How To Unlock The Bozjan Southern Front In Final Fantasy 14
The Bozjan Southern Front is the first in a series of instanced duties that form the staging ground for the "Shadowbringers" relic weapon quests in "Final Fantasy 14." Titled "Save the Queen: Blades of Gunnhildr," this collection of instanced duties offers players unique incentives alongside relic weapon progression like exclusive mounts, cosmetic items, and sizeable EXP rewards. All of the content is set in the besieged country of Bozja and consists of three instanced zones and two in-zone dungeons, unlocked in the order of the Bozjan Southern Front, Castrum Lacus Litore, Delubrum Reginae, Zadnor, and the Dariada.
The process of unlocking these instances is quite similar to that of Eureka — the islands that hosted the "Stormblood" relic weapon quests — in that players have to complete the storyline of every zone through hitting milestones in the unique progress system. However, unlike Eureka, where the unlock quest automatically becomes available after completing the "Stormblood" main campaign, gaining access to Bozja involves a lengthy prerequisite process. Players must complete the entirety of the Alliance Raid series introduced in "Stormblood," and then trudge through extended cutscenes and a solo instance battle before being able to enter the Southern Front — and by extension, the main content of the "Save the Queen" region as a whole. Those who haven't completed either have a lot of legwork ahead of them — here's how to get started.
Where do you find the Stormblood Alliance Raids?
The questline for the "Stormblood" Alliance Raids is called "Return to Ivalice" and starts in Kugane as soon as you've finished the eponymous final quest in the 4.0 series, "Stormblood." Near the main Aetheryte plaza will be an NPC named Keiten, who will give you a quest labeled "Dramatis Personae" that will unlock the raid series.
Be warned that these raids are the first of their kind — bombastic, colorful, and almost fully voice-acted, they will have you working at full capacity to keep up no matter how high your item level is. Don't expect to be able to muddle along blind and still spend most of your time on your feet like you can in the "Crystal Tower" or "Shadow of Mhach" raids. While that's not to say you need to watch a guide to avoid griefing your alliance-mates, it's probably a good idea to brush up on what prime numbers are before heading into the second raid, the Ridorana Lighthouse. Just remember: "FF14" doesn't count 1 as a valid prime number.
Aside from the challenging mechanics, the "Return to Ivalice" raids are bookended by some pretty extended cutscenes. While you can skip these if you'd like, they do offer engaging lore on the lands outside of Eorzea and introduce you to the central NPC that you'll be interacting with in the Bozjan quests — it won't hurt to sit through them if you have the time and attention span to spare.
Where do you start the Shadowbringers relic weapon quests?
The final relevant quest in the Ivalice storyline is "The City of Lost Angels" — once you've completed it, you'll be done with the "Stormblood" prerequisites for Bozja. If you've also finished the final quest of 5.0, "Shadowbringers," Keiten will be in Kugane at the same spot offering a new quest called "Hail to the Queen" that leads to "Path to the Past," then "The Bozja Incident." This series of quests will take you through unlocking Gangos — the main player hub for Save the Queen content — as well as a solo trial. Do note that this trial has an extreme version that's played with an 8-person player team called "Memoria Misera" which drops the dyeable versions of the "Shadowbringers" Artifact Gear — if you're interested, don't forget to talk to the Wandering Dramaturge in Gangos after completing "The Bozja Incident."
After this, further progress will be locked behind the 5.1 post-MSQ quest, "Vows of Virtue, Deeds of Cruelty." Make sure you've completed that quest before heading to Gangos to pick up "Where Eagles Nest" from Marsak, which finally unlocks access to the Bozjan Southern Front and kicks off the "Save the Queen" content in earnest. Speak with Sjeros near the docks to queue for entry into the zone without worrying about settling on a job beforehand — you'll be able to change classes inside, and/or use zone-exclusive actions that'll compensate for unconventional party compositions as well as solo play in any role.