I play MMOs. It's my thing. It's what I like to do. I've tried many. Most disappoint me. This one did not, as you can probably tell by my ever-increasing total playtime.

The game most comparative to Final Fantasy 14 (FF14), to many people's annoyance, is World of Warcraft (WoW). They are both 'theme park' style MMOs, and they both use simple, action-based, 'TAB-targeting' combat. The similarities are vast, I can assure you, but they are also obvious. I can split hairs, talk about WoW's reactive, fast paced style versus FF14's slow, prepared style, but to anyone who has played both at the higher levels, it's fairly self-evident. The games are very similar as massively multiplayer online role-playing games, with simple mechanics and easy-to-enter natures (as well as raised cost-of-entries).

I think one of the only things I can offer to the discussion involving this game is my perspective. I have experienced as many aspects of this game as I can. I played the story attentively, I watched every cutscene, I leveled a healer, tank and a dps to 80 (the current max), and I gathered and crafted for way too long.

This is a weird game. The community is strange, in that they are as helpful as they are awkward. People will gladly help you for nothing, then ask that you visit them in their home (which is often just a hot tub next to a bed). They have odd customs, like saying 'o7' at the start of dungeons (which is supposed to be a salute). Everyone cares how they look, but doesn't care what you think about how they look. Playing songs in the plazas, erotic roleplay in the alleys, and bots asking you to buy gil are common sights.

The story is set into whats called the Main Scenario, split by expansion. You have to play through all the present and past story to catch up. This is incredibly time consuming. If you play like I did over the last year, it is unlikely you can get to Shadowbringers (the current expansion) within one month of game time. Luckily, the free trial is extremely good now. They recently changed it to be that you can play through the initial release content (A Realm Reborn), all for free, forever.

Speaking of A Realm Reborn (ARR), it's painfully average. The story is as well paced as paint drying, and because of the way item/level scaling works, there is no meaningful challenges. Granted, there aren't supposed to be, but it is disappointing. The plot comes to a grinding halt a number of times, and sometimes there isn't even a plot, just you doing weird, forgettable jobs for weird, forgettable people. If you tried this game and left because of how slow ARR is, I can't blame you. It's a slog. But if you stick around, the last arc of ARR was relatively enjoyable, finally arriving at some of the crazy style Final Fantasy is more known for.

After ARR, (and after you pay for the game), comes Heavensward (HW), the Wrath of the Lich King of this game. I cannot express to you how surprised I was by the sharp quality increase here. It's remarkable. The story picks up in a new kingdom, dropping most of the old characters for a story about an oncoming dragon war, set in a genuinely interesting nation. The first time I truly took notice of the music in FF14 was when I entered this expansion, it's phenomenal, and consistently so throughout. The quests become stripped of tedious 'Slay 10 _', and are paced very well, keeping a feeling of tension as you progress that was never present in ARR. If you've ever heard someone say 'stick around FF14, it gets good', this is why. Unfortunately, it is followed by...

Stormblood (SB). If Heavensward is like WotLK, then Stormblood is like Warlords of Draenor. Everything I just praised HW for took several steps back during this story. Old characters are brought to the light screaming and kicking, some given literal rewrites to force them to fit in, and newer characters struggle to make an impact. The music fails to keep me engaged as well, matching equally uninteresting environments Plots are jump-started, then the brakes are cut as they tumble down a hill. While the questing is still better than ARR, it's not by much anymore. The truly cool moments are so few and far between a deep, deep ocean of truly unfulfilling questing. It's really unfortunate, I really liked a few of the characters they introduce here, and 2 of the zones they introduce are among the best the game has, with a small plot about a rebellion I truly enjoyed. Those aspects are just mashed inside of a larger, more boring plot about a different rebellion.

Fortunately for me, Shadowbringers (ShB) was everything I hoped for. If HW is WotLK, and SB is WoD, than Shadowbringers is, I guess, kind of like Legion. Honestly, the WoW expansion comparisons start to break down here. If you are looking into this game, at some point you probably heard that Shadowbringers is good. You probably also have some healthy skepticism and some tempered expectations. I'm here to assure you that Shadowbringers is not so good that it's worth playing through all of what I just described, AND a $60+ price tag. But it's pretty close. This expansions reworks a lot of old characters and plots into a surprisingly touching and insightful story, making one of the most trite and lifeless antagonistic forces in the game into strangely sympathetic villains. The themes through the story are strong, and conveyed in honestly intuitive ways. The music is unbelievably good. One or two areas have some weaker themes, but the dungeons and raids have absolutely stunning scores. The area designs are lacking, in my opinion, but they are easy to traverse, and, well, it's very subjective.

A few closing remarks, organized in no particular order.

The class design and feel is pretty good. Each class feels very distinct, and the meta is tight, with, and I know this is hard to believe, every class performing well. It's very well balanced on the PvE side.

The PvP in this game is, and this is being generous, awful. It's poorly balanced, it's map design is shoddy, and it's not very rewarding in terms of character progression, if at all. It can be fun in short doses because it is chaotic, but playing it anymore than that is frustrating.

The fashion in FF14 is one of the main aspects of the players who stick around. It's easy to track down what you want, and there is a wide variety of styles to pursue.

The cash shop, also known as the Mogstation, is quite prevalent. Not in the sense that you are forced to visit it, or that you have to to get an advantage, just that many, many people use it. Premium costumes and emotes are frequent, as well as sales. It doesn't bother me much, but I mention it because it can be annoying to see someone wearing a cool set, only to discover it cost them $12.

The account management is awful. The website to manage your subscription and account details is ancient, slow, and prone to problems. The customer support as well is slow, but I have found them to be at the very least helpful and patient. Also...

The Steam version of this game is prone to account issues. I recommend the stand-alone version (which actually goes on sale more often). It's too late for me in this regard.


All and all, I find Final Fantasy XIV a rewarding way to waste my time. I often find myself just standing in places, talking with my friends and/or strangers I happen to meet in-game. I recommend this to anyone who wants a relaxed MMO with a flair for the dramatic.