Cosmic Exploration: First Day On Auxesia

Final Fantasy XIV's patch 7.51 dropped yesterday so I put everything aside to go to Cosmic Exploration's fourth and final zone: Auxesia.

Approaching the final zone

In each patch the developers add in some new content. Auxesia introduces us to Tool Mastery missions. The patch notes serve as kind of a spoiler as the mission doesn't even show up until a player levels up a cosmic tool to its final form.

Tool Mastery Missions

Tool mastery missions are special missions that can be undertaken on Auxesia by those who have completed the final stage of a cosmic tool.

Unlike normal stellar missions, the aim is to achieve the highest possible score within an allotted time.

Tool mastery points are granted upon completion of a tool mastery mission, in accordance with the final score.

As a quick aside I haven't qualified to do a tool mastery mission yet. I wonder if they are anything like a couple of the timed encounters from the recent holiday events we've done.

Tool Mastery Points

Tool mastery points are gained in accordance with scores from tool mastery missions and accumulate for each individual class.

Reaching certain milestones with a specific class will grant achievements and, in some cases, titles.

Current points can be checked via the mission selection list, or via an overview found in the tool mastery point section of the Cosmic Class Tracker, accessed from your exotablet.

However, these UI elements don't show up without having a max level cosmic tool. Either that or I found a bug.

Mission Scoring

There are two different score objectives in tool mastery missions.

You may choose to complete the mission at any point after reaching the first objective.

Mission completion will reward you with tool mastery points, a cosmic class score, and contributions to Starward Standings commensurate with your score. Cosmic credits, Auxesia credits, and Auxesia exploration tokens will also be rewarded.

Reaching either score objective will grant the following bonus effects:

• Time limit increase
• Score multiplier increase
• Duty action usage increase
• GP recovery

There are three tool mastery missions available per class, with a high score recorded for each completed mission.

The concept seems interesting but I first need to get my cosmic tools to their final form. I made my life a lot easier my ensuring I had maximized all my research so I could obtain the iLevel 770 version of the tools for all gathering and crafting jobs. I then headed out to do missions on my botanist, since botanist and mining missions to me are the easiest to do. I was able to level up hatchet up to iLevel 775, just one evolution away from qualifying to do tool mastery missions.

A much more normal looking starting place

But I did get distracted. A Red Alert occurred and I had to switch to miner to participate. I wanted the Auxesia credits in order to play the cosmic fortunes game. I didn't have much luck with the wheel, but I have a bit of time to play to try to get the prizes. At least I saw a good selection of prizes that will have me playing the mini-game a lot.

I did use up most of the cosmocredits I earned on Oizys. I managed to buy 3 of the 6 items in the Cosmic Explorer's set. I really only need to buy two more items as the outfit comes with two separate bottoms. I might even switch my gathering glamour to the Cosmic Explorer's set, although I really do like the Clint Eastwood spaghetti-western look I usually wear. With any luck I'll have the last two pieces purchased by the weekend.

Because I wanted to write about my experiences I wound up cutting my activities short in order to look for artifacts. Introduced in Oizys, I'm glad I did. 

I really do like the aesthetic of Auxesia 

By the time I was able to log in the server's crafters and gatherers had already set up the cosmosliner system, or at least the starting sections. Basically the cosmoliner system uses flying surfboards to move people around. And since I earned the mount, I travel around cosmic exploration zones like the second coming of Marty McFly.

I had to do some off-roading. Or, in this case, on-roading as the zone has a highway system that's really overgrown with vegetation. Very nice-looking stuff. But I did have 6 artifacts to find, the proceeds of my efforts leveling up my hatchet to iLevel 775.

Six artifacts is a small sample size, but I hope I continue getting a 2 to 1 ratio of silver artifacts to bronze artifacts. Getting something like 60-70% bronze artifacts on Oizys made searching for artifacts more of a chore than anything else. While it probably helps I don't go out and actively collect minions, finding three I didn't have before did feel good. And just for my personal memory, the three I found were:

• Wind-up Shinryu 
• Wind-up Ravana 
• Wind-up Sadu

After turning in all the artifacts I headed off to sleep. I still have a lot of new content to see in addition to just grinding out my final cosmic tools. And maybe, just maybe, I'll get the final mount before Evercold launches at the beginning of 2027.