Deep dungeons are the most relaxing gil trickle in Final Fantasy XIV — and the most misunderstood. Players hear "randomized dungeon that drops treasure" and assume it's a money printer. It isn't. What it is is a low-pressure, solo, near-AFK grind that pays steady gil while you level a job, chase a mount, or just decompress. If you want honest numbers on what Palace of the Dead, Heaven-on-High, Eureka Orthos, and Pilgrim's Traverse actually pay — and whether the grind is worth your time versus other methods — this is the guide.
This is a gil strategy guide for Patch 7.55 (the "Trail to the Heavens" series, live since July 28, 2026). It is not a floor-clear walkthrough, a pomander-route guide, or an aetherpool guide — the wikis own those. Every mechanic here is checked against the official Lodestone deep dungeon guide, and every price direction points to universalis.app, the community price aggregator. No real-money trading — Square Enix bans that on sight — just farming the in-game systems the way they're built.
TLDR: Is deep dungeon gil farming worth it in FFXIV?
- Reality check: direct deep dungeon gil is a low earner — community runs land around 175,000–252,000 gil per hour depending on the dungeon (community estimates, mmogah / player guides). That's far below crafting or high-tier treasure maps. It is reliable, solo, and needs zero market knowledge — that's the trade.
- Best for gil: Eureka Orthos (~4,200 gil/min ≈ 252k/hr), then Heaven-on-High (~3,200 gil/min ≈ 192k/hr), then Palace of the Dead (~2,900 gil/min ≈ 174k/hr). Pilgrim's Traverse (the level 91–100 Dawntrail dungeon, patch 7.35) is newest and slower per floor.
- The real payoff isn't the raw gil. It's the Accursed Hoard — hidden caches you dig up and appraise into materia, minions, dyes, and gear that you sell on the Market Board. That variable drop, not the flat gil, is where a good run pulls ahead.
- The classic farm: Heaven-on-High floors 1–30 on repeat — fast, safe, and the sweet spot for silver-haloed sacks.
- Where the service fits: if the grind is too slow for the gil you need, timesaver.gg's FFXIV gil and power-leveling services get you there faster — this guide teaches you to run the farm yourself.
⚠️ Legit-only: every method here earns gil in-game. Square Enix has a zero-tolerance real-money-trading policy — buying or selling gil for cash is bannable, and SE runs regular RMT ban waves (see the Lodestone "Actions Taken Against RMT" notices). This is honest farming, not RMT.
What are deep dungeons, and how do they pay gil?
Deep dungeons are randomized, instanced roguelike dungeons you enter at a reset level and climb floor by floor, growing stronger with aetherpool gear and one-use pomanders as you go. There are four of them in Patch 7.55, each tied to an expansion's level band:
| Deep Dungeon | Level band | Floors | Introduced | Est. gil/hour* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palace of the Dead | 1–60 | 200 | A Realm Reborn | ~174k |
| Heaven-on-High | 61–70 | 100 | Stormblood | ~192k |
| Eureka Orthos | 81–90 | 100 | Endwalker | ~252k |
| Pilgrim's Traverse | 91–100 | 100 | Dawntrail (7.35, Oct 2025) | thin data — slower/floor |
*Gil/hour figures are community estimates (mmogah, player guides, 2024–2026) and vary by clear speed and Market Board prices — always check universalis.app for your world.
Gil reaches your wallet three ways:
- Completion gil. The official Lodestone guide is blunt about it: "Experience points and gil will be rewarded based on progress." (Square Enix, Lodestone deep dungeon guide) Every floor set you clear pays a flat gil bump.
- The Accursed Hoard. Hidden caches on each floor that you uncover, open into a haloed sack, and appraise into sellable loot after the run (more below).
- Sellable drops. Gil pots, materia, and other items you pick up along the way that go straight to the Market Board.
Crucially, deep dungeons scale enemies to your synced level, so a fresh alt and a level-100 main earn at similar rates. There's no gear check and no party required — you can solo every floor that matters for gil.
How does the Accursed Hoard work?
The Accursed Hoard is the reason to bother. On each floor there are hidden treasure spots; step on one and use the pomander of intuition (or just get lucky with a "you sense something" prompt) to reveal a buried coffer. Open it and you bank an unappraised sack — you won't know what's inside until you leave.
Here's the catch that trips up new farmers: you only keep Accursed Hoard sacks if you successfully complete the floor set (reach the next checkpoint, e.g. floor 10, 20, 30). Die or quit early and the sacks you dug up that set are gone. As the FFXIV wiki notes, completing a run keeps your aetherpool progress and the Accursed Hoards obtained.
After the run, take the sacks to the appraiser NPC for that dungeon. For Heaven-on-High, that's the Confederate Appraiser at Crick in The Ruby Sea (X:21.3, Y:9.2) (FFXIV wiki, Silver-haloed Sack); Palace of the Dead and Eureka Orthos each have their own appraiser near the dungeon hub. The sack tier — bronze, silver, or gold-haloed — depends on how deep you found it, and higher tiers roll better loot: high-grade materia, minions, orchestrion rolls, dyes, and gear you flip on the board.
Which deep dungeon makes the most gil?
Ranked by community gil-per-hour estimates, best to worst for pure farming:
1. Eureka Orthos — the top earner (~252k/hr)
The Endwalker deep dungeon (levels 81–90) posts the highest community gil rate, roughly 4,200 gil per minute in efficient runs (player guides, 2024). Enemies hit harder than Heaven-on-High, so it rewards a job that can survive and clear fast. If you're comfortable and want the best straight-gil rate, this is the pick.
2. Heaven-on-High — the reliable classic (~192k/hr)
Levels 61–70, and the community's default gil farm for years. The proven loop is floors 1–30 on repeat: the low floors are fast and safe, and 1–30 is the band that drops silver-haloed sacks. One estimate clocks floors 1–10 at about 20 minutes for ~2 bronze sacks per run (Epiccarry gil guide) — modest per lap, but you can run it half-asleep. Great for AFK-adjacent farming and leveling alts at the same time.
3. Palace of the Dead — the beginner entry (~174k/hr)
Levels 1–60, unlocked earliest, and the one most players meet first. Gil rate is the lowest of the three older dungeons (~2,900 gil/min), but it's the most accessible — you can start it at level 17 and it doubles as a fast leveling tool for jobs 1–60. Farm floors 51+ once unlocked for the better drops.
4. Pilgrim's Traverse — newest, slowest per floor
The Dawntrail deep dungeon (levels 91–100), added in Patch 7.35 on October 7, 2025. It's the current-tier challenge, but enemies are tougher and clears are slower, so per-hour gil hasn't beaten Eureka Orthos in community testing yet. Run it for level 91–100 leveling and current-patch loot rather than raw gil efficiency.
Is deep dungeon gil worth it versus other methods?
Honest answer: not if raw gil/hour is all you care about. A leveled crafter flipping the Market Board can clear millions per hour, and a level-100 treasure map chain pays far more per session. Deep dungeons top out around a quarter-million gil an hour — one experienced-player benchmark is that anything under 500,000 gil/hour isn't really worth your time as a dedicated farm (Skycoach gil guide).
So why run them? Because they win on everything except the number:
- Zero setup, zero market knowledge. No crafter to level, no mats to buy, no undercutting war. Queue and go.
- You're doing two things at once. Every gil run is also job EXP, aetherpool progress, and a shot at a rare minion or mount.
- It's the low-effort floor of your gil income. When you're burned out on flipping, this is the "watch a show and still earn" option.
Think of deep dungeons as the steady trickle in a balanced gil plan, not the engine. Pair them with an active earner from our ranked gil-per-hour method breakdown, and use them for the days you don't want to think.
How do you farm gil in a deep dungeon efficiently?
- Pick the right floor loop. Heaven-on-High 1–30 or Eureka Orthos low floors on repeat beat slow deep dives for gil-per-minute.
- Always dig the Hoard. Carry and use the pomander of intuition; the appraised loot is where a run's value actually lives.
- Complete the set before you leave. Sacks only bank on a completed floor set — never bail mid-set with treasure in your bag.
- Solo for speed, not safety. Matched parties split nothing gil-wise and slow you down; a durable solo job clears faster.
- Sell smart. Appraised materia and minions go on the Market Board — price against universalis, and remember the 5% sale tax (dropped to 3% in whichever city currently has the fewest retainers).
- Stack it with a goal. Leveling a job 1–60 or 61–70? Do it inside a deep dungeon and bank the gil as a bonus instead of running story dungeons for nothing.
For the full picture of where deep dungeons sit among every gil method, see our how-to-make-gil-fast overview.
FAQ
Is deep dungeon gil farming worth it in FFXIV? For pure gil, it's a low earner — roughly 175k–252k gil/hour, well under crafting or treasure maps. It's worth it as a relaxing, solo, no-setup trickle that also gives job EXP and a shot at valuable Accursed Hoard loot. Use it as your low-effort income floor, not your main earner.
What's the best deep dungeon for gil? Eureka Orthos posts the highest community rate (~4,200 gil/min ≈ 252k/hr), followed by Heaven-on-High (~192k/hr) and Palace of the Dead (~174k/hr). Heaven-on-High floors 1–30 is the most popular farm because it's fast and safe. All figures are community estimates — check universalis.app for live prices.
How do you farm gil in Heaven-on-High? Run floors 1–30 on repeat, digging up every Accursed Hoard you can and completing each floor set so the sacks bank. After the run, appraise your silver-haloed sacks at the Confederate Appraiser in Crick, The Ruby Sea (X:21.3, Y:9.2), then sell the materia, minions, and gear on the Market Board.
What is the Accursed Hoard? Hidden treasure caches on deep dungeon floors. You uncover a buried coffer, open it into an unappraised "haloed" sack, and — only if you complete the floor set — keep it to appraise into sellable loot (materia, minions, dyes, gear) at the dungeon's appraiser NPC. Higher-tier sacks found deeper roll better rewards.
Do you keep the gil and loot if you die in a deep dungeon? Completion gil and any Accursed Hoard sacks require finishing the floor set — die or quit mid-set and that set's treasure is lost. Aetherpool and Hoard progress are saved when you successfully complete a run, so always reach the next checkpoint before leaving.
Can you solo deep dungeons for gil? Yes — every floor that matters for gil can be soloed, and soloing is usually faster than a matched party. A durable job (a tank or a self-healing DPS) clears the low farming floors comfortably.
