The Best Final Fantasy Mmo Is Now Easier to Play Than Ever

Published Sep 30, 2026, 1:23 PM EDT Willa Rowe is a contributing writer at Polygon, covering games and entertainment. She is a New York-based journalist and critic whose work has been featured in Kotaku, Digital Trends, the A.V. Club, GamesRadar+, and more. She also co-hosts the Girl Mode podcast. Say goodbye to Final Fantasy 11's free trial restrictions Image: Square Enix Sign in to your Polygon.com account Have you heard of the critically acclaimed Final Fantasy 14? Well, what about its older, even better sibling, Final Fantasy 11? While Square Enix's first foray into a massively multiplayer Final Fantasy game is over two decades old, it is still alive and well. As a matter of fact, the game has just become easier to play than ever thanks to a long-awaited change to its free trial. So now you really have no excuse not to play it. Square Enix previously announced plans to remove the time limit on Final Fantasy 11's free trial, but the change has finally been put in effect. The company made the announcement in a blog post on the PlayOnline website, which is delightfully antiquated (much like the game). The big news is that, as of today, the 14-day time limit is a thing of the past and players on the free trial can now enjoy the game for as long as they want. As Square Enix put it, "Take your time to level up your character and visit various areas in the game. This is your chance to go on adventures with your friends and get the most out of your life in Vana'diel." That's not all, as players on the free trial can now raise their characters to level 75, a big increase over the previous level 50 cap. Additionally, if you previously created a free trial account and ran out of allotted play time, you'll be able to access the game again now that the time limit has been removed. What restrictions does the Final Fantasy 11 free trial still have? Image: Square Enix The removal of the free trial's time limit makes Final Fantasy 11 way more accessible for players not willing to pay a monthly subscription fee for a two-decade-old MMO (even if it still rocks). There are still a number of restrictions Square Enix has in place that those diving into the game for the first time should know about. Here's the full list of restrictions: Character limit — Free trial accounts can have up to 3 characters at a time. Level 75 cap — Jobs available in the free trial can be leveled to 75. Jobs introduced in expansion packs are not available in the free trial. Area restrictions — Free trial players will only be able to access areas included in the original Final Fantasy 11 release. Auction usage — Free trial players will not be able to place items up for auction, place bids on auctions, or view items up for auction. Gil limit — Free trial players can hold up to a maximum of 100,000 gil. Trading and bazaar — Free trial players cannot trade with other players or use the bazaar feature to buy or sell items. Party Invitations — Free trial players cannot invite other players to a party. However, free trial players can join parties when invited. Mog House Delivery Box — Free trial players cannot use the Mog House Delivery Box feature. Tell/shout/yell — Free trial players cannot use the /tell, /shout, or /yell chat channels. However, they can chat within a party and reply to /tell messages from other players. World Transfer Service — Free trial accounts cannot use the World Transfer Service. Mentor — Free trial characters cannot become mentors. Unity Concord — Free trial characters cannot take part in Unity Concord. Many of these are similar to restrictions players may see in Final Fantasy 14, with the huge exception of expansion content availability. There have been several expansions for Final Fantasy 11 and not getting access to any of them is a bit of a bummer, but there is still plenty to enjoy from the base game. Other restrictions, like not being able to invite players to form a party, are best skirted around by playing with someone who has a paid account. Don't be too deterred if that isn't possible, as Final Fantasy 11 is surprisingly solo-player friendly. Free sign-up Get Polygon’s Wishlister newsletter A weekly cheat sheet to what you’ll eventually love to play. No buying, no commitment — just saving for later. Sign up free Free. Unsubscribe anytime.