Final Fantasy 14 is giving its second expansion away for free

Final Fantasy 14 Stormblood opening cinematic

(Image credit: Square Enix)

Stormblood may not be Final Fantasy 14's best expansion, but it sure as hell is the cheapest right now. Square Enix is currently giving away the MMO's second major expansion for free, though there's a small caveat.

If you're somebody making use of the game's rather generous free trial—the one that contains the base game plus the excellent first expansion Heavensward—you won't be able to claim it. You'll need to have the base game and a paying subscription in order to take advantage of the deal. On the bright side, it's yours to keep forever.

I say Stormblood's not the best expansion, but that's a little unfair when part of that comes from it being sandwiched between the two immaculate expansions. It's still an incredibly solid experience, containing some of my favourite dungeons and trials in the whole game. If you're a Final Fantasy 12 fan you can enjoy the Ivalice 24-man raids, and the optional Four Lords questline is stuffed with fantastic boss fights. It'll also give you access to two DPS classes, magic-user Red Mage and melee fighter Samurai.

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The story falls rather flat for many players, but actually playing through the expansion is still a great time. Hell, Steven gave it a score of 92 in his Stormblood review, writing how its "rousing tale of rebellion and exceptional boss fights aren’t just exquisite by MMO standards, but rival even the most beloved Final Fantasy games."

For a limited time, existing owners or purchasers of #FFXIV Starter Edition can add the Stormblood expansion to their account for free! 🎮 https://t.co/gSQ9z04uRo📅 Through Monday, May 8 at 6:59 a.m. (PDT) / 13:59 (GMT)* End times may differ slightly per platform. pic.twitter.com/Rn1Qx6ssI6March 27, 2023

The offer is running from now until May 8, which is a good chunk of time to continue making use of the free trial before jumping into a paid version and scooping Stormblood up as a little bonus. If you've fallen off the Final Fantasy 14 wagon and are looking to come back, Square Enix is running a free login campaign at the same time. If you have a paid account but haven't subscribed in at least 30 days, you can hop back into the world of Eorzea for free.

Mollie spent her early childhood deeply invested in games like Killer Instinct, Toontown and Audition Online, which continue to form the pillars of her personality today. She joined PC Gamer in 2020 as a news writer and now lends her expertise to write a wealth of features, guides and reviews with a dash of chaos. She can often be found causing mischief in Final Fantasy 14, using those experiences to write neat things about her favourite MMO. When she's not staring at her bunny girl she can be found sweating out rhythm games, pretending to be good at fighting games or spending far too much money at her local arcade.