Final Fantasy 11's free trial no longer expires, and the level cap has jumped to 75
Square Enix has removed the 14-day limit on the Final Fantasy 11 free trial and raised its cap from level 50 to 75. Old trial accounts that ran out of time work again from today.
Twenty-four years after launch, the cheapest way into Vana'diel just became free indefinitely. Square Enix has scrapped the 14-day time limit on the Final Fantasy 11 free trial, announcing the change on the PlayOnline site on September 30.
What changed
The trial previously gave you two weeks and a level 50 ceiling. Both have moved: there is now no time restriction at all, and trial characters can be taken to level 75. Square Enix says that opens up "the additional content that has been released for characters up to Level 75", which covers a substantial chunk of the base game's endgame as it existed before the expansion era ran away with it.
Anyone who burned through a trial account years ago is not locked out either. Square Enix confirms that previously created free trial accounts can be used again now that the limit is gone, so a lapsed 2010 character is playable from today without paying.
What the trial still will not let you do
This is not the full game. Trial accounts are capped at three characters, cannot access areas added by any expansion, and cannot use jobs introduced in expansions. The auction house is off limits entirely, gil is capped at 100,000, and players cannot trade, use the bazaar, or use the Mog House delivery box. Trial players also cannot send /tell, /shout or /yell messages, cannot invite others to a party, and cannot use world transfers, mentoring or Unity Concord.
You can still join a party someone else invites you to and reply to tells, which is the important part: the restrictions are aimed at bots and gil sellers rather than at making the game unplayable.
Why it matters
Final Fantasy 11 is a subscription MMO from 2002 that still gets monthly updates, and its biggest barrier has always been asking people to pay before they know whether they like it. An unlimited trial with a level 75 ceiling is a far more honest pitch than two weeks, and it lands while Square Enix's other MMO absorbs most of the attention.
Why it matters
A 24-year-old subscription MMO removing the clock from its free trial is the clearest signal yet that Square Enix wants new players in Vana'diel rather than just retaining the ones it has.