Things You Should Know Before Playing FFXIV 

Me 10 seconds into the video with almost 6000 hours of playtime: Ahh yes, the perfect video for me.

anyone else a few thousand hours into the game but still watching this?

I took a break from this game after finishing Stormblood a year or two ago. Just wanted to finish some other games in my 'to-play' list. I've run nearly through that list and so excited to get back to FFXIV in a couple months.

You’re actually a big reason why I got into this game. Saw your video similar to this one during the pandemic and you made me feel comfortable to jump in. Love the content! Preesh ya zep

I am trying to play dragonflight right now. I have found that i'd rather AFK in FFXIV then play WoW.

My advice to new players is to not take any advice from any known FFXIV streamers...

13:26 coming from WoW i was so amazed at how helpful people in dungeons are when you tell them you're new. It was such a breath of a fresh air

That's wild. I haven't seen people actually AT Sastasha waiting for a dungeon since the ARR early days. That brings back some... tiresome memories 😅

I'm 58 years old and ive been playing ESO for a while but my son who is 23 told me to get this game. I just started about a week ago and thankfully I have had him guiding me somewhat thru the opening part of the game. it has been really fun so far but my only issue has been the map and traveling to the quest markers.

I Came into FFXIV just before Endwalker hit. I came into FF as i really love Raiding, fighting bosses and i wanted to play with my friend who convinced me to get the game. I tried the game, was playing through the ARR story up until about lvl 30, and i found that i was really losing interest in the story. I wanted to get to playing the boss/raid content and because of this i was not really giving enough time to the story. In the end i bought a story skip, which i know some people frown upon in the community. However this allowed me to get into the content i wanted to play and i had a real fun time when i did so. Im not sure i would have stuck with the game if i didn't jump to the content i wanted to play to be honest. im now 600 hours into the game, i have gotten a lot of enjoyment out of the game, doing Ultimate's, and Dailies, I love AR raids too. I have now gone back to playing the Story via New game + slowly in my own time once iv done what i want to do for the day and its really enjoyable this time around since i didn't feel rushed or forced to play the story and i am now about to begin Heavensward story. i didn't have the most conventional route into the game but i am now well and truly loving this game and its my favorite game. Play the story if you want too, but you can still enjoy the game if you do Skip and come back via NG + later. I know this was a really long comment but just wanted to say a big thanks for your Video's Zepla as they were very helpful in getting me into the game as a brand new player. :)

Where did you get your hoodie? Love it!

i love watching these types of videos. Another side thing for new players, always always always do your daily roulette while you are leveling, especially leveling DR. You will gain tons of EXP from them to keep you leveling up. When I started, I was never less then 10 levels ahead of the MSQ. As for a slight gripe of my own that others may not like in an MMO, FF14 is "fetch" style heavy in questing. especially in a realm reborn content.

Every time I play wow I yearn for Eorzea. Happy travels buns

I will be sending this video and the next to a friend. Trying to convince them to play FFXIV, so this will help them beforehand. 😊

I was one of those that couldn't stand the cut scenes and blasted through the dialogs. Do yourself a favor and don't. I started a second toon and actually read and watched everything, it's well worth it. As for the side quest I use them mainly to level up secondary jobs. I don't seek them out but if I'm in an area I will use those for a little extra XP. As a newish player who came from ESO, the community in FFXIV is a breath of fresh air. So helpful and laid back, if things don't go as planned the non sprouts will usually try to blame themselves instead if you. They are also more than willing to pull us low level along. Getting us grouped to do WB Fates for mounts or pets, Things that new players know nothing about yet.

Hi there Zepla, your audio for this video seems to be a bit muffled (or maybe theres a very high low cut), just letting you know in case that it wasn't intentional. Kind regards.

Thanks for the video. Am currently downloading ff online and can’t wait to start playing. Will be checking out your other videos as well.

Im new to the game myself! Just started last week and this is super helpful! Im currently doing the trial but definitely will be upgrading to the full game after later on ❤ Loving it so far!

another reminder: starter jobs restricts starter area and vice versa. everybody will meet each other after some time, but for the first ~15 levels you are on your own. for example the healer job starts in gridania, but you cannot start a healer in ul'dah; on the other hand there is no tank job to learn in gridania in the first place; those are in limsa lominsa and ul'dah. gridanla _will_ teach a tank, but at lvl60 as prerequisite

This reminds me to get back on FFXIV...but I remember I had to sidetrack because I wanted to power level another class to a good enough lvl and continue MSQ since I fully leveled the class I was doing MSQs originally. Then the grind got a little boring, and I have no FFXIV social life since I have no friends, and refuse to ever join FCs because of bad experiences in the past, so I took an indefinite hiatus. But...maybe I'll come back within this month. Depends. Thank you for the content Zepla.

I kinda remember delving into the content/strategy pre 2020 guides. Generally, I found the enthusiasm and bun end game players still had.

I always have to do all side quests before advancing main story. No matter what game it is, that's how I must play

Even though I know most of this, I do love this kind of video. Thank you.

I always recommend the blue quests because they unlock stuff to do such as flying to dungeons, gold saucer to relics

Lol, I have habit of doing all quests as well in the map. I think I left RR side quests only so far as initial progress was quite slow in that and I didn't quite knew what to do at that time and was jst trying to speed up to HeavenWard expansion

If only data center travel wouldn't leave some data center's PF dead. That's something one should consider, if you don't want to hop to a different data center all the time to find a party. I really hope SE is able to make PF work across data centers.

I'm actually going to hard disagree about skipping all the side quests. Yes, they are not worth it for the XP and gil, but you get to be more immersed with the citizenry and the lesser known people of the world. A lot of them are interesting in their own right too. The quest objectives are often nearby where the MSQ takes you to. It's not a race to get to the end of the story because once you get there, that's it. Why not add a little extra flavor along the way?

hadn't een playing in weeks. watchd this and decided to log in again :)

8.6k hours logged here! And still watching 😂 Also just reached my 3yr mark of playing! Never missed a sub month UwU

I never played wow but i had brainrot until the level 40 so right now I have no idea what any of the sub-40 sidequests are. (done all of them with my autopilot mode)

Love your content even though im not actively playing ff!

Here to hear the bangle

I should try again. Might not bounce off it this time.

Also for all the console gamers. Invest in a keyboard/mouse combo. Trying to type using the controller takes FOREVER. Also if your in a party you can go /p to chat to the party. Some pple turn /say off

The three month rule is applied to "new" worlds where you're given the road to 80 buff.

love the Red Made job

Uldah is the best city state in ARR imo. Helps understand the story

Tip for new players: The Main Story for Heavensward (the first expansion) makes a lot more sense if you get all the relic weapons in ARR first.

im like 300 hours in, just starting shadowbringers but still i watched the whole vid haha.

+1 viewer here to hear the bangle. Shucka shucka shakea~

I started playing the game for the first time this morning and it's a blast, but can you imagine if this game was a REAL offline game

The only reason someone would get trapped for 3 months after transferring is if it's a new world such as worlds on Dynamis. That's not a restriction usually

I installed endwalker yesterday and "played" for 4 hours, 30 mins of which was actual gameplay. It's a little intense that the dramatic majority of time spent playing the game is just sitting and watching and then traveling so you can sit and watch. I almost wish they would have you go fight something once in a while.

i started about a week ago and already have 40+ hours, been basically spending every second of my free time playing ff14

Ah yes 12:17 my favorite class and my main, Red Made.

thank you

Let's goo!!!

#1 take the game as a single player game story wise its worth it (or be heathen like me that skipped the whole thing)

As a non-native speaker, Lominsans and Urianger are a absolute menace

4:11 yes it's true but u cant join free compagny and one thing that is cool in mmorpg like ff14 is join a community and be part of it even tough MSQ is important participating in event like christmas event having ppl around u who u can ask thing about the game i'm a sprout and playing alone doesnt suit me

I cracked up at the way the characters talk in this game. I actually had to look up some of the phrasing, wondering what was going on, and still aren’t super sure why things were picked (“must needs” anyone?). ANYROAD, I love a good story and Final Fantasy knocks it out of the park! 😂 I’m stuck in this game and I don’t even care!

For me the problem was - and is - not the need to read a lot. In fact, I like that. I enjoy reading, and the writing is really good in FFXIV. The problem is the UI for it. It's this tiny window that barely fits 4 lines of 60-80 characters, with little ability to properly put text into paragraphs. It's also not really conductive to relaxed reading of text given its color and style. I wish they'd overhaul that. Make it more like a page in a book than a little slip of paper, and then unveil text at a certain speed (or allow me to click to advance it ASAP). Paragraphs with text, proper alternation of paragraphs depending on who talks, etc. And ideally allow me to customize the text and the background like an eReader would. It's not a huge issue for most people of course. I understand that. But I think consuming non-voiced dialogue - which again, I like, I enjoy reading - would be much more convenient if the UI were more conductive to it.

1:39 ... me who got Limsa Limosa O.O I was so confused at first lol

this is a big net. i hope you catch some

IMO, the best way to enjoy 14 is by not trying to do it all on 1 character (unless you have been playing for years)... but anyone starting now-ish, should have a RP character and then a character to push content.

I'll be interested in housing when I can live in a restored Gelmorra.

Good guide imo, though Roegadyn is the most SUPERIOR choice! :)

No booty slider

The absolute state of FF content creation

First thing they should know is that the end game really sucks. It feels like doing chores to complete a checklist and not playing a game. Is a, take your time and enjoy the journey kind of game.

I just started ffxiv this week as a archer and I’m lovin every moment, except the fact I can’t be a viera 🥲

I paid for only 1 month because I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy it but I quickly fell in love and if u buy 6 or 12 months at once its very cheap..like 80isj bucks for a whole year of a game that has so much content is really amazing especially compared to other games

you said you can trials with trust system ? can you link information where it says that

Oooh. Zepla comes to aether for content now, neat. Midgardsormr native

I really miss the game, hated to quit, but the lack of player housing felt very unfair given we all pay the same subscription. Has player housing improved at all? When I left it was almost impossible to get a house.

I'm kind of hoping that they would make a 3rd job advancement, as in warrior into maybe berserker or some kind. That would be really cool.

Pirate Zepla Speak FTW lol

“Just play Viera” Correct lol

I see what you did there with the backdrop... and its kinda depressing ^^° I think the story part should've been at the end of the video. This kinda promotes the same mindset as WoW and GW2 where endgame is everything and screw all that comes before. Also, sidequests... yes, they can be considered a slow-down or "waste", but "MSQ burnout" is a thing and I think its better to go slow and do something else (like trying new jobs, do gathering and/or crafting, go to the pub and what not) than only beating down MSQ.

glad to see another UA xiv player lol

I legit have spent all my time skipping cutscenes and rewatching the story on RU-vid

Zepla HQ

I made the mistake of buying the full game right away instead of FT

Great I have spend 4 days doing every single side quest 😐

Really want to play 14 but I don’t really have the time now, besides I’d need to buy a new gaming laptop anyways since my current one is from 2015. Probably will wait until Dawntrail, really want the new graphics update, see what Viper is all about, and check out the Dragoon rework

I'm trying to get into the game. The end game looks so cool, but good lord, ARR is a slog. Literally spent an hour the other day just doing "run here, talk to this guy". It looks like it gets better, so I'm gonna try to stick through with it, but it sure does test me at times.

Most importantly- you probably won’t get to play Dawntrail while it’s current as you have 400 hours of story to complete first

me watching this after playing for 10 years ;-;

One thing I would add is that if you happen to be a console player and happen to be new to online multi-player games, this game in no way tells you how to use the chat and communicate with players. For the basic normal mode content, it is not necessary to communicate, but if you venture into other endgame or side content, look up how to use the chat features on your own because the game doesn't tell you.

Things you should know before playing FFXIV: One: you are paying a sub to be weekly capped. Two: Glamour is the literal only reason anyone really plays (even if they say otherwise). Three: Several if not all story expansions are cringe and require a lot of your choice of alcoholic beverage to clear. Four: The story is so full of holes and logic breaks that you will need to suspend belief through most of it. Five: While technically it is a MMORPG, 99% of the time you will be doing roulettes and content by yourself with PUGs, the only real time you will spend with people you know is when you all stand around in populated areas doing nothing but emotes and showing off minions. Oh, and glamours. Did i mention glamours?

Im not into story heavy games , I tried FF and it bored the hell out of me.

I skipped most of the cutscenes

i just skip the story and cutscenes i just want to do dungeons

My problem isn't the "Story heavy" bit. It's the "walking heavy" and "tedious side quests in the MSQ heavy" and "irrelevant dialogue heavy". I'm used to reading 1000 page novels, but they don't force me to walk across the room every page. They don't have hundreds of pages of filler.The dialogue is snappy. It's like the writers are paid by the word, so they want to get their payday, at the detriment of the game and players.

I must've just had really bad luck picking servers, because most of the time while most (80% easily) were not WoW levels of toxic, more often than not I would be met what what I heard called "benign neglect" Basically, it meant when I made a mistake ( and as a newb I made MANY LOL) I would hear nothing at all. When i would let people know I was new to a dungeon, again, I would hear nothing except the Sonic levels of feet running through the mission. If I stopped to read or listen to a cut scene, or check a chest to see if there was something I could use, I would get locked out of the final fight, then get told how toxic I was for not checking how great a person was because they all left the instance before I could even get to the last room! LOL So very quick'y I decided to go it alone. That got me nowhere since at that time you had to complete instances with a team before you could advance. Since I had developed a MMO form of PTSD, and didn't WANT to go in ANY of them, my progression ended half-way through Heavensward. I quietly closed the game, uninstalled, and haven't been back since. If you're truly new to FF14, don't let this disuade you from trying it out. Lvl 70 is a huge amount of content for free, and who knows? If you get lucky and get a good server/data center, you might make some friends, and have the time of your life! Good luck, may the Twelve keep you safe, and Happy Holidays to all!

Zepla needs to take a step back and reflect on her end-of-2023 self. She's digger herself deeper while gaining nothing.

Hi I am new, don't mind my 21,000 hours.

To be fair, i ESC every single dialog and took me about a week to finish the boring MSQ

If yiu play on console get used to incredibly drustrating UI set up with asinine controls

How much Make up do you want? Zepla: Yes! Do you know how to use it? Zepla: No!

Is Zepla trying to get on Square's good side so she can test Viper?

If you can pay up for 180 days straight than its the deal you want because it cost THE SAME AMOUNT of money as getting Entry subscription! THE SAME 0.3(6) euro/day

Stay away from Mentors, they like to talk but most of them suck at the game. Tanks and Ranged-DPS are the Easiest Roles therefore great for Beginners. Just because someone likes the Story, does not mean that you do, it is ok to Skip. LALAFELLS is the best Race.

the way you using discord in white theme, should be considered as a crime

"don't do all the quests" I'm not going to do it girl, I was just thinking about it..... I did it.

I want to like this game, but I have been bored with how healers play. I may just simply start over and try something from the beginning.

My #1 thing I would say to any new players, particularly ones who are paying to play the game, so actually have some investment in getting value for money, would be "Don't EVER think that the devs are your mates with the game and quest design.." This game is designed to the nth degree to waste your time. Thus facilitating it making more and more money for the dev teams and owners. I personally have quite sturdy autistic traits which mean I got a lot of satisfaction out of micro-managing multiple characters through the story repeatedly. I'm going to go ahead and say that I'm probably quite unusual in this aspect. If you come into this game expecting it to be all "HEY! Here have an easy ride through and enjoy everything!" you're in for a lot of mighty big kicks in the backside along the way. Some of the stuff in the game is annoying in the extreme. I've posted on FFXIV videos previously that I consider the game to be 50% absolutely brilliant. And 50% pant-shittingly awful. The brilliant 50% keeps me playing. Whether that's true for everyone who knows?

I thought you didn't want people to play it because it's bad now. Or are you just not getting enough ad revenue and need that 14 content?

I love you ❤

If you are looking for a game which keeps you busy and playing then FFXIV isn't the right thing for you.