I decided to re-check out FFXIV when I saw an advertisement on returning players campaign.

I admittedly chose probably the worst time with a full day of maintenance in the window, but I think a different mechanism should trigger the start of the timer.

It took me 17 hours to download the game which I couldn't start without logging in and starting the timer. By the time I actually logged into the game with a character it was almost 30 hours from the initial account login.

I think I played for about 3 hours before maintenance just trying to figure the controls out again. I got about an hour after the maintenance day then went to bed. Today I login to account expired.

I was "kinda" excited about playing and seeing the state of the game, but I'm left unsure. I would argue a less frustrating experience to play would have potentially made me subscribe, but the timer impacted by a lengthy download and maintenance equals a pass for me.