ffxiv Discover All of the FFXIV Mobile Changes: Do They Make FFXIV Better?

[Piyo 1]

FFXIV Mobile launched in China several days ago, so what are players' impressions like? Is the game truly "FFXIV, but better"? Let's find out all of changes FFXIV Mobile made so far!

If you haven't caught on already, FFXIV Mobile has a growing English community over on Reddit! Throughout its launch week, many Redditors shared their gameplay and latest info, letting overseas players know what the game is currently like. But is FFXIV Mobile living up to the legacy that's over a decade old?

Final Fantasy XIV's A Realm Reborn first launched back in 2013, and after many years of expansions, it underwent many changes to its storytelling, quality of life additions, and content features. For example, players have an easier time farming for the Zodiac weapons today, compared to what it was like in Patch 2.0.

Now in 2025, A Realm Reborn has returned on FFXIV Mobile, allowing players to re-experience what the "good old days" were like -- but better. Reddit user RablaAndrews has carefully compiled a post detailing all of the differences, and we're here to point out all of the good (and bad) things for you! If you found the information helpful, be sure to give them a thumbs-up and comment, or visit the unofficial FF14 Mobile US Discord!

Story and Quests

• Every player starts out in Ul'dah, regardless of what class you chose to play. If you wanted to start in Limsa Lominsa or Gridania, sorry! Maybe they'll add this later on?
• Main scenario quests are better streamlined, so now players have an easier time following the story.
• Quest navigation is now easier, such as using Chocobo flying and NPCs for direct teleports. In FFXIV, you only unlock flying in A Realm Reborn zones after completing the expansion's entire main scenario questline. Thank goodness Chocobos in FFXIV Mobile are modernized!
• However, FFXIV Mobile requires you to unlock Aether Currents to fly in A Realm Reborn zones. Also, you'll get the Aether Compass in A Realm Reborn instead of Heavensward. At least you can still fly, right?
• Quests with solo instances now have a minimum item level requirement. If you don't meet it, you can't continue the quest. Remember to gear up as you level up!
• No more Combat levequests! Surprisingly, there are also no Guildleves.
• FFXIV Mobile's current MSQ goes up to the end of Patch 2.0, after "The Ultimate Weapon". There's no information yet on when the next expansion content from Heavensward will release for FFXIV Mobile.

World and Regions

• All of the locations in A Realm Reborn are the same in Mobile and FFXIV. This includes Allied Societies, Revenant's Toll, and even the Gold Saucer! I love playing Triple Triad!
• One teleportation difference is that you can teleport to any city's Aethernet shards, not just the big ol' Aetheryte. This streamlines the process of me traveling between Limsa Lominsa's fisher guild and Gridania's Amphitheatre!
• A Realm Reborn features Aether Currents, ranging from 4 to 8 currents on each map. None of them are locked as quest rewards, though part of Western La Noscea is restricted until you progress in the MSQ.
• FATEs still exist, so better get started on the Zodiac relic weapon grind! I'm just kidding, but they've updated FATEs to include Bicolour Gemstones, Forlorn Maidens, and even a new feature called High Risk rewards! You can also get some limited-time buffs that'll empower you after completing a FATE.
• FATEs also have a cumulative milestone tracker, where you can complete tasks over the course of completing the same FATE several times. For example, you'll get rewarded for killing monsters X times and collecting Y number of items, but you'll have to come back many times to get all of the rewards!
• Do you know about the Happy Bunny FATEs in Eureka, and how they'll help you find buried treasure? Well, FFXIV Mobile has that too, except it's Marmots and it can be in any region in Eorzea. Apparently, if you find all of the buried treasure, you can trade them in with a traveling Goblin Merchant.
• The Wolves' Den is currently unavailable in FFXIV Mobile. Does this mean no PvP? Not exactly: there's a completed map with everything included, but you just can't access it. Maybe they'll save it for a later patch?
• No Hall of the Novice, Housing, nor Palace of the Dead either!

Battle Classes & Jobs

• Classes have been condensed into levels 1-10, instead of 30. The class quests are considered part of the early-game and tutorial content, giving you gear and EXP. After you complete the level 10 class quest, you'll receive the class ring as a glamour and the associated job stone. Now I can be a White Mage starting at level 10!
• Also notably, you cannot remove the job stone once you equip it. I guess the developers realised Gladiators accidentally queuing into Labyrinth of the Ancients wasn't a good idea... Oops!
• Scholar and Summoner no longer share a level.
• Job quests are basically the same as it is in FFXIV, with updated quest rewards such as gear.
• Job actions have mostly been streamlined, possibly due to mobile limitations. But that doesn't mean Monk's job identity isn't there, I can still punch stuff! There are also new job actions and animations too, that aren't present in FFXIV.
• Speaking of job actions, FFXIV Mobile added a feature where, if you are a melee job and a certain distance from the target, your primary action button will automatically change from melee to ranged (such as Warrior's Tomahawk). If you're a ranged job like a caster instead, you it changes the action to an instant cast. Very handy for movement!
• There is also an evasive action button. Pretty self-explanatory, but different jobs have different animations, like dashing or rolling.
• For casters, you cannot slidecast -- you must finish the cast before doing another action. Thankfully, dying enemies won't interrupt the cast either: if the target dies mid-cast, the action will just automatically redirect to the next target. If you are using a healing action without a target, it will automatically target the party member with the lowest HP.

Crafting and Gathering

• Disciples of the Land are basically the same, but with less buttons. Notably, Fisher has an unique UI feature that shows the Fishing Log for the current gathering location.
• Disciples of the Hand, on the other hand, have a job gauge called "Tension".
• Instead of two synthesis gauges to keep track of, progress and quality actions will shift the "tension" dial in opposite directions. If the dial is in a coloured zone near the end of the gauge, it can boost the efficiency of an action in the opposite direction.
• Certain actions can also manipulate the job gauge, removing the item's Condition state entirely.
• General materials (such as wood lumber) are only made with quick synthesis, with the option to pay Gil and skip the wait times. If you have the materials, you can also craft items in bulk with the same progress/quality gauge. After you have crafted the item and meet certain stat requirements, you can automatically craft the item instead. 
• If you're feeling kind of lazy, you can purchase materials with Gil easily through the crafting menu. If the item is available through NPC vendors, you can select how much of each item, and just pay directly on the one screen. No more travel time!

Dungeons, Trials, and Alliance Raids

Check out RablaAndrew's video on Labyrinth of the Ancients while you continue reading!

• Dungeons are largely the same, such as with quality of life updates or updated mapping. Notably, there are some not reworked yet, which suggests the current state of FFXIV Mobile is from somewhere between late Shadowbringers and early Endwalker.
• You can obtain Allagan Tomestones of Poetics immediately, even on jobs below level 50. This allows you to work on your level 50 gear progressively without having to intentionally grind.
• No optional chests as you move through dungeons!
• Cutter's Cry and Dzemael Darkhold are both dungeons not in the game.
• You can skip cutscenes in Castrum Meridianum and the Praetorium, even if it's your first time. No more waiting on Gaius to finish his speech!
• The Labyrinth of the Ancients alliance raid has been adjusted to accommodate only 8 players, not 24. There are also no loot restrictions, which is different from alliance raids on release.
• All of the story trial duties are now 8 player content and feature new mechanics. This includes Ifrit, Titan, and Garuda.

Gold Saucer

Bet you weren't expecting a section for this, now did you?

• GATEs and gameplay is largely the same, though the mini-game machines are slightly different from what we know.
• Fashion Report is completely different! Instead of guessing with individual hints for what to wear, you figure out the pieces based off the scores of different participating NPCs. For example, if a NPC has a low score, that means only a few pieces they're wearing matches the theme. If the NPC has a high score, they're probably wearing pieces that match the theme well!
• Thankfully, you don't have to own the glamours to participate in Fashion Report, you can just borrow gear instead. But you'll get bonus points if you actually own the glamour yourself! You can get 88 points maximum if you only borrow gear, and 100 points if you own everything~
• Jumbo Cactpot now pays out extra MGP if any digit on your number matches the winning number. For example, if the winning number was 1234, both 1337 and 0004 would receive more MGP than 4321. RablaAndrew notes the minimum payout is 2,000 MGP, which is still better than nothing!
• If you win GATEs on the "Main Stage", you can also unlock an extra three Jumbo Cactpot tickets to purchase that week. The Mandervilles are truly generous in FFXIV Mobile!
• No Leap of Faith, Chocobo Racing/Breeding, Lord of Verminion, or Doman Mahjong. Darn it!

Quality of Life and Other Changes

• Currently, there is only one data center available. All parties and linkshells are cross-world by default, and only Free Companies are limited to each world.
• Marketboards are cross-world. No more traveling to other worlds (maybe data centers too?)! You can also access them, along with any vendor store you can think of, anywhere in Eorzea through the main menu.
• A lot of glamour pieces are actual level 1 gear you wouldn't use for stat purposes. So these pieces either get automatically added to the Glamour Dresser or become an outfit on the Store.
• If you dye a glamour piece with a colour once, you can continue to re-dye it the same colour at no cost.
• Currently, 15 free Glamour Plates are available, and more can be bought with the paid currency. The glamour plates can be saved and linked to a job.
• If you meld materia onto a gear piece slot, it stays that way forever on the job. So if you melded on a Paladin's headpiece slot, and change the headpiece gear, the materia will stay the same. If you swap jobs, you'll have to re-meld accordingly.
• Inventory is shared between gear and normal items. You start with 300 slots, and can expand inventory slots from quests, events, battle pass rewards, or even by paying Gil.
• FFXIV Mobile is a 100% free-to-play game with optional monetization! Currently, you're not required to pay for any of the content unless you so choose. Feel free to read more about it in our news article!

There are definitely parts of the post I have left out, and this is still long to read through! Again, a big thank you to RablaAndrews and the FFXIV_Mobile Reddit community for all of the information today! Be sure to check the game out if you're interested, and maybe we'll see these changes (or more!) added to the Global version of FFXIV Mobile!