Learning how to swim underwater in FFXIV is never too late.
Ever since the Stormblood expansion was released, exploring the depths beneath the sea and diving underwater has been a staple in Final Fantasy XIV. The world of Eorzea gets bigger and bigger thanks to these expansions. Heavensward added the option of flight; you could use FFXIV mounts to take to the skies. It made vertical areas mode engaging to explore and allowed the addition of those beautiful floating islands. Then, as stated before, there’s Stormblood; the diving/swimming ability was vital to the story multiple times throughout Stormblood and Shadowbringers.
With areas like the Eastern La Noscea’s Costa del Sol which specifically has spots where players can swim, you’d think you would utilize this mechanic every time in the MMO. Sadly, the swimming and diving feature hasn’t been used much after the release of Stormblood. But now, players can learn how to dive underwater all over again thanks to Endwalker’s spearfishing and main scenario quests where you can farm FFXIV Gil.
Unlocking Diving
It’s near impossible to miss out on the ability to dive – not unless you’re not making any progress in the main story quests in Final Fantasy XIV, that is. Thankfully, learning how to dive in the game turns up reasonably early in Stormblood and is used frequently to get you settled in.
To unlock diving, you must do the “In Soroban We Trust” quest; it’s a level 63 story quest, and ironically enough, it starts in a town situated at the bottom of the ocean called Tamamizu. Tamamizu is located in the Ruby Sea area, and you’ll make your way through an underwater cavern you should’ve unlocked after doing the level 62 story quest, “Under the Sea.”
After rendezvousing with Alisaie in the conclusion of “Under the Sea” on the western part of the Ruby Sea, go around the bend to find a cave entrance surrounded by green lights. Then, enter the cave to drop down into the water below. As long as you follow the path forward, you should come out to the underwater village of Tamamizu.
To do the “In Soroban We Trust” quest and finally use the diving mechanic, speak with Alisaie and Lyse; the quest compromises a few cutscenes here and there, but other than that, no elbow grease is needed to unlock the ability to dive underwater. In addition to the ability, you’ll receive the Water Flip emote – you can only use this underwater. Another bonus is that you’ll also receive your choice of optional reward. The options include some Save Might materia and level 62 weapons for Dancers and Gunbreaker jobs.
How to Swim Underwater
If you want to dive, you must be swimming in a body of water that’s deep enough, like the Ruby Sea or the lake in Azim Steppe. To swim, you only need to press the designated button you have set to descend as if you were to ride on a flying FFXIV mount. The default descent button configurations for all platforms are as follows:
- PlayStation: Circle button
- Xbox: B button
- PC: Press CTRL + Spacebar
If you’re on a FFXIV mount that can fly within your current zone, you have the option to fly directly into the water to “dive” automatically. Yes, you can use a flying FFXIV mount underwater, and they’re pretty helpful too, since they can move much faster than your character’s default swimming speed. However, just like on land, you’ll have to dismount if you want to gather nodes or interact with an NPC.
Diving and Spearfishing Go Together
After learning how to dive, might we suggest learning a bit of spearfishing? By doing the quest “A New Fishing Ex-spear-ience,” you’ll be rewarded with the ability to spearfish. Just like “In Soroban We Trust,” this is another quest that’s quick to complete since you’ll only need to speak with an NPC. Note that your Fisher level must be at least 61 to equip the Spearfishing Gig.
To spearfish, use the Gig skill to thrust your spear into the fish passing by. You have to hit the weak spot of the fish to spear successfully; the glowing blue brackets mark them. If they’re aligned properly, there’s a chance for you to spear more than one fish at once. Be careful, though; the more you use your Gig skill, the more the fish will grow wary of your presence – this can be seen in the Wariness bar. The bar will go up slowly over time, regardless of whether you catch a fish, but you can slow down the wariness by increasing the number of fish you’ve caught. By combining diving and spearfishing, you can farm tons of FF14 Gil!
