Final fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn is both a remake of and a sequel to the original Final Fantasy XIV. Five years have passed since the war against the Garlean Empire has brought forth Eorzea’s seventh Umbral Era. During this war, the Empire brought down the lesser moon Dalamud and summoned the great dragon Bahamut, causing the destruction of most of Eorzea. Five years later, thanks to mysterious heroes, the “Heroes of Light”, Eorza has been rebuilt. However, the citizens of the Nations of Eorzea can’t clearly remember what happened.
The game keeps most of the features from Final Fantasy XIV (locations, classes, species and combat system), but every area has been completely redone and the player can now choose to create a male Miqo’te or female Roegadyn that weren’t playable in the original game. A new class, Arcanist, as well as the jobs of Summoner and Scholar are also introduced. the player can no longer choose where to start; the starting City State is instead determined by the character’s class, as the guild for each class is found in a different City State.
The characters level-up by gaining experience points from defeating enemies, completing quests, crafting objects or harvesting material and crystals. By leveling-up, the character’s stats increase and new abilities and traits are acquired. the player can freely change classes by equipping different tools, each class having its own experience pool and skills set. The ability set for each character is customized; the player sets what skills (chosen from the main class skills and some from other class skill sets) will appear in the action bar.
The Armoury Box now allows the player to keep equipment parts sorted in different boxes (all main hand weapons together, all armors together, and so on) rather than in the inventory. The equipment must first be moved from the inventory to the Armoury Box. Movement is eased by the addition of a jump function to avoid being stuck by small ledges and obstacles.