Resistance weapons are Final Fantasy XIV’s relic weapons at level 80. Players upgrade their Resistance weapons through the Save the Queen series of quests. The initial set of quests unlocks the item level 485 Resistance weapons. For this second step, there are two paths to take for upgrading your Resistance weapons to item level 500. Both paths require special items called memories of the dying.
Pick up the quest “For Want of a Memory”
After obtaining your item level 485 Resistance weapon, you’ll gain access to the next quest. Speak with Zlatan at the forge in Gangos. You have the option of starting another fresh Resistance weapon with “Resistance is (Not) Futile.” To continue on with the next upgrade, select the quest “For Want of a Memory.” Zlatan will ask you to collect several memories of the dying, which Gerolt will infuse to your current Resistance weapon to upgrade it to item level 500.
You have to pick up 3 different types of memories — tortured memories of the dying, sorrowful memories of the dying, and harrowing memories of the dying. Of these types, you need 20 each, for a total of 60 memories. That means 20 tortured memories of the dying, 20 sorrowful memories of the dying, and 20 harrowing memories of the dying for a full set. You can only obtain these memories with “For Want of a Memory” active in your quest log.
Farm Skirmishes in the Bozjan Southern Front
Your first option for obtaining memories is to farm them from Skirmishes in the Bozjan Southern Front. If you don’t have access to the Bozjan Southern Front, follow our guide on how to unlock it. You’ll find tortured memories of the dying within the lower section of the map, sorrowful memories within the middle section, and harrowing memories at the topmost section. The drop rate for these memories within the Southern Front is hit-or-miss. It’s fine to farm these casually as you level up jobs or play through the Southern Front over time. But if you specifically choose to farm memories this way, you might quickly run out of patience. Luckily, there’s an alternative.
Farm FATEs in the level 50-60 Heavensward areas
Your second option is to run FATEs in the level 50-60 Heavensward zones. Completing these FATEs with a gold rating automatically rewards you with one memory. The memories go directly to your inventory, so make sure you have room. FATEs within each Heavensward zone drop a specific type of memory.
- Tortured memories of the dying: Coerthas Western Highlands and Sea of Clouds
- Sorrowful memories of the dying: Dravanian Forelands and Churning Mists
- Harrowing memories of the dying: Dravanian Hinterlands and Azys Lla
As long as you keep earning those gold ratings, you’ll get your memories in no time. Level up other jobs, team up with your chocobo companion, or burn through FATEs on blue mage for fun. If you’re not up for running FATEs by yourself, you might have luck finding groups in the Party Finder instead. Whenever you have your 60 memories, take them back to Zlatan at Gangos. You’ll then have your brand new item level 500 Resistance weapon. To upgrade your weapon further with bitter memories, check out our guide on the next step.
