A Tortured Memory of the Dying sounds pretty grisly, even in FFXIV. The game has gotten a great deal more serious over the years. That trend continues with the Bozjan Southern Front storyline in Shadowbringers! Part of the game’s level 80 activity requires you to collect 20 total Tortured Memories of the Dying, along with many other new crafting materials. And the reward is well worth the grind.
This quest line continues the long FFXIV of Relic Weapons with freshly minted Resistance Weapons. The name has changed in Shadowbringers (as it has across multiple expansions and patches), but the core conceit is the same. Resistance Weapons are highly modular super-items specific to each Job. You upgrade them, unlock Materia slots for melding, and get snazzy new visuals to go with it.
Resistance Weapons might just be the coolest iteration yet, too. First off they look great. You can never go wrong with a nice, future Glamour! You can also mostly upgrade them with the aforementioned items called Memories. These new materials drop from various events across the world of FFXIV. The Tortured Memory of the Dying, for instance, is available in the Bozjan Southern Front. This endgame area is deeply tied to Resistance Weapons — both in lore and progression. Its storyline even ties into events from the original Final Fantasy XIV Online and the Return to Ivalice raid from Stormblood.
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Fun facts aside, you need exactly 20 Tortured Memories of the Dying to complete your first Resistance Weapon upgrade. It’s quite the grind compared to unlocking your first Resistance Weapon. Especially since you also need 40 more other types of memories. There are a few ways to speed up the process, though. Not to mention you can accomplish quite a lot while hunting your Tortured Memory of the Dying.
The first, most surefire, but probably least efficient Tortured Memory of the Dying farming method is FATEs. Across the entire Resistance Weapon quest line, Square Enix encourages high-level players to revisit and repopulate older FFXIV content. During this quest step, “For Want of a Memory,” that means Heavensward. Specifically Heavensward FATEs.
You can collect all three memory types from two different Heavensward zones apiece. One Tortured Memory of the Dying will drop from any FATE in the Coerthas Western Highlands or the Sea of Clouds. That’s one guaranteed memory to boot. It’s enough to simply participate and win (and sync your level when applicable). As long as you successfully finish the FATE you’re good! Though a failed FATE won’t win you anything at all.
This is a great opportunity to level up an alt — particularly a Blue Mage. The “limited job” isn’t as useful as a real one, but has the added benefit of crowd clearing ability. Blue Mages have many completely overpowered area-of-effect spells that make them great in older, open-world content like past FATEs. I also recommend the Coerthas Western Highlands instead of the Sea of Clouds. More players tend to gravitate to the former region, leading to faster FATE completions.
Twenty total FATEs will net you all the Tortured Memories of the Dying you need. Even with a big group that… could take a while. It’ll take even longer in the Bozjan Southern Front. Though this method might still be worth your while.
Bozjan is a unique, instanced area similar to Eureka from Stormblood. It’s almost a miniature MMO inside of FFXIV. Inside you gain unique levels, or ranks, totally separate from your chosen Job while exploring the region. There are also all-new spells and items you can only use inside the zone. These also allow you to completely “break” the game — turning healers into impromptu tanks, Warriors into battlemages, and so on. It all depends on what you equip.
The Bozjan Southern Front is fun, unique, has its own special raids, and will grant experience to any Job between levels 71-80 that you use within its walls. That makes it a great way to multitask. The downside is that no Tortured Memory of the Dying is guaranteed inside. Instead, you must play through the resistance quest line to reach the second of three regions in the Bozjan Southern Front. Enemies in this middle area have a miniscule chance to drop the item. Skirmishes (special FATEs within this area) and Critical Engagements (randomly occurring mini-raids) also seem to increase your chances.
The trickiest part might just be finding the zone. It’s tucked away behind a special series of quests. After that, you can return by entering the Doman Enclave in Yanxia. From there you can take yet another ship to the front. Tortured Memories of the Dying are available in the very first, southernmost zone. This is where you can rank up to unlock the center and northern zones (and the other two memory types held within them). Not to mention you can soak up EXP, as well as unlock new abilities to use in future Bozjan Southern Front raids at the same time. It’s slower but arguably more efficient (and fun) than redoing the same half-dozen FATEs you played years ago. It all depends on what you’re after.
Either way, these are the only ways to find a Tortured Memory of the Dying at all, much less the 20 you need for the quest. Once you’re done you still need 40 more memories of differing types. The sooner you get started on the quest, the sooner you get your reward. Best of luck!
