cashew | FF14 - Free Trial thoughts of a N00b

So, with patch 6.1, FF14 (the MMO) has extended its free trial indefinitely and level capped at level 60 (currently max level is 90 I believe). Level 60 gets you through all of base game, A Realm Reborn (level 50), and the first expansion, Heavensward (Level 60). For a full list of all the restrictions, check out Trials of Final Fantasy's guide.

The short version is: A few of the later classes are unavailable (like the very popular gunbreaker — no Squall cosplay for you), no access to auction house, chats, mail, or PvPs. No housing (although you can ask a paying player to make you a tenant and get access to housing stuff that way), no guild (called Free Company), and no way to make a party (although you can join other people's party if they invite you).

Essentially, all the end game stuff is locked out. But the journey is still quite fun, even as a single player game. (Also, just look at the fashion in this game. So much pretty. This is the ultimate dress up MMO.)

So, I've made it to level 30 so far (half way there) and I've had to re-start with a new character because I realized I made some decisions that I regretted in my early game choices. So, to help you with some early game beginner experience, I'm going to share my totally objective not at all biased super definitive and definitely not subjective opinions.

(Do I need a 😝 to convey my sarcasm? No? Good, let's get to the fun stuff.)

Before you start a character

Before everything, go into settings and change the voice to Japanese. You can do this by going into Settings → Other Settings → Language Settings → Cutscene Audio → Japanese. Your ears will thank you. The English dub is genuinely pain inducing.
Pick your character based on aesthetics. The glamour (re-skinning) system will allow you to keep the look of armor/clothing that you enjoy, and the good looking stuff doesn't come until end-game. So the racial outfit will be one of the first "clothes" (as opposed to armor) type of glamour you'll be able to collect.
You don't have to settle on a character right away. You can save appearance templates in the game, so go ahead and make and save appearances until you've decided on one that really appeals to you.
You can create up to 8 characters on a free trial account. You really only need 1, due to the game allowing you to multi-class (switching jobs). You can also change your race if you're not satisfied with how things look later on.
Class (aka Job) selection: Depending on your starting job, you'll be placed into one of three starting cities, which means your level 1-15 story quest (also known as MSQ) will differ depending on which starting city you enter.
- Lancer/Archer/Conjurer: These three start in Giradania and I heavily advise against this city as your starting city. It is the least intuitive in terms of layout and has one of the most poorly placed warp nodes (Aethernet). You'll get to visit this place at MSQ level 15, so if you really have your heart set on playing Lancer/Archer/Conjurer, you can at least wait until you get to level 15 and then job change.
- Gladiator/Pugilist/Thaumaturge: These three start in Ul'dah. I personally prefer this starting city, because the layout is easy to understand and the Aethernet is placed in a way that makes far, far more sense. Also, Gladiator (which later becomes Paladin) is definitely the easiest class to play and the most solo-friendly class. If you plan to play the free trial for a while, you'll probably want to use this class for most combat missions/dungeons. Finally, the Ul'dah MSQ leads you straight to the Glamour and Dye NPC, unlocking those features much earlier than starting in a different city.
- Marauder/Arcanist/Rogue: These three start in Limsa Lominsa. This city's layout is...pretty bad. Once you get the Aethernet fully unlocked, getting around becomes much easier, since the warp nodes are located in the place you need access to the most, but initially it can be really confusing. However, it does offer two things that might make it worth unlocking pre-MSQ level 15. First, there's the mini-pet sidequest (Like Cats and Dogs), which the MSQ will lead you to. This sidequest chain gives you a kitten and puppy minion (mini-pet). So if you're not an Arcanist (who will have a summoned carbuncle pretty much at all times), you'll be able to have a pet follow you once you do this sidequest. Second, the level 15 MSQ in this city gives you a pair of dress shoes, which is unique to characters that start in Limsa. So if you want the dress shoes skin, you'll need to start your character here. (The other two cities gives earring and mask, but I find the earring too small to see when playing, and the mask is kinda ugly, so of the three freebie skins, I think the dress shoes is the most desirable.)
Finally, choose a world. Pick one that has new player bonus (⭐) to get better experience gain and 10 silver chocobo feathers that you can turn in at level 50 for some nice gear. (Each piece costs 5 feathers.)

Starting as a noob

Once you start, I recommend checking out Trials of Final Fantasy guide to orient yourself.
Before following the quest markers, first run around the city and unlock the local Aethernet. Then remember where major NPCs are located: EQ repair, food seller, weapon/armor/accessory seller, your job guild. You'll be coming back to these NPCs a lot, so make sure you remember their location to make it easier for yourself.
Focus on MSQ (the icons with flames). Between the new stream-lined experience and bonus experience, the MSQ chain alone will be enough.
- MSQ level 15 gives you access to all three home cities and also all the job changes if you so choose. (I recommend getting your starting job to level 60 before moving onto a crafting job. You also get bonus EXP for subsequent jobs until Max Leveled Job - 10 levels, aka level 50.)
- After MSQ level 15, you'll also gain access to the Gold Saucer. Here's a Gold Saucer farming guide. Gold Saucer is an in-game source of glamor items (clothes, hairstyle, fashion accessories), level 50 gear, mounts, minions, music rolls, etc. I spent...way too many hours in that place and grabbed about 70k currency in my first go round (by completing weeklies in like a few hours).
- After MSQ level 20, you'll be able to join a grand company and access chocobo mount quest. Grand company is kind of like factions in other MMOs and is the main source of glamour prisms, yes, even for people who craft. Join and level your grand company rank ASAP. The fastest way is to grind "Duty Roulette: Leveling" by bringing in the class in need. You may want to grind a secondary job (usually healer) to level 16 to fulfill whatever is in need at the moment to get that sweet, sweet bonus.
Unlock controller mode. FF14 was designed with controller play in mind.
- Pro-tip: the square button (or X button if you're using an XBOX controller) auto-selects the item you need when turning in items for quests. Save yourself the carpal tunnel.
- Actually just read this guide on tips the game doesn't tell you.
Do your job quests (picked up at your job guild) as soon as you're of level (one every 5-ish levels). You'll get decent gear and some critical skill unlocks require finishing the guild quests. Prioritize them over the MSQ if you start to over level.
Do content unlock quests (the icons with a plus sign) as soon as possible except the job change quests. Only change your job if you really hate your starting class. You'll drop back to level 1 on whatever new job you've changed to, so it behooves you to get through MSQ first.
- Save non-MSQ, non-content quests for later. You'll need those extra quest EXP when you're grinding your second (or third) job.
Leave crafting at the very minimum until after you get the chocobo mount. Ideally wait until you've got at least one level 60 combat job before you start working on crafting, as it is inventory intensive and requires some serious farming. On a free trial, you'll need to level all crafting/gathering jobs simultaneously, due to needing intermediate craft/gather items from different jobs. Without access to the auction house or other ways to trade (no mail, no item transfer, etc.), you'll have to craft everything yourself.
At job level 15, do the Hall of Novice quest (🌱). The quest gives a set of level 15 equipment that's good until level 30. (Pro-tip, you will need to do the level 15 job quest first so you can have the level 15 skill available, which you'll need for the Hall of Novice quest chain.)
Because free trial account caps at 300k gil, you'll want to spend the gil as fast as it comes in. Don't know where to dump your money? Consult the free trial gil spending guide.

And that's it. There's easily over a thousand hours of content if you plan to bring every job (combat/crafting/gathering) to level 60. So far, I'm enjoying the the free game. We'll see if I still like it once I start getting closer to end game or if I move on to something different.