[FFXIV SE++] Phase 3 beta is over! Phase 4 beta start dates to be announced!

Update: Release Date Announced - August 27th! Open beta starts next month! Closed beta signups still going on!

NA: http://entry.ffxiv.com/beta/na

EU (English): http://entry.ffxiv.com/beta/eu

Want to keep track of the story that started with 1.0? The game may have been terrible, but the story is still decent. Check out this link, or this one.

[SE++ People Currently In Beta. The list goes PA Name/Player Name/Server:]

Let us speak now of the great tragedy that befell our world, so that future generations may learn from the folly of our forefathers.

Once, a great and powerful nation spoke of grand tidings over the discovery of a new world: Eorzea.

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In this world, the people would gather to embark on exciting new adventures, fulfill long desired dreams, and band together for glory and recognition.

Instead, what they found was misery and torment, the likes of which have never been felt in even in our darkest fantasies. Hatred and despair filled our hearts, and the once revered nation faced ridicule over the damage they had unleashed to their loyal populace.

As hopes dwindled to an all-time low, the impoverished masses waited for a bright light to bring them out of the darkness.

Then, finally, that light had arrived...as a light of destruction:

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As if facing punishment for their arrogance, the world of Eorzea would now face destruction at the hands of the very nation that created it. The devastation would leave countless dead and lands reshaped into unrecognizable formations. Truly, it seemed that a dark end had await the dark times.

But from the ashes of devastation, a God has emerged...

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No, not that God.

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This God. Once a mere mortal of little renown, this man now possessed incredible power and knowledge, which he has pledged to use to recreate the dead world of Eorzea into a Realm Reborn.

Welcome, brave travelers, to the Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn Thread

Uh, don't we already have an FFXIV thread?


Yes, but just as 2.0 serves as a reintroduction to FFXIV, so too have we decided to create a new thread exclusively focused on A Realm Reborn and its multitude of changes from the original game.

You can still visit the old thread here in order to discuss the original game, which is set to shut down its servers on November 11th, 2012.

So how many changes are they making with 2.0? A few extra quests, a tweaked battle system, some new jobs?


How about a completely new game built entirely from scratch? In an unprecedented move, Square Enix plans to completely scrap the original game (or should we say, wipe all traces of its existence) and develop a brand new engine for the relaunch, one that is more suited for a massively multiplayer online game, as well as fulfilling all of the planned additions and content from the game's new producer/director, Naoki Yoshida (aka Yoshi-P).

And boy, is he promising a lot of stuff...too many to list, in fact. As a self-styled MMORPG fan himself, Yoshi-P claims to know full-well what makes for a good online role playing game, and has been working tirelessly to appease the very community Square Enix spat on. With his outreach to the community, his friendly demeanor and appealing promises, Yoshi-P has managed make FFXIV sound like something worth caring about again.

So basically, he's the Obama of Square Enix


Perhaps. It remains to be seen if he really will make good on all of his grandiose promises. But unlike other Square Enix employees content with telling rather than showing, Yoshida has been telling and showing the new FFXIV at every available opportunity.

Not just CG trailers, either:

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But the actual game in motion, too:

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Some of my personal favorite new additions include:

1. A redone, fully customizable UI

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Oh, how people despised the original game's UI: overly huge, clunky, and incredibly slow to open and navigate. Even if you're not a hardcore MMORPG, as a PC/Mac user you no doubt realize the importance of a quick and accessible menu screen.

2.0 finally brings Final Fantasy's UI to the 21st century, and goes even beyond that. Not only are you allowed to have all the crazy amount of icons on-screen that you want, but you are given 100% full reign to re-arrange, re-size, drag and drop every single icon on the screen effortlessly. As shown on the video above, you can choose how to personalize your UI with a single click, and with no restrictions.

2. Smaller Text Bubbles

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Remember how needlessly huge the text windows were in both FFXI and FFXIV? Every single line of text, from NPCs, PCs, your own party, to even the battle stats, were all tossed into one gigantic window like some kind of text orgy.

In 2.0, NPCs have their own dedicated text bubble, which expands in size depending on how brief or lengthy the sentences are. Considering how chatty these characters get, I can't stress how merciful this addition is.

Also, Yoshida promises a lot less talking, which seems to be the case given how quickly the player in the video above accepts a new quest. And yes, even the text bubbles can be dragged around at your leisure.

3. Jumping!

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This is another feature that might seem small to those of you who haven't played either online FF. Let me assure you, in the case of FFXIV, this is a game changer.

Too often have we been forced to take the long way around spiraling cities and multi-floored areas. Far too many times would we come across a gap that appeared wide enough to drop down from only to have our character stuck due to invisible walls.

With a jump button and with less restricting architecture, it's now a breeze to meet up with distant friends or hop your way out of a long trek out of an area. It's a significant improvement to traveling, and that is only further improved with...

4. Mounts!

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Currently, it's unknown what limitations, if any, will be imposed on 2.0's mounts. The video above indicates that players can call up their pet Chocobos at any time without restriction. We can only hope there's no cooldown limit or a required amount of Gyshal Greens or anything of the sort: Yoshi-P promised that 2.0 would carry all the best features from MMOs like World of Warcraft (and unlike FFXIV's previous staff, he actually has played that game), so hopefully that means no limits to calling them.

What has been promised is the ability to raise and customize your Chocobo to assist you in battle. Not only can they don armor, but you can raise them as different kind of support classes (tank, healer, etc) to suit your needs. There's even talk of situations requiring mounted combat, along with other unique mounts to find and collect...including Magitek Armor.

Yes, that Magitek Armor. He is specifically pointing to FFVI here, not an inspired offshoot. Many more classic FF items, events and locations are said to make an appearance, including FFVII's Gold Saucer. FFXIV's upcoming Meteor event is also clearly taken from FFVII. Is it considered unimaginative and pandering to just dump all these FF references? Who cares, we're getting Magitek Armor mounts!

Oh wow, they're really getting serious with this. I need this game now!

You're in luck! The game is scheduled to come out on August 27th, for PS3 and PC! Join today and further the cause of The Maelstrom! 'TIL SEA SWALLOWS ALL, COMRADE.

So do I have any reason to play the current version of FFXIV now?


Well, the Legacy program (in which you are given an exclusive mount as well as a reduced subscription fee if you subscribed to 90 days before May) has now expired. You can still earn levels and play through the main story and/or quests until November 1st: after that, the game will go free to play for everyone, but none of the progress made during that month will carry over.

At the very least, see if you can find a copy of the original for cheap, since you'll be able to update to 2.0 at no extra cost. Square is planning to repackage the game, so if you don't mind paying $20 more just to have the update pre-installed (presumably), don't stress over it.

There are some PA folks still playing the game now (check the link above). Some are even claiming that the game is fine now as it is.

Hopefully they won't take it the wrong way while the majority of us wait impatiently for the red Meteor to come and stain their world red.

OP credits to Professor Snugglesworth