Quote Originally Posted by Lexis View Post
Should I focus on unlocking all the optional dungeons, trials n stuff? I unlocked the Ruby weapon trial but it looked extra complicated in the guide I watched so I haven't dared queue up for it. Should I? Is there a point? What about the alliance raid? (don't even know what it is to be honest)... Are relic weapons still a thing? Should I try to do my MCH one or is that stuff for the more hardcore raiders?
The optional dungeons can be fun, and add a lot more interest to the 50/60/70 roulette if you do that. Not a priority, but worth doing at some point.

Trials and raids are eight-man content. There's not a huge difference between them except the format of the quests and rewards, and some of the raids have a mini-dungeon before getting to the boss.

For the raids, as mentioned above, it's recommended to do the Alexander and Omega series (unlocked in Idyllshire and Rhalgr's Reach respectively) and the Eden series (starting at the Crystarium) continues Ryne's story and is also a good gear source for you at the moment, as it drops tokens you can exchange for gear. The third set of raids gives i510 gear, so not quite as strong as tome gear but easier to get.

For trials, and particularly since you're aiming to finish the role quest line for Shadowbringers, you should also do the level 60 Warring Triad storyline as that ultimately links up to something in the other story.

There's also the Binding Coil series which has been recommended to play before Endwalker, but it's a bit of an oddity because it's "savage level" gameplay without a more accessible story version, so don't just queue for it through the duty finder. It can be easily overpowered if you make use of the undersized (ie. unsynched) option with a couple of level 80 players.

Alliance raids are the large-scale dungeons like the Crystal Tower series. The later ones don't seem like they'd be really relevant for Endwalker so there's no need to prioritise them.

Relic weapons are time-consuming and just for glamour at this point. Better to work on it slowly over time.

For levelling a caster you mentioned using summoner because you have it at level 50, but red mage also starts at 50 and I find it a lot of fun. Summoner is getting quite a redesign in Endwalker so now probably isn't a good time to be learning to play it.