Final Fantasy XIV Beginner’s Guide 2023

Final Fantasy XIV is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) that’s quickly taking the world by storm these days. In 2022, FFXIV became one of the biggest MMOs on the planet, with over 1,200,000 players who join the battle daily.

The game is a part of the worldwide-famous Final Fantasy series that was originally launched by Japanese developers in 1987. In 2010, the game went from PCs to online. And now, after 13 years, it is still trending and gaining more popularity than ever.

With over 43 million players behind it, Final Fantasy XIV is definitely worth trying. If you haven’t checked it out yet, hire a reliable essay writer online to deal with your coursework and give it a try ASAP. And we will give you all the tips and knowledge you need to get started in the game and excel in it in no time. Let’s dive in!

Getting Started on FFXIV: The Free Trial

Being one of the most trending MMOs of today, Final Fantasy definitely isn’t cheap. The complete edition of the game comes at a hefty price tag of $59.99, which can scare off some players. This seems to be an especially pressing issue for students who are initially on a budget and have to cover a wealth of costs, such as tuition, books, professional essay writing help, and more. But we’ve got some great news for you!

In order to get a feel of the game, you don’t have to buy it right away. The developers offer a free trial for all new players. The free trial can give you hundreds of hours of gameplay, which is more than enough to get introduced to the FFXIV world.

The free trial involves a Realm Reborn, which is the base story in Final Fantasy and Heavensward — the first expansion. Additionally, there are some extra patches that bridge the gaps between different expansions in the game.

You can enjoy these stories for free with no restrictions. However, once you progress beyond them, you will have to buy a subscription to get new expansions.

The free trial can easily give you enough time to discover the game and define whether it suits you or not before investing your money in it. Therefore, we strongly recommend beginners take it from there.

A Massive Caveat to Know Before You Start

There is one big disappointment many beginners feel when trying FFXIV for free. The truth is that the MMOs base game is somewhat sluggish. That is, the first 50 or so hours of your game are going to be somewhat slow.

The free base game is currently trimmed down by a minimum of 13%. Thus, it’s natural if you feel like it’s slow, and you must be prepared for this before you start playing. But don’t let this caveat kill your overall experience.

The good news is that after these 50 hours of slow game, it actually becomes great! So if you can get through it patiently, we bet that you will eventually enjoy it a lot.

Besides, all players emphasize the community that’s waiting for everyone who will join in. After you buy a subscription, you will become a part of a huge and fun community of players who are very welcoming to newcomers. And this community is what makes the game truly unforgettable.

Creating and Understanding the Characters

When it comes to role-playing games, the only way to make the most out of your experience is to gain a full understanding of what different roles mean and how to use them correctly. Figuring this out on your own can be a hell of a challenge. So get ready to set aside your essay writing and other college matters and focus on understanding the characters in FFXIV.

What Roles Are There?

In the game, you will be offered to choose one of the 20 available jobs. These jobs fall into five key categories by their roles:

• Tanks – Distract the enemy and shield the team.
• Healers – Keep an eye on the team members and heal/revive them when necessary.
• Melee DPS (damage per second) – Attack enemies and strive to cause the most damage.
• Ranged Magical DPS – Stay away from the heart of the battle and assist their teammates using magic.
• Ranged Physical DPS – Also use magic to attack the enemy but are unlimited in their movements, unlike Ranged Magical DPS.

Every class and every job is important for the team’s success. However, the choice will determine your role in the team and your strategy, so it’s important to understand them all and pick something that suits you.

Pro tip: While you are still a beginner, be sure to experiment with different roles. This will help you see how they really work and pick your favorites.

How to Create Your Character?

The process of creating a character plays a huge role in Final Fantasy XIV, so it deserves a separate block in our beginner’s guide.

While creating your character, you will have to make a few big choices:

• Race – This option defines the look of your character, as well as their stats.
• Clan – This option brings some minor differences between each race, but it doesn’t matter as much in the long run.
• Gender – Choose whatever option you want because gender doesn’t affect the stats of your character. However, exclusions apply to two races — Vieras are only female, and Hrothfars are only male.

After making these big choices, you can take your time and hone the look of your character. But don’t take it too seriously because you will always have a chance to change the character’s look later in the game.

Additional FFXIV Tips for Beginners

Now that you have a general idea of how everything works in the game, let us give you a few tips that will get you started:

1.   Let the Tank Lead

This character category is meant to protect the team and lead it, so it’s important that you let them do this from the start. Follow the tank wherever you go and align your efforts with them.

2.   Don’t Avoid Dying

Of course, you want to survive in the game. However, dying also has its purpose for your progress. In FFXIV, dying during boss battles will respawn you at a checkpoint. And it will also restock your inventory, which can be pretty helpful in tough battles.

3.   Use the Arete Stone

Different combos can save your life on the battlefield and help you do the most damage. However, finding the best combos for your character will take some time and testing. The Arete Stone is a handy tool that will help you do this. Use them to figure out the best combinations and practice them.

4.   Use Your Character to the Fullest

When you pick your role, you must study how it works and use it to the fullest capacity. If you are a tank — be the leader. If you are a healer — learn to heal the right way, etc. However, remember that you still can attack and cause damage when you don’t have to perform your role.

The Bottom Line

Getting started with Final Fantasy XIV can feel a bit challenging and confusing at the beginning. Luckily, with this guide, you should have a simple start. Use the knowledge and tips we shared with you here to figure out FFXIV faster and master it!