FFXIV Phantom Weapon Relic Guide

So you want the new Dawntrail relic weapon, also known as the Phantom Weapon. The short version: you need level 100 on a Disciple of War or Magic job, the Dawntrail main story finished, and the Occult Crescent quest “Unfamiliar Territory” completed before anything else happens. Once that is done, the whole grind opens up, and the first weapon you get is called Penumbrae, sitting at item level 745. Not the flashiest number in the game, but a very solid stepping stone.

Unlocking Occult Crescent

Before you can even think about a phantom weapon guide, you need to unlock the zone that holds it. Head to Tuliyollal and pick up “One Last Hurrah” from the Expedition Messenger. A few cutscenes later, congratulations, you now have access to Occult Crescent, a 72 player field zone that plays like a spiritual sequel to Eureka and Bozja. Finishing the intro chain unlocks Phantom Village, your main hub for everything relic related. You can come back to it any time through the passage on the Tuliyollal pier.

Starting Arcane Artistry

Once inside Phantom Village, the actual how to get phantom weapon ffxiv process begins with a quest called Arcane Artistry, picked up from an NPC named Lydirceil. She sends you off to track down a rather unmotivated weaponsmith called Gerolt, who conveniently becomes the person who forges your weapon later. Talk to him, sit through a cutscene, and the real grind starts: collecting demiatma.

Farming Demiatma

Demiatma farming is the part everyone complains about, and fairly so. You need eighteen demiatma in total, three each of six different types, before you can hand them over to Gerolt. These drop from Fates and Critical Encounters inside Occult Crescent, and also from Fates scattered across the regular Dawntrail zones. Handy if you still have an alt job sitting at level 90, since fate parties are currently very active and levelling alongside this grind costs you nothing extra.

Do not overfarm one demiatma type. Anything past the third of a kind is simply wasted, since only three per type actually count toward the quest. Spread your grinding around instead of hyperfocusing on whichever fate happens to be up.

A common question in any occult crescent fates discussion is whether it is worth doing critical encounters instead of plain zone fates. Both give demiatma, and critical encounters tend to reward more per completion, but the drop is still random. A good approach is to run general Occult Crescent content first for variety, then switch to targeted zone fates once you are three away from completing a specific type. If gil or job levels matter more to you than the weapon, just fate grind from the start instead.

Bicolor Gemstones On The Side

While you are out there farming, you will also pick up bicolor gemstones as a side effect of Occult Crescent content. These stack up fast and can be exchanged for gem vouchers, one voucher per one hundred gemstones, which sell for a solid chunk of gil on most servers. Not the main point of the grind, but a nice bonus while you wait for your last demiatma to drop.

Forging The Phantasmal

Once Arcane Artistry is finished, the second quest, Forging the Phantasmal, is refreshingly simple. You need to buy three Arcanite from an NPC named Ermina in Phantom Village, each costing 500 Tomestones of Heliometry, for 1,500 total. Deliver those to Dodokkuli and your Phantom Weapon Penumbrae is officially yours. Any additional weapons for other jobs skip the demiatma step entirely and only need this tomestone purchase, since demiatma collection is account wide and only ever needs doing once.

Farming Tomestones Of Heliometry

Naturally, the fastest way to grind tomestones of heliometry becomes the next obsession. Raid trains are still the gold standard, with a full weapon obtainable from a single well organized morning or evening run. Expert dungeons and level cap dungeon roulettes work too, especially with an undergeared party since most current jobs steamroll older content anyway. Each critical encounter inside Occult Crescent also grants twenty tomestones, so combining relic progress with weapon grinding in the same zone is efficient. PvP matches award tomestones regardless of win or loss, which is a fine option if queue times do not bother you.

Final Tips

As far as dawntrail relic weapon tips go, the biggest one is this: treat the demiatma phase as the priority, since it is the only part that cannot be bought or repeated later. The tomestone phase, by contrast, can be chipped away at gradually through content you were probably doing anyway. Occult Crescent also drops armor sets that are genuinely strong if your savage gear is incomplete, so there is more reason to stick around than just the weapon itself. Take your time, enjoy the grind while it lasts, and your Penumbrae will be sitting in your inventory before you know it.