Current Events > Final Fantasy XIV will now be free up to the end of Heavensward

(+) Yeah! (+)

as of the new patch coming the free trial has been extended to that point, with unlimited playtime too

also to clarify it is the entirety of Heavensward including the patches leading up to stormblood

Actually insane. That is a ridiculous amount of content. I would have expected them to MAYBE increase it to 50 and the end of the praetorium, but 60 and heavensward? Yoshi-p, you are the maddest of lads.

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im gonna give it a go one day

hows the raids compared to wow? how fast paced is the combat? despite all wows problems i loved the fire mage gameplay where you had so much stuff off the global cooldown and it was so fun and fast

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I haven't even finished the base game yet -_-.

Does this mean if I stop paying the monthly fee I can still play up to that point?

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Is it fun to play tho? Or is it mindless like most genre games?

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can i be a sexy chocolate bunny as well?

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KnightofShikari posted...

can i be a sexy chocolate bunny as well?

no that's locked behind purchasing shadowbringers

Is it worth the time investment?

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Oh wow that's actually impressive. And this includes stuff like raids and relic weapon grinds also?

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i don't see why it wouldn't, you can do anything at the level you're at without restriction in the current free trial

For reference, I played this game for a total of probably two years. I never made it to the end of Heavensward. Granted, this was when the game released, so I'm sure a lot of the content has been streamlined since then, but holy shit, that's a lot of free game.

@Ilishe Imo it depends on what mindset you go into the game with.

If you look at it like an older Final Fantasy game that's online with a big social aspect to it, then you'll probably enjoy it.

If you look at it like modern MMOs which require spreadsheets to maximize your character's build and precise timing for skill rotations then you're probably going to be disappointed because it very much has a lot of mindless side questing and the combat is slow as sin.

That's actually my biggest problem, I always think of it in terms of ESO or Secret World and not in terms of classic JRPGs. I'm only level 37 so I haven't hit any of the hardcore dungeons or anything like that.

I do love how friendly the community is, though. It's always a treasure to walk around and see how people are interacting with each other, and the FC that I joined was HELLA nice.

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SerperiorThanU posted...

Does that cover the Nier crossover?

No that is lv80 content I believe

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SerperiorThanU posted...

Does that cover the Nier crossover?

No, that is level 80 and current content.
Here's a brief list of the content that will be available to people on the free trial:
All of the Extreme mode difficulty primals from 2.0-3.0
Zodiac + Anima Weapons
Palace of the Dead
The Binding Coil of Bahamut (ARR 2.0 raid series)
Alexander (3.0 raid series)
Crystal Tower 24-man raid series
Void Ark 24-man raid series
All of the 5000000 dungeons from 2.0 to 3.0
Dark Knight, Machinist & Astrologian jobs
Au'Ra race
The Hildibrand questline
I think that's all of the major things.

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I played wow to 20 for some Hearthstone goodies, that's what I consider mindless. Is it better, worse or about the same?

@Hexenherz

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Ilishe posted...

I played wow to 20 for some Hearthstone goodies, that's what I consider mindless. Is it better, worse or about the same?

I've never played WoW, but honestly, the beginning of the game is pretty mindless (but then again, what MMO isn't, really). If you're one who enjoys story in your games, FFXIV is an absolute treat once it hits its stride.

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How do i go about trying this? Do i go on their official website and make a new account and then just download and play?

I cant seem to do this on steam, it only gives me the option to buy starter edition, complete edition and shaowbringers.

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Cobra1010 posted...

How do i go about trying this? Do i go on their official website and make a new account and then just download and play?

I cant seem to do this on steam, it only gives me the option to buy starter edition, complete edition and shaowbringers.

https://freetrial.finalfantasyxiv.com/na/
Swap "na" with "eu" if needed. Note: the free trial is currently limited to level 35 until August 11th, when patch 5.3 drops.

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Caelthus posted...

https://freetrial.finalfantasyxiv.com/na/
Swap "na" with "eu" if needed. Note: the free trial is currently limited to level 35 until August 11th, when patch 5.3 drops.

thanks so is it okay that I sign up now and start playing and then after August 11th, my level cap will be unlocked to 60?

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Cobra1010 posted...

thanks so is it okay that I sign up now and start playing and then after August 11th, my level cap will be unlocked to 60?

As long as you don't enter a game key or activate a paid subscription, AFAIK, yes.

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Would be tempted to try this if I didnt hate MMOs lol

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Alpha218 posted...

Would be tempted to try this if I didnt hate MMOs lol

You actually don't have to interact with people except for in dungeons/boss fights if you don't want to(and even then unless you're doing current raids, you don't even *have* to do that).

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Caelthus posted...

You actually don't have to interact with people except for in dungeons/boss fights if you don't want to(and even then unless you're doing current raids, you don't even *have* to do that).

And to add to this, even when you do have to party find fandoms for dungeons or whatever, probably 95% of the peeps are well mannered and great.

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Caelthus posted...

As long as you don't enter a game key or activate a paid subscription, AFAIK, yes.

awesome thanks

Alpha218 posted...

Would be tempted to try this if I didnt hate MMOs lol

Yeah im not too fond of mmos either. They are often low quality and they are set up to make you grind your life away. But since its free and we are in lockdown(kinda) i thought i might as well dive into the world and check out the place.

But im not sure i'll get far if i play alone, I'll see if i can get a friend to join me and explore the world together.

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Can I be a cute big butt waifu?

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What about the streamlined early content with the patch? I coincidently downloaded the trial last night, so if I activate the trial now, would I still have all those fetch quests and such come August 11th? Or is it relegated to character or something?

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Hayame Zero posted...

What about the streamlined early content with the patch? I coincidently downloaded the trial last night, so if I activate the trial now, would I still have all those fetch quests and such come August 11th? Or is it relegated to character or something?

Nope. Once 5.3 hits, you'll automatically have the streamlined versions.

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Ilishe posted...

I played wow to 20 for some Hearthstone goodies, that's what I consider mindless. Is it better, worse or about the same?

@Ilishe I've never played WoW, but to me FFXIV does feel really mindless, at least at the lower levels. But like I said I think that's because I approached it from the perspective that it's an MMO, and other MMOs I've played have faster combat and a bigger variety of quests.

I realize though that that's probably not the right mindset to have, because it very much is a Final Fantasy game and I think from *that* perspective it plays like a Final Fantasy game. Which is kind of making me want to get back into it now lol.


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For me, the appeal of the game is all the damn collectable stuff to chase. Yeah, the story has its epic moments and stuff, but there are so many mounts, minions, titles and glamour (armor and weapons skins) to role play and look badass or however you want with.

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Touch posted...

For me, the appeal of the game is all the damn collectable stuff to chase. Yeah, the story has its epic moments and stuff, but there are so many mounts, minions, titles and glamour (armor and weapons skins) to role play and look badass or however you want with.

This is why I have a hard time fully committing to it, because my Runescape account is like 18 years old and there's a ton of stuff I still have to unlock there

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What does this mean for people that already have the game? I've only played the game for a month, and quit. I would not mind coming back and playing for free!

Crescente posted...

What does this mean for people that already have the game? I've only played the game for a month, and quit. I would not mind coming back and playing for free!

They cannot take advantage of this in that regard. I'm pretty sure if you only own the base game though, that it will automatically update you to have the first expansion, Heaveansward.

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just make a new account who cares