Best way to set up accounts to try FF14?

[luxlunae]

So if the base game is free to play why is it $20 on steam?

(also caught ellays stream this weekend and missing boxing so badly)

I was planning to do one paid and 3/4 trial for now, will that be too restrictive?

[Purpleflavor]

I was planning to do one paid and 3/4 trial for now, will that be too restrictive?

No it's perfect for boxers until you want to take your team beyond level 60. The restrictions that matter are not being able to /invite, and the gold cap. Having 1 paid sub removes the /invite issue, and the gold cap isn't a problem until you start crafting and leveling beyond 60.

There's so much to do pre-60 that most people don't sub until they get most Jobs to 60.

And then for those that want to box less then 4 characters, you can ask anyone walking around to help you make a party by inviting all of your team and then they can drop group and your team will still be partied. So you can box 2-3 characters for free relatively easy since the community is so nice and helpful. It's totally worth the sub fee though, great game.

So if the base game is free to play why is it $20 on steam?

It's weird how they do it. Not even sure if you can do Free to play through Steam, but i think if you make your Free to play account first through the official website, you can select an option to make it a "Steam version account". Though I read a lot of complaints about Steam limiting how you upgrade and do any paid services though. Not sure myself, but it looked messy.

So the way to go right now if you want to play a paid account is to purchase
-Online Starter Edition (includes A Realm Reborn and Heavensward and 30 day sub) $19.99
-Preorder Endwalker (includes includes Stormblood and Shadowbringers) $39.99
and that covers the entire game.

It's important to know that if you make a fresh account then you can start playing the base game free forever below level 60, but if you buy the game or expansions or subscribe, you lose access to free to play forever on that account.