Explore FFXIV's reborn realm in a closed beta at the end of Feb

Square Enix certainly are going to town on their do-over of the not very good Final Fantasy XIV , and you can see for yourself how they're getting along with it by taking part in the closed beta, which is set to begin on February 25th. There is (seemingly) still time to sign up for A Realm Reborn over here , although that link is mysteriously down at the moment. Those of you who registered early should be getting an email through your digital letterboxes any time now, that is if you've been accepted into the special beta club. Read on for details and acronyms.

As RPS note , the news is accompanied by a message from producer Naoki Yoshida, who says that "just like the alpha test, phase 1 of the beta test will be limited to the areas around Gridania. Quests from the main scenario will be available, but because these require travel to other nations at level 15, they will be limited. Sidequests are designed to accompany the main scenario, so it may be a bit of a pain to level up after that point. This won't be the case in the official release version, but until then we ask that you do your leveling through the variety of content that will be available."

He goes onto talk about the new FATE system, which as you've probably guessed stands for Full Active Time Events, which as you've probably guessed means...erk. Thankfully Yoshida is able to decipher that too. "These events will take place in non-instanced areas and appear at random. Players can participate by simply being within proximity of the event, and there's no need to form parties. Rewards are automatically distributed when it's over, making it easy to jump in and have fun."

But that's not all - not quite anyway. Square Enix have also been tinkering with the game's 'behest' system, so much so that they've rechristened it as the 'guildhest' system. This news is accompanied by a "lol!" Head over to the blog post for the full breakdown, and to see some new screenshots of FFXIV:ARR in action.