Answering FFXIV's 10th Anniversary Survey

Last Friday Square Enix published a link to their 10th anniversary survey for Final Fantasy XIV on the Lodestone. 

As part of A Realm Reborn’s 10th Anniversary celebrations, we will be holding a special survey until Friday, September 22 at 7:59 a.m. (PDT)! Tell us about your main job, what sort of place FFXIV is to you, and other details we would like to hear about your adventures!

Furthermore, we will be releasing a new side story—the featured character will depend on the answers we receive!

* Depending on the responses we receive, the new side story may feature a character whom already appears in a previous side story or the new Tales under the New Moon series.

* Survey answers will serve as a reference for our future endeavors.

Participate in the 10th Anniversary Survey.

Logging into the Lodestone is required to take the survey.

I decided to take the survey and also record the answers here. I'll add question numbers to the questions and give longer answers than I gave in the survey.

Q1. Have you ever played another MMORPG before FFXIV? 

A. Yes

For those new to the blog, in addition to playing EVE Online since 2009 I've played and reached at least the level cap of the original game in World of Warcraft, Everquest II, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Guild Wars 2, and Elder Scrolls Online. Some of the games I at least got to level 12 in are Black Desert Online, Lord of the Rings Online, Vanguard, Runes of Magic, Warhammer Online, and Wildstar.

Q2. Have you ever played another game in the FINAL FANTASY series before FFXIV? 

A. No

I recently finished the original version of Final Fantasy but I've played FFXIV since 2019. I created my account on the 50th anniversary of Neil Armstrong's first step on the Moon. I didn't realize how significant that date would be until I saw the Endwalker trailer and heard a little about Final Fantasy IV.

Q3. What led you to start playing FFXIV?

A. Enjoy role-playing games.

This was a single answer multiple choice question. This was the closest answer to reality. If the answer was allowed to be a multi-punch answer, I also would have selected "Enjoy online games".

Q4. What is your main job above all others?

A. White Mage

Feel free to tell us about your choice using the free answer space.

I wanted to play a healer and conjuror was the only option at low levels. That turned into white mage.

I didn't know much about Final Fantasy when I started playing, but I knew that the white mage was an iconic job. While players can also play Scholar, a shield-healing job, the Archanist-class also evolves into Summoner and is a DPS class. I wanted to play as a healer from level 1.

Q5. Which home point do you consider home?

A. Gridania

Feel free to tell us about your choice using the free answer space.

Gridania is where conjurors start and I never saw a reason to leave. Plus, the layout is less confusing and more convenient than the other two starting cities. 

When starting out, the game encourages logging out in certain zones in order to get additional experience. Based on my WoW days I always logged out in the inn in Gridania. Partly because I stuck with White Mage and the class quests (up to level 30) and the job quests (probably until level 55) required talking to NPCs in Gridania. By the time I reached level 60, the habit was set. Plus, even I have a hard time getting lost in Gridania.

Q6. Which mount do you call forth the most?

A. Argos

Feel free to tell us about your choice using the free answer space.

How can you not love a golden dog?

I wrote a brief answer for the questionnaire because of the 500 character limit. For those who don't know, Argos is Venat's familiar and at the end of the Endwalker story it chooses to become your companion. 

Q7. Which minion is always by your side?

A. Magic Broom

Feel free to tell us about your choice using the free answer space.

I usually don't display minions. But when I do, it's usually the magic broom to clean up my area while crafting. I don't want to leave a mess.

I have around 100 minions at this point. A lot of them run around my island. But I really don't get the allure of minions when I'm running around the world. I will pull them out when I'm crafting, though.

Q8. Who or what would you consider your most formidable foe?

A. The Endsinger

I never did figure out how to avoid the crashing planets. I wound up on the floor as the boss died. Sorry, I'm not going back.

Q9. Choose ONE character whom you would like to be featured in a side story.

A. M'naggo

M'naggo is a character from the Stormblood expansion who also is a custom deliveries NPC. But if I had given a little more thought, I would really like to see a story about Azem. Or the Azem who succeeded Venat in the role.

Q10. What sort of place would you describe FFXIV to be?

A. FFXIV is a fantastical apocalyptic world that mixes the modern with the medieval.

I don't think people really realize how dark a world Eorzea really is. We open the story of A Realm Reborn hearing about the Seventh Umbral Calamity and spend the rest of the game through the end of Endwalker 6.0 trying to save the world. But Final Fantasy XIV shows that an apocalyptic era isn't filled only with doom and gloom. Just as all the misery and evil escaped from Pandora's box, the container also contained Hope. So too in Eorzea. Because despite all the horror, evil, and gloom roaming the lands, our heroes, and the player as the Warrior of Light, also provides Hope to the world. And with the Power of Friendship™ fights the good fight until the end.