Duty Finder: What It Is and How to Use It (2024)

The Duty Finder allows you to join the queue for instanced multiplayer duties such as dungeons, trials, and raids in Final Fantasy XIV.

How to Unlock the Duty Finder

The Duty Finder can be unlocked at level 10 after you have unlocked Levequests during your level 9 Main Scenario Quest. Accept the quest from the Levemete in the Adventurers' Guild, thenafter you go to the location to complete it, the nearby Levemete will have a blue quest called "Simply The Hest". Complete it to unlock Guildhests, which will also unlock theDuty Finder.

If you do not unlock Duty Finder as described above,you will unlock it as part of the level 15 Main Scenario Quest It's Probably Pirates.

How to Use the Duty Finder

The Duty Finder can be accessed via Main Menu > Duty. The dutiesthat you have unlockedare listed on the left, and there are icons along the top to select the differentcategories of duties that are available.

To register for a duty, click the checkbox to the left of the duty that you wantto register for, then click Join.(If you are in a party, only the party leader can register for a duty.Read more about parties on the Joining a Party page.)

You can select up to five duties at a time and will be placed in the firstof those duties that becomes available. To avoid unintentionally joiningpreviously selected duties, it is recommended to click the Clear Selection button in the Duty Finder before choosing the duty or duties that you want to queue for.

Duty Requirements

Each duty has restrictions and requirements that must be met in order to queuefor them. You can still enter these duties if you don't meet the requirementsby using the Unrestricted Party option (see below).

• Party composition: The duty requires a certain number of players in each role
• Level: The duty requires that all players in the party are at a certain level
• Item Level: The overall item level of your gear must meet the minimum requirement

The Queue

After you join the queue,you will be matched with other players to form a party for the selectedduty or duties. The amount of time that you have to wait will depend on how many other players are online, which depends on the time of dayin the region that the datacenter is located in. Also, if you are playing DPS, you may have to wait longer than if you are playing Tank or Healer, which are less commonly played roles and therefore in higher demand.

Withdrawing Before the Duty is Ready

If you need to withdraw from the queue, you can do so by opening the Duty Finder and clicking the Withdrawbutton at the bottom, or by clicking "Duty Finder" above where it says the name of the duty that you are queueing for,but beaware that, depending on the circ*mstances, there may be penalties for withdrawing(see below).

Withdrawing After the Duty has Commenced

If you need to withdraw after the duty has commenced, open Duty Finder and clickLeave, or click "Duty Information" above the name of the current duty and clickLeave;but beaware that, depending on the circ*mstances, there may be penalties for withdrawing(see below).

Withdraw Penalty

If you are not using the Unrestricted Party setting (see below),withdrawing from the queue and/or allowing the timer to run out three times in one day will lock you out of using the Duty Finder for 30 minutes.If you are in a party when you join the queue, the entire party willbe penalized for the above.Also, if you are not using the Unrestricted Party setting, if you withdraw from a duty in progress, you may incur a penalty or be locked out of using the Duty Finder for 30 minutes.

Returning to the Starting Point of a Duty

If you are in an instanced duty, the Return spell works differently: it returnsyou to the starting point of the duty. You can find Return in Main Menu > Travel.

Dismissing a Player from a Duty

If a player goes offline and does not come back after a while, or if a playeris causing problems that cannot be resolved by talking to them,you may decide to vote to dismiss a player from a duty. Open the Party MemberList and right-click the player, then choose Vote Dismiss, then choose thereason for dismissal and click Commence. The other playerswill be prompted to vote on whether or not to dismiss the player. If the votegoes through, the player will be dismissed. The party leader will then beasked if they want to replenish the ranks. If they say yes, players who enableJoin Party in Progress (see below) and queue for the same duty or a roulette where the duty can be selected may bechosen to replenish your ranks.

Be warned that unjustified usage of Vote Dismiss is a punishable act.If a player feels that they were wrongfully dismissed, they mayreport you.

Player Commendations

When a duty is completed, each player will be prompted to commend a playerwho left a positive impression. You cannot select players who were in the party with you when you joined the queue.You cannotselect players after they leave the duty.There are various Achievements that can be earned for receiving playercommendations, and you also need a certain number of commendations to become aBattle Mentor, so you may wish to stay for a short while before youleave after a duty is complete, so you can have a better chance of receiving player commendations.

Duty Finder Settings

Click the ⚙️ in the top left corner of the Duty Finder to open the Duty FinderSettings. See below for a description of each setting.

Join Party in Progress

If you enable Join Party in Progress in the Duty Finder's settings, you can fill vacancies in a duty that one or more players have withdrawn from. When the Duty Ready window pops up, if the duty is underway, it will display the time that haselapsed.

Doing Dungeons By Yourself: Unrestricted Parties

If you select Unrestricted Party in the Duty Finder's settings, you will not beplaced in a queue, but instead will enter the dungeon with your current party(or solo if you are not in a party). In addition, your level will not be syncedunless you also select Level Sync in the Duty Finder's settings.

This feature can be used to allow high level players to quickly clear low levelduties.It can also be used to attempt a duty using a party of a non-standard composition (forexample, fewerthan the required number of players, no tanks, etc).

For players who wish to clear the duty by themselves, it is recommended to beat least 12 to 15 levels above the duty's level and have appropriate gearfor your current level. (This recommendation may now beobsolete due to the changes to player stats in Endwalker.)

Level Sync

The Level Sync setting becomes available if you have selected Unrestricted Party.Normally, selecting Unrestricted Party will prevent your level from being synced,but you can use the Level Sync setting to use a non-standard party compositionwhile still syncing your level to the duty's level as normal. This can be donefor a challenge, and is particularly helpful for learning Blue Mage spells, as it increases the likelihood of learning the spells.

Minimum IL

For an extra challenge, you can select Minimum IL to sync your gear to the minimumitem level requirement of the duty. This is for high level players who wanttheir stats to be as low as possible when attempting the duty.

Silence Echo

The Echo is a buff that is normally activated upon failing a duty.It gives a bonus to stats to reduce the difficulty of the duty. The Silence Echooption will prevent this bonus from being granted, but only if the party leaderenabled it in their Duty Finder.

Explorer Mode

If you enable Explorer Mode in the Duty Finder's settings, you can enter certainduties in Explorer Mode, where there are no enemies, you can execute Limit Breaksat will, you can freely changebetween combat classes, you can engage in Bard performance, and you can use mounts, minions, and fashion accessories. As of September 2021, this feature can onlybe used in certain Stormblood and Shadowbringers duties.

Limited Leveling Roulette

This option, when enabled in the party leader's Duty Finder, restricts the Leveling Roulette to selecting duties that are within a certain range of the levels of the players in your party. For example, if the lowest level player in the partyis level 70, the Leveling Roulette will only select duties from level 63 through70. Players may wish to use this feature because low level duties do not rewardas many experience points.

Loot Rules

Selecting a loot rule will change how loot from the duty is distributed. Normal uses the "Need, Greed, Pass" system. Greed Only requires all playersto select Greed. If Lootmaster is selected, the party leader chooses who getswhat.

Duty Finder Languages

You can select the languages to use when queuing. This will allow you to bematched with players whose game clients use those languages.To avoid long queue times, it is recommended to only select the languages thatare most commonly used in your datacenter.