FFXIV Novice Network – Everything You Need to Know

What is the FFXIV Novice Network?

The FFXIV Novice Network is basically a chat channel meant for game veterans to help out new players. Players who have just started out with Final Fantasy XIV are referred to as “New Adventurers.” This is in addition to a symbol of a green-colored sprout right beside their usernames. 

Key Highlights

• Novice Network, as the name implies is for new players to interact with each other.
• New players can also get taught by veteran players known as Mentors.
• New adventurers can only join the NN if a mentor invites them.
• You will automatically leave the Novice Network when you lose your new adventurer status.

New Adventurers are automatically added to the respective Novice Network of their region after an invitation to join, but if that doesn’t happen to you, there’s always a way of getting added to the latter. We’ll discuss everything about the joining part in one of the sections further on in the guide.

For now, let’s talk about one of the major components of the Novice Network, which is Mentors. These are the experts that are supposed to give out advice in the aforementioned chat channel and run the FFXIV Novice Network. 

As the name depicts, Mentors are experienced and highly skilled Final Fantasy XIV players who have earned the “Mentor” status by attaining a set of certain achievements. These are those who intentionally want to be a productive part of the Final Fantasy community and help newbies get started in the right direction.

Moreover, similar to how New Adventurers have an icon of a sprout beside their username, Mentors are symbolized by a crown. This is only after a player has earned the designated status, however. A Mentor can be of different types as well, depending on the achievements they have earned to become one. 

There are two major types of Mentors in FFXIV: Battle Mentor and Trade Mentor. The other types include PvE and PvP Mentors, but they are basically protrusions of the main two Mentor types. The path to becoming a Battle Mentor is paved with completing specific quests, dungeons, and receiving commendations from others. 

On the other hand, to see yourself become a Trade Mentor, you will have to gather and craft a specific amount of collectibles and level up to a certain point in multiple different trades, such as Carpentry, Botany, and Fishing. Therefore, a considerable amount of work goes into becoming a Mentor in Final Fantasy XIV. 

• Leveling up can oftentimes get difficult when you’ve reached a certain level. Take a look at our Leveling Guide 60-70 to have a helping hand by your side in that case.

It’s only when you’ve checked all the prerequisites of becoming a Mentor do you truly get to deserve the status. Speaking to any Smith in the game will take it from there and walk you through the process of donning the Mentor status. 

Mentors are supposed to be ideal players in the game and an embodiment for new players to look up to. They are the most important part of the FFXIV Novice Network right alongside with those who’ve just started playing.

A good Mentor must always be attentive toward new players and should actively guide them whenever necessary. Final Fantasy XIV is a fairly complex RPG where beginners will often run into a ton of issues. As a Mentor, you shouldn’t hesitate to seek out other players of an underwhelming level and ask them if they need any help. 

What Can a New Adventurer Do in the Novice Network?

If your playtime is no more than a total of 168 hours and you haven’t completed a quest called “A Requiem for Heroes” yet, you’re automatically recognized as a New Adventurer in the game. You’re definitely going to need all the help you can get through the Novice Network in FFXIV. 

New Adventurers sporting the sprout icon in their nameplate are expected to be questioning Mentors in the Novice Network chat channel. This is a game feature that has been incorporated just for the sake of newbies who want to understand the many diverse ways of Final Fantasy XIV. 

The questions can be related to anything, as long as they’re about the game and don’t wander off the topic. You’re free to ask how the game works, where to go and what to do next, what skills to acquire, and how to get started.   

It’s always worth checking the chat channel every now and then and reading what’s being discussed. You’re often going to run into questions asked by other new players that will benefit you in a way. In addition, the Novice Network is for making friends too.

You can team up with a player who’s looking to complete the same quest as you and play together. Take it from us—there’s nothing better than making friends online. Reality is overrated. Hell, you might even find your soulmate in this glorious MMORPG. 

This goes without saying but the Novice Network does not welcome those who tend to ask for in-game items deliberately. The environment is supposed to be cordial in most ways, but no one is obliged to dole out Gils—the Final Fantasy currency—for you, so don’t dive in expecting any of that. 

Lastly, and this is a given as well – keep your behavior civil. No point in cursing someone for something over a video game; that’s just bad for your soul. If someone is verbally abusing you or putting you through distress in the Novice Network chat channel, you can always report to Mentors and get the offending party dealt with. 

Now that you’re well aware of the nitty-gritty of the FFXIV Novice Network, let’s talk about how you can join it. 

• Related: FFXIV City Of The Ancients Guide 

How to Join the Novice Network

Joining the FFXIV Novice Network is a straightforward process, although it may seem complicated to new players at first. Let’s explain the procedure by highlighting the side of the Mentors first.

If you’ve managed to go through the ordeal of checking all the prerequisites of becoming a Mentor, you’re automatically going to be added to the Novice Network. 

As soon as you log in or change regions within the world of Final Fantasy XIV, you’ll find yourself entered into the Novice Network with the shiny crown icon beside your username to highlight the status. 

However, if everything doesn’t happen effortlessly for your Mentor character, you can type in a certain command inside the chat window and enable the Novice Network yourself. Below is what you will be needing to enter. 

/nnetworkon

All right, so that’s about it for the Mentor side of the scenario. Now, what about the newbie players? How do they join the FFXIV Novice Network? Well, that’s what Mentors are there for. 

A New Adventurer can only gain access to the Novice Network by getting invited by a Mentor. No other workaround to this, we’re afraid. 

You shouldn’t be worried about this though. Getting a Mentor to invite you is fairly easy. All you have to do is look for one or say in the general chat that you’re looking to get into the Novice Network. 

Someone will tend to you shortly. Another method here is to state your concern using the “/shout” command followed by your message. Doing so will make your message reach every player in the vicinity of the area. 

The game has been out for a while now, so there’s a strong likelihood of a Mentor or two in the section of the world you’re in. Just don’t be afraid to ask for an invite and you’ll be good to go. 

Once you’ve had an invitation, you’ll be able to join the specific chat channel. Your chat window will be automatically set to Novice Network upon successful joining. Pretty nifty, right? 

You being a part of the Novice Network will grant you a specialized online status in the game. This status will appear whenever your username can be spotted in the following areas of the game: 

• Linkshells area
• Joined members section within a Free Company
• Members of a Party
• Friends List

What Are the Different Novice Network Commands? 

There are two major FFXIV Novice Network commands that can be used to alter your experience of the chat channel. We have even mentioned one of them in one of the sections above. For clarification, here it is again. 

/nnetworkon

This command is used by a Mentor to toggle the Novice Network on. The second major FFXIV Novice Network command is employed by a New Adventurer who wants to stop the sprout icon from showing up beside their name. The following is what we’re talking about. You’ll be toggling it on and off upon entering it. 

/nastatus

Simply type in this command into the chat window to enable the New Adventurer status again. That’s all about it for all the main FFXIV Novice Network commands.  

How to Turn Off the FFXIV Novice Network

Clocking in over 168 hours of playtime and completing the “A Requiem for Heroes” quest is one of the sure-fire ways of turning off the FFXIV Novice Network. That way, you’ve overcome the story content befalling after Stormblood. You will also have had played for a higher duration than the aforementioned quantity. 

The Novice Network in FFXIV can also be turned off at your convenience, however. While it’s great and all with expert players watching over you and guiding your character along the initial journey, it isn’t set in stone that you do have to make use of it necessarily.

Whether you’ve gathered all the information on your own beforehand or have just grown tired of all the clutter in the chat window, it makes sense to get rid of the feature and ride solo. After all, being the owner of the game, you decided what’s for you and what’s not. No pressure. 

It turns out that you can approach the matter in two ways here. You can either leave it altogether and deem yourself not a part of the FFXIV Novice Network anymore. Or you can simply disable the Novice Network chat window from appearing. Going with the latter can make it seem like the Novice Network isn’t even there. 

We’ll show you how to do both of these for your copy of the game. This is to ascertain that you can decide which approach is more suitable. 

FFXIV – How to Leave Novice Network 

One of the first ways that you can leave the FFXIV Novice Network is by disabling the New Adventurer status. You automatically leave the channel when you’re recognized as a new player anymore. Use the following command and enter it in your chat window to initialize the process. 

/nastatus off

You’ll see the feedback given back to you right after you enter the command in the chat window. The following is the response you’ll be receiving on your end. 

Another method that allows you to leave the Novice Network is by clicking on a distinct “Leaf” button. This option is available at the bottom of the chat channel. You’ll find multiple buttons there but hover over the one that looks like a leaf. Clicking on it will reveal the option to leave the chat, quickly allowing you to get rid of the FFXIV Novice Network. That’s as easy as a method can get. 

How to Disable/Turn Off the Novice Network

Disabling or turning off the Novice Network, for the time being, is a more workable way of getting rid of the feature. You do not blatantly leave the system that way and also get what you want out of doing it. Most players who get fed up with the Novice Network take the disabling route rather than leaving it.

This is because once you leave this specialized chat channel, the only way of getting back in is as a full-fledged Mentor. That’s kind of a long haul, right? Therefore, the following steps are going to take you through the process of turning off the FFXIV Novice Network. Be sure to follow the steps carefully for the best results.

1. The first step is to open the in-game log menu interface with the help of the “Esc” key. Hover over to the “System” tab once done and then promptly select “Character Configuration” to get to the next step. The following screenshot depicts what to click.   

2. Completing the last step will open up another window for you. This is where all system settings related to “Character Configuration” will confide. The next step is to click on the “Log Window Settings” present on the column to the left. Check out the following screenshot for a visual illustration of this step. 

3. The next step is to click on the “General” button right below “Log Filters.” The following screenshot should be good enough to explain what’s needed to be done. 

4. You’ll now be taken to the “Log Filters” section. Make sure you click on the “Chat” tab before proceeding from here on out. The next step is to find “Novice Network.” There’s going to be a checkbox right beside it. Click on the checkbox so the yellow color is dismissed and the option is disabled. Select “Apply” subsequently to finalize the process.

5. You should be seeing “Log filter settings updated” as soon as you click on “Apply.” This means that the settings that you’ve done have taken effect. The Novice Network chat channel should be out of your sights now moving forward. 

That’s about it for simply turning off and disabling the FFXIV Novice Network feature. You’ll now be able to enjoy the game without the latter hindering you in any way whatsoever. We recommend shooting for this method since it hides the Novice Network for you and doesn’t prompt you to leave it. 

This can prove to be useful whenever you’re stuck somewhere in the game and there’s no help elsewhere. The Novice Network, in those cases, can turn out to be quite the commodity. Excellent work making it this far. We’ve now reached the conclusion of this entire write-up.  

Conclusion 

Final Fantasy XIV is one of the most commendable MMORPGs ever developed to grace modern-day consoles and PCs. The character customization and the featured story-driven gameplay both make it an epic title to pick up. You’ve also got cross-platform play between PlayStation owners and PC gamers to factor in as well. It may seem like a tough game to get started with initially, but that’s until you discover the implemented Novice Network. 

This is a special type of chat channel in FFXIV among all the other chat windows. It’s actually a way of integrating advanced and newcomers to the game together, so the latter can learn from experienced and expert players. It definitely is a handy feature that Final Fantasy XIV beginners can’t help but make the best of. We’ve outlined the most significant details of the utilitarian functionality, so you know what you’re dealing with here. 

Do let us know down in the comments section if you plan on using the Novice Network, now that you’re aware of what it actually is. Good luck in Eorzea—you’re going to need it!

• Related: Styled For Hire FFXIV Location 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) 

Final Fantasy XIV is one of the finest massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG) of our generation. It strikes the perfect balance between gameplay, graphics, and core mechanics despite being released over 9 years ago.

They definitely do not make them like this anymore, given the sprawling user base of FFXIV even in 2022. Its initial release dates back to 2013 but the title has been recently revamped for the PlayStation 5. Not only that but the developer keeps pushing for new content to implement in the game. 

However, it’s not like the game is lackluster at anything already. Look at the Gnath Cometdrone, for instance. A B-Rank elite enemy that arrived with the landfall of “A Realm Reborn” game expansion. Slaying that target isn’t only challenging, but a whole lot of fun too, so you should definitely check that out for more. 

To talk about another facet of the game, you have to know about the FFXIV Novice Network if you’re just getting started with the title. This is a feature that paves the way for newbies to acclimate themselves and then some with the vast world of Final Fantasy XIV. 

From finding the FFXIV training dummy to acknowledging the game’s trust system, it’ll take a fair amount of time to fully grasp the ins and outs of this tip-top MMORPG. Fret not though because this is exactly where the Novice Network comes in. 

Read on as we explore this utilitarian game feature and pen down all that you need to know about the FFXIV Novice Network. Let’s dive right in without any further ado. 

• Can’t get the game to run because of the FFXIV Launcher Error 30413? Find out how to solve it here.