It’s the season for love, and not only are couples around the world sharing their love for one another this Valentine’s Day, but those who play Final Fantasy XIV are gearing up to take loving screengrabs, exchange gifts, and experience everything the game has to offer on this special day.
This year, the Final Fantasy XIV team cooked up a heartwarming story in the form of a limited-time event, which allows players to follow a new Valentine’s Day-themed story and earn some goodies in the process. There’s also a fun instance after the main quest that tests players by sending them into a maze and requiring them to work together in a memory game.
In celebration of the season of love, some players have been going to the next level by talking about their own experiences of meeting their loved ones in the game. Both romantic couples and strongly bonded friends have been sharing their stories on social media ahead of love day.
Love across state lines, all because of Final Fantasy XIV
One couple, who go by Roybles and Migi, met in Final Fantasy XIV toward the end of 2015, just after the Heavensward expansion came out. Roybles and his friends moved Worlds to Balmung, where he met Migi. The two ended up playing together and got to know each other in-game until one day, Roybles went into a Mumble voice channel to say hi during a Halloween event their Free Company was holding.
“Migi put me on the spot and asked me to do my best witch laugh. I was hesitant at first but I sucked it up and did it to the approval of everyone, and Migi and I hit it off from there,” Roybles told Dot Esports.
The two have been in a relationship since April 2016, and Migi has since moved from Georgia to Arizona to be with him. The two credit Final Fantasy XIV as the centerpiece in their lives and are coming up on their seventh anniversary together this year.
Just a couple of Namazus in love
Another couple, Kitrhi and her partner Belwar, also moved across the country to be with each other and met in Final Fantasy XIV while they were patronizing one of the many venues in the nightlife scene.
“We met randomly one night at a venue and then became good friends and I slowly became part of his FC family. Fast forward [three] years and I run the FC venues with him, moved servers, and moved across the country for us to be together,” Kithri told Dot Esports.
The two run a restaurant and a minion battling arena in the game, and they take commissions to decorate player housing. They also love to fish, collect, and craft, and sometimes they can be found with Namazu heads on, causing mischief around Eorzea while they hand out minions to new players.
Lovers aren’t the only ones celebrating Valentine’s Day in Final Fantasy XIV
The Final Fantasy XIV Valentione’s Day event isn’t just for lovers; it’s also here to celebrate emotional bonds between friends, especially those who have such a close relationship that they’ve traveled far distances just to see each other.
Such was the case for Crow Dalova, who traveled from Kansas to Ottawa last year over the span of a week to pick up two other FC members and bring them to a wedding of another FC member. All three not only traveled to the wedding to attend it but were also included in the wedding party.
Crow told Dot Esports that while he might have changed the way he planned the trip, and even though gas prices were at an all-time high, he still thinks fondly about the trip.
“I got to see not only some of my best friends, but a lot of very cool things both on the way there and the way back, including Lake Erie right up close,” Crow said. “Without [Final Fantasy] XIV, I wouldn’t have had a reason to take that trip, and I’m so grateful I was able to.”
Their out-of-game meetups aren’t ending there, since Crow has a fourth friend from the game who he visited at a convention who’s coming to visit him again this year.
There are undoubtedly countless stories of relationships that have formed in Final Fantasy XIV, and Valentine’s Day is a great opportunity for players to show their love for their friends, family, and loved ones. The Valentine’s Day event ends tomorrow, so those who haven’t had a chance to complete it yet should grab their nearest and dearest to experience it before time runs out.
