As Final Fantasy 14’s Doors Remain Closed, Surviving Players Step In to Keep Everyone’s Crops Alive

The Final Fantasy 14 community is developing a genuine green thumb as it rolls up its sleeves to help water player gardens across Eorzea.

Square Enix suspended the MMO’s login servers on October 21, leaving many players unable to access the game. Only console players and those who are chronic AFKers (hello, it’s me) were left in an eerily quiet game. The problem with so many being unable to log in? Well, Final Fantasy 14 has a gardening system for those with player housing. If you’re growing crops, you need to make sure you’re watering them. Leave them dry for too long? That’ll be a big ol’ Rest in Peace to your would-be harvest.

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So it warmed my heart a little to see players who are able to hop into the game offering their watering services to those who remain locked out. A Reddit post called “PHP Watering Service” cropped up overnight, allowing players to comment their house ward and plot (because Final Fantasy 14 is an insane game that doesn’t have instanced housing) for unsundered green thumbs to go and tend to.

It’s one of those real sweet moments of community coming together to lend a hand—watering other people’s crops doesn’t require any sort of special permissions, and it’s a small act of kindness to ensure folks don’t come back to the game to an onion famine. I even tried to lend a hand myself, but players have been so quick to jump in and assist that I haven’t actually had the chance yet.

Square Enix has now said it expects to re-enable logins later today—as of writing, the game has been dark for many for around 18 hours. It’s not exactly the longest outage videogames have ever seen, but it’s been lovely to see how people come together in this game nevertheless.