Hey friend! With Final Fantasy XIV being one of the hottest MMORPGs around right now, I‘m sure you‘ve been wondering: does the FFXIV free trial include all of the expansions like Shadowbringers? It‘s a great question, and one I‘m going to dive deep into today! Stick with me and I‘ll walk you through everything you need to know about what‘s included with the free trial, how long it lasts, and what some of the restrictions are. Let‘s adventure into Eorzea together!
The short answer is that the FFXIV free trial includes the entire base game (A Realm Reborn) as well as the first expansion, Heavensward. This means you can play through the main storyline quests, explore the lands of Eorzea and Ishgard, and take on tons of side content like dungeons, raids, crafting, gathering, and glamour (fashion) unlocking jobs up to level 60 with no time restrictions.
However, the later expansions Stormblood and Shadowbringers are not included in the free trial. To access those areas and advance past level 60, you‘ll need to purchase the full game. But don‘t worry, the free trial still offers hundreds of hours of adventures!
To put the scope of the free trial into perspective, here are some key stats:
- Over 200 main scenario quests stretching across hundreds of hours
- 19 playable jobs like White Mage, Dragoon, Astrologian that go up to level 60
- Hundreds of optional dungeons, trials, guildhests, and raids
- 8 sprawling areas and city-states to explore
So while you won‘t get literally everything with the free trial, it‘s still an incredible amount of content you can play at no cost. That‘s why over 45 million players have tried the game!
This is one of the best parts about FFXIV‘s free trial system – there‘s no time limit or expiration date! You can enjoy the free trial for as long as you want before needing to subscribe. Take your time and really dig into all A Realm Reborn and Heavensward have to offer before moving forward.
Now you might be wondering: don‘t most free trials only last like 30 days? Well, that‘s actually a different promotion. When you purchase the FFXIV Starter Edition, it comes with 30 days of free subscription time. But the standalone free trial itself has no time cap.
So if you want to try the game out before buying, rest assured the free trial won‘t abruptly end after a couple weeks. Take a few months even! Play at your own pace.
Let‘s be real – nothing in life is truly 100% free. There are a few social and economic restrictions in place on the free trial to curtail spam, illicit activity like RMT (real money trading), and other abuse. However, these limitations mostly pertain to stuff like chatting and the marketplace. They don‘t restrict you from engaging with the game‘s actual content.
Here are the key restrictions:
- No using the "shout", "yell" or "tell" chat options
- Can‘t access the in-game Market Board for auctioning items
- Limited to sending only 3 tells (private messages) every 3 minutes
- Can‘t trade directly with other players
- Restricted from creating in-game parties with others
Thankfully, you can still use the Novice Network chat channel, allowing you to ask for help and make connections. And while you can‘t form official parties, you can play all of the dungeons, raids, and trials thanks to the fantastic Duty Finder matchmaking system. So don‘t let the social limitations turn you off!
This is very important to be aware of – purchasing any version of FFXIV will immediately end your free trial status. Once you register a purchased copy of FFXIV with your Square Enix account, you will be required to begin paying the standard $12.99 monthly subscription fee to continue playing.
So while the free trial itself has unlimited duration, buying the game does fundamentally change your account status. Make sure you take advantage of the free trial fully before subscribing! You don‘t want to miss out on all that amazing content up through Heavensward.
Absolutely! In fact, that‘s one of the best parts about FFXIV‘s free trial system. You can play all the way through the entire Heavensward expansion story along with all of A Realm Reborn with no time restrictions.
Heavensward introduces the icy northern lands of Ishgard, the fierce Dragonsong War, martial jobs like Dark Knight and Machinist, flying mounts, and an epic storyline that ramps up the stakes after A Realm Reborn. And you get access to all of it with the free trial!
So if experiencing Heavensward is your goal, you can do that completely for free. The only limitation is that you can‘t progress past level 60 – but Heavensward gives you dozens of hours of intrigue, dragon-slaying action either way. Take your time and soak it all in!
If your free trial journey leaves you hungry for even more FFXIV adventures beyond Heavensward and you‘re ready to pay for a subscription, you should know that the most recent expansion, Endwalker, includes all previous expansions too.
This means that buying Endwalker will grant you access to Stormblood, Shadowbringers, and all their content as well – even if you haven‘t purchased them before.
Think of it as a bundle deal. So for new players looking to get everything at once, grabbing Endwalker is the most efficient way to gain access to the full FFXIV story experience from A Realm Reborn all the way through the Endwalker finale.
Plus, Square Enix is currently running an amazing deal where you can get both Shadowbringers AND Endwalker together for only $39.99. So if you‘ve been waiting for the right time to take the plunge, there‘s never been a better opportunity than now!
While FFXIV has tons of incredible group content like dungeons, raids, and trials that benefit from playing with others, much of the core story experience is solo-friendly. Plus you can always still matchmake for multiplayer duties with random players!
Here are some key things you can enjoy solo in FFXIV during the free trial:
- The main scenario questline and all associated story cutscenes
- Unlocking and leveling up jobs like Thaumaturge, Conjurer, etc.
- Side quest chains that flesh out the world and characters
- Deep Dungeons like Palace of the Dead for fighting hordes of enemies
- Casual social features like hanging out in taverns or playing Gold Saucer mini-games
- Crafting and gathering various resources & materials
- Challenging "solo duties" meant to test your combat abilities
So if you prefer to adventure independently, FFXIV still offers an immense amount of engaging PvE content. And it‘s easy to matchmake for any group challenges you come across. Give the free trial a shot and experience the story at your own pace!
The FFXIV free trial grants unlimited access to all of A Realm Reborn and Heavensward up to level 60 with no playtime restrictions
It does not include the Stormblood and Shadowbringers expansions – you need to buy the game to access those
There are some social/economic restrictions like chat and trading limitations
Purchasing the game ends your free trial status and you‘ll need to begin a paid subscription
You can play all the way through Heavensward with no limits
Buying Endwalker gives you all prior expansions too!
A lot of content like MSQ and job leveling is solo-friendly
I hope this overview dispels any confusion over what‘s included with FFXIV‘s generous free trial. Now you can dive in and begin your adventure across Eorzea and beyond without hesitation! Let me know if you have any other questions – I‘m happy to help provide any guidance I can. May your journeys ever unfold under blue skies, my friend!
