Grab Final Fantasy XIV expansion Heavensward for free today
Terms and Chocobos may apply
If you own Final Fantasy XIV on the Square-Enix store (as opposed to Steam), you can claim the increasingly popular MMORPG's first expansion, Heavensward, free here until June 27th. FFXIV is gearing up for the release of its third major expansion, Shadowbringers, but thanks to the game's commitment to a linear story, unless you don't care about the plot (you should) you're best off getting the expansions in order anyway. Today is also the last day that Twitch Prime subscribers (and free trial users) can claim a 'free' copy of the base game here, compatible with this giveaway.
Note: You may need to pick your Square-Enix store region to see the giveaway. Click the flag button in the top right corner of the page. Also, if you do buy an expansion later, the upcoming Shadowbringers comes with Stormblood (required to access it) free.
Heavensward extends the game by a good 50-70 hours. Even if you somehow skip all the story stuff (you're missing out if you do), you've got three 'advanced' classes that start out at level thirty, eighteen dungeons and six raids scattered through a bundle new new zones. Fortunately, only a small portion of the new landmass is snowy, and it departs for spectacular lands before long. Much of Heavensward is spent in magical sky-island chains, accessible through new airborne flying mounts, although you'll need to complete a scavenger-hunt quest in each zone to enable free flight.
The expansion also features some of my favourite music in the game, top of an excellent soundtrack. Some spoilers await if you click, but a transforming, combining robot boss accompanied by a brassy '70s anime theme is a personal pick, and the Fractal Continuum dungeon theme just goes hard. The expansion's final area has a theme that just feels climactic, too. Still, not much can challenge the Powerman 5000-inspired second-phase theme for optional boss Sephirot, the single most over-the-top track in the game, and and has some pretty great lyrics too.
You can snag the Heavensward expansion here from now until June 27th. The main game is currently one of Twitch Prime's giveaway games, but that ends tomorrow.