Discovering My Love ofFinal Fantasy XIVKept Me From Getting Covid Burnout

The past 18 month have been , to put it lightly , have not been great . The covid-19 pandemic has and carry on to garble our lives in ways crowing and small . But for me personally , I ’ve been capable to find joy and obviate burnout through something I never thought I ’d indulge in : thecritically acclaimed and much memed MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV .

To make it dead clear , I ’ve been lucky , all things view . Most of my snug family members have caught covid-19 by this point , sometimes severely , but I have n’t so far . Friends of mine have permanently moved away or lose their jobs as a outcome of the pandemic , but I ’ve been steadily employed and able to work from home — an advantage that I would n’t have had during most of my work aliveness . And there have been many journalists who haveexperiencedmuch more covid - related anxiety and depression than I have in the last two year .

All that said , it has n’t been a cakewalk either . As a skill and wellness reporter , I ’ve had to gaze at the pandemic in one soma or another just about every individual day . And like many , I ’ve had my moment of trounce pessimism and disappointment , particularly in seeing covid once again resurge this summertime .

Screenshot:YouTube: Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker Media Tour Hands-on Impressions

Maintaining the bonds I have with friends and folk has certainly aid me stay point , as has my longtime jogging routine and my obnoxiously precious cat Cheddar . But if I had to clean any pandemic - era habit to thank the most for keeping me coherent , it would be Final Fantasy XIV .

For those not familiar , FFXIV is a biz in the vein of World of Warcraft that was first released in 2010 , then re - release in 2013 . That amusing saga is comfortably track by my colleagues at Kotaku , but in short , the original game bombard so hard that its makers , Square Enix , go back and somehow successfully rebooted it . The revamped rendering has had three expansions , with a fourth — Endwalker — set to come out next calendar month . And all of it kicks major ass .

I ’ve always loved RPGs and most Final Fantasy games ( not seem at you , FFIV The After geezerhood ) , but I had definitely cut down on my biz play before the pandemic . About midway through summertime 2020 , though , I had the sudden itchiness to labor out my Playstation 4 and I noticed FFXIV on it — a completely uninfluenced game that I had forgotten I bribe in 2014 . I finally buzz off to play it and have n’t looked back since .

My current character, FROST REAVER, striking a battle pose.

My current character, FROST REAVER, striking a battle pose.Screenshot: Ed Cara

FFXIV is not for those with small clock time on their hands . With the expansions included , simply catch through the intricate and usually gripping principal story , satiate with dragon , a scheming imperium , and alternative dimension , will take you 100 plus hours . And the varied sidequests and other off - the - path amusements , which include a full on casino , chocobo gentility ( Final Fantasy ’s variant of racehorse ) , and craft fancy unexampled power train , will take hundreds more to endure through . There ’s also the scads of dungeons and raid available to complete , which are beaten by parties made up of three essential roles : healer , tanks to soak foe damage , and DPS to pick apart the monsters down . For now , I ’ve been a healer , which provides a nice mixing of complexness and ease once you ’ve get the mechanics down .

But the pacing and scheduling of all these thing is up to you , perfect for someone whose hours can be sometimes in flux when some later breaking news show comes in . Some MMORPGS , particularly World of WarCraft , are all about get along through the game as quickly as possible so you may nock the good gear potential . But although FFXIV definitely has a challenging endgame , I ’ve only barely dipped my toe into it , being content enough to get through the tarradiddle beatniks and then doing my own thing . Right now , I ’m working on flush all my craft class , and from there , perchance I ’ll prove my hand at glamour , which admit you to customise your geared wheel ’s appearance without losing their stats .

And while this has been said before by many others , the best thing about FFXIV is the community . Whether you ’re going through a dungeon for the first time , or simply asking a question , most hoi polloi are charitable and uncoerced to help oneself however they can . see that much kindness and good faith from others — on the internet of all position — has been a unguent for the somebody , peculiarly compare to everywhere else on social media during covid-19 . Nowadays , I ’m part of a innocent company , a at large - entwine troupe of players , that prides itself on being for casual gamers . When I have the time on weekend , I run through dungeons with them in hopes of getting some nice - looking mounts to ride on .

Me, about 200 or so hours worth of playtime ago.

Me, about 200 or so hours worth of playtime ago.Screenshot: Ed Cara

I could rant all sidereal day about my love for this secret plan , though I do n’t really take to . FFXIV has become so democratic recently that their servers can scantily take the mass . And with the upcoming Endwalker expansion ahead , which is already getting somestellar recap , the plug machine will only get louder .

But if any of this seems like fun to you , and you ’ve got the clip , I would unquestionably commend leap in with both feet .

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Me with my free company, taking out some pandemic-related frustration on a familiar foe.