GamerEscape

With e-mails being sent out today for those who have been selected as testers for phase 1 of the FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn beta, those that weren’t chosen as testers at this time are now taking to the forums to share their grief. The target? Legacy players.

For those unfamiliar with it, the Legacy Campaign (a loyalty program of sorts) was announced on April 20th of last year. In order to qualify, players would have to have paid for a subscription period of three months between January 6th and the time the subscriptions ceased. Those that qualified would receive a discounted subscription upon the launch of A Real Reborn in addition to having their name in the credits for the re-launched game and a special Chocobo mount.

More recently as a special thank you, Legacy players were invited to the first phase of beta testing. Some people, are quite upset over this and question the very existence of the Legacy campaign.

It’s important to note that the biggest benefit from having Legacy status lies with the discounted subscription.

Those that met Legacy requirements will pay about five dollars less for a standard level account (or three dollars less than an entry level account). In order to qualify for Legacy, you had to put down money for the game in a time where many considered it an unplayable mess. However, the entry level subscription is similar to the original subscription for FINAL FANTASY XIV so in that regard there really isn’t a change. If you didn’t mind the monthly fee before but weren’t a fan of the game then nothing has changed. You can come back, play the new game, and the monthly price point hasn’t changed.

The other Legacy benefits of having your name in the credits and a special Chocobo mount are purely cosmetic. They give you no bonuses, they do not allow you to level faster than non-Legacy players nor do they allow you to travel five times as fast. It’s a Chocobo with special armor. If you want an armored Chocobo in game, you can obtain one for yourself. If someone is coming along and bragging about these things, flaunting them everywhere and being a dick about it, well that’s not a Legacy player being a Legacy player. That’s a dick being a dick. As a Legacy player myself, I’m glad I payed for and played the game during the early days. The true reward for me is seeing how much things have changed between the two versions of the game and the world of Eorzea.

It’s also worth noting here too that even if players didn’t qualify for Legacy status, that players had access to the special Goobbue mount in version 1.0. Again, there isn’t anything terribly special from this part from it being a visually different mount. This almost seems more special to me than the Legacy Chocobo simply because, as previously stated, you can always get an armored Chocobo in the game. How many Goobbue mounts are going to be released? Everyone and their mothers (who may also have Legacy status) will be riding around on the iconic horsebird. Me? I’m going to ride my Goobbue because it’s the only mount in the game that isn’t covered in yellow feathers.

There are some on the official forums complaining that not everyone had an equal amount of time to obtain Legacy status. These people couldn’t be further from the truth. From the day the campaign was announced, everyone had the opportunity to set up subscriptions for the required 90 day period.

Some of these people may have put it off, resulting in them not meeting the required 90 days. In this case, anyone that is upset about this has only themselves to blame. There were notices, announcements, plenty of information saying when deadlines were. If you waited too long, you must not have wanted it that bad because if you did, you would have started subbing up right away to make sure you qualified.

Another comment someone told me they had seen is something along the lines of “Version 1.0 was terrible, by bringing in the people that paid to play that for the beta test, we’re going to end up with another terrible game because of their feedback”. MMORPG’s are a special type of game. While they should have certain core elements and systems in place at their launch, it is well known that an MMO will be constantly updated over the course of its lifespan. Legacy players were subscribing not only to play a game that they were enjoying (even if others were not) but to invest in the future updates for this title. Now, because they got into the beta test for a product they helped fund when others wouldn’t, people are upset? It’s like not backing a project on Kickstarter before it closes and then complaining because you’re not getting any of the rewards. Beta access wasn’t even guaranteed for Legacy players until well after the qualifying time passed.

Now we come to the reality of the situation. Did Legacy players get access into the beta testing? Yes. Did non-Legacy players get access into the beta test? Also, yes.

There are four phases of the beta test, each one increasing the amount of testers and servers. There will still be plenty of time for those not selected to receive that special e-mail to have the opportunity to test the game. Even if the unthinkable happens and you’re not selected you’ll still have the opportunity to play the game before having to fork over a month’s subscription. Everyone will get their 30 day free-trial once the game launches.

Until then, sit back and relax. Stop worrying. The beta will more forward and SQUARE ENIX will be sure to continue sharing information with everyone. When the beta phases are complete the game will launch and everyone will be able to play A Realm Reborn.