After 10 months, Final Fantasy XIV gets something back that makes the MMORPG so special

The MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV introduced a small change with the new patch: the AFK timer is gone. Kicked players since the summer of 2021 if they were inactive for too long. Square Enix wanted to get the flood of players under control during the 2021 hype. Now some players are cheering and explaining why they don’t log out anymore.

That’s the small change in the patch: There is a patch note in the “System” section that is making some players happy now: Players will no longer be automatically logged out after being inactive for 30 minutes.

That applies to all zones, they say.

For 10 months, Final Fantasy XIV violently ripped players out of the MMORPG

That’s what’s special: This state of “it’s okay to hang out afk and dance afk” is the natural state of Final Fantasy XIV. That’s pretty much how the game has always been.

But the massive episode of Final Fantasy XIV 2021 meant that an AFK timer was suddenly introduced last July. This was done to take the load off the servers, because the weakness of WoW and the enthusiasm of some Twitch streamers for Final Fantasy XIV suddenly saw the MMORPG boom months before “Endwalker” was released.

When Endwalker really came along, the servers kept getting full. Now the hype has died down and 10 months after its introduction, the AFK timer can disappear again.

The AFK timer should free up space on the servers and help people who are actually at the computer play and not have their space on the server blocked by players who are just standing around afk.

AFK players somehow make the world of Final Fantasy XIV richer and more beautiful

Why is this so special? Normally almost all MMORPGs have an AFK timer, but Final Fantasy XIV deliberately doesn’t have it. This causes people to just stand around or dance in many places around the world. They show their character to the world. For many in Final Fantasy XIV, “fashion” is very important: how their character looks and how it affects others.

Some players feel that these “AFK characters” are “special” because the MMORPG looks so busier and fuller:

• One user says, “When I started Final Fantasy XIV, there was a guy who was on the street in Black Shroud for a whole week. I was totally amazed. Today I practically never log out, just like that, so now I understand him.”
• Another user says, “Before Endwalker, there was always a guy who would stand on the steps of Aehteryte in Ul’Dah and do a dance. I called him the meth pope because he wore such colorful clothes. I saw him for the first time in months this morning.”
• A third says: “I’ve only been playing since September. I thought it was always like the last time. I’m feeling so stupid right now.”

Others are genuinely amazed that the AFK timer has only been in the game for 10 months. It felt like an eternity.

This is behind it: The example of the AFK timer shows how often little things make a world special in an MMORPG.

The need to be “part of the world” is obviously great. Even when you’re not playing, you want to show and portray your own character.

There are also good reasons to switch off the computer:

5 reasons why you should turn off your computer at night