Enjoy the game, avoid sharing spoilers, and play at your own pace. Take breaks and don’t be too hard on yourself. Don’t forget to redeem your expansion code!
It might seem like a no-brainer that the game you’ve been excited for and waiting anxiously about for ages is something you should be enjoying, but many of us forget that part. As Final Fantasy 14’s Dawntrail expansion has just landed in early access, with the full launch just a few days away on July 2, I wanted to remind all the Warriors of Light out there of the most fundamental thing – remember to enjoy the game you love. With that mantra in mind, I wanted to break down a few dos and don’ts that are worth keeping in mind as you head to those distant shores of Tural.
It’s worth remembering that, aside from the fact not everyone plays at the same pace regardless, not everyone will be playing from the start of early access. Make sure you don’t ruin the game for others by needlessly sharing story spoilers. The most memorable moments are best enjoyed when you experience them for yourself without having someone allude to them or outright share with you what happens.
I know it can be hard when you’re particularly excited about something, but try to ensure you’re not throwing story content out there without spoiler tags at the very least. Do Play It Your Way
Don’t feel the pressure to play any other way than the way you want to. If you want to savour the Main Scenario Quest, then do that.
We don’t all play the same and that’s entirely fine. While some want to smash through the storyline, others will want to race to level up the new jobs the fastest, and a few may want to get their already established jobs to 100. Maybe you just want to enjoy your Dawntrail vacation and take everything slow, having a little mooch around the new locations and just doing whatever takes your fancy.
Do what makes you happy. Don’t Get Hung Up On Queues
Despite Yoshi-P’s best intentions that the queues won’t be as bad and encouraging players to play on quieter servers to alleviate that, guess what? There are queues.
I haven’t seen them Endwalker bad yet but the queues are certainly more than your average wait. It happens. It’s just one of the things we have to deal with as part of playing a popular live service game’s latest expansion.
Try not to get too frustrated by the queues and don’t let it ruin your enjoyment of the game. Take that queue time to browse all those Dawntrail posts on Twitter or maybe share some of your own screenshots and memories from what you’ve played so far. (Just not the spoiler ones, obvs.)
Do Remember To Take A Break
I write this as I’ve been sitting at my PC playing for four hours straight since the servers went live, but I need this reminder as much as anyone: don’t forget to take a break. Get some food in you, stay hydrated, and please go and pee! I know it can feel a bit touch and go knowing you’ll be logged out if you’re AFK for 30 minutes, but it’s important we’re taking a break for ourselves.
Worse case scenario you have to queue again and you can use that time to read some Dawntrail articles, like this one. Don’t Get Frustrated By Bugs
I know it can be difficult to fall into the trap of thinking that when a game ships, it should be perfect and ready for everyone to play, but bugs happen. When it comes to incredibly huge MMO’s—massive literally in the name there—and live service titles, some things you just can’t prepare for fully until you have thousands of players really putting it to the test and so we get the odd bug or two.
Amon already broke Syrcus Tower (you can’t help but laugh really, it’s pretty in-character for Amon to be the one stopping the WoL from progressing) and I’m sure other bugs will follow. Don’t get frustrated by it, just do something else until it gets fixed. There’s no point getting annoyed by the things that are a little wonky, just try some less wonky content in the meantime.
Do Help Each Other Out
Dawntrail is new for all of us. We’re going to enter dungeons, trials, and raids where we have no idea what the mechanics are for the first time, so don’t forget to have a little patience and help out your fellow Warriors of Light. As an added note, be kind to yourself.
It’s ok that you’re not perfect at a game. It’s okay to be far from perfect in a game. Don’t be too hard on yourself and just enjoy it.
The launch of a new expansion often means an influx of new or returning players, too, so there will be many completely new to the game or a little rusty, especially with all the game and job tweaks over the years to get accustomed to. A little kindness goes a long way. Don’t Forget To Redeem Your Expansion Code
For those of you playing in early access, don’t forget to redeem your Dawntrail expansion code at launch so you don’t lose access later.
You can’t redeem the codes until the full launch on July 2, and there is normally a small grace period of overlap between when you can redeem and when the early access stops working, but don’t forget to do it ASAP. What happens if you lose access while in a Dawntrail area? I don’t think I want to find out.
For now, I’m going to take my own advice and have a pee break before I return to trying to work out where you get all the new minions from. See you all in Tural!
