The newest large scale battle content in Final Fantasy XIV, The Bozja Southern Front, has gone live. This new content shares a few similarities to Eureka from Stormblood in that they take place in large instanced areas but differs in many more ways. In this guide, we’re going to break down a few key tips and tricks for getting your Bozja experience up and running smoothly.
Getting Started – The Basics
FFXIV Bozja Guide Tips & Tricks
First things first, you need to have Bozja unlocked, obviously. You’ll need Shadowbringers completed and also Return to Ivalice from the Stormblood expansion completed as well to begin your foray into Bozja. Check out our guide here for steps on how to catch up if you’re behind.
As we mentioned above, Bozja shares some similarities to Eureka, but it’s very different in feel and purpose. Boiled down, aside from hopefully being fun, Bozja serves two pragmatic purposes for players.
First, it is a place where you can earn EXP aside from Dungeons. This event can be seen as the replacement for activities such as Palace of the Dead and Heaven on High.
Anyone level 71 and over can participate. Your gear will be synced to level 80 regardless of your level, and you’ll get EXP for the job in addition to other stuff we’ll go over below up until you hit level 80.
Second, it’s where you can obtain your relic weapon, new armor, and get cosmetics. The relic is a powerful weapon that you can upgrade to be nearly just as, if not more powerful, than anything you would get from the raids without needing a hardcore group to get it. It also will glow and look super cool, so there’s that.
Let’s dive into some of the basic mechanics of how Bozja works.
Gaining Mettle & Raising Resistance Rank
FFXIV Bozja Guide: Tips & Tricks
Bozja has its own leveling system, like Eureka’s Elemental Level, but unlike Eureka, it’s not separate from your regular level. As noted above, you bring your level and experience with you, and your gear will be synced up to 80.
In Bozja’s Southern Front, you gain Mettle to raise your Resistance Rank. Resistance Rank does a few things for you. It will make it easier to handle harder enemies signified by a number in their name (I, II, III, etc.).
Resistance Rank also will open new parts of the map up for you. The idea is to march your way towards the Castrum out in the distance, the Imperial stronghold in this area. If you raise your Resistance Rank high enough, you’ll eventually unlock access to unique Raid-like Critical Engagement that will drop currency (Bozjan Coins) used to obtain Bozja armor set.
Advancing further will also open new parts of the story and will ensure you’re ready for the next phase of content in Bozja when it comes out.
Let’s talk about how to get Mettle and raise that Resistance Rank.
Skirmishes & Critical Engagements
FFXIV Bozja Guide Tips & Tricks
There are several ways to get Mettle and raise your Resistance Rank. The main ways are to engage in Skirmishes and Critical Engagements.
While out on the Bozja Southern Front you’ll come across enemies, of course, but also special events. Skirmishes are essentially a fancy way of saying FATEs. You can join in on these, and you’ll gain EXP and Mettle at the end depending on your contributions. Simple enough.
Critical Engagements are a little different. While in the zone, you’ll get requests to join in on a battle, which will appear on screen while playing.
You have the option to sign up for them, and if you get in, you’ll be taken somewhere else on the map into a Trial-like environment with other players. Completing these Critical Engagements will earn you lots of EXP and Mettle, so get in on them when you can. Opening up the map will gain you access to new ones as well.
Getting around and engaging in stuff like Skirmishes, fortunately, isn’t a pain this time. You can mount up in Bozja right away unlike Eureka. Make sure to take advantage of that and get around quickly.
You can change jobs and form groups at any time while doing Bozja, but if you’re on your own, you’ll want to take advantage of Lost Actions.
Lost Actions & Forgotten Fragments
FFXIV Bozja Guide: Tips & Tricks
Lost Actions are very similar to the Logos Actions in Eureka. These are special abilities, spells, and items that you can only equip and use while in Bozja.
These are crucial for surviving and will be needed to get through Bozja’s current and future challenging content. For example, if you’re alone as a DPS character and are in a trial, you may not have any way to heal yourself. Fortunately, you can equip a Lost Action that will give you access to a rudimentary Cure spell to keep yourself alive.
Lost Actions are obtained by collecting Forgotten Fragments. Forgotten Fragments are obtained in a number of ways. They are occasionally rewards from Skirmishes, Critical Engagements, and quests within Bozja.
And, rarely, you can get find them just from killing random monsters outside in the open. So if you’re waiting around for a Skirmish or Critical Engagement to spawn, it doesn’t hurt to just kill some stuff around you.
You can bring Forgotten Fragments to the Appraiser in town to appraise them and turn them into usable Lost Actions. Or, if you don’t need them anymore, you can sell them on the Marketboard for a profit.
While out in the field defeating enemies, you may also find Bozjan Clusters, which are a rare currency used to obtain various cosmetics from the Quartermaster in town. Make sure to give that a look as well and save up for the stuff you like.
Finally, let’s talk about the elephant in the room: the glowy relic weapon.
Relic Weapon Upgrades
FFXIV Bozja Guide: Tips & Tricks
The resistance weapons, AKA Shadowbringer’s version of relic weapons, are sort of a part of the Bozja content. You have to have access to the Bozjan Southern Front to obtain them and go ahead and get the items you need to upgrade your resistance weapon from participating in Bozja content.
However, the faster and more convenient way, if you don’t mind a bit of grinding, is to go the FATE route outline in the quest. You can grind Heavensward area FATEs and then do level 60 dungeons to get everything you need to upgrade and augment your resistance weapon of choice in a few hour’s time if you’re quick. We have a guide on that if you haven’t gotten started yet.
When fully upgraded to its current max, the resistance weapon is a competitive weapon that is more easily obtained than grinding through the highest available raid. So it’s definitely worth getting if you don’t have a great weapon at the moment.
There’s still more to learn about Bozja, and more will be added over time. However, that should be enough information, without overloading you, to get you going on FFXIV’s initial Bozjan content. Happy exploring!
Published: Oct 16, 2020 03:38 pm