Final Fantasy XIV brings in new players every day, some being refugees from other MMOs, fans of the Final Fantasy franchise, or maybe they want to see what that “critically acclaimed” meme is all about. While Square Enix does boast about its free trial with no restrictions on playtime, there are some limitations players will face unless they purchase a subscription.
Those playing the game through the free trial have their jobs capped to level 60 and have restrictions such as being limited to 300,000 gil, denied access to the market board, and the inability to trade with other players. Gamers who want to break free of their shackles and experience all of what Final Fantasy XIV has to offer will need to first purchase the game’s Starter Edition for 19.99 USD, which contains both A Realm Reborn and Heavensward, or its Complete Edition for 59.99 USD which includes every expansion released so far, including the latest addition, Endwalker. Purchasing either version of Final Fantasy XIV includes a 30-day free play period, meaning you won’t have to shell out additional money for subscription time until those initial 30 days are up.
How much does a subscription to FFXIV cost?
There are two versions of the game’s subscription service — the Entry tier and the Standard tier. The Entry tier removes the restrictions that the free trial places on you, just as the Standard tier does, and costs 12.99 USD for 30 days. The catch is that you can only create one character per world, with a maximum of eight characters total. You also can’t buy multiple months of the Entry tier in advance like you can with the Standard tier. As the name implies, the Entry tier is an excellent option for those unsure of how long they would like to play and are looking to play the game short-term.
The Standard tier begins at 14.99 USD for 30 days and increases the number of characters you can create from eight to 40. You can also buy more than 30 days with the Standard tier, offering a slight monthly discount depending on how much game time you purchase. Buying 90 days at a time lowers the monthly cost to 13.99 USD, for a total of 41.97 USD, and purchasing 180 days drops the price to 12.99 USD, for a total of 77.94 USD. Subscription time is also available through Game Time Cards bought from retailers, which offer 60 days of the Standard tier subscription for 29.99 USD.
While the word will continue to spread of how great the game’s free trial is, a subscription is crucial to getting the complete experience that Final Fantasy XIV has to offer, no matter which tier you choose.
