Final Fantasy XIV’s (FFXIV) may be best known for its epic storyline and player versus environment (PvE) MMO elements, but did you know the game boasts extensive Player vs Player (PvP) content? Players looking to scratch their competitive itch can pit their strength against each other in both small and large-scale battles to attain currency, progress their Series Level, and climb the rankings to achieve glory in the Regional Championships!

Please see below a guide to all you need to know to get started with PvP in FFXIV.

Getting started in PvP:

To unlock PvP, players must first complete the quest “A Pup No Longer” found at their Grand Company, available from level 30. After completing the quest, players will be able to go to Wolves’ Den Pier where they can:

• Access PvP vendors to spend PvP currency: Wolf Marks and Trophy Crystals
• Hone their PvP skills by practising on Training Dummies
• Access unique PvP hotbars and actions

In PvP, players use a set of actions that are unique to PvP content and balanced against other job actions. This ensures a fair experience for all players. PvP actions can be accessed via the PvP Actions tab in the PvP Profile. As most skills use visuals from standard actions, players should read the tooltips carefully to understand the differences! For example, usually, the Dragoon ability Chaotic Spring deals a small amount of damage while applying a damage-over-time effect, but in PvP it deals a large amount of damage and heals the Dragoon for 150% of the damage dealt.

PvP modes:

PvP is separated into three modes, Crystalline Conflict, Frontlines, and Rival Wings. Each offers different styles of play, but all reward Wolf Marks, PvP EXP, and Series EXP.

Crystalline Conflict pits two teams of four against each other in a “King of the Hill” style match. A large crystal begins in the centre of the arena with an indicated circular area around it. When at least one person from one team is inside the circle, the crystal will move towards the opposing team’s base. The crystal will halt if a member of both teams is present. A team wins by moving the crystal to the opposing team’s base, or by having moved it the closest to the enemy base at any point during the game when the timer runs out after five minutes.

Frontlines pits three teams of 24 against each other in a large-scale battle. While Frontlines has multiple maps with slightly different mechanics, the objective remains the same: achieve a 1600 tactical rating before the other teams do. The maps are:

• Seal Rock (Seize): Increase tactical rating by capturing and holding Allagan tomeliths. Tomeliths spawn randomly around the map and vanish once depleted.
• The Fields of Glory (Shatter): Increase tactical rating by dealing damage to Icebound tomeliths. Tomeliths spawn randomly around the map and vanish once destroyed.
• Onsal Hakair (Danshig Naadam): Increase tactical rating by claiming ovoos that randomly spawn on the map and vanish once claimed.
• Teams also receive tactical rating points on each map by defeating other players in battle.

Rival Wings is a large-scale MOBA-inspired battle with two teams of 24. A team wins by entering the opponent’s base and destroying their core. Players can mount powerful machina that excel in destroying structures or dealing damage to enemy players. To access the enemy base players must first destroy enemy tower structures and deal with an onslaught of NPC’s that travel along a fixed path toward both bases.

Series Malmstones and Series Level:

Resetting each Series, the Series Malmstones are a list of rewards that can be achieved by players as they increase their Series Level. This can include unique cosmetics such as emotes, mounts, and fashion accessories, or Trophy Crystals which can be exchanged for a multitude of cosmetic rewards and materia. Players can increase their Series Level by participating in any form of PvP.

Ranked Season:

For those seeking to climb leaderboards and achieve recognition, Ranked PvP matches allow players to increase their rating and climb through five tiers from Bronze to Crystal. These ratings are reset each season and tier rewards are distributed based on performance. Ranked PvP matches are only available in Crystalline Conflict, you can view the current season standings for the OCE Materia Data Centre here. The 2023 Europe / Oceania Crystalline Conflict Regional Championships were held at the London Fan Festival in October, where Oceanic team “FISH” made it through to the grand finale, placing as runner-up.

PvP provides players with another way to play FFXIV outside of the myriad of PvE content options such as Main Scenario Quests, gathering, raids, and so on. Players will need the full version of FFXIV to participate in PvP. However, anyone interested in trying FFXIV can sign up for the Free Trial on PC or PlayStation. FFXIV is also set to launch on XBOX X|S in Autumn 2024 (Southern Hemisphere).

The Free Trial has no time limit and as of Patch 6.5 it includes the base game (A Realm Reborn) and the Heavensward and Stormblood expansions, allowing players to reach level 70 on every class. You can sign up for the Free Trial here.