Players in Final Fantasy XIV can join together for FATEs, which are overworld events.
You may receive money, promotion opportunities, or even just the approval of the company.
However, some FATEs may grant you special recognition or even a small army of minions.
Even in your first few days of XIV, you probably stumbled upon a number of FATEs.
It’s understandable if you missed the system’s explanation because the game keeps popping up tutorial windows.
Full Active Time Event, or FATE for short, is just a more verbose way of stating “group event.”
Completing these challenges can get you some easy experience and gil.
Certain ones, though, will provide more substantial incentives, such as additional dogs or other levels.
Some of them will even be required to advance certain sidequests, such as the absolutely insane Hildibrand plot.
How Do FATEs Work?
If a FATE is happening in your area, the game will let you know.
Events will also be displayed on the map, denoted by blue circles centred on the location where they are taking place.
And the duties associated with them can vary widely.
Some games have you clearing the area of waves of foes.
There are also those that need you to fulfil certain conditions, such as returning an item or delivering a certain item to a specific NPC.
The boss monsters that appear in some FATEs are difficult to defeat without a large group of players.
At the conclusion of a FATE, everyone’s efforts will be tallied and rewarded proportionally.
Let me lay out the levels for you.
The highest possible rating is the Gold Medal. Will provide the player the most gil, XP, and Company Seals that the FATE has to offer.
You need to get the Gold Medal in the FATEs that give out minions to get the reward.
Those who contributed greatly but didn’t quite reach the highest levels of achievement receive a silver medal.
Provides a fair amount of gil, experience, and Company Seals, but no bonuses such as minions.
A modest amount of experience, gil, and a Company Seal are awarded for achieving the Bronze Medal level.
This is what you get if you join a FATE in the middle of the game or haven’t been paying close enough attention.
You can’t get any minion rewards for a Bronze Medal.
An “Honorable Mention” might be awarded in addition to the usual medals.
Last-minute signups often receive these, which offer the smallest potential incentive.
How To Join a FATE?
Just show up at the marked spot on the map whenever you feel like joining a FATE.
If you meet the requirements, membership will be granted automatically.
However, if you are underleveled because of it, your contribution will be given less weight.
The game will need you to level sync down if you are overleveled for a given activity, which is the case early on and quite frequently.
If you are level 50 and want to participate in a level 5 FATE, for instance, you will need to decrease your level to 5 first.
Your health and magicka will be reset to their original values from that time period, and any new abilities you acquire after that point will be unavailable to you.
After the FATE is over, you will receive them all back, so this is merely done to ensure a level playing field.
How To Go For Gold Medals In FATEs?
Just show up at the marked spot on the map whenever you feel like joining a FATE.
If you meet the requirements, membership will be granted automatically.
However, if you are underleveled because of it, your contribution will be given less weight.
The game will need you to level sync down if you are overleveled for a given activity, which is the case early on and quite frequently.
If you are level 50 and want to participate in a level 5 FATE, for instance, you will need to decrease your level to 5 first.
Your health and magicka will be reset to their original values from that time period, and any new abilities you acquire after that point will be unavailable to you.
After the FATE is over, you will receive them all back, so this is merely done to ensure a level playing field.
Which FATEs Are Worth Doing?
The answer to this question is highly context-dependent.
If you’re looking to level up and stock up on gold, the best bet is to complete some missions in the area where you’ve been finding them in the Master Quest Guide (MSQ).
You’ll need to put more thought into your strategy if you want to gain minions or other rewards.
You can view, for instance, a catalogue of FATE-rewarded minion rewards here.
You should take a look, decide the one you want, and then go to the right location.
Even though you’re unlucky now and again, if you keep getting Gold Medals, you’ll obtain your minion in the end.
Can I Level New Jobs By Farming Fates?
Because I usually take on tank duties, I would have to answer no.
In the Duty Finder, queue times are practically nonexistent, and there is no downtime between instances, making it ideal for levelling tank or healer professions.
To level up quickly, FATEs can be a valid option if you’re a DPS class.
I wouldn’t put all my faith in them, and I wouldn’t try to maximise my effectiveness without first consulting a handbook like this one.
Don’t lose your bearings and hope to stumble into them!
Knowing which FATEs to pursue based on your level of expertise is crucial.
And even with the different experience increases the game gives, you’ll still need to accomplish a lot of FATEs to make forward.
Therefore, it is imperative that you opt for the path of least resistance.
If you’re levelling a new career, you may probably be eligible for the Armoury Bonus, which rewards you with a 100 percent EXP boost to any jobs below your maximum level.
Even if you’re hopping from FATE to FATE, you should still queue for dungeons.
At the very least, you should be clearing all your daily roulettes for the experience bonuses they offer.
The advantage of FATEs is that they don’t demand a substantial time investment like dungeons or trials.
You can do as many or as little as you like.
The performance of others rarely hinders you, and you can always count on the next opportunity appearing at any time.
