As I mentioned at the end of my last blog post, I’ve noticed something interesting as I’ve been taking my latest alts through FFXIV A Realm Reborn MSQ but that it was a story for another day. Well, this is that day! What I’ve noticed as I’ve been doing the ARR MSQ on new characters is that I’m not the only new character doing them. There are usually at least one or two other players doing the same ARR quests I’m doing and most of them look like new players.
Admittedly, the other players taking characters through the ARR MSQ could be playing alts just like I am but I don’t always think that’s the case. There are certain things that I’ve noticed about new players as I’ve been playing FF14 since March of 2021. One of the most obvious things is the little sprout symbol next to their name. Now that doesn’t guarantee they’re a new player because all of my alts have that sprout unless I choose to turn it off by typing /nastatus off, which I usually do.
Another indication of a new player is their attire. They might be in the starter outfit for their race or in mismatched armor pieces. Everyone playing a new character has to endure that look for a while until they unlock glamours. The glamouring system can’t be unlocked until level 15 and you need to be able to access Vesper Bay to unlock it by talking to the NPC named Swyrgeim. Easy enough to do if you start your character in Ul’duh.
If a player chooses Limsa Lominsa to start their character, they have to wait until the MSQ gives them the airship pass to travel to Ul’dah. From U’ldah they can then take a chocobo porter to Horizon and then run to Vesper Bay from there. There’s no other way to get to Ul’dah from Limsa Lominsa that I know of until you’ve unlocked it via the MSQ.
If the player starts in Gridania, they can run or have a friend with a two-person mount take them to Thanalan because the two areas are connected.
Now a player with a starter outfit is usually recognizable because the pieces are often dyed colors that don’t go well together. One of my “favorite” early armor pieces for disciples of war classes is what I call the Michelin man shirt because it’s very padded and resembles fluffy tires. If you’ve seen it, you know what I mean. An early armor piece for disciple of magic classes is the ever recognizable hooded cowl, where the cowl even shows up on Viera and Hrothgar characters. Chances are if you see someone running around in such pieces, they’re either a new player or this is a new character for them.
Another indication of a new players is their behavior. I recognize the behavior because I did it myself when I first started and still do it now sometimes. New players or someone playing a race that is new to them might go through testing their emotes in some random public place just to see what they all look and sound like. I did this on my first female Viera character and I remember a Lalafell player running by and cheering at me, which made me feel a bit embarrassed. Nowadays I usually test emotes in an inn room or in gpose where other players can’t see me. There’s nothing wrong with testing emotes out though and it always makes me happy seeing people do it as they familiarize themselves with their character.
While wandering around lost could indicate a new player, it’s not a certain indication because I still wander around looking lost every time I play. However, if I see someone struggling to navigate a certain area or if they appear to be figuring out certain controls, I usually think they’re new to that character, race, and/or class. When I first started playing FF14 after playing World of Warcraft, I set up my keybinds like I had them in WoW and put spells and abilities on them that came close enough to what I was used to in WoW. That helped me figure out how things worked in FF14 much faster because it was all new to me. These days when I go back to WoW, I have no idea why I set up my keys that way originally because the spells and abilities seem to change with every expansion. But if works for FF14 and that’s fine with me.
As I play on the Dynamis server, it makes me immensely happy to see every single day that there are new players in the game. Dynamis is considered a low-population server and when I first started playing there, the amount of bots I saw was ridiculous. I’d watch them “hatch” by the dozens in the Gridania inn and fall through the floor like Lalafell zombies. I’d be out doing quests and see monsters being attacked by seemingly nothing because the bots always hide underground. I still see bots around on Dynamis but not nearly as many. Instead I see actual players!
How do I know they’re actual players? Because they took the time to choose a reasonable sounding name. Even if it’s a joke name, you can tell they put the time in. Bots usually have gibberish names or very similar names to each other. With FF14 and it’s free trial including up through Stormblood now, it’s possible that the new players are still on the free trial and not fully committed to the game yet. But if those new players have a Free Company name by their name, that means they’ve actually subbed! You can’t create or join a Free Company on a free trial account. I’ve seen lots of what I believe to be new players with a Free Company affiliation and that always makes me smile.
At the time that I’m writing this, FF14 is between major patches and in what’s considered a lull period by some. There’s the usual doom and gloom going around on social media about how FF14 is dying, its quality has gone down, and so on. This isn’t new to me as I’ve seen it happen before between the release of Endwalker and Dawntrail. I started during the end of Shadowbringers and it was probably happening then but I was oblivious. But I tell you what, after seeing so many new players on my low-population server, I can assure you that the game is far from dead. There are new people getting into it every single day and if you don’t believe me, try making a new character and heading out on the ARR MSQ. Do your own research and see what you find out.
Or better yet, if you’re further along in the story, queue for the Crystal Tower raids. If you queue at all for Alliance Raids in the daily roulette, chances are good you’ve done the Crystal Tower raids many times. I certainly have and in every single run I’ve done on my multitude of characters, there are people who are brand new to the raids and don’t know the mechanics. The Crystal Tower raids are the only raids required for the MSQ and therefore a new player has to do them to complete the ARR MSQ.
For as many years as I’ve been playing FF14, there are always sprouts in those raids and it’s a constant reassurance that the game is not dead, dying, diseased, or whatever else people want to claim.
Now Final Fantasy 14 isn’t perfect, no game is. Creating a game so perfect that it makes everybody happy is impossible. Every game has its own good and bad points and that’s just how it goes. But I personally love Final Fantasy 14 and I always find something interesting to do in it. For me, the MSQ is just one small part of the vastness that is FF14. I always try out the new stuff they introduce and sometimes I like it, sometimes I don’t. I continue doing what I like in the game and that can change for me on a daily/weekly/monthly basis.
Regardless of my feelings about the game I know with great certainty that the sprouts keep sprouting and will continue to do so for as long as Final Fantasy 14 exists. I’m not the first player to take the leap of faith to give FF14 a try and I certainly won’t be the last!
Srinity 