If you’ve spent any time exploring the rust-red deserts of Gyr Abania in Final Fantasy XIV, you’ve probably caught glimpses of the serpentine Ananta tribe wandering the fringes of the zone and the edges of the Peaks. These proud, goddess-worshipping beastmen have some of the most unique glamours, mounts, and crafting materials in the entire Stormblood expansion, so it’s no surprise so many players ask how to unlock Ananta beast tribe content to access all their exclusive perks. I went through the unlock process last year while farming for the iconic Ananta Lakshmi mount, and I’ve put together this no-fluff guide to skip all the unnecessary side quests and get you chatting with the tribe in under two hours.
Pre-Requisites to Unlock Ananta Beast Tribe Content
You can’t just walk up to the Ananta camp and start picking up quests right away, no matter how far you are in the main story. I missed one of these pre-requisites on my first run and spent 45 minutes running around Gyr Abania confused, so make sure you knock all these out first before you start the official unlock chain:
If you’re still making your way through Stormblood MSQ and want to speed up progress to hit the required unlock point faster, you can check out FFXIV Stormblood MSQ walkthroughs to skip filler quests and mark which side content is worth prioritizing for unlocks. These walkthroughs also help you avoid wasting time on irrelevant side quests that don’t contribute to your beast tribe or endgame progression goals.
Step-by-Step Walkthrough of the Unlock Questline
Once you’ve ticked all the pre-requisite boxes, the actual unlock quest is fairly straightforward, and takes roughly 30 minutes to complete if you don’t get distracted by random FATEs or sightseeing along the way. First, head back to the northern area of the Fringes, at coordinates X:21.3, Y:26.7, where you’ll find the same NPC Vira you talked to for the pre-requisite side quest.
Talk to Vira to pick up the quest "The Will of the Goddess", which will send you to the Peaks to meet with the leader of the friendly Ananta faction, M’rahna. You’ll have to complete three small tasks along the way: delivering medical supplies to a group of isolated Ananta outcasts hiding from Garlean patrols, fending off a small group of Garlean scouts that are harassing the main settlement, and bringing a ritual offering to the Ananta goddess statue at the center of their camp.
Once you turn in that final task to M’rahna, you’ll officially gain access to the Ananta beast tribe daily quests, and can start earning reputation with the group. I recommend setting your home aetheryte to Rhalgr’s Reach for this part, since you’ll be traveling back and forth between the Fringes and the Peaks a few times, and the fast travel cut down my total quest time by almost 10 minutes.
Key Perks of Completing Ananta Tribe Daily Quests
Most players are shocked at how fast the reputation grind goes once you unlock Ananta beast tribe dailies, especially if you complete the higher-reward crafting quests each day. You’ll rank up through five reputation tiers: Neutral, Friendly, Honored, Revered, and Exalted, and each tier unlocks exclusive items you can’t get anywhere else in the game.
The biggest draw for most players is the Lakshmi Exotic Mount, a shimmering, serpentine flying mount modeled after the Ananta goddess, with glowing particle effects that make it stand out even in crowded player hubs. You’ll unlock this once you hit Exalted reputation, and it’s easily one of the most unique mounts from any Stormblood side content.
You’ll also get access to exclusive Ananta-themed glamours, including their traditional beaded jewelry and flowing robe sets that have unique glow effects that show up in dark dungeons or nighttime open world areas. These are particularly popular for roleplayers and glamour collectors, since they can’t be earned from quests, raids, or the cash shop. You’ll also get access to rare grade 3 crafting materials that sell for a decent amount of gil on the market board, if you don’t want to use them for your own crafting projects. I used these quests to level my weaver from 60 to 70 in just over a week, and I didn’t have to spend a single gil on materials the entire time.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Unlocking the Ananta Tribe
I made almost every possible mistake when I first tried to unlock the tribe, so I’ve narrowed down the most common errors that slow players down, so you can skip the frustration entirely. First, don’t skip the pre-requisite side quests in the Fringes. A lot of players assume they only need to complete the MSQ to unlock the tribe, but the Vira side quest line is non-negotiable, and it’s not marked as a required quest on most default MSQ trackers.
Second, make sure you have at least one empty slot in your quest log before you talk to Vira. I’ve had friends who showed up ready to start the unlock quest, only to realize they had a full quest log and had to abandon a half-completed leve quest to pick it up, wasting extra time. Third, remember that you can only complete three Ananta daily quests per 24-hour reset, so if you skip days, it will take you much longer to hit Exalted reputation and unlock the mount. The only downside of focusing on crafting dailies is that you’ll need to have a level 60 crafter or gatherer to access them, but even if you don’t, the combat dailies still give solid reputation gains, just at a slower pace.
Finally, don’t ignore the crafting and gathering daily quests even if you don’t main those jobs. They give almost twice as much reputation points as the combat quests, so you can cut your total grind time almost in half if you level a low-level crafter or gatherer to 60 to complete them. You don’t need any high-end crafting gear to complete these quests either, since the required item levels are very low for level 60 jobs.
Unlocking the Ananta beast tribe is one of the most rewarding side activities you can do in Stormblood, and the unique rewards are more than worth the small time investment to get through the unlock questline. Whether you’re grinding for the Lakshmi mount, hunting for unique glamours, or just looking for a low-effort way to level up your crafting jobs, the Ananta tribe has something for every type of FFXIV player. If you follow the steps in this guide, you won’t have to deal with the confusion and wasted time that most players run into when they first try to figure out how to unlock Ananta beast tribe content. Hop in game, knock out the pre-requisites, and you’ll be earning reputation with the tribe before you know it.