Gear Progression

Gear progression on Nocturnal Souls works something like this:

Level 1 - 59

Equip and use gear dropped from enemies, bought off the auction house, or acquired through quests. Players can also gain a various leveling gearsets through the Adventure Quest questline. These gear sets are unique to the job completing it; however, many sets, such as those at the low levels, are “job type” based (melee, caster, etc.) and can be used on multiple jobs.

Level 60

At level 60, players can complete the level 60 Adventure Quest and gain access to a fully augmented version of their AF1 (artifact gear).

For subsequent jobs, players can buy additional unaugmented versions of their gear from the Adventuer Coffer next to Trystol using gil. This gear should hold players until they reach level 75 (and beyond, depending on the job).

Level 75

At level 75, players can complete the level 75 Adventure Quest and gain access to a fully augmented version of their AF2 (relic gear). As level 75 was the level cap for the game for a long time, there are numerous unique accessories available at this level that players can farm or craft.

For subsequent jobs, players can buy additional unaugmented versions of their gear from the Adventuer Coffer next to Trystol using gil. This gear should hold players until they reach level 90 (and beyond, depending on the job).

Level 90

At level 90, players can complete the level 90 Adventure Quest and gain access to a fully augmented version of their AF3 (empyrean gear). As level 90 was the level cap while the game progressed through the Abyssea era, there are numerous unique accessories available at this level that players can farm or craft as well as potential offhand weapons, ranged, ammos, and other gear set items.

For subsequent jobs, players can buy additional unaugmented versions of their gear from the Adventuer Coffer next to Trystol using gil. This gear should hold players until they reach level 99 and can begin upgrading the gear into the reforged versions.

Level 99

Congratulations, you made it! Here you begin reforging your prior relic, artifact, and empyrean gear into their final forms as well as build out multiple other sets.

Once players reach level 99, weapons and armor starts having “ilevel” or “item levels” associated to them. The current maximum item level is 119. Accessories do not have item levels to worry about.

This is where gearing gets a bit more confusing compared to other games. Unlike most modern games, as content gets more and more complex and challenging, the item level on gear doesn’t go any higher or get incrementally more powerful. However, the uniqueness of item modifiers, the overall stats of some gear pieces, and the combination of stats change. Final Fantasy XI is a horizontal progression game and aimed at the min/maxer at heart.

Many players find themselves with multiple gear sets–a weaponskill set, a TP/melee set, a fast cast set, a nuking/elemental magic set, etc. Leveraging plugins like Ashitacast or the built-in /equipsets command allows players to build gearsets for individual purposes and that’s where much of the item growth lies in the game.