Leya took the test and got a total noob Jumping-Potions for Final Fantasy XIV. With the potion boost, you can skip the main story, and the hero is set to a high level. This allows you to start your adventure directly in the new expansion Stormblood. What happens when you use the skip items and how our author felt in the end content, you can find out here.
Final Fantasy XIV is a master at bringing its world to life with an impressive story. It seems that all the inhabitants of Eorzea have an exciting story to tell. Everything is brilliantly interconnected. This makes the story of Final Fantasy XIV one of the best of all MMORPGs. The races, the landscape, the organizations – everything is crafted with great attention to detail and flows together.
At least that’s what I’ve heard. Because I skipped all of that.
I do not know what the base game and the first major expansion Heavensward have to tell. I used the new Jumping Potions to catapult myself directly into the new expansion Stormblood. My Final Fantasy story starts here.
May I introduce?
The cat lady in the picture below is named Auryn Ende – a moon wanderer who has just arrived in Eorzea. She’s still small and weak, but that will change within minutes.
Before I start the test report, let me briefly explain what the Jumping Potions actually are.
Final Fantasy XIV – Jumping Potions – Allow Story Skip & Level Boost
Final Fantasy 14 has a story lock. You actually have to quest through the entire story to reach advanced areas. If you haven’t completed the base game, you cannot enter Heavensward and if you haven’t finished Heavensward, you also cannot proceed to Stormblood.
Unless you reach into your pocket. With Stormblood, two new boost items arrived in the shop, also known as Jumping Potions.
- Job Level Boost: With the Job Level Boost, a job is set directly to Level 60 once and the character is ready for the end area. The boost can be used only once per account. This boost costs 21.75 Euros
- Scenario Shortcut: This boost skips game content and the story. If you only want to skip the base game, it costs 15.75 Euros. If you want to add the Heavensward expansion on top of that, skipping the base game and the expansion costs 21.75 Euros.
If you get the job boost and the large scenario shortcut, you pay a total price of 43.50 Euros. That’s the price of a new game. If you don’t already own Final Fantasy XIV, you also pay for the game itself, plus monthly subscription fees.
I got both potions.
The Dilemma of Choice – Which Job Should I Boost?
The Job Level Boost can only be used once per account. I should have really thought about which job I wanted to have at Level 60. But I didn’t.
Final Fantasy XIV offers a total of 15 jobs, including: White Mage, Ninja, Bard, Warrior, or Dragoon. For the new jobs Samurai and Red Mage, you cannot buy a job boost. I was eager to get started quickly and didn’t really know which jobs were suitable for beginners. I decided to simply take a job that I thought I would enjoy – without researching too much.
I chose the Summoner job.
The Summoner is a Ranged DPS that deals magical damage. It belongs to the class of the Thaumaturge and prefers black magic. The Summoner has familiars at its side. These are soul beings that fight for the mage and protect them. The handling of familiars is a big part of the Summoner’s gameplay.
First, I Played Through the Early Tutorial – At Least Briefly
After I decided which job I wanted to have at Level 60, the adventure began. Before I used the Jumping Potions, I completed the short game introduction first. I was concerned that I would feel completely lost if I jumped into the end content without basic knowledge.
I learned, among other things, what aether crystals are and how to use them. They transport me from place to place, and I can set a home aether crystal. I was informed about how the market and trade work. The quest markers in Final Fantasy XIV were also explained.
My impatience said: That’s enough, it’s time for the boost items!
Job Level Boost: I Went Through the Magic Sphere and Got a Cool Hat
I started with the Job Level Boost. I had an item in my inventory that was supposed to teach me the secrets of the Summoner. I selected it, and my game restarted. When I returned to the character selection screen, a Level 60 Summoner was looking back at me. Along with the job boost, I also directly received equipment adjusted to the new high level.
As soon as I “woke up” in Final Fantasy, I got the notice that I could follow a tutorial for my new class. A big plus! I would not be completely left in the rain with my job. I dived into the tutorial.
For the tutorial, my level was adjusted, and I could only use the initial skills of the Summoner. There were several tutorials that taught me all the basics of fighting.
However, I was only shown the fundamentals of my class. I learned what my job as a Ranged DPS is and what I need to pay attention to. I was explained, for example, that I must always protect the healer in the group or how to avoid area attacks.
How exactly I apply my skills remained hidden for now.
It is worth noting that thought went into the job boost. The first thing I was shown was the opportunity to complete a tutorial for my new job. At least I know how the basics work and know my tasks in combat.
Scenario Shortcut: I Can See the Entire Story, but …
The job boost was completed. Now came the next potion – The Scenario Shortcut. With this item, I skipped exactly what fans appreciate about Final Fantasy XIV, the entire story.
When I used the item, I had to log in again. I had jumped to the end area, and the first quest for the main story of Stormblood, “Above the Wall,” was already displayed to me.
This time I woke up in a hotel room and directly found a travel journal right in front of me. In the journal was the complete story of Final Fantasy XIV up to the point of Stormblood, to flip through. Additionally, I found all important story scenes in animated form within the journal.
However, I quickly realized that it was absolutely not interesting for me to just read through the entire story. That would take hours. I turned to the first cutscene that was in the booklet.
No great success.
Because I quickly realized that I could not connect with the characters that appeared. I did not know who they were or why I was with them. I didn’t experience the story and couldn’t create a connection.
It felt weird to be part of the conversation between the characters. I felt completely out of place and like a stranger. Which I actually was.
I closed the booklet again and accepted that Stormblood would have to be the beginning of my story.
Stormblood: I Came, I Saw, I Was Amazed – And Then I Died
It was time to set out for Stormblood and pursue the first quest. For the first time, I became aware of the enchanted surroundings.
This is where the real playing began for me. I looked more closely at the mystical environment and realized how much love for detail is in Final Fantasy XIV. I discovered many imaginative creatures and wandered a bit, just to absorb everything around me.
The meadows, the beings, the world – Everything feels like a dream.
Enough with roaming around, actions await! I went to the first quest of Stormblood and had to speak to Lyse “On Safe Paths”. The paths were not so safe. I was attacked and did not survive my first fight with a random creature.
I had learned the basics of fighting in the beginner tutorial, but I still really didn’t know what to do as a Summoner. I tried to read my skills and understand them. However, the right sequence and good timing were elusive to me.
It came as no surprise to me that I quickly met with disaster. After all, I jumped directly into the end fray without prior knowledge and couldn’t wait to be a big pro.
I tried again and again and again. Slowly, I began to get the hang of what damage the familiar does, how to keep myself alive, and what other creatures do.
Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way – Even for Blind Chickens
So far, I have spent about 30 hours in Final Fantasy XIV with my cat lady Auryn as a Level 60 Summoner. Most of that time in Stormblood. I still feel like a blind chicken pecking at a grain of success here and there.
I don’t find that bad, and I’m having fun digging into it. However, I am now at a point where I couldn’t manage without additional guides and tutorials. Still, I have the impression that even as a total noob, it’s possible to keep up in the end game.
Yes, you need to put in the effort to fully immerse yourself in Final Fantasy XIV. It remains a complex game, and the streamlining that came with Stormblood, has not made the skills much more accessible for beginners. However, I cannot judge how it was before and whether it would have been significantly more difficult for me to jump in.
But anyone who is willing to jump directly into Stormblood and learn everything could surely manage that with the help of Google and YouTube. Or with a nice veteran friend.
Jumping Potions Have a Right to Exist and Serve Good Purposes
I would still need to struggle for a while to fully immerse myself in Stormblood. If I had friends with whom I wanted to play in the end areas, it would be worth the effort and money.
That’s actually the purpose behind the potions: Not to be stuck as a “noob” alone in the endgame, but to catch up with friends who can take you by the hand and accompany you into the world of Final Fantasy XIV.
It’s definitely a shame that the story of the base game and Heavensward is hard to enjoy with the Scenario Shortcut. While it’s nice that the travel journal shows the story, the right feeling did not come to me. Spending hours poring over the booklet was not an option for me, but maybe others find that great and can settle in this way.
Anyone who wants to jump directly into Stormblood and experience the story of the past could later catch up on the base game and Heavensward with a second character. In Final Fantasy XIV, you can play multiple characters.
The Job Level Boost was well thought out and well executed. I knew enough after the tutorials to find my way at the beginning. The rest, you have to work out yourself.
Jump Potions: Sensible for Especially Two Types of Players
The potions are likely to be most practical for those who want to quickly level up a second character. But noobs wanting to play in the end content can also benefit from the potions. It depends on the beginner themselves and how willing they are to learn, even through independent research. It certainly helps if the “jumpers” already have friends who are in the endgame and with whom they want to play.
However, anyone who wants to experience Final Fantasy XIV in its imaginative entirety can simply start from the beginning.
I certainly enjoyed my little experiment and will definitely visit Eorzea again occasionally.
Why the Jumping Potions came to Final Fantasy XIV, you can find out here: Zelda is to blame that everything changes in Stormblood.
