Relic Weapon

*Relic Weapons* are sixteen mysterious, high-delay, low-damage weapons obtained through participating in various runs into Dynamis. Given enough time and money, they can be upgraded into forms known to be into the most powerful weapons of each type in the game.

(Admittedly, "Relic *Weapon*" is sort of a catch-all term; A Relic Horn and Relic Shield also exist.)

* Most base Relic Weapons are prefixed with the name "Relic" and dropped by mobs in one of the four initially available Dynamis areas (Dynamis - Bastok, Dynamis - San d'Oria, Dynamis - Windurst, Dynamis - Jeuno). Like most items in Dynamis (Including Relic Armor), a drop of a base Relic Weapon is completely random; mob type is not a factor.

* Each of the four initial areas has four base Relic Weapons that may only be dropped in that respective area:

* **Bastok**

* Relic Blade (Great Sword)
* Relic Scythe (Scythe)
* Relic Axe (Axe)
* Ito (Great Katana)

* **San d'Oria**

* Relic Bhuj (Great Axe)
* Relic Gun (Marksmanship)
* Ihintanto (Katana)
* Relic Lance (Polearm)

* **Windurst**

* Relic Sword (Sword)
* Relic Dagger (Dagger)
* Relic Knuckles (Hand-to-Hand)
* Relic Maul (Club)

* **Jeuno**

* Relic Staff (Staff)
* Relic Bow (Archery)
* Relic Horn (Wind Instrument)
* Relic Shield (Shield)

* All Relic Weapons, in all stages and forms, are Level 75.

* Each base Relic Weapon can be upgraded four times. Three of these four upgrades are handled by a Goblin NPC named Switchstix, who can be found in Castle Zvahl Baileys. Each of these three upgrades requires that you simultaneously trade him your current-stage Relic Weapon along with whatever materials he asks for. Switchstix will then ask for his commission in Ancient Currency; this is a separate trade, and the upgrade process will not begin until he recieves it. (Your Relic Weapon and materials cannot be returned once traded.) Time needed for the upgrade process varies by stage; when the wait period is over, speak to Switchstix again to obtain your upgraded Relic Weapon.

* The stages of each Relic Weapon can be described as follows:

* *First (or "Base") stage.* When obtained in this stage, the weapon is nothing more than a display piece, and has little to no practical value. Most base Relic Weapons are 1 Damage and 999 Delay; the Relic Shield has 1 Defense; the Relic Horn has no effect on songs.
* *Second stage.* A portion of the "actual" stats for the weapon become available, but only when used in Dynamis. Most second-stage weapons also obtain a Dynamis-specific elemental resistance stat.

* Switchstix will ask for three items to upgrade to this stage. All three items will be crafting materials, at least one of which can either be obtained from Dynamis, crafted from materials found in Dynamis, or purchased with Ancient Currency. He will also require 3 to 5 100-unit pieces of a specific type of Ancient Currency for his commission (amount and type vary by weapon). A second-stage upgrade will take one Vana'diel day.

* *Third stage.* The second form's stats become available outside of Dynamis, while stats within Dynamis are nudged slightly further towards their final values. Elemental resistance stats will raise slightly, but remain Dynamis-specific.

* Switchstix will ask for another three items to upgrade to this stage: three different weapons of the same type as the one you are upgrading. His commission will be 14 to 16 100-unit pieces of specific Ancient Currency. A third-stage upgrade will require one week in Earth time to complete.

* *Fourth stage.* The weapon's base stats are "locked in" for all areas, and are close to their final values (though there are no longer any Dynamis-specific elemental resistance stats). The weapon's Relic Weapon Skill becomes available at this stage, but only in Dynamis areas.

* For an upgrade to this level, Switchstix will ask for an "Attestation" specific to the type of weapon you are upgrading. Attestations are dropped from Shadow NMs in Dynamis - Beaucedine and a separate (non-clearing) run may be required to obtain your specific Attestation. Switchstix's commission will be 60 to 62 100-unit pieces of specific Ancient Currency. A fourth-stage upgrade has a three day wait, Earth time.

* *Fifth (or "Final") stage.* Stats are at full. Additional stats are added. The Relic Weapon Skill is available for all areas. A brief Hidden Effect, unique to each weapon, may occasionally become active after the Relic Weapon Skill is used. At this stage, the Relic Weapon is complete, and cannot be upgraded further.

* Switchstix does not upgrade this weapon to the final stage. The final trade will require a single 10,000-unit Ancient Currency of a specific type and two drops from Dynamis - Xarcabard, one of which is a weapon-specific "Fragment" dropped from an NM (also weapon-specific) whose "proper" spawn may only be triggered by defeating fifteen separate Demon NMs, and the other being a Shard of Necropsyche, dropped off the Vanguard Dragons. Obtaining the Fragment for the final stage upgrade and entering Castle Zvahl Baileys and speaking to Switchstix will cause the fragment to speak to the player and instruct them on what items are required and where to bring them. You will trade all of your materials to a specific area in Vana'diel as described by the Fragment.

#### A Word of Warning

This entry may not make completely clear the fact that Relic Weapons are very time-, money-, and labor-intensive items to upgrade. Many individuals fail to realize the actual scope of the quest and begin it without having a real means of finishing it, usually giving up their upgrade after either the first or second upgrade. There are individuals who start their own Dynamis Linkshells—even sponsor their own runs, spending millions of gil on their own Timeless Hourglasses—for the sole purpose of obtaining Ancient Currency, Attestations and Fragments. Single-unit Currency is bazaared for tens of thousands of gil on many servers; 100-unit Currency sells in the millions, and 10,000-unit Currency is almost never sold. Of the few final-stage Relic Weapon owners in Final Fantasy XI who have come forward with their experiences, it's been learned that many have taken an Earth year or more to complete them.

Should you, the reader, decide to take on the task of completing a Relic Weapon, please be aware that this type of commitment may very well be neccesary. You should seriously consider not performing any upgrades before you have the coins and attestation to upgrade all the way to Stage 4; that way if you give up you have the coins instead of a useless Stage 2-3 weapon.

**Exmple: Relic Knuckles --> Spharai**
To give an example of the effort included here, lets make the following quite realistic assumptions: In one dynamis run you gain about 100 single currency pieces. Mostly there are less, but the occasional 100 piece evens that out. You can go 2 times per week to a dynamis run.

2. Stage: One Hundred Byne Bill x4

3. Stage: Montiont Silverpiece x14

4. Stage: Lungo-Nango Jadeshell x61

5. Stage: Ten Thousand Byne Bill

This summs up to 17900 pieces of single ancient currency, or an average of 179 dynamis runs on the above assumtion. This again means to do 2 dynamis runs every week for 90 weeks, which would mean for about a full and a half year (about....). Or, if you calculate with gil: On Ramuh server, for a long time 100 pieces where sold in Bazaars for 2 million gil. So you would need about 360 million gil to finish your relic weapon, not counting the other materials you need. Other weapons will not be cheaper, its about all the same.