Final Fantasy XIV player’s 24 accounts helped him level up at work
Publication date of the original Japanese article: 2020-12-23 18:37 (JST)
Translated by. Braden Noyes
In Square Enix’s Final Fantasy XIV (FFXIV), There are even a number of players with famously unusual playstyles. In this article, we’d like to introduce you to one such unconventional FFXIV player.
A FFXIV player who goes by the name of Win is famous for operating 24 different accounts. In FFXIV, there is quite a bit of content which resets on a weekly basis. While it’s not uncommon for players to level up two separate characters on the same account, or create two accounts so they can control both characters simultaneously in-game, neither of these scenarios even come close to Win’s 24 accounts—he’s on a level all his own.
Watching him use 12 different multi-button gaming mice, each connected to its own PC, is truly a sight to behold.
This YouTube video uploaded by Win includes a camera angle showing what his right hand is doing as he plays. Viewers can watch as he repeatedly casts Akh Morn and Revelation with characters on 20 separate accounts. Win can also be heard during the video saying, “I’m just clicking a couple buttons on the side of each mouse as I go. It’s not really all that impressive.”
However, the most common player probably isn’t even using a single multi-button gaming mouse, let alone 10 of them at the same time. We should also note this video was filmed back when Win still had only 20 accounts. He has since created four more accounts and purchased two more gaming mice, bringing his total to 24 accounts and 12 mice.
Since he began streaming, Win has shocked more than a few players with his unique setup. But how does he actually go about playing the game? And for that matter, what sort of lifestyle does he have? AUTOMATON contacted him to ask him a few questions, and we’d like to share what we learned about the unseen side of this player and how FFXIV has changed his life.
───Thank you for agreeing to speak with us today. Let’s get right into it, then. What exactly was it that compelled you to create 24 separate accounts?
Win: Thank you as well. I’m glad to answer a few questions. Originally, I created multiple accounts to increase efficiency by playing as all the available jobs and as a way to not be restricted by the weekly limits the game has, though I admit I only ended up creating so many as a sort of joke. Haha.
───So you use them as a way to get around the weekly limits? It would certainly be nice to play the weekly content so many times, but that also means you have to save up 450 Tomestones of Revelation for each of your 24 characters every week. That’s also a total of 144 Levequests every day. Don’t you ever get overwhelmed by the pressure to complete so many tasks? I have trouble keeping up myself, and I only have one character to worry about.
Win: Actually, it doesn’t feel like I’m pressured to do anything. I only worry about collecting Tomestones and performing the Levequests when they’re necessary, and I leave the daily and weekly tasks to when I feel like doing them. Though I do often get so caught up in what I’m doing that it’s morning before I realize it… Haha.
───We know that you have 24 separate accounts, but how many individual characters have you leveled up?
Win: Apart from my main 24 characters, I have quite a few sub-characters. There are my NPC look-alike groups modeled after the Temple Knights, Heaven’s Ward, Dark Knights, Shinsengumi, etc., as well as WIN24 (my Miqo’te idol group) and my Lalafell, Miqo’te, and Roegadyn groups to name a few. Altogether, I have 176 characters.
───176?! That’s quite a lot. It must have cost a pretty penny to level up that many characters. If you don’t mind me asking, about how much money have you devoted to FF14?
Win: I’ve put somewhere around 2,500,000 yen (roughly $23,500 USD) into the game itself. If you include all the computers and other devices I’ve bought, the total is about 7,000,000 yen (roughly $66,000 USD) or so. I know that sounds like a lot of money, but if what I’m doing helps others smile, then I have no regrets spending that much.
───Speaking of computers, you uploaded a picture to your Twitter account of your current setup. The sheer number of devices in that photo left quite the impression. Is there a trick to operating that many devices at once? Do you feel like you’re able to channel some sort of superhuman powers in order to control them all?
Win: FFXIV allows you to create your own macros for controlling characters, so I’m not doing anything particularly special. I think anybody could do it. I try to keep the mice in the same order as my monitors, but I still grab the wrong one a lot when I’m not looking. Every once in a while, I’ll even grab my iPhone by mistake when I leave it too close. Haha.
The most I can do when controlling multiple characters simultaneously is use both forearms to move the analog sticks on 10 controllers to avoid AOE attacks.
───Even simply evading attacks using your forearms sounds rather impressive to me… On a different topic, though, I wanted to ask what the specs are for the PCs you’re running. Also, are there any specific devices you like?
Win: Not all the computers have the exact same hardware, but I would say the midline of my 12 PCs is an Intel Core-i7 8700 CPU with a GeForce RTX2060 graphics card. They have to be fairly powerful as each PC is running two accounts at once.
As for devices, I’m partial to the Logitech G600 MMO Gaming Mouse. I currently have 12 of them. I also recently purchased 12 of the DualSense PS5 controllers and am practicing controlling them all at once.
───I’m curious about the everyday routine of someone with such an impressive gaming setup. If you don’t mind sharing, would you tell us what a typical weekday and weekend look like for you?
Grey: work (commuting time included), Green: playing games, Orange: Sleep, Yellow: getting out of bed/taking a bath, Red: Dinner
Win: I usually go to sleep somewhere between 1 and 3 AM. On weekdays, whatever time I’m not working is spent playing.
───Are there any particular examples of a time where you were glad you made 24 accounts?
Win: I remember thinking, “Ah! It’s great to be alive!” when I was able to surprise comedian Yui P with my setup, and again when it happened with Shinnosuke Tachibana, the voice actor who plays Alphinaud in the game. I also enjoy the surprised reactions of players when they see 24 Carbuncles lined up in a heart pattern outside their Ceremony of Eternal Bonding.
If we’re talking about advantages, though, it’s definitely nice being able to play without feeling weighed down by the weekly limits. It’s also nice getting 144 Levequests allowances per day. Haha.
───Leveling and playing through the main story on 24 accounts sounds like quite the undertaking. Is there anything you find difficult about maintaining so many accounts?
Win: Completing Ultimate contents for all 24 characters first requires collecting enough Tomestones for all of them to get high-level gear. It certainly isn’t easy, but reminding myself of my goal to collect 24 sets of ultimate gear helps me work through the pain. “It’s tough, but that’s what makes it fun!” …or something like that. Haha.
───FFXIV has a lot of content, from Ultimate and Savage raids to instanced zones such as Eureka and Bozjan, but how much of the game’s content have you been able to clear using multiple characters? Have you challenged any content you just haven’t been able to complete on your own?
Win: I only use one character at a time when doing ultimate and savage content. The only content I can really manage with multiple characters of my own is stuff like the daily hunts and treasure hunts. When collecting tomestones, I just don’t have enough time to complete expert duty roulettes one character at a time, so I usually make a party of eight to tackle these hunts. There was one month when I only used parties full of my own characters on treasure hunts and I was able to collect over 100 million gil.
As for the instanced zones like Eureka and Bozjan, me going in with all 24 characters would mean that a full third of the 72 available player slots were filled. I feel like this would be inconvenient for other players, so I don’t plan to go into those areas until players don’t really go there anymore.
I did try the Rabanastre 24-man raid on my own, but I kept wiping when the giant columns fell on me, so I eventually gave up. Haha.
───You mentioned before on Twitter that after speaking about your multiple accounts at work, you were transferred to your company’s head office and your work conditions improved. If you don’t mind my asking, would you give us any details you can on how the conversation came up and how exactly things changed for you?
Win: One day at work, I almost made the mistake of giving a client one of my personal FFXIV business cards instead of my work card, as they were in the same case. When I mentioned this to my boss, he asked if he could have one.
Some time later, my boss was attending an end-of-the-year party with some other members of my company and a few clients. One of the client’s daughters is apparently a Warrior of Light, and at some point during their conversation, my boss ended up showing him my business card. The guest had actually already heard of the “famous multi-account player” from his daughter, which apparently started a whole conversation about me… Haha. This story was somehow passed all the way up to the president of my company, who then contacted me directly to ask if I’d like to transfer to another department at the head office.
Now I get weekends and national holidays off, and even finish work at a consistent time every day. It’s a much better situation than before. And it’s all thanks to FFXIV!
───That’s quite the story. I guess you never know when or how having 24 separate FFXIV accounts will change your job for the better, do you? I have one final question for you, Win. Is there anything you would like to say to those reading this?
Win: Thank you for taking the time to read all this! If you get the chance, please stop by and join my streams on Mildom!
───Thank you very much for your time.
When I first sent Win a message via Twitter to see if he’d be willing to do an interview, he responded quickly and sounded excited to do so. The more I spoke with him, the more I could sense how fully he commits himself to whatever he does. I got the feeling this may be one of the reasons he has garnered so much attention and love from such a large number of fellow players.
I’ve spent over 2,500,000 yen on FF14, but I’m also able to play two years’ worth of content in a single month! I’m having a blast!
Win tweeted that with 24 accounts, he is able to do two years’ worth of work in FFXIV in only a month. His playstyle may be a bit unique, but it only serves to demonstrate how much passion Win has for this game. Conducting this interview now has me seriously considering starting a new character so I can enjoy the story all over again.
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