Final Fantasy XIV has been excellent for many years now and the player base has continued to grow with each expansion. However, getting into a long-running MMO and catching up to current content is still a daunting task that can put some potential players off, so Square Enix is hoping to address that by making the A Realm Reborn scenario ‘more compact'.

Plenty of MMOs have experimented with catch-up mechanics for new players. Some sell one-time use level boost items, while others have XP boosts for older quests to help level through the content quicker. Final Fantasy XIV does offer level boosts but they are expensive. Beyond that, some new players may still want to experience the full story but with less grinding involved.

During the latest developer live stream for Final Fantasy XIV, the team confirmed that it is “working on adjusting the A Realm Reborn main scenario to be more compact”. Exactly what this re-work will entail remains to be seen but it appears to be part of the work Square Enix is doing alongside a New Game+ mode.

Patch 5.3 won't be coming out for a while, so this update is still months away. However, it is something to look forward to, particularly if you are a new player looking to jump in to Final Fantasy XIV for the first time.

KitGuru Says: I've been playing a lot of Final Fantasy XIV lately in an effort to catch up to Shadowbringers content. It is a huge commitment but hopefully this rework for the base game content will trim some of the fat and make the process easier. With that said, there is still a lot of content to get through even after A Realm Reborn, as Heavensward, Stormblood and now Shadowbringers each raise the level cap and pack in new story campaigns.

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