We’ve received a lot of questions from our readers about FFXIV. I want to share some of the more popular ones with you and help clarify some information which you may find useful.
Where do I enter my FFXIV Pre-order code?
Visit the FFXIV Pre-Order Redemption Website. If prompted, log in and finish filling out some information they want on you. Square Enix wants you to basically link your Service account (what you log in to FFXIV with) to their other account system.
What is “Error 3: There was a problem. Please try again later”?
Their system is being slammed. Everyone I know has been getting that for a while. Try again soon!
When Can I log in and play?
If you pre-ordered, enter your code and you can play on the 24th. If you did not pre-order, you can log in on the 27th.
Does FFXIV have Quests Hubs?
Yep, there are small towns called Sanctuaries with NPCs offering standard quests, Levequest, Guildhests, etc. In the beginning, there are A LOT of quests in the town you start, and several in surrounding camps. They appear to thin out the higher level you get.
Do I have to do Quests in FFXIV?
You will want to do your main story quests because that’s how you’ll get the Dungeon Finder and the Airship unlocked. You’ll also get to join a faction, get a mount, and enjoy a rather confusing yet interesting story. Other than that, you never have to do a single quest. I know plenty of people who leveled without ever doing a single quest — including the main story! They simply booted up the game, went out, got a group, and killed monsters.
Is it faster to do Quests or Grind in FFXIV?
Grinding monsters appears much faster. There’s a mechanic called experience chains where you gain a higher bonus multiplier from killing monsters quickly. I’ve seen my bonus in the 60%+ range. There are these public quest type events that spring up around the zones that basically bring the mobs to you. Get a group and grind these and you’ll probably level faster than the people who don’t quest. Be warned, you’ll probably be hurting for Gil (money) if you only grind mobs. Mobs tend to drop crafting items or nothing at all.
What is a Linkshell? Free Company?
Think of Linkshells as chat channels. You can make a Linkshell and invite anyone you want to join and chat. In a way, these are almost like guilds in every other game. Free Companies are the true recognized form of a guild, and you can obtain FC housing as well as other FC perks.
What are the requirements for each Job? Which classes go well with which Jobs?
Here’s a chart that should help.
| Job |
Primary Class (lvl 30) | Secondary Class (lvl 15) | Good Synergy |
|||||
| Warrior | Marauder | Gladiator | Pugilist | |||||
| Paladin | Gladiator | Conjurer | Marauder | |||||
| Monk | Pugilist | Lancer | Marauder | |||||
| Dragoon | Lancer | Marauder | Pugilist | |||||
| Bard | Archer | Conjurer | Lancer | |||||
| White Mage | Conjurer | Arcanist | Thaumaturge | |||||
| Black Mage | Thaumaturge | Arcanist | Archer | |||||
| Summoner | Arcanist | Thaumaturge | Conjurer | |||||
| Scholar | Arcanist | Conjurer | Thaumaturge |
I’m happy to answer any other questions you have about the game.
Is there a ‘main healer’? How powerful is healing? Are there aoe heals? group heals? hots? Can you make self contained classes (heal, dps, tank, and cc in 1 player)?
Lame art on cactuars i think. They should look closer to classic.
@iLkRehp: White Mage is the ‘main healer’ of sorts. The Arcanist has a lot of great Heal over Time abilities. There are group heals. I was using mine extensively in two of the three different dungeons we ran before level 20. Self contained classes that do everything? Not that I have seen at all. There are very defined roles.
@Gringar:
Anyone know much about Grand Companies? I heard you just get Supply Missions and Engineering Manuals from them, but I also read something that said it might determine your PvP faction. Just don’t want to join one if it means I can’t PvP with my friends or something.
Think you have DRG wrong, it should be 30 LNC 15 PUG
@Darkstryke: I’m pretty sure it’s Marauder. They’re changing them up quite a bit from 1.0, and most of the Wikis have wrong information.
That’s the cactuars we know and love! However, only having like, MAYBE 200hp, I would hate to take a 1000 needles hit from them.
Any Melee healers?
Not a class people normally like but when done right they are really really fun.
I have a copy of the original FF but I never played it (never used that key). Can I play it now without buying the game again? If yes where do I go and register my key?
I have created an account on the following website but there is no option to register FF. It says something like “Code registration currently unavailable.”
https://secure.square-enix.com/account/app/svc/Login?cont=account
Thanks in advanced!
I found an awesome guide about crafting…all I can say is that I am very excited and hyped about it. It is by far the best I have ever seen. Note that I started playing MMOs from Vanilla wow, so the veterans may have already seen better crafting systems, but I have only seen the dumb clock and wait to finish..
http://ffxivrealm.com/guides/crafting-101.13/
Damn, I cannot edit my post and forgot to ask something. I have pre-ordered via their site. In my account say that I have registered 1 games and have the FFXIV already. So do I also need to redeem a code or something? Do I have to do something else for access to headstart? They didn’t send me anything until now..
this is what I see: http://i.imgur.com/84dfxkv.png
Should I do anything else?
“Do I have to do Quests in FFXIV?
You will want to do your main story quests because that’s how you’ll get the Dungeon Finder”
This doesn’t sound like a game for me. Thanks for sharing the information Keen!
I played the first iteration of this during beta and the graphics are just gorgeous … i’m kind of on the fence about giving it a second time for me Story is the important thing and having not a lot of time I am kind of forced to solo. So My knowledgeable friend do you think it has those basic aspects to suit me.
hmm well comprehension is a gift … lol forget my last question i should learn to read better 🙂
@Wufiavelli: No melee healers that I have seen.
@LostForever: If you bought FFXIV 1.0 you do not have to buy it again. You’ll get to play for 2 weeks free starting on the 27th. After that you will need to subscribe.
@Rohirrim: I did not pre-order from Square themselves, but several of my friends did and they do not have a code either. I believe you might be okay. Just keep checking your email (make sure to check the spam box) for any codes. I’m pretty sure if you went through them, via their account system, they already have you flagged as a pre-order.
Ok I bought my pre-order at 19 of August and I did not received the pre-order code…my friend bought it today morning and he has already received his code and also registered his game fine..I am starting to worry now..I always have bad luck on game launches and this it seems has no exception..I use yahoo mail and also checked spam mails too..still nothing.
i predict FTP in less than a year even 6 months.
Highly, highly unlikely. FFXI is still subscription based to this day and still quite populated for it’s age. FFXIV is sure to follow suit.
@KennyG there is more chance that the earth will be destroyed and we move on March than SE go f2p. These people have openly stated that they hate f2p system
This sounds like just another themepark MMO re-tread. Why would I want to play it? What feature(s) make it compelling? (“Final Fantasy” is not a compelling feature for me; never got into those games.) I need something better than the same old trying-to-be-WoW-only-better MMORPG. . .
@Xenevore: I don’t think it’s trying to be WoW. It’s a themepark, but it’s not one that blatantly tries all of the same old tropes. The class system is compelling. The group play is a nice change of pace. The crafting classes are different. FFXIV isn’t a game I would even compare to WoW because WoW is just too old now.
@Xenevore: I had never tried anything in the FF series before as I was either busy playing other games or didn’t find anything compelling about them. I agree that WoW has gotten incredibly stale and anything that even closely resembles it usually puts me off instantly (my account is active as we speak but I can’t bring myself to play it because the daily/pvp/dungeon grind is simply tedious at this point). That being said, I tried FF:ARR during the open beta and was stunned with the level of craftsmanship and unique feel it has about it. The crafting is unlike anything we’ve seen in the past years and is actually fun. The combat feels rather unique as well – the global cooldown is longer and thus it feels less spammy than, for example, WoW. The music is fantastic – Wrath and MOP have some great themes but this is on a whole new level. The game doesn’t hold you by the hand at every step either – you have to figure things out for yourself. To me it feels old-school enough to be appealing, yet isn’t extremely hardcore to make me wonder what the hell is going on and how I’d go about killing a single mob 5 levels below me.
I recommended the open beta to a friend who’s always been a hardcore WoW raider and, while at first he seemed sceptic about it, the moment he step foot into FF he was hooked. The game feels fresh and so far everyone (that I know) who’s tried has preordered it immediately.
So reflecting on your guys’ beta experiences with other games, is this something you can envision playing for a year or more, or is it more of an interesting stop gap game until the next thing comes along?
Is there any real innovation to this game or is it just another themepark at its core? Is there pvp and if so is it open world or instanced? Do you know anything about the endgame as in amount of content available?
@Sikk
Check these: http://ffxivrealm.com/guides/final-fantasy-xiv-ultimate-beginners-guide.24/
the class/job system along with the excellent crafting is enough to make you play for long long time.
@Gankatron: I went into it thinking it would just be a game to tide me over for 3-5 months. Then I played for a while and actually started to feel conflicted about which game I would choose because I thought WildStar was coming out before the end of the year. Then I felt a huge weight lifted off my shoulders when I heard WildStar was delayed until Spring 2014. That says something to me. This is a game I -want- to play for a year or more. I hope I can.
@Sikk: I think there’s PvP, but this is a PvE game. End-game is about killing big monsters. The class/job system is innovative. It’s not unique or revolutionary, but it’s a variation. Typical Themepark? No, not typical, but it is a themepark.
I don’t imagine it will be one that’s played for a long time, the fact that everyone can be everything and do every craft limits re-playability and stifles competitiveness in pve and craft, and limits the viability of tradeskills as a means of making money of players (this is countered by crafting quests however)
HOWEVER, it is a game that I enjoyed despite recently hating theme-park games and hotkey combat, it may be that ive simply been away from mmos for too long, or it may be because its different enough to be fresh (lower ability count, longer delay between skills, more focus on moving)
I expect crafting will be ok, to be the ultimate crafter you have to use your limited leves on fieldcraft and tradecraft leves in order to get the good stuff. I don’t see a ton of people dedicating themselves this way. With 8 a day per character I expect people will focus on certain crafts to master.
The beta seemed well-recieved by a lot of people.
I’m just curious if there are any mechanics in the game that makes it possible to discern players from eachother, othere than by appearance and class.
If you have two players of the same job, they have exactly the same skills/traits/abilities?
If you pick a job you get the chance to pick 5 skills from another class – however, is this not only limited to 2 other classes? E.g. You can only pick skills from one of the two classes that are connected to your job.
And is this as far games allows you to differentiate?