Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward starts early access, welcomes back players

Just a heads-up: If you have friends who play Final Fantasy XIV, you may not be seeing them at all today. That’s because early access has begun for the Heavensward expansion, which will go on to officially launch June 23rd.

The patch notes for the expansion are up and cover the incredibly long list of additions, changes, and features. Heavensward adds several new zones to the game, increases the job cap to 60, introduces the Au Ra playable race, and throws in a trio of new classes. Oh, and there might be something about flying.

If the expansion isn’t exciting enough, Square-Enix is hoping to draw back former players with a new welcome back campaign. This will open up the game to play from next Tuesday to Thursday for those who subscribed prior to March 31st and haven’t been in FFXIV since.