What important side quests should I be doing?

Dungeons

Before level 50, there are 4 optional dungeons you can unlock.

  • Halatali (Lvl 20): Unlocks in Vesper Bay (Western Thanalan X:12 Y:14) from the quest Hello Halatali.
  • The Sunkern Temple of Qarn (Lvl 35): Unlocks in Vesper Bay (Western Thanalan X:12 Y:14) from the quest Braving new Depths.
  • Cutter's Cry (Lvl 38): Unlocks in Ul'dah (Steps of Thal X:14 Y:10) from the quest Dishonor before Death
  • Dzemael Darkhold (Lvl 44): Unlocks in Dragonhead (X:24 Y:28) from the quest Fort of Fear or in your Grand Company HQ from the quest Shadows Uncast (Maelstron/Twin Adders/Immortal Flames).
  • The Aurum Value (Lvl 47): Unlocks in Vesper Bay (Western Thanalan X:12 Y:14) from the quest Going for Gold.

Retainers

After completing the Main Story Quest The Scions of the Seventh Dawn you begin to hire retainers. Retainers allow you to sell your items to other players, and often get much better prices than selling to vendors would. They can also store items, with an inventory of 175 slots.

Initially you can have up to 2 retainers, with additional retainer slots available to purchase on the cash shop.

Retainers can be hired in any of the 4 main cities from;

  • Parnell in Old Gridania (X:14 Y:9)
  • Chachabi in Ul'dah Steps of Thal (X:13 Y:9)
  • Frydwyb in Limsa Lominsa Lower Decks (X:8 Y:11)
  • Prunilla in The Pillars (X:8 Y:11)

Customising yourself

You can unlock the ability to dye your gear in Vesper Bay with the quest "Simply to Dye for" at level 15.

At level 50, you can start the quest "A self-improving man" in Mor Dhona (X:22 Y:6) which allows you to take the appearance of one piece and keep the stats of another.

Attaching materia to gear allows you to tweak and boost the stats of a piece. There are 3 quests in a quest line, all from the Bonfire in Central Thanalan (X:24 Y:23) which allow you to do this.

  • Forging the spirit (Lvl 19) teaches you to convert gear with 100% spiritbond into materia.
  • Waking the spirit (Lvl 19 crafter except Culinarian) teaches you to take materia and put it on a piece of gear. This quest is also required to complete any of the Lvl 20 crafting quests, except Culinarian.
  • Melding Materia Muchly (Lvl 25 crafter except Culinarian) teaches you "Advanced materia melding", also known as "Overmelding". This allows you to place more materia on gear than there are slots available, up to 5 materia. The probability of success decreases dramatically the more overmelds you put on a piece.

Normally to change your appearance you have to obtain a Fantasia. You receive one after 30 days of playing, from the Collectors edition of Heavensward or by paying for them from the cash shop. However you can unlock the Aesthetician instead which allows you to make small changes such as hairstyles, tattoos, and face paints.

Emotes

There are 3 dance emotes available to unlock in each main city.

There are also a number of other dances from other sources;