Final Fantasy XIV has a ton of great cosmetic rewards, even in its less active content by today's standards, and the FFXIV Shadowbringers relics weapon steps are no exception. When a new expansion rolls around (carrying with it its own fresh relic weapon grind) it can be harder to navigate your way through less active content. But not impossible. So if the Shadowbringers resistance weapons have caught your eye, we’re here to walk you through it.
The Resistance Weapons were initially released in Patch 5.25. While these weapons are no longer worth obtaining for the item level alone, the quest chain will unlock several unique appearances for your chosen job. Every step in the quest chain will unlock a “replica” version from Regana in Gangos (X:6, Y.4.7), which can be purchased for 1,000 gil for use in your glamour dresser.
Final Fantasy XIV Shadowbringers relic guide - All steps and weapons
Obtaining these weapons will take you through the “Save the Queen” questline as well as the exploration zones of Bozja and Zadnor, which are a blast in their own right. Let's get started.
1. How to unlock the Shadowbringers relic weapons
To get started on your journey into the Bozjan Front, you must meet a few requirements first.
- You must have completed the Main Scenario Quest, “Shadowbringers.”
- You must be level 80 or higher on any combat job.
- You must have completed the quest “The City of Lost Angels”, which is part of the Return to Ivalice questline, and features the Alliance Raid “The Orbonne Monastery”.
Once you’ve met all of these requirements, you can then pick up the quest “Hail to the Queen” from Keiten in Kugane (X:12.3, Y:12.3). This starts off a quest chain that will have you exploring the memories of Cid Garlond, and grants you your first phase one resistance weapon for free.
How to get more Resistance weapons
For further relic weapons, you’ll need to purchase four Thavnairian Scalepowders, which cost 250 Allagan Tomestones of Poetics each from most of Rowena’s representatives in major cities, Auriana in Mor Dhona (X:22.8, Y:6.6), or Hismena in Idyllshire (X:5.6, Y:5.2).
2. How to get Augmented Resistance weapons
To augment your Resistance weapon relic weapon, you first need to complete the post-Shadowbringers Main Scenario Quest “Vows of Virtue, Deeds of Cruelty”. In addition, you’ll need to work further through the Resistance Weapon questline by completing, at minimum, the quest “Where Eagles Nest” from Marsak in Gangos (X:6.4, Y:5.7).
This will unlock the Bozjan Southern Front exploration zone. While it’ll be less populated now that it’s not current content, it’s still a great way to level alternate jobs, as it can be entered with any job of level 71 or higher, meaning it's generally always active.
Before you enter, speak to the Stressed Soldier (X:5.5, Y:5.2) to pick up the quest “A Sober Proposal”. This will lead you onto the quest “For Want of a Memory”.
As part of this quest, you’ll need to obtain the below items from FATEs in various Heavensward zones, or by killing monsters in the Bozjan Southern Front in specific areas. The FATEs have a 100% chance to drop them upon completion as long as you have a gold rating, while you’ll naturally gain plenty during the Southern Front quests.
Item | FATEs | Bozjan Southern Front |
|---|---|---|
20 Tortured Memory of the Dying | Coerthas Western Highlands or the Sea of Clouds | Monsters and Skirmishes in the Southern Entrenchment. |
20 Sorrowful Memory of the Dying | Dravanian Forelands or The Churning Mists | Monsters and Skirmishes in Old Bozja |
20 Harrowing Memory of the Dying | Dravanian Hinterlands and Azys Lla | Monsters and Skirmishes in
The Alermuc Climb |
We recommend completing the quests (which will be required for further steps), then using FATEs to collect the rest you need.
Once you have 20 of each memory, speak with Zlatan in Gangos (X: 6, Y:4.9) to unlock your Augmented Resistance Weapon. Keep in mind that whenever you want to upgrade a weapon, it needs to be in your armoury chest or inventory.
3. Recollection Weapons
To upgrade your relic weapon further, accept the quest “The Will to Resist” from Zlatan in Gangos (X: 6, Y:4.9). This questline requires six Bitter Memories, which can be obtained from the following sources:
- Any level 60 dungeon.
- Once per day from the Duty Roulette: Leveling.
- Any monster in the Bozjan Southern front, as long as you are currently on this quest.
While it’s fine to pick up a few Bitter Memories from monsters if you’re already working on other goals in the Bozjan Southern Front, both Level 60 Dungeons and Duty Roulette: Levelling have a 100% chance to drop a Bitter Memory.
Now that the Southern Front isn’t as populated as it once was, those methods can be faster than grinding the Southern Front. Once you have 6 Bitter Memories, speak with Zlatan again to receive your Recollection Weapon.
4. Law’s Order weapons
To continue upgrading your weapon, you’ll first need to finish the following Resistance Weapon quests: “A Sign of What's to Come”, “Fit for a Queen”, and “In the Queen's Image”.
These quests require you to reach rank 10 in the Southern Front for the purposes of completing Castrum Lacus Litore, a critical-engagement style raid that spawns roughly every 60 minutes. They’ll also require you to complete Delubrum Reginae.
With most players focused on current content, getting a group for Delubrum Reginae can be difficult. You don’t need a full roster of twenty-four players to complete it, thanks to its scaling difficulty, but you probably won’t be able to find a group with the standard Duty Finder.
Because of this, we recommend either assembling your friends or making use of the Party Finder to find a group instead.
Once you’ve met these requirements, you can pick up the quest “Change of Arms” from Zlatan in Gangos (X: 6 , Y:4.9). This will require you to obtain 15 Loathsome Memories of the Dying, which can drop from the following sources:
Source | Drop | Drop Rate |
|---|---|---|
Any Crystal Tower Alliance Raid | One Loathsome Memory | Guaranteed |
Castrum Lacus Litore | Five Loathsome Memories | Guaranteed |
Critical Engagements in the
Bozjan Southern Front | One Loathsome Memory | Occasional |
We recommend aiming for Castrum Lacus Litore runs, as you’ll be able to pick up more Loathsome Memories from the Critical Engagements you complete while you wait.
5. Augmented Law's Order Weapons
This step starts off with a grind that you’ll only need to endure once. Pick up the quest “The Resistance Remembers” from Gerolt in Gangos (X:6.2, Y:5).
To finish this quest, you’ll need to gather 18 Haunting Memories of the Dying and 18 Vexatious Memories of the Dying, which drop from the following sources:
Memory Type | Source 1 | Source 2 |
|---|---|---|
Haunting Memories | Any Shadow of Mhach Alliance Raid (3 per completion) | A two-thirds chance to drop from FATEs in any Gyr Abania zone |
Vexatious Memories | Any Return to Ivalice Raid (3 per completion) | A two-thirds chance to drop from FATEs in any Othard zone |
Once you’ve completed this step, you’ll need to pick up the quest “A New Path of Resistance” from Zlatan in Gangos (X: 6, Y:4.9). This quest will require you to get 15 Timeworn Artifacts, which can be obtained from the following sources:
Source | Reward |
|---|---|
Delubrum Reginae | Three artifacts |
Palace of the Dead | Chance of one artifact per floor. The chance increases with the floor number. |
If you can find a group (most likely via the Party Finder, rather than a direct queue) grinding Delubrum Reginae is still the fastest route, thanks to a guaranteed chance of gaining three artifacts.
6. Blade's weapons
This step introduces the second one-time grind for the Shadowbringers relic weapons. As with the previous grind, this only needs to be completed for your first Resistance weapon.
For this, you’ll need to complete the quest “A New Playing Field”, which unlocks Zadnor, another Bozjan Southern Front-style zone with a whole new host of critical engagements and a Castrum-style raid to enjoy.
To begin this step, pick up the quest “What Dreams Are Made Of” from Gerolt in Gangos (X:6.2, Y:5). This will then unlock the quests: “Spare Parts”, “Tell Me a Story”, and “A Fond Memory”. You should accept all of these quests, as they can all be done alongside each other.
These quests will require you to obtain the following items from the following sources:
Quest | Item 1 | Item 1 Source | Item 2 | Item 2 Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Spare Parts | 30 Compact Axles | Skirmishes in the Southern Plateau, Zadnor (rewards one), or clearing certain Alexander raids (rewards one). | 30 Compact Springs | Critical Engagements in the Southern Plateau, Zadnor (rewards two), or clearing certain Alexander raids (rewards one). |
Tell Me A Story | 30 copies of A Day in the Life: Battles for the Realm | Skirmishes in the Western Plateau, Zadnor (rewards one), or clearing certain Omega raids (rewards one). | 30 copies of A Day in the Life: Beyond the Rift | Critical Engagements in the Western Plateau, Zadnor (rewards two), or clearing certain Omega raids (rewards one). |
A Fond Memory | 30 Bleak Memories of the Dying | Skirmishes in the Northern Plateau, Zadnor (rewards one), or clearing certain Eden raids (rewards one). | 30 Lurid Memories of the Dying | Critical Engagements in the Northern Plateau, Zadnor (rewards two), or clearing certain Eden raids (rewards one). |
Once you’ve turned each quest in, proceed to the quest “A Done Deal” from Gerolt to unlock the next step and finish your second one-time grind. Pick up the quest “Irresistible” from Zlatan in Gangos (X: 6 , Y:4.9) to begin the last leg of your relic weapon grind.
For this step, you’ll need to collect 15 Raw Emotions, which you can obtain from the following duties:
Duty | Reward |
|---|---|
The Dalriada (Special Engagement) | Three Raw Emotions |
Delubrum Reginae | Two Raw Emotions |
Any level 70 Stormblood Dungeon | One Raw Emotion |
Heaven-on-High Deep Dungeon | A chance for One Raw Emotion every 10 floors, with the drop chance increasing the higher the floor. |
Completing level 70 dungeons is going to be the quickest option here, though if you’re shooting for the other optional rewards from Zadnor - such as the gear, emotes and hairstyles you can purchase with the platinum and mythril coins - jumping on any Dalriada runs that pop up is a fine way to passively earn them.
Make sure your Resistance Weapon is in your inventory or armoury chest, turn in the quest, and you’ll have finally obtained the last step of your resistance weapon. As previously mentioned, all the prior steps can be purchased as replicas from Regana in Gangos (X:6, Y.4.7).
While you most likely won’t be using this for their stats, you’ll still have unlocked six new skins for your chosen job, and further resistance weapons will be easier to unlock in the future.
To start a grind for a new weapon, make sure you’re currently playing as your desired job and speak to Zlatan again to pick up the quest “Resistance Is (Not) Futile”.
If you’d rather keep up to date with Endwalker’s relic weapons instead, we’ve got a handy guide. Likewise, we have heaps of other guides like Eureka Orthos, how to get the Platinum Seahorse, and the famous Lalafell Lifter for you to cause some chaos with.