Someone tell Square Enix that this isn’t how you do business (or maybe it’s the other way around and others should be learning from them?).
The Japanese giant’s critically acclaimed MMO is doing the exact opposite of what’s standard in the MMO industry. For example, a majority of Final Fantasy 14’s content, save for the latest expansions, are available to play for free. But, that’s not all. With its latest update, solo players can now enjoy the entirety of the main questline.
As per VG247, the latest Final Fantasy 14 patch lets players enjoy the main storyline from A Realm Reborn to Endwalker, the game’s latest expansion.
We dive once again into the darkness… but this time, with the power of Light by our side.#FFXIV Patch 6.5 is now LIVE!
Full patch notes 📜 https://t.co/F8jT6Q2SQb pic.twitter.com/c6XK5HSmtW
— FINAL FANTASY XIV (@FF_XIV_EN) October 3, 2023
Just in case you didn’t know, MMO stands for Massively Multiplayer Online, which means that these are kinds of games meant to be played with other people. But, perhaps Creative Business Unit III knows better than to force socialization to hundreds of thousands of Final Fantasy fans.
With the introduction of Duty Support in patch 6.1 last November, Naoki Yoshida and his crew let players run dungeons with certain NPCs and make progress through the main questline on their own. It was a lauded feature that newcomers especially loved as they preferred to soak in the game’s storyline as opposed to waiting for others. Initially, it was seen as a way to get around the impossibly long queues for the older, not-so-popular but storyline-relevant dungeons in the popular MMO. Now, by adding the latest dungeons to the system as part of patch 6.5, players can now use Duty Support to find out everything there is to know about the story of FF14.
As a bonus, the Duty Support system comes in handy if you want to practice completing a dungeon. The bonus NPC can help you out by telling you the boss’s positions and move sets, which is a huge advantage, regardless of whether you’re a solo player or not.
Square Enix released patch 6.1 for FF14, Growing Light, on October 3. In addition to the update to Duty Support, it adds a whole bunch of new content to FF14, including the newest chapter in the Alliance Raid series, Myths of the Realm, Part Three: Thaleia. Finally, the update also expanded the free trial version of the game. Going forward, newcomers can not only play FF14 solo, but they can play through Stormblood up to level 70. As a bonus, Square Enix lumped Stormblood into FF14’s Starter Edition. So, if you already own this copy of FF14, you might find yourself with a nifty surprise with the first two expansions completely available to you for free now.
Square Enix and Creative Business Unit III continues to expand FF14. After years of boxing out the Xbox platform, FF14 will finally release on the Xbox Series S/X next summer alongside its next expansion, Dawntrail.
It looks like the developers of FF14 will have their hands full for the foreseeable future. The Yoshi-P-led unit is working on PC ports of FF16 and at least two more DLCs. But, it’s likely that these will come out after Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, a project by Creative Business Unit I, in February, exclusively on the PlayStation 5.
