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Multiple times throughout Final Fantasy 14‘s grand adventure, major characters will memorably inquire as to what’s next on the Warrior of Light’s agenda. In a fleeting moment of passing peace, the protagonist’s loved ones are basically pressing the issue — you really need to take a break, get some fresh air, and enjoy life.
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Why not take up cooking? Training to become a Culinarian can be as delightful for the Warrior and those around them as it can be for us real-world sorts. The road to 90 isn’t easy, but once you’ve reached the top, your Free Company friends will line up for the best foodstuff and your coffers will fill to bursting from personal sales.
Updated December 9, 2024 by Ryan Thompson-Bamsey: We’ve updated this guide to bump it all the way up to Level 100!
Unlocking Culinarian And Leveling To 20
Getting Started
As is the case with most Disciple of the Hand classes, unlocking the Culinarian class is quite simple. All you need to do is visit the Culinarian’s Guild in Limsa Lominsa. There is but a single requirement: you must have a Disciple of War or Disciple of Magic job at level ten or higher.
If you’re starting off your journey in Limsa Lominsa, you might well bump into the guild before you can qualify for it. But truly, it does not take long to hit level ten in a combat role. A couple of hours of playing the game at a normal, friendly pace is all you’ll need. If, on the other hand, you chose Ul’dah or Gridania, it’s highly unlikely you’ll even reach Limsa Lominsa before hitting job level ten, making the requirement seem downright nonexistent.
Leveling To 20
Starting out as a lowly level one Culinarian, it may feel like 20 is a distant dream. We promise it’s not so bad. Follow our guidelines, and you’ll get there in a handful of play sessions at most.
|
Quest Name |
Quest Item |
Level |
Ingredients |
|---|---|---|---|
|
My First Skillet |
Maple Syrup |
1 |
|
|
A Treat of Trout |
Grilled Trout |
5 |
|
|
Dodo It Yourself |
2x Grilled Dodo |
10 |
|
|
On a Skewer Tip |
Meat Miq’abob |
15 |
|
|
Releasing a Burden |
Dried Plums |
20 |
|
Above, you’ll find a quick reference table for the first five quests you’ll receive during your training with the Culinarian’s Guild. Completing each Culinarian quest as soon as it becomes available is highly advised. You’ll get great rewards to keep you going on your cooking journey with minimal gil-spending; what’s not to love?
Easy Recipes
Beyond guild quests, you should take full advantage of the Culinarian’s Guild’s NPC supplier as well as your own wanderings through the realm. Grinding to 20 can be a cinch with a little investment in key ingredients that offer sweet returns. Each time you craft a recipe, you gain experience, after all!
|
Crafting Recipe |
Ingredients |
|---|---|
|
Table Salt |
|
|
Maple Syrup |
|
|
Sweet Cream |
|
|
Smooth Butter |
|
|
Tomato Sauce |
|
Best Early-Game Gear
Consider decking yourself out accordingly for some prime boosts that’ll ease your Culinarian workload. We focus on armor sets because merchants who sell these will also sell tools and accessories of similar quality.
Many other armor sets exist in between our recommendations. However, you’ll be able to get by just fine upgrading at our suggested pace.
|
Gear |
Optimal Level Range |
Acquisition |
|---|---|---|
|
Amateur Doublet Set |
10-15 |
Purchasable from Iron Thunder in Limsa Lominsa |
|
Cotton Kurta Set |
18-26 |
Purchasable from Iron Thunder in Limsa Lominsa |
Take It or Leve It?
Like all jobs, Culinarians have access to a variety of leves — sidequests involving specific performances per the job description. In your case, more often than not this means cooking requested dishes and bringing them to patrons the realm over.
While leves do become available this early on, we don’t suggest engaging in them unless you just want to get a feel for the system. The time expenditure isn’t really worth the payoff just yet.
Leveling To 40
You’ll have a new crop of quests to take on here:
|
Quest Name |
Quest Item |
Level |
Ingredients |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Winning Friends with Aldgoat |
Aldgoat Steak |
25 |
|
|
The Chefsbane Cometh |
Smoked Raptor |
30 |
|
|
Of Cooks and Books |
Ratatouille |
35 |
|
|
Diplomacy of the Skillet |
Blood Currant Tart, Pastry Fish, Chamomile Tea |
40 |
(Blood Currant Tart)
(Pastry Fish)
(Chamomile Tea)
|
From 21 to 40, you’ll want to start spending time with leves. There are no real rules involved in choosing which ones to do — you can pick and choose which ones sound the easiest. Many leves are repeatable, so feel free to dive in for hours if the mood takes you.
Leves are available in multiple leveling groups in Limsa Lominsa. Additionally, there are specialized ranges in several locations. You’ll find level 20 leves at Quarrymill, level 25 leves at Quarrymill, level 30 leves at Costa del Sol, level 35 leves at the Observatorium (in Coerthas), and level 40 leves at Whitebrim (also in Coerthas).
Easy Recipes
|
Crafting Recipe |
Ingredients |
|---|---|
|
Chamomile Tea |
|
|
Cornmeal |
|
|
Acorn Cookies |
|
Best 21-40 Gear
|
Gear |
Optimal Level Range |
Acquisition |
|---|---|---|
|
Cotton Kurta Set |
18-26 |
Purchasable from Iron Thunder in Limsa Lominsa |
|
Velveteen Coatee Set |
26-38 |
Purchasable from Iron Thunder in Limsa Lominsa |
|
Linen Coatee Set |
38-43 |
Purchasable from Iron Thunder in Limsa Lominsa |
Grand Company, Grand Cutlery
Once you’ve joined a Grand Company, which you’ll need to do during the level 20 main story quest ‘A Hero in the Making’, you will have access to Supply and Provision Missions.
From this point forward, always assume that there’s room in your daily grind to partake in Supply and Provision Missions. These are open to all non-combat classes. As a crafting class, Culinarians can provide Grand Companies with all the nourishment they could ever need, and not only are the rewards worth it; you’ll also level very swiftly.
Grand Company deliveries are incredibly good ways to level up no matter what level you are – you should be doing these as and when you can. Turn in high quality dishes to get double the experience, too!
One Dish Feeds Another
Speaking of Supply and Provision Rewards, nab Company-issue Engineering Manuals with the Grand Company points you’ll be earning. Have one active during your level 20 through 39 phase, and you’ll increase the amount of experience gained per task by a whopping 150 percent. This effect is halved from 40 onward, though there’s no sense throwing them away; you can still tack them on for a bit more bonus.
Leveling To 60
|
Quest Name |
Quest Item |
Level |
Ingredients |
|---|---|---|---|
|
A Taste of Home |
Dzemael Gratin |
45 |
|
|
Revenge of the Chefsbane |
Eft Steak, Beef Stew, Trapper’s Quiche, Crowned Pie |
50 |
(Eft Steak)
(Beef Stew)
(Trapper’s Quiche)
(Crowned Pie)
|
|
Wait on Me |
N/A |
50 |
|
|
A Spoonful Less Sugar |
Ishgardian Tea, Sohm Al Tart |
53 |
(Ishgardian Tea)
(Sohm Al Tart)
|
|
Looking for Some Hot Stuff |
Beet Soup, Kaiser Roll, Grilled Sweetfish |
55 |
(Beet Soup)
(Kaiser Roll)
(Grilled Sweetfish)
|
|
Love Meat Tender |
Cockatrice Meatballs |
58 |
|
|
The Spirit of Hospitality |
Morel Salad, Deep-fried Okeanis, Marron Glace |
60 |
(Morel Salad)
(Deep-fried Okeanis)
(Marron Glace)
|
|
Flavors of the Far East |
N/A |
60 |
N/A |
We don’t label this the Gordon Ramsay phase lightly. Particularly from around 50 to 55, many players express frustration with the glacial pace they’ve abruptly bumped up against. To avoid that sensation, you’ll want to power through with the following tips.
Go all-in with leves. You’ll find most of these in Foundation, which makes sense since this is the point at which the main story shifts focus to Ishgard. Grinding here can net you a few levels in a couple of hours, but doing so in conjunction with Supply and Provision Missions will cut that by a third or more. Purchase Company-issue Engineering Manual Two for another 150 percent boost to level 50.
From 51 onward, there’s still hope for further boosts! Evidently, however, Grand Companies cannot hope to compete with Rowena’s vast commercial domain. Commercial Engineering Manuals will give you that beloved 150 percent hike until level 69, which is very nice, indeed.
Easily Craftable Recipes
|
Crafting Recipe |
Ingredients |
|---|---|
|
Mugwort Carp |
|
|
Knight’s Bread |
|
Best 41-60 Gear
|
Gear |
Optimal Level Range |
Acquisition |
|---|---|---|
|
Linen Coatee Set |
38-43 |
Purchasable from Iron Thunder in Limsa Lominsa |
|
Woolen Gown Set |
43-50 |
Purchasable from Iron Thunder in Limsa Lominsa |
|
Culinarian’s Set |
50-60 |
Exchange with Rowena’s Representatives for White Scrips in Mor Dhona |
Leveling To 80
|
Quest Name |
Quest Item |
Level |
Ingredients |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Rice to the Occasion |
Doman Rice Balls |
63 |
|
|
A Broth from the Brine |
Doman Udon Broth |
65 |
|
|
Teach a Man to Make Fish |
Nigiri-sushi |
68 |
|
|
The Way to a Father’s Heart |
Doman Sukiyaki |
70 |
|
|
The Crystalline Mean |
N/A |
70 |
|
From 60 to 70, you’ll want to keep a small stack of those Commercial Engineering Manuals handy and move forward more or less the same exact way you have done so from the get-go. There’s nothing especially exotic about the way Stormblood presents itself in this regard, and as a blessing, Kugane’s gear seems to track quite a bit better with the tasks ahead of you than Ishgard’s did. Not only that, but you won’t be cooking up extravagant four-course meals any longer. Thank goodness.
The Crystalline Mean
And here’s when things get interesting. In Shadowbringers, crafting job quests were condensed into five NPCs at the Crystarium, each of whom shares multiple classes within their questlines.
In other words, once you’ve hit level 70, the whole world will begin to feel a little smaller. Visit Bethric, the character who is in charge of not just Culinarians but Alchemists as well. The first quest from Bethric is entitled ‘Friends of a Feather’.
Bethric’s quests are shared between Culinarians and Alchemists, meaning you’ll have to choose which class gets the juicy experience reward from them.
The Crystalline Mean storylines are honestly pretty fun, Bethric’s included. Best of all, you’ll level quite rapidly just by crafting the desired dishes. Since you can hand in several at a time, thus increasing Bethric’s disposition toward you, you really don’t need to bother much with leves. (That said, Culinarian leves are right nearby should you fancy the diversion.)
Easily Craftable Recipes
|
Crafting Recipe |
Ingredients |
|---|---|
|
Gyr Abanian Flour |
|
|
Cottonseed Oil |
|
Best 61-80 Gear
At this point, you’ll be receiving great gear from your quests at the tail end of each expansion’s content. As a rule, the next step is always to grind for scrip-based gear in the expansion’s main settlement(s). Here are some other options to get you through until you reach those benchmarks.
|
Gear |
Optimal Level Range |
Acquisition |
|---|---|---|
|
Galleykeep’s Set |
60-69 |
Grinmax Trade Gear Keep Augmentation |
|
Ala Mhigan Set |
70-74 |
Craft with Weaver or purchase on marketboard (typically fairly cheap). |
|
Pixie Cotton Set |
74-80 |
Purchase from Doddard at the Crystarium (X: 8.6, 11.4) |
|
Handsaint’s Set |
80-86 |
Exchange for Crafter’s Scrips at the Crystarium, Eulmore, and Mor Dhona. This was, until recently, the game’s ultimate crafting set. |
Leveling To 90
Ah, the home stretch. You’re so close to 90 that you can practically taste victory on your lips. Or is that all the gil you’re about to make selling your services to the marketboard? Or the notoriety, perhaps, of being your Free Company’s foremost provider of premium foodstuffs? Whatever your aspirations, they’re about to come true.
As of this writing, Endwalker offers a single, concise path to 90: Studium Deliveries. These are Endwalker’s version of Shadowbringers’ crafting questlines, and they follow the same rules to a tee. You find the corresponding NPC and cook up a storm, helping them with their story shenanigans and gaining a great deal of respect (and more importantly, experience points) in the process.
Your target — er, tutor — is Debroye in Old Sharlayan. Note that you’ll need to advance Endwalker’s main scenario quests a few levels before you can gain access to her questline. Similar to Bethric, Debroye is also the woman of the hour for Alchemists as well, so if you’re interested in leveling multiple Disciples of the Hand, you’ll be spending quite some time with her.
Easily Craftable Recipes
Right now, the simplest and most straightforward crafting recipe also happens to sync with your first Studium Delivery request.
|
Crafting Recipe |
Ingredients |
|---|---|
|
Panaloaf Sweetener |
|
Leveling To 100
At the time of writing, this is the home stretch! As you might imagine, leveling to 100 has the same rhythm and opportunities as the previous few stretches.
Importantly, you’ll want to unlock the Wachumeqimeqi delivery quests once you’ve reached Tuliyollal in the Dawntrail expansion pack and start completing them for massive bursts of experience. Be warned, however, that these quests are again shared between Culinarians and Alchemists, meaning you’ll have to choose which class gets the experience.
Apart from these deliveries, you’ll want to keep turning in daily Grand Company deliveries and crafting collectables to get the biggest bumps in experience. Leves (accessible from Malihali in Tuliyollal (X:13.7, Y:12.6)) can also help, if you find any particularly easy to complete.
Rarefied Banana Ponzecake is particularly easy to craft thanks to its easily sourced ingredients. Once you hit level 93, this is a very easy source of experience (and scrips!).
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