Final Fantasy XIV includes the main game, A Realm Reborn, and three expansions, with a fourth, Endwalker, scheduled for November 2021.
Subscriptions
There is a no-risk trial period. The trial period is unlimited and gives access to A Realm Reborn and Heavensward expansion, with a level ceiling of 60 and certain limitations.
The game is not available for free. After buying the game, the free trial will end, and a monthly membership fee will be needed. There is no option to drop back down to a trial account and go back to playing for free. There is also no option to use currency earned within the game to pay for your subscription.
A membership at the entry level allows you to create a total of eight characters and only one per server. Because you can switch classes on a single character, and because you can’t easily share items between your characters, you’re unlikely to ever need to make an alt.
Plan on getting an Entry-level subscription. Subscriptions automatically renew by default. You can avoid autorenewal by making payments with Crysta, which works sort of like a Steam Wallet and has to be filled back up manually.
Expansions
If you purchase the Starter Edition, you will get access to A Realm Reborn and Heavensward, plus 30 days of subscription time. This is identical to the content available during the free trial period, only without the trial limitations.
Naturally, you must first purchase the Starter Edition. When you buy the Complete Edition, you’ll get accessibility to all products, as well as the 30-day membership period. If you buy Shadowbringers, you will also get access to Stormblood.
Don’t buy it if you already own Starter Edition. That would be a waste.
Endwalker
Endwalker will be released on November 23, 2021. It is possible to pre-order Endwalker. You’ll receive bonus items for pre-ordering, including an earring that grants bonus experience. If you don’t already own Stormblood and Shadowbringers, you will receive them for free with Endwalker, but not until November 23.
Early access begins on November 19 for anyone pre-ordered, which means that the effective release date is November 19.
However, since Final Fantasy XIV’s story quests are linear and mandatory, you cannot start playing Endwalker until you have finished playing through the expansions that came before it. For that reason, if you plan to start playing Endwalker as soon as possible on November 19, you will need to already own everything and complete the entire story before that date.
A new version of the Complete Edition that includes Endwalker will start to be sold on November 23. If you purchase the Complete Edition before that date, it won’t include Endwalker.
Platforms
Final Fantasy XIV is available on the following platforms:
- PC
- Steam
- Playstation 4 & 5
- Mac
A Playstation Plus subscription is not required to play on PS4 or PS5. If you want to play on multiple platforms on a single account, you will need to purchase the game for each of those platforms. You will be credited another free month when you register the base game for a new platform.
Your account’s region also matters. If your account is European, you cannot purchase or register the North American version of the game.
Steam and PC are regarded as two different platforms, and they are mutually exclusive. You cannot own the game on both of those platforms. You cannot log into the game through the Steam client if you already got the regular game outside steam on PC and vice versa.
You cannot buy the game on one platform and then buy an expansion on the other. You cannot start the trial on Steam and then buy the game from their website, in that case, you have to create a new account.
You have the option of paying for your subscription and optional cash shop items using your Steam wallet if you own the game on Steam.
Installation
The launcher of Final Fantasy XIV oddly utilizes Internet Explorer to show certain information. Even if you’ve never used Internet Explorer, you’ll need to do so to use the launcher.
The launcher also sometimes experiences disconnects or slow speeds while installing the game or update patches. If this becomes a major issue, you may wish to download FFXIVQuickLauncher.
Installing the game on an SSD will significantly reduce load times.
