Spoiler-free Beginner’s Tips for FFXIV

Here are some of the things we think will help you on your journey. You can feel confident, that everything here is written in a way that should not spoil anything for you or break the immersion of the game.

Follow Main Story Quest (MSQ)

Many features of the game are unlocked by advancing in it. For getting the best experience in your adventure, follow the MSQ. When you start having questions like “where can I get this” or “how can I do that” usually the answer is to follow the main story aka MSQ!

Keep up with your job questline

Every job in the game has a unique storyline. New important skills open up by doing your job’s questline. So remember to visit your Job Guild every once in a while! This pairs well with advancing in the Main Story and will save you travel time.

Don’t stress your first choice for a job!

You can always change into another job if you are not happy with your decision. I started out as an archer, but started learning other jobs later on. Now I play all jobs! Also it’s worth mentioning, that the starting perks between different races in this game are — to be blunt — absolutely inconsequential. Be the hero you like best!

Remember to eat food

In the early game, it does not matter what food you eat in FFXIV. Just remember to have a food buff up. Eating a single food gives you 30 minutes, which you can add up to 1 hour by eating two pieces of food. When journeying through hundred levels the added 3% experience will add up!

Crafting and Gathering Jobs

You can start doing them alongside your adventure. Or you can leave them for now and focus on them once you feel like it. I personally enjoyed doing a bit of this and that, exploring and adventuring in the world while advancing my main objectives, but it’s really up to you!

Quests marked with a Plus -sign are special

They usually open up a new game mechanic or feature. There is so much content in Final Fantasy XIV. My best advice is to always do that what gives you good vibes at any given time. You don’t need to grind anything. If you want everything the game has to offer at your disposal at once, open the Plus Quests. But remember, they will also be there until you feel ready to open up new stuff!

Inventory Management Tip

By default new gear get stored into your Armoury Chest. You might want to disable that feature. It’s in “Inventory Settings” > under the Character Configuration menu > option name “Store all newly obtained gear in the Armoury Chest”. This way you can store only relevant gear in your Armoury Chest. In my opinion this should be the default way of doing it. This will prove to be even more obvious later on.

Everyone tries their best to avoid spoilers

The game is designed in a way, that mentioning dungeon or other content names hardly gives out any information of the story. Just keep in mind that everyone progresses at their own pace and is at a different stage of their adventure. So be mindful when talking of the MSQ in chats.

Take your time and have fun!

The best thing about FFXIV experience is that there’s no need to rush. Enjoy the content and advance on your own pace. As a former World of Warcraft refugee, I absolutely loved the pace of this game. I did not experience FOMO. I did not feel being left behind when I had little time or motivation to invest into the game.

Consider joining a Free Company

Free companies in FFXIV are like guilds, clans or teams in other games. Joining and belonging to FC is free and you are not obligated to do anything in general. Naturally some FCs have their own rules of activity, but you will most certainly find a group that matches your expectations. By joining FC you will get to enjoy buffs of more EXP and cheaper travel costs.

We hope you found these tips helpful, lali-ho!