Final Fantasy XIV's Fatigue System Explained

One thing you wouldn't expect to see implemented in an MMORPG is a system that can punish you for playing too long. Such is the case with Final Fantasy XIV's new Fatigue System. A new article at Kotaku details the new system, which will decrease the amount of experience players earn after playing more than eight hours a day. Game Director Nobuaki Komoto responded to fan criticism by stating:

First off, the main concept behind FFXIV is allowing those players with little time on their hands to play effectively, and game balance is based off of that. Furthermore, it is being designed to not give those with more time on their hands to play an unfair advantage. Because of that, systems such as Guardian's Favor (a bonus to Guildleves) have been implemented to make leveling in the short-term easier than leveling in the long-term.

Komoto compares the system to that of real-world fatigue in that no one could fight over excessive periods of time without rest. But do we really want real-world style limitations in our MMORPGs? That is in part why we play them; to escape the monotony of real-life.

With the new system, for the first eight hours of play you can earn experience as normal, but the following seven hours could see your experience gradually reduced to zero. However, this timer is only in running while players earn experience. The "threshold timer" will begin to recover as you are offline or engaged in other activities that yield no experience. Certainly bad news if you're a power grinder.

Be sure to check out our Final Fantasy XIV Interview from gamescom.

Thanks to our Final Fantasy XIV Guru Ohm for the catch.