FF14 glamour hunters reveal tips, collections, and why they go so hard

What I Assume Final Fantasy 14, glamour hunters — the players who devote hundreds of hours to collecting pieces of gear and in-game wardrobe pieces in Square Enix’s MMORPG — were an unapproachable group of players. They appear to be able to clear any raid, regardless of the level of difficulty. The lone hunters are out for the blood. They’re also very focused on achieving their goals. They have the patience of great white sharks stalking their prey (which, in this case, would be a shirt or pair of pants — known in the game as “glamour”). I was wrong.

As I expected pushback from a few glamour hunters I approached on Discord and Twitter. Instead, they were ecstatic. When I asked for the highlights of their glamour hunts, expecting to hear something akin to an ESPN anchor play-by-play, I discovered “sport” wasn’t even the right metaphor for glam hunting. The hunt for players who are in the deep is more like a language.

This makes sense if you think of glam hunting as a true part of the fashion conversation — these players are right there with sneakerheads, Vivienne Westwood acolytes, or dedicated Fragrantica reviewers. It’s not enough to lurk on Grailed for rare items or Depop in order to get the best deals. This is the equivalent of jumping into difficult raids such as Savages. “Being into fashion” is also about chatting about why you’re into Ann Demeulemeester or exchanging tips on what to wear with a gorgeous top or platform boots. Glam-hunting is no different, despite being a part of the world of FF14Rather than hunt, style hunting is more concerned with what happens afterward. It was only after I started glam-hunting that I realized the purpose of it all: to create great outfits but also share them with other fashionistas.

Square Enix Image via Leon Aquitaine

What is the nature of FF14 being a MMORPG, one that launched in 2010, re-launched in 2013, and has received four expansions over the years, means there’s a sprawling platter of activities and various ways to play the game. Players who are only interested in crafting can spend most of their free time leveling Disciples of the Hand abilities like blacksmithing and leatherworking. If they’re just partial to mahjong and minigames, the in-game amusement park The Gold Saucer has everything they need. Then there’s glamour hunting.

Devs are behind FF14The glamours in the game are designed to be immersive. Players are often outfitted with a story-related or regional costume when completing quests. Endwalker, the fourth expansion pack that concludes the yearslong story arc between Zodiark and Hydaelyn, rewards players with a black Sophist’s robe in Elpis, a research facility set way back in the Unsundered world. They can wear the black robe to look like the Ancients. Monsoon, aka Player Monsoon is a frequent player on the FF14 A glamour subreddit informed me that when she travels along with the main story, it is common for her to change into glams that are in line with the surrounding environment. “It’s funny because at one point in the main story they send you somewhere cold. Like they go on and on about how cold it is there,” Monsoon said. “They even go out of their way to provide you with a coat and everything. How can you not lean into that?”

Other parts of the games are woven with glamours. You don’t necessarily need to “hunt” for glamours if it’s not your focus. If you follow along the Main Scenario Quests, gear will automatically drop, and obtaining pieces just to do the next dungeon or raid along the MSQ isn’t difficult. It’s only a hunt if you rifle through the Beast Tribe inventories, sort through items retainers bring you, and commit to running the same dungeon multiple times to get a specific piece.

Square Enix

Glam hunting is popular for many reasons. Others told me how they love putting together outfits for real life. Why not try it in a game? FF14 too? Another told me point-blank that he didn’t even enjoy glam hunting, but he glam hunts anyway because it’s a means to an end for pieces. (Fair.) Monsoon stated that she got into glamour-hunting because it provided a focal point in an otherwise overwhelming and dizzying game.

Many players also said glamour hunting got them to try fights they wouldn’t have approached otherwise — especially Savages.

The Savages is the most difficult raid in FF14It is completely optional. You don’t need to complete them to progress in the main story quest, but they offer a challenge to those looking for more extreme combat experiences.

It’s hard to describe the level of dead-on-the-ground-always you’d be when trying a Savage for the very first time. Succeeding requires a clear sense of your job’s optimal rotation and spending a hefty amount of time with your raid group for a clear. It’s like a regular date night with seven other people, but instead of something romantic,You can also find out more about the players are slaying an in-game god.

FF14 player IggyHe said that his best glam-hunting memory was when he ran his first Savage. “I got smacked,” he said. But he added that he didn’t regret all the time spent looking up guides, practicing rotations, and asking his Free Company (the in-game guilds run by players), because it made him a better player.

Lizzie told a similar tale about her entry into raiding. “What really got me into raiding was bugging my FC to join me for the Omega Savage raids to get the tops for my white mage and dancer,” said Lizzie. “They’re not too tough to complete these days, but you do still have to put in some effort.”

FF14 player Cassie, on the other hand, gave raid-finder a first try because they wanted “chestpieces from basically all the Nier raid[s].” (To no surprise, the glams from the Nier Automata Collaboration with FF14The song was a huge hit.

Most players that I spoke to were focused on obtaining glams in dungeons and raids. Monsoon, a player that likes to look for glams even in the most unlikely of places is a good example.

She pointed out that there aren’t a lot of off-the-beaten-path quest rewards in FF14But they exist. Rhalgr’s Reach in Stormblood has one such side quest, called “Ant Juice,” and it gives players a blindfold. It’s a rather short quest, and the player just needs to sprinkle a powder to attract a monster, defeat it, and go back to the NPC Ranulf for the reward. Monsoon’s personal favorite lesser-known glam item was obtained through a Kugane quest called “The New King on the Block.” After obtaining scales from a defeated wyvern-looking monster called Rathalos, players can turn them into merchants for armor that — as you’d expect — looks very wyvern-y. It’s easy to miss, said Monsoon, since the game doesn’t especially flag it.

“Most of the ones that are off the beaten track are things that have sort of been forgotten about. Several of the Beast tribes reward rep with an armor set that looks like them,” Monsoon said. “You can look like a turtle man if you hang out with the Kojin for long enough!”

Image: Square Enix via Lizzie

In the meantime, Why not? of all this time spent hunting digital clothing, what players brought up often was the different glamour communities they participated in and how they helped each other out — be it through exchanging advice, planning hunts together, or participating in themed challenges.

Eorzea Collection is a website that catalogues glamour. It also has a section where anyone can upload their own glamour photos. Iggy, a regular participant in the Eorzea collection Discord and patron of the website, is also a member. Each month contributors participate in a glamour contest and post glams that relate to the theme of the challenge. In the past, themes included Handmade Fashions, Glams only made with handcrafted items and the beginning of a story. EndwalkerNewfound Adventure clothing.

FF14Wynn, a player at the time of this interview, is also a member of the Krumpets. The group holds glamour competitions weekly in Gridania’s amphitheater. Wynn participates in themed glamours, as do other players. She was part of five-person group glam that focused on the elements. “I was the Avatar of Fire, and my friends were Water, Lightning, Wind, and Earth,” said Wynn.

“I have a group of friends that enjoy similar activities, and we decided to work on Elemental sets — a kind of armor with rare emissive details,” FF14Leon Aquitaine is a player. Leon Aquitaine said that the two of them had a great time together while they romped through Eureka.

For Lizzie, it’s like a kind of in-game book club. “Every time I make a new glam, I send it to my static lead, and she’ll send me hers.” Lizzie enjoys exchanging glamour advice with other players and roping her FC up into material hunts for crafted glamours, like the Chocobo Pajamas. “Most of the questions I ask in terms of glam advice are dye-related, since a lot of the gear in game doesn’t always dye well,” Lizzie said. “If someone is asking me for advice I usually start by asking what kind of vibe they’re going for with their look. Is the outfit balanced? You want to emulate a classic look for your job? Create the most cursed outfit you’ve ever seen? It’s also a lot of helping newer players figure out where items come from, are there duplicates that are easier to obtain or dye better?”

Cursed clothes?

“I think in general,” Lizzie adds, “anything that involves animal costume heads and normal outfits is 100% cursed and ominous — the frog head especially.”

Many players who regularly glam hunt don’t do it solo, and indeed, glam hunting isn’t a solo hobby. It’s a way to learn the stylistic language of other people, to get inspired by other people, or to just hold Fat Chocobo Head glam gatherings at the Gold Saucer.

Leon recounted to me the very first moment he really got into glam hunting, an activity he hadn’t paid much attention to previously.

“One day, turning some scrips around in Firmament, a kind stranger sent me a /tell saying how cool that glam was, how much they liked it, and that I should upload it to the Eorzea Collection… And the rest, as they say, is history,” said Leon. “So to you, kind glamourista stranger: Thank you so much for those words of encouragement! I’d never be here without you.”