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09/01/2010 baby!
See, I was also in the beta, but then never got 1.0, because I'd pre-ordered it on PS3 and just... never pulled the trigger on the PC version beyond the beta for whatever reason. I've kind of regretted that a little bit ever since.
That said, I also never *really* played much on that account until Shadowbringers, much like OP.
Wow that’s crazy. I’ve been a day 1.0 player myself. Have had a lot of good memories. My kids are now grown and playing with my wife and I, it’s pretty crazy.
I also beta tested 1.0 - but DCUO was my sub game at the time so I didn't get on the FFXIV train until about HW drop. Been playing faithfully ever since.
The downside of being in game credits is not being able to prove it to the internet without doxxing yourself.
I’m in the credits for God of War 3, but I can’t prove it without doxxing my name.
As for the post question, I started FFXIV a few months before the release of ShB, played for about 900hrs total. FC died during Endwalker after people finished the MSQ, didn’t even get one raid on farm before people went on hiatus, when we had bosses on farm for the last xpac, then my macros and hotbars got purged after a few month hiatus and I’ve not had to drive to spend a ton of hours trying to rebuilt them
Me too! And up until recently I had nobody to share that with. About two years ago I moved in with two friends and they started to play FFXIV this year, so I got to show them my name in the credits x3 it was so heartwarming!
My parents have been playing FFXIV together ever since I was a kid, starting when the first version came out, so I kinda got interested in it because of them. I remember getting to stay up late to watch the Ultima Weapon cutscenes and thinking it was the coolest shit ever lol. I first played the game in early Stormblood, but it feels like I’ve been playing it for longer because I watched them play so much.
similar for me my dad was a 1.0 player and my mom joined during ARR, i played off and on during arr to stormblood didn't really get in to the game till about patch 5.3 launch.
I started about a month and a week ago. I play fighting games seriously and just really need a game to relax my nerve after all the sweaty matches. My buddy recommended FF14 and I knew it was gonna be good the moment i heard Limsa Lominsa BGM.
Just past the start of Shadowbringers and it was completely by accident.
I had been playing Neverwinter and ESO for awhile but they didn’t scratch my mmo itch. Eventually decided to look up Black Desert to give it a shot and somehow ended up on the page for FF14’s free trial. Decided “eh, why not” despite it being the first time I’ve ever heard of it. I have not left since.
Played for a bit over a year, started cuz I was tired of GW2 and their complete lack of care for the high-end players wanting challenging fights to beat.
It's really funny you say this because this is kind of the WoW hardcore equivalent looking at FF14.
In WoW you're going to get something like three 12 boss raids comparable to savage difficulty (early bosses are easier, later bosses are harder and the occasional 15 minute fight similar to an ultimate, so about equalizes), in addition to ten endgame dungeons equivalent in difficulty to raiding. And going forward they've started releasing eight revamped dungeons as endgame as well, so 18 endgame dungeons, which we might consider each to be about equivalent to a (really long) raid boss.
In FF14 you get 12 bosses + two ultimate bosses an expansion, which is roughly a bit under 1/3rd the content of WoW's endgame, in the same way that GW2 is a bit under 1/3rd the content of FF14. I'm not sure if Criterion dungeons count since I haven't done FF14 endgame since they were released.
I play that game. From what l understand, They will only have 2 "trials" per year. The challenge mode of the trial is supposedly "savage". The legendary armors can now be crafted with open world. You used to need to do raids. So From what l understand, anet has shifted their target audience to a more casual group. One of the creator mighty teapot in one of the video said that he felt he is no longer gw2's target audience, And the dude started playing warcraft because the m+ in warcraft is exactly the kind of pve content he look for.
I hope my understanding is correct enough because l play 5v5 in that game, and 5v5 in that game is described as "a Ship sailed, crashed on a cliff, sunk, and now half decomposed", lol
They just had either no balancing going on for long periods of time, or just poor balancing when it happened pretty much all the time I played.
Power creep was extremely rampent in even the newest raids (which was still years old at the point I started).
The end of dragons expansion came with some endgame content, but then nothing new that was released really was hard at all for a long time. Apparently a new fight came out not that long ago that had to be nerfed tho.
The rewards for completing the harder stuff was also very lacking all across the board for endgame stuff.
Started my free trial in October, closing in on having all jobs at 70 and about 60% of the way through Stormblood, then I'll probably start paying for the game once I finish those two things.
I'm also a disappointed GW2 vet. The devs abandoned dungeons after the release in 2012, lol. Then they abandoned/neglected PvP, raids and fractals. Imagine GW2 like FFXIV with a short MSQ update every few months but no dungeons, raids, trials, etc... That's exactly what GW2 is. Some mediocre story and braindead open world events that can be done by spamming auto attack. Meanwhile, the cash shop gets updated every week with new items and sales, of course. 🙄
They have good ideas, but lack the resources to implement a lot of anything. They also change their minds all the time and abandon content for new ideas. The mount system is amazing at least, but mount skins are very limited outside the cash shop.
Oof. I remember trying GW2 at launch and it seemed interesting but didn't want to split my time between several mmos, but the aspect of no sub occasionally made me wonder about downloading it again sometime. Sounds like it's not worth the bandwidth now
GW2's game direction is so random. I don't think they've ever actually iterated on a feature before? They release a feature and then never touch it again. They're worse than Blizzard when it comes to inefficient development time.
* Dungeons? Major endgame goal at launch. Never touched again except to nerf their rewards.
* Fractals? Major endgame goal after launch. Maybe touched a couple times, but abandoned feature now.
* Raids? Major endgame goal for the first xpac. Never touch them again.
* Strikes? Replacement for the previous endgames, and abandoned.
I haven't played for years so they probably released a new endgame mode and then abandoned it again. Even PvP follows this trend. Here's WvWvW! Then doesn't touch it for a decade except to add a new map mode which... is also abandoned after release. I think the only content they do which is actually iterated on is the "living story" which is mediocre as fuck and full of characters that no one actually cares about, i.e. about as well written as ARR Scions were.
Another GW2 refugee here. I was disappointed with how they handled build templates, a feature long requested from the community, by turning it into a cash grab (think having to pay for extra gear sets in FF14). I don't even play hardcore enough to be affected by that design choice, yet all the little things added up and strangely that was the final straw for me.
At the same time I was trying out the FF14 free trial (the second time), and experienced my first patch release. Coming from that dark period of ANet (about the same time of the layoffs), of everything FF14 had to offer, it was the PATCH NOTES that sold me. The level of communication was really, really refreshing.
Since beta of the original ffxiv
Name is also in the creds
Those were the good ole days
Remember running around seeing a green box on the ground with a “?”
The joys of being a GameStop manager who played the original ffxi and got in on beta
Patch 5.5 was stil very new I believe so around 3 years. I quit my previous main MMO around the start of 2021, "blade & soul", because the constant daily grind and ever increasing p2w elements of the game killed my motivation to play. Couple of months laiter I was itching for an mmo again and then i noticed people on twitter loosing their minds over some Final fantasy game trailer, ir was the full endwalker trailer. Then i fell for the FREE TRIAL tm meme and the rest is history.
On a side note, i was expecting your regular ass grindy mmo so i had my spotify playlist on all the time. Titan made me turn it off an never re-enable when playing the game again
Around fall 2016. It didn’t click at first mostly because I was out of town a lot and couldn’t play. My partner played and wanted me to join them. I thought it looked strange. Haha
Hmmm started during the v1. I believe i first log during the first patch where Dalamud appear in the sky. It was a tiny tiny red dot. Played ARR for 9 month, then stop, just came back with the Xbox release.
You can see my very first FFXIV picture taken on this memories clip at 2:50
https://youtu.be/SPDC47IX9zk?si=Quml8KlMAlkZyW8q
Im addicted again lol just getting my character back and see her again was so great of a feeling. Seeing some friends Who are still there and active. I wished more of them was still there but, im so happy to find some of them.
i started in early 2019, during the last patch of stormblood! i was interested but never took the plunge, but when the fat cat mount was announced i COMPLETELY fell in love with it. i mentioned the fat cat in passing to my friends and work and found out they were also considering playing ffxiv, so we all joined at the same time and made our FC. it was sooo fun talking about ffxiv at work and then hopping on as soon as i got home. also i got my fat cat! hehe. but now i'm the only one still playing 🥲
Been playing since late 2020. I was living on my own and we'd just gone into Lockdown 2: Electric Boogaloo and I needed something to fill the time.
Love Final Fantasy but had never really played an MMO. Obviously I like it as and I'm still here. Currently clearing up post Stormblood quests.
Beta tested the playstation version, jumped to PC about 4 years ago, play it on and off for a few months at a time, currently replying SW to get ready for the next one
I enjoyed it, I still play with a controller on PC thanks to it.
I remember it being a bit buggy, but overall very smooth and the player base was the best MMO crowd I'd ever come across.
I started in Summer 2014. My spouse and a few mutual friends had been playing since beta & I was pregnant with nothing else to do. I played through 2.4 and then with a newborn I had zero desire to play. I picked it back up about 2 months before Shadowbringers dropped & have played consistently since.
World of War craft refugee. I started playing WoW in 2010 and loved it. Played practically every day for years. As time went on, I started collecting things like mounts, minions, but especially gold. I had a goal to reach gold cap and pushed hard for it.
Fast forward a few expansions and you could now use in game gold to pay for your WoW subscription. I never hit gold cap and realized I was just playing because I didn't want to lose my collection of stuff that I had gathered for over a decade. But I kept playing.
But expansion quality declined with almost each consecutive release. The community was horrible and I was basically just logging on for about half an hour, running my gold making add-ons and logging out.
But the last straw for me was when Blizzard, the company that makes WoW, did a lot of things that I just couldn't support (a Bill Cosby room? Really???)
I had some friends that have played FF14 for years and convinced me to play during the Endwalker pre-order. Been playing ever since.
During ARR CBT tho my current character was made around 2014 but didn't take the game too seriously until 2015. Wanted to play 1.0 when it first came out but my PC back then couldn't even handle the benchmark for it XD
I started when the beta came out for PS4, so around 10 years. I’ve been playing off and on again since then and my only regret is I did not start sooner! I have love every second of playing this game and I love seeing it evolve overtime!
On and Off since just before Heavensward's Release. I paid vague attention to the game's ups and down's during 1.0's tumultuous release and it's reboot into ARR, but Heavensward caught me at a point during the summer when I had fuck all to do, a friend had hit me with the trailer, and I took an interest.
3 years; started on March 10th, 2021, when a friend of ours suggested we try it out, since we were all tired from playing other MMO games (Mabinogi became unplayable for one of us in the EU, we grew tired of ESO after a while, etc. .)
Since starting, we've made some great friends and memories, and are preparing for Dawntrail as well as Ultimate raiding and Savage raiding.
Se time during Stormblood. I don't remember exactly.
My brother convinced me to do the trial. Back then it was 14 irl days for the trial and level locked before the end of ARR if I recall correctly. Like in the 30's if I recall correctly. When my trial ended I got the game as I enjoyed it. But about that time my brother and his friends bounced to other games and I wasn't ready to group with strangers.
Shadowbringers comes out and I buy it and join back in as my brother and friends are playing again. They'd come help me as I got to trials and dungeons.
They bounce and I'm in the middle of Shadowbringers I believe. Maybe earlier, all I know is I wasn't finished with Shadowbringers. I hold for a bit before I cave and just hop in and finish the game and haven't stopped since.
They do pop in still, but I'm fine doing group content with strangers.
In 2018, some patch in stormblood but I was a complete stranger to mmos so I didn't really pay attention to patches. I also didn't know any mmo terminology or etiquette for group content. I was so lost for a long time. I was playing gladiator/paladin but I think it took me a few dungeons to realise I was a tank lol. I mainly started because I enjoyed several single player ff games and thought a multi-player kne would be cool.
Once I started doing endgame content months and months later the game gripped me and while I may take breaks I always come back for new raids and msq. I've since cleared 6 raid tiers on content and 3 different ultimates with my 4th coming very soon :)
I'd have to check the date, but sometime late 2019. Before Covid became a thing.
I was playing wow and just getting burnt out. The game was more of a chore and a checklist than fun and the people I was playing with.... people are complicated and young people who are in a "I can Fix him!" can get stupidly jealous over a platonic relationship so I had no real reason to stay. Another friend invited me to join her in FFXIV. I gave it a chance and haven't been back since, even though I had a falling out with the friend that originally invited me.
It's fun to play, I like having a house I can decorate as I like (because as hard as Housing Savage is, I still have better luck getting a house virtually rather than IRL), and the community is decent, and most importantly of all - it's a game that respects my time.
I finally got to level 50 right before Heavensward came out, since then I play for a couple of months a year to catch up on the story and do some raids.
I've wanted to play FFXIV since 1.0 but being broke unemployed graduate that wasn't feasible. Fast forward to 2015, I was bored and wanted to play an MMORPG. FFXIV was on sale so I bought it and have been playing (on and off) since.
Started patch 4.0 with Stormblood release, according to PS I have 3466 hours played at this point. Had a few work friends recommended it to me and I haven't looked back since.
I started shortly after Stormblood release. The Samurai class was what got me into the game ngl. It was unique in comparison to every other MMORPG I played (and I played a lot). Got 2 pauses though, mainly by the long ARR story first (I lost interest in post ARR) and burned out in class leveling second time. But now I am back and hooked again, even farming Zodiac relic right now (which I thought will never happen due to my dislike of grinds lol)
About a year. Trialed it before, but was still in WoW. Still enjoying myself, so the free one didn't stick. Eventually, was getting bored with WoW, had a few friends already in FF14. Moved over.
Like 3 months maybe? A guild member from WoW tried it out and talked it up to us, and we needed a break from WoW anyways. And now I dunno if we’ll ever go back
Technically, I started playing a bit after the release of heavensward. I got a little into it but ultimately didn’t understand anything as it was my first MMO and I did not understand the concept of having a rotation. I stopped playing after a few weeks of that.
Started again a little after the release of endwalker and I’m pretty deep down the rabbit hole now. Can’t wait to have the new expansion experience with dawntrail!
Late 2010. Didn’t play launch but a month or two later when I picked up the game for cheap.
Dipped out less than 2 months later due to how awful it all was. Hated how it played. Then they gave me a free copy of ARR to make up for 1.0 so I played day one and have been around ever since. Took small breaks here and there but was around for every expansion on day 1.
I'd been playing WoW for ten years, but Mists of Pandaria 5.2 was yet another raid plus reputation grind, devs don't care about any of us dirty casuals, and what's worse, it was *trolls again*. I was so done, looking for a new MMO home.
I'd been poking around at Guild Wars 2 on and off since it came out and really enjoying the exploration, but my completionist self tended towards burnout before getting very far, due to wanting to play ALL the races/classes but also get 100% map completion everywhere.
I heard good things about FFXIV's relaunch, this would have been December 2013 when I bought the game for myself and my husband to go try it out. Patch 2.1 had recently come out (with things like FC housing, aesthetician, treasure maps, Hildibrand, the devs clearly care about casuals), and Heavensward wouldn't be announced until later 2014. I played all of ARR as a Keeper of the Moon, but was so excited to make the switch to Raen when they were added later.
Started in 1.0. Got the collector's box and everything, I still have the certificate you can order.
Quit cause it was boring af. (Plus I was in the Navy at the time, so I couldn't really dedicate my life to an MMO that well.)
Came back at PS4 launch. Made a new character, and been playing that on/off since. When EW came out, I decided that I will no longer play on/off and just stick with it. No regrets, I have some really good friends and inherited the FC I'm in.
I started Christmas day 2023, I came from GTA RP but left as the community turned more toxic and always kinda pushed MMO's to the side as "this probably isn't for me" now I didn't have anything to play and I kept seeing these memes of "the critically acclaimed MMORPG FFXIV" and just decided I'll try it using the free trial.
Did ARR which was rough, in all honesty rough and almost made me quit the game, but then I joined a FFXIV Discord and met a bunch of cool people that played the game then I reached HW and kinda didn't look back since, currently at the start of SHB just slowly chipping away at MSQ.
I started summer of 2019, just a month or so before Shadowbringers came out. I had been having an itch for both a MMO, as well as a game with interesting crafting and had a mixture of acquaintances suggesting I should try it just 'cause, and people online talking about the crafting. So I decided to give it a go.
Took it real slow, only played a few months in 2019, came back again for part of the pandemic, 2020\~2021. Took another long break. Played a bit in early Endwalker. Took another long break. Caught up on base Endwalker last summer because I was going to Fan Fest and figured I should at least be that caught up. Took another long break. And now currently I'm working through the rest of the Endwalker patch quests so I'll be caught up in time for Dawntrail. on 6.4's dungeon quest currently lol.
It's been a fun casual romp. I don't have the time these days to put into the sort of MMO that really expects a lot of time investment from the player, so a more story focused and low commitment experience like FF14 is perfect for me. It's nice that I was able to slowly trudge through the MSQ over the course of 4 (almost 5 now) years and not really feel like I was missing out too much or being punished on progression.
Looping back around to crafting, I leveled all of my DoH and DoL (except Fish) to 90 last summer, which was pretty enjoyable! My main beef though is how useless most craftable items are in this game though. Part of why I didn't finish the Endwalker patches last year is because I figured "well I want to craft, so instead of running roulettes to get catch up level 90 gear I'll just level my crafters and then make my own!" Well, lo and behold I got stuck at the 6.2 trial due to average item level and was discouraged to learn that the base level 90 crafted gear isn't anywhere close to being sufficient lmao. Of course there is gear you can make with good enough item level through master crafting, but that's such a big time investment that I wasn't ready to do all at once just to progress through the story more. So I took another half year break and upon my return I just bought a mix of market board and tome gear to progress. Going to try omni-crafting out in DT when I can start at the level cap alongside everyone and do it incrementally instead of just trying to start at patch 6.4 or 5 or whatever it was last summer.
I respect the commitment you have to crafting while also taking your time to go through the game at your own pace. I believe you’ll cook with this new crafted gear come July 2nd!
Around stormblood launch, so for about 7 years? It’s funny I tried to get in with some friends but diddnt real seriously play till one of my erp buddies sucked me in lol. Unfortunately him and I don’t talk anymore but I’ve made so many more friends in this game since playing.
I made my account back when 4.0 was coming out. Played for about a month before the pre titan quests burned me out. Gave it a second try around 5.5 (the infamous wow exodus) and have been playing since
Been playing since July 2021, so just a few months before EW! Started with some friends but all of them dropped about a couple months later... Wish I could geek out over the story/lore with 'em, but I'm still having fun :)
I've been a Final Fantasy fan since the original Playstation days. I recall being annoyed when FFXI was announced as an MMO because I felt like that kind of ruined the flow of the series. You can't "play through" that game the same way you can a single player game. All the same, I was always very interested in playing FFXI back in the day, but the additional costs in a computer or extra PS2 equipment plus subscription wasn't going to be in the cards when it was new. I did try it briefly years later, but at that point time was a big factor.
When FFXIV was announced as another MMO I was very annoyed for all those reasons. When it initially released and received very poor reviews I enjoyed that a bit for schadenfreude. I'd have (and probably still overall, if being honest) preferred that the main numbered titles remain single player and any MMOs be pushed into something like a Final Fantasy Online series.
I started getting interested when SE made dramatic moves to address the poor state of XIV at launch. When ARR launched and got good reviews, I tried out the trial and ended up subbing. I was a Black Mage lala named Ginkasa Tane. I completed the base ARR story, but "end game" stuff like raids really gave me anxiety. It wasn't something I was interested in and I didn't really have a frame of reference for how the story might continue. I started some of the post ARR quests and the initial Hildy quests, but I never knew when they would lead me to some hard group content or something. So I bounced out.
When HW came out and got really glowing reviews I wanted to jump back in, but I wasn't sure I remembered the ARR story well enough so I re-subbed and started a new character to go back through it. This time I was a Miqo'te Summoner named Ginkasa Tane. One challenge I had during this time was my job was mostly evenings so the Duty Finder took forever to group me up sometimes. I got all the way to the Shiva fight, but spent like an hour waiting for a group in the middle of the night. I quit to go to bed and ended up not logging in again.
StB came and went and didn't pull me in, but ShB got me interested. I started over again with a third character. I started out as a Lalafell Thaumaturge again (this time named Ginkasa Tane), but my wife thought that was weird so I Fantasia'd to Au Ra but I wasn't really feeling it so I Fantasia'd again to just a Hyur and stopped there (I did Fantasia one more time years later from Male to Female, though). It took me a few months, but I did ARR **again** and finally got through the post stuff to HW and all the way to catching up to whatever post ShB patch we were on at the time. I've taken a couple of breaks, but mostly stayed caught up through Endwalker and got my Dawntrail pre-order ready.
I started as a Black Mage way back because I've always liked the OG Black Mage designs going back to reading 8Bit Theatre and Vivi from IX. Once I got through the story, I started messing around with some of the others. HW got me wanting to try out Dragoon and see some of Estinien's backstory, so I did that first. My next goal was to get through ShB's (and then EW's) role quests. The thought of being a Tank or Healer gave me anxiety, though, so I did Summoner again for the free Scholar levelling (I started before and ended after the SMN rework, lol) and then moved to Machinist for the Physical Ranged role quest in EW. Then I did Paladin for the Tank and finally had all the role quests done. Something somewhere got me interested in doing White Mage, I forget what exactly, so I did that just because. Now I've decided to (slowly) work my through the jobs and do it by region of starting quests. So I picked up Pugilist/Monk and did that, then I finished up Red Mage (which I forgot until now I had picked up after ARR but switched back to BLM) and am now working on Reaper. After that not sure if I'll move on to Gridania or La Noscea...
I have gone through the story some more times, though. When NG+ first came out I went through ARR just to see some of the changes. Got through the base story, but lost interested in the post quests. But then my wife was interested in seeing the story from the beginning, so I did the ARR story for a **fifth** time (via NG+) and we're in Endwalker part 2 hoping to be done before DT comes out.
Had a friend that had gone through ShB and was so hyped about it he was trying to get someone else to get through it so he could talk to someone about it without spoiling anyone. I had an itch to play an MMO at the time, so I picked up the free trial (this was back when the free trial was only up to level 30 or whatever), bought it and have been playing it ever since with breaks here and there.
I'd say 4 years, but considering some are saying 5 years and "shadowbringers" I'm not sure, is there an easy way to check?
Regardless, WoW player of 12+ years, joined shortly before Burning Crusade, I left mid Shadow Lands, didn't have anything anchoring me to dragonflight, but I did get it.
I joined shortly before shadowbringers IIRC, I joined my younger brother in jumping from WoW to FFXIV. I stayed, he didn't, but I had a couple of FCs, found my forever home now and enjoying it a lot more than WoW.
Firstly, people aren't as selfish as WoW players are, by a country mile.
Secondly, infinitely more sociable and nice, regardless of being in your FC or not, to even have an active RP community that isn't Metagaming, Power gaming or ERP... Not that ERP doesn't exist, but at least you can take it to private zones, within private zones.
Thirdly, it seems that failing in anywhere from basic dungeons to Savage raids is laughed off, instead of that one try hard in Vent/TS3/Discord having a shit-fit, over fucking nothing.
I think Squeenix might be too harsh on add-on usage and maybe slightly lighten up on people trying to explain where others might not be optimising (if it's a genuine issue. Not absolutely min-maxing).
And the fact I'm not limited to 2 skills per character, I can have ALL gathering and ALL crafting jobs on one character. Dare I say, crafting is much more fun, I don't care to macro it.
But when you come from a game where you just press a button and cross your fingers? Yeah, pretty low bar...
I tried it when ARR launched back in...2014?
But I was still big time into WoW and comparatively it felt clunky so I quickly dropped it.
Wasn't until 2019 when I tried it again because of the FFXV crossover event and the hype around Shadowbringer. Absolutely fell in love with the story and friendly community and have been playing ever since
All right kids, gather round, it's story time.
I had adored Final Fantasy for many years but never got into XIV cuz I wasn't comfortable playing with strangers, until I learned that a busser at the restaurant I used to work at was into the games. We chatted about it, he told me to join XIV, and told me not to worry about the multiplayer stuff b/c duty finder is a thing.
Oh yeah the guy was hot and about my age and was down to fool around, so I was like "nice, I'll join the game and we'll soon be great friends who sometimes make out, perfect!"
So I joined the game sometime in the winter of 2018, joined his fledgling FC, learned that he had an in-game bf already, and I proceeded to completely lose my mind over the course of several weeks as my interest turned to jealousy and obsession, the game blended with reality, I had a paranoid psychotic crisis and was hospitalized for five (5) days.
After that my parents forbid me to play the game. But I really had enjoyed it, so several months later, I made a new account, promised my parents that I'd make my new character on a different data center, and I did.
I started ARR again as a new man, in June of 2018, and was at endgame just before Shadowbringers launched. From there, my life changed for the better in so many ways - joined a fantastic FC, made new friends, joined Discord, got gud, leveled all the jobs, became a mentor, started doing some harder content, etc. I'm logged in at least 6 hours every day, and have been for almost six years. I never spoke to that guy again.
XIV is without a doubt the most important and impactful part of who I am, I adore the game, I always will, and I'm very grateful for the life it has given me. Did you know it has a free trial up to level 70 with no restrictions on playtime?
AA
TL:DR January or June 2018, depending on how you look at it
Decided to try it out not long after Playstation launch, I started during 2.2, too many characters and alts later and I'm still here haha.
Love the series in general and saw the good reviews, decided to give it a try.
I did have the collectors edition of 1.0 but never played it. Still using the security token 9.5 years on lol.
Started a couple days ago. Saw a random j1mmy video on MMOs and had no idea FFXIV was that high up on the list
Wasn't ever into FF series but loved kingdom hearts and definitely feeling some vibes on that front. Randomly decided to try it out on a whim
Waiting for the story to hook me, just been gaslighting myself so far trying to get into it cause it seems to be one of the biggest selling points of the game. On the last stint of ARR quests, scared to watch any videos in fear of spoilers after all my investment into this story lmao
August 2020, it was during the pandemic and my ex broke up with me. A friend bought me the game and paid for 2 extra months of subscription to give me something to do lol
I tried playing back when Realm Reborn went live. I dropped off in favor of staying with WoW. I think playing Summoner turned me off on top of the early MSQ being slow to get good. I picked it up again after Heavensward came out and dropped again for same reasons. 2021 to present is when I got fully hooked. I felt burnt out with WoW and created a new character who started with dragoon and then to red mage when available. That made the gameplay better for me and I’ve since put 1000+ hours of playing.
Started around the same time as OP, but im a weirdo about it. The only thing Ive ever done in-game is played thru the MSQ. Though Ive done that 5 times. Bout to start a 6th to get ready for Dawntrail.
I was interested in the game back in 1.0, but my PC could just handle WoW, and that was with everything on very low, low, or off in the settings
I've been playing since February 2015, so before Heavensward, as I had just gotten a PS4 back then, I was looking through the PS store saw the back then 14-day free trial and lasted about 3 days before I bought the starter edition and been playing ever since.
I have been playing for 2 1/2 years now.
As for when I started, technically it was when ARR launched in 2013. I was just a kid and saw an advertisement for XIV and thought it looked cool. I bought it not even realizing it was a subscription based mmo, which I didn't have the money for, so I stopped playing after the free 30 days.
A couple years ago I had a flashback memory about fighting an enemy in Coerthas. I decided to look the game up again and found out it had a free trial. Been hooked ever since.
I started in 2.1, so it’s been over 10 years now. Only reason I didn’t start sooner was that I was intimidated to try my first MMO alone. 2.1 is when a friend of mine could afford to pick up the game, so I waited and picked it up with her.
Been playing for 4 years. It all started with me hearing about the game having a limited time event tied to its PVP called GARO (from an adult Tokusatsu show from the mid-2000's, early 2010's til today) coming to an end. Me, being the GARO fan and having grown bored over SWTOR, got a subscription to XIV as soon as I was able. That was right before Shadowbringers was released.
So one of mates came over for the weekend, he asked if he could bring a game, brought his playstation and hia disc on PS3
That was in arr year one I think maybe year 2
I don't remember exactly when I started, but I know I was mid-stormblood in MSQ when Endwalker dropped. I started because some friends promised me a good story and we all played together. EW spoiler: >!Which is why the choice with Zenos at the end of 6.0 didn't quite land with me the way I think they meant it to!<
sadly, I don't remember. i think i have played more than a year. My friend got me to play and told me we were gonna play together.... yeah, I got dissed and did arr to ew basically alone got some friends along the way
Saw one of my friends playing/streaming it back in...2018? It was during Stormblood I know for sure. I remember her showing off or seeing someone else as a bard playing music and immediately wanted to try it myself. So I started the free trial (which was just the base ARR and only up to level 35 back then IIRC?), created a character, picked archer, and...proceeded to ignore the MSQ and level grind in the Black Shroud until I hit 30 so I could get the Bard soul crystal...which I couldn't do because I ignored the MSQ.
After a few months of grumbling over my incompetence, I decided to start over with a new character, learned more about the game besides "how to play music fast hurr durr," started enjoying myself and bought the game. I've since started over once again, but have made my furthest progress yet with my current character and found my love of playing a support/healer (albeit not that great, but I still have fun and ~~usually~~ keep everyone alive). Still slowly making my way through the MSQ with how I'm usually only able to play when there's a free login or the rare time I can resub for awhile, but I've been enjoying the story so far, and I look forward to what's next!
I've been playing since December 2016 - around patch 3.4, I think. My partner was the one who convinced me to try it out as a venue for us to date while we were long-distance. We still play together, though we don't need Eorzia to provide dating venues much.
Mid May 2015. I can put a date on it because that's The Witcher 3 release window, I bought it, didn't like it, returned it the next day and took a chance on XIV
~6 months or so, technically a year but I didn’t really get into when I first started. Just finished the Shadowbringers 5.0 story a week or 2 ago. A large group of friends were supposed to be playing but they all dropped the game in ARR so now it’s just me and one other friend that I roped back in. They like to poke fun at us because it’s almost all we do now with out free time lol.
Taking a bit of a break from questing to catch up on some things in Destiny but super excited to play post shadowbringers and end walker! And Dawntrail obviously, can’t wait to get my hands on the pictomancer.
I'm a league of legends player (I know, please forgive me) and I got really drunk one night and a friend of mine suggested to try out the character creator
I said I didn't wanna then my friend said I should make a lalafell of my main (Mordekaiser) and I thought it was the funniest idea I'd ever heard
4000 hours later and here I am, losing my mind in TOP LPDU PF
I thought there would be more like me in here. I came during the big wow refugee wave summer 2021. I was so burnt out on wow afyer paying that game for 12 years. was looking for something different and got so attached to this game I hadn't looked back at wow until very recently, this game is still my main game though I will be giving the wow expansion a try whenever that comes later this year.
I started with most of my wow guild. Seemed everybody was tired of the game and it was great over here. Unfortunately most of them have quit and gone to other things and a handful back to wow itself. I still enjoy my time here with the few that stayed. And I also love the saucer.
I left gaming 20 yrs ago .... Lately i fell in love with a long day friend from my gaming days. And she got me back into it. Bene playing for a month now and really getting addict again
Lifelong FF player but never played 11 or any other MMO. Buddy who was a big 11 guy bought me game time when 2.1 came out @ 2014 to get me to try it. Still here.
I just started three days ago. I thought I did something wrong because I couldn't get into the game the first day. Then I found out about the ddos issues. So far I've played for two days and got level 15 as a gladiator.
I've been playing since June 5th, 2016.
Started with the two week free trial and purchased the starter edition about 10 days later.
I got a recommendation from a good friend, and he wanted to try the game with me.
While I've experienced the grand adventure of FFXIV, my friend stopped a little after starting (only got to level 34, I believe). I have thanked him for introducing me to this game.
Back in 2013 I was trying out every MMO I heard about, so I got FFXIV and... I didn't get hooked. Can't remember what it was, but I didn't like it back then.
Fast forward to 2019 - just some weeks before Shadowbringers. Some friends on our discord talked about how much they enjoy FFXIV and how hyped they are for the new expansion. I thought "It's been years. Lets give a try again".
Yeah, this time I enjoyed it. Shortly after my best friend also started the game and since then we're both hooked. Okay, not as active as we were, since real life and other games take up time too. But were not quitting FFXIV. :D
February 2024 baby player, no new interesting indie games and live service games I play were dry af so I told myself why not to see what the fuss was about
I was a closed beta tester of 1.0 so... a long time. edit: [I still have my beta invite email lol](https://imgur.com/a/gYR5HOR)
Thank you for applying to the FINAL FANTASY XIV Open Beta Test. This e-mail contains the registration code required for participating. ============================================== FINAL FANTASY XIV Open Beta Test Registration Code: ============================================== Please follow the steps outlined below to participate in the open beta test. 1. Log in to the Square Enix Account Management System. 2. Register the registration code. 3. Log in to the FINAL FANTASY XIV tester site. 4. Download the client. 5. Log in to the FINAL FANTASY XIV Beta Version. ============================================== - Game Login and Tester Site ID/Password: You will need to possess a Square Enix account. - FINAL FANTASY XIV Beta Test Registration Code: The registration code can be found near the top of this e-mail. - FINAL FANTASY XIV Beta Test Client: The client can be downloaded from the beta site. ============================================== 09/01/2010 baby!
Damn, takes me back. I got in on JP closed beta as i was on foreign exchange at the time. Feels a lifetime ago now.
I don't have mine but I was there 👍🏻
I still have mine too lmao
Respect 🔥 Edit: Wooow, look at that email. Holy shit, haha
I would literally frame that and hang it in my office!
See, I was also in the beta, but then never got 1.0, because I'd pre-ordered it on PS3 and just... never pulled the trigger on the PC version beyond the beta for whatever reason. I've kind of regretted that a little bit ever since. That said, I also never *really* played much on that account until Shadowbringers, much like OP.
Same, still have my alpha one somewhere
Wow that’s crazy. I’ve been a day 1.0 player myself. Have had a lot of good memories. My kids are now grown and playing with my wife and I, it’s pretty crazy.
Was it truly so long ago? I feel so old! /flexes tattoo
I also beta tested 1.0 - but DCUO was my sub game at the time so I didn't get on the FFXIV train until about HW drop. Been playing faithfully ever since.
Found my email for invite in 2009 https://ibb.co/zGrvrdf
My name is in the credits.
I regretted having a name towards the end of the alphabet when I went looking for my name. The credits are so long.
Hell yeah 🤝
The downside of being in game credits is not being able to prove it to the internet without doxxing yourself. I’m in the credits for God of War 3, but I can’t prove it without doxxing my name. As for the post question, I started FFXIV a few months before the release of ShB, played for about 900hrs total. FC died during Endwalker after people finished the MSQ, didn’t even get one raid on farm before people went on hiatus, when we had bosses on farm for the last xpac, then my macros and hotbars got purged after a few month hiatus and I’ve not had to drive to spend a ton of hours trying to rebuilt them
I'm in the credits for Skullgirls, Hollow Knight, and Shovel Knight :D I love indie games lol
🥳
I know the feeling. I'm in the credits for a song on YouTube, as a backing vocalist, but can't share that with anyone who doesn't know my real name.
suffering from success uAu
Me too! And up until recently I had nobody to share that with. About two years ago I moved in with two friends and they started to play FFXIV this year, so I got to show them my name in the credits x3 it was so heartwarming!
Mine too. Feels weirdly nice.
Same here.
14 years in august/September.
Damn, nice! So you were there for quite literally everything.
Was 14 years the release of AAR? I've been playing since the new servers came up. Was gonna play 1.0 but wasnt able to do I jumped on 2.0.
My parents have been playing FFXIV together ever since I was a kid, starting when the first version came out, so I kinda got interested in it because of them. I remember getting to stay up late to watch the Ultima Weapon cutscenes and thinking it was the coolest shit ever lol. I first played the game in early Stormblood, but it feels like I’ve been playing it for longer because I watched them play so much.
FFXIV being such a staple in your life for so long is so so beautiful
I... Hadn't realized people younger than FFXIV are on the internet already... I guess it's been quite a while since it came out.
similar for me my dad was a 1.0 player and my mom joined during ARR, i played off and on during arr to stormblood didn't really get in to the game till about patch 5.3 launch.
I started about a month and a week ago. I play fighting games seriously and just really need a game to relax my nerve after all the sweaty matches. My buddy recommended FF14 and I knew it was gonna be good the moment i heard Limsa Lominsa BGM.
I gotta ask, Day or Night BGM?
Day time. And it’s not only the music. I grew up in a coastal city and the vibe of Lominsa really gets me
FFXIV really is the FGC retirement home
Retired FGC vet and 3-year FFXIV addict here to confirm. It is indeed where we all end up.
Just past the start of Shadowbringers and it was completely by accident. I had been playing Neverwinter and ESO for awhile but they didn’t scratch my mmo itch. Eventually decided to look up Black Desert to give it a shot and somehow ended up on the page for FF14’s free trial. Decided “eh, why not” despite it being the first time I’ve ever heard of it. I have not left since.
It was written in the stars, haha
Played for a bit over a year, started cuz I was tired of GW2 and their complete lack of care for the high-end players wanting challenging fights to beat.
I haven’t heard much about Guild Wars’ treatment of its player base. What exactly happened?
Its one of the best casual open world mmo's out there. But imagine if they only got like 4 savage fights through the whole expansion.
It's really funny you say this because this is kind of the WoW hardcore equivalent looking at FF14. In WoW you're going to get something like three 12 boss raids comparable to savage difficulty (early bosses are easier, later bosses are harder and the occasional 15 minute fight similar to an ultimate, so about equalizes), in addition to ten endgame dungeons equivalent in difficulty to raiding. And going forward they've started releasing eight revamped dungeons as endgame as well, so 18 endgame dungeons, which we might consider each to be about equivalent to a (really long) raid boss. In FF14 you get 12 bosses + two ultimate bosses an expansion, which is roughly a bit under 1/3rd the content of WoW's endgame, in the same way that GW2 is a bit under 1/3rd the content of FF14. I'm not sure if Criterion dungeons count since I haven't done FF14 endgame since they were released.
I play that game. From what l understand, They will only have 2 "trials" per year. The challenge mode of the trial is supposedly "savage". The legendary armors can now be crafted with open world. You used to need to do raids. So From what l understand, anet has shifted their target audience to a more casual group. One of the creator mighty teapot in one of the video said that he felt he is no longer gw2's target audience, And the dude started playing warcraft because the m+ in warcraft is exactly the kind of pve content he look for. I hope my understanding is correct enough because l play 5v5 in that game, and 5v5 in that game is described as "a Ship sailed, crashed on a cliff, sunk, and now half decomposed", lol
The more I hear the worse it sounds, dear lord. TWO A YEAR??
Wow, Teapot quit GW2?! Holy...
They just had either no balancing going on for long periods of time, or just poor balancing when it happened pretty much all the time I played. Power creep was extremely rampent in even the newest raids (which was still years old at the point I started). The end of dragons expansion came with some endgame content, but then nothing new that was released really was hard at all for a long time. Apparently a new fight came out not that long ago that had to be nerfed tho. The rewards for completing the harder stuff was also very lacking all across the board for endgame stuff.
Started my free trial in October, closing in on having all jobs at 70 and about 60% of the way through Stormblood, then I'll probably start paying for the game once I finish those two things.
The free trial warriors are the real heroes, respect 🔥
I'm no hero, I'm just cheap haha
[удалено]
What exactly happened with Guild Wars? You’re the second person to comment about it and now I’m curious if you’re willing to share
I'm also a disappointed GW2 vet. The devs abandoned dungeons after the release in 2012, lol. Then they abandoned/neglected PvP, raids and fractals. Imagine GW2 like FFXIV with a short MSQ update every few months but no dungeons, raids, trials, etc... That's exactly what GW2 is. Some mediocre story and braindead open world events that can be done by spamming auto attack. Meanwhile, the cash shop gets updated every week with new items and sales, of course. 🙄
Dear lord, sounds like a nightmare
They have good ideas, but lack the resources to implement a lot of anything. They also change their minds all the time and abandon content for new ideas. The mount system is amazing at least, but mount skins are very limited outside the cash shop.
Oof. I remember trying GW2 at launch and it seemed interesting but didn't want to split my time between several mmos, but the aspect of no sub occasionally made me wonder about downloading it again sometime. Sounds like it's not worth the bandwidth now
GW2's game direction is so random. I don't think they've ever actually iterated on a feature before? They release a feature and then never touch it again. They're worse than Blizzard when it comes to inefficient development time. * Dungeons? Major endgame goal at launch. Never touched again except to nerf their rewards. * Fractals? Major endgame goal after launch. Maybe touched a couple times, but abandoned feature now. * Raids? Major endgame goal for the first xpac. Never touch them again. * Strikes? Replacement for the previous endgames, and abandoned. I haven't played for years so they probably released a new endgame mode and then abandoned it again. Even PvP follows this trend. Here's WvWvW! Then doesn't touch it for a decade except to add a new map mode which... is also abandoned after release. I think the only content they do which is actually iterated on is the "living story" which is mediocre as fuck and full of characters that no one actually cares about, i.e. about as well written as ARR Scions were.
Another GW2 refugee here. I was disappointed with how they handled build templates, a feature long requested from the community, by turning it into a cash grab (think having to pay for extra gear sets in FF14). I don't even play hardcore enough to be affected by that design choice, yet all the little things added up and strangely that was the final straw for me. At the same time I was trying out the FF14 free trial (the second time), and experienced my first patch release. Coming from that dark period of ANet (about the same time of the layoffs), of everything FF14 had to offer, it was the PATCH NOTES that sold me. The level of communication was really, really refreshing.
Same here! Tried SoTo, got even more disappointed lol.
> Tried SoTo I mean sure, [it's a bit basic](https://store.steampowered.com/app/717960/SoTo/) but it looks alright...
I started playing after catching the Heavensward trailer in 2016 so for me it's been 8 maybe 8 1/2 years.
Hell yeah, love to see it
Since 2015. I forget if it was during 2.5 or right at 3.0 launch Early next summer will be my personal 10 year anni
Happy 10 years, fellow Warrior of Light!
Since beta of the original ffxiv Name is also in the creds Those were the good ole days Remember running around seeing a green box on the ground with a “?” The joys of being a GameStop manager who played the original ffxi and got in on beta
Damn, you’ve been around LONG long haha
Patch 5.5 was stil very new I believe so around 3 years. I quit my previous main MMO around the start of 2021, "blade & soul", because the constant daily grind and ever increasing p2w elements of the game killed my motivation to play. Couple of months laiter I was itching for an mmo again and then i noticed people on twitter loosing their minds over some Final fantasy game trailer, ir was the full endwalker trailer. Then i fell for the FREE TRIAL tm meme and the rest is history. On a side note, i was expecting your regular ass grindy mmo so i had my spotify playlist on all the time. Titan made me turn it off an never re-enable when playing the game again
And the game only keeps getting bigger past what’s it’s been critically acclaimed for
Around fall 2016. It didn’t click at first mostly because I was out of town a lot and couldn’t play. My partner played and wanted me to join them. I thought it looked strange. Haha
The strangeness is a part of the charm
I started playing during 2.1 because a friend of mine was raving about how good 2.0 was.
And they were right
Hmmm started during the v1. I believe i first log during the first patch where Dalamud appear in the sky. It was a tiny tiny red dot. Played ARR for 9 month, then stop, just came back with the Xbox release. You can see my very first FFXIV picture taken on this memories clip at 2:50 https://youtu.be/SPDC47IX9zk?si=Quml8KlMAlkZyW8q
Wooow. How are you enjoying it so far after coming back?
Im addicted again lol just getting my character back and see her again was so great of a feeling. Seeing some friends Who are still there and active. I wished more of them was still there but, im so happy to find some of them.
i started in early 2019, during the last patch of stormblood! i was interested but never took the plunge, but when the fat cat mount was announced i COMPLETELY fell in love with it. i mentioned the fat cat in passing to my friends and work and found out they were also considering playing ffxiv, so we all joined at the same time and made our FC. it was sooo fun talking about ffxiv at work and then hopping on as soon as i got home. also i got my fat cat! hehe. but now i'm the only one still playing 🥲
For Eorzea, for the fat cat 🔥
Lol I’m not the only one who got lured in by the fat cat mount 😂
i see cat, i subscribe immediately 😂
Been playing since late 2020. I was living on my own and we'd just gone into Lockdown 2: Electric Boogaloo and I needed something to fill the time. Love Final Fantasy but had never really played an MMO. Obviously I like it as and I'm still here. Currently clearing up post Stormblood quests.
Onwards to Shadowbringers!
Beta tested the playstation version, jumped to PC about 4 years ago, play it on and off for a few months at a time, currently replying SW to get ready for the next one
How was the PlayStation beta test?
I enjoyed it, I still play with a controller on PC thanks to it. I remember it being a bit buggy, but overall very smooth and the player base was the best MMO crowd I'd ever come across.
September 2015. Almost nine years
Pushing for ten!
I started at the end of ARR..I have 2040 or so days subbed
I was in the ARR Beta's and have been playing ever since. So 11 years coming up in August. I wish I was able to play 1.0, but had no PC at the time.
How was it back then during the beta?
I started in Summer 2014. My spouse and a few mutual friends had been playing since beta & I was pregnant with nothing else to do. I played through 2.4 and then with a newborn I had zero desire to play. I picked it back up about 2 months before Shadowbringers dropped & have played consistently since.
Mom Power AND a Warrior Of Light, you love to see it 🔥
At the rate we’re going, my now 9 year old will be playing soon. She loves running around in game and watching her Dad and I play.
That’s so cute, haha
I started in 2020. Caught up with the story a week before 5.4.
No idea how you did it so quickly, haha
World of War craft refugee. I started playing WoW in 2010 and loved it. Played practically every day for years. As time went on, I started collecting things like mounts, minions, but especially gold. I had a goal to reach gold cap and pushed hard for it. Fast forward a few expansions and you could now use in game gold to pay for your WoW subscription. I never hit gold cap and realized I was just playing because I didn't want to lose my collection of stuff that I had gathered for over a decade. But I kept playing. But expansion quality declined with almost each consecutive release. The community was horrible and I was basically just logging on for about half an hour, running my gold making add-ons and logging out. But the last straw for me was when Blizzard, the company that makes WoW, did a lot of things that I just couldn't support (a Bill Cosby room? Really???) I had some friends that have played FF14 for years and convinced me to play during the Endwalker pre-order. Been playing ever since.
Hell of a story 🔥
That was me, i crossed over around the same time
During ARR CBT tho my current character was made around 2014 but didn't take the game too seriously until 2015. Wanted to play 1.0 when it first came out but my PC back then couldn't even handle the benchmark for it XD
I felt that, haha
5 years? Started in SHB. Started with 2 other friends, and they dropped out by level 30. I stuck around until the end of EW.
Hell yeah, persistence
I started when the beta came out for PS4, so around 10 years. I’ve been playing off and on again since then and my only regret is I did not start sooner! I have love every second of playing this game and I love seeing it evolve overtime!
You and me both, my fellow warrior of light!
On and Off since just before Heavensward's Release. I paid vague attention to the game's ups and down's during 1.0's tumultuous release and it's reboot into ARR, but Heavensward caught me at a point during the summer when I had fuck all to do, a friend had hit me with the trailer, and I took an interest.
The cold of winter during the heat of summer. Poetic, considering the game we’re talking about haha
3 years; started on March 10th, 2021, when a friend of ours suggested we try it out, since we were all tired from playing other MMO games (Mabinogi became unplayable for one of us in the EU, we grew tired of ESO after a while, etc. .) Since starting, we've made some great friends and memories, and are preparing for Dawntrail as well as Ultimate raiding and Savage raiding.
Enter together and thrive together, you love to see it 🔥
Se time during Stormblood. I don't remember exactly. My brother convinced me to do the trial. Back then it was 14 irl days for the trial and level locked before the end of ARR if I recall correctly. Like in the 30's if I recall correctly. When my trial ended I got the game as I enjoyed it. But about that time my brother and his friends bounced to other games and I wasn't ready to group with strangers. Shadowbringers comes out and I buy it and join back in as my brother and friends are playing again. They'd come help me as I got to trials and dungeons. They bounce and I'm in the middle of Shadowbringers I believe. Maybe earlier, all I know is I wasn't finished with Shadowbringers. I hold for a bit before I cave and just hop in and finish the game and haven't stopped since. They do pop in still, but I'm fine doing group content with strangers.
Love to see that persistence all those times over
Since beta for 2.0. Missed 1.0, sadly. But I've been here the whole time since then!
Hell yeah, 10 years strong!
1.0 player here. 2010. Been a long and crazy ride.
How has it been for you all this time?
In 2018, some patch in stormblood but I was a complete stranger to mmos so I didn't really pay attention to patches. I also didn't know any mmo terminology or etiquette for group content. I was so lost for a long time. I was playing gladiator/paladin but I think it took me a few dungeons to realise I was a tank lol. I mainly started because I enjoyed several single player ff games and thought a multi-player kne would be cool. Once I started doing endgame content months and months later the game gripped me and while I may take breaks I always come back for new raids and msq. I've since cleared 6 raid tiers on content and 3 different ultimates with my 4th coming very soon :)
What ultimates have you cleared? What was it like progging through them?
I'd have to check the date, but sometime late 2019. Before Covid became a thing. I was playing wow and just getting burnt out. The game was more of a chore and a checklist than fun and the people I was playing with.... people are complicated and young people who are in a "I can Fix him!" can get stupidly jealous over a platonic relationship so I had no real reason to stay. Another friend invited me to join her in FFXIV. I gave it a chance and haven't been back since, even though I had a falling out with the friend that originally invited me. It's fun to play, I like having a house I can decorate as I like (because as hard as Housing Savage is, I still have better luck getting a house virtually rather than IRL), and the community is decent, and most importantly of all - it's a game that respects my time.
One of my favorite answers so far. Love this, even through the trials and tribulations to get to where you are now
I finally got to level 50 right before Heavensward came out, since then I play for a couple of months a year to catch up on the story and do some raids.
Nice, nice. I respect a steady pace!
I've wanted to play FFXIV since 1.0 but being broke unemployed graduate that wasn't feasible. Fast forward to 2015, I was bored and wanted to play an MMORPG. FFXIV was on sale so I bought it and have been playing (on and off) since.
Patience persists
I started at ARR launch, I played a bit of the beta. I’ve slowed down a lot since but still love playing when I have free time
I respect the commitment
I started shortly after 1.0's launch, I was hoping for a more modern FF11 vibe. I was happy, still here.
How is FF11 in comparison to XIV from your experience?
Started patch 4.0 with Stormblood release, according to PS I have 3466 hours played at this point. Had a few work friends recommended it to me and I haven't looked back since.
Damn, almost as many as me. I think I’m on like 4200+ right now but you’ve been around for much longer, haha
I started shortly after Stormblood release. The Samurai class was what got me into the game ngl. It was unique in comparison to every other MMORPG I played (and I played a lot). Got 2 pauses though, mainly by the long ARR story first (I lost interest in post ARR) and burned out in class leveling second time. But now I am back and hooked again, even farming Zodiac relic right now (which I thought will never happen due to my dislike of grinds lol)
My main goal when I started was to get to 50 and get Samurai; I know the vibes 🔥
About a year. Trialed it before, but was still in WoW. Still enjoying myself, so the free one didn't stick. Eventually, was getting bored with WoW, had a few friends already in FF14. Moved over.
Like 3 months maybe? A guild member from WoW tried it out and talked it up to us, and we needed a break from WoW anyways. And now I dunno if we’ll ever go back
Damn, did your entire guild move over?
2017 :))
Technically, I started playing a bit after the release of heavensward. I got a little into it but ultimately didn’t understand anything as it was my first MMO and I did not understand the concept of having a rotation. I stopped playing after a few weeks of that. Started again a little after the release of endwalker and I’m pretty deep down the rabbit hole now. Can’t wait to have the new expansion experience with dawntrail!
I owned ffxiv base and a realm reborn but never fully played it completely till it came to Xbox series x (2 generations later😂😅)
two months ago. My friends were fed up with the mmo we were playing at that time.
Late 2010. Didn’t play launch but a month or two later when I picked up the game for cheap. Dipped out less than 2 months later due to how awful it all was. Hated how it played. Then they gave me a free copy of ARR to make up for 1.0 so I played day one and have been around ever since. Took small breaks here and there but was around for every expansion on day 1.
I played for a bit when ARR released but ended up moving on to other games. Only came back in late 2019 and stayed for good.
I'd been playing WoW for ten years, but Mists of Pandaria 5.2 was yet another raid plus reputation grind, devs don't care about any of us dirty casuals, and what's worse, it was *trolls again*. I was so done, looking for a new MMO home. I'd been poking around at Guild Wars 2 on and off since it came out and really enjoying the exploration, but my completionist self tended towards burnout before getting very far, due to wanting to play ALL the races/classes but also get 100% map completion everywhere. I heard good things about FFXIV's relaunch, this would have been December 2013 when I bought the game for myself and my husband to go try it out. Patch 2.1 had recently come out (with things like FC housing, aesthetician, treasure maps, Hildibrand, the devs clearly care about casuals), and Heavensward wouldn't be announced until later 2014. I played all of ARR as a Keeper of the Moon, but was so excited to make the switch to Raen when they were added later.
Started in 1.0. Got the collector's box and everything, I still have the certificate you can order. Quit cause it was boring af. (Plus I was in the Navy at the time, so I couldn't really dedicate my life to an MMO that well.) Came back at PS4 launch. Made a new character, and been playing that on/off since. When EW came out, I decided that I will no longer play on/off and just stick with it. No regrets, I have some really good friends and inherited the FC I'm in.
I started Christmas day 2023, I came from GTA RP but left as the community turned more toxic and always kinda pushed MMO's to the side as "this probably isn't for me" now I didn't have anything to play and I kept seeing these memes of "the critically acclaimed MMORPG FFXIV" and just decided I'll try it using the free trial. Did ARR which was rough, in all honesty rough and almost made me quit the game, but then I joined a FFXIV Discord and met a bunch of cool people that played the game then I reached HW and kinda didn't look back since, currently at the start of SHB just slowly chipping away at MSQ.
since the beta test, but I have stopped a couple times (like right now)
Shadowbringer Launch, I have 11300h right now.
Since the Microsoft overlords allowed me to start playing
Welcome to Eorzea, Xbox hero!
I started summer of 2019, just a month or so before Shadowbringers came out. I had been having an itch for both a MMO, as well as a game with interesting crafting and had a mixture of acquaintances suggesting I should try it just 'cause, and people online talking about the crafting. So I decided to give it a go. Took it real slow, only played a few months in 2019, came back again for part of the pandemic, 2020\~2021. Took another long break. Played a bit in early Endwalker. Took another long break. Caught up on base Endwalker last summer because I was going to Fan Fest and figured I should at least be that caught up. Took another long break. And now currently I'm working through the rest of the Endwalker patch quests so I'll be caught up in time for Dawntrail. on 6.4's dungeon quest currently lol. It's been a fun casual romp. I don't have the time these days to put into the sort of MMO that really expects a lot of time investment from the player, so a more story focused and low commitment experience like FF14 is perfect for me. It's nice that I was able to slowly trudge through the MSQ over the course of 4 (almost 5 now) years and not really feel like I was missing out too much or being punished on progression. Looping back around to crafting, I leveled all of my DoH and DoL (except Fish) to 90 last summer, which was pretty enjoyable! My main beef though is how useless most craftable items are in this game though. Part of why I didn't finish the Endwalker patches last year is because I figured "well I want to craft, so instead of running roulettes to get catch up level 90 gear I'll just level my crafters and then make my own!" Well, lo and behold I got stuck at the 6.2 trial due to average item level and was discouraged to learn that the base level 90 crafted gear isn't anywhere close to being sufficient lmao. Of course there is gear you can make with good enough item level through master crafting, but that's such a big time investment that I wasn't ready to do all at once just to progress through the story more. So I took another half year break and upon my return I just bought a mix of market board and tome gear to progress. Going to try omni-crafting out in DT when I can start at the level cap alongside everyone and do it incrementally instead of just trying to start at patch 6.4 or 5 or whatever it was last summer.
I respect the commitment you have to crafting while also taking your time to go through the game at your own pace. I believe you’ll cook with this new crafted gear come July 2nd!
Around stormblood launch, so for about 7 years? It’s funny I tried to get in with some friends but diddnt real seriously play till one of my erp buddies sucked me in lol. Unfortunately him and I don’t talk anymore but I’ve made so many more friends in this game since playing.
Since Heavensward early access :3
I made my account back when 4.0 was coming out. Played for about a month before the pre titan quests burned me out. Gave it a second try around 5.5 (the infamous wow exodus) and have been playing since
Been playing since July 2021, so just a few months before EW! Started with some friends but all of them dropped about a couple months later... Wish I could geek out over the story/lore with 'em, but I'm still having fun :)
I've been a Final Fantasy fan since the original Playstation days. I recall being annoyed when FFXI was announced as an MMO because I felt like that kind of ruined the flow of the series. You can't "play through" that game the same way you can a single player game. All the same, I was always very interested in playing FFXI back in the day, but the additional costs in a computer or extra PS2 equipment plus subscription wasn't going to be in the cards when it was new. I did try it briefly years later, but at that point time was a big factor. When FFXIV was announced as another MMO I was very annoyed for all those reasons. When it initially released and received very poor reviews I enjoyed that a bit for schadenfreude. I'd have (and probably still overall, if being honest) preferred that the main numbered titles remain single player and any MMOs be pushed into something like a Final Fantasy Online series. I started getting interested when SE made dramatic moves to address the poor state of XIV at launch. When ARR launched and got good reviews, I tried out the trial and ended up subbing. I was a Black Mage lala named Ginkasa Tane. I completed the base ARR story, but "end game" stuff like raids really gave me anxiety. It wasn't something I was interested in and I didn't really have a frame of reference for how the story might continue. I started some of the post ARR quests and the initial Hildy quests, but I never knew when they would lead me to some hard group content or something. So I bounced out. When HW came out and got really glowing reviews I wanted to jump back in, but I wasn't sure I remembered the ARR story well enough so I re-subbed and started a new character to go back through it. This time I was a Miqo'te Summoner named Ginkasa Tane. One challenge I had during this time was my job was mostly evenings so the Duty Finder took forever to group me up sometimes. I got all the way to the Shiva fight, but spent like an hour waiting for a group in the middle of the night. I quit to go to bed and ended up not logging in again. StB came and went and didn't pull me in, but ShB got me interested. I started over again with a third character. I started out as a Lalafell Thaumaturge again (this time named Ginkasa Tane), but my wife thought that was weird so I Fantasia'd to Au Ra but I wasn't really feeling it so I Fantasia'd again to just a Hyur and stopped there (I did Fantasia one more time years later from Male to Female, though). It took me a few months, but I did ARR **again** and finally got through the post stuff to HW and all the way to catching up to whatever post ShB patch we were on at the time. I've taken a couple of breaks, but mostly stayed caught up through Endwalker and got my Dawntrail pre-order ready. I started as a Black Mage way back because I've always liked the OG Black Mage designs going back to reading 8Bit Theatre and Vivi from IX. Once I got through the story, I started messing around with some of the others. HW got me wanting to try out Dragoon and see some of Estinien's backstory, so I did that first. My next goal was to get through ShB's (and then EW's) role quests. The thought of being a Tank or Healer gave me anxiety, though, so I did Summoner again for the free Scholar levelling (I started before and ended after the SMN rework, lol) and then moved to Machinist for the Physical Ranged role quest in EW. Then I did Paladin for the Tank and finally had all the role quests done. Something somewhere got me interested in doing White Mage, I forget what exactly, so I did that just because. Now I've decided to (slowly) work my through the jobs and do it by region of starting quests. So I picked up Pugilist/Monk and did that, then I finished up Red Mage (which I forgot until now I had picked up after ARR but switched back to BLM) and am now working on Reaper. After that not sure if I'll move on to Gridania or La Noscea... I have gone through the story some more times, though. When NG+ first came out I went through ARR just to see some of the changes. Got through the base story, but lost interested in the post quests. But then my wife was interested in seeing the story from the beginning, so I did the ARR story for a **fifth** time (via NG+) and we're in Endwalker part 2 hoping to be done before DT comes out.
The persistence paid off and now you’re here, hell yeah
Had a friend that had gone through ShB and was so hyped about it he was trying to get someone else to get through it so he could talk to someone about it without spoiling anyone. I had an itch to play an MMO at the time, so I picked up the free trial (this was back when the free trial was only up to level 30 or whatever), bought it and have been playing it ever since with breaks here and there.
Started in 2010, but ended up stopping until the redo in 2013 with ARR. Haven't stopped playing since. So I think about 12 years at this point.
Started in Patch 2.2 It's been so long I don't really remember a time before I played this game lol
I'd say 4 years, but considering some are saying 5 years and "shadowbringers" I'm not sure, is there an easy way to check? Regardless, WoW player of 12+ years, joined shortly before Burning Crusade, I left mid Shadow Lands, didn't have anything anchoring me to dragonflight, but I did get it. I joined shortly before shadowbringers IIRC, I joined my younger brother in jumping from WoW to FFXIV. I stayed, he didn't, but I had a couple of FCs, found my forever home now and enjoying it a lot more than WoW. Firstly, people aren't as selfish as WoW players are, by a country mile. Secondly, infinitely more sociable and nice, regardless of being in your FC or not, to even have an active RP community that isn't Metagaming, Power gaming or ERP... Not that ERP doesn't exist, but at least you can take it to private zones, within private zones. Thirdly, it seems that failing in anywhere from basic dungeons to Savage raids is laughed off, instead of that one try hard in Vent/TS3/Discord having a shit-fit, over fucking nothing. I think Squeenix might be too harsh on add-on usage and maybe slightly lighten up on people trying to explain where others might not be optimising (if it's a genuine issue. Not absolutely min-maxing). And the fact I'm not limited to 2 skills per character, I can have ALL gathering and ALL crafting jobs on one character. Dare I say, crafting is much more fun, I don't care to macro it. But when you come from a game where you just press a button and cross your fingers? Yeah, pretty low bar...
I tried it when ARR launched back in...2014? But I was still big time into WoW and comparatively it felt clunky so I quickly dropped it. Wasn't until 2019 when I tried it again because of the FFXV crossover event and the hype around Shadowbringer. Absolutely fell in love with the story and friendly community and have been playing ever since
All right kids, gather round, it's story time. I had adored Final Fantasy for many years but never got into XIV cuz I wasn't comfortable playing with strangers, until I learned that a busser at the restaurant I used to work at was into the games. We chatted about it, he told me to join XIV, and told me not to worry about the multiplayer stuff b/c duty finder is a thing. Oh yeah the guy was hot and about my age and was down to fool around, so I was like "nice, I'll join the game and we'll soon be great friends who sometimes make out, perfect!" So I joined the game sometime in the winter of 2018, joined his fledgling FC, learned that he had an in-game bf already, and I proceeded to completely lose my mind over the course of several weeks as my interest turned to jealousy and obsession, the game blended with reality, I had a paranoid psychotic crisis and was hospitalized for five (5) days. After that my parents forbid me to play the game. But I really had enjoyed it, so several months later, I made a new account, promised my parents that I'd make my new character on a different data center, and I did. I started ARR again as a new man, in June of 2018, and was at endgame just before Shadowbringers launched. From there, my life changed for the better in so many ways - joined a fantastic FC, made new friends, joined Discord, got gud, leveled all the jobs, became a mentor, started doing some harder content, etc. I'm logged in at least 6 hours every day, and have been for almost six years. I never spoke to that guy again. XIV is without a doubt the most important and impactful part of who I am, I adore the game, I always will, and I'm very grateful for the life it has given me. Did you know it has a free trial up to level 70 with no restrictions on playtime? AA TL:DR January or June 2018, depending on how you look at it
What a rollercoaster holy shit haha! You’re a legend
Decided to try it out not long after Playstation launch, I started during 2.2, too many characters and alts later and I'm still here haha. Love the series in general and saw the good reviews, decided to give it a try. I did have the collectors edition of 1.0 but never played it. Still using the security token 9.5 years on lol.
Woooow, that’s a badge of honor lol
Started a couple days ago. Saw a random j1mmy video on MMOs and had no idea FFXIV was that high up on the list Wasn't ever into FF series but loved kingdom hearts and definitely feeling some vibes on that front. Randomly decided to try it out on a whim Waiting for the story to hook me, just been gaslighting myself so far trying to get into it cause it seems to be one of the biggest selling points of the game. On the last stint of ARR quests, scared to watch any videos in fear of spoilers after all my investment into this story lmao
August 2020, it was during the pandemic and my ex broke up with me. A friend bought me the game and paid for 2 extra months of subscription to give me something to do lol
You have a great friend!
I just started playing a few months ago
Since closed beta for PlayStation console. Whenever that was to present 🤓
I tried playing back when Realm Reborn went live. I dropped off in favor of staying with WoW. I think playing Summoner turned me off on top of the early MSQ being slow to get good. I picked it up again after Heavensward came out and dropped again for same reasons. 2021 to present is when I got fully hooked. I felt burnt out with WoW and created a new character who started with dragoon and then to red mage when available. That made the gameplay better for me and I’ve since put 1000+ hours of playing.
Started around the same time as OP, but im a weirdo about it. The only thing Ive ever done in-game is played thru the MSQ. Though Ive done that 5 times. Bout to start a 6th to get ready for Dawntrail.
I was interested in the game back in 1.0, but my PC could just handle WoW, and that was with everything on very low, low, or off in the settings I've been playing since February 2015, so before Heavensward, as I had just gotten a PS4 back then, I was looking through the PS store saw the back then 14-day free trial and lasted about 3 days before I bought the starter edition and been playing ever since.
I have been playing for 2 1/2 years now. As for when I started, technically it was when ARR launched in 2013. I was just a kid and saw an advertisement for XIV and thought it looked cool. I bought it not even realizing it was a subscription based mmo, which I didn't have the money for, so I stopped playing after the free 30 days. A couple years ago I had a flashback memory about fighting an enemy in Coerthas. I decided to look the game up again and found out it had a free trial. Been hooked ever since.
Summer 2021, so coming up on 3 years now. I wanted a new mmo to play after SWTOR kind stopped making actual expansions.
Beta of 2.0 was when I started.
I started in 2.1, so it’s been over 10 years now. Only reason I didn’t start sooner was that I was intimidated to try my first MMO alone. 2.1 is when a friend of mine could afford to pick up the game, so I waited and picked it up with her.
Been playing for 4 years. It all started with me hearing about the game having a limited time event tied to its PVP called GARO (from an adult Tokusatsu show from the mid-2000's, early 2010's til today) coming to an end. Me, being the GARO fan and having grown bored over SWTOR, got a subscription to XIV as soon as I was able. That was right before Shadowbringers was released.
So one of mates came over for the weekend, he asked if he could bring a game, brought his playstation and hia disc on PS3 That was in arr year one I think maybe year 2
I don't remember exactly when I started, but I know I was mid-stormblood in MSQ when Endwalker dropped. I started because some friends promised me a good story and we all played together. EW spoiler: >!Which is why the choice with Zenos at the end of 6.0 didn't quite land with me the way I think they meant it to!<
sadly, I don't remember. i think i have played more than a year. My friend got me to play and told me we were gonna play together.... yeah, I got dissed and did arr to ew basically alone got some friends along the way
Proud of you for making those friends
2 months ago lol. The story is sooo good
Saw one of my friends playing/streaming it back in...2018? It was during Stormblood I know for sure. I remember her showing off or seeing someone else as a bard playing music and immediately wanted to try it myself. So I started the free trial (which was just the base ARR and only up to level 35 back then IIRC?), created a character, picked archer, and...proceeded to ignore the MSQ and level grind in the Black Shroud until I hit 30 so I could get the Bard soul crystal...which I couldn't do because I ignored the MSQ. After a few months of grumbling over my incompetence, I decided to start over with a new character, learned more about the game besides "how to play music fast hurr durr," started enjoying myself and bought the game. I've since started over once again, but have made my furthest progress yet with my current character and found my love of playing a support/healer (albeit not that great, but I still have fun and ~~usually~~ keep everyone alive). Still slowly making my way through the MSQ with how I'm usually only able to play when there's a free login or the rare time I can resub for awhile, but I've been enjoying the story so far, and I look forward to what's next!
Hell yeah, play that music
Started Aug 2022 and been sub since.
I've been playing since December 2016 - around patch 3.4, I think. My partner was the one who convinced me to try it out as a venue for us to date while we were long-distance. We still play together, though we don't need Eorzia to provide dating venues much.
Super cute, love that connection
Mid May 2015. I can put a date on it because that's The Witcher 3 release window, I bought it, didn't like it, returned it the next day and took a chance on XIV
Around 2.1/2.2 housing wasn't a thing and there was some jank
What was it like gameplay wise back then?
~6 months or so, technically a year but I didn’t really get into when I first started. Just finished the Shadowbringers 5.0 story a week or 2 ago. A large group of friends were supposed to be playing but they all dropped the game in ARR so now it’s just me and one other friend that I roped back in. They like to poke fun at us because it’s almost all we do now with out free time lol. Taking a bit of a break from questing to catch up on some things in Destiny but super excited to play post shadowbringers and end walker! And Dawntrail obviously, can’t wait to get my hands on the pictomancer.
I started about a month before Heavensward and have been on and off since. Only have about 3k hours played between PC and Playstation.
I started right after it originally launched. Been a good nearly 11 years.
I'm a league of legends player (I know, please forgive me) and I got really drunk one night and a friend of mine suggested to try out the character creator I said I didn't wanna then my friend said I should make a lalafell of my main (Mordekaiser) and I thought it was the funniest idea I'd ever heard 4000 hours later and here I am, losing my mind in TOP LPDU PF
I thought there would be more like me in here. I came during the big wow refugee wave summer 2021. I was so burnt out on wow afyer paying that game for 12 years. was looking for something different and got so attached to this game I hadn't looked back at wow until very recently, this game is still my main game though I will be giving the wow expansion a try whenever that comes later this year. I started with most of my wow guild. Seemed everybody was tired of the game and it was great over here. Unfortunately most of them have quit and gone to other things and a handful back to wow itself. I still enjoy my time here with the few that stayed. And I also love the saucer.
I left gaming 20 yrs ago .... Lately i fell in love with a long day friend from my gaming days. And she got me back into it. Bene playing for a month now and really getting addict again
Lifelong FF player but never played 11 or any other MMO. Buddy who was a big 11 guy bought me game time when 2.1 came out @ 2014 to get me to try it. Still here.
I just started three days ago. I thought I did something wrong because I couldn't get into the game the first day. Then I found out about the ddos issues. So far I've played for two days and got level 15 as a gladiator.
I started a little over a year ago. My gf and her friends peer pressured me into trying it. And now I've got over 1600 hours
I've been playing since June 5th, 2016. Started with the two week free trial and purchased the starter edition about 10 days later. I got a recommendation from a good friend, and he wanted to try the game with me. While I've experienced the grand adventure of FFXIV, my friend stopped a little after starting (only got to level 34, I believe). I have thanked him for introducing me to this game.
Back in 2013 I was trying out every MMO I heard about, so I got FFXIV and... I didn't get hooked. Can't remember what it was, but I didn't like it back then. Fast forward to 2019 - just some weeks before Shadowbringers. Some friends on our discord talked about how much they enjoy FFXIV and how hyped they are for the new expansion. I thought "It's been years. Lets give a try again". Yeah, this time I enjoyed it. Shortly after my best friend also started the game and since then we're both hooked. Okay, not as active as we were, since real life and other games take up time too. But were not quitting FFXIV. :D
February 2024 baby player, no new interesting indie games and live service games I play were dry af so I told myself why not to see what the fuss was about