Getting used to all the symbols in FFXIV can take some time, especially because there are so many of them and some pop up less frequently than others. Whether it’s a crown, a crown and hammer, a crown and sword, a sad little bomb or one of the most common a Sprout, the symbol next to a player’s name helps identify a bit about a player, though there is a bit of nuance to these symbols.
Every player in FFXIV will begin the game as a Sprout essentially letting any player who is in their vicinity know that they may need extra help or may have some questions and while at first this little symbol might feel a bit shameful to have, the truth is that the majority of players simply do not care.
Quite frankly the only time I check to see if a player is a Sprout is if they keep failing the same mechanic or if I notice that they are making a common mistake when playing their job and will give some helpful advice if it is something that will improve the quality of life of the player.
Though yes, the Sprout symbol is a giant flag that states “NEW!” it does more often come with players being more patient rather than a player complaining or flaming the new player. Although I’m generally a very patient player who doesn’t mind when a group wipes in Dungeons or when things take a bit of extra time if mistakes are made when I see that a player has never done a Duty before or that they have the Sprout symbol I tend to be even more patient and mentally prepare myself for the chance that things may take a bit of extra time.
Not only that, but many players are more generous to Sprouts, often passing on loot so the Sprouts can have a head start or sometimes even being given Minions or Mounts when seen in major cities.
Now, this isn’t a practice among all players or servers, so while this has been my general experience I cannot guarantee that this will be your experience.
Note: If you have any questions about FFXIV that you want me to cover feel free to leave them in a comment below, you can also ask me while I am streaming on Twitch, YouTube or in our community discord.
SO WHEN DO YOU LOSE SPROUT STATUS IN FFXIV?
There are two requirements players must meet for their Sprout status to be changed to a regular player status. The first requirement is to complete the main storyline until the end of Stormblood (the second expansion).
The second requirement is that a player has at least 168 hours while playing on the character they are on as each new character, even if it is on the same subscription, will have Sprout status until both requirements are achieved.
Players can maintain their Sprout status by never completing the main storyline and it is not uncommon for role players to hold onto the Sprout status well beyond 168 hours in the game.
I, for example, still have Sprout status on my alt account. The reason being? I’m only logged in whenever I am completing Savage Raids with my friends. Although I initially tried my hand at farming Tomestones for the best Gear, I truthfully couldn’t stomach being logged into my alt for long periods since there was so much content I wanted to complete on my main account. So, chances are it’s going to be a few years before Flaming Way gets rid of his Sprout, but until then I’m going to silently reap the benefits without actually being a Sprout.
DO I GET ANYTHING FOR BEING A SPROUT IN FFXIV?
Other than social differences that are upheld within each community, new players can join something called the Novice Network. There are a couple of ways to do this, but I typically will do it by hitting the little Sprout button to the right of the chat Window.
The Novice Network is essentially a chat filter that allows Novices (Sprouts), Returning Players and the various Mentors to communicate freely with each other. It is not a requirement to be part of the Notice Network whether you are a Sprout or a Mentor, and you will be able to come and go as you please. It is, however, a really good way to ask questions as up to 100 Mentors can be in the Network at a time and players who are currently logged into the Novice network are typically the type of players who will both answer questions and help you out in Duties.
This can be extremely beneficial for both players as when teamed up with a Mentor in a Duty both players can receive an EXP boost as long as they are more than 10 levels below the maximum on the jobs they are currently playing.
Although I am personally not a Battle Mentor yet, I am a Trade Mentor (also known as a Crafting Mentor) who will regularly answer questions in the Network or when players send him Tells.
It can be hard to imagine a game where players are willing to be helpful to strangers, but FFXIV does a pretty good job of cultivating a helpful community-oriented player base.
WHY DID I BECOME A SPROUT AGAIN IN FFXIV?
Chances are if you took time off the game you’ve received a new Icon you are unfamiliar with. This is an icon that has a sprout at the bottom with a small crown on top of it. This is the symbol of “Returning Player” and is not actually a Sprout by any means.
I will also take some time to write about this and what requirements a player must meet to lose this status.
CAN I HIDE MY SPROUT ICON IN FFXIV?
You can always toggle your Sprout icon on and off depending on if you want it to show or not. In my opinion, I can’t see why you would need or want to do this unless you are taking screenshots, though it can be useful if for whatever reason you are being harassed for being a Sprout.
To toggle the Sprout icon a player will need to type /nastatus in their chat. A good way to remember it is “New Adventurer Status.”
It should be noted that a player will only be able to do this if they currently qualify as a Sprout, so take as many screenshots as you can before you lose the status because there’s no turning back.
HOW DO I CHECK HOW MANY HOURS I’VE PLAYED FFXIV?
If you’re excited about the idea of becoming a “normal player” and are only waiting on the playtime requirement all you have to do is type in /playtime.
Unfortunately, this command breaks up your playtime in days, hours and minutes, so you’re actually looking for 7 days when the time spent playing pops up.
DOES AFK TIME COUNT TOWARDS THE TIME NEEDED TO LOSE SPROUT STATUS?
Yes, players are getting time towards their playtime when they are AFK or idling. Though I wouldn’t make it my goal to AFK or idle to lose Sprout status, I’d be a liar if I didn’t say that the majority of my days in Eorzea have been spent AFK since I typically leave the game open when working and having dinner.
If you’re desperate to move past the days of being a Sprout you may want to leave your game open when you can, but you must be logged into your character and there are certain times when the game will boot you out for AFKing because servers are too full. This function is typically turned on whenever expansions are released and I wouldn’t advise you to go out of your way to try not to get booted off. Staying logged in when you are AFK’d during expansion releases is a pretty dick move, especially on high-density servers as it will contribute to the bottlenecking that sometimes happens with queues. I understand leaving the game open and ensuring you stay logged on if you’re taking a 30-minute break, but I’ve heard players report logging in and leaving their game open for several hours before returning to their computer.
Realistically, the more players who do this, the longer the queue times for everyone so to help reduce the amount of players who attempt to do this or think they need to do this, please don’t. When players see that queues don’t take more than a few minutes they will not likely try to stay logged in the game, so help avoid having others to feel this is necessary by logging out if you’re going to be offline for a few hours.
