Final Fantasy 14’s Golden Saucer has been a fan favorite hub in the MMO for years. Not only is it packed with activities to sink hours into, the rewards for doing so are actually worth the grind, offering players several iconic mounts and glamour options for their troubles. It’s also where players are re-introduced to some of Final Fantasy’s most iconic mini games, with some modern-day polish to help hook people in.
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With the most recent Live Letter confirming we’ll be getting new Golden Saucer content in the next expansion, Evercold, what better time to look back on all the activities in the game right now.
Here’s our definitive ranking of Final Fantasy 14’s Golden Saucer minigames and if they’re actually worth your time to play in-between raiding.
12
Floor Minigames
Filler Content
I’m merging all the Floor Minigames in this section as they’re all at the same level to me. Sure, some of them play differently, but the rewards are so minor they feel like they’re only in the game to keep you occupied inbetween the events actually worth playing.
These include: Monster Toss, Crystal Tower Striker, The Finer Miner, Out on a Limb, Cuff-a-Curr, and The Moogle’s Paw, which are all just fine and fun spins on classic arcade games, but they’re fairly one-dimensional and offer a mere pittance compared to other activities. I’d go as far as to say that they’re still not worth doing even if you are grinding out Manderville Gold Saucer Points (MGP).
They’re a fun “one-and-done” to help populate the Gold Saucer with activities, but don’t go expecting these to help you claim the Sabotender Emperador mount any time soon.
11
Lord of Verminion
Fort Condor Returns
Lord of Verminion is a minigame that’s sure to divide fans, as it’s somewhat based on Final Fantasy 7’s most controversial minigame. That’s right, Fort Condor is a Golden Saucer activity in Final Fantasy 14, except instead of units to defend the Phoenix’s home, you can now drop your minions onto the battlefield.
There are a few big differences to make it stand out (and more enjoyable) than Fort Condor, but its steep learning curve makes it a tough activity to get into. Factor in long queue times to face other players, and it’s not hard to see why this activity often ends up forgotten and neglected compared to others in the game.
It can be a fairly lucrative MGP earner, but sadly, with the long matches and even longer queue times, it might not be worth the time sink.
10
Cliffhanger
A Bomb of an Activity
If I had it my way, Cliffhanger would be dead last. But, I must admit, it does have its merits.
This jumping puzzle is similar to Leap of Faith, except instead of collecting coins, you now have to dodge bombs while climbing an awkward structure. Where Leap of Faith punishes you for being bad, Cliffhanger can feel like a humiliation ritual if you’re unlucky.
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In saying that, it’s still a jumping puzzle, and Final Fantasy 14 is capable of making some proper fun ones from time to time. Still, after playing this game mode for all these years, I still weigh my options on whether I’d rather just queue a raid when I see this one getting queued in the rotation.
9
Fashion Report
Dress To Impress
If you’re a Glamour-head, you’re sure to enjoy the Fashion Report and its weekly challenge to throw together a themed outfit. But if you’re a casual player just looking for a quick and easy MGP payout, then it’ll merely be a quick checklist activity to do the bare minimum.
For this minigame, you’ll be given a themed assignment by the Masked Rose, who will also go on to judge your outfit out of 100. For most people, it isn’t hard to reach at least the 80 threshold to get a whopping 10,000 MGP for doing next to nothing. But if you want to climb to get a higher number and payout, it’s easy to lose yourself in the sauce.
Overall, it’s a fun and harmless activity with a solid payout, but in the way of an actual activity, there isn’t much to it.
8
Chocobo Racing
A Fun Pass Time
Chocobo Racing is a surprisingly in-depth minigame within the Golden Saucer, letting players breed and race their very own Chocobos. What’s more impressive, is that this game mode closely mirrors Final Fantasy 7’s own Chocobo racing, making it instantly familiar to fans of the series.
It’s your typical Mario Kart or Bomberman Fantasy Race (if you’re a gamer of culture) style of game mode. You race your Chocobo, managing its stamina, while also collecting items to throw at other players or briefly enhance your own Choboco.
The game mode hasn’t been updated for quite some time now, coming up to almost eight years since its last big of content in Patch 4.3 in 2018. Despite the game mode originally being a solid and consistent MGP farm, it’s tough to justify the time sink to get going in the game. Like in the original FF7, there is a massive grind for this game mode if you truly want to become the best racer there is and to score all the MGP you can get your hands on.
For that reason alone, it’s easier to see why the game mode has been all but phased out, and is mostly occupied by the most die hard MGP farmers and Chocobo Racers.
7
Any Way The Wind Blows
More Like Ty-Gone Am I Right?
Any Way The Wind Blows is a mostly luck-based task that’ll require you to stand in a certain spot before a timer runs out. Once it does, Typhon will appear and blow away anyone standing in a certain area. The longer you last, the more MGP you receive.
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This one is honestly pretty fun and goes by really fast (especially if you have bad luck in the first round), but it is a game that’s almost entirely out of your hands. Thankfully, the MGP payout is pretty nice, making participating whenever it’s on always worth it, because you never know if you’ll finally get lucky.
6
Slice is Right
Lore-Accurate Yojimbo
Slice Is Right is similar to Any Way The Wind Bows, in that your objective is to stay in the arena for as long as possible before you’re knocked off. However, this time there’s actual skill and decision-making needed to carry you to the end.
Throughout the game, you’ll have to predict where objects will fall after Yojimbo cuts through them. This can get pretty chaotic while seeing everyone else scatter around the arena, which makes it easy to second guess your own decisions. Another sequence will let you collect extra coins, although Yojimbo’s dog, Daigoro, will randomly jump inbetween these areas, meaning you can quickly and unexpectedly get punished here.
In comparison to Any Way The Wind Blows, Slice is Right is a far more interactive experience. It’s also neat to see Yojimbo being utlized elsewhere in the game.
5
Leap of Faith
All Leap No Faith Here
Leap of Faith is my personal favorite GATE activity, and I was excited to collect my little cactuar statues along the intense platforming sections.
This mini-game will see players teleport to chaotic structures that’d make Edith Finch roll her eyes, and attempt to reach the finish before the minigame’s timer runs out. Along the way, you can collect Bronze, Silver, and Gold cactuar statues that’ll give you a bonus MGP payout depending on how many you collect.
Thankfully, there’s a fair amount of variety across the different maps, so you won’t end up cheesing your way through all of them. Some of these maps are genuinely tough, especially if the server is crowded and the smaller platforms get involved in hundreds of dark cloaks piling on top of each other.
4
Air Force One
Do A Barrel Roll
Air Force One is perhaps the most giddy of all the GATES in the Golden Saucer, and it’s primarily because this game mode is based on classic rail shooters like Star Fox. You sit in your ship, shooting bombs and targets for points. If you hit all of them while avoiding the purple bombs, you’ll get to walk away with a pretty hefty MGP prize.
These do get a bit predictable, however, and you’ll be able to predict the order the bombs come out, which ones to avoid, and where the surprise purple bombs will spawn. Still, it’s still fun to jump on the rails and pretend you’re practicing your hitscan score for Valorant.or Counter-Strike.
3
Doman Mahjong
That’s Definitely Mahjong Alright
Like so many great video games before it, Final Fantasy 14 has its own faithful recreation of Riichi Mahjong in the Golden Saucer. The game doesn’t add anything new here, so if you’re already a big fan of Mahjong, you’ll likely feel very in your element here.
This activity resets every Tuesday, and players who compete are guaranteed a 5,000 MGP payout for playing two games. This is the only way to get MGP from this game mode though, as winning doesn’t guarantee you any extra MGP just for playing.
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So, if you were planning on scoring a high prize, you’ll unfortunately be out of luck, as the main reason to play is simply for the love of the game. Thankfully, it’s still a pretty great game, and one worth playing with friends.