How to Level Jobs Fast in FFXIV From 1 to 100
How leveling works in FFXIV
The level cap in Final Fantasy XIV is 100 for every job, gatherers and crafters included. The road from level 1 to 100 runs through the Main Scenario Quest (MSQ): it unlocks the dungeons, trials, zones and roulettes that fast leveling depends on.
Take your main job through the story and pull alternate jobs up separately, combining EXP bonuses, daily roulettes, FATEs and Deep Dungeons. Every 10-15 levels unlock a new way to speed up, so the plan for a session depends on where your job is right now.
The order below is bonuses first, then roulettes, then a route by level range and a separate section on alternate jobs.
EXP bonuses to set up first
Bonuses do not remove the grind, but they cut the time per level noticeably. Some last all the way to 100, others expire at a certain level, so check your job level before a long session.
Rested EXP. Builds while your character is logged out in a sanctuary such as an inn or a city, and gives +50% EXP from enemies, recipes and gathering. It does not apply to quest rewards. A full bar takes about 7 days.
Armoury Bonus. Applies automatically to jobs below your highest one: +100% at levels 1-89 and +50% at 90-100. It works only on enemy kills and FATE rewards, and it multiplies with other bonuses.
Free Company actions. The Heat of Battle I, II and III give +5%, +10% and +15% battle EXP for 24 hours. They require a rank 5 Free Company, you can run two actions at once, and actions with the same effect do not stack.
Food. Any meal with an EXP bonus, eaten before combat, adds a small boost.
Armoury Bonus and Heat of Battle multiply, so on alternate jobs the gap between playing with bonuses and without them is large.
Gear with EXP bonuses
Some bonuses come from equipment and work only up to a certain level. Wear these pieces while leveling, then swap back to regular gear.
Item | Bonus | Up to level | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
Neophyte's Ring | +30% | 60 | Hall of the Novice training exercises |
Friendship Circlet | +20% | 25 | Recruit a Friend campaign reward |
Azeyma's Earrings | +30% | 90 | Dawntrail pre-order bonus |
Azeyma's Earrings apply only to defeated monsters, not to dungeon bosses, and they stack with other EXP gear. Similar earrings from earlier expansion pre-orders also give +30%, but each has its own level cap, so check the item description. The earrings came with a pre-order, so new players usually do not have them: count on Neophyte's Ring instead.
Roulettes and how to spend them
Daily Duty Roulettes give bonus EXP for the first clear each day, plus gil and often tomestones. For leveling the best picks are the Leveling Roulette, Frontline once PvP is unlocked, and the Alliance Raid, Main Scenario and Trials roulettes. High-level dungeon and Expert roulettes are more about tomestones than leveling speed.
A popular approach among players goes like this. New dungeons unlock at odd levels, such as 71, 73 and 75. Until you reach the next one, repeat the highest odd-level dungeon you have and hold your roulettes. Once your level turns even, fire off the roulettes and jump to the next dungeon.
PvP roulettes work for EXP too. Crystalline Conflict matches are usually short and queues are quick, so it is a relaxed way to top up even if PvP is not your thing.
Levels 1-60: story, FATEs and dungeons
At levels 1-15 most of your speed comes from the story, job quests, the Hunting Log and FATEs in the starter zones. There is no need to run separate dungeons yet.
From level 16 the Leveling Roulette and early dungeons join the story. Tanks and healers get fast queues, so it pays to repeat the highest odd-level dungeon and pop the roulette on even levels. DPS queues are longer, and the wait is easy to fill with FATEs and quests.
Around levels 50-60 the Palace of the Dead comes into play. It is a Deep Dungeon where you climb floors with a party assembled through the queue. Floors 51-60 are the classic route for jobs around level 50-60. You need to unlock the entrance in the South Shroud first.
Also remember weekly content like Wondrous Tails: it gives a big one-time EXP reward for activities you are already doing.
Levels 61-90: Deep Dungeons and Allied Societies
Around levels 61-70, players switch to Heaven-on-High. It is a Stormblood-era Deep Dungeon, and the entrance is in the Ruby Sea. By player reports it plays the same role the Palace of the Dead did on the previous stretch.
After 70, Deep Dungeons stop being the main method and the focus moves to Shadowbringers and Endwalker dungeons, roulettes and FATEs. While you wait in queue, run FATEs: Shared FATE unlocks ranks per zone, and Rank 3 needs gold results on 60 FATEs in a zone. FATEs also pay out Bicolor Gemstones, which now cap at 1,500, so spend them before they overflow.
At levels 81-90, Eureka Orthos opens up. It requires the Endwalker story and a Palace of the Dead clear to floor 50. It is a tough mode that punishes sloppy pulls, and it goes better with a prepared group. A calmer option in this range is Allied Society Quests: Arkasodara for combat jobs, Omicron for gatherers and Loporrit for crafters. Exploring Endwalker zones with the sightseeing logs adds passive EXP on alternate jobs.
Levels 90-100: Dawntrail
On the final stretch your main job is easiest to move forward through the Dawntrail story, which gives solid EXP and unlocks dungeons, trials and zones. For alternate jobs, mix several activities, because a single method gets old fast.
Leveling Roulette remains the main daily EXP source for combat jobs.
Frontline gives a solid daily bonus even if you do not enjoy PvP.
The highest Dawntrail dungeon suits tanks and healers, who get shorter queues.
Pelupelu Allied Society. The first quest, "An Intrepid New Enterprise" (level 90), comes from Blue-garbed Pelu in Tuliyollal after the Dawntrail story. Quest Sync scales rewards to your job level, so the daily quests stay useful up to 100.
Pilgrim's Traverse. A Deep Dungeon added in patch 7.35. Players report it forgives mistakes more than Eureka Orthos.
Dawntrail FATEs fill queue time well and pay out gemstones.
DPS queues are the longest on this stretch, so FATEs, Pelupelu quests and Pilgrim's Traverse help cover the gaps between roulettes. Running roulettes daily works out to about 2-3 levels per day, a rough estimate.
Alternate jobs and how long it takes
For alternate jobs the formula is simple: Armoury Bonus, Rested EXP, a Free Company action, food and level-appropriate gear. On top of that come roulettes, the highest dungeon, the Deep Dungeon for your range, FATEs while in queue and daily Allied Society Quests. Old cap dungeons at levels 50, 60, 70, 80 and 90 are a poor main source.
Playing every day, a casual player can expect roughly four weeks from 1 to 100. That is a rough estimate: breaks stretch it out, and experienced players with a full set of bonuses finish sooner. If you are just starting a new character, set up your bonuses and unlock the roulettes first, then begin a long series of runs.
One rule works at every level: do not lock yourself into one method. Story, roulettes, dungeons, FATEs and Deep Dungeons all pay EXP differently, and switching activities keeps your pace up.