FFXIV Raid Gear Timeline Guide: Units & Tokens

Define the target before counting weeks

The word “gear” is too broad for a useful timeline. A weapon exchange, a chest coffer, and an accessory token may have different compatibility and costs. Begin with a sentence that can be proven: “This plan tracks the remaining units compatible with [job/slot/item] under [patch/tier] rules.” If a reward cannot satisfy that sentence, it does not enter the plan.

The FFXIV Raid Timeline Planner then separates two routes. Direct units are compatible awards the plan can defensibly allocate. Token units come from whole exchanges using one named token and one current cost. The tool never converts an unknown party reward into a fractional personal unit.

Build the evidence packet

Before entering numbers, save four pieces of context:

• the current patch and tier name;
• a Lodestone note or in-game capture for restrictions and token acquisition;
• the current exchange-menu cost for the exact target;
• the group document supporting any direct allocation.

A source can establish a game rule without establishing your static's behavior. Keep the official rule and group allocation in separate fields or records.

Inventory-first calculation

Existing tokens are an observed asset, so spend every whole compatible exchange before counting another weekly boundary. The remaining target then moves through weekly rows. Each row applies the direct allocation, adds weekly tokens, performs whole exchanges, and carries leftover tokens forward.

This order handles thresholds without probability. Three tokens toward a four-token exchange remain three; the next weekly token creates one unit. If the direct path completes the target first, later tokens are not converted into irrelevant surplus gear. If both weekly paths are zero while a target remains, the scenario is unreachable under its own inputs.

Worked example, line by line

Assume six compatible target units remain. The group has documented one direct compatible unit per week. The character starts with zero compatible tokens, earns one per week, and needs four tokens per target unit.

• Boundary 1: one direct unit, one token held, five units remain.
• Boundary 2: one direct unit, two tokens held, four units remain.
• Boundary 3: one direct unit, three tokens held, three units remain.
• Boundary 4: one direct unit plus one token exchange, zero tokens held, one unit remains.
• Boundary 5: one direct unit completes the target.

The result is five boundaries, five direct units, and one token unit. This is a demonstration of integer accounting. It is not a claim about what a current duty awards to a specific player.

How to handle contested or random rewards

If a unit depends on a roll, an unknown coffer, or an officer decision not yet made, it is not guaranteed direct progress. Use zero in the deterministic field. You may keep an external scenario note, but do not label an optimistic average as a known allocation. When an actual compatible award is assigned, reduce the remaining target and rebuild the plan.

For the assignment itself, switch to the Loot Priority Ledger. That tool begins with an observed award and eligible roster rather than forecasting it.

Empty reconciliation-log schema

timestamp_utc,patch,tier,target,source_url,remaining_before,direct_units_received,tokens_before,tokens_earned,token_units_bought,tokens_after,remaining_after,allocation_note,verified_by

Do not seed this log with fictional clears. Add one row only after an actual event, and preserve the source or allocation note that makes each unit compatible with the target.

Patch 7.4 example boundary

Square Enix's Patch 7.4 Notes describe item-specific tokens for AAC Heavyweight normal duties, a weekly restriction with Tuesday reset, and the current Heavyweight Savage reward-eligibility rules. The notes show why a tier label is essential: restrictions change. They do not justify a permanent direct-units preset for every player.

Replan triggers

• A target item is obtained or abandoned.
• The character spends or gains compatible tokens.
• The static changes its allocation.
• A week is missed or a duty is not cleared.
• Square Enix changes restrictions, exchange costs, or rewards.
• A previously counted unit is discovered to be incompatible.

Do not edit history to make the forecast appear accurate. Preserve the old scenario as a dated plan, record the actual event, and create a new scenario from the current state.