Final Fantasy 14's Endwalker expansion is now less than 100 days away, and Square Enix is gearing up to accommodate a lot of eager Eorzeans. If you play on the Mana Data Center, you can participate in an upcoming stress test Square Enix has scheduled for Friday, August 27 at 4:30am PDT.
The upcoming stress test will push the stability of in-game systems like Duty Finder to see just how well they hold up when Warriors of Light pile in this November. On Final Fantasy 14's lodestone, Square Enix requested the help of the community by asking players on the Mana Data Center to log in and follow instructions. Director and producer Naoki Yoshida will be attending the test, providing guidance on what players should do via live steam.
For those of you who play on North American or European data centers, you're all clear. Square Enix noted that it had "already obtained sufficient data alongside the high levels of activity in recent weeks." If you're eager to help, or just curious about what the exercise will entail, Yoshida's instructional stream will be hosted on the MMO's Twitch. The audio will be in Japanese only, though.
If you've been paying attention to the critically acclaimed MMORPG that's free up until level 60 (sorry), then you've probably already noticed that it's taking off in a newfound wave of popularity. Yoshida called the spike in player activity "staggering" and Square Enix even had to bring back its idle kick timer - something you only typically see around and shortly after expansion launches.
That attention has spread to sales of the game, too, so it's not only players there on a free trial basis. Square Enix said that Final Fantasy 14 saw a 160 percent increase in preorders when comparing its most recent expansion, Shadowbringers, to the next installment, Endwalker. Things didn't end with just pre-orders, either, as Final Fantasy 14 somehow managed to actually sell out of its digital copies.
If you aren't interested in stress tests or fights for Endwalker pre-orders, there's still goodies in Eorzea for you. Final Fantasy 14 just announced the official return of The Rising, a yearly event where you can grab a couple of freebies, and this time you're getting a cute parasol for the occasion.