While a minion's purpose in Final Fantasy XIV is simply to follow the Warrior of Light, they can act as trophies and reminders of players' accomplishments for clearing varying levels of content. Other minions serve as reminders for the game's story so far, depicting characters and other imagery seen throughout the Warrior of Light's adventures.
One such minion is the Shoebill, depicting the strange bird that first appeared during the Shadowbringers storyline. There are several theories on why the Shoebill appears in several cutscenes during the expansion's Main Scenario Quests and post-patch content, drawing a connection to one watchful character in particular. The long-faced bird can even be found giving you its trademark stinkeye inside your suite at the Crystarium's Pendants.
Thanks to its reoccurring appearances throughout Shadowbringers, players may wish to immortalize the strange bird by adding it to their collection of minions. If you're one of those eager to get your hands on this unique minion, you'll need to know where to find it.
How to unlock the Shoebill minion in FFXIV
Only adding validity to the theory of its connection to an important character explored in Shadowbringers, the Shoebill minion can be found as a potential drop from the level 80 Dungeon, Amaurot. Players must complete the Dungeon and defeat its final boss, as the minion only appears in the last chest rewarded by the instance. The Shoebill isn't guaranteed to appear during each run, so it may take several attempts before you even see the long-beaked bird.
However, you're not bound to run the same Dungeon repeatedly, as the Shoebill is a tradeable minion. A trip to the market board will show the minion available for purchase at a reasonable price, allowing you to skip the grind and prayers for the loot gods to bless your treasure chests. The Shoebill has also made an appearance during FFXIV's 10th Anniversary Moogle Treasure Trove event. While none but the development team can safely say which prizes will be available during the next Treasure Trove, it's hard to write off the Shoebill when its made an appearance before.
The Shoebill is a unique minion in the sense that it only actively follows you once you reach a certain distance away from it. Once it catches up, it returns to standing as a sentinel with an extreme case of resting bird face. Its presence invokes a feeling of mystery, giving an unnerving feeling that there's something more to this bird than meets the eye — or it's simply judging you for your choice in glamour.
