The three Grand Companies of The Maelstrom, The Immortal Flames, and The Order of the Twin Adder are organizations designed to protect the city states of Eorzea. But for players, they’re also a way to personal gil income in Final Fantasy XIV, in addition to some other benefits. These include unlocking minions, mounts, shortcuts to leveling, and more.
However, to maximize the potential of your chosen Grand Company, you need to get promotions. This guide will teach you how to get promoted, and what the boons are for each, as well as a focus on unlocking the Second Lieutenant and Captain ranks, the highest currently in the game.
Joining a Grand Company
Joining a Grand Company is as simple as completing the Main Story Quest (MSQ). As you progress, you’ll get a quest called “A Hero in the Making,” where you’ll meet the leaders of all three Grand Companies and then make your decision. You’ll then need to complete a single mission for your chosen company to unlock the ranks and seals. This decision doesn’t have a particularly large effect in-game, but it will change what rewards you receive and cutscenes you see. However, it does benefit you to pick the same Grand Company as the city you’ve chosen to start in, as it will make turning in quests quicker.
How Do I Get Promoted in My Grand Company?
When you first join a Grand Company, you’ll be at the rank of Private Third Class. This means you can only hold a maximum total of 10,000 Company Seals. When you cap out on Seals, any additional Seals you gain simply disappear, so you want to be spending them or working toward increasing your cap by getting promoted. To get a promotion, head to the Personnel Officer NPC of your chosen Grand Company. The locations are listed below:
- Storm Personnel Officer – Limsa Lominsa Upper Decks (X: 13.1, Y: 12.7)
- Flame Personnel Officer – Ul’dah – Steps of Nald (X: 8.3, Y: 9.0)
- Serpent Personnel Officer – New Gridania (X: 9.8, Y: 11.0)
A promotion usually requires you to pay a certain amount of Seals, although at higher ranks, you’ll have to complete some quests. The ranks and promotion requirements are listed below.
| Commission | Rank | Promotion Requirements | Unlocks |
| Enlistee | Private Third Class | Starting rank, complete quest to unlock | 10,000 Seal Cap, Supply and Provisioning missions |
| Enlistee | Private Second Class | 2,000 Seals | 15,000 Seal Cap |
| Enlistee | Private First Class | 3,000 Seals | 20,000 Seal Cap |
| Enlistee | Corporal | 4,000 Seals | 25,000 Seal Cap |
| Petty Officer | Sergeant Third Class | Complete Company Hunting Log Rank 1, 5,000 Seals | 30,000 Seal Cap, Level 30 Grand Company Leve Quests |
| Petty Officer | Sergeant Second Class | 6,000 Seals | 35,000 Seal Cap Expert Deliveries |
| Petty Officer | Sergeant First Class | 7,000 Seals | 40,000 Seal Cap |
| Petty Officer | Chief Sergeant | Complete “Shadows Uncast” quest, 8,000 Seals | 45,000 Seal Cap, Mor Dhona Grand Company Leves |
| Officer | Second Lieutenant | Complete Company Hunting Log Rank 2, “Gilding the Bilious” Quest, 9,000 Storm Seals | 50,000 Seal Cap, Adventurer Squadrons |
| Officer | First Lieutenant | Completion of "Flagged Mission: Crystal Recovery" Command Mission with Adventurer Squadron | 80,000 Seal Cap |
| Officer | Captain | Completion of "Flagged Mission: Sapper Strike" Command Mission with Adventurer Squadron. This Mission is only unlocked after completing five different Command Missions with Adventurer Squadron | 90,000 Seal Cap |
Enlistee rank guide
These ranks are the easiest to obtain and you might be able to rush through them in a single day or just a few hours. The best way to do this is to complete FATEs and daily duty roulettes. You can earn several thousand just from a single roulette dungeon, and a few hundred from completing FATEs. You can get Free Company boosts to enhance your seals.
Petty Officer Rank Guide
This is where the grind becomes a little more difficult. You’ll need to complete a hunting log for your chosen Grand Company. These will usually be level 50 or close to it, in difficult zones. However, you’ll also get Company Seals for completing these hunting logs. Press the H key by default to bring up your GC Hunting Log. You’ll also need to dedicate more time to grinding Seals overall, but again, this is a fairly simple task.
The final part of the rank is Chief Sergeant. This is first time you’ll have a Dungeon requirement for your rank. Don’t worry as this one is pretty simple, it's the Dzemael Darkhold, a level 44 dungeon you should have unlocked and cleared by this point.
Officer Rank Guide
Unlocking Second Lieutenant
This is where it gets difficult. Second Lieutenant requires you to complete three tasks:
- Complete Company Hunting Log Rank 2.
- Complete the “Gilding the Bilious” Quest.
- Obtain 9,000 Storm Seals.
The Hunting Log is a lot harder and will typically see you taking on level 40+ Beastkin adversaries deep in their strongholds. It’s often easier to complete this with a higher level character to avoid the difficulty. The “Gilding the Bilious” quest requires you to complete the Aurum Vale, a notoriously frustrating dungeon, and 9,000 Storm Seals need to be gathered. Completing this will unlock the Adventurer Squadrons, and the hardest part about leveling the Grand Company Ranks
Adventurer Squadrons
Adventurer Squadrons are a part of the game few people even utilize or know about. Sort of a combination of an idle RPG and prototype Trust system, Adventurer Squadrons give you control of a group of adventurers who you can train, send on missions, and even run dungeons with. However, they’re not very competent, and you need to level up each member by completing dozens of missions or setting them on training regimes. Adventurer Squadrons require players to enter the Barracks, which should be an instanced area near the Grand Company NPCs.
Before leveling up your rank now, you’ll need to level up your Adventurer Squadron to at least level 40.
First Lieutenant
Once you’ve leveled up your Adventurer Squadrons to around level 40, you’ll unlock “Flagged Mission: Crystal Recovery” under the Routine Mission list. Your team will probably not succeed this mission on the first try, unless they’re really over-leveled. It also costs 4,000 Company Seals just to attempt. One way you can brute force this mission is with two tanks, an Arcanist, and an Archer at around level 45, which should secure the success. Complete this and you get promoted to First Lieutenant.
Captain
The final hurdle to max rank is an Adventurer Squadron mission called “Flagged Mission: Sapper Strike.” This mission will need your Adventurer Squadron to be at least level 52 to be successful. Again, the brute force method of two tanks, an Arcanist, and an Archer is a great way to get this done, but again, it’s probably best to just level up a regular Light Party to level 55 or above. The mission takes 18 whole hours, and costs 5,000 Seals to do, so it’s a huge investment of time and effort. But, once you’ve completed it you’re now a Captain, the highest current Grand Company rank.
Further Ranks?
While no higher rank is currently obtainable, files in the game have hinted that there are at least eight higher ranks than Captain. These are Second Commander, First Commander, High Commander, Rear Marshal, Vice Marshal, Marshal, Grand Marshal, and Champion. It’s unknown if these will ever be included in the game.
