FINAL FANTASY XIV: SHADOWBRINGERS

Now is the perfect time to try Square Enix’s MMO.

- Steven Messner

NEED TO KNOW

RELEASE August 24, 2013

PUBLISHER In-house

DEVELOPER Square Enix

LINK finalfantasyxiv.com

This used to be the best MMO that I hated to recommend to new players. Its episodic story resembles a lot of great TV shows, with expansion like seasons that peel back new layers of mystery and drama while evolving its core characters in exciting ways. But, like many television classics, FFXIV’s ‘first season’, called A Realm Reborn, isn’t nearly as good as its later expansions. It’s hard to appreciate what makes the MMO so wonderful when its first 40 hours are a total slog.

But on August 11, FFXIV’s 5.3 update titled Reflections in Crystal launched, adding the usual slate of new raids, dungeons, and story quests that veterans have been pining for. But two other features in that patch finally make FFXIV a game I can recommend to just about everyone. Final Fantasy XIV’s free trial and A Realm Reborn both got a big overhaul. Now, everything up to and including Heavensward, the first expansion, is free to play with only a few restrictions and every one of A Realm Reborn’s quests have been overhauled to make them faster and less grindy. Even if you don’t intend to buy the game and subscription to keep playing after beating Heavensward, Square Enix is basically giving one of the best JRPGs of the last few years away for free. If ever there was a time to start playing Final Fantasy XIV, it’s now.