Hard mode dungeons/Primals - are they needed for story progression???

[Darcorn]

Hey guys! I'm stumped. I've done the Ultima Weapon quest yesterday and I've been wondering what do I do now? Do I need to do the HM dungeons/primals in order to progress in the story or just keep on doing the main scenario quests? I want to go to Heavensward when I finish A Realm Reborn. Long post short. Are HM dungeons/primals mandatory or optional for story progression??

Thanks!

[Taika]

Hard modes are, extreme modes aren't. You can queue for hard modes through duty finder or gather a party finder and do them unsynced with level 60 players.

[Darcorn]

Thanks Taika! Does this apply only to the primals or dungeons too?

[Taika]

I don't remember any hard mode dungeon being part of the main scenario, but some level 50 and level 60 dungeons are. There aren't really any differences between standard level 50 and 60 dungeons and "hard" dungeons, other than the "hard" dungeons are higher level versions of the lower level ones with the same name.

Basically, just follow the main scenario quest and it will guide you to all the hard mode primals and dungeons you're required to do. And then you can later unlock the rest of the dungeons and do the extreme primals if you wish.

[Pence]

'Hard' is just a term used for a different version of the dungeon in the game - new area, bosses, mechanics etc. But not necessarily harder - in fact it's just as easy as leveling dungeons. Extreme/Savage is where things become optional and harder.

[Niwashi]

Several of the Hard Mode dungeons are also required for the Level 50 Duty Roulette. I'm not sure off hand whether the ones it requires are the same ones the MSQ requires, but it's worth unlocking. There's a page here listing which dungeons the roulette requires:
http://ffxiv.consolegameswiki.com/wi...ette:_Level_50

[Darcorn]

Already did Ifrit with my FC

[Frizze]

If your main goal is to get to Ishgard and the HW content, you can safely ignore everything that isnt in the MSQ. The dungeons(2 if i recall) and trials(like 6 of them) you need to run are only unlocked that way. You may also want to open up hard mode ifrit titan and garuda before you advance too far, because at a certain point in the story you switch to a new base of operations and some people report not being able to get the old quest for them after that point. But the rest of the content is optional and you can always go back and clear what you want to later on. Happy hunting!

[Pintsized]

'Hard' is just a term used for a different version of the dungeon in the game - new area, bosses, mechanics etc. But not necessarily harder - in fact it's just as easy as leveling dungeons. Extreme/Savage is where things become optional and harder.

Um, 'hard' Ifrit, Titan and Garuda are a LOT HARDER than the 'story' mode versions for players new to them, I think you've been doing them so long you've forgotten the large up-tick in fight difficulty.

[Pintsized]

It's sad that SE gave in to those demanding 'hard' content even in the 'casual' part of the game and put 'hard' mode trials into the critical path through the main story, the later primals' fights should also have been 'story' mode for those only interested in progressing the story and now of course unlocking the expansion.