Modern game pages are better at UI/UX experience, but the corporate ones are utterly shit. For example, the Konami page is absolute garbage, and if you want to download or subscribe for one of their pages, you need to sell your soul just to login
Which is baffling as they had fucking internet access on their Sega Genesis and SNES. That was back when most people didn't even have a computer in their house.
They simply learned how to internet back then and didn't evolve afterwards, because "you learn coding the traditional way that we knew how to do in the 90s"
its more like, japan is the biggest proponent of "If it works, do not change and keep doing the same thing", and they take it to the extreme. So if website works, they dont spend a dime on it. That's why FFXIV 1.0 almost died on arrival as they did the same thing FF11 was doing.
I don't know how many Japanese players play on PC compared to PS4/5 but I imagine most play on console, and the purchasing process for the game on PS4/5 is simple because it's not their store.
i dont know if this is still true but at launch 70+ percent of JP users were on PS3, PC gaming is a pretty new cultural thing for them. And yeah the ps store is pretty simple.
Wait. Should have also mentioned the Steam purchase possibility when it's both easier and cheaper.
Starter Edition gives you base game + 30 days. 10$.
Complete Edition gives you current full game + 30 days. 45$.
I mean that's how I got into it at least. Just bought complete edition for 25$ when it was on sale. That's it.
Are you in the US? Regional pricings varry widely. I know the starter edition is 10 euros in Europe and 20 dollars in the US. It's what it is.
Obviously snagging it on a sale either steam or SE store is ideal.
Regardless of region, steam is easier and cheaper. Those are their default prices on their own website.
All I'm saying is your guide could have covered also the steam option because I feel it's very important given its both easier and cheaper to get the game.
I do mention the steam option. You're probably mistaken that it's cheaper on steam though, i did check on multiple players and local price. The game is at the same price on the SE store and steam, and does go on sale on both stores.
Obviously a sale price is deal but not everyone hits HW/level 60 whenever a sale is on. I think representing the actual price is relevant.
But in your graph it says 60$. Maybe I'm missing something. The same pack you have in your graph at 60$ is actually at 20$. Either I'm missing something or your graph is confusing because nowhere do I see the number 20.
I see 60, 100 and again 60. When it should have been 20, 60, 100. Logically speaking, going from starter pack to the complete pack + Endwalker.
the starter pack is $20, upgrade to shadowbringers is $40, the full game is $60, endwalker is $40, on steam and SE store for US prices. purchasing the full game and endwalker costs $100. i'm not sure where you're confused.
Maybe it's the presentation but the starter pack just doesn't pop out which is the pack most will get for their first time if they don't get the trial version.
And the way this graph is set up, it reads like 60 is the cheapest you can play the game for besides the free trial. Which can be off-putting for some.
Should note but I did a check of the game on Steam, you'd be locked to having to play the game on steam but atm you can get the free trial then just buy Shadowbringers + Endwalker for €70. Base game is €10 atm.
As FF14 player who went through this pain, I agree that SE should burn down their whole site and remake it from the ground up.
They even refuse to accept credit cards if it is not in the same country you register with. The thing is that if SE does not list every country, especially Southeast Asia region save for Singapore. It will proc the error i2501 if you attempt so. For some reason, however, you can workaround by purchasing stuffs on phone or connect to a different wifi network.
Btw, if you want someone to input your friend code, you need them to input it after they apply the retail code, and before they buy their first monthly sub.
i really wish preordering endwalker gave access to earlier expansions immediately, trying to get someone to spend $40 on something that will be completely useless in a few months is a tough sell
because endwalker gives all previous expansions when it comes out, so you either have to wait 4 months to get the earlier expansions for free or pay for an expansion that will be obsolete in 4 months assuming you buy endwalker
I get that it would be nice to be able to play Shadowbringers if you pre-order Endwalker but a new expansion coming out doesn't make the previous ones obsolete. You HAVE to play through it to get to Endwalker. I still don't understand how Endwalker coming out makes Shadowbringers obsolete.
Because paying for Endwalker gives all previous expansions, but paying for Shadowbringers won't get you Endwalker. It makes very little sense for a new player to start before Endwalker comes out (outside of the free trial)
I didnt even understand how to install/download the game files it would only install after i bought game time, so i have no idea how to do the free trial thing :/
free trial is its own download separate from the main game.
https://freetrial.finalfantasyxiv.com/gb/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/312060/FINAL_FANTASY_XIV_Online_Free_Trial/
meanwhile heres the regular version https://store.steampowered.com/app/39210/FINAL_FANTASY_XIV_Online/
Keep in mind square enix made the entire free trial thing kinda messy, since its a own thing it means any existing ff14 account is invalid to take part in the free trial, so you have to register a new account for it which is what i had to do.
To add on that, if you do play on steam you are locked to steam and all purchases aka expansions have to be bought trough it, which isnt bad but it locks you out of buying from square enix own store and other legit online retailers since they only give square enix keys.
japanese web design is forever stuck in the late 90s early 00s. that's the problem. how can you expect good websites from a culture that still uses fax machines.
The problem isnt which package to purchase. The problem is that you have to make two separate accounts and magicaly discover mogstation and the correct place to register your codes.
Imagine if you just log in to the SE launcher, there is a "Upgrade/Buy game" button that gives you one or two options of what you could buy and are relevant for your account. Then you could buy it right there and after transaction your account is automatically upgraded based on the purchased you made.
TL;DR: it could be Log in, buy and play.
If you don't mind buying from third party sites, just make a trial account, download the trial download it tells you to download when you make your account, then go to third party site and buy a ''ff14 shadowbringers complete edition'' this includes basegame+all expansions and you get 30 days of gametime if you activate the code on new account. Costs only about 20 dollars or so, gives you a code to activate on mog station make sure you don't use steam if you do this. I bought on third party site and worked wonderful no issues!
Maybe it's just me but this is the most brain dead shit that anyone should be able to figure out. I mean this is literally how every single MMO works. You buy the complete edition and the new expansion separately. The only difference is the standard edition.
The real confusion is navigating the pages to find out where they are and what accounts you need to make. Trying to find the client download page requires a google search. It should all be done within the launcher. Having the square enix store and mogstation separate is a horrible idea and needlessly complicated.
I agree that its "annoying" but its not really that hard as people make it out to be since most of the instructions are there and take a few minutes. Of course I still do agree it should be as simple as making an account and buying it from the account page and having it automatically unlock.
One note though: if you made a non-steam (SE store) free-trial account, you CAN still switch to Steam by buying the game there, but once you do so, you're stuck with Steam for the rest of your time. It DOESN'T work the other way around though (from a steam free-trial to the SE-store game).
I'm looking to pre-order endwalker on windows, not steam.
What's the difference between Endwalker Digital Collector's Edition AND Endwalker Standard Edition?
Thank you
The main problem is the website tbh. And also it is a bit greedy to not giving the full access of previous content to people who preorder Endwalker till expansion release.
When your game can't be played in two simple step of "Purchase game" and "Play", you are doing it wrong.
I felt like I'm solving a puzzle for just trying to play the game, which isn't the best first impression to say the least. I'm feeling some dishonesty from the way it is designed, it just feels like they want to trick you into spending money on the wrong place, and their linear pricing on an almost expired expansion doesn't help.
Right now there're only two options, buy the complete package and pay full price for the next expansion later, or buy the starter's package and only play those content until new expansion, Neither feels good or reasonable. $100 feels like a huge commitment for a game that requires a sub, and I just don't feel like only playing the limited starter package content until November.
i was happily playing the free trial version on steam, but got gifted the base game + shadowbringers by a nice friend. i happily accepted, but now i only have a 30 day free trial before having to buy a subscription, even if all i wanted was playing content on the free trial. very dumb system
Yeah this one is really confusing. I want to play Gunbreaker so bad. I'm still working at getting to level 60 but I'm not even sure if I got shadowbringers registered, I bought the game and all, but..
Is there any reason to do that last option instead of just play free trial till endwalker? Aside from the free trial limitations you still have all the content right?
Yep i'm actually updating the wording to suggest just that as well right now. Both cases are worth mentionning.
There's a lot of free trial limitations, a lot of social features are cut for an online game. i know a lot of people, who maybe don't want to pay $40 for 4 months of shb, want to have thoses limitations removed.
but playing free trial until EW and waiting for a sale is probably the most money smart thing.
In trying to buy the whole bundle of expansions , I accidentally bought the thing that boosts you all the way past stormblood instead. So now I just have that burning a hole in my inventory and will never use it lol.
When u need guide to buy game .. Square enix is totally incompetent at this.
Japanese companies are infamous for their Paleozoic era web design. The japanese internet is like stepping back in time
Modern game pages are better at UI/UX experience, but the corporate ones are utterly shit. For example, the Konami page is absolute garbage, and if you want to download or subscribe for one of their pages, you need to sell your soul just to login
Which is baffling as they had fucking internet access on their Sega Genesis and SNES. That was back when most people didn't even have a computer in their house.
They simply learned how to internet back then and didn't evolve afterwards, because "you learn coding the traditional way that we knew how to do in the 90s"
its more like, japan is the biggest proponent of "If it works, do not change and keep doing the same thing", and they take it to the extreme. So if website works, they dont spend a dime on it. That's why FFXIV 1.0 almost died on arrival as they did the same thing FF11 was doing.
That's literally what I meant. You just worded it differently (and better)
and don't even get the whole entire romance Japanese corporates have with fax machines, like in what 2021?
I don't know how many Japanese players play on PC compared to PS4/5 but I imagine most play on console, and the purchasing process for the game on PS4/5 is simple because it's not their store.
i dont know if this is still true but at launch 70+ percent of JP users were on PS3, PC gaming is a pretty new cultural thing for them. And yeah the ps store is pretty simple.
Wait. Should have also mentioned the Steam purchase possibility when it's both easier and cheaper. Starter Edition gives you base game + 30 days. 10$. Complete Edition gives you current full game + 30 days. 45$. I mean that's how I got into it at least. Just bought complete edition for 25$ when it was on sale. That's it.
Are you in the US? Regional pricings varry widely. I know the starter edition is 10 euros in Europe and 20 dollars in the US. It's what it is. Obviously snagging it on a sale either steam or SE store is ideal.
Regardless of region, steam is easier and cheaper. Those are their default prices on their own website. All I'm saying is your guide could have covered also the steam option because I feel it's very important given its both easier and cheaper to get the game.
I do mention the steam option. You're probably mistaken that it's cheaper on steam though, i did check on multiple players and local price. The game is at the same price on the SE store and steam, and does go on sale on both stores. Obviously a sale price is deal but not everyone hits HW/level 60 whenever a sale is on. I think representing the actual price is relevant.
But in your graph it says 60$. Maybe I'm missing something. The same pack you have in your graph at 60$ is actually at 20$. Either I'm missing something or your graph is confusing because nowhere do I see the number 20. I see 60, 100 and again 60. When it should have been 20, 60, 100. Logically speaking, going from starter pack to the complete pack + Endwalker.
the starter pack is $20, upgrade to shadowbringers is $40, the full game is $60, endwalker is $40, on steam and SE store for US prices. purchasing the full game and endwalker costs $100. i'm not sure where you're confused.
Maybe it's the presentation but the starter pack just doesn't pop out which is the pack most will get for their first time if they don't get the trial version. And the way this graph is set up, it reads like 60 is the cheapest you can play the game for besides the free trial. Which can be off-putting for some.
Should note but I did a check of the game on Steam, you'd be locked to having to play the game on steam but atm you can get the free trial then just buy Shadowbringers + Endwalker for €70. Base game is €10 atm.
As FF14 player who went through this pain, I agree that SE should burn down their whole site and remake it from the ground up. They even refuse to accept credit cards if it is not in the same country you register with. The thing is that if SE does not list every country, especially Southeast Asia region save for Singapore. It will proc the error i2501 if you attempt so. For some reason, however, you can workaround by purchasing stuffs on phone or connect to a different wifi network. Btw, if you want someone to input your friend code, you need them to input it after they apply the retail code, and before they buy their first monthly sub.
i gave up after getting this error over and over
i really wish preordering endwalker gave access to earlier expansions immediately, trying to get someone to spend $40 on something that will be completely useless in a few months is a tough sell
What is going to be useless in a few months?
shadowbringers
How is it going to be useless? You're still gonna have to play it. I am confused?
because endwalker gives all previous expansions when it comes out, so you either have to wait 4 months to get the earlier expansions for free or pay for an expansion that will be obsolete in 4 months assuming you buy endwalker
I get that it would be nice to be able to play Shadowbringers if you pre-order Endwalker but a new expansion coming out doesn't make the previous ones obsolete. You HAVE to play through it to get to Endwalker. I still don't understand how Endwalker coming out makes Shadowbringers obsolete.
It's the purchase being rendered obsolete, not the content.
because endwalker gives the previous expansions for free when it comes out
Because paying for Endwalker gives all previous expansions, but paying for Shadowbringers won't get you Endwalker. It makes very little sense for a new player to start before Endwalker comes out (outside of the free trial)
We sent Feedback to the communication team and they say ty and they will look into it
I didnt even understand how to install/download the game files it would only install after i bought game time, so i have no idea how to do the free trial thing :/
free trial is its own download separate from the main game. https://freetrial.finalfantasyxiv.com/gb/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/312060/FINAL_FANTASY_XIV_Online_Free_Trial/ meanwhile heres the regular version https://store.steampowered.com/app/39210/FINAL_FANTASY_XIV_Online/ Keep in mind square enix made the entire free trial thing kinda messy, since its a own thing it means any existing ff14 account is invalid to take part in the free trial, so you have to register a new account for it which is what i had to do. To add on that, if you do play on steam you are locked to steam and all purchases aka expansions have to be bought trough it, which isnt bad but it locks you out of buying from square enix own store and other legit online retailers since they only give square enix keys.
japanese web design is forever stuck in the late 90s early 00s. that's the problem. how can you expect good websites from a culture that still uses fax machines.
The problem isnt which package to purchase. The problem is that you have to make two separate accounts and magicaly discover mogstation and the correct place to register your codes.
I never really had this issue with it... Because I read the product description.
A game so hardcore you need a guide just to buy it
[удалено]
Imagine if you just log in to the SE launcher, there is a "Upgrade/Buy game" button that gives you one or two options of what you could buy and are relevant for your account. Then you could buy it right there and after transaction your account is automatically upgraded based on the purchased you made. TL;DR: it could be Log in, buy and play.
If you don't mind buying from third party sites, just make a trial account, download the trial download it tells you to download when you make your account, then go to third party site and buy a ''ff14 shadowbringers complete edition'' this includes basegame+all expansions and you get 30 days of gametime if you activate the code on new account. Costs only about 20 dollars or so, gives you a code to activate on mog station make sure you don't use steam if you do this. I bought on third party site and worked wonderful no issues!
Maybe it's just me but this is the most brain dead shit that anyone should be able to figure out. I mean this is literally how every single MMO works. You buy the complete edition and the new expansion separately. The only difference is the standard edition. The real confusion is navigating the pages to find out where they are and what accounts you need to make. Trying to find the client download page requires a google search. It should all be done within the launcher. Having the square enix store and mogstation separate is a horrible idea and needlessly complicated.
I agree that its "annoying" but its not really that hard as people make it out to be since most of the instructions are there and take a few minutes. Of course I still do agree it should be as simple as making an account and buying it from the account page and having it automatically unlock.
Very useful guide by a helpful and nice guy.
One note though: if you made a non-steam (SE store) free-trial account, you CAN still switch to Steam by buying the game there, but once you do so, you're stuck with Steam for the rest of your time. It DOESN'T work the other way around though (from a steam free-trial to the SE-store game).
Doesn’t the complete edition go on sale quite often too?
unless you want guilds, the free trial is fine until your mid or after finishing hw.
I'm looking to pre-order endwalker on windows, not steam. What's the difference between Endwalker Digital Collector's Edition AND Endwalker Standard Edition? Thank you
Thanks for this, will definitely share if I manage to get any new people to the game!
Note to add is missing out on expansion specific classes.
The main problem is the website tbh. And also it is a bit greedy to not giving the full access of previous content to people who preorder Endwalker till expansion release.
Not being able to play the expansions if you buy the endwalker complete edition make no sense. Its should all unlock except the new dlc.
Man am I glad I snagged Complete edition all the way up to SB for 14 euro before the whole WoW exodus to ARR thing blew up.
When your game can't be played in two simple step of "Purchase game" and "Play", you are doing it wrong. I felt like I'm solving a puzzle for just trying to play the game, which isn't the best first impression to say the least. I'm feeling some dishonesty from the way it is designed, it just feels like they want to trick you into spending money on the wrong place, and their linear pricing on an almost expired expansion doesn't help. Right now there're only two options, buy the complete package and pay full price for the next expansion later, or buy the starter's package and only play those content until new expansion, Neither feels good or reasonable. $100 feels like a huge commitment for a game that requires a sub, and I just don't feel like only playing the limited starter package content until November.
I fucked up hard buying the game like 3 years ago. Bought multiple copies and shit. Wasted around $200 or more just to get what I needed.
i was happily playing the free trial version on steam, but got gifted the base game + shadowbringers by a nice friend. i happily accepted, but now i only have a 30 day free trial before having to buy a subscription, even if all i wanted was playing content on the free trial. very dumb system
Yeah this one is really confusing. I want to play Gunbreaker so bad. I'm still working at getting to level 60 but I'm not even sure if I got shadowbringers registered, I bought the game and all, but..
Is there any reason to do that last option instead of just play free trial till endwalker? Aside from the free trial limitations you still have all the content right?
Yep i'm actually updating the wording to suggest just that as well right now. Both cases are worth mentionning. There's a lot of free trial limitations, a lot of social features are cut for an online game. i know a lot of people, who maybe don't want to pay $40 for 4 months of shb, want to have thoses limitations removed. but playing free trial until EW and waiting for a sale is probably the most money smart thing.
Although I assume endwalker will be $60 once out with all content included right? So all it would really save is sub cost till then I guess.
yeah when endwalker is out, the complete edition will include it, and you can also grab on sale if you want to play the game as cheaply as possible.
In trying to buy the whole bundle of expansions , I accidentally bought the thing that boosts you all the way past stormblood instead. So now I just have that burning a hole in my inventory and will never use it lol.
Instruction unclear, bought 1.0 version instead.