Final Fantasy XIV: How to Earn a Free 15-Day Subscription

Players that help relieve the server strain on Final Fantasy XIV will be handsomely rewarded with free game time and possibly extra gil. To regulate connections and speeds, Square Enix has permanently instated World Population Balancing Incentives with various account rewards. Players can even be gifted a one-time 15-day subscription worth $7.50 USD before even purchasing Final Fantasy XIV.

The Balancing Incentives program was originally meant to let players break even when helping populate less established servers. But there has been a massive migration to the game, with most flocking to already cramped Final Fantasy XIV world servers. With the release of the expanded free trial, increases to experience gains, and many rushing through content required for Final Fantasy XIVEndwalker, players can now meet incentive thresholds much faster.

One should note that this process does make use of Final Fantasy XIV’s live service aspect. Depending on other player actions and interests, the Balancing Incentives may either be temporally closed or highly in demand. One should expect it to be harder to achieve after a major expansion and patch releases, or readily available during month-long content droughts.

Receiving a Complementary Subscription in Final Fantasy XIV

Before jumping straight into Final Fantasy XIV, players will need to pick a world server to play on. Each server will have particular monikers reflecting current the player base numbers: Congested worlds have a high population, Standard a medium level, Preferred a low population, and New are fresh servers that have just come online. To receive a bonus 15-day subscription one will need to complete the following:

• Create a character on a low population or new world.
• Get to level 30 while the population is low, or within 90 days of character creation if status changes.
• Upgrade to the standard subscription level.

The most notable factor is that players can get to level 30 first, and then be rewarded with an instant stored 15 free days before even fully committing to the full game. This can include leveling up during Final Fantasy XIV’s free trial, while using the free 30-days included with all new copies of the game, or by utilizing seasonal free login campaigns offered by Square Enix.

One should note that instances of “a day” are always counted within the time zone of where the Square Enix account was originally created, and can never be updated. This can lead to a loss of between one to 23 hours if players happen to move, sign up via PlayStation consoles from other regions, or use a VPN when making their account. This could also cause players to restart the entire leveling process if the system deems that the character was made 91 or more days ago.

Fast Leveling

The best means of avoiding any issues is to quickly get to level 30 within just one or two days. All characters made on Preferred and New worlds will gain double their base EXP as a permanent status effect until reaching level 70. This status is not lost when traveling to another world, nor is it given to tourists of an eligible one. The bonus stacks with any other increases to EXP gains. All players can gain Final Fantasy XIV’s Brand-New War set, which grants the EXP increasing Brand-New Ring after full completion. Other direct buffs come from items like the Helm of Light, Ala Mhigan Earring, Aetheryte Earring, and Menphina’s Earring rewarded for ordering certain editions of the base game and expansions.

There is no restriction of which class reaches level 30. Players can rush out as a Miner, Fisher, or Botanist and simply gather up items, then turn in Guildleves non-stop. Some may find this tedious, and will have more enjoyment playing a high-demand Final Fantasy XIV combat class like Gladiator, Marauder, or Conjurer. They have more survivability while soloing and will be matched to light parties quicker than DPS classes. By rushing through the story and doing daily dungeon roulettes, one can easily get to level 30 with little effort.

A Million Free Gil Bonus in Final Fantasy XIV

One aiming for the 15-day subscription can also double up on a second reward: those on new worlds will also gain one million gil per datacenter region. This will grant players a large amount of extra cash to get their journey started. The requirements are similar to the 15-day reward, but with some more restrictive adjustments:

• Create a character on a new world in a separate region: North America, Europe, and Japan currently.
• Get to level 30 while the population is still low, or within 90 days of character creation if status changes.
• Upgrade to the standard subscription level.

The main obstacle is that Square Enix rarely opens new world servers due to costs and logistics. Europe is the most common place to receive new servers, while it almost never happens within Japan. It is still in the planning phase, but the Final Fantasy XIV Oceania datacenters will feature a wide array of new worlds. However, players will need to be aware of certain other hurdles including high latency to play cross-region, players that only speak another language or have developed unique in-game customs, and a high influx of local population. If too many players rush to a world, it may rapidly lose both the million gil and 15-day subscription gifts.

Transferring Gil or Items

Even after collecting three or four million extra gil in FFXIV, players may find it near worthless existing on another server. One method is to use the World Visit System, which allows players to go anywhere on the datacenter. This can be accessed at the main Aetheryte of hub cities Limsa Lominsa, Ul’dah, and Gridiania.

While touring a world, players cannot sell on the market boards, but they can both buy from them and trade directly with other players. With the help of a trusted friend, one can send the gil or purchased items to the correct character or stash it in a Free Company chest. If the servers are on different datacenters, players on Congested worlds can also be sent one-way to any New or Preferred world. Additionally, Square Enix has promised to expand World Visit to work between datacenters fully. This will allow even easier transferring in the near future.

Final Fantasy 14 A Realm Reborn, Heavensward, Stormblood, and Shadowbringers are available now on PC, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5. Endwalker goes into Early Access on November 19 and fully releases on November 23.

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