An aetheryte (エーテライト, ēteraito?) [ˈiː.θər.aɪt], known in the Far Eastern language as tenkonto (転魂塔, tenkontō?, lit. spire of drifting souls), is a large deposit of crystallized aether in Final Fantasy XIV, which people can attune to by touching or reaching an extremity toward the aetheryte and channeling aether towards it. Attunement to an aetheryte allows people to flow through the aetherial sea to teleport to the vicinity of an aetheryte through the means of the spells Teleport and Return. These qualities have become the backbone of everyday transportation throughout the realm by adventurers and people replete with anima, with most aetherytes managed and operated by individual city-states.

When someone's body is reduced to aether, be it through intentional usage of spells, or after being incapacitated, their body flows through the lifestream towards the point of greatest attunement, what is known as a "home point". Users who have attuned to other aetherytes can also, with some effort, teleport to previously attuned aetherytes, as the signatures of those previously attuned aetherytes remain within their bodies. People who use Teleport can "carry" with them those they are bonded with, e.g. adventuring parties.

In the unlost world an aetheryte is known as a leynode (レイノード, reinōdo?).

Profile[]

An attuned aetheryte functions as lodestones that allow the dispersed aether of a person to coalesce near them when traveling through the flow of aether that permeates the star. Common usage of aetherytes for teleportation requires the user to be replete in anima, a type of life force that recovers over time.

Standard aetherytes found in cities and settlements are amplified with arcane machinery to stabilize an aetheryte's signature, though unamplified ones can be used in much the same way. During wars, aetherytes can be a liability, acting as a point of attack for teleporting enemies, leading to groups deactivating or destroying aetherytes while in conflict. If an aetheryte that a person is teleporting to is destroyed while they are in transit, the person might be lost in the aetherial sea. However, even if the aetheryte is destroyed, teleportation to the aetheryte's site can be possible by jump-starting the now sluggish flow of aether that once led to the aetheryte and following it, though this has only been shown possible without fatalities with the usage of white auracite to concentrate the aether.

Teleporting to unattuned aetherytes is possible but dangerous, often requiring users to follow a physically paired aetheryte. Some aetherytes, such as Garlean ones, can be used even by people who cannot manipulate aether, allowing them to travel between them by using terminals.

Aethernet[]

An aethernet is an internal network of miniature aetherytes, known as aethernet shards, that can be used for transportation within a smaller space. While they cannot be accessed through the use of Teleport, nor set as a home point for Return, they allow teleportation within a small region or city. Unlike larger aetherytes, aethernet shards can only be teleported to and from from another shard connected to the same aethernet and there are no gil fees for using them.

History[]

Aetherytes were in use by the ancients before the Final Days. As these aetherytes were made with the ancients in mind, they tower over modern aetherytes in scale.

After the Sundering, the earliest known usage of aetherytes was during the Third Astral Era, with the Allagan Empire building and using them during its height. After the fall of the Empire, a secret society of former Allag scientists, known as the Onishishu, endeavored to pass down knowledge deemed "lost" with the fall of Allag, including the technology behind aetherytes. By the Seventh Astral Era, aetherytes, known in the local tongue as tenkonto, dot the Far East, maintained by the Onishishu.

Aetherytes in Eorzea were rediscovered by Sharlayan scientists studying Allagan technologies during the Sixth Astral Era, with many city-states possessing one by the end of the era, and some established in camps around the region. With the coming of the Seventh Umbral Calamity, and the approach of Meteor in the form of Dalamud, aetherial instability across the region many aetherytes were overcharged, with Atomos appearing over them. After the Calamity, during the Seventh Umbral Era, new aetherytes had to be forged throughout Eorzea as most were destroyed due to the aetherial instability, with the new aetherytes being financed by a wealthy Ul'dahn patron. As a result of this, people teleporting to aetherytes were expected to pay a fee upon arrival so that they may repay and maintain the newly erected aetherytes.

During the Seventh Astral Era, aetherytes were used by various "beastmen" to teleport to particular locations where they prepared to summon their deities. During the Seventh Astral Era, an experimental aetheryte was created by Sharlayan scientists in an effort to allow people to teleport to aetherytes that they were not attuned to, though this caused severe aetherial sickness.

Varieties[]

Image	Description	Locations
	A modern, amplified Eorzean aetheryte. Pictured example lies in Gridania.	Present in most of southern Eorzea.
	An unamplified aetheryte used by the Amalj'aa.	Present in Zahar'ak.
	An unamplified aetheryte used by the Ixal.	Present in Natalan.
	An unamplified aetheryte used by the kobolds.	Present in U'Ghamaro Mines.
	A small, personal aetheryte used in private housing.	Housing districts.
	An unamplified aetheryte used by the sylphs.	Present in the Sylphlands.
	An unamplified aetheryte used by the Sahagin.	Present in the Sapsa Spawning Grounds
	An older style of amplified Eorzean aetheryte still in use. Pictured example has been reactivated by goblin ingenuity in Idyllshire.	Present in northern Eorzea.
	An aetheryte of Vanu Vanu design.	Present in Ok' Zundu.
	An unamplified aetheryte used by the Vundu.	Present in Ok' Gundu.
	An unamplified aetheryte used by the Gnath.	Present in Loth ast Gnath.
	An unamplified aetheryte used by the Qalyana Ananta.	Present in Djanan Qhat.
	An aetheryte used by the Kojin of the Blue.	Present in Tamamizu.
	A repurposed ancient aetheryte used by the Ondo.	Present in the Ondo Cups.
	An aetheryte of ancient design.	Present in Amaurot and other locations originally populated by the ancients. Pictured example lies in the Macarenses Angle.
	A leynode of Alexandrian design amplified with electrope.	Present in Solution Nine and other locations from the unlost world. Pictured example is laynode mnemo in Living Memory.

Gameplay[]

Aetherytes are objects in Final Fantasy XIV, acting as targets for teleportation using the action Teleport. It is also possible to set one's home point at any aetheryte, allowing players to use the action Return, to teleport there once every 15 minutes, or automatically after being incapacitated. An aetheryte can also be registered as a favored destination, allowing the player travel to it at a reduced cost, with up to three destinations being able to be registed as favored. Additionally, one free destination can be registered, allowing the player to travel to that aetheryte at no cost, assuming the player has a two-factor authentication method registered to their Square Enix account. A second free destination can also be registered if the player plays the game on a PlayStation console and is subscribed to PlayStation Plus and registered the reward from the PlayStation Network, with the reward having to be refreshed every three months.

Teleporting costs gil based on distance traveled. The fee is halved for personal housing and favored destinations, and can be further reduced with certain Free Company actions. If a player possesses an aetheryte ticket they can use it instead of paying gil for the teleportation. Before patch 6.0, teleportation fees were capped at 999 gil, and transcontinental teleportation between Eorzea and the Far East and inter-dimensional travel between the Source and the First would always cost 999 before discounts were applied. As of 6.0, the cap has been removed, and teleport fees are calculated based on the route the player would have to take were they to not teleport (i.e, were one to teleport from Eorzea to the First, it would be calculated as a teleport from the current location to Mor Dhona, then to the Crystarium and finally to their destination).

Cities and certain hubs have networks of aethernet shards that allows warping between key facilities within the city, at no cost. This aethernet also includes the location's aetheryte, and often allow players to warp to locations just outside the city. Aethernet shards cannot be teleported to without interacting with another shard or aetheryte connected to the same aethernet. If a city has a housing district associated with it, it can be accessed from that city's aethernet.

A personal aetheryte can also be placed at player housing to enable teleportation to their estate. Players can teleport to their private or Free Company's estate at a reduced cost. Additionally, depending on the housing privacy setting, players can teleport to the estates of people on their friend lists, assuming that estate has a personal aetheryte. Housing teleportation cannot be set as a home points or preferred destination.

The three starting cities of Ul'dah, Gridania, and Limsa Lominsa, have special functions attached to their aetherytes; allowing the player to travel to other worlds on the same data center. Additionally, whenever a player arrives at a new world or data center, they will always spawn at their starting city's aetheryte.

Other appearances[]

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Behind the scenes[]

Aetherytes in 1.0[]

In the original release of Final Fantasy XIV, using aetheryte teleportation magic involved the expenditure of anima to teleport to any aetheryte gate they had previously visited. The player began with 100 anima and regenerated 1 anima every 4 real hours (logged in or logged out), for a total of 6 per Earth day. This was the only way to replenish anima until patch 1.22 (24 March 2012) introduced Hamlet Defense battles, which could reward players with anywhere from 3 anima to 100 depending on their score at the end of the battle.

It cost at most 6 anima to teleport, halved for towns and favored locations. There was a 1/3 discount for teleporting within the same region (i.e., Gridania to another part of Black Shroud).

Starting with 2.0, anima is no longer required to teleport. Although anima was discontinued as a gameplay mechanic with A Realm Reborn, it is still mentioned a few times in Heavensward and Stormblood, and serves as the basis of the anima weapons.

Aetherial gates were small fonts of energy that are connected to the aetheryte of the region it was located in. They were a sort of checkpoint found in sub-regions of areas. In 1.0, a player could use the aetherial gate to teleport to and from the aetheryte of that section of the map for 1 anima. These aetherial gates were permanent.

In version 1.0, aetherial nodes appeared when the player completed a levequest, restoring the player's HP and MP, and allowing them to teleport back to the aetheryte at the base camp without expending anima. The aetherial node only lasted for a short time, dissolving when the player willed it to or when the player teleported back to the base camp. Players could not set their home point at these nodes. Some aetherial nodes were used to teleport players to certain battlefields, such as the primal battles or certain Seventh Umbral Era events. These were violet in hue, rather than the usual blue. They could not be set as home points, as some of them were not permanent, but they cost no anima to use. In A Realm Reborn, completing a levequest simply offers a prompt whether to teleport back to the levemete. Some aetherial nodes still appear to designate entrances to certain open dungeons in large scale field operations.

Prepare to ride the Aether.

Aethernet NPC

In version 1.0, an aetherpass key item could be bought from a player's Grand Company for 3,000 Company Seals, and it allowed players to make use of the aethernet of that city-state. The aethernet was made up of several miniature aetheryte crystals scattered throughout town, and players could teleport from one to the other by speaking to the private-rank NPC standing next to them. Once the player had the necessary aetherpass, they were completely free to use with no anima expenditure. It was possible to purchase aetherpasses for the other cities through a black market Qiqirn for either 4,000 company seals or 400,000 gil. In A Realm Reborn, aethernet passes are no longer required, as access is available as shards are attuned. Full attunement to all shards in a city-state also unlocks the option to teleport out of the city gates.

There was an achievement category for arriving at aetheryte camps and nodes, the prerequisite to using it as a teleport destination. A large portion of the aetherial nodes were found in areas populated by monsters above level 70, if not in the high 80s or 90s, while the player level cap was 50, making these achievements challenging. Traveling to these nodes served as a good method to practice avoiding detection by monsters. These achievements were dropped in A Realm Reborn, and are only available to Legacy players who obtained them in version 1.0.

As the in-game geography underwent drastic changes in late 2012, the locations of aetheryte nodes changed. Concept art released at the announcement of 2.0 depicts an aetheryte crystal that has changed to a reddish-orange and begun to levitate, anchored to the ground by large chains. Screenshots released at E3 2012 showed the newly-redesigned aetheryte with oblique rings around them.

Allusion to previous games[]

Aetheryte crystals are the Final Fantasy XIV equivalent to home point crystals in Final Fantasy XI, though they serve more functions. Both are like save points in that they allow players to more-easily reattempt nearby challenges should they fall in battle. In their own way, these are equivalent to previous games' save points.

Gallery[]

Etymology[]

Aetherytes are named after the aether they are composed of and the suffix -yte, which is an antiquated form of the -ite suffix. [view · edit · purge]According to ancient and medieval science, aether, also spelled æther or ether, is the material that fills the region of the universe above the terrestrial sphere. In ancient Greek mythology aether was supposed to be the breath of the gods, which formed the air which mortals breathed. The deity Aether is the personification of this idea as well as the upper sky itself. -ite is a suffix added to nouns to denote a mineral or rock derived from that noun.