Square Enix has removed the 14-day time limit from the Final Fantasy XI free trial, which means anyone curious about the 24-year-old MMORPG can now play it for as long as they want without paying. Trial characters can also level up to 75 now, up from the previous cap of 50, opening up the content Square Enix has released for characters up to that level. Free trial accounts created before the change work again too, so if your 14 days ran out a while ago, you can log back in starting today, according to Square Enix’s announcement on PlayOnline.
The free trial is a PC download through the Square Enix Store, and the store page still lists a long set of restrictions for trial accounts. The trial only covers areas from the original Final Fantasy XI release, so expansion zones and jobs are off the table, and the Rhapsodies of Vana’diel and The Voracious Resurgence missions can’t be completed. Accounts are capped at three characters and 100,000 gil, can’t use the auction house, trade, or bazaar, and can join a party but can’t invite anyone to one. The /tell, /shout, and /yell channels are also off-limits, although trial players can still talk in party chat and reply to tells, and characters carry over to the full version after upgrading.
Back in March, Square Enix began overhauling the alter ego system in Trust magic, the first step toward making more of Final Fantasy XI’s content playable solo. When that update went live, I said it was honestly impressive that the game keeps getting meaningful updates after all these years. I also noted that even with a population that’s a fraction of what it once was, Square Enix still investing in quality of life improvements for the players who remain says a lot about the community’s dedication. Vana’diel made its way into Final Fantasy XIV as well, through the Echoes of Vana’diel alliance raid series, a crossover that concluded with Windurst: The Third Walk in Patch 7.5.
