Wondering what to spend your Poetics on in FFXIV? Allagan Tomestones of Poetics are the game's evergreen currency — they never expire, you earn them almost everywhere, and they unlock a huge range of useful rewards. The catch is the 2,000 holding cap, so it pays to know exactly where your stockpile is best spent before you start hitting the ceiling and wasting drops.
This guide walks through the most worthwhile ways to spend Poetics, roughly in priority order. Whether you are a fresh adventurer, a returning player, or a veteran with a full pouch, there is always something useful to grab.
What you need to know first
- Holding cap: you can carry up to 2,000 Poetics at a time, so spend down before you cap out.
- No spending cap: unlike the current high-end tomestone, there is no weekly limit on how many Poetics you can spend.
- Where to spend: the main Tomestone vendors live in your hub city and in older expansion zones — look for the gil-and-tomestone exchange NPCs.
The best things to spend Poetics on
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Step 1: Understand what Poetics are and how you earn them
Allagan Tomestones of Poetics drop from almost every kind of content: Duty Roulettes (the daily roulette bonus is the fastest source), dungeons, trials, raids, FATEs, hunts and daily beast-tribe quests. Because they never expire, they quietly build up — which is exactly why you want a spending plan rather than letting them sit at the 2,000 cap.
Poetics flow in from roulettes, dungeons, trials, FATEs and daily tribes, capped at 2,000 held. -
Step 2: Buy catch-up gear to level alt jobs fast
This is the single best use of Poetics for most players. Each expansion adds a Poetics gear vendor selling a full set of armour, weapons and accessories from the previous expansion's content. When you finish levelling a new job, you can instantly buy a complete set at a solid item level — far quicker than grinding dungeon drops. It is the ideal way to prepare a fresh job before stepping into Normal raids, expert dungeons or the next story duty.
A full Poetics gear set gives a freshly levelled job an instant item-level boost. -
Step 3: Trade Poetics for materia, dyes and glamour
Poetics also exchange into “Unidentifiable” crafting materials — Unidentifiable Bone, Ore, Reagent and Seeds — from a Material Supplier vendor. You can hand these to crafters (or sell them on the market board) to turn spare currency into gil. The same vendors stock general-purpose dyes, making Poetics a cheap, reliable source of colours for recolouring your favourite glamour sets.
Convert leftover Poetics into sellable materials, gil and a steady supply of dyes. -
Step 4: Pick up mounts, minions and collectibles
Once your gear and crafting needs are covered, Poetics are great for collectors. Various vendors sell mounts and minions for Poetics, and there are smaller extras worth grabbing too — Riding Maps that unlock flight in older zones, Triple Triad card upgrades, and Orchestrion music rolls. None of these are essential, but they make a satisfying way to drain a near-capped pouch.
Mounts, minions, riding maps and other cosmetics are a fun way to spend leftover Poetics. -
Step 5: Know where to find the vendors
The exchange NPCs are easy to track down once you know what to look for. In the current hub city you will find a Tomestone vendor for the latest Poetics gear and accessories, plus Rowena's representatives (such as Auriana) who handle older endgame gear, a Material Supplier for crafting mats, and merchants like Mowen's for mounts and minions. Each previous expansion also keeps its own gear vendor in its starting city.
Look for the Tomestone vendors and Rowena's reps in your main city hubs.
Tips to get the most from your Poetics
- Spend before you cap. Once you hit 2,000, content that would award Poetics gives you nothing, so clear the pouch regularly.
- Gear first, cosmetics later. If you actively level jobs, prioritise catch-up gear sets — they save the most time.
- Use Unidentifiable mats as a gil engine. Buying and selling them is a simple, low-effort way to turn idle currency into gold.
- Returning player? Grab a full Poetics set for your main job the moment you are back; it is usually enough to jump into current Normal-difficulty content.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best thing to spend Poetics on in FFXIV?
For most players it is catch-up gear: a full previous-expansion armour and weapon set to quickly equip newly levelled jobs. After that, Unidentifiable materials for gil and cosmetics like mounts and dyes are the next best uses.
Do Poetics expire in FFXIV?
No. Allagan Tomestones of Poetics never expire. The only limit is the 2,000 holding cap, so you simply need to spend them before that ceiling stops new drops from counting.
Where do I spend Poetics?
Visit the Tomestone vendors and Rowena's representatives in your hub city for gear, a Material Supplier for crafting mats and dyes, and merchants like Mowen's for mounts and minions. Older expansions keep their own gear vendors in their starting cities.
What is the Poetics cap?
You can hold a maximum of 2,000 Poetics at once. There is no weekly cap on how many you can spend, unlike the current high-end tomestone.
Should returning players save Poetics?
There is little reason to hoard them. Spend them on a catch-up gear set for your main job as soon as you return so you can dive back into current content properly geared.
Final thoughts
Poetics are one of the most flexible currencies in FFXIV, so there is rarely a wrong answer — but the smart order is gear first, then gil-making materials, then cosmetics. Keep your pouch below the cap, grab a full catch-up set whenever you level a new job, and use the rest on dyes, mounts and minions. For official details on the game and its systems, see the Final Fantasy XIV website.
