February 25 will see A Realm Reborn begin closed beta testing

With the 43rd Producer's Letter, Naoki Yoshida released the much anticipated news that FFXIV: A Realm Reborn will begin closed beta on February 25.

This is a week later than planned for but the extra time has been used to add extra features and character options ready for fans to get their eager hands on.

One of the new features to catch the eye is FATE, or Full Active Time Events, which are random encounters in the open world that spring up for anyone within range to participate in. We'll have to wait and see about the full details,  but FATE seems similar to systems established in games like RIFT, Warhammer and Guild Wars 2.

Yoshida explained the range of content that the initial phase of beta testing will include:

"...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."

Add in a level 30 dungeon and there should be plenty of things for the lucky beta participants to help put FFXIV: ARR its paces.

With beta so close to commencement, you can expect a lot of details to be flooding out and be sure that ZAM will be on hand to bring you all the information you need.

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