Six years ago today, some of us logged in to FFXIV for the first time and were privileged to experience the Eorzea that we had been reading about for months prior first-hand.

Disembarking at Limsa Lominsa, meeting up with friends made on the forums in the week before and attempting to venture out onto a different, but similar La Noscea than what we know today. I say attempting, because the invisible zone line (all zones were seamless back then!) at Zephyr Gate caused players clients to crash, players to disappear from their friends and for some players to walk out onto a La Noscea that was devoid of any fauna whatsoever.

Six years on and the game has undergone a huge amount of change. Introduction of Jobs, crafter's recipe books (originally you'd have to use trial and error combining 1-6 materials to see what you got), removal of xp granted for casting Cure, fleeing of level 99 monsters from the open-world, a successful relaunch bringing minions, an inventory that wasn't a list that just sorted itself, the fantastic market board system, houses and a wealth of stories and players to experience them with.

So well met to my friends long past from the EU 1.0 Alpha Test! We may have gone our separate ways long ago, but a surprisingly large number of you are still here.

I'm sure the NA 1.0 Alpha was as exciting an experience too - please do post any memories!

How many of us will be here in another six years' time, i wonder!