New player: What is endgame?

[StriderShinryu]

As others have said, there really isn't a specified defined end game for FF14, but there are a bunch of forms of content you can get into. A lot of what end game will be for you will be determined by what sort of rewards you value most.

If you want more story and lore? The side quests in the game are there for you. You can also do things like the sight seeing log.

If you want to look cool? Most content in FF14 rewards cosmetic rewards in everything from clothing/armour to weapons to mounts and minions.

If you like to collect stuff? Again, there are lots of things to collect from gear to mounts to minions. There's also things like Triple Triad cards or orchestion rolls.

If you like challenging content? There's the various series of EX and Savage encounters as well as the Ultimate fights. We don't have anything truly "new" for these at the moment but many people are still learning and tackling the old ones.

There's even the Bozja Front content coming soon for collecting and powering up relic weapons and gear.

The only things FF14 doesn't really have in traditional end game regard is a slant towards PvP or a traditional gear treadmill. There is PvP but it doesn't get enough focus to be really taken seriously by most people. There is a gear escalation but it's really more about getting better gear to be able to do fights faster rather than as the regular treadmill measuring stick system where you need gear from X to do Y and then Y to do Z.

Now, do you need friends or an FC? It depends. If you do want to do the challenge combat content then you'll probably be best with a good active FC if not a content focused static. You can use Party Finder for these things but most people who use PF hate it and only do it because they have no other option. If you're serious about the content, find others to do it with. If you're just doing a variety of things that tickle your fancy, having a good FC is great but not necessary by any means.

[Anienai]

Glamour is end game.

This is the correct answer.

[MsQi]

If glamour is endgame in this game, it is even more so in almost every other mmo.

[Shahi]

Dancing in limsa.

[Jojoya]

Hi, I just finished ARR-ShB (including post-ShB MSQs). What should I do now? Raid right away? Do I need a FC and friends? Are the side quests worth going back to complete? I'd like to know what endgame is like in this game.

Do whatever you want. FFXIV doesn't have a more hardcore combat-focused end game though there are Savage Raids, Extreme Trials and Ultimate for those who want that type of content.

You don't need a FC or friends since you always have the option of using Party Finder to find groups but personally I find it more enjoyable doing group content with players I know.

All the different things I can think of to do at end game (outside of what I already mentioned):

Level alt jobs.

Side quests - good for additional lore if you enjoy story. Many reward cosmetic items. Hildibrand is comic relief. Shadowbringers side quests will scale to your current job if it's at least 70 for additional XP. If nothing else, you'll get some gil.

Crafting/gathering. Crafting isn't a simple "grab the mats, press a button then done" system here. There are crafting actions to use just like combat actions and using them correctly impacts your success.

Housing. Start with an apartment to see if it's something you're going to enjoy. Flowerpots are an introduction to gardening and can be used in apartments. If you're enjoying it, you can work toward buying a house and getting access to the garden plots that allow intercross gardening for unique seeds.

Glamour. Collecting items to use to change your gear appearance has become a staple of MMOs. Many players spend hours trying to get just the right pieces for the looks they want.

Palace of the Dead/Heaven on High (Deep Dungeons) - randomized dungeon floors increasing in difficulty the farther you go. Good XP if you're trying to level alt jobs, also have some unique rewards. There are some achievements for soloing to the final floor.

PvP - I don't PvP myself but I know some who do enjoy it though no one is going to call it the best PvP in a MMO.

Treasure Maps - maps for various levels starting at 35 and going up to level cap. Chests contain crafting materials and some unique items. There are some maps intended for full parties that have a chance to open a portal to the treasure dungeons with even more unique items to win.

FATE farming - there are a lot of items to buy with the bi-color gemstones earned from doing Shadowbringers FATEs. It can take quite a while to earn enough to buy everything you want. There are some FATEs from every expansion era that reward achievements and/or cosmetic items. A couple of the ARR FATEs will trigger vendors that sell a few items only available if the FATEs are completed successfully.

Mount farming - the EX trials all offer a mount with a theme for the expansion the trial was introduced and each trial offering a different color variation. Getting all the mounts for an expansion unlocks a quest to get a final mount. Some of the Savage Raid fights also have a chance to drop a mount.

The Hunt - hunts offer multiple currencies as a reward used to get gear, gear augments and other items. Most worlds organize hunt trains for the Rank As that spawn a few times a day. S ranks offer a larger amount of the currencies but usually requirement special conditions to be met and have a much longer wait to respawn. There are also daily hunt bills that are personal and offer good XP if you're leveling alt jobs (except the ARR hunt bills - those aren't worth it unless you're trying to farm Allied Seals and you've completed all the Masked Carnival).

Blue Mage - speaking of Masked Carnival, BLU is a limited job. You collect spells from certain monsters as you level up. At 50 and 60, you get access to Masked Carnival challenges. There are also some achievements based around completing content in a party of only Blue Mages.

Relic Weapon farming - these are the unique weapons that were intended to be the BiS for their expansions once fully completed and have the special glow effects that many players enjoy. There is a considerable time investment to get them completed.

There's no doubt some other things I forgot to mention. End game is mostly sit back, relax and do whatever appeals to you.

[Anienai]

Dancing in limsa.

This is also the correct answer.

[Avatre]

If you hate yourself enough, you can go do the ARR relics. The grinds for those take up a large chunk of time(mostly the books since you have to kill 3 of 10 different enemies, do 3 dungeons, and 3 FATEs which can take a while to spawn even when doing other FATEs in the area). Then there is the light grinding step, which if you have the class at 80 doesn't take as long(averaged 3 minute runs of Stone Vigil, getting 48 light per run when it's not on bonus, 96 when it was - total needed is 2000).

There is also any of the other relics you could go for(HW isn't as bad, SB requires leveling up in Eureka which can be a pain but is easier with the challenge log, and ShB which we only have step one of so far).

Glamour is always an option, trying to find that perfect glamour for each type of event(player held event or actual event released by SE).

Leveling up your alt classes is another thing to do(best use for sidequests really). Helps you learn at least the basics of the other classes so you can know when something isn't right in a run(like an ice mage, or completely single target in massive pulls) and be able to give at least a little guidance.

Can always go find a static and do the savage/ultimates.

I'm sure there is lots more, but that's just what comes to mind.

[KayRadley]

Glamour.

But serious answer: there's the raids, naturally, as well as Extreme/Unreal content. There's also one of my personal favorites: treasure maps. The L80 maps typically go for about 50K on Mateus, so the L70 maps should be a bit cheaper, yet you can make some major coin off of them. If you're particularly flush with gil, you could also try out housing as well (though I would suggest starting with an apartment, as they are cheaper and more readily available than housing plots).