How much time does it really take to catch up in Final Fantasy XIV? Whether you’re a newcomer eager to reach the latest expansion or a returning player bracing for the journey ahead, prepare for a marathon: completing FFXIV’s main story and all its expansions can take anywhere from 200 to over 300 hours-just for the story alone. And that’s before you even touch side quests, raids, or the endless allure of crafting and collecting. Ready to find out what’s in store for your next epic adventure?
The answer? It kind of varies. Below we explain how long it may take for you to beat FFXIV, along with some personal anecdotes to give you an idea of how much game time you’ll pull out of this game.
How long to beat FFXIV and its expansions
Final Fantasy XIV and its expansions are a major time investment, especially if you want to experience the full story. Completing just the main scenario quests (MSQ) from the base game, A Realm Reborn, through all expansions-Heavensward, Stormblood, Shadowbringers, and Endwalker-takes most players between 200 and 310 hours, depending on your pace and how much time you spend reading cutscenes or engaging in required side content. Individually, A Realm Reborn can take 40-60 hours, while each expansion typically adds another 40-50 hours of story content. These numbers can rise significantly if you include post-expansion patches or optional content, with some estimates for completionist play reaching well over 1,000 hours. Ultimately, your total playtime will vary based on your playstyle and whether you focus solely on the main story or dive into the game’s many side activities.
Many players report that if you just beeline the main scenario questonlyand don’t focus on any other aspect of the game, you’re looking at about 40-60 hours just to beat the base game, A Realm Reborn. Each expansion adds about 40-50 hours of content in story. You’re looking at anywhere from 200-310 hours for story alone as of patch 6.5.
While these hour ranges are pretty big, it kind of depends on how fast you’re able to clear content and how fast you read through cutscenes. If you skip cutscenes (which I don’t recommend), you’re looking at a shorter overall time, but you’re kind of missing out on a big portion of the game by doing so. (You can check out some personal game times on HowLongToBeat, where people provided their hours with how much content they did – and the hours still vary by a ton.)
If you’re slugging through the game right now and you want to know how close you are to completion, there’s a great website, FFXIV-progress, which will tell you how far you are based on which quest you’re on right now.
Tackling side content will potentially add dozens if not hundreds of hours to your game time, too. If you want to stop doing MSQ and make a relic weapon, level up crafters, or learn the ways to become an ocean fishing expert, you’ll be in for a lengthy grind.
That said, the developers themselves encourage you take breaks from FFXIV if you’re feeling burnt out. Play the game at your own pace and do content you think is fun, because with its length, it’s a marathon, not a sprint.
For what it’s worth, I admittedly un-subbed and re-subbed a handful of times on and off throughout A Realm Reborn. I started the game technically in 2013 and didn’t actually catch up until 2018. This isn’t uncommon!
If you’re just starting out in the massive world of Final Fantasy 14, we have tons of guides to help you. We have a beginner’s guide to get you started, along with guides detailing when you’ll get your mount and which Grand Company you should join.
How many hours will it take me to finish FFXIV’s story and expansions
If you focus solely on Final Fantasy XIV’s main story and all expansions up to Endwalker, expect to spend between 200 and 310 hours to complete everything, depending on your playstyle, reading speed, and whether you watch all cutscenes.
Here’s a rough breakdown:
-
A Realm Reborn: 40-100 hours
-
Each expansion (Heavensward, Stormblood, Shadowbringers, Endwalker): 30-50 hours each, with some estimates slightly higher for later expansions.
If you take your time with cutscenes and don’t rush, the total time can approach or exceed 300 hours. This estimate is for the main scenario questline only and does not include side content, raids, or optional activities, which can add hundreds more hours if you choose to pursue them.
Based on your reading speed, how long will it take me to finish FFXIV’s story
If you read all dialogue and watch every cutscene at a typical pace, finishing Final Fantasy XIV’s main story and all expansions will likely take you between 250 and 300 hours. This estimate covers A Realm Reborn through Endwalker, factoring in required sub-quests, travel, queue times, and the natural pace of reading and absorbing the story.
Players who skip cutscenes or rush can finish much faster (as low as 80-150 hours), but most who engage fully with the narrative and lore report times in the 250-300 hour range. If you tend to read quickly, you might finish closer to the lower end of this range, but for most players, 250-300 hours is a realistic expectation for the complete story experience.
