Formatting PC and what will happen to my FFXIV

[AarinEphemera]

So I decided to reformat my PC. And here's my question :-
After I reformatted my PC, do I need to redownload the whole thing again? Or copy paste works? I really don't want to re-download it since it takes around 2-3 days =|

[BamDeafPie]

If it takes 2-3 days to download then something is wrong.

[AarinEphemera]

Nothing is wrong. It's just the download speed that kinda slow but I can play perfectly fine in game.

[BamDeafPie]

To be honest, it is really strange that it takes you 2-3 days which normally would have done in few hours.

What network are you using? And sorry I have no idea on reformat thing since I don't own PC yet.

[Orophin]

To be honest, it is really strange that it takes you 2-3 days which normally would have done in few hours.

What network are you using? And sorry I have no idea on reformat thing since I don't own PC yet.

There are still people with internet under 10Mbps in the world, believe it or not.

I'm not sure if simply backing up your FFXIV program folder and the folder in your user directory will work or not. A lot of programs tend to install dll files in the System folder and files have to be registered for them to work correctly. You may get a reply from someone more knowledgeable than I on this, but typically I prefer to do a clean install of a program to make sure everything works correctly.

[BoboTheHobo]

You will need to reinstall if you reloaded your os provided you don't have a secondary drive it's installed on.

[DAMNLAMA]

You can't back up the installed game, however you could try looking in your DOWNLOADS folder on your PC. If the install file is still in there you can back that up and use it, and then just download a few updates after you get the install done. One thing I recommend you do to save a lot of time later too: Go to your game folder and inside is a FFXIV_CHR00... folder. Make sure to grab that folder as it has all your config files in it. Then just drop it back in the new game folder. If you don't grab these you will have to redo all your UI, gear sets, hotbars, etc.

[TheFirstKel]

You CAN copy the game folder from where you installed to, to another hard drive. If you've patched up to 2.16, you can use the Launcher's Config (at bottom of the dialog) > Backup to back up your keybinds/macros etc.

Once reinstalled, simply copy the game folder back to the primary hard drive - wherever you like - then launch the game launcher, it should then sort itself out of the settings folder. Then use the Launcher's Config > Backup to restore the previously saved configuration.

The characters data are all stored on the game servers.

[AarinEphemera]

Thank you for the replies ^^
And TheFirstKel, thanks!

Also, I'm using 1MBPS connection speed. And yeah, it's kinda crappy ._.

[Azhra]

Copying the game and whatnot after formating should be possible, however a clean install would be safer, due to some files possibly being installed in areas that aren't the FFXIV install folder (such as dll files, like Orophin stated). There's also the chance of the old files from the install not agreeing with the clean system. It could cause some in-game issues, cause the game to crash, and all sorts of other problems. It will take longer, yes, but it's better than taking the risk of pre-format files not working properly. There's also times when some files don't get transferred properly, and get corrupt. This has happened to me before, so I can say this: copy the game at your own risk. Clean installs are always better.

(Plus, there's also the possibility of hidden viruses being transferred, even when you think there aren't any, due to antivirus/antimalware programs not always catching things.)

If you /do/ go with the clean install, you should do as DAMNLAMA has stated and save your configuration files somewhere before formatting. It'll save the headache of remembering all those custom keybinds, macros, and other important settings.
Good luck! :3