Each year when December draws near, I can’t help but get excited about the prospect of local Christmas markets, late-night shopping, and soaking up the festive feelings of being surrounded by so much Christmas-themed goodness in one place. Even the most humbug Scrooge amongst us can’t help but feel a little warm on the inside in these situations.
Carollers can be heard singing wherever you are, hot food and mulled wine stands line the streets and fill the air with delicious scents, and you browse from one stall to another looking for that perfect Christmas gift for your loved ones. It’s one of my favourite aspects of the holiday season.
For that reason, I think this year’s Starlight Celebration in Final Fantasy 14 is the best yet. This might surprise you as there were absolutely no minions involved, but this year’s event gave us something even more special, a new seasonal instance called the Starlight Stalls.
You have to complete all seasonal quests to see the Starlight Stalls in their full glory with NPC vendors in each little stall, but it doesn’t take long, so don’t miss out.
The Merry Christmas Market
The Starlight Stalls are wooden stalls decorated with boughs, wreaths, and festive ornaments. There are NPCs eating outside each one; snowmen are dotted here and there; Christmas trees line the streets; piles of gifts and balloons adorn every surface; there’s even a sleigh and NPCs in Santa outfits. All the while, snow is falling.
NPC vendors sell food, Starlight Celebration-themed items, and other sundries. Those searching for that perfect festive screenshot will find countless decorative spots tucked away in side streets or up winding paths. It’s a Gposer’s paradise.
But it’s not just players completing the seasonal event or those snapping screenshots that you’ll find here. The FF14 community has embraced this area wholeheartedly, with many groups shifting their festive events to this new area, while others have planned entirely new ones to take place here. You can find roleplaying parties, art parties, secret Santa giveaways, and many more festive frivolities taking place across Final Fantasy 14’s various worlds and Data Centers.
My social feeds have been filled with gorgeous screenshots of players enjoying themselves in the Starlight Stalls and sharing event plans. It’s been heartwarming to see so many players excited about it, and it’s one of the few occasions where the seasonal event reward has been completely overshadowed.
I am that player that immediately checks to see what the reward is for the latest seasonal event, as normally that’s the main thing I care about. Mostly, I just want to see if it’s a new minion. But for the first time ever, I enjoyed the event more than the reward, all because of the Starlight Stalls.
It’s little moments like this that remind me that FF14 is more than just a game you grind to get whatever new shiny item you want, it’s a place where people come together, and somewhere you can relax and simply enjoy by appreciating the scenery.
Seasonal Instances
I have a new appreciation for seasonal instances now. The Starlight Stalls is not the first we’ve had, as All Saints’ Wake has treated us to Sneaky Hollow more than once now, which gives me hope that the Starlight Stalls will return next winter too. As suitably spooky and cute that Sneaky Hollows was, Starlight Stalls is my favourite holiday-themed event to date.
Really, Square Enix could just do the seasonal quests and rewards and most people probably wouldn’t complain. Let’s face it, most people just want to get in, get the reward, and get out. However, if you stop to really look around the Starlight Stalls and see how incredibly detailed it is, it’s clear that plenty of time and effort went into delivering something extra special for players.
Part of me wishes we had access to something like this all year, a nice little market themed area where communities could host different events. It reminds me of A Feast Reborn, a community event held every year in residential districts. Imagine what these players could do with a dedicated market space? To paraphrase Wizzard, I wish it could be Starlight Stalls every day.
Another part of me knows that having something like the Starlight Stalls as a permanent fixture would remove a large part of what makes it so special, much like Christmas itself. If it happened more often, we just wouldn’t value or appreciate it as much.
Even if you’re not normally the type of player to take part in seasonal events, I recommend you check out the Starlight Stalls before the event ends as it’s such a beautiful area. If you’re lucky, you might stumble across a dedicated group of players hosting a special performance there when you venture in.
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