Hello all,

So, back in September last year I played FFXIV on PS4 quite a lot. I enjoyed it and joined the GB Free Company, and it was all good fun. I was living in the UK though, and a new player, so didn't get much chance to play with anyone. Anyhow, fast forward to now and I've moved to Japan. I'd love to just buy Heavensward and jump back in, but, I can't actually reopen the subscription [easily] because I'm now earning Yen. Also I owned the PS4 version, not the PC version.

Now, I'd love to rejoin on my PC from over here, but I've got a few questions in relation to the Heavensward content. I'll put them in bullet points to make them a bit easier to read.

• I feel sad I can't use my old character. He was a real duder. The dragon dudes look cool in Heavensward - without buying the Collector's Expansion is there any other way to change race/appearance in the game? (Do I need to buy Heavensward now if I want to be a DragonDude?)
• If I'm online during the Japanese daytime, will there be anyone/many people to play with from the GB FC? I don't really know anyone else playing.
• I understand you can't access the Heavensward story until after the vanilla story - that's fine, but, can I access anything else before then? It's cheaper to buy them together on Steam, and returning to point one, I kinda like the Dragon Dude.

Thanks for reading and taking time to write any replies. It's much appreciated.

If you have any follow up questions for me, feel free to ask!

Dont call Square, use their online support, they will be able to action your request to get your old account back, they helped a couple of my friends do the same thing but the telephony support is a nightmare. You can change your race with a fantasia, you can either buy one or you can get one free with heavnsward or by being subbed to the games for a time, be warned, you cant change your name so if you have a guy/girls name be mindfull before switching sex. Im in the UK so i cant speak for the US folks time wise, i run into a lot of Japanese folk using DF on my server but not too many Americans but its a big country, someone is bound to be awake. You will get access to all content before 3.0 and any quests from 3.0 that are not based in the new zones, i recommend you buy the expansion once you reach the end of the 2.0 story line as you cant go to the new zones until you finish the main story all the way.

@feive_vz:

• You could use your old character if, instead of registering a new account, you just register your PC license to your old account. You can use a Fantasia item to change your entire appearance, although they cost real money. No, you can't be Au Ra without owning Heavensward. Can you elaborate more why you can't reopen the subscription?
• There will definitely be people online during the day for you (midday Japan time would be 20:00-23:00 across NA.)
• If you own Heavensward, you can create Au Ra characters without finishing the vanilla story. The new classes and zones aren't available until you finish though.

@kagato: So, I have the details to my old account. I know the username and password, problem is it's a Square Enix EU account, not a Square Enix JP account. Do you mean they can like, transfer it?

Oh, so the Fantasia thing isn't super duper limited/expensive/rare? It's relatively attainable? That kinda makes me feel way better. I read on Kotaku the new Healer class can be used straight out the box, but does that need anything special? I'm not amazing at these games and I enjoyed being a White Mage on my old account, but this new class sounds fun. Drawing cards is like the cool dude from FF Type 0.

Edit: I'm happy enough just going on the Japanese server, but I never found anywhere to 'meet people' and just chat with whilst I was playing on PS4. Hence the GB FC being so vital to me.

@chumley_marchbanks: Thanks for your reply, so, in order; thanks. I suppose a one off fee to change my race some point down the line isn't terrible. Kind of a shame though all the same. The thing about my subscription is; to reopen I'd need to fund my Square Enix EU Account. I don't earn GBP anymore, so it's not very sustainable to dip into what I have left in the UK. Over here in Japan though, you can buy the FFXIV subscription cards everywhere, so I was planning to just pay by using a card whenever I wanted a month on it. (For example, in busy months I'd want to let my sub lapse, or just play other games. Even if it costs a bit more, it's a lot easier than using card over here). When I go to buy the game on Steam it has a nice Japanese warning telling me I need a (and it specifically states) Japanese Square Enix Account. I could obviously still play the game in English if I wanted, and use the NA Servers, but it'd be from a Japanese account regardless.

Ah, it's good to know that it lines up with the popular NA times. I'd mainly be playing it on my day off if I'm with people, so that'd fit nicely :)

Aww, that's a shame about the classes. The Astrologian looked fun.

@feive_vz: Ah, okay. I understand your situation now. There probably are a bunch of hoops that you could jump through to still use your old account, but Square is very anal when it comes to accounts and licenses and it probably isn't worth the anguish if you're happy to start a new character.

@chumley_marchbanks: Yeah, I had thought as much. The Japanese and Western arms of these companies rarely talk to each other. It's not the end of the world having to restart. It was enjoyable and I wasn't like a major high level.

Do you think it's worth saving 1,100 Yen (around $11 I think) to get Heavensward now, and the ability to be a Dragon dude? Sounds like I don't get any other bonuses for buying it before I complete the campaign lol.

@feive_vz: If you're confident that you'll play long enough to reach the Heavensward content then you might as well save yourself some dosh and buy the bundle. If you're not, then maybe hold off and wait until you get there. You'll get a free Fantasia with your first month of subscription so you can change your race for free at some point as well.

@chumley_marchbanks: Oh really? Fantastic. I think I'll go with a Unisex name then just incase I decide for a Dragon Lady instead. Saving a little bit sounds great, but of course it involves putting more down now. I feel relatively confident I'll get Heavensward but I think I'll hold off and just see how it goes for the first month. I never finished the story on my original character, so I'm guessing it's pretty long right? I'm assuming it's still active despite Heavensward's additional content too, right? D:

@feive_vz: It is quite long now thanks the major content patches since launch, but luckily story content now gives much more EXP than it used to, so theoretically you should be able to get to level 50 on those quests plus the bonus dungeons alone. Thanks to the duty roulette, all of the old dungeons and trials are still very much active, and if you do find yourself struggling to get stuff done folks in the FC will be more than happy to help.

@chumley_marchbanks: aaaaaand I bought Heavensward so I can be a Dragon Dude. See you in Eorzea soon! Hah.