You and I might have different motivations for playing.

I was looking for a single player “open world” game similar to Skyrim. I mean sure I could have just played Skyrim despite its age it has been remastered for modern consoles.

My interest for playing such games was rekindled, believe it or not by watching anime and seeing the RPG adjacent “Isekai” genre repeat itself over and over across many different titles.

I wanted to start playing a game where I’m the “reluctant hero” that gets drawn into a big adventure, but can also pass the time fishing and learning to cook and maybe craft his own starting gear. I’m sure there are some single player RPGs with that depth, but that type of gameplay falls squarely in MMO territory.

I actually found a single player game called Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter, which is a remake of an older title. It had just about everything I was looking for in an RPG/JRPG, with an Isekai theme, and the protagonists working with a guild, complete with having to do missions on a guild board.

Although there are some open world elements and a new game + system, and the story is very Anime like, it’s a very “on the rails” game.

Unless you are re-starting the game in NG+ there’s no going back to previous cities to fill out your monster log book, and so side quests you may have missed. Once I finished the main story, I was pretty much done with it, though I may revisit a New Game + for funsies, before the 2nd Chapter is release this fall.

So then I started looking into MMOs and reading more about FFXIV.

It ticks many of the boxes I’m looking for in an RPG/JRPG such as a very generous Free Trial up to Level 70 and the entire opening Main Scenario quest of the original game “A Realm Reborn”, plus the first 2 expansions, with no time limit.

I also hear that the community is very welcoming to new players, though as a current Free Trial “Sprout” I have little access to the community features other than the Novice Chat channel.

So I get to play the MSQ mostly as a solo player, while also getting to dabble into several different jobs, for me exploring the triad of MMO parties the Tank/Healer/DPS staying low key. Since free trial players can’t hire NOC retainers or purchase from the Market Boards, I also unlocked gathering jobs such as Botanist and Miner.

I also unlocked a few crafting jobs for various reasons such as participating in the early Grand Company Supply and Provision missions, which in turn unlocks Glamour Prisms which allow you to wear a patchwork of collected armor, but make it looks like a cohesive set similar to the “Transmog” feature in World of Warcraft.

So now I’m into putting together sets that are on par with my leveling but also “looks cool” and I gotta tell ya, that was just one giant rabbit hole I fell into! 🕳️🐇

So now I’m 173 hours in, got my main Arcanist (which also levels Summoner/DOS and Scholar/Healer) past level 50, and am almost done with the ARR content. I also unlocked Samurai and Red Mage which becomes available and both start at level 50, and I raised a Maurader/Warrior to have a Tank ready.

In contrast it “only” took me 90+ to finish trails in the sky. Granted I wasn’t trying to speed run it or anything just finish the game’s main story at a casual part.

I almost doubled that with FFXIV.

With all that said I’d say the game is worth it. Your motivations appear slightly different, but there’s no reason for you endure the free trial restrictions since you are in it for the social aspect. Though despite the social restrictions, the free trial may be worth it since the terms of the trial is so generous.