Greetings, everyone!

Bayohne here, back at the office after four days of PAX East! We had a blast seeing the community and interacting with everyone that came by!

Don't worry if you weren't able to visit, because today we'll be exploring the various festivities we had on tap.

FINAL FANTASY XIV Booth
This year we had our own booth to contain all the excitement we had to showcase! The booth was packed with multiple things for attendees to do - grab some exciting giveaway items, challenge the Ruby Weapon Battle challenge, or try the New Player Experience, or participate in a photo opportunity featuring Shadowbringers weapon props (and our special guest Namazu)!

Let's take a closer look at each of the activities.

Fun Giveaways for Attendees
This year, we gave away some warm FFXIV-themed scarves as it was still quite cold in Boston during the event! These went quickly each time they appeared during the show, but it was great to see so many people keeping warm! In addition, we gave away double-sided posters featuring the job artwork by Mogi. We also had the FFXIV-themed lanyards available for all PAX East attendees!

Photo Op with Shadowbringers Props (and Namazu!)
This year we had an expansive backdrop featuring the Crystarium aetheryte where attendees could snap a photo with our three Shadowbringers weapon props: the Shadowbringer great sword, the Lion Heart gunblade, and Y'sthola's staff, Nightseeker.

But that's not all! Throughout the show, a friendly Namazu would come by and visit the photo area as well (including sporting several different outfit changes).

The Ruby Weapon Battle Challenge
The ever-popular battle challenge series continued at PAX East with the Ruby Weapon making its terrifying debut! Attendees were quick to line up and challenge the fearsome foe. Veterans and newcomers alike (with some strong guidance from staff) were able to defeat the fearsome foe and earn their rewards!

New Player Experience
The new player experience area was back, expanded and more packed than ever! Potential new players could queue up, get a brief demo on the jobs and combat system and test their strength against Ifrit in the main scenario story mode. Winners would then receive a free copy of the FFXIV Starter Edition for PC! We hope to see you all in Eorzea soon!

The Art of FFXIV Live Stream
Originally planned as a panel for PAX East, after we made some adjustments to our plans, we instead reconfigured the content as a live stream from the SE Japan audiences so that fans could still experience the content. Naoki Yoshida and Yusuke Mogi were joined by members of the localization team and held a nearly three-hour long stream showcasing the work that goes into creating the artwork of FFXIV by lead character concept artist Yusuke Mogi!

If you couldn't watch it live, you should check out the archived video on our Twitch channel!

Amazing Cosplay
Each event we attend, we're always floored by the amazing effort that players put into their cosplay outfits. Here are a few of the costumes we were able to grab pictures of during the show!

That wraps up this brief look behind the scenes at PAX East 2020! We hope to see you all again soon!

- Bayohne
Community Team