Patch 7.55: Trail to the Heavens

This is Patch 7.5's main scenario, “Trail to the Heavens.” It's the first half of a two-part finale for the current arc. Part two lands in 7.56.

If you're here for the story, do this first. It's the newest chapter, and most current-patch content only opens up once you've pushed the MSQ. We keep the details vague on purpose. Go play it.

The final chapter of Echoes of Vana'diel, the 24-player alliance raid that crosses over with Final Fantasy XI. Windurst: The Third Walk closes out the series.

It's worth doing. The gear is a free weekly bump, it stays in the Alliance Raid roulette forever, and if you played XI the nostalgia lands. Low effort, good payoff.

The Patch 7.5 dungeon, part of the current Expert roulette. It drops live gear.

If you're gearing, run it. The Expert roulette is a steady trickle of gear and capped tomestones. If you're just here for the story, you'll clear it once and move on.

The current Extreme trial, added in 7.5. Extremes are single-boss fights one step below Savage. They're the usual on-ramp to high-end combat, and this one drops a weapon and a mount.

Worth it if you like a tough fight or you want the glam. It's on-content right now, so people are actively running it. If you're catching up on the story, leave it for later.

The seventh Ultimate raid, added in 7.51. Ultimates are the hardest content in the game: hours-long, unforgiving fights built for a coordinated static.

Only worth your time if high-end raiding is the point for you, and only after you've cleared the current Savage tier. That's the assumed floor. For everyone else it's a spectator sport you can skip with a clear conscience. Nothing gates behind it.

It's the current capstone. If you're catching up, it's dead last on the list.

Cosmic Exploration is Dawntrail's crafting and gathering lifestyle content. It's relaxed, cooperative, and server-wide: everyone chips in to develop a planet. Auxesia is the fourth and final zone, added in 7.51, closing out the line that started with Sinus Ardorum.

If you craft or gather, this is your endgame, and it's how you build the Cosmic Tools relic. If you only fight things, you can skip it without missing anything you need.

North Horn is the second Occult Crescent field zone. Parties run from one to eight players inside a larger shared instance, Party Finder is disabled once you're in, and each player's timer starts at 180 minutes.

Go if you liked South Horn or want The Forked Tower: Magic. It's live side content, not an MSQ gate, so story-only returners can leave it until later.

Magic is the accessible Forked Tower. Unlike Blood, it's normal difficulty and built for random groups, with flexible entry from one to 48 players.

Bother with this one if you wanted the field-operation spectacle without organizing a full alliance. Oversubscribed entries are random, but missing the draw gives your next try priority. Loot is personal.

This is Magic's optional hard mode, built for organized alliances of up to 48. It scratches the same coordination itch as Blood, while normal Magic is the version for random groups.

Do it if large-scale progression raiding is why you're in North Horn. Everyone else should run normal and move on. The loot table isn't documented yet, so don't plan a gear path around it.

Eclipticum is the i790 third upgrade, and realistically the 7.55 relic step you'll be working on. Three quests: one shopping trip, then a dispeller grind, then a tomestone exchange.

Budget for it. The first quest wants a 500,000 gil whetstone plus three level 100 four-star crafted items off the market board. The second wants 100 each of three Phantom Dispellers, which drop in North Horn but also from the High-level Dungeons, Trials and Normal Raids roulettes, so it ticks along with your usual dailies. Then 1,500 Mathematics per weapon, which is the real cost if you want more than one.

Occultum is the i795 top of the Phantom Weapons line, one step past Eclipticum. That puts the relic at the top of the current weapon tier instead of leaving it as a glam-only side grind.

Nobody has documented its upgrade steps yet, so plan around Eclipticum for now and treat this as the thing you finish afterwards. If you just need gear to play current content, tomestones remain the shorter route.

Touring Tural and Hero's Day Off are the two-quest capstone for Dawntrail's allied societies. There is no new daily reputation track.

Do it for the society send-off and the cosmetics: Ballroom Etiquette plus the Tradewinds set. Once those two quests are done, you're done. No fresh allowance grind.

Detecting a Lead and Clotted Crime add two more quests to Dawntrail's Hildibrand case. They're optional comedy, separate from the MSQ and Phantom Weapons.

Do them if you want the Night Stallion mount, Oglop minion, or Pulper of Inquiry orchestrion roll. Otherwise they can wait. Nothing current gates behind them.