Perhaps you’re just dipping your toes into the waters of Final Fantasy 14’s Costa Del Sol—if so, welcome! There’s a lot here that may be confusing, like how the lot of us get excited about Yoshida cosplaying, can’t seem to stop spreading a bizarre copy-pasta advertisement selling the game, or our fascination with Zenos’ ass. I’ve played FF14 since launch, and I reckon anyone stumbling into it for the first time now is both horrified and amused by what really gets the community talking. Even if you don’t play, you’ve likely already seen our new thing to relentlessly bother you with, the Endwalker benchmark. Don’t worry if you don’t understand, no one actually gives a damn about the program itself, it’s the other bits tucked away that are the most exciting.

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You see, FF14’s benchmark is a ritual with every expansion. Square Enix launched one with A Realm Reborn and we’ve had one for everything that came after, always ahead of the next big launch. Prior to A Realm Reborn going live in an official capacity, I couldn’t get enough of the game’s beta, so I created an army of ten million catgirls to tide me over during hard times. By the time A Realm Reborn actually launched, I couldn’t decide which Miqo’te was the one.

Final Fantasy 14 Benchmark Score Process

Final Fantasy 14 runs on just about anything, the game was even on PS3 for a while. So, it’s no surprise when that number in the bottom left corner rockets up to make that part of your brain excited by numbers come whirring to life. On most modern devices, it’ll play just fine, and even in the period of my life during Stormblood where my bank account usually couldn’t cover a coffee, my laptop was fine on the lowest settings. Final Fantasy 14 wasn’t the prettiest it could have been, but it worked.

No, it’s none of that. At the end of the day, Final Fantasy 14’s benchmark is a peek at what’s to come. It’s lifting the veil on the male Viera, feeding us tiny bits of lore and revealing they’re all short kings compared to their female counterparts. For the first time, you’re able to play in Endwalker’s character creator and spin up some of your hunkiest bunny boy ideas. Months before the expansion launch, Square Enix blesses you with the freedom to create a harem of handsome hares and prepare your modelesque babes for a showdown on the moon. I’ve chronicled just about all of my journey through Eorzea as a kitty, but I’ve created so many rabbit-eared cuties in the last 24 hours that I think I’ll swap for Endwalker.

It wasn’t until today that I paid attention to the actual number Final Fantasy 14’s benchmark rewarded me with for spending too much money on a GPU. I still have no idea what it means, but it’s got a big EXTREMELY HIGH slapped right on top of the Warrior of Light’s face when I open it up.

FFXIV's Benchmark cutscene with Zenos

What I do know though, is that I have watched the benchmark fight scenes an unhealthy amount of times, as I am one of those players. I comb through lore books, zoom in on images, and read way too much into comments Yoshida makes in passing. If you let me, I’ll rant about my predictions for Endwalker for hours, and that’s why the benchmark is so fun for me; it’s why the community is spiraling out of control right now over tiny flashes of new skills.

Endwalker’s benchmark is our first look at some of the new jobs and their respective skills months before release. Eventually, we’ll see Yoshida and his team discuss more in-depth what all of these things are, but for now, we’ve been handed a plate of cutscenes and new skills with no context. The months of speculation, theorycrafting, and mass confusion leading into a new FF14 expansion are some of the coolest parts of the community. You’re more often wrong than right about your guesses, but the thrill of guessing and planning is part of the real FF14 experience.

FFXIV Benchmark final Score for Extremely High

So no, most of the joy around Endwalker’s benchmark really has nothing to do with being disappointed or thrilled over your system’s specs. Back in Stormblood, I didn’t need anyone to tell me my PC desperately needed to retire, and for Endwalker I know I’ve gone overboard. I’m just excited to see Zenos at the end and wonder what every little animation means. Is that something we get for the Reaper job? Is it exclusive to Endwalker’s big baddie? I don’t know, I’ll watch it again, then get distracted by something else I missed the hundred other times I’ve gone through this exercise.

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