Final Fantasy FFXIV is an expensive game and one of the most popular MMO titles.

Despite launching over ten years ago, the complete edition of this game still commands a price tag of $59.99 USD – yes, you heard that right, the full-game price. This edition includes the base game and all of its expansions released to date.

If you’re planning to play the game on another device such as PlayStation, expect to shell out another $59 USD.

And for those who already own the game but want to play the latest expansion, Endwalker, you’ll need to fork out an additional $39.99.

But hold on, we’re not done yet. FFXIV also requires a monthly subscription fee to continue playing the game.

Subscription Options

Let’s break down the different subscription options available for Final Fantasy XIV (FFXIV) in a more friendly and approachable way!

Here are the key features of each subscription:

Standard Subscription:

• Cost: $14.99 per month
• Discounts are available if you purchase multiple months at once
• Allows up to 8 characters per world and up to 40 total
• Great if you enjoy playing with different people across different data centers or want to create many different characters

Entry Subscription:

• Cost: $12.99 per month
• No discounts available for bulk purchases
• Allows up to 1 character per world and up to 8 total
• Perfect for most players who only need a few characters and don’t plan on buying multiple months at once

But don’t worry. When you buy the game, you have a generous 30-day free trial to get started. And once you have purchased the complete edition — you have the game forever. However, Endwalker doesn’t include a 30-day free play period.

Of course, these prices fluctuate wildly and are often subject to discounts on various storefronts.

Well, until there’s another expansion. 😉

In this article, let’s talk about why FFXIV is a wallet-bleeder — and also — is FFXIV worth bleeding for?

Always feel free to stop on by one of my Miranda Lemons YouTube streams and share with me your thoughts.

The Generous Free Trial

FFXIV has recently expanded the free trial to include both the story of A Realm Reborn and the Heavensward expansion, allowing you to play your character up to level 60 and experience the game’s compelling main story.

The free trial is not time-limited, but rather has some limitations on what features and content are available. Players on the free trial have some restrictions on chat, trading, and social interactions. However, players can enjoy unlimited playtime within these restrictions, so there is no specific time limit on the free trial.

This free trial does not include the latest expansions such as Endwalker.

The Success of Final Fantasy XIV

FFXIV is an expensive game, and — like it or not — it has found an audience more than willing to pay.

The story of Final Fantasy XIV begins with a total failure. The game was originally released on September 30, 2010, to overwhelmingly below par reception from both players and reviewers.

With a Metacritic score of 49, one would only need to type “FFXIV 1.0” into a Google search to discover various articles considering the failures and shortcomings of Square Enix’s second Final Fantasy-themed massively multiplayer online RPG.

Compare to April 2021, when Final Fantasy XIV released its forth major extension, Endwalker, to 22 million FFXIV users and daily players around 3 million. The expansion had an astounding 900,000 preorders.

World of Warcraft once acclaimed as the king of the MMORPG genre is estimated to currently have approximately 4.8 million subscriptions.

Developer Blizzard has not openly discussed the subscription numbers of their game in some time, leaving users only to deduce and guess, so take that number with grain of salt. While we may not know the absolute truth, this much is certain: Final Fantasy XIV is one of the largest traditional MMORPGs on the market right now.

The success story of Final Fantasy XIV is no surprise by now. Most players in the MMO gaming sphere know all about the game’s infamous failure and unprecedented successful relaunch on August 24, 2013—nearly a year after the previous iteration shut down in 2012.

This extraordinary turnaround, to my knowledge, has never occurred in modern gaming history, at least to this level of success and praise.

So one might be keen to ask, what is it that makes Final Fantasy XIV such a good game that is so well-loved and people are willing to pay for — for years and years?

4 Ways FFXIV Justifies Its Cost

Some of the key features to consider when you take into account the price factor:

1. FFXIV Doesn’t Get You With In-Game Monetization Strategies

Final Fantasy XIV requires users to pay a subscription of $12.99 per month to play.

It can be baffling at first glance. But its success does speak for itself: Square Enix has seen great success with this model.

There is a benefit to this model: it builds trust.

With a subscription service, users are paying for the service of its servers and for the game’s continued development and support. As subscribers, users are stakeholders in the game, and they are an instrumental part of the game’s continued livelihood.

Players who pay to play FFXIV realize that there is nothing else required of them.

The game does not have an in-game cash shop, nor does it have any loud and intrusive advertisements about the additional content they can purchase.

There are no up-sells in-game. What the game offers is just the experience.

I need to acknowledge, though, that the game does have a cash store. It is advertised before logging in and it does not intrude on the gaming experience. FFXIV does not do hard sells and they are far from abrasive.

The development team wants to uphold the integrity of the in-game world. Maybe the game caters to an audience that is tired of being reminded of all the premium content they can buy and wants their players to just enjoy themselves in the game instead.

2.FFXIV Releases Abundant Content Regularly

Final Fantasy XIV is extremely productive with releasing regular content and updates. After the launch of a new Endwalker expansion, the team tends to release major content updates approximately every three-to-four months.

These regular releases are absolutely stuffed with content.

So much so, that they often feel like miniature expansions.

The free updates often include:

• New dungeons

• New standalone bosses

• New equipment

• New raids

• Continuation of the main story of the game

• Improvements to existing features

• New crafting and gathering additions

• New character customizations

• Quality of life changes

• New mini-games and events

Endless content doesn’t stop there. The game is so massive that communities branch off dedicated to certain areas.

For example, the game features an extensive housing system that allows players to buy houses in designated neighborhoods and decorate them endlessly. The Final Fantasy XIV housing community is so big that I believe it’s quite larger than the end-game raiding community.

Also, the game has had Triple Triad, a card game introduced in Final Fantasy VIII, since the A Realm Reborn expansion, which is always being updated with new cards.

This cycle tends to repeat until five major patches have been released, which completes the release of an expansion pack.

Players love new content, and fresh content is an easy way to ensure that the player base keeps coming back to explore and experience everything the game has to offer. Since the game is on such a regimented schedule, it is also easy for players to expect exactly when they will receive new content.

3.FFXIV Maintains the Square Enix Polish

This is a Square Enix game and an industry leader of software entertainment. They have established themselves in the early ’90s as one of the titans of the RPG genre.

It might go without saying that Square Enix is best known for creating visually stunning graphics, something that sometimes hasn’t been a good thing.

Final Fantasy XIV is no exception. Not only does the game look great, but it plays as you’d expect from a Square Enix game. The interfaces are spontaneous and all of the aesthetics are visually clean.

The game even allows you to change the UI by dragging around all of the interface elements and organize them in whichever way makes you feel most comfortable.

I think that the development team truly cares about their product and it shows.

4. FFXIV Has an Interactive Development Team Who Care About the Fans

I believe this is one of the ultimate reasons why Final Fantasy XIV is doing so well is the highly interactive development team. The team cares about the fans.

Through the relationship that Final Fantasy XIV has with its player base, Square Enix cultivated a unique end-to-end experience that is unlike other games in the industry.

The fans enjoy this and return in kind by spending countless hours in the game world that Yoshida and his team lovingly created.

FFXIV in 2023

In 2023, fans of FFXIV are expecting the announcement of the game’s next expansion coming. The new year also contains the teasing of new content, noting another piece of supposedly in-universe poetry suggesting that players will be heading toward the far horizon and traveling to “lands where few have gone.” That’s something to chew on as the game’s year rolls on.

FFXIV’s next patch, 6.3, is called Gods Revel, Lands Tremble and will be released in early January 2023. Among its various updates, the duty support system will now be extended to include remaining Heavensward dungeons. That means almost the entire game, besides Stormblood, will be playable solo.

Further changes will also come in patch 6.35, including an update to the farming sim mode Island Sanctuary.

Gods Revels, Lands Tremble will provide new main scenario quests and side story quests, as well as new trials and raids, and a new Leap of Faith map in the Gold Saucer.

New housing wards will also be added to existing districts, so more homes can be bought by players.

Is FFXIV Worth It?

To understand the price, we must consider the factor of reciprocity. It seems that FFXIV gives so much to its base that the base is more than willing to give back.

The FFXIV community feels like they get so much value from FFXIV and support over the span of many years, that they are not only willing but glad to pay the subscription fees and expansion costs.

Not only that, FFXIX cultivates community.

Community is everything.
Playing video games together makes your bond to the game even stronger.

To illustrate this idea:
One time, I was playing FFXIV with an old grade-school friend, doing raids, when I mentioned that I was thinking of buying a house. My life changed when, still playing the game, he referred me to his own IRL real estate agent.

I got a referral in-game and it was a small, life-changing moment, because if we hadn’t been playing FFXIV together — I likely would have never casually mentioned house shopping. The candid conversation comes up naturally when doing something together in a game — when you have repeated, regular interactions when things in life just come up.

FFXIV is not just a game. It’s a world and it’s a community. It is a form of work and meaning. It feels bigger than just a game. I am only just beginning to understand how much a game community means after building my own YouTube community and feeling the bonds that form over repeated interaction over weeks and months.

FFXIV offers you hours of guaranteed fun, a vast world, hundreds of quests, skills to learn, plus the worlds that have been added thanks to the expansions.

While the up-front cost may feel steep, you may find that this game offers more than you ever imagined.

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