If you like brutal server crashes or need a taste of Final Fantasy XIV before you bother to hit a store to purchase, the time to experience the former and do the latter is nigh. Square Enix has confirmed that it is kicking off an open beta wave for the game as early as August 31, 19:00PDT in North America, according to RPG Site.
It's unknown exactly how many people Square Enix is planning to let flood its fresh-smelling MMO, but it seems safe to assume that it'll be a substantial number. The game hits soon (September 22), and its servers have yet to take the kind of day-one beating most MMO studios attempt to simulate beforehand.
This news comes on the heels of a confirmation that the PS3 edition of the game will launch at least six months later than its PC brother as the result of a memory pinch.
== TEASER ==This news is also hitting after Square Enix took some lumps from the hardest of hardcore planning to play the MMO. Fans are moaning about the studio's plans to keep the casual adventurer invested in the game's world and their own characters by capping the amount of experience that can be gained in a seven-day period (via MTV Multiplayer).
In short, you'll only be able to gain full amounts of experience points for eight hours a week. For seven hours after that, you'll have to deal with earning smaller amounts of EXP before the game just quits issuing out points and bonuses altogether.
Defending this move on the game's beta site, director Nobuaki Komoto said it's all about maximizing what people can do with limited time on their hands.
"Furthermore," he said according to a translation by FFXIV Core, "[the game] is being designed to not give those with more time on their hands to play an unfair advantage. Because of that, systems such as Guardian's Favor (a bonus to Guildleves) have been implemented to making leveling in the short-term easier than leveling in the long-term."
But what Square can't kill, of course, is the edge you'll have on others after jumping into the open beta in just a few days. Keep checking the game's website if you want in. They'll undoubtedly update it with more information on how to get in.