It took me two attempts for my first MMORPG, only a dancing catboy convinced me

The first real MMORPG is something very special for everyone, as some colleagues have already reported. MeinMMO editor Sophia also has a unique relationship with her first MMORPG Final Fantays XIV to this day, even if it took two tries and a half-naked, dancing cat boy to hook her.

What is Final Fantasy XIV?

Here you can watch the trailer for the announced expansion Dawntrail, which will be released in summer 2024:

My first attempt at starting Final Fantasy XIV – or not?

The first few years of Final Fantasy recommend on YouTube.

I bought the starter edition of Final Fantasy XIV at AnimagiC 2011, back then in Bonn. My parents had called me about 10 minutes earlier: I had gotten the place I wanted. Since I had to pass an admissions process, I wanted to reward myself with something at the event and stumbled upon the Square Enix booth, which was very spartan at the time.

I didn’t know how technically demanding the game was or that it was in a real crisis. But I knew: Final Fantasy is a great brand and my best friend loves Final Fantasy VII so much. Then this part can’t be wrong.

It wasn’t until I got home that I realized that I didn’t have the right device for the game. The character editor was already stuttering on Dad’s old company laptop. IBM thinkpads simply weren’t designed for more than a few hours of Sims 2 or homework.

And so my first excursion into Final Fantasy XIV ended in a forest that wasn’t even fully rendered.

Over 30 FPS and half-naked catboys

For five years, my only point of contact with Final Fantasy XIV was the infrequent newsletter. Meanwhile, the disc was gathering dust in its packaging. After completing my studies, I started my internship at the anime, manga and J-Culture magazine AnimaniA in 2016.

As a result, I came across a test disc for Final Fantasy XIV Heavensward. After a bit of back and forth, I dove into Eorzea for the first time in 5 years.

A Realm Reborn was still a tough place back then. I definitely need to play a character again from level 1 so that I can understand the new, simplified leveling process. But back then everything was incredibly long-winded:

Killing ladybugs here, transporting wine bottles, helping traders ABC. It was boring. And the League of Dawn got on my nerves so much…

I stayed because I met great people. Above all, Benkei. Back then, Benkei was a strapping Miqo’te man who danced half-naked on tables in the game’s adventurers’ guilds. His stated mission? Recruit new members for his Free Society aka Guild.

I was so perplexed by the show that I actually stuck with it. Benkei, who plays a cat girl named Enrei again today, is the reason I bought the game with a new account. Since then I have been subbing almost permanently – but of course voluntarily.

Final Fantasy XIV made me laugh. And to cry. When I finished the Shadowbringers expansion, it was three in the morning. My neighbor, a pensioner in her 80s, came around the corner the next morning and asked if I had broken up with my boyfriend.

I actually got a similar question from my now new neighbors when I completed the Endwalker expansion. This also happened at around 2 a.m. and I had to cry like a castle dog. And then laugh again. And cry again.

Seven Years going Eight – My comfort game

At the moment I’m frantically trying to romance all the companions in Baldur’s Gate 3, but when I have a Gale/Astarion/Halsin/Wyll/Karlach-free moment, I’ll jump back into Final Fantasy XIV. I’m currently in 6.3 and work my way through the frosty landscape of Garlemald.

I will most likely pre-order the new Dawntrail expansion again. But I still have enough to do until summer 2024 and personally don’t have to worry about content deserts: My crafters aren’t all level 90 yet, I should update my gear, maybe start a new job and of course I have to farm mounts , play treasure maps and complete the Manderville quests.

As written, I definitely need to start over and look at the current experience of new players. But I would like to recommend this game to anyone who hasn’t tried it yet. Today you don’t have to spend a cent up to level 70 and you can play (almost) all the content.

Final Fantasy XIV is my personal comfort game. I can start it and I’m straight home. And this has been going on for almost eight years. By the way, I’m still friends with Benkei aka Enrei and the group from back then. I also met two of them at the last fan festival in London.

I don’t have any plans for tonight. Maybe I’ll invite her on some treasure maps. Or we do a catboy and -girls swimwear run, like a few other players did recently:
Final Fantasy XIV: Cat-Boy players meet for the alliance raid – and only in swimming trunks