Quelana Izalith looking to set up a regular Diadem Hard run

Diadem Hard Runs

Now that we have opened the Diadem Hard option and have two airships at level 50 that can go there, there has been some interest in setting up a regular event for this purpose. At our most recent meeting Quelana Izalith volunteered to try organizing such an event, and he has been given the rank of Flame Warrior so that he has the ability to take out the airships for this.

Quelana suggested a slot of 11 pm EST on Monday evenings as good for him. Some folks commented that this was too late for them, which resulted in the suggestion being made that someone else might be able to organize Diadem Hard trips for earlier in the evening, perhaps around 7pm EST instead. If anyone is interested in being in charge of setting that up, let me know and I'll see that you have the permissions necessary to use the airship.

The requirements to enter the Diadem are that you have a level 60 battle class with a minimum item level of 179. This is the same for all difficulties in the Diadem. You can change classes once you are in the Diadem if you wish but you must have this item level equpped to enter. Once in the Diadem, the goal of a battle group is to fight and defeat powerful monsters in the hope of getting Treasure Chests with gear in them as rewards. Bronze chests give level 150 pink gear; silver give level 180 pink gear; and gold gives the very desirable level 210 pink gear. Note that the secondary stats on this gear are RANDOMIZED, so even if you get a 210 gear drop for your class it might not actually be particularly worthwhile. The chest color drop is determined by the amount of DPS your group does the monster, so it is strongly recommended that any group going to the Diadem to grind gear be a full group with solid DPS, or no gold chests will drop. It is possible to go in with as few as two people using the FC airships but it will hamper your chances of getting the best gear. (Note that you cannot go to the Diadem as a solo player.)

Other things that can be gained from grinding in the Diadem include: The chance to earn a Pegasus Mount, the chance to find a Hunting Hawk minion, and the opportunity to earn currency to purchase Grade V materia and other rare items, including rare crafting materials. These are purchased with "spoils" which are gained by turning in any pink gear you don't have a use for to "spoils traders," found in the Diadem, in Ishgard at the airship launch, and at the entrance to the housing wards.

Diadem gear grinding trips should NOT be combined with Diadem gathering trips – every member of the gear grind group should be prepared to fight, not gather. Also, gathering trips should be done in Easy, since the gathering is the same on all difficulties, while gear grinding trips should be done on Hard since the chance of getting gold chest drops is highest there.

Trips to the Diadem last one and a half hours max, though you can leave the mission at any time using the "Leave" option on your Duty Finder. You cannot join a Diadem group in progress, so everyone who wants to participate needs to be present at the start of the mission – and obviously anyone who quits during the mission cannot be replaced. There is a 45 minute lockout on Diadem runs.

It is perfectly fine to fill up a Diadem Hard group with non-FC players if you have friends who wish to go – they can't do any harm to our airship or our FC. They could potentially troll your grinding party, however, so you should use some caution putting your group together.

Anyone who is interested in this game event should contact Quelana Izalith! He will have Mission Ceruleum tanks (the green ones) for people to use.

(Note: I found a fairly good Diadem Hard guide here, although it has some typos and incomplete info.)

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