Aetheryte

“

These massive crystals can be found throughout Eorzea, allowing adventurers to travel great distances in an instant. When first attuning to an aetheryte, adventurers will learn the spells Return and Teleport, which are necessary to use these aetherial constructs. For the ever-wandering adventurer, attuning to as many aetherytes as possible will ensure swift transport to nearly any location.

— A Realm Reborn Promotional Website

Aetherytes are structures that are used to teleport to different locations within a city-state, and to different places within the world. Aetherytes vary in appearance depending on location.

The Aetheryte system within a city is called Aethernet. While   Return is learned on attuning to the aetheryte in the chosen starting city,   Teleport is actually learned when attuning to a player's second major Aetheryte.

As of Patch 4.57, the main Aetherytes in the starting city-states (Limsa Lominsa, Gridania, and Ul'dah) can be used to visit other World Servers.

A Residential District Aethernet is available in each city-state that contains a player housing area, allowing players to teleport to specified wards in the residential area.

Teleport destinations

Every city has one large, main

aetheryte and several smaller ones called

aethernet shards, each marking a teleport destination. Meanwhile other places in the world may have just a main Aetheryte in a settlement. Most overworld zones contain more than one large Aetheryte. A list of teleport destinations can be found at Teleport#Destinations.

Free Companies or players with housing can place an   Miniature Aetheryte housing item on the outside garden: when the item is placed, its destination is automatically added to the   Teleport list.

Attuning

When you attune to a main Aetheryte, its location will be added to your   Teleport destination list. Attuning to the Aethernet Shard will add its location to the Aethernet destination list. When you attune to all existing Aethernet Shards of a city, your Aethernet list will get the city exit gates as new teleport destinations. Some aetherytes be visited but not attuned to unless the player has sufficiently progressed in the Main Scenario Quests.

Instanced Zones

When an expansion or major patch is newly released, overworld zones and cities relevant in the Main Scenario Quests for the update will often be divided into multiple instanced zones to alleviate player congestion. Players can view their current instance by inputing /instance in the chat. To switch instances, players can interact with any aetheryte in the instanced zone and select "Travel to Instanced Area", which will display a list of all instances of that zone in the server along with the current player population in each.

System Messages

When attuned to all of the shards a city-state

Gridania

You have attuned yourself to all the Aethernet shards in Gridania. The Blue Badger Gate, the Yellow Serpent Gate, and the airship landing are now accessible as Aethernet destinations.
You now have Aethernet access to the Blue Badger Gate (Central Shroud).
You now have Aethernet access to the Yellow Serpent Gate (North Shroud).
You now have Aethernet access to the airship landing.

Ul'dah

You have attuned yourself to all the Aethernet shards in Ul'dah. The Gate of Nald, the Gate of Thal, the Gate of the Sultana, and the airship landing are now accessible as Aethernet destinations.
You now have Aethernet access to the Gate of Nald (Central Thanalan).
You now have Aethernet access to the Gate of Thal (Central Thanalan).
You now have Aethernet access to the Gate of the Sultana (Western Thanalan).
You now have Aethernet access to the airship landing.

Limsa Lominsa

You have attuned yourself to all the Aethernet shards in Limsa Lominsa. The Zephyr Gate, the Tempest Gate, and the airship landing are now accessible as Aethernet destinations.
You now have Aethernet access to the Zephyr Gate (Middle La Noscea).
You now have Aethernet access to the Tempest Gate (Lower La Noscea).
You now have Aethernet access to the airship landing.

Ishgard

You have attuned yourself to all the Aethernet shards in Ishgard. The Gates of Judgement are now accessible as an Aethernet destination.
You now have Aethernet access to the Gates of Judgement (Coerthas central highlands).

Consumables

Item	Duration	Buff	Effect	Source
Priority Aetheryte Pass	2h	Reduced Rates III	-40% decreased aetheryte teleportation fees.	Reward from Squadron Missions
Aetheryte Ticket	1 teleport		Good for a single free journey through the aetheryte network.	Purchased from a Hunt Billmaster for  5 Allied Seals or Ardolain for  5 Centurio Seals
Immortal Flames Aetheryte Ticket	1 teleport		A voucher redeemable by Immortal Flames enlistees for instant teleportation to the Hall of Flames.	Purchased from a Flame Quartermaster for  2,000 Flame Seals
Maelstrom Aetheryte Ticket	1 teleport		A voucher redeemable by Maelstrom enlistees for instant teleportation to Maelstrom Command.	Purchased from a Storm Quartermaster for  2,000 Storm Seals
Twin Adder Aetheryte Ticket	1 teleport		A voucher redeemable by Order of the Twin Adder enlistees for instant teleportation to the Adders' Nest.	Purchased from a Serpent Quartermaster for  2,000 Serpent Seals
Firmament Aetheryte Ticket	1 teleport		A voucher redeemable by Ishgardian restoration participants for instant teleportation to the Firmament.	Purchased from Enie for  500 Skybuilders' Scrips
Vesper Bay Aetheryte Ticket	1 teleport		A voucher redeemable by Scions of the Seventh Dawn for instant teleportation to Vesper Bay.	The Scions of the Seventh Dawn Back from the Wood The Black Wolf's Ultimatum (30 total)

Lore

“

Greetings, adventurer. Do you wish an explanation of aetherial travel? I am here to answer any queries you might have.

What is aetherial travel?
To understand aetherial travel, you must first understand the nature of aether.
Aether is the source of all life, and the underlying force that makes all forms of arcane manipulation possible.
This ephemeral substance, though unseen and unfelt, flows around and within every single living creature.
In the moment of our death, it is believed that a separation occurs between our spiritual and physical forms. Our bodies break down and are absorbed back into the aetherial river, while our souls continue on to the afterlife. This final journey is sometimes called “returning to the Lifestream.”
However, our ancestors discovered ways in which, through meditation and focus of spiritual energies, one could reduce her body to aether without losing the grip on her spirit, in turn allowing for travel upon the Lifestream. These methods have been given the names Return and Teleport.
As you travel through Eorzea, you will oft come across large floating deposits of a crystalline substance known as aetheryte. The one before us here is a fine example.

What is aetheryte?
It is said that aetheryte is the solid manifestation of the planet's lifeblood, aether, and that by touching it, the aether which makes up our bodies resonates with that contained in the crystal. This is called “attunement.”
Normally, when one's body is reduced to aether, it will naturally gravitate to the location with which it resonates the greatest─or one's “home point.” This is why upon losing consciousness in battle, many wake to find themselves back at an aetheryte.
In other words, aetherytes act as lodestones, assuring that the body, in its aetherial form, is not lost to the pull of the greater flow.
And, because signatures of past attunements are maintained within our bodies, it is possible (with some spiritual training, of course) to ignore the pull back to the strongest resonation, and travel to another beacon. Many refer to this as “Teleportation.”
What is even more amazing is that when teleporting, we can “carry” those with whom we have created a bond, such as an adventuring party─assuming they have previously attuned with the destination aetheryte.

What is the difference between Return and Teleport?
As Return merely involves allowing the body to be drawn back to the strongest aetherial beacon─one's home point─it is fairly easy to execute and requires very little spiritual exertion.
Usually, a few moments of rest is all that is needed before it is safe to attempt another jump.
Teleportation, on the other hand, comes with a greater price. A great deal of spiritual energy known as “anima” is required to fight the natural flow of the Lifestream and guide one's body and soul to a comparatively weak aetherial beacon.
If one's body lacks sufficient anima, teleporting to a location may prove impossible. Luckily for most of us, anima is restored quickly and should not prohibit regular travel. Then why, you ask, must we pay gil when using Teleport? Well, after the Calamity, many of the existing aetheryte camps were destroyed. To relocate and rebuild them required a large sum of money, much of which was lent by certain men of business from Ul'dah.
The gil you pay when either leaving from or arriving at an aetheryte goes to paying off that debt.

— Sundhimal

Sundhimal is a Yellowjacket in Limsa Lominsa. Nenebaru, a Brass Blade in Ul'dah, and Nicia, a Wood Wailer in Gridania, also have broadly the same explanations.

Aetheryte Styles

Aetherytes differ in appearance depending on where they are located in the world.

Image	Style	Notes	Locations	Introduced
	Eorzean Aetheryte		Most locations in Eorzea, Ishgard, Camp Cloudtop in The Sea of Clouds	A Realm Reborn
	Eorzean Aethernet Shard		Ul'dah, Gridania, Limsa Lominsa, Ishgard, Idyllshire, Rhalgr's Reach, Old Sharlayan, Radz-at-Han, all residential districts except Shirogane	A Realm Reborn
	Miniature Aetheryte		Player Housing placeable object	A Realm Reborn
	Northern Aldenard Aetheryte	An older-style Aetheryte found in northern Aldenard and Labyrinthos.	Coerthas Western Highlands, Dravania, Gyr Abania, Labyrinthos	Heavensward
	Vanu Vanu Aetheryte	Only known one in existence.	Ok' Zundu in the Sea of Clouds	Heavensward
	Allagan Aetheryte	Only known one in existence.	Azys Lla	Heavensward
	Far Eastern Aetheryte		Kugane, Onokoro in the Ruby Sea, Yanxia, The Doman Enclave, The Bozjan Southern Front, Zadnor	Stormblood
	Far Eastern Aethernet Shard		Kugane, Shirogane, The Doman Enclave, The Bozjan Southern Front, Zadnor	Stormblood
	Kojin Aetheryte	Only known one in existence.	Tamamizu in the Ruby Sea	Stormblood
	Azim Steppe Aetheryte	Similar to Far Eastern Aetheryte but is decorated with a pair of horns and is brown instead of red.	The Azim Steppe	Stormblood
	Eurekan Aethernet Shard		The Forbidden Land, Eureka	Stormblood
	Vrandtic Aetheryte		Most locations in Norvrandt	Shadowbringers
	Eulmoran Aetheryte	Similar to Vrandtic Aetheryte but has a different base and is decorated with pink curtains.	Eulmore	Shadowbringers
	Vrandtic Aethernet Shard		The Crystarium, Eulmore	Shadowbringers
	Amaurotine (Ancient) Aetheryte		The Tempest, Mare Lamentorum, Elpis	Shadowbringers
	Sharlayan Aetheryte	A recently invented Sharlayan style aetheryte that allows one to teleport to another of the same design without needing to attune to it first. May cause aether sickness symptoms.	Old Sharlayan, Yedlihmad in Thavnair	Endwalker
	Thavnairian Aetheryte	Similar to Eorzean Aetheryte but has a pinkish hue at the bottom. The one in Radz-at-Han is decorated with purple textiles and does not have the pinkish hue.	The Great Work and Palaka's Stand in Thavnair, Radz-at-Han	Endwalker
	Garlean Aetheryte		Garlemald	Endwalker
	Dragonstar Aetheryte	Only known one in existence.	Reah Tahra in Ultima Thule	Endwalker
	Ea Aetheryte	Only known one in existence.	Abode of the Ea in Ultima Thule	Endwalker
	Omicron Aetheryte	Only known one in existence.	Base Omicron in Ultima Thule	Endwalker
	Turali Aetheryte		Yok Tural, Shaaloani, Yyasulani Station, The Outskirts	Dawntrail
	Turali Aetheryte Shard		Tuliyollal	Dawntrail
	Alexandrian Aetheryte		Solution Nine, Electrope Strike, Living Memory	Dawntrail
	Alexandrian Aetheryte Shard		Solution Nine	Dawntrail