
FFXIV Free Company Explained
| Tags: FFXIV
| Author Timo Reinecke

Learn everything there is to know about the FFXIV Free Company. Final Fantasy XIV's version of guilds.
Free Companies often form the heart of your Final Fantasy XIV experience. They are technically just guilds you'll find in any other game but they do have purposes and features unique to Square Enix's MMORPG.
We teach you everything you need to know about Free Companies. How to make one, how to join one, and what benefits there are to running/being part of one. It is worth looking for like-minded companions beyond finding someone to raid and dungeons with.
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FFXIV Free Company Explained
Free Companies are guilds. And despite what their name implies, they have barely any connection to Grand Companies aside from being the place you make them and a scoreboard on which you land.
You can join a Free Company no matter what way of adventuring life you're coming from. And there are many benefits to doing so. Not only can you and your friends pool resources, purchase a house, and create a bond of everlasting comradery, but there are also pretty useful buffs you can run to make life easier.
How to Create a Free Company
To make a Free Company, the player starting the Free Company needs to be level 25 or higher on any job. They also need to have been without a Free Company for at least 24 hours.
Now you have to head to an OIC Administrator at any of the Grand Company Headquarters in Ul'dah, Limsa Lomina, or Gridania and fill out your name and tag. Then you need to find 3 players who'll sign the petition to form a Free Company. Those players can be at any level as long as they are paying a subscription for FFXIV. Now you only need to pay 15.000 gil for the registration and the company is yours.
People who have signed the petition don't have to stay in the Free Company afterward.

Free Company Ranks
There are currently 30 Ranks to level with a Free Company. These bring various benefits or Entitlements which range from a Company Chest which lets all members store items in a communal box, the right of home ownership, and most importantly the Company's Actions.
Free Company Ranks are leveled by members of the Free Company doing various activities. This is everything from completing dungeons and leveling up to crafting and gathering. One of the quickest ways to raise your Free Company rank is to turn in Expert Delivery Missions at your Grand Company.
Here is the list of all the Rank Entitlements Players can unlock:
Rank | Entitlement | Description |
1 | Company Chest | Gives access to the free company chest. |
2 | Crest Customization | Allows the limited customization of your free company crest. |
3 | Chest Expansion | Increases the number of company chest tabs to three. |
4 | Gear Customization | Allows the user to affix their free company crest to armor |
5 | Company Actions | Allows the execution of company actions |
6 | Land Acquisition | Enables the acquisition of land in residential districts. |
7 | Crest Expansion | Allows for full customization of company crest. |
8 | Action Expansion | Increases the maximum number of inactive and active company actions. |
10 | Chest Expansion | Increases the number of company chest tabs to four. |
12 | Action Expansion | Increases the maximum number of inactive company actions to 12. |
15 | Chest Expansion | Increases the number of company chest tabs to five. |
18 | Action Expansion | Increases the maximum number of inactive company actions to 14. |
20 | Action Expansion | Increases the maximum number of inactive company actions to 15. |
Free Company Actions Explained
One of the major reasons you want a Free Company is to gain access to Company Actions which allow you to employ buffs to all members of your Free Company. These buffs can be extra EXP gained by fighting, crafting, and gathering or by an increase in currency gain. Professional Raiding teams love to use these for longer food buff times or slower wear-on gear.
Once you've Ranked up enough, you'll be able to purchase tier 1 and tier 2 buffs at your Grand Company from the OIC Quartermaster.
Tier 3 buffs are a little more difficult to get. These need to be crafted in a Free Company workshop and then put into an Aetherial Wheel to work. For this, you need to grind out Airships and Submarines to unlock the schematics needed to craft them.

Free Company Housing
A Free Company house falls under special rules. Not only can everyone who is a member visit and decorate it (as long as the permissions are set), but they can also provide the Free Company Workshop for bigger crafting projects and the Airships and Submarines.
Having a house is also the only way for a Free Company to employ Tier 3 buffs which can be crafted in the Free Company Workshop.
Free Company Workshop Explained
The Free Company Workshop is installed once the Free Company obtains a house. It comes free of charge. Here players can select recipes which they want to craft, be it new housing schematics or parts of an Airship.
Once a project is selected, all members can contribute materials to craft the project. These are often multistage and require enormous amounts of resources to complete. But well worth it for the rewards. Houses being crafted sell for millions and Aetherical Wheels are extremely useful for everyone.
Free Company Airships and Submarines
You'll also be able to craft and send out an airship or submarine to explore the Sea of Clouds or Ruby Sea. Both airships and submarines are made up of parts players craft, all with their stats. Building up and leveling your vessels is a long process that eventually snowballs.
You send them out on voyages and they'll return with goodies that you can then use to unlock new schematics at the Free Company Workshop. These also have a chance to bring back rare crafting materials which are used to craft special glamorous, furnishings and minions.
And that is all we got on Free Companies in Final Fantasy XIV. For more on the critically acclaimed MMORPG, check out our other guides and coverage here.