Final Fantasy 14 beta starts February 25

Final Fantasy XIV is preparing to launch the beta of the "Realm Reborn" update, the large-scale revisions intended to fix many of the complaints regarding the original release. This is only phase one of a longer beta intended to last for several weeks.

The first phase will kick off February 25. It takes place in and around Gridania, and you'll be capped at level 15, but an instanced dungeon meant for level 30 players is available if you want to take it on. The beta will be testing a new system, called Full Active Time Events (FATE). This will also be the longest of the four beta phases, at 2-4 weeks.

This is launching slightly later than planned, as producer Naoki Yoshida acknowledged in a Letter from the Producer column (via Siliconera). "The roadmap we released has the schedule set for mid-February, so the start is about a week late,” Yoshida wrote. "However, the extra time has allowed us to prepare more system features and character options for testing. While you all enjoy the game, I hope you also provide us with tons of feedback like you did during the alpha test."

Square Enix is still accepting beta sign-ups.