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FFXIV Gils Farming Guide - how to earn Gold in FF14

FFXIV Gils Farming Guide - how to earn Gold in FF14

Complete guide on Gil/Gold Farming in Final Fantasy XIV with detailed descriptions of the most profitable methods

Final Fantasy XIV Gil Farming Guide

Introduction

Final Fantasy XIV, like one of the most successful MMORPGs of all time should, provides you with a lot of ways to socialize, progress your character, quest, discover lore, and of course, earn money (Gil in this case). Money-making methods present in FFXIV vary greatly; some of them require hours upon hours of grind to make them work, while others do not consume even nearly as much of your precious time. However, those faster methods are usually riskier, require lots of experience, and sometimes force you to invest a lot of money at the start. 

This guide aims to describe the most popular, efficient, and interesting ways of making Gil in FFXIV. In order to make described methods easily comparable, we have come up with a point system. It should help you choose the Gil earning activity that suits you the most. Please remember that the Meta Game is fluid and the number of Gil earned by performing any of the below-described activities may depend on the then present state of the game (demand, supply, and all that boring economic stuff that defines the in-game market situation). 

Note: Below-described methods can be mixed, matched and sometimes even used simultaneously for increased profits, as some of them do not offer much on their own, but do not require much time either, making them ideal as additional sources of income.

Point system explanation

We have awarded a maximum of 10 points to every described farming activity in each of the following categories: Time Consumption, Fun Factor, Risk Level, Potential Profits, and Initial and Sustained Investment Needed. You can check the table below for categories explanation. 

Note: Scoring system in some categories may feel unintuitive or reversed, but this is necessary in order to make the Total Score straightforward - it's not a perfect solution, but its definitely the simplest and makes scores clear when you get the hang of it.

Also, please keep in mind that awarded scores are subjective and might vary substantially from your own experience or/and opinion!

Time Consumption - A higher number means LESS time needed for the activity (This category shows you how much time is needed in order to set your Character (or yourself) up for the said activity. Activities that are simpler to set up, and/or less time consuming will get better scores).
Fun Factor - A higher number equals MORE Fun to be had while performing said activity (this is probably the most subjective category, and your opinion may vary greatly. Less repetitive activities will get better scores, but repetitive activities that feel rewarding will get some recognition as well).
Risk Level -  A higher number means LOWER risk associated with the said activity (this shows the probability of losing money/not making a worthwhile profit when performing an activity, don’t get discouraged, however, because the real risk level will decrease gradually as you gain experience).
Potential Profits - A higher number means HIGHER potential profits (this is quite straightforward; it shows how many credits an activity could earn you. Methods that will provide you with more income per hour invested will get better scores).
Initial and Sustained Investment Needed - A higher number means that LOWER initial investment is needed (some of the below-described activities will require a hefty initial investment, while others will just require time; an activity that is expensive to set up and maintain will get a low score in this category).
Total Score - This shows how easy and profitable said activity is overall, the HIGHER the number, the better (keep in mind that this is just an approximate score, and you should choose the farming method that suits your play style and current situation the best; if you are very low on Gil, but have a lot of time, just pick the activity that doesn’t require much investment to begin with, but is a bit more time consuming).

How to earn Gil

The Market Board Flipping
1. The Market Board Flipping
Time Consumption 9 / 10
Difficulty 5 / 10
Risk Level 6 / 10
Potential Profits 10 / 10
Initial and Sustained Investment Needed 4 / 10
Total Score 34 / 50
Description - The Market board is a great source of Gil, and you don't have to craft/gather items yourself to make a profit there! All you need is a large initial investment. You can resell raw materials, items, consumables, etc., or even try to manipulate the prices.

General Strategy - Arm yourself with an excel spreadsheet or a pen and piece of paper (if you like to be old school), and start the slow data gathering process. Search for in-demand items and write down their prices and, after some time, do it again, and again, and again, until you know the exact value of every worthwhile item. The data-gathering part is necessary to minimize risks and maximize profit potential. Of course, you can just go in blind, but that defeats the purpose and leaves you without a Gil to your soul, most os the time. Now, that you have the information, you can use it as a Gil-making weapon. Start to buy items listed on the Market board below the actual value and resell them for their actual price.

Note: Remember that Market board prices are fluid and you are always at risk of losing Gil on some transactions, but if you think, analyze, and keep your head cool, you will always make a great profit in the end.

Tips and Tricks
  1. Know your margins. You have to resell an item for at least a 10% higher price to break even. Margins below 20% are generally not worth it unless large quantities of items (or rare and expensive ones) are involved.
  2. Certain websites track market prices and have vast transaction databases, you can use them to your advantage and skip the data-gathering part (but we still recommend you gather some information yourself, as doing it will let you understand the market much better).
  3. Don't list all your items of a said type at a time, store part of them (or all of them - depending on current price) instead, and post them later. This will allow you to save Gil on fees and prevent market flooding.
  4. Don't rush your auctions, it is better to wait for the prices to stabilize on a reasonable level before creating your auctions. Rush is the worst enemy of steady profit.
  5. Periods, when prices are plummeting down can be a good time for restocking your warehouse with items for future auctions (invest your money and be patient! - the prices will most likely get back up to normal). This may be quite risky, do it only if you have gathered enough data and are reasonably sure that the price will rise again.
  6. Times when servers are more populated (Weekends, Holidays, etc.) are the periods when the prices are generally higher than normal (because more people are buying stuff), sell your stashed items in those periods to maximize profits.

 

Crafting
2. Crafting
Time Consumption 8 / 10
Difficulty 7 / 10
Risk Level 6 / 10
Potential Profits 7 / 10
Initial and Sustained Investment Needed 5 / 10
Total Score 33 / 50
Description - High-Quality Gear is constantly in high demand, take advantage of it and make a good profit by meeting this demand.

General Strategy -  This method requires you to have a High-Level Crafting Class, so it can be quite expensive and/or time-consuming at the start if you didn't level it up yet. The combined price of materials is most of the time much lower than the price of a ready Gear piece, which creates a room for profit. There are two main approaches to this method. First - you gather all crafting materials by yourself. This way you maximize net profit at the expense of time. Doing this minimizes the initial investments and allows you to maximize your profits from gathering. Second - you buy crafting materials on the market. This way you minimize time consumption at the expense of profits. Doing this requires a big initial investment, but if you have some Gil already, you might as well use it to make even more.

Note: Remember about market fees!

Tips and Tricks
  1. Always check your margins and identify the in-demand items, analyzing the market will allow you to concentrate on the most lucrative crafts.
  2. Certain websites can help you track market transactions. Use this to your advantage.
  3. Undercut your competition, but if the price becomes too low - wait. Being patient will allow you to avoid Gil loses caused by market price fluctuations. Undercutting by 1 is the best strategy, as it ensures that the price stays high for longer.
  4. If the delivery fee is higher than the jump cost, you should travel to the city from where an item was placed in order to save money.
Farming Duty Roulettes
3. Farming Duty Roulettes
Time Consumption 4 / 10
Difficulty 7 / 10
Risk Level 9 / 10
Potential Profits 4 / 10
Initial and Sustained Investment Needed 8 / 10
Total Score 32 / 50
Description - Duty Roulettes offer daily rewards, including Gil, Grand Company Seals, and Allaagan Tomestones that can be exchanged for endgame gear.
General Strategy - Go into a Dungeon with a random party, push your way through trash and bosses, and collect your rewards. Roulette rewards are just an addition here, as a lot of the profit comes straight from killed monsters in a form of loot. This method is rather time-consuming but does not have high requirements and can award you with a decent profit if you invest enough time. It is also well-suited for Players who can't stand repetitive tasks like gathering, thanks to its randomized nature. There is no denying that these will also get old after a while, but running through Dungeons will always be more engaging than simple farming. If you like to explore in-game content while also making some profit, this method is a good choice.
Tips and Tricks
  1. To queue for a Random Duty, use the Roulette option in the duty finder
  2. Queuing as a Tank/Healer is often a good idea, as these roles are rarer than Damage Dealers and will often receive the "In Need" Bonus in a form of additional Gil. On top of that, your queue times will be much shorter, as the rest of the party will often be waiting for you. Take advantage of this if you want to maximize your profits.
  3. Queuing up with friends can increase the Fun Factor and make Daily Roulettes a great pretext for socializing with a guild, for example (but also eliminates the "in need" bonus from the equation.
  4. Making Duty Roulettes a daily habit will strengthen your budget significantly and be a worthy addition to your Gil-making routine.
Retainer Ventures
4. Retainer Ventures
Time Consumption 10 / 10
Difficulty 6 / 10
Risk Level 8 / 10
Potential Profits 1 / 10
Initial and Sustained Investment Needed 6 / 10
Total Score 31 / 50
Description - You can assign tasks to your Retainers and send them on missions to collect items for you.

General Strategy - Firstly, you have to unlock Retainer Ventures; to do it, complete "The Scions of the Seventh Dawn" Quest, hire at least a single Retainer and complete 1 of 3 lvl 17 quests in 3 major cities:

  • Limsa Lominsa Lower Deks - "An Ill-conceived Venture (Limsaa Lominsa)" Quest, (9, 11)
  • New Gridania - "An Ill-conceived Venture (Gridania)" Quest, (11.8, 12.2)
  • Ul'dah - Steps of Nald - "An Ill-conceived Venture (Ul'dah)" Quest, (9, 8)

After that, assign a Class to your retainer, provide him with gear, and send him on a Venture. Available ventures are Botany, Fishing, Mining, Hunting, Highland Exploration, Field Exploration, Waterside Exploration, Woodland Exploration, and Quick Exploration. Ventures often get you items that are not worth too much, but the real value comes in numbers and those start to add up after a while. This method, while not too profitable, can be performed unbelievably quickly, which makes it great as an on-the-side moneymaker.

Tips and Tricks
  1. Ventures generate Crafting materials that correspond with the venture type.
  2. The Higher your Retainer's Item Level, the more items he gets during ventures.
  3. Retainers with a Desciple of the Land Class assigned to them benefit from the perception (it increases the chance of obtaining high-quality items).
Gathering
5. Hunting and Gathering
Time Consumption 1 / 10
Difficulty 9 / 10
Risk Level 8 / 10
Potential Profits 3 / 10
Initial and Sustained Investment Needed 8 / 10
Total Score 29 / 50
Description - High-Quality materials are in high demand on the market. Gathering them can be a great source of profit if you have enough time to spare. Become a workhorse of the economy and supply the market with those materials.
General Strategy - This will require you to have a Gathering Class on your character. If you don't have it already, the high time consumption of this method will become even higher (leveling up takes time).  The gathering is the simplest of all available Gil-making methods, but it has some nuance to it nonetheless. The nuance comes from the supply-demand relation. In simple words: you want to gather materials that are in high demand constantly (check the market statistics), as they will sell quickest and for the best price. This means that you should start with research (just like with other methods that involve market usage) and identify the best gathering targets. After the research is complete, it is time to spend hours upon hours farming, because after all, hard-earned money smells the best, doesn't it?
Obviously, for hunting/grinding you want a character with as high DPS as possible to finish off your enemies quicker. You can check our DPS ranking for FFXIV to find out what are the best classes in that manner. This may not directly reflect how profitable playing a certain class is, but it should still give you a general overview how fast certain classes are for PvE combat.
Tips and Tricks
  1. Grand Company levels and quests can be utilized to gather high-grade materials.
  2. The more time spent gathering, the higher the profit. You better make yourself some strong coffee...
  3. Concentrate on items that sell in large quantities, this will allow you to avoid market flooding and make the most out of the auction limit.

END NOTE

Final Fantasy XIV gives you one the most important things when it comes to making a profit in MMOs – the freedom of choice; you are not limited to just one Gil farming method, you can mix and match them however you like to maximize your income and minimize boredom. The activities described above are just the tip of an iceberg as far as possibilities that the game presents go. Please remember that the most important thing is to have fun while playing. If you get bored or tired while making Gil, just take a break and do something else for a bit, or you will get fatigued and may even start to despise the game you loved. Don’t make a second job out of a game, because after all, games should be played for fun.

Please do note that this is an early version of our guide, and we will be happy to receive constructive criticism, that will help us improve it, so leave your suggestions in the comments section below. We also plan to add further Money-making activities to the list in the foreseeable future, so stay tuned.

Pictures used in this article are the intellectual property of Square Enix Co., Ltd.