FINAL FANTASY XIV Online News

FF14 Endwalker lets you benchmark your graphics card before you buy

Final Fantasy XIV's fourth expansion arrives in November, and Square Enix has confirmed that other than eating up another 20GB of storage space, the system requirements will remain identical to the original. However, if the Endwalker expansion is the thing that's dragging you into the game for the first time, there's now a handy benchmark tool that lets you see how your gaming PC fares before you open up your wallet.

It uses a variety of maps and characters from the game to gauge your system's performance in a non-playable test, while displaying the current frame rate, loading times between cut scenes, and giving a score at the end to compare against other PCs. The score matches up to eight levels of advice, ranging from "easily capable of running the game on the highest settings", to telling you that your rig just isn't up to the job at all.

The latter would be very unlikely however, as the minimum GPU required to run the game equivalent to an Nvidia GeForce GTX 750 or AMD's Radeon R7 260X - both 7-year-old, budget cards.

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FF14's Endwalker roadmap is here, starting with Patch 5.58 this month

FFXIV's Endwalker release date isn't too far away, but you've still got plenty of content to keep you occupied until then. Square Enix has unveiled a roadmap with heaps of in-game events to take you up to the release of the MMORPG's fourth expansion during the latest Letter from the Producer broadcast.

One of the earlier events is Patch 5.58 in July, which marks the beginning of Season 20 of The Feast when it launches on July 20. You're also getting the Make it Rain Campaign from July 19 to August 11, giving you the chance to pick up the vexed emote by completing event quests. In August, meanwhile, you've got the summer-themed seasonal event, Moonfire Faire, on August 13, and The Rising on August 27, which marks A Realm Reborn's eighth anniversary.

You're also getting the chance to snag heaps of Final Fantasy 15-related goodies if you missed the opportunity previously. The FF15 Collaboration Event returns on September 13, though you'll need to make sure you've reached level 50 and have completed the main scenario quest, "The Ultimate Weapon", by then. If you do, though, you can earn Noctis' hairstyle and outfit, the four-person Regalia mount, and more. You're also getting the Moogle Treasure Trove event from October 19 onwards to bring you up to the Endwalker early access period.

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FF14 is so popular right now it's sold out digitally in the US

Final Fantasy 14 is having a bit of a moment right now. The MMORPG has been riding a fresh wave of popularity that has led to server congestion over the weekend as NA players found themselves in lengthy queue times and unable to fashion new characters. If you're in the US, you may even struggle to get yourself a digital copy from Square Enix's store right now.

Players took to Reddit over the weekend to share that they couldn't get started in the game as others filled all the NA servers to the brim. That doesn't necessarily mean that each server has permanently run out of space, just that it was full at that moment. At the time of writing, most NA servers have room for new sprouts to jump in.

Players also noticed that Final Fantasy 14's complete edition is currently not available digitally on Square Enix's US store, though you can join the waiting list. We checked in with our American pals and it looks like you can still pick it up on Steam if you so desire. We checked Square Enix's European store, and you can get it there, too, so it seems the stock limitation is mainly over the pond right now.

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The Endwalker promotional site is live!

We are pleased to announce the launch of the Endwalker promotional site! The site details a variety of information revealed about the expansion so far, including the main scenario, new jobs, new playable race, artwork, and more! Stay tuned as we update the site as more information is revealed!

Furthermore, Endwalker is available for pre-order and features some incredible pre-order bonuses. If you have yet to pre-order your copy, head to the promotional site for details.

Endwalker Official Benchmark Available Now!

The official benchmark for FINAL FANTASY XIV: Endwalker is now available! Test the limits of your PC while feasting your eyes on the elegant facades of Old Sharlayan, the verdant landscapes of Thavnair, and the battles that await the Scions of the Seventh Dawn.

This benchmark uses updated scoring criteria to account for the increase in multiplayer content and provide a more accurate evaluation of how your computer will perform when running the latest version of the game. A character creation tool is also included, featuring the highly anticipated male Viera.

Make sure to check it out and prepare for the epic journey that is Endwalker!

Click here to access the Endwalker benchmark software.
Check out the expected system requirements for Endwalker.

To celebrate the release of the benchmark, we’re holding a screenshot campaign! Post a screenshot of your benchmark score or a male Viera you’ve made with the character creator, and be entered to win an in-game item! More details are available on the Lodestone.

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