Normally, I imagine the FFXIV column to be an informative place where we can discuss a trickle of information on the latest happenings in Eorzea.
In fact, I sort of wrap my head around the expectation that Final Fantasy XIV has very manageable updates I can parse and have an opinion on.
Instead of a small number of long updates in the past two weeks, however, we seem to have a lot of little awesome things to discuss, from free trials, to hunt theorycrafting, to a 14-hour Japanese extravaganza commemorating the first year of A Realm Reborn. Join me as we round up the awesome for some lightning rounds of discussion.
Awesomely Inviting Friends
Assuming you have friends who enjoy playing video games, but can’t imagine plunking down money for Final Fantasy XIV, there’s now a system by which interested parties can play with their friends for free and check out how the world works: You can Recruit Your Friend and have them play for free for 14 days using the Free Trial System.
The interplay of the two is a little difficult to grasp, so you may have to correct me. As I understand it, you can visit the free trial page, download the free trial client, then that client will prompt you to create an account. Afterwards, you can try the game for 14 days with a level 20 limitation to your class and some other restrictions.
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During this time, you can actually share a refer-a-friend code to your FFXIV-playing friend by emailing them, and then they can input that code, subscribe, and confer bonus items to himself and to you, the lovely friend that you are.
They get EXP boosting items while you get the EXP booster (ups EXP for classes below level 25) and a free teleport ability to the nearest Aetheryte to your friend’s location for 30 days of subscription. If they subscribe for 90 days, the recruiter get a 2-player mount, which can make travel easier for both you and your friend if you like helping each other out.
Awesome Hunt Theorycrafting
Last time, I discussed some of the troubles of Hunts, as well as its potential for to be something better than it is currently.
It seems there are very industrious members of the FFXIV playing society that have dabbled into the arcane arts of monitoring their game time religiously, as Vandesaan on the FFXIV forums took down what appear to be detailed notes for the assumed mechanics of the hunt spawns.
It’s possible that these could be off, but this is, for the most part, a rather detailed explanation of what could cause certain hunt creatures to spawn for slaying. It’s worth a look-see at the very least, if only for the attention to detail and likely coordinated effort among members of a large-scale hunting party.
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Awesome Moogle Outfits
For those attending the FFXIV Fan Festivals, there’s one confirmed in-game item you get for being a part of the proceedings. You can actuallly dress up as a moogle.
The gear, currently called the Moogle Attire, is a Moogle costume you get for supporting the Fan Festival. It’s probably not going to be statistically superior, but I would glamour up some end-game gear to look like this just for the hell of it.
I imagine the codes they eventually give out will be sought after when it’s time to use them, but they will only be redeemable after the Fan Festival Events are over, estimated for a December 2014 redemption time.
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14 Hours of Japanese-Language Awesomesauce
Of course, Square Enix isn’t going to let Final Fantasy XIV go into its first year without a bit of celebration. According to the most recent announcements on the Lodestone, there will be a 14-hour Japanese-language livestream with special guests, development team cameos, and hopefully some solid gameplay.
The livestream is scheduled to begin Friday, August 22 at 8:00 p.m. PDT, lasting till Saturday, August 23 at 10:00 a.m. PDT.
Finally, Something Fantastic
While details are still scarce on this, Square Enix has confirmed that a new incremental patch, Patch 2.35 is scheduled to be released around two weeks from now, likely after Gamescom.
Clarifiying a query by a forumgoer who noticed a Japanese language post on the matter, the forum post by Bayohne says, “Yep, Foxclon posted that patch 2.35 is currently scheduled for the week after next!”
I’m hoping personal housing makes it in 2.35, but it may come after that. Till we hear more, however, it may be good to just bask in the awesomeness of the past two weeks. That’s certainly a lot to take in.
LINKS:
- The Previous FFXIV Column: Opportunities to expand horizons
- More on the FFXIV Free Trial
