Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn comes with an entirely new service fee structure to that which was in use towards the end of 1.0’s lifetime. Gone is the fee for creating extra characters and instead you can decide whether you want to pay a basic fee for one character per world or a standard fee that gives you up to 8 characters on a world. There is an overall cap of 40 and 8 characters in place however but that should be more than enough for even the most dedicated players.
It has been said that retainers may be shared across your account for all characters on the same server, which makes the standard fee more appealing because it makes it a lot easier to play multiple characters. But with the ability to play every class on one character there is often little need for extra characters on the same server except for storage or trying out a different race.
The full Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn fee structure is as follows:
| Membership | Price | Days | Characters – World | Characters – Total |
| Legacy | £6.89/€9.99/$9.99 | 30 | 8 | 40 |
| Entry | £7.69/€10.99/$12.99 | 30 | 1 | 8 |
| Standard | £8.99/€12.99/$14.99 | 30 | 8 | 40 |
| Standard | £8.39/€11.99/$13.99* | 90 | 8 | 40 |
| Standard | £7.69/€10.99/$12.99* | 180 | 8 | 40 |
* These prices are based on the equivalent 30 day subscription, EG you pay £7.69/€10.99/$12.99 * 6 when you purchase a 180 day subscription.
The payment options for Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn will be credit/debit cards, Square Enix Crysta and game cards bought in stores.
FFXIV: ARR Legacy Campaign
The Legacy Campaign is a loyalty reward available to players who stuck with 1.0 during the rough periods and subscribed to the game for at least 90 days. Square Enix feels that they should reward this loyalty with a lower monthly fee as well as other bonuses.
Players with legacy status will be entitled to an exclusive chocobo mount which will become available with the launch of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. They will also be able to request that their name is displayed in the credits for Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. Another bonus is that legacy players will gain early access to the launch of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn along with players who pre-ordered the game.
To qualify for a legacy account you must have subscribed for at least 90 days before June 30th 2012, 2012. As a result this means that it is no longer possible to qualify for legacy status. If you qualify for legacy status you will know about it via a logo in the character select screen.
FFXIV 1.0 Fee Structure
For much of Final Fantasy XIV 1.0’s life, the game remained free to play. However, this changed in January 2012 when monthly fees commenced. The fees announced were lower than the originally intended fees for the game and the possibility to purchase extra retainers was unavailable. The fee reduction was only a temporary plan until the release of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn.
The temporary fee structure meant you paid £6.89/€9.99 for 30 days if you live in Europe and $9.99 if you live in the USA. There was also an additional fee of £2.10/€3/$3 per extra character you created. If you purchased a 90 day subscription then you made a saving of £0.60/€1/$1 per 30 days, while a 180 day subscription option gave you a saving of £1.20/€2/$2 depending on your currency.