Eureka Beginner Guide

Getting Started

Getting started in Eureka can feel really overwhelming! Here, we have compiled information and tips on the unique mechanisms in Eureka so you are equipped with the necessary knowledge going in: Weapons Progression, Gear Progression, Magia Board, EXP gain buffs, etc. Want a TLDR? Find our infographics here!

Visual Guide - Fundamentals of Eureka

Thank you E-Peiru for the guide and Luin for translation!

Detailed Guide - Fundamentals of Eureka

Elemental Level (EL)

This is your level within all of Eureka which is separate from your class level. Note leveling within Eureka does not contribute any experience points towards your class levels outside of Eureka. Please be careful when engaging enemies more than 1 level above you as enemy attacks hit significantly harder as the level gap increases!

Levelling with friends

Players are awarded lesser EXP the larger the EL gap between you and the highest EL player in the party. If you are 8 or more levels lower than the highest level in your party, you will not receive any exp. Try to group up with players that are around the same EL as you. Please note that each Eureka zone has a maximum level cap, any player above the level cap will sync to it!

Note: There is an experience point gain reduction when killing mobs as a party. You receive half experience when in a party of two and 40% experience when in a party of three or more. This is usually not an issue as you offset the penalty by killing mobs faster or leveling in harder zones.

Death Penalty

IMPORTANT: From EL11 onwards, if you release and return to the main aetheryte after dying, you will lose ~25% of your current level's total experience points required to move up to the next level. If this exp loss will bring you below 0, you will level down. Always use shout to request a raise using the auto-translation dictionary, and remember to thank your savior after! 

Notorious Monsters (NM) Fates

These are special enemies fought as Boss Fates in each instance. Participate in as many as possible if you can reach them and they are not above your EL level! The fates award massive amounts of exp, as well as zone-specific crystals that are used to progress your Eureka weapon and/or armor. 

Notorious monster fates (NM Fates) only have a chance to spawn when specific mobs are killed. This number is random and there is no information on how many are required to kill in order to trigger the NM Fate. 

In addition, some NM fates are weather restricted, or the mob required to spawn only spawns at night. You can check the trackers at https://ffxiv-eureka.com/ for a full list of all the requirements!

Note: Once a notorious monster has spawned, it will not spawn again for at least 2 hours (weather permitting) regardless of how many of its mobs have been killed prior.

You can use shout to request a party invite. Example:  "/sh ノ" or "/sh o/"

Note: We do not pay attention to the "LFP" status in your search info.

Understanding NM pull times

NM pull times are usually called referencing the remaining time of the NM. An NM fate timer always starts at 3000 (30 minutes) and counts down to zero. Most NMs are called within the 2800 or 2700 range to allow time for other players to travel to the NM. For higher rarity NMs or those that are located in harder-to-travel areas, the pull time may be set at 2600 or shorter, e.g. 2500, etc.

For example: "/sh EL35 <pos> 2730"

Instance Trackers

Wherever possible, it is highly recommended to maintain a tracker for the NMs in your instance to ensure you are up to speed on the remaining cooldown time for NMs that have been spawned. Handy tool: https://ffxiv-eureka.com

If your instance has been active for some time, check if there is an existing tracker being maintained by asking in /sh chat. Please note having the URL will only provide you with read access, you will also require the password to be able to edit the tracker.

For example: "/sh {timers} {Do you have it?}"

Basic Starter Set

With regards to gearing for Eureka, you can invest in 2x Cryptic Seals or 3x Damascene Cloth (depending on the job you intend to play). These items are drops from the Baldesion Arsenal and are tradeable. As such, they can be obtained via the in-game marketboard or player exchange. You can then exchange them with the <Nostalgic Fellow> NPC at Kugane, Pier #1 for a Kirin Osode or the Vermillion Cloak chestpiece.

These chestpieces are Best-in-Slot for most classes at Eureka end-game, and also the only piece of equipment with the special Eureka-only Elemental Bonus stat obtainable prior to completing the end-game duty Baldesion Arsenal. As they are also ilvl 300, the effects do not sync down and thus you can pentameld materia on these pieces and profit!

If you have the necessary resources, i.e. gil or friend networks, it is highly recommended (albeit optional) to acquire the chestpiece for your preferred job at the start of your Eureka journey since you will benefit greatly from it the entire way through (especially in the first two zones of Eureka which are often the "slowest").

Kirin Osode


Obtained by: x2 Cryptic Seal
Applicable to tanks, melee DPS, and physical range DPS

Vermillion Cloak

Occupies both Body and Head Slot


Obtained by : x3 Damascene Cloth
Applicable to healers and caster DPS


Eureka Potion

Grants a powerful healing over time effect that lasts 40 seconds

Obtained by: Lockboxes, Expedition Provisioner

Potion of Harmony

Grants Elemental EXP Bonus: +10% for 60mins (HQ: 90min)


Obtained by: Crafting / MB

Weapon Progression Path

Antiquated → Base  → Base +1 → Base +2 → Anemos → Pagos  → Pagos +1 → Elemental → Elemental +1  → Elemental +2 → Pyros → Hydatos  → Hydatos +1 → Base Eureka → Eureka → Physeos 


Gear Progression Path

Magia Board 

You unlock your Magia Board in Anemos. This is one of the primary features of Eureka which grants a significant buff to your offensive and defensive capabilities in all the Eureka zones. Completing the story quests from Krile in Anemos will reward you with magicites. These magicites can be placed in your Magia Board via the Magia Melder device at Anemos base camp. 

The number of magicites acts as a multiplier to your elemental bonus which impacts your damage output and survivability. 5 offensive magia doubles the amount of base damage you do inside of Eureka, while 5 defensive magia halves the amount of base damage that you receive from the specific element. 

You can change your Magia Board configuration at the Magia Melder device located at the base camp of every Eureka zone and at the waiting area in the Baldesion Arsenal.

Click on your board in the middle to spin your board! Alternatively, you can access subcommands via the enemy's HP bar and select the offensive or defensive magia setting. This will automatically spin the board to the appropriate element.

Be aware that it will cost you 1 magia aether (MA) each time to switch elements on your board (max 5 MA). You can replenish your MA charges to max instantly by interacting with any Magia Melder, or allow it to recharge slowly with the passage of time (this can be sped up with the Refresh L logos action). 

Recommended magia configuration: 

5 offense / 0 defense > Max damage output

4 offense / 1 defense > Greater survivability, less damage output than the above

*For 7 magicite configuration, please refer to Veteran Survival Guide.

Useful Magia Board Commands

The following chat commands can be used to automatically spin your magia board depending upon your current targeted enemy and desired configuration. (Click the links below to navigate to the eorzeadb for more information about the commands). 

/magiaauto (this will cycle between offensive > defensive > OFF with each use)

/magiaattack

/magiadefense


Magia Melder

Magia Board

Elemental Affinity

The elemental affinity of an enemy can be identified by observing the icon next to their name. This will help you identify the appropriate elements for your magia board to increase your damage output (offensive magia) or strengthen your defenses (defensive magia) against the enemy.

To have higher defense than the enemy that is attacking you, you need to attune to the same element.
Example: I am attacking a Stone enemy, I will attune to Stone to boost my defenses.

To deal greater damage to an enemy target, you need to refer to the arrows on your magia board (refer to image).
Example: My enemy target is Fire, I will attune to Wind to increase my DPS.

[Quick Reference Guide] Magia Board Element settings:

Elemental Fairy

Each Eureka zone has their own Fairy named after them. Fairies cast an AOE buff when a player is within range. Standing in the AOE grants you a +ATK, +Regen and Elemental EXP boost. Note players who have an active Fairy buff will not be able to trigger a new cast to refresh their buffs until their existing one wears off.

There are generally 2 to 3 fairies active in any given zone, up to a maximum of 3. They can cast their buff a maximum of 11 times, with the final cast having a significantly larger AOE. Up to three Elemental Fairies will respawn after 1 hour from when the first buff is cast by any fairy in the zone.

Basic Instance Courtesy and Pug Rules -  Elemental DC

[IMPORTANT While the general guidance contained in this section of the guide is applicable to all data centers, note that the auto-translation usage is primarily applicable only to Elemental. Other JP data centers like Mana and Gaia may not use (or understand) auto-translate messages.

In this section, "{}" denotes that something is an auto-translate phrase and is found by typing the phrase and pressing tab.]


As Elemental is largely still a JPDC, we strive to bridge the language barrier by extensive use of the auto translation dictionary. This can also mean that some words/phrases we use may not necessarily mean the same thing when translated in game (example provided below). For more accurate translations, please refer to our CA EN-JP Thesaurus.

General tips

Pull Time Courtesy for NMs

Note: Most NMs will level sync and only aggro players within the level sync range. Be cautious when lower level as NMs may have a wider aggro range than you expect.


Requesting for a party

Request for raise 

Eureka Instances

Eureka has 4 different zones: 

Each zone has a different map, environment, loot table and ways of levelling.

Resource Farming Methods

Reflect Farming

You unlock Logos Actions in Pyros and Hydatos. One of these logos actions, [Reflect L], reflects any magic damage dealt to you back to the attacker. You can remove all equipped gear to increase the potency of damage being reflected, which leads to faster kills. This results in a very handy trick that allows for speedy leveling and logogram farming. Please exercise caution: this method also makes you a lot more vulnerable to other enemies if you get into their range/sight. 

For more information on Logograms and Logos Actions: Please refer to our All About Logos guide.

Mutation / Adaptation Farming 

Once you enter Pagos, you will be introduced to these new features: Mutation and Adaptation. Once engaged in battle, Pagos and Pyros enemies can cast Mutation / Adaptation by chance and Hydatos enemies will always perform the cast under the correct conditions. These conditions are dependent on the weather and time of day.


Adaptation enemies do not change elements after finishing the Adaptation cast, and grant higher EXP when defeated. Note there is no special loot from killing these.


Mutation enemies will switch elements after mutating, and will grant higher EXP upon defeat, as well as a chance for a special lockbox to drop. These lockboxes tend to have higher value rewards:  

Note: White Mages are not recommended when farming mutations as Holy interrupts their mutation process.

For an extensive list on the Mutation / Adaptation prerequisites:
Please refer to https://eureka.fernehalwes.org for an interactive UI with some missing information.
For complete information please refer to: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Z3sDux_-UTf9LQ0DYuKvemXKP4DLK4K34Rtn72mAmpY/edit?usp=sharing

Chain Bonus

If you continuously defeat enemies of the same level or higher within a time period, there will be a chain bonus. The higher the chain bonus, the more exp and drops you receive. After the max of Chain 30, it will reset back to 0.

Bunny Fates

In Pagos, Pyros & Hydatos, there are NMs that award you a bunny that can guide you to the loot once you have successfully cleared the NM. These bunnies guide you to three different grades of coffers: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Upon locating and discovering these coffers, you will be rewarded with Gil as well as potential rare drops such as minions or logograms. 

Please be careful to not have your bunny take damage from enemies! They have a low HP pool and if they die, you lose your chance to find the treasure coffer.

Mutation Farming Cheatsheet

This is a flowchart that lists the mobs that you should typically target when mutation farming.

Locations of the mobs can be found at on the detailed maps in the zone's section of this guide (links below):


Special Lockbox Drop List

「Pagos」 Cold-Warped Lockbox

「Pyros」 Heat-Warped Lockbox

「Hydatos」 Moisture-Warped Lockbox

Challenge Log

The Challenge Log for Eureka rewards the most amount of EXP. It resets every week, so try to clear them each week while you are leveling, or plan out your leveling path for each level! It is recommended to save the Challenge log if you are near the EL level cap to unlock the next zone!