14 things to know before starting FFXIV (2024)

Have you heard of critically acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy 14? Of course you have! Maybe you’re interested and you want to dip your toes in the extremely popular online game (especially now that it’s out on Xbox) and you don’t know where to even begin.

Starting the game can be daunting. People talk about how there’s hundreds of hours in content (in story alone) and knowing that, it can be tough to even take your first step into Eorzea.

Below are some of the things I would recommend the most to new players or are things I see people asking about all the time with regards to starting in the huge world that is Final Fantasy 14.

Sort out your free trial options and preferred console and weigh out your options

This may sound like a ridiculous beginner’s tip, but tons of people don’t really know how account stuff works in Final Fantasy 14, they get all hyped up, and then disappointed. If you own any version of the game, you cannot use the free trial. Even if you only claimed and activated the starter edition of the game from Twitch for free years ago, you cannot use the free trial to access expansions that are now covered under the free trial, like Heavensward. Does this make sense? No, but that’s how it works.

In that case, you need to weigh out whether or not whatever character you made before is worth returning to or if you should just make a new account using the free trial.

If you own the game on one console, you cannot just play it on another for free. You have to repurchase the license through the respective store. This also includes the Steam version. If you use the Steam version on PC, you have to keep buying expansions and such through Steam. The non-Steam PC license is a different license.

You can figure this all out by logging into Mog Station with your Square Enix account and selecting “Service Account Status” from the menu on the left. It’ll show you all the active licenses you own for the game.

Put some thought into your server choice

Now that you can jump from data center to data center (within regions), where you make your character doesn’t matter too much. The most important thing we’d recommend is that if you have friends playing in one world, you should try to make your character with them. The world you choose to call home is the only one you can join a free company (guild) in and it’s the only one you can buy a house or apartment in. So if you wanted to be neighbors with your bestie, you need to be in their world.

Sometimes worlds get congested and don’t allow for new character creation, but this does typically clear up at various times (like during the less-congested daytime compared to the busier nighttime), so it’s worth just waiting if the above perks are enticing to you.

Image: Square Enix via Polygon

Fix up your UI and other settings

One of the first things you do when you get into game and open your character and UI settings and move stuff around. If you play as a healer, you might want party HP bars to be closer to your field of view. Maybe you want more hotbars on your screen or you want to make the minimap bigger. The UI is extremely customizable, so you should set it to whatever will help you the most.

Make sure to do your class and job quests

If you use the main scenario quest tracker that points out where to go next, then you should also pay attention when a little exclamation point appears below it, pointing you towards your next class or job quest. You need to do these. Some skills are locked behind these quests and it’s very important that you complete them.

You don’t have to commit to one job or role

After essentially completing the introduction to the game, you’ll be able to run around to the different cities and unlock all of the base game jobs. (Jobs that come with expansions typically have a higher level requirement, in addition to needing the expansion itself.) If you don’t like how Thaumaturge/Black Mage is playing, you can swap to Lancer/Dragoon, though you will have to level up your new job from scratch.

Pay attention to your gear level

Especially as you rapidly level up early on, you’re going to outgrow your gear pretty quickly. If you notice you’re dying quickly or you don’t have as much HP as your dungeon peers, you should take a look at your gear.

There’s no shame in buying new gear from NPC vendors, especially if you need accessories. Your accessory slots (rings, earrings, necklace, and bracelets) will be eaten up by level one junk that doesn’t provide any stats early on, so once you can, you should replace them with store-bought gear.

Going through main scenario will level up a job to max

Whichever job you choose to main will inevitably max out from doing the main scenario quest. You may have to run an extra dungeon or two to fill in the gaps a tiny bit, but usually there’s not much of an issue.

Image: Square Enix

Do your daily roulettes for huge chunks of EXP

If you are looking to grind up a new job or fill in the gaps mentioned above, don’t forget to do your daily duty roulettes, which are a very easy source of EXP. These roulettes, found in the duty finder menu, will plunk you into a random dungeon, trial, or other combat instance, in exchange for tons of EXP upon completion.

There are different types of roulettes, with most unlocking at level 50 and above, but the “leveling roulette” which takes you to different dungeons unlocks at level 16.

You should always be doing something in combat

Though this may take getting used to if you’re new to MMORPGs, note that when doing dungeons or other combat content, you should pretty much always be pressing buttons (if you’re not waiting on cast times). If you’re playing DPS, this is more obvious as you always have damaging buttons to press, but even if you’re playing a healer, you should be doing damage between heals.

Enemy cast bars are more reliable than the telegraphs on the ground

When it comes to dodging boss attacks, you should pay attention to both the mark on the ground that tells you where it’s going to hit and the cast bar above the boss’ HP. The ground marking will tell you where to stand, but due to server lag, the snapshot when the attack goes off is not reflected properly with that marking. Rather, when that cast bar fills up is when the boss will launch that next attack.

If you find yourself eating a bunch of attacks and crying out “What? I totally dodged that!” then make sure to take a peek at those cast bars to get that timing right.

If you don’t like multiplayer content, you can do every dungeon with NPC party members

While you will still have to do most trials (boss fights) with real people, this can help ease you into the game if you feel anxious about playing with people. The NPC support (called “Trusts”) is pretty good and though running content with NPCs is much slower than running with real-life people, it’s nice if you want to take it easy and not feel rushed.

(I will personally note here that FFXIV players are typically pretty kind to new players. Huge shout out to the party mates I had as a young sprout who gently nudged me into doing the correct combat rotation or guided me through a fight I didn’t know the mechanics to.)

Keep your eye out for blue quest markers

Any quests markers that are blue with a plus sign on them indicate that there’s content behind this quest. This could be unlocking a new job, attuning to an aether current (to allow you to fly around maps), new combat content, or other things. You should do these when you can, even if you just accept the quest and put it on your back burner.

Image: Square Enix via Polygon

Your sprout icon will tell people what they need to know, so don’t be afraid to ask for help

If you’re a new player, you’ll get a little sprout icon next to your name, and this will tell all your party mates what they need to know: You’re new! Don’t feel too bad about making mistakes or not knowing how to do things right away. The icon is there for a reason, and most players will understand when they see a sprout tripping over their own feet.

Your sprout icon will vanish once you catch up enough in the story and fulfill a specific gameplay time requirement.

Take it easy — play how you want

All in all, FFXIV is a gigantic game filled with so much to do. You don’t have to just beeline the main scenario quests. Take a break. Go fishing. Level up a crafter. Go play minigames in the Gold Saucer. Visit your friend’s house and have a chat. Or maybe do none of those things, unsub, and take a break from the game. The developers actively encourage people to do their best not to burn out and note that it’s OK to take a break! The game will be here whenever you want to jump back in.