Over the past decade, Final Fantasy XIV has grown to become one of the biggest and most welcoming MMOs for millions of players worldwide.
One major factor to thank for that is the game’s ever-accessible Free Trial, which invites those potentially interested in diving into the vibrant world of Eorzea to a first-hand experience with an impressive amount of flexibility.
However, given that it’s a free trial, there are of course still limitations to what players can and can’t do without purchasing the full game. If you’re debating joining Square Enix’s award-winning MMO and wondering what those are, here is our handy guide to the FFXIV Free Trial & All Current Restrictions.
What is the FFXIV Free Trial & Updated Restrictions
The free trial in Final Fantasy XIV invites prospective players interested in the now incredibly vast world of Eorzea to get a big taste of the gameplay as well as the social aspect of the game. To start with, there is literally no time limit with how long you can play the free trial. Whether it’s weeks or months, you can take all the time you want to decide how much you enjoy your adventures in FFXIV.
The actual limit comes in the form of how far into the content you’re allowed to play. Thankfully, as of just a couple months or so ago in Patch 6.5 (Growing Light), an update detailed what has been called the “Expanded Free Trial”, as now aspiring players can access the game up to the Stormblood expansion and dive into far more content. Not only can you explore the open worlds of every region up to that point, you can try out dungeons, alliance raids, primal trials, and a majority of the jobs/classes the game has to offer.
However, given that it’s a free trial, there are still strings attached to just how much you can interact with the community and expand your character. Below we’ve listed all the restrictions indicated by the team at Square Enix, in regards to what players may not do while using the Free Trial version of the game.
All FFXIV Free Trial Restrictions
- One (1) Free Trial account may be registered to a Square Enix account so long as that Square Enix account has not been previously registered with any version of the game.
- Free Trial players can purchase a certain selection of in-game items from the Mog Station online store.
- They cannot, however, send in-game items purchased from the store as gifts to other players.
- Free Trial players can create up to eight (8) playable characters in each Data Center.
- Free Trial players can engage in the Main Story questline and some additional game content (dungeons, trials, raids) up to the final quest of the Stormblood expansion.
- All jobs you can play as (all those released up to Stormblood) are now capped at Level 70.
- Free Trial players can possess up to 300,000 gil at any given time.
- Free Trial players cannot use the “shout,” “yell,” or “tell” in-game chat options.
- The Market Board, which allows players to buy and sell items, is not accessible during the Free Trial
- You cannot trade in-game items or currency with other players during the Free Trial
- Free Trial Players cannot send in-game letters to others using the Moogle delivery service
- Free Trial players cannot hire any retainers
- Free Trial players can join a Linkshell or Cross-World Linkshell social group if invited, but they cannot create a new Linkshell or Cross-World Linkshell themselves.
- Free Trial Players cannot create or join a Free Company
- Free Trial Players can join a party if invited or by using the Duty Finder but cannot assemble a party themselves.
- Free Trial Players cannot create or join a PvP team or participate in Crystalline Conflict, Rival Wings or Frontline.
- Free Trial Players cannot participate in any Ultimate Raids.
- Free Trial Players can log into the Lodestone but cannot use community content.
- The game’s official forum and Companion app are not accessible during the Free Trial period.
This may visually seem like quite a lot of restrictions, but despite this the game is still very accessible and enjoyable for those who are still deciding if they want to commit to becoming a true Warrior of Light in Eorzea. As the game continues to add more expansions and content, the free trial in turn will likely continue to expand as well, as the team at Square Enix wants to ensure that fans of every measure can see just how exciting and interactive the game is.
You can check out the full details of the free trial restrictions here at any time.
This concludes our guide for the FFXIV Free Trial and all current restrictions. We hope you find this helpful in deciding whether you’re wanting to give the game a try, and let us know if you do and what you like most about it so far.
Be sure to check out all of our other guide content for Final Fantasy XIV, such as what you should do daily and weekly in the game.
