To celebrate the release of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn’s (FFXIV:ARR) 2.1 patch, Square Enix are having a big free-for-all this weekend for legacy players who have yet to return, or for 2.0 players who have left; giving them a chance to experience the wealth of new content that was added back in December. The free-play period will run from 8:00am GMT/3am EST/12am PST Saturday, January 11th, until 8:00am GMT/3am EST/12am PST on Monday, January 13th.
Players eligible for the free weekend include those who have bought either FFXIV:ARR or the original FFXIV and have registered it. Their account status must be inactive during this period to gain access to the servers without paying a subscription charge. The client will also be available to download from FFXIV:ARR’s official site should players need it.
Why Should I Come Back?
Before the 2.1 patch, endgame was a real grind. There was only “Amdapor Keep” to do ad nauseum for a mere 40 Tomestones of Mythology each turn, which cap at 200 Tomestones a week. And there was only AF2, Binding Coil of Bahamut, and Relic items up for grabs.
But now that’s all changed. Some of the main features include:
- Several new dungeons to get 50+ Tomestones of Mythology a pop, and a higher cap of 450 a week
- “Hard Mode” version of previous dungeons and boss battles complete with sparkly new loot: namely Haukke Manor, Coperbell Mines, and Ultima Weapon, which all also drop Tomestones
- “Extreme” modes for primals – because “The Navel (Hard Mode)” just wasn’t maddening enough
- “The Crystal Tower”, a 24 person raid with lots of great gear drops
- Extension to the storyline which reintroduces the “Good King Moogle Mog XII” boss battle
- 4v4 PvP with exclusive items to be won
- “Duty Finder Roulette” which gives you a decent XP or Tomestone boost every 24 hours for being thrown into Guildhests and dungeons at random
- Player/Free Company housing
- The return of Hildibrand (for better or for worse!)
- Daily beastmen quests
In short, the game has been injected with a lot more variety, resulting in what was already a really good game becoming even better, as it’s now far more dynamic. Some of the features also makes levelling secondary classes/jobs a bit less laborious.
But don’t just take our word for it. Go and enjoy all the new features for a full 48 hours. Hopefully, we’ll see you take up a more permanent residency in Eorzea, perhaps even in your own private manor!
Official details about the free weekend can be found on the Final Fantasy XIV Lodestone site for your country under “Topics”. For more information about Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, visit www.finalfantasyxiv.com.
