My first experience with Final Fantasy XIV was terrible. It was a while ago, so I don’t exactly remember the intricate details, but basically, I tried to install it, it failed not-so-gracefully, then I asked Square Enix for help. I sent a support ticket letting them know exactly what the problem was, linked to a knowledgebase article on their website explaining how to solve the problem, and let them know that I tried those exact steps and indicated why that solution didn’t work.

Their response? They linked me to the VERY EXACT SAME KNOWLEDGEBASE ARTICLE that I linked to them – the one where I specifically indicated that it was not helpful.

I ended up going into some of the game’s configuration files in the installation directory and figuring out how to fix the problem myself. My technical background helped me with that; anyone not so adept with coding most likely wouldn’t have been able to fix it.

When I finally got in game, I got extremely frustrated with the map system. It’s tiny, poorly designed, and unintuitive. I couldn’t really ever figure out where to go to do particular tasks, and the map was awful at telling me where I would end up if I took a particular exit out of one area. To me, navigation is extremely important (even in real life, because I get lost a lot), and their map system was one of the worst I’ve ever seen.

But somehow, one of my good friends convinced me to give the game one more try. I made a Miqo’te twin with her. I named mine Pink Lemonade; she named hers Salted Caramel. They’re both named after each of our favorite sweets.

Things still aren’t looking that great right now in terms of the game keeping my attention, and I may end up just no longer playing after this month of subscription time is over. But hopefully, I can stick with it long enough that I’ll actually get close to the level cap this time, instead of just giving up after a few days or a week, out of frustration.