See a really nice guide to Diadem 5.3.1 here!
It’s odd to talk about “seasons” when it comes to crafting and gathering, but somehow FFXIV does things like this. The newest season launched on Tuesday, including a leaderboard and everything!
Last season, I just putzed around in the Diadem for most of the time, using it as a way to level my last crafters on my RP alt. I knew that the leaderboard was a thing, but really I was there for the fluff rewards and leveling. So when I earned a title from being in the top 100 of somthing (didn’t even check), I was pretty surprised!
Because I spent most of my time leveling on other characters, my main got the shaft last time around. She got a few things that were easy to get like the /bread emote, the blue umbrella and the dhalmel mount. But other than that, by the time I got around to thinking about doing something on her, I was already tired out from my other characters.
This time around is different. I’ve got a checklist of items I want to earn for her – both from the past and the new release. I’m also making an effort to rank in the top 100 to earn her the title, too. So far, that’s going really well!
I even was able to participate in one of the FATEs last night – something I haven’t been able to do in a while. That came totally by accident. I just zoned into the Firmament to make my turn-ins before bedtime and saw a mass of people there. That told me the FATE was coming soon, and sure enough, it was about to spawn in 5 mins, so I stuck around.
It mostly entailed breaking down rocks and carrying crates of stone to waiting wagons. There were so many people participating, it was hilarious to watch as they appeared and disappeared as the system struggled to render that many people. It was especially funny to watch all the bobbing boxes as you rushed the crates above your head towards the waiting wagons.
So far, I’ve been able to earn both the Albino Karakul (sheep) and the new Megalotragus mounts on my main. Those are the big ticket items (I’m still on the fence about the Ufiti mount though).
I’ve also earned the /highfive and /read emotes, with just two more emotes left to earn. I need both sets of Craftsman’s outfits, as well as two of the three hairstyles. So, I still have a LOT to work on.
In the meantime, Kupo of Fortune has been absolutely rigged this time around. Out of all the scratch tickets I’ve gone through, I’ve only managed to win the crown once – and that was for a Morpho minion (which I didn’t have, so that was good). I don’t remember having this much trouble at all last season. I really feel like these tickets got nerfed… or my luck has just been that awful. Either way.
I gave up and finally just bought the Weatherproof Gaelicat from the marketboard since that’s the main minion I really wanted. I’ve have had ZERO luck in getting it and very low luck in even getting scratch cards that HAVE a crown on it to start with. I do want the new outfit coffer for Amon, but I’m not willing to pony up 700K for it. I’ll wait to see if it comes down in price or if I manage to get lucky enough to win it.
Aside from that, I foresee a weekend of gathering and crafting ahead of me!
