How to get FF14 working on Linux

README.md

See also my report on ProtonDB

The launcher is finicky, but I got everything working by following these steps:

1. Start the game for the first time. The launcher appears, but it freezes. Close the launcher.
2. Edit the file ~/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/39210/pfx/drive_c/users/steamuser/My\ Documents/My\ Games/FINAL\ FANTASY\ XIV\ -\ A\ Realm\ Reborn/FFXIV_BOOT.cfg and change Browser 2 to Browser 1 to force the game to use the old launcher. (Make sure the launcher is NOT running while editing this file, or your changes will be overwritten once you close the launcher.)
3. Start the game again. You'll get a different launcher this time. Follow the steps as indicated to install the game.
4. About the launcher: Do not click "Log in" and do not click the buttons next to the ID and password fields. This will cause the launcher to crash. Instead, type your ID and password (and OTP if necessary) and then press Enter to log in.
5. Once installation is complete, launch the game. You can now create a character, but once you've selected the data centre for your character the game might freeze again. Close the game. (Tip: Save the appearance of your character in the creator to make sure you don't have to do it again. Or just follow step 6 pre-emptively.)
6. Go to the same directory as last time, but now edit FFXIV.cfg. Change CutsceneMovieOpening 0 to CutsceneMovieOpening 1. (Again, make sure the game and launcher are closed before editing the file.)

That's it. Now you should be able to run the game as normal, with two caveats:

1. If you stay in the main menu after launching the game, a cutscene will play, but this will cause your game to freeze. You'll just have to close the game and restart it.
2. I had one cutscene at some point early in the game that wouldn't play. The screen was black. Fortunately I could just skip the cutscene by pressing Esc and then confirming I wanted to skip. I've played ~50 hours now and that was the only time it happened.