How to play Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail early access

The dawn of early access.

A city in Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail.
Image via Square Enix

Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail is the fifth major expansion in the JRPG’s illustrious 11-year history, and thanks to early access, you don’t have to wait until its official launch to hop in.

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First launching in 2013, Final Fantasy XIV has enjoyed a ton of longevity, with many players continuing to enjoy the MMORPG every month. Even in a world of free-to-play RPGs, the subscription-based nature of FFXIV continues to trump most. Continuing on from 2021’s Endwalker, the FFXIV Dawntrail release offers a new story, jobs, and much more—and you can sample it for yourself in early access.

How to get early access to Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail

forest location in final fantasy xiv dawntrail dlc
Many hours await. Image via Square Enix

You can play Final Fantasy XIV’s early access by pre-ordering any edition of FFXIV Dawntrail before the official launch on Tuesday, July 2.

This includes the standard edition, so you don’t need to splurge on the Digital Deluxe upgrade or Collector’s Edition to get in early. Once the pre-order purchase is registered to your FFXIV account, you’re all set to head into early access. You also get the Wind-up Zidane Minion and Azeyma’s Earring—which gives a 30 percent EXP buff to every combat job at level 90 and below; delivered to all your characters right away.

The registration process differs depending on your platform. Console players only have to make sure they’re pre-ordering the expansion on the right account, and are automatically registered for both early access and the official launch upon purchase.

PC players (Steam users included) will get a pre-order bonus code from their purchase, which can be entered into their Mogstation account under the “Registration Codes” section of their dashboard. After the official Dawntrail launch, they’ll also receive a separate registration code for the full expansion that needs to be entered into Mogstation by July 5, 11:59pm in your local timezone to continue playing.

While you need to have completed all Endwalker MSQ content up to the end of Patch 6.55 to access the Dawntrail story, other features like Viper and Pictomancer, Female Hrothgar, and the free Fantasia quest are available right away regardless of your MSQ progress. The graphics update is also in full effect, so don’t forget to make sure your computer meets the system requirements for PC before heading into early access.

Author
Image of Andrew Highton
Andrew Highton
Andy is a Game Guides Writer at Dot Esports with a host of experience working at Dexerto, Twinfinite, Keengamer, and more. He's about as passionate a gamer as you're likely to find and spreads that love across a ton of different titles, but will also talk everything football, golf, and wrestling! Be sure to follow his thoughts and ramblings over at @AndyHighton8 on Twitter.
Author
Image of Corin MJ Bae
Corin MJ Bae
Corin is a lifelong RPG enthusiast and has been writing guides, news, and reviews for games since 2019. Their favourite games to write about include Final Fantasy, Persona, Pokemon, and for some reason, Minecraft. While they love to dig into any new major RPG release, you'll most likely find them grinding tomestones in FFXIV or reinstalling Skyrim for the millionth time.