The launch of both the unlimited basic free trial and the Shadowbringers expansion is here. Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers makes a ton of changes to the already bloated MMO. It used to be that you could only get into the base game up to the Heavensward rebirth of the game until Job level 35, that has now changed.
Square Enix has revealed a plan that would allow folks to play the game all the way to Job level 60 instead. You can now get through most of the base game with a pretty good experience. So if you’re unsure if you want to pay for a sub, you can certainly try the game out and get a very good feel for it.
What’s the trial like?
You can level as many jobs as you want, up to the cap of level 60. Final Fantasy XIV lets players get access to all of the jobs on one character, so there’s really no need for alts for most players. Some folks will still do this for a few things, but it probably won’t apply to you. When playing in the trial, you can get access to all the dungeons, quests, mounts and other content that can be taken on solo or in small groups.
After getting to level 50, you even get access to the new expansion and can move into the expansion content that introduced new specialized jobs. Free trial players can level up to level 30 in a few select jobs like Dark Knight.
What can I not do?
There are some downsides though, as the free trial is still pretty restrictive. Players will be limited to one character per server, or eight characters overall, whichever comes first. Certain chat options are also disabled to prevent spam, as you won’t be able to use /shout and /yell, nor will you be able to use /tell to PM players. Your bank account is also limited to just 300,000 Gil, so no RMT chicanery either.
And to cut down on market manipulation, most of the trading activities are blocked off. You’re not able to use the market board for the in-game item and gear purchases or the in-game mail delivery system to talk to others. You cannot access the retainer system either, so no item storage.
Free companies are also locked off for free trial players, although you can at least join active linkshells.
Good news is that once you upgrade to a paid account, all these restrictions disappear immediately. The full game is laid out before you and ready to access. Although keep in mind that once an account upgrades to the full game, it cannot default back to the free trial. So if you don’t renew your sub, there’s no playing for you.
How to start the free trial
For players on PC or Mac, you can download the free trial client. Click the Sign Up Now button, assuming you don’t already have an active account. You will then be taken through the sign-up process that allows you to get into the new free trial. If you’re on PS4, you’ll find the free trial through the PlayStation Store.
The same should be true for any future Sony consoles as well. Square Enix has been pretty good about making the MMO work on Sony platforms. The idea should hold true for when the PS5 launches.
Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers is currently on PlayStation 4, PC, and Mac.
And in case you were wondering the specs for running the game can be found below. Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers is a pretty easy game to run by modern standards. And even if you’re on a much older system, you should be able to run the game at the minimums if you really need to. Expect some of the boss fights in the game to have some slowdown with large groups on that kind of system though.
Minimum System Requirements
- OS: Windows 8.1 64 bit, Windows 10 64 bit
- CPU: Intel Core i5 2.4GHz or higher
- Memory: 4GB or higher
- Free Disc Space: 60GB or more
- Graphics: NVIDIA Geforce GTX750 or higher, AMD Radeon R7 260X or higher
- Screen Resolution: 1280×720
- Internet: Broadband Internet connection
- Sound: DirectSound supported sound card
- DirectX Version: DirectX 11
Recommended System Requirements
- OS: Windows 8.1 64 bit, Windows 10 64 bit
- CPU: Intel Core i7 3GHz or higher
- Memory: 8GB or higher
- Free Disc Space: 60GB or more
- Graphics: NVIDIA Geforce GTX970 or higher, AMD Radeon RX 480 or higher
- Screen Resolution: 1920×1080
- Internet: Broadband Internet connection
- Sound: DirectSound supported sound card
- DirectX Version: DirectX 11
