So the NDA for Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn is partially lifted to a point where we can discuss the beta, and post screenshots taken during phase 3 (however we cannot post videos from the game yet). Therefor I would like to talk a little bit about day one of phase three.
We got off to a rocky start this morning due to the servers not being able to handle the high traffic. The NA/EU servers crashed which, in turn, caused NA/EU players to rush over to available Japanese server, which then caused the Japanese to crash. This cycle repeated until character creation was taken down, allowing those who already created their characters a chance to move them out of the tutorials area. This relieved a great deal of stress on the servers. Now, it seems, they have re-opened the character creation since the congestion has died down a bit.
So far a lot of new features have been implemented. Armor no longer goes in regular inventory, it goes in something called an armor crate; with pages split up based on whether it’s a body piece, shoes, rings, and so on. Also all three starting cities have been opened up for play, as well as all base classes except Arcanist.
Since actually getting into the game today, I’ve noticed gameplay is a lot smoother than previous Beta phases. A new opening video has been added as a provisional measure. For those that desire to view it, you can click the “Opening Cinematic” option to view it.
Upon getting passed the headache of logging in this morning, it’s been a fun time returning to the world of Final Fantasy XIV. Any of you who are in the Beta just message Jessica Etheria, that is my in-game name on Midgardsormr.
Published: Jun 14, 2013 06:59 pm