In Final Fantasy XIV, obtaining new gear is a staple form of character progression. While these upgrades increase your combat stats, they often require you to make cosmetic sacrifices to maximize your character’s performance, forcing you to choose between practical gear and cosmetic appearance.
The Glamour system in FFXIV addresses this issue by allowing players to combine the stats of one item with the appearance of another. While the system has seen various changes and upgrades since its original inception in A Realm Reborn, this guide will take you through everything you need to know to travel forth while donning your perfect outfit.
Glamour Prisms
Glamouring begins with the use of Glamour Prisms, unlocked via the quest "If I Had a Glamour". Glamour Prisms are consumable items used to project the appearance of one item onto another. They can be used either via the Cast Glamour option in the subcommand menu of a piece of gear (right-click, square on PS4/5 controllers, or X on Xbox controllers), or the Cast Glamour action found in the Actions and Traits menu under the General section.
Obtaining Glamour Prisms can be done in a variety of ways, including crafting them yourself, obtaining them as quest rewards, or buying them with Grand Company seals, Island Sanctuary cowries, PvP Wolf Marks, Bicolor Gemstones, or purchased with gil via the market board.
Glamours are permanent until removed with a Glamour Dispeller or replaced with a new appearance using another Glamour Prism, however, there are a few restrictions on their use. Equipment cannot take on the appearance of an item restricted to a different class, race, or gender, nor equipment requiring a higher level than itself. For example, a Dragoon’s armour cannot take on the appearance of a White Mage’s robes, and a level 15 weapon cannot take on the appearance of a level 90 weapon, even if your character is capable of wielding the level 90 item.
Dyes
In addition to the model of your armor, its color can also be changed using the dye system unlocked via the quest Color Your World. Using a variety of consumable dyes, certain items can have their color altered, with each available color corresponding to a different dye. Not all items can be dyed, however, and you can confirm whether an item can be dyed by looking for a circle or plus shape in the top right corner of their icon. As with glamours, dyeing items is permanent until removed with terebinth or overwritten with a new dye.
While some colors of dye are purchasable for cheap from vendors in major cities or easily crafted by players, other dyes are much rarer, requiring reputation with beast tribes from A Realm Reborn, luck from Retainer ventures, special currencies from your Island Sanctuary or the Ishgard Restoration, or paying a premium in gil to purchase them via the market board. For help on finding the specific dye you’re looking for, check out Fanbyte’s item database.
One trick to cut down on the use of expensive dyes is to take advantage of the Glamour Dresser system to store dyed equipment. This will ensure you can reuse the dye color every time you apply the glamour, rather than having to consume a dye each time you change gear.
Glamour Dresser
As upgrading your equipment is a relatively common occurrence, constantly reapplying your glamours every time you change your gear can be a costly ritual, and carrying around extra sets of gear for glamouring eats up valuable inventory space. Glamour Dressers found within the inn in all major cities alleviate this issue by allowing equipment to be deposited for the cost of Glamour Prisms. With recent updates improving its capacity, players are able to grow their collection of gear larger than ever before.
Within the Glamour Dresser, players can access all the same appearance-modifying functions they’re used to, including applying glamours and dyeing items, via the subcommand menu. Applying a glamour in this fashion is done without consuming a Glamour Prism, however, dyeing an item still consumes a dye, so be sure to make use of the dye trick mentioned above. A major benefit to dyeing items in the Glamour Dresser is that the dye will persist across multiple applications, such as using the same dyed item across multiple Glamour Plates, extending your use of a single dye.
Additionally, gear must be fully repaired before it can be placed inside the Glamour Dresser, stored items can no longer be equipped until they are removed using a Glamour Dispeller, and any spiritbond progress on the item is reset when it’s deposited, so don’t forget to extract materia from your fully spiritbonded items before storing them.
Armoire
An alternative form of gear storage, the Armoire is capable of storing items without the requirement of Glamour Prisms, but is generally restricted to costumes purchased from the Mog Station, or earned via seasonal events and Veteran Rewards. All items placed in the Armoire are fully compatible with the Glamour Dresser and Glamour Plate system.
Players can verify an item’s Armoire eligibility by looking at the Armoire icon, the right-most icon located in the top right corner of the item’s tooltip. If the icon is solid white, the item can be placed within the Armoire. Like with the Glamour Dresser, items must be fully repaired before storing them, and any spiritbond progress will be reset upon storage.
Glamour Plates
While the Glamour Dresser provides convenience in storing desired appearances, you won’t likely have access to one every time you want to apply a glamour. Fortunately, the dresser allows players to create Glamour Plates, cosmetic loadouts that can be applied within any Sanctuary for free. Glamour Plates are created with items stored in the dresser and armoire and can be applied either at the Glamour Dresser itself, or while in any Sanctuary via the Glamour Plate window located in the Character Window (default hotkey C) next to the gear set button. Sanctuaries are typically located surrounding Aetherytes in any zone, and can be confirmed by looking for a crescent symbol next to your experience bar.
Additionally, Glamour Plates can be linked to a gear set to automatically apply the plate any time the linked gear set is equipped. This allows players to conveniently create different glamours for jobs sharing the same set of equipment, or provide an easy way to keep your glamours applied following gear upgrades.
Players looking to further customize their looks should check out the list of unlockable hairstyles to complement their new outfit, and those with their glamours already figured out might consider showing it off with a personalized Adventurer Plate.
