Of all the expansions released for Final Fantasy XIV Shadowbringers has shown gatherers the most love, who now have their own zone: the Diadem. With patch 5.21 comes the third iteration of the much beleaguered Diadem exploration zone that initially debuted in Heavensward, and this time around it has been reshaped into a gatherer’s paradise. It also gives them a giant aether-bazooka to murder the local wildlife with, because why not? Due to this massive change in focus the Diadem can no longer be reached with previous methods, so this guide will point you back in the right direction. I hope you’ve unlocked the Ishgardian Restoration, because the new Diadem is tied to it.
The Diadem can be reached after unlocking access to the Firmament.
If you haven’t already you will need to unlock the Firmament if you wish to gather your days away in the Diadem. The refresh of the zone has been woven into the Ishgardian Restoration activity, so you have to unlock it first. I have a full write-up on how to do so in an older guide from when that dropped, but to sum it up here: you need to own Heavensward (yes, just Heavensward), have a Disciple of War or Magic class at level 60, and have completed “Litany of Peace” (the conclusion to The Dragonsong War from Heavensward). If you have those three check-marked then head to Ishgard and look for the quest notice near the Foundation aetheryte crystal that offers “Towards the Firmament,” (it will be a paper notice on the wall at x:9.7 y:11.5).
This will unlock access to the Ishgardian Restoration hub, and in tandem the Diadem. You will have to run around and talk to a gaggle of NPCs before you are given the chance to leave for the zone proper (FFXIV has always been story-heavy, and that persists here), but eventually you will be able to talk to Aurvael. Aurvael is in a tent on the western edge of the Firmament (x:10.8 y:14.0) and chatting with him will allow you to enter the Diadem, assuming you meet one teeny-tiny requirement. Your gatherer – whether they be a botanist, miner, or fisher – must be at least level 10. This milestone takes less than half-an-hour to reach by simply gathering and completing early class quests, so don’t fret if you don’t have your gatherers quite there yet.
Once you confirm your trip to the Diadem with Aurvael he will queue you for an instance, which will pop with a notification like any other queue. Just select Accept and away you will soar till you reach the new zone. Now you can gather till your eyes bleed (and change gathering classes on the fly, assuming they are at least level 10). Everything you harvest here can be appraised by the vendor next to Aurvael to be used in either your own Ishgardian Restoration crafting, or to be sold in the markets for other crafters to use. Welcome to the Diadem; I hope you enjoy your stay.
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