Since the game’s relaunch with A Realm Reborn, Final Fantasy 14 has encouraged gamers to try out the game with a timed trial period. For fourteen days, budding adventurers could play the full game (with some limitations) and explore the realm of Eorzea.

Fortunately, this trial offering has been given a massive boost with the latest patch 3.56 that added new storyline quests to the Heavensward expansion. Now, the free trial is only bound by character level, with the time restriction removed.

Now, you can explore the story at your leisure, all the way up to Level 35, which is a touch over halfway through the current level cap which stands at 60.

This also means that if you had previously tried out the game a while back, then your account will be refreshed so that you can continue trying out the game up to the level. Now that the patch is live on the servers, those with expired trial accounts are being sequentially updated so players can log back into the game for free under this new trial system.

It’s an awesome chance to play a rather large chunk of the MMO completely free of charge. It’s worth bearing in mind that with a trial version does come with a few limitations. Here are some of the important ones, with a full list here:

  • Maximum gil (currency) that can be collected in-game will be capped.
  • Trial players cannot use some of the game’s social functions, including:
    • Joining and creating Free Companies (guilds)
    • Use of shout/yell/tell chat options
  • Trading items or using the Market Board.
  • Creating parties for dungeons is a no-go, but accepting invites and using the queue method for entering dungeons are both fine.

Best to bear those in mind, as I’d argue that Free Companies especially make a significant chunk of the FFXIV experience.

For existing adventurers, today also brings in the new season of the Feast PvP and along with the aforementioned storyline quests, moves the Alexander: The Creator (Savage) raids from the Raid Finder to the Duty Finder. Weekly restrictions for loot from those raids have also been lifted. Huzzah!