you earn and will receive a significant amount of gil when you sell it. You earn Skybuilders scrips from approving the materials you get in the Diadem. Here are my top picks for Skybuilders’ Scrips investments.

• Dyes – this is what I buy and sell. All nine dyes sell well, so I recommend looking at the current marketboard prices for each of them right before you spend Scrips. More often than not, I find that the Gunmetal Black and Pearl White dyes have the best value.
• Mounts – there are a few mounts you can buy from the Scrip shop, but not all of them are resealable. They do sell well (I sold them for around 1mil gil each), but you will have to save up scrips to afford them.
• Glam – the Craftsman and Skyworker glam sell well, but I would buy a set first because they are both fantastic for cosplay and simply looking fly.
• Emotes – this is a surprise one for me because I’ve made some of my best returns with them. I did have to watch the marketboard closely and jump through that window.
• Hairstyles – I don’t recommend this route unless you catch a window that would give you a great return. However, it’s worth looking into.

Transitioning to Leveling Crafters

Now, after you get tired of the Diadem, appraise your finds, and then you can visit the Kupo corner. Kupo of Fortune is another one of my favorite things to do. Not only can you make money and level crafters, but you get scratch-off lottery tickets in the process.

Before you start, I recommend following these quick steps.

• Craft or buy HQ Blood Bouillabaisse
• Buy Company-Issued Engineering Manuals from GC
• Get proper gear
• Focus on Phase Four only
• Follow a step-by-step guide on Ishgard Restoration crafting

I won’t explain the entire process as it isn’t directly related to the Diadem, but I will recommend that you look into it. Without this key, the Diadem will feel like less than it was meant to be.

How to Unlock the Pteranadon With Skyward Score

The Disciple of the Hand achievements can unlock an adorable crocodile minion known as Laladile. But there are two item-unlock achievements that you can only get by gathering.

Gathering In the Air

Less than 15% of players have done this, even though it unlocks a tiny T-Rex minion called Malone. But all you have to do is earn 50,000 skyward score points in any Disciple of the Land, aka gatherer class. To check your progress, visit Ludovraint at the Firmament, who should be directly to the left as you enter.

Castle In the Sky

Only about 1% of all players have done this, so count yourself special if you do. You need to earn 500,000 points in every Disciple of the Land and Hand to get this Pteranadon mount.

Diadem FFXIV FAQs

Is the Diadem Worth It?

In my opinion, the Diadem is more than worth it. I wholeheartedly enjoy the leisure time away from trials and dailies. But in the end, it’s all about the quick leveling and gil turn-around. If you’re not crafting as well, then the Diadem may not be your best bet. However, if you level your crafters and gatherers at the same time, this is a terrific time investment that will save you millions of gil that you’d spend buying materials on the marketboard.