Azys Lla is a zone that is accessed during the Heavensward Level 59 Main Scenario Quest “The First Flight of the Excelsior”. This zone is full floating islands riddled with Allagan ruins. To get to the island with the unspoiled node that contains adamantite ore, you must first have access to flight – which means you need to unlock all the aether currents on this map. Playing through the MSQ until the level 59 quest “Fetters of Lament” should take care of this. This island is also home to a few Allagan relics called “Clockwork Bits”. These are small drones that have fluttering wings and glowing blue lights that are aggressive towards unsuspecting adventurers, so do remember to keep your “Sneak” ability up while waiting for the unspoiled node to spawn. Alternatives to gathering adamantite ore yourself include:
Completing levequests Desynthesizing catfish Or having your retainers mine it for you
Out of these options, mining the ore would be the most efficient way of farming it, whether it’s by you or your retainers.
Spoils From the Unspoiled
Unspoiled gathering nodes are distinct from those commonly found in the great Eorzean outdoors for a couple of reasons. First, they only show up during specific times of the day, and you must have the action “Truth of Mountains” activated. Some spawn once a day (Eorzea time) while others show up twice daily. The other thing that sets these nodes apart is that after gathering from them (or if they go untouched for a period of time) they will disappear. When this happens, you’ll have to wait until the designated time for them to spawn again.
Relying on Retainers
Like players, retainers can be set to a specific class except for the ones that are considered Disciples of the Hand. To have your retainers mine adamantite ore for you, you must first set their class to miner with a level of at least 60. And your retainer’s level will be capped at your current level on the same class. As a level 60 miner, retainers can go out on Mining Exploration Ventures to gather adamantite ore specifically. These ventures take 60 minutes to complete and can net you 3 to 9 ores. Increasing your retainer’s level will reduce the time it takes to complete the venture by up to 20 minutes, while increasing their perception stat will help them yield more ore per run. Highland Exploration Venture XIX for retainers level 60 and above also has a chance to produce adamantite ore. However, these are not very efficient for farming since they take 18 hours to complete, and the item that’s brought back is random. These types of ventures are more for leveling up your retainers as they offer a large amount of experience points. Voyages follow the same concept as retainer ventures, but instead of sending out NPC assistants, Free Companies send out airships and aquatic submersibles. Voyage destinations where adamantite ore can be found are the Flickering Deep and the North Isle of Zozonan.
Cutting Up Catfish
Perhaps the most unusual way of obtaining adamantite ore is through desynthesis. This can be unlocked through the level 30 quest “Gone to Pieces” from Syntgoht in Ul’dah – Steps of Thal (X:14, Y:10). And the fish you’re looking for is the Oven Catfish, a mythical fish found swimming in the lava lakes of Mourn in the Dravanian Forelands (X:13, Y:13). To catch the Oven Catfish, you would need to be a level 55 fisher using mooch as bait. And then to desynthesize the catfish, you’ll need to have culinarian leveled to at least 30.
Levequest Luxuries
Level 58 tradecraft levequests have the possibility of handing out adamantite ore as compensation. These quests are given by Eloin in the Foundation (X:10.2, Y:10.4). Below is a list of levequests that all have a chance of rewarding you with adamantite ore:
Look Before You Leap (Armorer) Men in Adamantite (L) (Armorer) Negative, They Are Meat Popsicles (L) (Blacksmith) Patience, Young Grasshopper (L) (Armorer) Piercing Eyes Deserve Piercing Shafts (L) (Blacksmith) Sir, Dost Thou Even Heft (Armorer) Swords for Plowshares (Blacksmith) The Mast Chance (Armorer) The Nightsoil Is Dark and Full of Terrors (L) (Blacksmith) The Rose and the Riveter (L) (Armorer) Through Thick and Thin (Blacksmith) Winter Weather Conditions (Blacksmith)
Crafting with Adamantite
Adamantite ores are used by both armorers and blacksmiths to craft adamantite nuggets at level 58. To craft one nugget, you’ll need:
x5 adamantite ore x1 darksteel ore x5 ice crystals (armorers) or x5 fire crystals (blacksmiths)
The adamantite nuggets are also used for a wide variety of different items, that range from house furnishings to weapons and armor. One notable piece of armor that can be crafted with adamantite nuggets is the Chivalric Coat of Fending, which I’ve seen quite often as a popular glamour item.
