Thonky.com's Final Fantasy XIV Guide

How to obtain Cosmic Tool prototypes and level them up to complete your Cosmic Tools, with information about bonuses to Research Data, and more.

How to Unlock Cosmic Tools

Cosmic Tools are crafter and gatherer tools that you can obtain through Cosmic Exploration. To unlock Cosmic Tools, you first need to complete Endwalker. Then you can go to Old Sharlayan, switch to a Crafter or Gatherer class that is at least level 10, and talk to Namingway to begin the quest A Cosmic Homecoming.

When you complete that quest, you will receive a Cosmic Prototype Coffer. If you open it as a crafter or gatherer, you will receive a Cosmic Tool Prototype for that class. Other prototype tools are free, so don't worry too much about which class you open it as.

Focus on One Tool at First, then up to Two at a Time

For certain numbers of Cosmic Tools that you complete, you get a bonus that helps you complete the remaining tools more quickly. The bonuses are as follows:

• 1 or 2 tools completed: +50%
• 3 or 4 tools completed: +100%
• 5 or more tools completed: +150%

Because of this, it's best to focus on one Cosmic Tool when you are first starting out, and when you have finished it, you can then focus on two tools until you have finished a total of three, then you can focus on two tools until you have finished a total of five. At that point, you can work on any number of tools at a time since you will be getting the highest possible benefit.

How to Get More Cosmic Tool Prototypes

When you arrive in Sinus Ardorum, you will be at the Moongate Hub, where there are various NPCs that you can talk to. One of them is marked in the minimap with an icon that has a graph and a magnifying glass on it. Go to that location, Sinus Ardorum (X:21.1 Y:21.8), talk to Researchingway, and inquire about Cosmic Tools. Ask about the class that you want a prototype tool for, and Researchingway will give you the prototype for free.

How to Level Up Your Cosmic Tool

Open the Cosmic Research Window

On your Exotablet, click the bottom-left button, which looks like an icon of a graph with a magnifying glass, to open the Cosmic Research window.

Check Your Progress in the Cosmic Research Window

In the Cosmic Research window, you will see a list of crafter and gatherer classes on the left. On the right, you will see progress bars for your current prototype tool for that class, you have one. (If you don't have a prototype tool for that class, read How to Get More Cosmic Tool Prototypes above.)

To the left of each progress bar, there is the name of a dataset, such as Cosmic Botanist I, Cosmic Botanist II, for example.

Check Data Rewards in the Stellar Missions Window

To earn research points, click the top-left button in the Exotablet to open the Stellar Missions window, then click on different missions and look at their rewards. Different missions award different types of research data.

Do Missions to Earn Research Data

Do missions that award the types of research data that you need. (If you don't see any, read Unlock More Mission Classes... below.) Try to get a Silver or Gold Star on missions, since these rankings give a bonus to the research data rewards (4x for Silver, 5x for Gold). Mech Ops bonuses don't increase research data, just credits (see Mech Ops Bonuses for more details).

Unlock More Mission Classes to Earn More Types of Research Data

Different classes of missions reward different types of research data. If none of the available missions will give you the type of data you need, look below the list of missions to see the requirements to unlock the next class of missions.

Class D missions only reward type I data. Class C missions reward types I and II, class B missions can reward types I, II, and III, and class A missions can reward all types of data, depending on the mission.

Do Mostly Class B Missions

You will need to unlock Class A missions to get level IV research data, but if you only need types I, II, or III, just focus on doing class B missions. Class A missions are the most challenging, so only do them when you need type IV research data (or just want more of a challenge).

Some Class A Missions Require Two Classes

You will find that certain class A missions require you to gather materials, then use them to craft something. Make sure to read the mission descriptions so you can prepare for these types of missions. The crafts are challenging, so you might want to check Community Rotations on Teamcraft for Level 100⭐️⭐️ Cosmic Class A Crafts and look for macros that are compatible with your stats and have the correct numbers for durability and difficulty.

Use Cordials for Gatherer Missions

While leveling up your gatherer tools, you will frequently run out of GP. You can either wait a few minutes to let it regenerate^*, or you can use Cordials to restore some GP. Hi-Cordials restore the most GP, followed by HQ Cordials, NQ Cordials, HQ Watered Cordials, and NQ Watered Cordials. See below for instructions on how to get each type.

^* Note that if you switch to a non-gathering class, your GP will regenerate more slowly because you won't have the benefit of the gatherer traits that speed up GP regeneration.