If you’re looking for some tips to improve your first impression with Final Fantasy XIV, you’ve come to the right place. The success of Final Fantasy XIV’s most recent expansion, Endwalker, is another example of the title’s ever-increasing popularity. Since the game relaunched in 2013 after a shaky 2010 debut, it has steadily grown and proven itself as one of the most successful MMORPGs on the market.
The purpose of this article is to give you a brief rundown of some things to keep in mind to help you have the best experience you can as a new resident of Eorzea. Whether you’re brand new or a returning player looking to refresh yourself on the basics, here are ten things every Final Fantasy XIV player should do first.
1. Understand the Limitations of the Free Trial
Things Every New Final Fantasy XIV Player Should Do First
To start things off, it bears repeating that Final Fantasy XIV has an exceedingly generous free trial for a subscription-based MMORPG. The game allows prospective players the chance to play the full game up to level 60 (of its current level 90 cap) with no limitations on playtime.
This includes all of the base Final Fantasy XIV storyline and the entirety of the game’s first expansion, Heavensward. If you’re curious about the game, the trial is a great way to get a feel for whether or not you’ll enjoy the experience it has to offer.
That being said, there are a few limitations that free trial players have to contend with. You can see Square Enix’s official list of limitations here, but the most relevant restrictions are as follows:
- Free trial players can only hold a maximum of 300,000 gil (XIV’s in-game currency).
- Free trial players can’t participate in area-based chat or send private messages to other players.
- Free trial players can’t use the market board (XIV’s auction house) or trade.
- Free trial players can’t join a Free Company (XIV’s equivalent of player guilds).
- Free trial players can’t make characters of the Viera or Hrothgar races, as these are included with the purchase of the latest expansion, Endwalker, which also includes all previous expansions).
- Free trial players can’t unlock the Samurai, Red Mage, Gunbreaker, Dancer, Reaper, or Sage jobs, as these were added in the expansions following Heavensward.
- Free trial players can only make one character per server.
That last limitation might seem like a strict one—especially if you’re the type of MMO player that likes to roll a lot of different characters—but it isn’t much of a detriment when you recall that Final Fantasy XIV lets you level up and switch between all of the classes on a single character, nullifying the need to make a new character just to try out a new job.
2. Play the Race/Class Combination Most Appealing to You
Things Every New Final Fantasy XIV Player Should Do First
While not as commonplace as they used to be in MMORPGs, it’s important to keep in mind that player races in Final Fantasy XIV have next to no bearing on how successfully your character can perform in a given class. Each race does have slight stat differences at level 1, but the discrepancy becomes so insubstantial after a few level ups that it may as well not exist.
Moreover, Final Fantasy XIV has always sported some of the most consistent balancing the genre has ever seen. All jobs are equally viable for every piece of content available to players, and no class choice will put you at a severe advantage or disadvantage in a given role (tank, healer, or damage dealer) at any point. Selecting a class and race combination that matches your own personal aesthetic and gameplay preferences is absolutely the way to go in Final Fantasy XIV.
Lastly, It’s worth clarifying the difference between a class and a job, as the two can be used somewhat interchangeably. Your “class” label refers to the initial 29 levels after creating your character. Once you reach level 30, you’ll complete a quest that upgrades the class into a “job.” The job title may be different, but this is a seamless transition; you retain your level, all of your current abilities, and get a significant stat boost just for reaching the milestone. Gladiator becomes Paladin, Conjurer becomes White Mage, Lancer becomes Dragoon, and so on at level 30.
3. Choose the Right Role
Things Every New Final Fantasy XIV Player Should Do First
To elaborate on the above, Final Fantasy XIV operates under the “holy trinity” of MMORPG roles; every combat class is either a tank, a healer, or a damage dealer in instanced content.
Tanks are responsible for holding the attention of all enemies and bosses while dishing out damage of their own. A healer’s primary goal is to keep the tank and other party members alive while dealing damage when the situation allows them to do so, and damage dealers carry out a rotation of abilities to melt the enemies as quickly as possible.
Of the starting class choices, the role breakdown is as follows. It’s worth noting that the different variations of DPS (melee, ranged, and magical) are all considered DPS as far as queueing for content is concerned, but the labels are included here to better inform your decision.