Hunts are a system whereby bills are posted on a board that players can look at and decide to challenge. The challenge involves hunting specific enemies, defeating them and obtaining a reward for doing so. The reward is a currency that can be used to purchase valuable items such as Alexandrite, Sands of Time and Oil of Time. The hunt system was added in patch 2.3 and if it sounds familiar that’s because it is similar to the Marks system that FFXII had.
In order to begin taking on the Hunt you must first complete the quest “Let the Hunt Begin”. There are three of these quests but you need only complete one of them – the quest given by your own Grand Company. If that sounds confusing it is because the Hunt system is part of your Grand Company, so each company has its own quest to unlock it. Depending on your GC, speak to the following NPC at their headquarters: Trachraet (Maelstrom), Scarlet (Twin Adder) or Mimio Mio (Immortal Flames) in order to accept the quest. Upon completion of the quest you will gain access to the Hunt Board.
Hunt Board
On the Hunt Board you are able to select between Regular marks and Elite marks. Regular Marks are common enemies within Eorzea and these are updated daily at 15:00 GMT, while Elite marks are special monsters and you are able to take on one per week via the hunt board. This resets weekly at 08:00 GMT. Elite marks come in three tiers of difficulty – B, A and S with B being the weakest and S being the strongest. The hunt board will only ever give you a B rank and it is worth 100 allied seals.
The Marks
Each open world area in FFXIV: A Realm Reborn has three hunt marks – one B, one A and one S. The B ranks will spawn within 5 seconds of being killed. A list of what their names are and where they are found is below:
| Location | Mark |
| Southern Thanalan | Albin the Ashen |
| Central Thanalan | Ovjang |
| Western Thanalan | Sewer Syrup |
| Northern Thanalan | Flame Sergeant Dalvag |
| Eastern Thanalan | Gatling |
| Outer La Noscea | Vuokho |
| Middle La Noscea | Skogs Fru |
| Upper La Noscea | Myradrosh |
| Lower La Noscea | Barbastelle |
| Eastern La Noscea | Bloody Mary |
| Western La Noscea | Dark Helmet |
| South Shroud | Monarch Ogrefly |
| East Shroud | Stinging Sophie |
| North Shroud | Phecda |
| Central Shroud | White Joker |
| Coerthas Central Highlands | Naul |
| Mor Dhona | Leech King |
A ranks have spawn times ranging from 3 hours to 4 hours and can spawn at any time within one hour of their spawn window opening. There is some debate as to whether the spawn timer resets when the mark last spawned or when it last died but as they are usually killed within minutes of spawning it does not really matter. The spawn locations and timers for all A ranks are below.
| Location | Mark | Window (Hours:Minutes) |
| Southern Thanalan | Zanig’oh | 3:45 |
| Central Thanalan | Sabotender Bailarina | 4:00 |
| Western Thanalan | Alectyron | 3:30 |
| Northern Thanalan | Dalvag’s Final Flame | 4:00 |
| Eastern Thanalan | Maahes | 3:00 |
| Outer La Noscea | Cornu | 3:30 |
| Middle La Noscea | Vogaal Ja | 3:30 |
| Upper La Noscea | Marberry | 4:00 |
| Lower La Noscea | Unktehi | 3:30 |
| Eastern La Noscea | Hellsclaw | 3:30 |
| Western La Noscea | Nahn | 3:30 |
| South Shroud | Ghede Ti Malice | 3:45 |
| East Shroud | Melt | 3:00 |
| North Shroud | Girtab | 3:45 |
| Central Shroud | Forneus | 3:30 |
| Coerthas Central Highlands | Marraco | 3:00 |
| Mor Dhona | Kurrea | 3:30 |
Defeating an A rank will reward you with up to 40 allied seals and up to 40 Soldiery depending on how much effort your group put into it. They also have a small chance of dropping an Unstained Mark Log which can be used to trade in for Carbontwine and Carboncoats. If you’re unfamiliar with these items they are required to upgrase the i120 Ironworks armour pieces.
Finally, we have the S ranks. These spawn even less often – typically every 36-72 hours depending on the mark. Additionally S ranks have further spawn conditions which are related to player activity in the area or natural occurrences such as the moon or weather. See below for the details.
| Location | Mark | Window (Hours) | Conditions |
| Southern Thanalan | Nunyunuwi | 66 | This is related to how many F.A.T.E.s. have been completed in the area. How many is unknown. |
| Central Thanalan | Brontes | 66 | This either spawns at random after a player eats food or spawns after an unknown number of food items has been consumed. |
| Western Thanalan | Zona Seeker | 58 | You must fish a Glimmer Scale during Fair or Clear weather. 300+ Gathering skill required. |
| Northern Thanalan | Minhocao | 48 | This is related to Earth Crystals. Collect as many as possible by defeating Earth Sprites. |
| Eastern Thanalan | Lampalagua | 58 | Related to Battlecraft Guildleves. Initiate and/or complete an unknown number. |
| Outer La Noscea | Mahisha | 66 | This has a chance of spawning upon player death. |
| Middle La Noscea | Croque-Mitaine | 62 | You must Gather Grade 3 La Noscean Top Soil from the node that spawns at 19:00 Eorzea time. This requires a Botanist with over 370 Gathering skill. |
| Upper La Noscea | Nandi | 48 | Repeatedly summon minions in the area. |
| Lower La Noscea | Croakadile | 70+ | This will spawn between 18:00 – 20:00 on a full moon. |
| Eastern La Noscea | Garlok | 42 | This has a chance of spawning during/after the “Just a Matter of Rut” F.A.T.E. |
| Western La Noscea | Bonnacon | 62 | You must Gather La Noscean Leeks from the node that spawns at 08:00 Eorzea time. This requires a Botanist with over 408 Gathering skill. |
| South Shroud | Mindflayer | 70+ | This will spawn between 18:00 – 06:00 on a new moon. |
| East Shroud | Wulgaru | 62 | This is related to certain F.A.T.E.s, but it is not known which. |
| North Shroud | Thousand-cast Theda | 58 | Fish up a Judgeray between 17:00 – 21:00 Eorzea time. This requires over 330 Gathering skill. |
| Central Shroud | Laideronnette | 62 | This requires rainy weather to occur twice in a row. It will spawn when the weather change occurs for the second rain. The weather changes at 00:00, 08:00 and 16:00 Eorzea time. |
| Coerthas Central Highlands | Safat | 62 | Jump from high places so that your HP is 1 when you land. |
| Mor Dhona | Agrippa | 68 | This has a random chance to spawn during a Treasure Map. |
S ranks can reward up to 100 allied seals and up to 100 Soldiery tomestones. Additionally the drop rate on the Unstained Mark Logs is significantly higher.
It has been stated that in the future (most likely during the Heavensward expansion) that a new rank of elite marks will be added – these will be of higher rank than S. It would make sense because without buffs to the marks they would all be pushovers at level 60.
Allied Seals
Upon completion of a Mark you will receive Allied Seals as a reward. The amount you receive is stated on the bill itself and you will likely get more for higher ranked marks. These can then be exchanged with your Hunt Billmaster at your GC for items such as weapons, armor, minions, Sands of Time, Oil of Time and Alexandrite. You will need a lot of seals for the best items because they allow you to upgrade equipment to higher ilevels or are meant to be rare (glamour items).