What is a Chain? | FFXIV Guide

When it comes to playing Final Fantasy 14, I have to say Square Enix has done a great job at explaining the various mechanics in the game.

In most cases, when a player is confronted with a new mechanic or skill a tooltip window will immediately pop up on the player’s screen letting them know the information they need on how to use the skill or what the mechanic they are dealing with is. Though this is typically true, this isn’t always the case and there will be some mechanics in the game where a player is left to question what it is on their own.

The main one I didn’t fully understand when I first joined FFXIV was the Chain mechanic.

Being that I was new to the game I didn’t have many people to talk to about mechanics or strategies, however, the Chain mechanic soon became very clear to me after spending a good portion of time in the main world and defeating “trash mobs.”

Note: If you have any questions about FFXIV that you want me to cover feel free to leave them in a comment below, you can also ask me while I am streaming on Twitch, YouTube or in our community discord.

WHAT IS A CHAIN IN FFXIV?

An Experience Chain is a term that is used to describe when a player defeats a number of mobs that are either the same level (Even Match) or a higher level than them.

Players must kill at least 2 mobs in quick succession in order to acquire a Chain, however, once the Chain has started a timer will begin counting down.

If players successfully kill another mob within this time frame, players will receive bonus experience that is connected to what part of the Chain they are on.

While Experience Chains are typically seen on Disciples of War and Disciples of Magic, they can also be acquired on Disciples of Land by collecting multiple resources in a row.

If players are on a DOW or DOM and are trying to complete Chains, only mobs that are their level or a bit higher will continue fuelling their Chain. If players kill an enemy that is a lower level while a Chain is up, players will not reap the benefits of the Chain and will not be able to progress the Chain. Luckily for players, killing a mob that is weaker than them while in a Chain will not break the Chain, however, the experience received will act like the mob defeated wasn’t in the Chain and players will want to continue working on mobs that are either an equal or higher level than them to continue progressing the Chain.

The first few mobs in a Chain will provide players with a fairly lengthy time to defeat the next mob, however the further you are in a Chain the shorter the time provided is. Due to this, players may want to start a party with players around the same level as them in order to successfully grind Chains as a Chain can give a player at least 50% extra experience per mob killed.

Players should note that the Party System is the best way to guarantee a Chain as if players are not in a Party and a mob is killed by a player with a higher level, the lower level player will not get any experience for the mob as they were unlikely to deal enough damage to the mob to secure the kill. If players are around the same level this shouldn’t be an issue, making things like FATES one of the best places to secure a Chain.

Players in a Party can be a significant amount higher than you if you wish to get Chains as the core Chain mechanic is based on each player. What I mean by this is if a player is level 49, the mob is level 50 and a party member is level 55, the level 49 player will still successfully Chain the mob.

Players should note that they cannot be more than 5 levels below a mob if they want to successfully get experience or a Chain on a mob, even in a Party. When a player is that low the “how much damage did you actually do to the mob” factor kicks in, often leaving the low levelled member to get nothing. Players may have already noted this from FATES that are too high levelled which state that their damage contribution is significantly less. In the case of FATES this isn’t as much of an issue as if the player isn’t drastically lower, they can still get a gold completion if they deal enough damage to the mob(s).

CHAIN BONUSES IN FFXIV

As mentioned, there are different experience bonuses in a Chain depending on how far into the Chain a player is. While a player can Chain a maximum of 30 times, the maximum a player can get in bonus experience is 50%, which is achievable at the 5th Chain.

Due to this, many players will simply do Chains in groups of 10 as the time between Chains gets significantly lower and lower, making it hard for players who are not in parties to keep up as players will often have to search for more mobs to kill.

The Chain Experience Bonuses go as follows:

CHAIN #1

The first Chain will grant 20% experience on that mob.

CHAIN #2

The second Chain will grant 25% experience on that mob.

CHAIN #3

The third Chain will grant 30% experience on that mob.

CHAIN #4

The fourth Chain will grant 40% experience on that mob.

CHAIN #5

The fifth Chain will grant 50% experience on that mob.

Note: All Chains beyond the 5th will also provide players with 50% experience until the Chain is broken.

CHAIN #5

The fifth Chain will last 105 seconds.

CHAIN #6+

All other Chains will last 60 seconds.

Note: Unfortunately I currently do not have the data beyond this and will attempt to run Chains to test out these numbers. If you have any data, please feel free to comment it down below, however, I’ve saved a few jobs at level 75-90, so I will try to get that data out in the next few months.

WHERE IS THE BEST PLACE TO CHAIN?

In my opinion, the best place to Chain is in FATES that are a slightly higher level than you.

Both fortunately and unfortunately, FATES that are your level will spawn mobs that are a lower level than you. This is meant to signal to a player at what level a player would be able to solo the FATE with less difficulty. While this is the case, players should be able to manage soloing a FATE a bit higher to them if the take things slow and have a Chocobo Companion with them.

The only time a FATE will have a mob that is the same level as the suggested level is a Boss FATE, where a player would not be able to acquire Chains anyways.

The main benefit to Chaining in a FATE is how rapidly mobs spawn as sometimes when you’re adventuring around the world and trying to grind mobs to Chain there is a break in the Chain due to mobs not respawning fast enough. There are some good places to grind mobs of your level in quick succession, though due to how long that list would be, I’m really not going to dive into it. I also strongly feel like grinding FATES alone with the occasional mob while the next FATE spawns is the best method to grind Chains.

The reality is that FATES aren’t always spawned and while players can head to different instances to ensure their Chain doesn’t break, this isn’t always a possibility. Players should be able to Chain quite a bit before the end of a FATE though, still making it a great source of experience, especially if they are able to successfully get gold on the completed FATE.

CONCLUSION

While Chaining isn’t ever going to be a player’s main source of experience, it can greatly boost the amount of experience a player gets, especially if they are running FATES while doing them.

I recognize how annoying FATES can be, especially in areas that feel deserted, leaving many players to simply jump onto the Leveling Roulette as their main source of experience. However, if you’re playing FFXIV with friends or recruit people using Party Finder it becomes a breeze to grind FATES quickly.

Party Finder has been an absolute blessing, especially on my grind to get my Bicolor Gemstone Vouchers.

But I’m curious, what are your thoughts on Chaining? Do you focus on it or do you not feel like the 50% bonus experience isn’t worth stressing about?

Let me know in the comments below!

WHAT IS A CHAIN IN FFXIV?