Eorzea Prospect: Final Fantasty XIV Is The Best MMO For New Players

Have you heard of the critically acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV? With an expanded free trial you can play through the entirety of A Realm Reborn and theaward-winning Stormblood expansion up to level 70 for free with no restrictions on playtime! Yes, it's a meme at this point, but Final Fantasy XIV is still the first recommendation that comes out of my mouth whenever a friend asks what they should play. Does it matter if they're deep in World of Warcraft? No. Does it matter if they don't even know what an MMORPG is? Also No. Why? 

It's simple: Final Fantasy XIV is the most newcomer-friendly MMORPG—and I say this as someone who has tried to jump into her fair share of games that have been around even longer. The ease with which people can jump into FF14 isn’t by accident. It’s by design. 

Sure, being kind to everyone in a multiplayer video game is what people should do. However, players have proven time and time again, regardless of the platform, that being helpful to newcomers, let alone being civil, is beyond them. It’s a sad reality, one I’ve lived since playing Call of Duty in open lobbies. That said, FF14 has taken a route that helps build the environment that we all want. They’ve gamified mentorship.

It isn’t just that mentorship has its rewards. It is that FF14 has also baked it into its multiplayer gameplay, whether you’re actively trying to sherpa newcomers (called Sprouts, thanks to the cute sprout in front of their name) or just playing. Central to creating a welcoming experience for new players, having the safety to make mistakes is necessary to facilitate long-term play and progression. If you have a bad experience in your first dungeon, you have every reason to stop playing with other humans. 

The Mentorship system requires a player to have reached max level, completed 1,000 Duties, and received 1,500 Accommodations (given out to players at the end of Duties). After choosing to become a mentor, there are two clear ways that you can impact play. The