Just like Final Fantasy XI before it, Final Fantasy XIV has been out in the open for a while now. The ever expanding MMO is constantly moving forward to keep its player base interested in sticking around and tossing it 9 bucks a month for the pleasure.
But what happens to the prospects of growing an audience when anyone interested in joining gets turned off at the though of cramming in the time to catch up with the rest? Chasing after those who’ve pressed on for years with each major content patch can feel like a chore when you’re left alone.
That’s where Final Fantasy XIV has seen its first real struggle – outside of the catastrophic 1.0 launch, of course. As we edge closer toward the climax of its first proper expansion, newcomers have little trouble pushing through to the former level cap thanks to how the game rewards people for running dungeons they may have completed the moment its doors swung open. But newcomers are still fated to push through almost a dozen ‘Main Scenario’ patches complete with more dungeons, lengthy cutscenes and boss battles before they can start to fight fresh content with the rest of us.
While Square Enix try time and time again to alleviate what could be hour long queues to progress through an already lengthy process with the promise of experience points, high-level equipment tokens and mounts, it isn’t always a smooth uphill climb.
Thankfully, over the course of the last 2-3 content patches, Square Enix seems to be tackling the issue head on. They’re hardly going to invite you to bypass the game’s story in a franchise built around the very idea, but the ‘Novice Network’ - an extension of sorts to the game’s legacy ‘Guildhest’ activities that dish out small doses of experience while teaching newcomers standard MMO group tactics – introduced a few more arena-style bouts designed to teach newer players mechanics like positional attack bonuses, managing player aggro in multi-mob brawls and even the etiquette of healers dealing damage during slower periods of battle.
It’s a system that doesn’t expect shy players to inconvenience other groups while they learn the ropes and invites them to learn the rest under the wing of a dedicated ‘Mentor’ player chat channel once they’re done.
Graduation from this brief academy-like system rewards level 17 players with useful gear and a 30% EXP bonus accessory to help them on their climb, while allowing veteran players with a few key achievements under their belt to ‘Mentor’ these wide-eyed adventurers through the dedicated chat channel. Of course, this initially led to trolls infesting a system designed to have skilled players bring up the game’s future potential; but the good eventually overruled the bad, leaving the channel wide open for any and all new players to look for a sensei to show them the ways of the blade.
But it wasn’t until July that Final Fantasy XIV introduced it’s newest aid - a side-story rogue-like dungeon more obviously designed as a break from straight-forward slaugterfests. The ‘Palace of the Dead’ (aka: Deep Dungeon) takes the form of a 50-floor randomly generated instance with a twist - everyone in the party has their level temporarily reset to 1. The idea here is to trawl through each floor defeating monsters to level up to regain access to your usual skills while keeping a look out for boobytraps eager on ending the run before you reach the end.
The clear focus for most people would be either the promise of high-level weapons for repeated clears or just to see the continuation of a fan-favourite storyline many would refer to as XIV’s answer to internet creepypasta. But why is the Palace of the Dead a noteworthy addition to any newcomer’s early adventures in Eorzea? Well, not only does it award a decent chuck of genuine experience toward the class they enter as, but thanks to the incredibly accelerated rate at which the fresh level 1 class flies up the ladder, it makes for a perfect opportunity for anyone, newcomer or veteran, to quickly try their hand at any role they choose.
It’s the perfect way to gauge whether you want to level a particular class properly before pumping time into a role that might ultimately not live up to your expectations. Where you’d once have to spend at least a dozen hours getting a class from 1-20 before deciding it’s not your beef, Palace of the Dead now allows that same experience - albeit in a rushed run n’ gun fashion - in a fraction of the time with the bonus of repeated attempts possibly leading to a weapon perfectly suited to rushing you into the casual raid scene once you score a real level 60 toon.
You don’t even have to choose the weapon for the class you played with. There’s nothing stopping you from reaching the weapon criteria though 3 or 4 runs with a different class each time and exchanging it for the weapon for one you haven’t touched. If you’re heading in after September 27th, you’ll be able to push through up to Floor 200 if your ability permits it for extra experience. The story ends at Floor 100, but the rewards won’t stop until the very end – but the later floors are billed as a challenge mode built for competitive runs.
The system as a whole encourages repeated trips with no cap on the amount of weapons you can earn over its lifespan. You could sign up for the game today, unlock the hole in the ground, breeze through it with 3 new friends a few times and have a powerful weapon waiting for you as you hit the regular expansion level cap. There’s even a dedicated striking dummy zone ready to tell you whether you’d good to go for most of the game’s current high-end battles. If that thing is still alive in 3 minutes, you’re not quite ready for the big leagues!
Whether unintentional or not, Palace of the Dead has cemented itself as one of the most welcoming newcomer experiences in the whole game. It’s not a breeze by any stretch of the imagination, but with a player needing to be at least Level 17 to initially enter, it means any and everyone going in should quickly run through the Novice Network challenges to learn their role and grab the 30% EXP buff ring to skyrocket their progress we veterans could have only dreamed of back in A Realm Reborn.
Because save slots are limited and can only be progressed through with the exact same group of players, there’s plenty of opportunity to strike up conversation and make some new friends while you’re at it - likely friends who’ll gladly help you in your further adventures.
Final Fantasy XIV is still, at it’s heart, a story-driven JRPG - so it’s unlikely newcomers will be granted the displeasure of skipping through the large amount of post-50, pre-expansion story missions before being allowed to push forward with the post-expansion leveling experience.
But between handy lessons in common battle tactics, countless bonus experience buffs and Mentor players looking to help anyone in need, the Palace of the Dead continues to bridge the gap between the newcomer and the veteran. It’s a system that puts everyone on equal footing and conveniently allows some to gauge how a class plays at higher levels without first pouring in the hours. With the potential of a glow-heavy powerful weapon for their eventual level 60 class, the time leading up to the conclusion of Final Fantasy XIV’s first expansion is arguably the best time to join.
