The fourth expansion for Final Fantasy XIV, Endwalker, doesn’t release until November 23; however, Square Enix has released system requirements and a benchmarking tool to help prepare players and PCs for Final Fantasy XIV‘s newest content. The game has a dedicated fanbase, but newcomers and veterans alike may be concerned whether their gaming rig has the power to run the massive expansion. However, the simple fact is that even players without the latest and greatest PC technology should still be able to run Endwalker.
With the addition of Endwalker, new lands will become explorable, including Thavnir, Old Sharalyn, and even the moon. Players will now also gain the option to set their in-game race to a male Viera, a previously exclusively female race. Hrothgar, an exclusively male race, will also be getting a female variant sometime in the future. While fans patiently wait for Final Fantasy XVI to release, Endwalker should help players whet their appetite as they find themselves exploring new lands. Here is what PCs will need to play the latest expansion for Final Fantasy XIV.
CPU/Storage
According to the official system requirements, Square Enix recommends systems have an Intel Core i7 3GHz or higher as their processor. i7 processors are frequently the recommended requirement for AAA games, so this comes as no surprise for players familiar with PC gaming. However, although this is the recommended requirement for a smooth gameplay experience, Endwalker should be playable with the minimum system requirement of an Intel Core i5 2.4GHz. Players will also want to make sure there are at least 80GB of storage available on their computers.
These requirements are nearly identical to Final Fantasy XIV‘s previous expansion, Shadowbringers, except for more storage space (80GB instead of 60GB) due to Endwalker being a more extensive expansion. PCs that were previously able to run Shadowbringers should feel right at home with Endwalker, granted they have the available storage space.
GPU/RAM
In the graphics department, Square Enix recommends an NVIDIA Geforce GTX970 (or AMD Radeon RX 480) or higher GPU, 8GB of RAM and a screen resolution of 1920×1080 to get the most out of their MMORPG experience. However, the minimum requirement is an NVIDIA Geforce GTX750 (or AMD Radeon R7 260X) or higher, at least 4GB of RAM and a screen resolution of 1280×720 if players are comfortable playing the game on the lowest settings. These requirements are lower than the minimum suggested requirements Mass Effect: Legendary Edition and far lower than what is needed to run Resident Evil Village comfortably.
Just like the CPU specifications, the GPU specs are identical to the current Final Fantasy XIV expansion, Shadowbringers, so players who already own Final Fantasy XIV can more or less get a feel for the requirements by launching the most recent game expansion. These requirements aren’t too strict, considering an NVIDIA Geforce GTX750 can play games like Call of Duty Black Ops II and The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim at 60 frames per second on medium settings.
Benchmarking Tool
For newcomers who are unsure or unfamiliar with the above technical specifications, Square Enix has made an official benchmarking tool available to put adventurers’ minds at ease so they can be ready when the latest expansion drops. To download the tool, download the ZIP file needed to run the software. Uncompress the file, then run the EXE file, named ffxiv-endwalker-bench.exe. Settings, such as screen resolution, may need to be changed if the program closes immediately upon running the EXE file. If it still doesn’t run, the PC most likely does not meet the minimum system requirements to run Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker.
The tool also comes with a built-in character creation menu that allows players to create their avatars before starting the benchmark. The character creation tool can set the main character’s appearance before running the test to see them in action throughout the in-game cinematic. The options include everything from height to voice, providing opportunities to choose race and gender. Players can set their character to male Viera to see them in action before their official debut in November.
Once the benchmark has launched and the user agrees to the Software License Agreement, the launcher for the software will open with various options, such as the game settings and a link to buy the full game. Click the start button in the bottom right-hand corner to launch a cutscene playback that measures system performance. This test is approximately seven minutes long but will give you a score between 0 to 150000 — the higher the score, the more well-equipped the PC is to run the game. For example, a score under 1000 indicates that the system running the benchmark test does not meet the minimum requirements to run Endwalker, while a score of 8000 or more should run the game smoothly, even at higher resolutions.
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