FFXIV PVP Seasons and Series, explained: When does the current season end?

PvP in Final Fantasy XIV seems to have multiple tiers of players, all out to get each other in an attempt to get their hands on some very sought-after rewards. Here’s what you need to know about Seasons and Series in FFXIV.

What is a Season in PvP?

A season is a period of time over which players fight in Ranked Crystalline Conflict matches in order to increase their Season rank. While Crystalline Conflict has both Casual and Ranked modes, only the Ranked mode counts towards your overall rank for the season. We previously saw Seasons during The Feast, introduced during patch 3.21 and running for 20 seasons before being discontinued during patch 6.0. 

We are currently on Season nine, which started during patch 5.1 and is set to run until the release of patch 6.55 on January 16. Each new season begins immediately upon the end of the previous one.

Here’s when each Season has started until now:

Seasons ranks

The ranks for Seasons are split into six tiers – Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, and Crystal. Each tier is split into risers; to progress toward the next tier, you must win matches in order to earn Rising Stars. Each win will reward one Star while each loss will result in the loss of a star. Increasing one Riser requires three Rising Stars to achieve. 

The number of Risers in each tier is as follows:

Crystal tier does not have any Rising Stars as it is the highest rank you can achieve. Instead, you are rewarded ‘Crystal Credit’.

To check your rank or for more information about the intricacies of Seasons, check out the Seasons Standings page on the Lodestone.

Seasons rewards

The rewards for doing well in Seasons remain the same across all seasons. One notable reward is Commendation Crystals, two of which are rewarded to the top 100 ranked players on each server at the end of a Season. These Crystals can be exchanged with the Commendation Quartermaster( X4.5 Y6.2 )at Wolves’ Den Pier in order to augment Hellhound weapons and add a little bit of glow to them. 

The rank rewards are as follows:

There are also rewards that are awarded to the top players from each Data Centre at the end of each Season:

What is a Series?

A Series is a period of time that runs from the beginning of a major patch to the beginning of the next major patch – for example, patch 6.1 until patch 6.2. During these time periods, players can earn Series EXP in order to increase their level within the Series Malmstones system. By increasing their level, players can earn rewards including glamour sets, minions, emotes, and more. 

Series rewards

We are currently on Series Five. Other than the 1000 Trophy Crystals earned for the majority of level-ups, there are the following unique rewards up for grabs every five levels:

The Trophy Crystals awarded for the majority of rank-ups can be exchanged with the Crystal Quartermaster (X4.4 Y6.1) at the Wolves’ Den Pier for a variety of items, including exclusive gear pieces and glamour items. Most recently added were the Tactical sets of glamour pieces.