This year’s Starlight Celebration is underway in Final Fantasy 14, and an overwhelming (literally) amount of players are celebrating holiday cheer with a unique questline. This year, players have to help a tiny Yeti learn that he’s just as strong as his big brothers when it comes to Starlight spirit. Of course, the whole story is very adorable, but it also shows how games should handle holiday content and why FFXIV continues to be so popular.
The way FFXIV handles seasonal events is excellent
FFXIV has quite a few seasonal events, typically one for each month. These usually last around 2-4 weeks, during which players can take part in the seasonal questline and receive the unique rewards for participating. Most seasonal questlines are short, and players can complete them in one or two sittings. Additionally, most seasonal items are free, with a select few requiring Gil or MGP to purchase them.
The above might sound like seasonal events aren’t involved enough, but I think they go just far enough to be fun without being obtrusive. Too often, we see seasonal events with complex, limited-time tasks that are specifically designed to encourage a Fear of Missing Out. Don’t have three hours a day to play a game for fifteen days straight to earn a hat or a skin? Too bad it’ll never be available again. In contrast to this, FFXIV’s seasonal items are added to the cash shop for the most part. Missed last year’s Starlight Celebration? That’s fine; just pay for the items ala carte. Sure, it sucks to miss a chance to get the items for free, but at least there’s no FOMO if it happens.
Without the need to push players to play out of fear of missing out on some fantastic, exclusive item, Square Enix can afford to make the whole thing a bit goofy and fun as well. This year’s Starlight Celebration questline is just a short adventure with an adorable yeti and talking mouse, but it beats out any other Christmas-themed event in gaming. There’s no grinding or clout to be chased here, just a Final Fantasy 14 version of a Hallmark Channel movie. Afterward, players get a couple of cute minions and the ability to purchase a Starlight Mobile from the seasonal vendor, and that’s it (aside from the decorations everywhere).
FFXIV is unique in the MMO genre for being a basically solo adventure. Our character is the hero, the big star, and it wouldn’t make sense that they’d suddenly spend three weeks completing holiday-themed quests and events while Eorzea burns. I loved playing through the Starlight Celebration, and I love that it respects my time and lets me continue forward with the main story quests without being intrusive.
