Introduction to Pilgrim's Traverse in FFXIV

Pilgrim's Traverse has been released as of patch 7.35. The information below is initially based on both the format of prior Deep Dungeons, and information revealed in Live Letters. Aspects of this guide will be updated and information will change as players learn more about the content now that it has released.

Pilgrim's Traverse is the fourth Deep Dungeon players will encounter, with 100 floors (titled 'stones' in this instance) and a level cap of 100. All players will begin at level 91 when starting on Floor 1, and level 100 when starting on Floor 21. You must complete the quest Pilgrimage of Light in order to unlock the duty, as well as have completed the first 50 floors of Palace of the Dead.

Taking on feedback from previous Deep Dungeons and with the intent of changing up the formula, Pilgrim's Traverse differs from prior dungeons in unique ways.

1. In previous Deep Dungeons, players could only restart from Floor 1 or Floor 31 if they suffered a party wipe. In Pilgrim's Traverse, players are now also able to restart from Floor 51 or Floor 71 in the event of a party wipe on later floors.
2. In previous Deep Dungeons, only the first 30 floors could be attempted in a Matched Party. In Pilgrim's Traverse, the entire Deep Dungeon can be attempted in a Matched Party.
3. Weekly Challenge Log entries have been added to Pilgrim's Traverse for clearing floors 20, 30, 50, 70, and 100. In total, these challenge log entries offer 25 Luminous Oil and 5 Sack of First Light each week.
4. Votives will cause special effects to occur on the next floor if interacted with, with these able to be both positive and negative in nature, such as health regeneration for the entire party or hiding the map of the floor.
5. Similar to Magicite from Heaven on High or Demiclone Generators from Eureka Orthos, players will be able to find Juniper Incense inside Silver Coffers, allowing players to summon and gain support from Feo Ul for the current floor.
6. Similar to Eureka Orthos, an additional boss appears on Floor 99.
7. New to Pilgrim's Traverse, the Floor 99 boss can be challenged in a separate 1-4 player duty. The boss can also be powered up by giving specific 'Offerings', up to 8 of each of the 5 types for a total of 40, with rewards increasing with offerings. These offerings can be found in the Accursed Horde, and can also be traded on the Marketboard.

In a Matched Party, there are Mimimum Aetherpool Strength requirements to accessing later floorsets. These requirements do not apply to Fixed Parties or Solo players.

• Floor 21 requires at least 6 Strength.
• Floor 31 requires at least 26 Strength.
• Floor 41 requires at least 43 Strength.
• Floor 51 requires at least 60 Strength.
• Floor 61 requires at least 81 Strength.
• Floor 71 and onwards require at least 94 Strength.
• The Final Verse also requires at least 94 Strength.

Clearing a floorset inside Pilgrim's Traverse rewards players with gil, experience, and Allagan Tomestones of Poetics at all levels. Players at the current level cap are also awarded both the capped and uncapped tomestones currently available.

Upon reaching floor 100, a intractable object can be found. Interacting with this will give all players a book of Illumed Invocations, which can be exchanged for accessories or housing items at Ose Wyd in Il Mheg.

Unlike prior Deep Dungeons, multiple items are available inside Pilgrim's Traverse that can be used to trade for rewards at the vendor. Alongside Illumed Aetherpool Glass Fragments, Luminous Oil and First Light Relics are also available as currency. The method of obtaining these two items is currently unclear.

Reaching floor 99 will also unlock The Final Verse, a unique four-player duty that allows players to practice against and defeat the boss of floor 99 without having to reach the floor again in a save file. This can be enter with either a Fixed Party or a Matched Party.

Reaching floor 100 and completing the quest A Branch and Their Sapling will also unlock The Final Verse (Quantum), a duty similar to the Final Verse save for a new and unique ability to scale the difficulty of the encounter at the will of the players attempting the duty. This duty also requires 4 players to be in a Fixed Party together before attempting it. Higher difficulties will allow for higher rewards upon clearing.

Various Titles will be available from clearing Pilgrim's Traverse.

• Devoted Pilgrim: Clear floor 30 of Pilgrim's Traverse.
• Saint of Sorrows: Clear floor 100 of Pilgrim's Traverse.
• The First Shadow: While wearing the four purchasable Accessories, speak with a specific NPC. This also awards the Chandelier of First Light.
• The Enlightened: Clear floor 100 of Pilgrim's Traverse solo, having started from floor 1 and not recorded a single KO.
• Grief's Anointed: Complete the Final Verse.
• The Mourner of Light: Complete the Final Verse (Quantum).

• Q: What food should I use?
  • A: Use the highest item level food available, as it gives the most Vitality. As of patch 7.35, this food is HQ i740 Mate Cookie or equivalent.
• Q: What healing potions should I use?
  • A: Using a Hyper-potion is recommended as it will restore the most amount of HP.
• Q: Should I use damage potions?
  • A: Damage-increasing Tinctures can be used for a dps boost as necessary. The cheapest HQ Tinctures you can currently buy will be the ones for the current raid tier most of the time, as they have the highest supply. As of patch 7.35, these are Grade 3 Gemdraught Tinctures.
• Q: Is there anything else I need to know about consumables?
  • A: Pilgrim's Potions have their own 15s recast timer. However, all other potions mentioned above share the same recast timer. As damage Tinctures have a 4m30s recast, this means you will be unable to use a healing potion until that timer is done, so be aware of this if you plan to use one.

Pilgrim's Potion are an item that can only be used inside Pilgrim's Traverse. They give the user a health regeneration effect for 30 seconds, and have a 15 second cooldown, allowing them to be permanently in effect if necessary. These potions are extremely helpful in party runs, but are required for survival in solo runs, especially on jobs with few or no other ways of healing.

20 Pilgrim's Potions can be bought with 1 Illumed Aetherpool Glass Fragment from the appropriate vendor in Il Mheg. Fragments can rarely be found inside Bronze Coffers in Pilgrim's Traverse. You also get a guaranteed one after the floor 30 boss.

In order to farm Fragments efficiently, you should enter the dungeon on floor 21 with either a matched party, or a fixed party of four players. From here, defeat the floor 30 boss as quickly as possible in order to obtain the guaranteed drop, though be sure to open any Bronze Coffers you find along the way. Upon clearing the floorset, delete the save file and re-enter, repeating as needed.

If you wish to attempt a solo clear of Pilgrim's Traverse in order to obtain the achievement and The Enlightened title, you should ideally have at least 200 Pilgrim's Potions before beginning. While you may find yourself needing more potions than this across the entire run, you will be picking up more Fragments along the way that can be exchanged for pots between floorsets.

Players will be restricted to the use of an Illumed Aetherpool Arm and Illumed Aetherpool Armour while inside Pilgrim's Traverse. In addition to gaining levels, players must enhance these items as they progress through the dungeon by opening Silver Coffers, up to the cap of +99 for each item.

In order to farm Aetherpool efficiently, you should enter the dungeon on floor 21 with either a matched party, or a fixed party of four players, and open as many Silver Coffers as possible. Upon clearing the floorset, delete the save file and re-enter, repeating as needed.

You can exchange 10 aetherpool from both your Arm and Armour for an Illumed Aetherpool Glass Fragment by talking to Ose Wyd. You can then exchange three Grips (total 30/30 Aetherpool) for an i750 Weapon of the First Light, allowing you to glamour the appearance of low level Illumed Atherpool Arms to regular weapons outside of Pilgrim's Traverse. By later trading in your Illumed weapon, plus an additional six Grips (total 90/90 Atherpool), you can obtain an i755 Sacramental weapon, allowing you to glamour the appearance of high level Illumed Atherpool Arms to regular weapons outside of Pilgrim's Traverse.

Throughout the Deep Dungeon, an intractable object may appear on a floor. These are Votive Candelabras, and interacting with one will cause a unique effect to come into play on the next floor.From Floors 1-30, only beneficial effects will occur, but from Floor 31 and onwards, one of three negative effects can be called instead. It is always worth interacting with for Floors 1-30, and almost always worth interacting with one beyond that, though on the highest floorsets players should ensure that they have a plan for dealing with the possibility of a negative enchantment. Additionally, Votive Candelabras cannot spawn on the last floor of a floorset before a boss.

The tables below list all positive and negative effects that can occur upon interacting with a Votive Candelabra.

While clearing Pilgrim's Traverse with a full party of four players is usually faster, safer and easier than entering alone, clearing the dungeon by yourself from beginning to end is not only possible, but rewards players with a rare title, Unknown, upon clearing floor 100 with no deaths on a run that started from floor 1.

Clearing Pilgrim's Traverse solo relies entirely on a player's individual skill, and can therefore be a welcome change of pace for those who are used to the standard eight player content of Savage and Ultimate raids. However, it is easy for some players to become frustrated or burnt out when attempting to clear, and being able to take a break for as long as needed before returning to the same save file and picking up where you left of is important to keep in mind if you find yourself struggling.

As of before the release of this content, it is expected that the difficulty of this content will match that of other deep dungeons, with some jobs being easier or harder to achieve this feat with. For example, Tanks and Healers will find it harder to stay on pace when progressing through later floorsets, as their damage output is lower than that of DPS jobs which will result in more time taken per floor.

The jobs listed below are likely to be the main standouts at both ends of the difficulty scale for soloing Pilgrim's Traverse.

• Samurai
  • Samurai excels at consistent high damage, able to dash from enemy to enemy in floors and utilise its powerful offensive kit to quickly progress the dungeon. With Second Wind and Bloodbath at its disposal alongside their fast killtimes, it can end up requiring fewer healing potions than other jobs to clear. As of Dawntrail 7.05, the ability to follow up every Midare Setsugekka with a Kaeshi: Setsugekka, while also being able to hold each Kaeshi: Setsugekka for up to 30 seconds, has made the job an even stronger pick for Pilgrim's Traverse offensively, while the healing and sustained mitigation added to Tengentsu has made it much safer to play. This job also synergises extremely well with the new Pomander of Haste, as well as the Mortification effect from Votive Candelabras.

• Machinist
  • Machinist excels at kiting and burst damage, as well as highly useful crowd control in the form of Head Graze, Leg Graze and Foot Graze. Peloton is also an extremely valuable skill for navigation through the floors, as the extra movement speed allows you to traverse floors faster. It also has an extra mitigation tool compared to the other physical ranged DPS in Dismantle, making it even safer.
• Summoner
  • Summoner, like Machinist, excels in kiting and burst damage. Unlike Machinist and most other jobs, it has no gauge it needs to build or resources it needs to manage beyond Fester charges, and can simply chain pull enemies rather than wait for cooldowns to come back before initiating. It also has a strong survivability tool with Radiant Aegis.
• Red Mage
  • Red Mage is a very balanced job to take into Pilgrim's Traverse, with good burst and access to healing in the form of Vercure as well as the ability to Sleep mobs in an emergency.
• Astrologian
  • Astrologian has the lowest personal DPS of all jobs in the game, due to being designed around gaining a significant amount of its power from feeding teammates raid buffs such as its cards and Divination in eight-player raids. As such, it is the hardest job to clear Pilgrim's Traverse with, and needs to make full use of both pomanders and strategies like intentionally stepping on Landmines in order to clear floors fast enough to have a chance of completing each floorset.