5 best paid mounts in Final Fantasy XIV

While there are hundreds of mounts to unlock within Final Fantasy XIV, optional mounts are available in the game’s real-money shop.

These cost cash but are entirely optional and unnecessary to play the game. Frankly, some of them are incredibly awesome or make traveling with a group more straightforward, but that’s it.

Some of them are better than the others when it comes to paid mounts in Final Fantasy XIV. This, as with all lists, does vary from player to player, according to their taste and budget.

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Which paid mounts are the best in Final Fantasy XIV?

When it comes to this list, the only mounts allowed are featured on the Mog Station website for Final Fantasy XIV. However, some of these mounts are from holiday events, so those are exempted. Those could come back for free in the future.

What makes a mount worth buying? Having a striking look that stands out, potentially allowing multiple riders, and having cool music. Hearing fresh, unique music when mounting up in Final Fantasy XIV is one of the best parts of having vehicles in the game at all.

Top five paid mounts in FFXIV

• Cruise Chaser ($29.99 USD)
• Carbuncle Mounts ($24 USD)
• Fat Cat ($24 USD)
• Lunar Whale ($42 USD)
• SDS Fenrir ($29.99 USD)

There are several honorable mentions as well. The White Devil/Red Baron Magitek mounts are glorious and reference to Mobile Suit Gundam, but they’re single-character only.

They were the first real-money mounts that the writer purchased. Account-wide mounts are much better. Sleipnir is a gorgeous mount, and so is the Fat Moogle.

It’s important to note that to use any of these in the game, the player needs to have acquired their personal chocobo mount throughout the story.

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5) Cruise Chaser ($29.99 USD)

Cruise Chaser may seem familiar to some Final Fantasy XIV players, as it’s a part of Alexander’s “The Heart of the Creator” fight. The design was based on the Ark from Final Fantasy IX and a two-person mount.

It did court some controversy, with many players thinking this should have been a drop from a boss instead of being a real-money mount.

A sleek, gorgeous gold mecha can also fly and transform into the Ark design once in the air. It helps that the raid music, “Exponential Entropy”, is played while using this mount. It’s a beautiful design and well worth the money spent on it.

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4) Carbuncle Mounts - Aquamarine, Citrine, Rubellite ($24 USD each)

Carbuncle is also another familiar sight! It’s a summon in Final Fantasy VI and is the summon of choice for starting Arcanists.

The adorable glowing friend can also be purchased as a slightly bigger mount! Available in the three above colors, it’s easily one of the cutest mounts in the game.

In Final Fantasy XIV’s 4.5 update, the background music for this mount changed as well, now granting it “Merry Wanderer’s Waltz”, the Palace of the Dead waiting room music. Some people dislike the mount just for the music, but this writer enjoys both.

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3) Fat Cat ($24 USD)

It’s a cat, and it’s fat! This hefty boy wants to take its owner wherever they’re trying to get to. It’s a big ol’ fat cat, and it makes the most adorable sound when it goes running around on the ground. Thankfully, he can also fly, making it 100% worth owning.

Another mount that receives music from Palace of the Dead may be a turn-off for some players. Thankfully, special mount music can be disabled in the settings if that's the case. This mount made the list based solely on how adorable it is.

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2) Lunar Whale ($42 USD)

Final Fantasy XIV released the “Big Whale” mount, which was, frankly, just a gigantic whale. The writer thought the developers missed the boat by not giving it the Lunar Whale theme from FFIV, but he was proven wrong.

The Lunar Whale mount came recently and can hold a whopping eight players! Now, it’s very tedious to get players on board, but it’s fantastic for Fate farming or doing any particular group activities in Final Fantasy.

It also plays one of the best airship themes in the franchise’s history, the Lunar Whale theme. It’s a massive black space-faring airship and, while expensive, is a must-have for Final Fantasy IV fans.

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1) SDS Fenrir ($29.99 USD)

Is there any doubt that Cloud's motorcycle would top this list? For about 30 bucks American, Final Fantasy XIV players can ride (and fly!) the bike that Cloud rode in Final Fantasy VII REMAKE on. It's a powerful black motorcycle far and away from the best-paid vehicle in all of FFXIV.

There's a lot to be said about cruising around in the game. Flying through the air on a motorcycle while "The Chase" from FFVII plays in the background? It's too awesome not to list. Even the most mundane tasks suddenly become far more intense with "The Chase" blasting as its BGM.

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As always, nobody is required to spend real money on Final Fantasy XIV to keep a subscription. While the game has plenty of great optional cosmetics, emotes, and mounts, none of these are a must-have to play the game.

But for fans looking to purchase something for their character, these are all great starting points for the mounts.