A brand new expansion pack is about to release forFinal Fantasy 14, which means server congestion and queue times are inevitable. However, the impending heavy traffic fromEndwalkermight mean free trial players might not be able to playFinal Fantasy 14for a while.
The critically-acclaimed MMORPG,Final Fantasy 14, has a free trial that includes the entirety of theaward-winningHeavenswardexpansion,and has no restrictions on playtime all the way through level 60. That being said, free trial players do have a number of other restrictions to protect the game from bots, spammers, and abuse–one of which is the inability to join login queues.
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Final Fantasy 14put out a statement warning players it is expecting record-breaking numbers of players for the release ofEndwalker. ThoughFinal Fantasy 14was planning on building new Worlds to alleviate the congestion, theglobal shortage of semiconductors due to COVID-19prevented it from doing so. Instead, it was forced to do what it could to create new instances and expand login capacities–and ensure paying customers get priority to play.
Theexpanded free trial ofFinal Fantasy 14was made available in August of last year. Previously, the free trial only took players to level 35, right when the story ofA Realm Rebornstarts to get interesting. Many more players are on the free trial now than before, due to it including hundreds of hours of content for free, and while the policy of these trial players being unable to join queues has always existed, this is the first expansion launch since the extended free trial became available.
Ultimately, this restriction is a good thing for most players.Final Fantasy 14is a live-service game, meaning its paying customers deserve to be the first people to play. This also means during the busiest early days of the launch,less bots and RMT sellers will be onFinal Fantasy 14, which should grant some peace to its playerbase.
That said, It is unfortunate that free trial players may not get to play for a bit. Though they still may be able to log on during slower times of the day, there is no guarantee they will get to continue their journey until thehype overEndwalker’scontentstarts dying down in a few weeks. For players who were on the fence as to if they wanted to buy it, or for players who were waiting until they finishedHeavensward, this may be the time to buy the game–especially since theFinal Fantasy 14Complete Editionnow includes theShadowbringersexpansion as well.
Final Fantasy 14is available now on PC, PS4, and PS5. TheEndwalkerexpansion launches on December 7.
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