Do I really need relic weapon for the maint story line!?

[RyuDragnier]

To have finished the job quests is a requirement to start the relict quest, but the relict quest is not part of the jobquests. It is a sidequest.

But isn't the Relic mandatory for the 2.1 questline? I distinctly remember reading that you needed the Zenith for a main story quest.