collectible

Buried Treasure & Excavation sites — what they actually unlock

Two map systems. Rabbits → buried treasure. Lifesprings → excavation sites → world bosses + transmuter recipes.

“If you happen to see a group of rabbits this shows a location that usually has hidden treasure nearby that you can dig up with your Chocobo. When scanning the Lifesprings in a region, if you find multiple of these they will reveal the location of nearby excavation sites to obtain new transmuter recipes for crafting additional items and gear, or even powerful fiends you can fight out in the world. The game features a compass at the top of the screen by default but you can also turn on the minimap in gameplay settings.”

Buried Treasure & Excavation

Two separate map systems that get confused. Both reward materials, but they're triggered differently.

Buried Treasure (rabbits)

  1. While riding your Chocobo, look for a small group of rabbits on the world map.
  2. The blue question mark icon appears over the Chocobo's head when you're near.
  3. Sniff with the Chocobo (face button prompt) — leads you to the dig spot.
  4. Dig — usually low/medium-tier crafting materials, occasional accessories.

Fast, repeatable, free.

Excavation sites (Lifesprings)

Long chain. Worth it for crafting recipes and classified Intel boss fights.

  1. Scan multiple Lifesprings in a region (Chadley World Intel).
  2. Lifesprings reveal excavation site locations on the map.
  3. Excavate at the site:
    • Transmuter recipes for crafting new gear/items.
    • Powerful fiend spawns — region world bosses you can then hunt.
  4. Crafting at the Transmuter uses region-specific materials, so collect everything in each biome before moving on.

Compass vs minimap

  • Default UI uses a compass at the top of the screen.
  • Turn on the minimap in gameplay settings — much better for treasure hunting and tracking the rabbit groups.

If stuck: if no excavation sites are appearing, you only scanned one Lifespring. The system needs multiple scans in the same region to triangulate the excavation locations.