Minfilia Guide: The Most Complex Character in Final Fantasy XIV

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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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Minfilia from Final Fantasy XIV is an enigma, and with each patch, the mystery deepens. She is one of the most important – if not the most important – NPC in the entire game. That said, her arcs and backstory can be quite confusing, which is why I decided that a Minfilia guide is exactly what this world needs.

If you bought a story skip, then this guide may help you find out what happened with Minfilia up until the expansion you are now playing. After all, watching cutscenes at the inn will take hours. So don’t feel bad if you prefer to pick and choose what you learn about. Final Fantasy XIV can be played in whatever way suits you. 

SPOILER ALERT: If you haven’t played through the expansion noted below, then do not read it unless you are cool with spoilers. 

Minfilia Background – version 1.0

• Race: Hyur
• Clan: Highlander
• Class: Miner, Oracle of Light
• City of Origin: Ala Mhigo
• First Appearance: Version 1.0

Minfilia didn’t always go by that name. She was born Ascilia to an unnamed mother and her father, Warburton. She was later adopted by F’lhaminn, a renowned singer in Ul’dah. When she was Ascilia, her father died – soon after falling into a coma – when he saved her from goobue tramping through the streets. F’lhaminn – who had been present when the rampage occurred – took Ascilia in, renaming her Minfilia.

The adventure in version 1.0 first meets Minfilia when she senses that, like her, the adventurer can use the Echo. Together, they attempt to take down Garlemald, but are not strong enough. Minfilia decides to band together with the beast tribes and is told to wait for “the one who bears the light” and can use the Echo.

Minfilia – A Realm Reborn and Beyond

Minfilia plays a huge role in the Final Fantasy 14 storyline. The role she plays is most dominant in the first expansion and gets less dominant as time goes on. However, the prominence she has in A Realm Reborn makes up for her irrelevance in some of the other expansions. 

A Realm Reborn

In A Realm Reborn, Minfilia is first seen in the Waking Sands, the Scions of the Seventh Dawn headquarters. It is revealed that the Scions were formed to deal with the Primals and help the Grand Companies defeat the Garleans. The Warrior of Light is told to visit Minfilia because the two share the ability to use the Echo.

Minfilia sends the Warrior of Light on many quests in A Realm Reborn as she is the leader of the Scions at this time. Soon enough, the Waking Sands is invaded, and the Scions are captured and taken to Castrum Meridianum. This is part of the longest series of dungeons in the game.

Each one has unskippable cutscenes. As the leader of the Garlean team that attacked the Sands escorts the Scions, Minfilia states that if anyone is harmed, she will kill herself. She says this because the Garleans wish for her to be alive so that they can study the Echo.

The Warrior of Light and a few other Scions rescue Minfilia and the others. They then take down the UItima Weapon – a Garlean tool – and then relocate to Revenant’s Toll in Mor Dhona.

As they are near where Minfilia’s adoptive mother, F’lhaminn, lives, the Warrior of Light tracks her down and brings her to Minfilia where she can be safe. While Minfilia is packing, she meets the Ascian Elidibus. He tells her that the Echo could end wars and is a gift.

For the next few trials and conquests, Minfilia can’t stop thinking about what Elidibus said. She witnesses a Sahagin priest avoid death by transferring his essence into another Sahagin. The essence then seems to transfer to a Primal, Leviathan. After seeing this, and defeating Ramuh, Minfilia and Urianger discuss the Echo further. They believe that if they can trap Ascians in the tangible world, they may be able to slay the beings they once thought to be immortal.

After allying with Lord Aymeric of Ishgard, the Scions defeat another Primal. But soon after, the Ascian Nabriales kidnaps Minfilia. A Scion warrior Moenbryda sacrifices herself to save Minfilia, much to Minfilia’s dismay. After putting on a brave face and defending Ishgard, Minfilia attends a celebration in Ul’Dah.

…Continue reading more about Moenbryda

However, the Grand Company they had just formed, the Crystal Braves, betray the Scions when they assassinate Nanamo Ul Namo – sultana of Ul’Dah. The Braves frame the Scions for the crime, forcing the Scions to escape the city.

Every Scion aside from Minfilia and Warrior of Light stay behind to ensure the two escape. However, as Y’shtola Rhul casts a spell to bring the Warrior of Light and Minfilia to safety, Minfilia gets trapped in the flow. Minfilia ends A Realm Reborn stuck in the Mother’s Crystal realm in the Aetherial Sea. She then becomes the Word of the Mother.

Heavensward

With the help of the Scions and Krile, the Warrior of Light discovers what happened to Minfilia. Her body is being used by Hydaelyn, and is now the Word of the Mother. The Warrior of Light is soon transported to Minfilia’s new realm and urges the Scions to defeat Zodiark – the Dark Link to Hydaelyn’s Link- who is the Ascians’ god. Although they are in mourning over losing Minfilia, they respect her wishes and attempt to find and defeat Zodiark.

Following Urianger’s plans, Minfilia soon agrees to travel to the First in order to defeat the Warriors of Darkness and the Flood of Light they wish to release into the world. Minfilia says goodbye and continues into the First, knowing it will likely be the last time she will see her friends.

Shadowbringers

We don’t see Minfilia in Stormblood, but we do see more of her story in Shadowbringers. In the First, Minfilia sacrifices herself to save Norvrandt. She does stop the Flood of Light, and the Minfilia that we know is gone. However, she does become the Oracle of Light.

Because she was the Word of the Mother, she can now reincarnate. She reincarnates fifteen years after her previous vessel’s death. Although she has the power to possess these vessels and bend them to her will, she decides to let the vessels make their own way and take her place as the Oracle of Light.

She temporarily possesses Ryne completely in order to tell Thancred her plans. The plan not only involves allowing Ryne to possess her own body but also to cease to exist so that Ryne can take her place for eternity.

Endwalker

Although Minfilia’s body doesn’t appear in Endwalker, her soul does. Hydaelyn tells the Warrior of Light that she tethered Minfilia’s soul to the Source because she wanted her to find peace. Minfilia’s soul even creates a pathway of crystal for the Scions to use while they are adventuring in the aetherial sea.

Minfilia’s Role in Your Trust

Minfilia acts as a DPS called the Oracle of Light whenever she is in your trust, which is very similar to a Ninja. She can only accompany you on two quests as she is later replaced by Ryne.

Dohn Mheg

• Exp: Shadowbringers 
• Level: 73
• Item Level: 375
• Unlock Quest: The Key to the Castle
• Other NPCs: Thancred, Alphinaud, Urianger, Alisaie

In Dohn Mheg, the team attempts to gain entry into Lyhe Ghiah. The realm you venture into is a “game” of sorts, full of illusions. The first area you enter is a path full of flowers, which had me from the start. In fact, the entire dungeon, bosses included, is gorgeous. I won’t go into detail regarding the dungeon, but you can take either Alisaie or Minfilia with you (or both) as DPS members. 

The Qitana Ravel

• Exp: Shadowbringers
• Level: 75
• Item Level: 380
• Unlock Quest: The Burden of Knowledge
• Other NPCs: Thancred, Urianger, Y’shtola

You can take Y’shtola, Minfilia, or both with you to The Qitana Ravel. The area was once a peaceful place full of magic, but by the time you reach it, the empire is in ruins. After hearing that something sinister hides within the ruins, you decide to travel there to face off against it. 

Minfilia’s Relationships

Minfilia is kind to everyone that she meets, but there are a few characters that she holds dear to her. 

Thancred

Perhaps the most famous relationship in the game is Minfilia and Thancred. Although they are never confirmed as a couple, they are the most shipped couple in the game. The two are perhaps more like brother and sister, but the exact relationship is never confirmed.

They do love each other dearly. His goodbye to Minfilia is heartbreaking. After her departure, he was never the same again, letting us know just how close they were. He once stated that he would do anything to make her dreams come true. 

F’lhaminn

When F’lhaminn adopts Minfilia, it’s all sunshine and rainbows until Minfilia finds out that her adoptive mother is part of the group that had a hand in her father’s death.

That said, F’lhaminn herself had nothing to do with it. It was believed that she perished in the Calamity, but in A Realm Reborn, we see her return. After the Warrior of Light helps her on a quest, she returns to make amends with her daughter. She is the one who convinces Minfilia and the Scions to relocate to Mor Dhona, where she cooks for them.

In Shadowbringers, F’lhaminn finds out that Minfilia is dead, and she accompanies the Warrior of Light to bury a gemstone of Minfilia’s next to Warburton. 

Warrior of Light

As they both use the Echo, Minfilia and the Warrior of Light have a mutual understanding. They connect like others cannot. However, since the Warrior of Light is player-controlled, the personality and role of the player varies – and thus does the relationship with Minfilia. While her dialogue won’t be affected by your personality, the way that you – the Warrior of Light – feel about her just might. 

Ryne

The relationship between Minfilia and Ryne is a strange one. The two were the same person for so long, and in some ways they still are. But we do see a unique interaction between the two separate beings. In the scene, Minfilia passes her duties to Ryne and ceases to exist in her own control. 

Scions

As the founder and former leader of the Scions, Minfilia felt responsible for each member. She was protective and cared deeply for each and every member who joined them. She was also quick to take anyone in who needed shelter or refuge. 

Minfilia’s Prominence

Minfilia may be the single most important NPC in the first few expansions. She isn’t just the leader of the Scions of the Seventh Dawn, but she’s also the founder. She and Thancred play extremely prominent roles throughout the game. Although you meet Thancred before you meet Minfilia in A Realm Reborn, Minfilia has a deeper connection to everything that goes on throughout the storyline. She merged the Path of the Twelve and the Circle of Knowing, all the while convincing the Beast Tribes to join them. 

It’s safe to say that FFXIV wouldn’t be the same without the beloved Minfilia. If you had a crush on her – or still do – just know that I 100% do not judge you for it. Minfilia is an excellent choice. 

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