How to get a Shadowbringers (Resistance) relic weapon in FFXIV

Final Fantasy 14 has relic weapons, special glowing weapons for each job. The Shadowbringers expansion relic weapons are all related to Bozja and the Blades of Gunnhildr.

In this Final Fantasy 14 Shadowbringers relic weapon guide, we’ll detail how to get that beautiful endgame weapon.

Relic weapons, explained

Relic weapons are specialty weapons that look beautiful and typically have a unique glowing animation. After upgrading the weapon several times, you’ll have the best weapon in Shadowbringers as a trophy for your hard work, but the amount of work you’ll need to put forth is huge. Perform the steps over a longer timespan, rather than trying to do it quickly and burning out.

Almost all of the weapon upgrading steps involve participating in The Bozjan Southern Front, the instanced Shadowbringers area with a unique battle system. While there are alternative methods to obtain the weapon upgrade materials for lots of these steps, you’ll have to rank up in Bozja to upgrade your weapon past a certain point, so be ready for that.

Making your Augmented Resistance weapon (step 2) also involves doing FATEs in Heavensward areas if you don’t want to do skirmishes in Bozja, which means that if you’re also making an Anima relic weapon, you can double dip a little bit.

These weapons are now quite outdated and the only use for them is glamour. To put these shining weapons into a glamour dresser, you’ll need to buy the replicas from Regana in Gangos.

There are lots of steps to complete your Resistance weapon, and for each weapon you want, you’ll have to start from the beginning and repeat most of the steps.

Step 1: How to get your Resistance weapon

These are the weapons with 485 item level and they were released in patch 5.25.

To get your first weapon:

1. Complete the “Shadowbringers” main scenario quest.
2. Complete the side quest “The City of Lost Angels.”
3. Complete the quests “Hail to the Queen,” “Path to the Past,” “The Bozja Incident,” and “Fire in the Forge.”

For every other weapon after this, complete the quest “Resistance is (Not) Futile” as the job you want the weapon for. You need to turn in four Thavnairian Scalepowders to Zlatan. These are purchasable from the Tomestone NPC vendors, like Auriana in Revenant’s Toll and Hismena in Idyllshire, for 250 Allagan Tomestones of Poetics each.

Image: Square Enix via Polygon

Step 2: How to get your Augmented Resistance weapon

The next step involves upgrading your Resistance weapon, boosting its stats and item level up to 500. This step was added in patch 5.35.

To get the Augmented version of any of your weapons:

1. Complete the “Vows of Virtue, Deeds of Cruelty” main scenario quest.
2. Complete the side quests “A Sober Proposal” and “Where Eagles Nest.”
3. Have your Resistance weapon from step one ready.
4. Go to Zlatan in Gangos and accept the repeatable quest “For Want of a Memory.”
5. Obtain and turn in 20 Tortured Memories of the Dying, 20 Sorrowful Memories of the Dying, and 20 Harrowing Memories of the Dying. You can obtain all 60 memories as random drops from Skirmishes and Critical Engagements in The Bozjan Southern Front.

If you hate Bozja, you can also earn these from doing FATEs in Heavensward zones. The following zones give these memories:

• Tortured Memory of the Dying (yellow): Coerthas Western Highlands and the Sea of Clouds
• Sorrowful Memory of Dying (blue): Dravanian Forelands and the Churning Mists
• Harrowing Memory of the Dying (red): Dravanian Hinterlands and Azys Ila

You do not need to earn the memories as the job you want the weapon for. For example, if you want the White Mage cane, you do not need to be playing as White Mage until it’s time to turn in the quest items.

Image: Square Enix via Polygon

Step 3: How to get your Recollection weapon

The third step gives your relic weapon its iconic glow, though the item level stays at 500. This was added in patch 5.35.

To get your Recollection weapon:

1. Complete the previous steps listed above.
2. Start the repeatable “The Will to Resist” quest from Zlatan in Gangos.
3. Turn in 6 Bitter Memories of the Dying.

The green Bitter Memories of the Dying are rewards from completing level 60 dungeons and as drops from enemies in Bozja. You can also get one Bitter Memory of the Dying a day from completing Leveling Roulette in the Duty Finder. Completing level 60 dungeons with your level unsynced does not reward the memories.

Just like the previous step, you do not need to be playing as the job you want the weapon for in order to get the memories.

Image: Square Enix via Polygon

Step 4: How to get your Law’s Order weapon

Upgrading your weapon to a Law’s Order weapon will boost its item level to 510. This step was added in patch 5.45.

To get your next relic:

1. Complete the steps above.
2. Hit Resistance Rank 10 in Bozja.
3. Complete the Bozja dungeon, Castrum Lacus Litore.
4. Complete the side quests “A Sign of What’s to Come”, “Fit for a Queen”, and “In the Queen’s Image.”
5. Accept the repeatable quest “Change of Arms” from Zlatan in Gangos.
6. Obtain and turn in 15 Loathsome Memories of the Dying to Zlatan.

The gray Loathsome Memories of the Dying are rewards for beating the final boss in Castrum Lacus Litore, clearing any Crystal Tower alliance raid, and completing critical engagements in Bozja. Beating the Castrum Lacus Litore boss rewards five memories.

Similarly to the previous steps, you do not need to earn these memories while playing as the job you want the weapon for.

Image: Square Enix via Polygon

Step 5: How to get your Augmented Law’s Order weapon

Augmenting your Law’s Order weapons will boost its item level to 515 and give it a special glowing effect. This part was added in patch 5.45.

To obtain the augmented version of your Law’s Order weapons:

1. Complete all of the steps above.
2. Accept the side quest “The Resistance Remembers.”
3. Turn in the 18 Haunting Memories of the Dying and 18 Vexatious Memories of the Dying.
4. Accept the repeatable quest “A New Path of Resistance.”
5. Collect and turn in the 15 Timeworn Artifacts.

The pink Haunting Memories of the Dying drop from Shadow of Mhach alliance raids and FATEs in Gyr Abania. The yellow Vexatious Memories of the Dying drop from Return to Ivalice alliance raids and FATEs in the Far East.

After getting all 36 memories once, you will not have to do this part again for subsequent weapons. Doing FATEs for the memories is much faster than doing raids, but memories do not drop guaranteed from completing FATEs, so you may hit frustrating unlucky streaks.

Timeworn Artifacts drop from doing Palace of the Dead and from doing Bozja’s Delubrum Reginae raid.

Image: Square Enix via Polygon

Step 6: How to get your Blade’s weapon

This step gives you a 535 item level weapon and was added in patch 5.55.

To get this weapon:

1. Complete all of the steps above.
2. Complete the “Futures Rewritten” main scenario quest.
3. Complete the “A New Playing Field” side quest.
4. Start the “What Dreams are Made of” side quest from Gerolt in Gangos.
5. Accept the three quests that open up: “Spare Parts”, “Tell Me a Story”, and “A Fond Memory.”
6. Collect the 30 Compact Axles, Compact Springs, A Day in the Life: Battles for the Realm, A Day in the Life: Beyond the Rift, Bleak Memories of Dying, and Lurid Memories of the Dying, and turn them in. (Yes, that’s a total of 180 items!)
7. Complete the quest “A Done Deal.”
8. Start the repeatable quest “Irresistible.”
9. Collect and turn in 15 Raw Emotion.

You can get the 180 items from Zadnor, which you’ll unlock as you complete the above steps. You can also farm these items from completing specific raids, but you won’t get rewards for doing these raids unsynced.

Once you obtain these items and turn them in, you won’t have to repeat this step when making more weapons. We’ve tabled the information below.

The blue Raw Emotions are drops from Delubrum Reginae, The Dalriada, level 70 dungeons and Heaven on High. The Dalriada rewards three Raw Emotions and Delubrum Reginae rewards two. As with the previous steps, you will not be rewarded with Raw Emotions if you do the content unsynced.

After this, you’ll be done with your first weapon. Congrats!

Image: Square Enix via Polygon

If you’re just starting out in the massive world of Final Fantasy 14, we have tons of guides to help you. We have a beginner’s guide to get you started, along with guides detailing when you’ll get your mount and which Grand Company you should join.

If you’re starting but are feeling overwhelmed, we have guides to help with picking a job and a guide that explains how long it may take to catch up to current content in FFXIV.

We also have guides on side content, like ocean fishing, relic weapons, and Island Sanctuary, for those who want to take a break from it all.