Final Fantasy 14 had a rocky start when it released in 2010– to say the least– which prompted an overhaul & rerelease of the game as Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn in 2013. FF14 has since become a great success and one of the most popular MMORPGs on the market, complete with three expansions added to the game.
It can be daunting getting into a pre-established MMO, especially one with the prestige of the Final Fantasy franchise. Check out why now may be the best time to sign up as a Warrior of Light in Eorzea, and why you might want to wait.
10 Start Playing: New Patch Content
Now is absolutely the perfect time to start playing as a whole host of new content is about to drop with the release of Patch 5.3, Reflections in Crystal, on August 11th. This was the patch that was previously delayed due to Covid-19, but finally, players will be able to get hands-on with it very soon.
Patch 5.3 is set to add plenty of new material, such as new story content, dungeons, trials, raids, equipment, and more. The great thing about a patch update like this is that you won’t be the only one finding your footing with the new content, as it will be new to everyone.
9 Wait: Housing Still Limited
Final Fantasy 14 has a feature called Free Companies. They’re like guilds, and they bring together like-minded players to enjoy what the game has to offer. Additionally, there is a Free Company housing feature where Free Companies can purchase their own house, which not only has multiple communal rooms but allows each member to have their own private room too.
The downside is that Square Enix massively underestimated the demand for player housing and there is currently none free. Whenever new housing gets added, it sells out within minutes. It’s not just a nice aesthetic that you’re losing access to, but also additional features such as Airship and Submersible Voyages.
8 Start Playing: Influx Of Players For Easy Match-Making
Final Fantasy 14 is set to get an influx of returning players fairly soon, which is great for reducing the wait times on matchmaking for dungeons, raids, and trials. The reason players are set to flock back to Eorzea is largely due to the release of Patch 5.3, as any large patch causes many players to return to check out the new content.
Additionally, as the summer holidays begin for schools, colleges, and universities, you’ll see a lot more players with time on their hands ready to pump their numbers in-game.
7 Wait: Server Congestion
The downside to having a sudden influx of players is that servers get congested. Not only does this mean longer waiting times for servers but new players may also struggle to create a character on their desired server of choice. When servers are too congested, character creation is switched off temporarily, leaving new players locked out of joining servers with their friends.
While you can still play with people from other servers as long as they are in the same Data Center as you, ideally you want to be on the same server as your friends. Of course, you can create a character wherever and then change servers when the server you want opens up, but this costs real money.
6 Start Playing: Removal Of Old Content
One of the best things about Patch of 5.3 is that it is the beginning of the end for a lot of old, unloved, essentially filler content from the A Realm Reborn days. About 13% of the A Realm Reborn campaign content is being entirely removed from the game, with many other quests being slimmed down so they are quicker to complete.
This makes the base game content less of a grind to get through for new players, which is ideal as story-wise it is arguably the weakest area, with the plot only becoming interesting with the release of the first expansion, Heavensward.
5 Wait: Monthly Subscription
Most MMOs charge a monthly subscription fee and there’s honestly nothing wrong with that, it’s something that is likely to never go away. Final Fantasy 14 is no different and is worth the price as it is such a rich gaming experience. However, given the current climate and with many people suffering financially as a result, you might want to wait before you start paying out a subscription fee for a game, or least make sure you really can afford it first.
That doesn’t mean you can’t play, as there is a free trial version available, which allows you to get up to level 35 of each class (recently pushed to 60.) You can also choose to upgrade your free trial to a paid account at any time. However, there are many restrictions on free trial accounts, which can get annoying.
4 Start Playing: Currently On Sale On PSN
This might seem like a daft reason, but considering there’s the base game and three additional expansions to buy, you want to save money where you can. There’s a complete edition available that has all of the expansions included, as well as a more elite package that has all of this as additional collector edition DLC.
At the time of writing, these are currently on sale on the PlayStation Network and will remain on sale until August 19th, 2020. Don’t worry if you miss this window, these games go on sale really regularly on the PlayStation Store, Square Enix Store, and Steam, so just keep an eye out for when they are next discounted.
3 Wait: Overwhelming Amount Of Content
Because Final Fantasy 14 has been around for many years now and has a number of expansions to its name, it can be really overwhelming trying to get your head around all of the different types of content, especially when you’re new and have to learn mechanics & job roles at the same time.
It may be worth waiting a while to see if the development team decides to further cut back the amount of base content, which sounds likely, so there’s less for you to sift through when you start. Alternatively, you can pay real money via the Mog Station store to skip certain portions of story content relating to the base game and expansions.
2 Start Playing: Mentor System
Square Enix is well aware of how daunting it can be for new and returning players to get back into Eorzea, so they have introduced a number of measures to help as much as possible. One of the main features is the Mentor System, players who are dedicated to helping new & returning adventures find their feet in the world– complete with dedicated Mentor Roulette dungeons.
You don’t have to worry about looking for this service as a prompt box will automatically pop up on login detailing the benefits.
1 Wait: Early Content Struggles
One of the most tiring things for new players is that there is very early content that must be completed with parties (such as dungeons and trials.) The problem is, there aren’t many people looking to play such old content.
Square Enix did introduce a dungeon and trial roulette system with rewards for those who participate, with the aim of increasing the number of players who participate in the older content to allow newer players to progress. Even with this, you’ll find yourself struggling to find party members for a lot of things, so it might be worth waiting until the release of a new expansion, which always has a surge in new players and new characters that flood the early content areas.
NEXT: Final Fantasy 14: 10 Of The Rarest Mounts To Obtain
