Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn is getting condensed

(Image credit: Square Enix)

Square Enix recently hosted another Final Fantasy 14 Letter from the Producer livestream, with the developers fielding extremely granular questions from players. The Japanese stream has been translated on the forums and is full of wee titbits, but the most interesting of the bunch is the promise of a more compact A Realm Reborn storyline.

Final Fantasy 14 is a bit intimidating when you've been away for a long time. I've started playing again after quitting before any of the expansions launched, so I've got a lot of catching up to do, but I'm still languishing in the original scenario. Most players seem to agree it's far from the MMO at its best, and I'm ready to move on.

What shape this rework will take isn't clear. I'd be happy if Square Enix just removed a lot of the pointless running around. I can't count the amount of times I've had to hoof it across the whole world just so I can have a 10 second conversation that ends with me being sent all the way back. Before you get your first chocobo, it's even more of a nightmare.

There's quite a bit of filler and busywork, too, and it all contributes to A Realm Reborn just having a garbage pace. I've been sent to so many places and performed so many forgettable tasks that I honestly couldn't even tell you what's going on in the story at all.

Square Enix is aiming for patch 5.3, so the changes are still far off, and maybe I'll even have finished A Realm Reborn by the time they're out.

Elsewhere in the livestream, the developers confirmed that new glamour items were on their way, along with some races getting more beards and hairstyles. UI tweaks, "fundamental" changes to stealth and a new social feature that lets you create a 'Circle' for certain activities and receive notifications about it were also teased.

Final Fantasy 14's Shadowbringers expansion launched last month, with Steven calling it one of the best stories in the entire series. Give his Shadowbringers review a read.

Cheers, Polygon.

Fraser is the UK online editor and has actually met The Internet in person. With over a decade of experience, he's been around the block a few times, serving as a freelancer, news editor and prolific reviewer. Strategy games have been a 30-year-long obsession, from tiny RTSs to sprawling political sims, and he never turns down the chance to rave about Total War or Crusader Kings. He's also been known to set up shop in the latest MMO and likes to wind down with an endlessly deep, systemic RPG. These days, when he's not editing, he can usually be found writing features that are 1,000 words too long or talking about his dog.