How does New Game Plus work in Final Fantasy XIV?

If you’ve played through the main story of Final Fantasy XIV and want to relive those memories, but you don’t want to go through the hassle of having to go through the grind again on another character, there’s good news — New Game Plus allows you to do just that. 

New Game Plus was introduced to FFXIV back in patch 5.1, so it has been around for a while, but the concept of it can be a little daunting to those unfamiliar with it. Once you’re past the hump of getting to grips with the interface, though, you can relive your favorite parts with little to no stress involved.

How to unlock New Game Plus in FFXIV

Before you can unlock the New Game Plus feature in FFXIV, you’ll need to play (or have completed) the MSQ up until “The Ultimate Weapon”, which is the last MSQ quest before Post-ARR quests were added in patches 2.1 to 2.56. 

Once you’ve reached that point, or if you haven’t done so already, head to Western Thanalan and talk to Wistful Whitebeard in Horizon, Western Thanalan (X:12.0, Y:14.0) to unlock New Game Plus. 

After this, new chapters will be added as you progress through the story. It’s not just MSQ that can be replayed through New Game Plus, but also side content such as raid series’, the Hildibrand story line, and Job, Class or Role Quests. 

How to access New Game Plus in FFXIV

Once it’s unlocked, you can find New Game Plus under the main menu by selecting “Duty”, then “New Game+”. This will open up a window displaying all of the possible chapters of New Game Plus that you currently have unlocked. Each section of the MSQ will unlock after completing a certain quest along the way, but more on that in just a little bit. 

Each expansion is broken down into multiple different chapters, with Post-MSQ content making up its own chapters, and you’ll need to select the chapter you want to replay before selecting “Commence”. If you’ve started a chapter in New Game Plus previously, you’ll also be able to continue from where you left off by selecting the left-most tab on the top row.

You can only begin a chapter of New Game Plus if you are physically in a location that was already in the game at that point. For instance, you cannot start any chapters from Shadowbringers if you’re in an area added in either Endwalker or Dawntrail, so you’ll need to teleport to somewhere that actually existed when the expansion was released. You can, however, go back and play through the story right from the beginning on a Job that was added much later, such as completing A Realm Reborn as a Reaper or Pictomancer, which is always interesting.

While you will gain EXP from completing dungeons or duties as part of a New Game Plus playthrough, you won’t get any EXP or rewards from quests that you’re completing again. You also cannot register for any duties that you haven’t yet completed or interact with the Marketboard or Retainers. On the plus side, any solo quest battles will automatically have the “Easy” and “Very Easy” options available, making the whole process otherwise pretty stress-free. 

How to suspend New Game Plus in FFXIV

You suspend New Game Plus in much the same way as you enable it, by opening up the New Game+ window and pressing suspend. If you register for any duty that you haven’t previously run, this will also automatically suspend the New Game Plus that you were playing. 

All New Game Plus chapters and how to unlock them in FFXIV

With each chapter of New Game Plus featuring different sections of the story, it can be hard to figure out which chapter you should play for a certain quest or recap. Here’s everything included in New Game Plus, what each chapter covers, and which quest you’ll need to complete to unlock the chapter:

Main Scenario

As a general rule, with the exception of A Realm Reborn, there are two New Game Plus chapters for each expansion that include the main story as it was released, and then two further chapters that encompass all quests added in later patches during that cycle. 

A Realm Reborn

It’s worth noting that when it comes to A Realm Reborn, you’ll only be able to access one of the versions of Part 1 as each starting city-state has its own individual quest line up to level 15. You’ll only be able to replay your own specific quests for this portion, just as you did the first time around. 

Heavensward

Stormblood

Shadowbringers

Endwalker

Dawntrail

Chronicles of a New Era

Raids

Any eight-player raid content is included in the subcategory of Chronicles of a New Era. These are unlocked in New Game Plus as soon as you finish the final quest of the storyline. 

Alliance Raids

You can also replay the story of all previous Alliance Raids through New Game Plus, allowing you to complete them all over again from start to finish. 

Trials

Three trial storylines are available to replay through the New Game Plus feature.

Side Story content

There is a lot of other side content that can be completed through New Game Plus, including everything from Hildibrand to Variant Dungeons. As with Chronicles of a New Era content, these unlock as soon as you complete the final quest in the storyline.

Hildibrand, Agent of Inquiry

Chronicles of Light

Variant Dungeons

Miscellaneous content

Job, Class, and Role Quests

There’s a list as long as my arm of Job, Class, and Role quests that can be completed through New Game Plus. Each individual chapter provides the opportunity to replay different quests from certain levels, with higher levels being accessed through later chapters. 

These can be found in the last five tabs of the New Game Plus interface and include Class Quests for all crafting and gathering classes as well.