With this add-on players will get access to not just new jobs and a whole new area, but also flying mounts, and several new enemies to encounter. With all these new features it can be a little overwhelming and preparing for all of it can seem even more so. Well fear not because I’m here to give a short checklist of things that are necessary and some extra tips to help you prepare for the upcoming expansion. To start this list, I’ll list off the things that are mandatory to unlock the new areas:
1. Have the main story quest completed
This is up to patch 2.55 Before the Fall.
And really that’s it. No really just have the main story quest completed and you will be all set to enter the gates. Now once you get through them that is a whole other story. A lot of major changes are coming to the game and to help prepare for some of them here are a few simple tips:
2. Get the highest item level possible.
This is the most important. Yoshi-P himself stated that when encountering a monster of the same level as you on the field be ready to fight for your life. To me it sounds like some of the mobs will be a little stronger and seeing as how item level will carry over into the expansion, it will be a good idea to stack up now. Currently the max item level is 130 while the character’s physical level is 50. While it is still unconfirmed, the speculated last item level will be around 170 at level 60. Until your character reaches level 54 all armor will have an item level of 100-120 so gearing up now can save a lot of time later.
3. Learn the job you’re going to play.
While this one seems obvious, a lot of players are going to be jumping from their old jobs to the new ones, and at least some of them are going to be switching job roles without any earlier play in that role.
If you’re a bard and want to play dark knight, then play warrior or paladin. If you’re a white mage and want to play machinist, then play as a bard or black mage. While the game is pretty fair in terms of learning your job, the new ones require the player to be level 50 and start at level 30. This 30 level jump saves time in the leveling process sure, but it also drops players into a half-developed job with no former training.
If you’re going to switch roles to one of the new jobs then at least get a similar job to level 30 if you have no prior experience in that role. It doesn’t take long and your future parties will thank you. (At the very least find a training dummy and get that rotation down!)
4. Level a crafting/gathering class.
This is the more tedious of the tips (I’m struggling through this myself) mostly because of the time and gil it takes to level them up, but believe me when I say it is worth it. Crafters make bank! Especially when a patch comes in.
I’ve made 500,000 of a level 20 craft at the start of patch 2.3. Also if your level is high enough then you can repair your own gear as well saving thousands of gil. I would recommend a weapon class (such as blacksmith, or carpenter), an armor class (like armorer, or weaver), and an accessory/ consumable class (goldsmith, or culinarian). This will cover all your repairing needs plus it will help provide you with the gear that doesn’t drop from dungeons. Also look into leveling a gathering class as well to help with the materials you’ll need for your crafters.
5. Level your companion.
You’ll need that bird when going against those super mobs. Trust me.
6. Level all the jobs you can!
When the expansion drops your going to want to have all the experience you can get. I recommend finding a friend who needs some leveling to help the process go faster.
Heavensward is getting closer and closer, but hopefully these tips will help set you on the path to become the hero of Ishgard.
