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Final Fantasy XIV launch day roundup

Shawn Schuster
Contributor
Updated ·3 min read

For those of you not fanatical enough to pre-order Final Fantasy XIV and start playing last Wednesday, today marks the official worldwide retail release of the highly anticipated Square-Enix MMO on the PC.

You can bet we've been knee-deep in coverage for the game, especially considering the fact that we have some fans on staff and a weekly column dedicated to it. For that reason, and to help you navigate your way through the news and info leading up to launch, we've compiled a handy roundup of our FFXIV coverage. Follow along below and after the jump for our best FFXIV articles to help you on your way through Eorzea.

First Impressions: Final Fantasy XIV
There are times when my job is kind of a mixed blessing. Case in point: It falls to me to talk about my first impressions of Final Fantasy XIV, which is about as not for everyone as a game can possibly be. It features some things that seem custom-built to annoy certain players into apoplectic fits, starting with the controls and the hardware mouse that has been absent for the whole of beta. (I don't know whether it'll be in the launch today. But probably!) I would be remiss not to mention any of these elements.

What scares me about Final Fantasy XIV
I am not the biggest Final Fantasy fan. But that's more because I lack for time, not because I lack interest. I played FFXI, but only until level 18 or so, and even then I would only return once in a while. The game was punishing to a solo player even with the recent changes that gave more opportunity to level. There was something ever-alluring about the world, however -- something complex and deep, and I knew that, if I could just become more powerful, it would show itself to me. Skip to the present and to the FFXIV beta.

A World of Warcraft player's guide to Final Fantasy XIV
So you're a veteran player of World of Warcraft, and you're ready to take a step away from the game that you've been playing for however many years and start in on something new. And you even know where you want to forge your new home: Eorzea, the continent on which Final Fantasy XIV's adventures take place. It should be a fairly easy transition, yes?

Final Fantasy XI and XIV game column: The Mog Log
Allow me a little bit of woolgathering. When I started working for Massively, it was October of last year, and Final Fantasy XIV had just been announced as the official title for the game code-named "Rapture" and unofficially codenamed "the sequel to Final Fantasy XI" by everyone else who had seen a single screenshot. About four days after you read this, the game is going to be officially live for players around the world willing to shell out an extra bit of cash for various doodads and a headstart.

A crafting and harvesting primer for Final Fantasy XIV
Crafting and harvesting in Final Fantasy XIV is a bit more involved than players have come to expect from the genre. Of course, that's kind of a given for a game in which crafting and gathering classes make up more than half of the options for players. Like with any other game, crafting and harvesting are optional rather than mandatory -- but in this case, fighting monsters with spells and weapons is also optional, with the non-combat classes also being fully capable of reaching the level cap without ever attacking anything.

Launch Day Livestream: Final Fantasy XIV
The stream is over, but the video lives on! Check out our recorded footage of the livestream, available just after the break!

Final Fantasy XIV game page
If there's anything else you're looking for, we may have it on our complete game category page for Final Fantasy XIV.