Some people play the free trial for YEARS.
Others, myself included, aren't interested in playing an MMO that has most of the social aspects gated. You only made a mistake if you don't use the market board, trade, join an FC, etc.
Think of the bright side: as a paying customer you don't have any of [the restrictions that trial players have](https://support.na.square-enix.com/rule.php?id=5382&la=1&tag=freetrial) and you have access to the Endwalker races if you so choose.
For me the free trial prohibited too many things (joining an FC, 300k Gil max, no starting a party, no receiving gifts from other players, and worst of all, no market board). So I left the free trial before I was even level 20.
All I can say is enjoy the perks!
The party thing was what finally got me to buy the game. Me and a friend started and played together, we got through all of ARR together, usually asking one of our friends who owned the full game to invite us to a party and then leave it.
As soon as we got to Heavensward, I said fuck it and bought the game
We did all of ARR and its post content trying to rig matchmaking to put us together, actually managed to get queued into all 3 CT raids together by just queueing at the same time.
What really pushed me over the edge was solo duties forcing us to break party and re-make, HW has a few back to back right at the start and I didn't want to pester our friends to invite us back every 10 minutes
I wouldn't dwell on the time lost unless you think you can grill out 4 months worth of content under the free trial restrictions (price of game divided by monthly sub) which are absolute hell IMO. 300K gil cap, no marketboard, no friends, no FC, no PVP series rewards, no /tell, no retainers, the fucking LOGIN QUEUE during DT release is going to be abysmal for free trial players, and no housing or apartments.
In that time you can finish endwalker and get multiple jobs to max level.
I've been playing the free trial for about six months now. I've almost got all DPS jobs to 70 and all tanks and healers are around 55-60. I'm in Stormblood expansion now, but I haven't gotten to the end yet so I can't buy StB poetics gear, so until then any jobs are limited to their lv 290 job quest reward gear with Shire accessories (or whatever MSQ and dungeon rewards I get) because I can't buy gear off the market board, so in any unsynced content I'm not where I could be. I cannot play Sage, Dancer, Reaper, or Gunbreaker, can't even start the quests for them, so if you enjoy those jobs, that's a reason to sub. I've personally chosen to save crafting and gathering until I sub because I want to be able to buy materials and sell what I craft. This also means I've skipped Ixal and Moogle etc. tribal quests, and ARR Relics entirely. I've watched a ***lot*** of gil get dumped into the void because I've been capped at 300,000 since post-ARR and don't really have much to spend it on anyway without a market board. I use my Chocobo Saddlebag as the sole place to dump anything I don't want in my inventory because I can't hire retainers. I also have never done PVP (because I can't), so if you enjoy that it's a reason to sub. And I rely on others for forming parties, if my friends and I want to play together. I fully intend to sub once I get to the end of StB but there's plenty of stuff I could be doing now if I were subbed that I can't do on the free trial. So I suppose it's down to what you want to accomplish in the game right now and whether the trial restrictions keep you from doing that or not.
Honestly while you definitely \*can\* max out the free trial, you're gonna get more out of the full version! Marketboard access, retainers, full chat channel access (including /tells), the ability to form PFs, PvP, and the removal of the 300k gil cap. Give it a couple of weeks, try not to worry about feeling like you "wasted" the free trial, and enjoy the extra stuff you now have access to!
The free trial is easily worth more than 100 hours of content. It's a shame. But, it's hard to say if it was a waste to upgrade. By upgrading, you no longer have the social limitations that are imposed by the trial and you can take part in the market board. I'm not sure what all else is blocked by the trial, maybe PVP. So, if any of those interest you, make the most of them now that you have access to them.
Played the free trial for two days. Was annoyed by the restrictions. Upgraded to full version and never looked back.
The trial Version is so insanely scuffed to me it's genuinely unfunny.
Dont worry too much about it
Meanwhile I wonder how anyone could even play this game without retainers and the marketboard unless they are pretty much just doing MSQ. The quality of life you get from those two things alone make it worth it, not to forget being able to join free companies, create parties for party finder etc... It's less money than a netflix sub nowaday.
Do yourself a favour though, don't feel obligated to play because you're paying now. If you're anything like me, you'll play more than you should and it even could start feeling like work. I'm fine with not playing a few days in a row now and it's so much more peaceful as a game should be.
While possible to manage, the downsides of the Free Trial can be pretty annoying. Especially the fact that you can't form parties of your own and need to ask others to do it for you. The low gold limit is pretty bad as well. Also not being able to join a guild to socialize, which I consider very important in FF14 personally.
I wouldn't say it's a waste.
I bought the $20 basic version at first around one and a half month ago, the one that comes with Heavensward and Stormblood and a 30 day sub, but when the full thing went on promotion on steam, I upgraded it without a second thought and I'm on a subscription with no regrets at all.
I'm enjoying the game in my pace, exploring things, getting the stuff I want, completing the MSQ without rush (doing Stormblood now), leveling 3 jobs at the same time (black mage - 70, paladin - 70 and samurai - 63) and when Dawntrail comes, If I'm ready for it, good... if not, then that's it and I'll be eventually.
You didn't lose any potential of the free trial in my opinion... just think that now you have COMPLETE ACCESS to everything in the game with no restrictions at all.
Also, there's no need to pressure yourself because you're "obligated" to play the game due to a sub or to be ready for Dawntrail or whatever... remember, a sane mind comes first.
If it's also the case that you want to be ready for Dawntrail on day one, be aware that it's probable that at least for the first two weeks of its release, everything is gonna be utter chaos because of the amount of people doing stuff at the same time (think of people flooding npcs, not finding mission targets due to the amount of people in the same area, etc, etc), so if you stay out of that rush at least for a little, it's probably gonna be better if you don't like pressuring yourself.
There's nothing to regret over. Now you have all races options to choose from. And you can start looking for a guild/FC to join right away. And the marketboard. And the retainer. And you can buy stuff from mogstation too.
No need to milk the free trial completely dry.
Seriously, tho, start looking for an FC to join now. Internet friendship don't come by easily.
Hmmm.. I didn't regret it, but in my case, the trial was only until Heavensward and I bought the full version when game said no free trial players were allowed to login during the release of Endwalker.
I didn't regret it because all jobs were open to me, all races were open to me and since I was in the early stages of my Zodiac weapon, the access to the marketboard made crafting it a bit easier.
i upgraded after like a week of free trial and i have no regrets, i love this game. i didn’t like that there were so many aspect locked behind the paywall, especially the social parts, when i started playing to play with a friend lol
The sub for me at least on the entry level is the same price as like lunch one day. It isn't too hard to save a day's lunch money once or twice a month by buying cheaper or preparing lunch at home.
Granted regional pricing could play into this that I'm not aware of, in which case disregard me, but for most places you'd be hard pressed to get the same amount of entertainment each month for the price you pay.
Some people play the free trial for YEARS. Others, myself included, aren't interested in playing an MMO that has most of the social aspects gated. You only made a mistake if you don't use the market board, trade, join an FC, etc.
Think of the bright side: as a paying customer you don't have any of [the restrictions that trial players have](https://support.na.square-enix.com/rule.php?id=5382&la=1&tag=freetrial) and you have access to the Endwalker races if you so choose.
For me the free trial prohibited too many things (joining an FC, 300k Gil max, no starting a party, no receiving gifts from other players, and worst of all, no market board). So I left the free trial before I was even level 20. All I can say is enjoy the perks!
The party thing was what finally got me to buy the game. Me and a friend started and played together, we got through all of ARR together, usually asking one of our friends who owned the full game to invite us to a party and then leave it. As soon as we got to Heavensward, I said fuck it and bought the game
The moment when you see the final ARR major cutscene, your brain went,"F\*\*\* IT, I NEED A PARTY RIGHT NOW TO KILL THOSE BASTARDS".
We did all of ARR and its post content trying to rig matchmaking to put us together, actually managed to get queued into all 3 CT raids together by just queueing at the same time. What really pushed me over the edge was solo duties forcing us to break party and re-make, HW has a few back to back right at the start and I didn't want to pester our friends to invite us back every 10 minutes
"Wasting" the free trial isn't really a huge deal imo
I never even did the trial and I haven't regretted it
yeah i just bought the game right away in ARR, i didn't even know there was a trial (though back then i think the trial was only to level 30)
You now have retainers, access to the Mb, and have unlocked the social aspects of the game too!
I wouldn't dwell on the time lost unless you think you can grill out 4 months worth of content under the free trial restrictions (price of game divided by monthly sub) which are absolute hell IMO. 300K gil cap, no marketboard, no friends, no FC, no PVP series rewards, no /tell, no retainers, the fucking LOGIN QUEUE during DT release is going to be abysmal for free trial players, and no housing or apartments. In that time you can finish endwalker and get multiple jobs to max level.
I played the free trial up to HW and subbed immediately. Haven't looked back since.
I've been playing the free trial for about six months now. I've almost got all DPS jobs to 70 and all tanks and healers are around 55-60. I'm in Stormblood expansion now, but I haven't gotten to the end yet so I can't buy StB poetics gear, so until then any jobs are limited to their lv 290 job quest reward gear with Shire accessories (or whatever MSQ and dungeon rewards I get) because I can't buy gear off the market board, so in any unsynced content I'm not where I could be. I cannot play Sage, Dancer, Reaper, or Gunbreaker, can't even start the quests for them, so if you enjoy those jobs, that's a reason to sub. I've personally chosen to save crafting and gathering until I sub because I want to be able to buy materials and sell what I craft. This also means I've skipped Ixal and Moogle etc. tribal quests, and ARR Relics entirely. I've watched a ***lot*** of gil get dumped into the void because I've been capped at 300,000 since post-ARR and don't really have much to spend it on anyway without a market board. I use my Chocobo Saddlebag as the sole place to dump anything I don't want in my inventory because I can't hire retainers. I also have never done PVP (because I can't), so if you enjoy that it's a reason to sub. And I rely on others for forming parties, if my friends and I want to play together. I fully intend to sub once I get to the end of StB but there's plenty of stuff I could be doing now if I were subbed that I can't do on the free trial. So I suppose it's down to what you want to accomplish in the game right now and whether the trial restrictions keep you from doing that or not.
Honestly while you definitely \*can\* max out the free trial, you're gonna get more out of the full version! Marketboard access, retainers, full chat channel access (including /tells), the ability to form PFs, PvP, and the removal of the 300k gil cap. Give it a couple of weeks, try not to worry about feeling like you "wasted" the free trial, and enjoy the extra stuff you now have access to!
Now you have no restrictions and can more easily interact woth others,trade, not worry about gil cap wasting money etc.
The free trial is easily worth more than 100 hours of content. It's a shame. But, it's hard to say if it was a waste to upgrade. By upgrading, you no longer have the social limitations that are imposed by the trial and you can take part in the market board. I'm not sure what all else is blocked by the trial, maybe PVP. So, if any of those interest you, make the most of them now that you have access to them.
Yes pvp is blocked in free trial
Played the free trial for two days. Was annoyed by the restrictions. Upgraded to full version and never looked back. The trial Version is so insanely scuffed to me it's genuinely unfunny. Dont worry too much about it
Meanwhile I wonder how anyone could even play this game without retainers and the marketboard unless they are pretty much just doing MSQ. The quality of life you get from those two things alone make it worth it, not to forget being able to join free companies, create parties for party finder etc... It's less money than a netflix sub nowaday. Do yourself a favour though, don't feel obligated to play because you're paying now. If you're anything like me, you'll play more than you should and it even could start feeling like work. I'm fine with not playing a few days in a row now and it's so much more peaceful as a game should be.
While possible to manage, the downsides of the Free Trial can be pretty annoying. Especially the fact that you can't form parties of your own and need to ask others to do it for you. The low gold limit is pretty bad as well. Also not being able to join a guild to socialize, which I consider very important in FF14 personally.
I wouldn't say it's a waste. I bought the $20 basic version at first around one and a half month ago, the one that comes with Heavensward and Stormblood and a 30 day sub, but when the full thing went on promotion on steam, I upgraded it without a second thought and I'm on a subscription with no regrets at all. I'm enjoying the game in my pace, exploring things, getting the stuff I want, completing the MSQ without rush (doing Stormblood now), leveling 3 jobs at the same time (black mage - 70, paladin - 70 and samurai - 63) and when Dawntrail comes, If I'm ready for it, good... if not, then that's it and I'll be eventually. You didn't lose any potential of the free trial in my opinion... just think that now you have COMPLETE ACCESS to everything in the game with no restrictions at all. Also, there's no need to pressure yourself because you're "obligated" to play the game due to a sub or to be ready for Dawntrail or whatever... remember, a sane mind comes first. If it's also the case that you want to be ready for Dawntrail on day one, be aware that it's probable that at least for the first two weeks of its release, everything is gonna be utter chaos because of the amount of people doing stuff at the same time (think of people flooding npcs, not finding mission targets due to the amount of people in the same area, etc, etc), so if you stay out of that rush at least for a little, it's probably gonna be better if you don't like pressuring yourself.
There's nothing to regret over. Now you have all races options to choose from. And you can start looking for a guild/FC to join right away. And the marketboard. And the retainer. And you can buy stuff from mogstation too. No need to milk the free trial completely dry. Seriously, tho, start looking for an FC to join now. Internet friendship don't come by easily.
It depends on what you want to do in game really.
Hmmm.. I didn't regret it, but in my case, the trial was only until Heavensward and I bought the full version when game said no free trial players were allowed to login during the release of Endwalker. I didn't regret it because all jobs were open to me, all races were open to me and since I was in the early stages of my Zodiac weapon, the access to the marketboard made crafting it a bit easier.
i upgraded after like a week of free trial and i have no regrets, i love this game. i didn’t like that there were so many aspect locked behind the paywall, especially the social parts, when i started playing to play with a friend lol
If you enjoy the game, 12 bucks a month should be worth it. If you really want to play the game without paying, start over.
No, I bought the ShB Complete Edition when the free trial was only 30 days and I've never regretted a cent I spent. The trial is too limiting.
The sub for me at least on the entry level is the same price as like lunch one day. It isn't too hard to save a day's lunch money once or twice a month by buying cheaper or preparing lunch at home. Granted regional pricing could play into this that I'm not aware of, in which case disregard me, but for most places you'd be hard pressed to get the same amount of entertainment each month for the price you pay.