It is almost impossible to run out of things to do in Final Fantasy XIV. From leveling up jobs to creating the dishes from the game, it offers a truly massive world to explore. One thing that players are encouraged to do is to interact with the Beast Tribes that are scattered around the world, completing quests for them.
There are many Beast Tribes, but the most well-developed and most intriguing is the Kojin. This tortoise-like Tribe was introduced with Stormblood and is heavily involved in the expansion's story, interacting with the Warrior of Light often and even granting them the ability to breathe underwater.
Who Are the Kojin?
The Kojin are semi-aquatic humanoids who build beautiful settlements under the sea. The principle of these, Tamamizu, is a stunning location with beautiful music that players will travel to a lot over the course of the game, whether as part of the main scenario, completing Kojin quests or learning how to spearfish.
Kojin culture believes in kami, gods that inhabit objects and bring them prosperity. It is perhaps for this reason that skilled crafters and merchants are important in Kojin communities, and collecting lots of items and keepsakes seems to be an important tradition for the Kojin.
One of these kami is Susano, a primal who ends up accidentally summoned during Stormblood. As befitting the typically laid-back Kojin tribe, Susano is not outwardly antagonistic, and the fight against him is treated more as a combat exercise. This makes sense, as his title is the Lord of Revel, and he provides a nice change of pace to the overtly aggressive enemies that players usually must fight.
The Kojin are largely split into two tribes. The Blue Kojin (who, for some reason, wear green and not blue) are pacifists that players interact with the most. On the other hand, the Red Kojin are more volatile and mercenary. When the Garlean empire invaded Othard, the Red Kojin joined with them for opportunities to fight and avoid the Imperial oppression often doled out to their conquered lands. Players gets to explore this dichotomy further throughout some truly interesting Kojin story quests.
The Kojin Daily Quests
Becoming respected in the eyes of the Kojin is not as much of a chore as it can be for other Beast Tribes. There's enough variation in the daily quests that players must undertake to build trust with them that it never feels boring. As a result, these quests are an attractive method for gaining experience from level 60 to level 70, especially when waiting for instance queues to pop.
One nice thing about these quests is that they often involve taking care of one of their Striped Rays. These are beautiful manta ray-like creatures that the Kojin use as mounts and that the player will undoubtedly become attached to. There are quests to feed them, use them to blow away flotsam and take them for rides to exercise.
Other Kojin quests have players traveling around the Ruby Sea to cull monsters, deal with Red Kojin antagonism and help the other residents of Othard. One nice quest has the player simply delivering Kojin pickles to Confederates which highlights the peaceful, cooperative nature of the Beast Tribe and makes them endearing.
The Kojin Beast Tribe Quests
The quests unlock as players build trust with the Kojin largely deal with the Blue Kojin's ambition to become a big player in the region's trade. They follow a Kojin named Kabuto's attempts to collect valuable treasures while inadvertently making important connections with other settlements such as the Namazu of Yanxia and the Au Ra of Reunion.
The questline is quite humorous at times thanks to the inclusion of a mischievous kami, which is a nice break from the seriousness of Stormblood's scenario quests. Each one ends with the Blue Kojin adding a nice new treasure to their collection, which players can see at the display in Tamamizu. The gradual progress made feels genuinely satisfying.
The final quest "True-blue" is a great capstone to the storyline. It has the player and Kabuto visiting all of the individuals they made connections with over the questline as they solve the mystery of Tsukumo, the kami-inhabited doll they'd been traveling with and owe their success to. It ends on a high (slightly bittersweet) note that lets players feel accomplished and satisfied with their actions.
The Benefits of Allying With the Kojin
One of the big draws to completing quests for the Kojin is the experience they give. From Stormblood onwards, Beast Tribe quests grant a large amount of experience that scales to the player's level, as long as it's within the expansion's level gap (60 to 70 for Stormblood, 70 to 80 for Shadowbringers). This makes the quests a great way to level up.
However, the main attraction is the range of items that the player can buy with Kojin Sango acquired from daily quests. While the minions are cute and it's nice to have both Red Kojin and Blue Kojin versions available, players will surely be most thrilled when they realize they can buy a Striped Ray mount of their own. It feels amazing to soar through the skies or underwater on a giant manta ray creature.
Another great reward is the Kojin armor set, which convincingly makes the player look like a Kojin of the Blue. It's a step up from the comedic armor pieces from other Beast Tribes, like the gigantic Namazu head. Overall, these rewards are just the icing on top of the delicious cake that is the Kojin, a well-developed Beast Tribe that shows off the writers' skills beautifully.