10 Things FFXIV Doesn't Prepare You For

Aug. 5, 2024, 9 p.m.

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10 Things FFXIV Doesn't Prepare You For

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Summary FFXIV offers a free trial to level 70, but be prepared for complex mechanics and difficulty spikes in later expansions.

Don't miss out on unlocking side content and ranking up in Grand Companies early on for player housing and unique mounts.

Crafting and Triple Triad can be time-consuming, so expect to spend hundreds of hours in a world full of emotional storytelling.

Final Fantasy XIV draws in new Warriors of Light by being a critically acclaimed MMORPG with a free trial through Stormblood that allows characters to reach up to Level 70 without a limit on playtime. Like any MMO, it can be intimidating to get started, especially when the game has been around for over a decade now and has several expansions of content available. It also doesn't help that there are so many features in FFXIV that are easy to miss, especially for a Warrior of Light who isn't exploring all the side quests.

Starting an MMORPG well into its life can be tough, whether it's FFXIV, World of Warcraft, or any other option that's been around for a while and is holding onto a dedicated player base. There are a lot of reasons to pick up FFXIV, given its gameplay alone, and its community is still bustling, with new content and expansions being released regularly. However, these are the things that FFXIV doesn't prepare a new Warrior of Light for, although it would've been helpful to do so.

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10 The Difficulty Increases Through Expansions

A Difficulty Spike

The content in A Realm Reborn can seem rather straightforward and simple in most cases. But since this is the material at the beginning of the Warrior of Light's journey, it's expected that the game eases into the content in order to teach the way that mechanics work. While the difficulty and complexity of mechanics in duties, trials, dungeons, and raids increase over time, there are points where that increase ends up feeling like an unexpected spike.

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The difficulty increases and starts to become more noticeable around Stormblood content, but it isn't quite a spike. It feels more like the development team had a technology upgrade, and they were then able to use that to design mechanics with additional complexity. This isn't quite the case with Dawntrail, and while the mechanics for fights in this expansion are a lot of fun, many Warriors of Light found themselves unprepared for the difficulty spike that came with them.

9 There's More Side Content Than There Seems To Be At First

A Lot To Unlock Before Access

Like most MMOs, FFXIV is filled with side content to occupy Warriors of Light who have finished the Main Scenario Quests or are simply taking a break before jumping into the next section. From a design standpoint, this helps keep subscribers during content droughts, which are the periods of time between expansions and the patches that lead up to the next expansion release. But when there's side content added over time through multiple expansions, it starts to become easy to miss older side content.

It's easy to miss out on content that has to be unlocked before it's accessible.

If a Warrior of Light isn't exploring all the side quests that are marked with a blue icon, it's easy to miss out on content that has to be unlocked before it's accessible. When starting out, the differences between quest icons are important since they reveal if a quest is part of the main story, just a standard side quest, or a quest that unlocks side content. Even then, there's side content hidden away that can be tough to uncover without knowing where to start.

8 Ranking Up In A Grand Company Is Important

Especially From The Start

Joining a Grand Company is a decision that the Warrior of Light makes shortly after joining the Scions as their combat abilities start to become famous. Despite being presented with three options, the biggest difference is the color of the gear and barding that the Warrior has access to as they rise through the ranks and gain Company Seals. Even when it comes to PvP matches, the company the Warrior joined isn't necessarily the company they'll be part of in PvP.

The benefits of ranking up within a Grand Company and what can be unlocked through it aren't too clear when starting.

However, it's not clear when joining a Grand Company that ranking up within that company is a requirement for being able to purchase player housing. It's also a requirement for starting Hunts, which can lead to unlocking unique mounts. Since the benefits of ranking up within a Grand Company and what can be unlocked through it aren't too clear when starting, Warriors of Light end up needing to grind ranks later in the game.

7 The Best Rotation And Job Adjustments Can Be Confusing

Be Used To Having Several

With live service games, there are constant adjustments being made to the available classes to try to keep them balanced. Unfortunately, that also means that abilities, rotations, and strengths change. Plus, since FFXIV allows every job to be learned with a single character, job adjustments sometimes lead to jobs falling out of popularity in favor of stronger options, so the Warrior of Light ends up needing to understand and feel comfortable with multiple options.

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There are plenty of great features that come from having this style for player classes in an MMO. Not worrying about leveling new characters and starting over to try other jobs is convenient, and it's less tedious. However, FFXIV doesn't do the best job when it comes to teaching ability rotations, and adjustments made in patches can be confusing for those new to the game.

6 The Housing System Is Frustrating

Purchasing One Can Take Months

Player housing is a fun feature to have in any MMO, but FFXIV makes it particularly tempting, with multiple beautiful areas and plenty of items to use for decorating. However, the housing system is a bit notorious, especially when it comes to how difficult it is for any given player to purchase a house of their own. Even with the improvements made in Endwalker, the housing system remains flawed, meaning that it can take months or longer to snag a property.

The way the housing system works is now through a lottery. When there's an open plot, anybody who meets the requirements to own a house is able to enter the lottery, meaning they're given a number. Once the number is drawn, the person with the winning number has a limited amount of time to claim their new property before it's part of the lottery again. New data centers like Dynamis make it much easier to get a house since it's not as populated, but playing on older data centers means that purchasing a house is its own battle.

5 Manderville Quests Are Anything Except Expected

They Supposed To Be Comedic

The Manderville side quests center around Hildibrand Manderville, who's the son of Godbert Manderville, the owner of the Gold Saucer. These quests are designed to provide comic relief amid a storyline that can sometimes feel heavy, and they certainly accomplish that task through multiple dance numbers, investigations, and a focus on what it means to be a true gentleman. However, they end up being ridiculous to a point that's difficult for any Warrior of Light to be prepared to witness, and that's not necessarily a bad thing.

These quests span over multiple expansions, but they become important in Endwalker if the Warrior of Light wants to obtain the relic weapons for that expansion because these weapons are directly tied to the Manderville quests. So, this means that the entire questline has to be done from the beginning in order to eventually earn relic weapons. In which case, be prepared for the ridiculous and remember that the direction these quests take is impossible to predict, but they're also not meant to be taken seriously.

4 Triple Triad Addiction Is Real

A Super Time Consuming Habit

It's not uncommon for Final Fantasy games to have their own minigames included, and for FFXIV, that would be the Triple Triad card game. Just like any other small minigame that gives rewards at random, it's easy to end up addicted to Triple Triad. This is especially true for collectors because there are a lot of cards that can be acquired in-game, and collecting all of them gives a mount as a reward.

Triple Triad is a fun little game, and various game styles keep it from becoming stale since the changes in rules for different styles mean that the best strategies change as well. Additionally, there are limited events where Manderville Gold Saucer points (MGP) are used as currency to purchase items that are otherwise unavailable. In those cases, playing Triple Triad and selling duplicate cards is a fun, easy way to gather MGP.

3 Crafting Can Be Complicated

Specially With No Early Explanations

There are a lot of crafting jobs in FFXIV, and one character can level all of them. However, the crafting system can be a bit confusing when starting out, especially when it comes to collectibles, scrips, and the House of Splendors. It doesn't help that any Warrior of Light who wants to craft the best items will need to know how all three of those work, and it's simply not given the clearest explanation.

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Basically, when crafting collectibles, they need to reach a certain level of quality to turn into the House of Splendors for scrips, which act as a crafting currency. Without the option for quick synthesis, the process takes a lot longer compared to crafting normal items. Scrips are then used to purchase crafting materials, materia, gear, and recipes from Splendors Vendors in specific cities.

2 Final Fantasy XIV Consumes A Lot Of Time

Be Prepared For Hundreds Of Hours

The Warrior of Light has a lot of responsibilities, and those take up rather large chunks of time. Like any MMORPG, FFXIV can end up absorbing a lot of time, from hundreds to thousands of hours spent in-game completing content or simply standing around cities. Even going through the main storyline from the beginning to the end of Dawntrail takes over a hundred hours, and that's without stopping to spend time on side content.

Of course, this isn't a bad thing. The problem is that it can be an issue for those who seek escapism and end up spending too much time in-game to avoid the outside world. There's a lot of fun to be had in the world of FFXIV, but there's also a need for moderation and time spent outside virtual worlds, and an acknowledgment that collecting items or achievements in a game is a marathon rather than a sprint.

1 The Stories Told Are Full Of Emotions

A Lot Of Depth For An MMO

When it comes to MMOs, the storylines are often hit or miss. Many games struggle to balance mechanics and story in a way that makes a large player base feel satisfied with both. That's why the emotional story told through FFXIV can come as a surprise, especially in comparison to games like World of Warcraft, where the story is notorious for being confusing and often lackluster.

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A Realm Reborn to Endwalker completes a full narrative arc, and the result was that there were plenty of moments for tears in both Shadowbringers and Endwalker. Now, Dawntrail's job was to set up the next big narrative arc to span another decade or so of content. Whether it successfully sets up a new storyline is yet to be decided, given the divisive nature of the latest expansion, but it's tough to deny that the latest MSQ still brought reasons to cry with it.

FFXIV is unique within the Final Fantasy franchise since it's the second MMO to be included, and it's much more successful than the first one. However, having been around for more than a decade, getting started can be confusing for a new Warrior of Light, and they end up being rather unprepared for some elements included in the game. Luckily, the in-game community and internet at large contain no shortage of resources so that every Warrior of Light can enjoy Final Fantasy XIV.