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"But fighting a train as the first boss is just weird for anyone that haven't played the original game" Bad example on this one, I have never played a single ff game before 14, and I was so excited to fight a train.
I never played any mainline FF title and the train is one of my favourite fights XD thankfully my husband and friends are all into the franchise so I usually get some sort of background summary on the bosses in 14, but of course knowing these bosses makes people feel nostalgic and gives existing fans acknowledgement, while us non-FF players can still enjoy the crazy ride. I liked the omega raids and the fan service meant nothing to me XD
Yeah I was confused by this one. I've played a few main titles for Final Fantasy, but not 6. Still, the entire raid arc was immensely fun for me. Mechanically, thematically, the story, characters, etc. Everything pieced together and it was an enjoyable raid experience. Complaining that you're fighting a train in a game where you fight a goblin in a mecha suit with its pet cat is a head scratcher for me.
I’ve never played FF14 online ever in my life, but I sat and watched all 2 hours of this. You actually made me want to start my journey. Thank you for your content.
Same thing here. I've seen so many things about the whole Final Fantasy series that made me not want to try it, but this review has definitely piqued my curiosity. And giving away a big chunk of gameplay is a big part of that, I think. It's a smart play, letting people play enough of the game to get them hooked before demanding money from them to keep going. WoW could learn something from that; their free-to-play level 20 limit is so limiting that with the new sped-up leveling, you really don't even have time to experience the game before your progress is shut down, and I think that often means potential new customers stop at the paywall.
I never touched a final fantasy game before this, but after watching both hours of this video I decided to give ffxiv a try. Currently about 250hrs in post stormblood/pre shadowbringers and I've honestly never had this much fun with a game, let alone an MMO. Genuinely glad you decided to make this review and offer so many people who otherwise would never be aware of this game an introduction! Love your videos, honestly this one acted as somewhat of a gateway to your channel!
It's super addicting. Even when you think there is nothing else to do,you remember there is always more stuff to do. And it hardly ever feels like a chore,because the game doesn't make you feel rushed to do anything to keep up.
@@zifym.8373 The DS remake of FF4 was my first one, and it was an excellent introduction to the series. You don't actually have to own a DS, either, since it's on PC now.
@@morgboat744 Currently up to the current patch and I generally play solo. Everyone tends to be super polite, so even if you don't play with friends the experience isn't intimidating or unpleasant. I feel you though, man. I suck at social shit and going into a social game made me kinda apprehensive, but I'm really glad I gave it a try. Even if you don't take my word for it you could always give the free trial a go, and see if you like it enough to continue.
@@morgboat744 The community is extremely welcoming; New players get access to the 'Novice Network', basically a global chat where players that have met certain conditions, called 'Mentors', can answer questions, help with content, etc. I've heard horror stories about the Novice Network in some worlds, but as a mentor myself, I've been in multiple (since you can freely visit worlds in your Data Center from in-game, and can visit other data centers from your region from the log-in screen), and I've never really seen any issues. There's almost always someone around that can answer questions.
As someone who has only played FFXIV as my FF game I can only disagree on not liking the omega and eden bosses or feeling disconnected. I found them really enjoyable and getting a glimpse of the older games was fun. Seeing peoples reaction when they saw these and got nostalgic was wholesome. I like them and their very unique mechanics.
Omega is cool because the bosses feel like they are champions pulled from different times and places. I like the way it feels like a Tournament of Power especially after Endwalker where we learn more about Omega and Midgardsomr's backstory.
I already was used to seemingly random bosses from the Alexander raids, and even then I loved them because you were never sure what to expect and they were all pretty fun. I quickly caught on in the Omega raids that they were all references to previous games, and even though I didn’t really understand them, I still appreciated them and thought it was pretty cool.
Not only does it bring nostalgia for hardcore FF players by remaking boss fights and making them bigger and more epic, but it introduces new players to what FF is as a franchise. Like the dev's say. They want the raids to be a celebration of FF, and I think they really accomplished that.
Comfort games really do have their place, the way they feel like home, being centered and at peace in them and their tasks, their communities, our memories in them. Whilst I myself am not really an MMO person the later part of the video really captures that feeling I get from my comfort games.
i've been playing for about 3 years now. i keep coming back because it's a game you can just do for an hour after work, hang out with friends, kill some time and unwind. I know FFXIV isn't in any way unique in that way... but in the MMO genre that's actually kind of rare when you really look in to it. You don't need a huge investment of time to do what you want to in the game but yeah, those kind of games are the ones you keep coming back to
Comfort game... I like that I think that's what Terraria is for me.. I've played for hundreds of hours but I haven't actually _done_ anything in it, story/progress wise Kerbal Space Program and Cities: Skylines, too
@@unbearifiedbear1885 Cities Skylines is one of my comfort games too cuz i really like to micro manage everything. I also love your name bears are my fav animal
I really appreciate that you aren't just willing, but never fail to go into the emotions evoked by games. Too many on this platform get lost in the objective facts about games without focusing in on how that can make a player feel (though they've definitely got anger covered). It really makes your channel stand out, and I respect you a ton for it.
His superb voice, accent and inflection are built by God for remarking upon emotional profundity, IMO. A born dramatic, dignified narrator, he's like the English Morgan Freeman of YT.
I'm going to disagree with you on that. Most people I see talking about and praising this game's story are usually talking about the emotions and the really subjective stuff. I really want someone to do a deep dive on the game's story and it's themes and the writing methods in how it executes them (don't know if this video does as I haven't watched it yet). There are so many great things to pick apart about this game (a lot of flaws as well if I'm being honest) that never get talked about.
I'd classify the endgame as: 1. Economic - Crafting, Gathering, or farming rare items for sale on the marketboard 2. Fashion Fantasy XIV - Collecting glamour items or decorations for housing. 3. Raiding - doing end-game content while it's relevant and challenging. 4. Social - Building RP venues, running events, and so on.
@@EeveeHawkFan ults aren't hard. Mmos are all pretty easy to play compared to other games. The problem isn't the difficulty of the game, it's the average gaming skill of an mmo player. Competitive shooters, souls like games, many platformers, etc all are more demanding mentally and physically (hand-eye)
I haven't related to a video this hard in a long time. As a relatively recent 14 player, and a retired WoW player that started in Wrath of the Lich King: I understand everything you're saying on another level.
Your video on it is like a parralel timeline reflection of this one, I've been playing since the arr beta so I more or less agree with everything said in this video. It was really cool to see your take too, the fact people can come in fresh eyed and still feel the game a lot speaks volumes of it.
Hey Mr K I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate your videos immensely and your care and quality you put into them is an inspiration. I am glad you are taking time to focus on yourself and the qol of everything you touch. I urge you to take your time, and have some well-deserved fun everyday.
I stop playing by the end of pandora and I started to play in Burning Crusade....sometimes u miss it...but I was so competitive it was like a job and got burnt out of whipping in heroic raids for hours every day....my mom still plays though
Just here to say regarding older content being super easy, they have addressed some of it with patch 6.1, and it is so much more enjoyable now. Got the ultimate weapon fight in a roulette the other day, and was able to (for the first time) hear the entire song and get halfway through the Ultima cast. Really hoping they continue to update older content like that.
And that’s another thing in favor of the game. Even though it might take forever, they are constantly working to provide improvements to the issues that are the result of making a revamped MMO in half the normal development time of a standard MMO (all while providing content and updates to the crappy version they were intentionally ending), as well as addressing the issues that have arisen since 2013.
I still manage to clear the fight before hearing the 'good' part of the song... Nothing much has changed. Someone would have to be on a very low DPS group or wipe to hear it.
That whole final section really got to me. That feeling of having a home to return to, a world that you have all these memories and stories about, I know it well. So many games over the years that I have played, I've had those moments of reflection, of remembering the good times whether it be in an MMO or any other genre. Memories of playing Halo 3 with friends, of my first time using cheats to spawn in all kinds of things in Age of Empires 2 or GTA. Could I go play those games again now? Yes. Would it be the same? Never again. But FFXIV has been an exception to the rule. I mostly play the game to raid and have done since I started in ARR and when a new raid tier comes out and I get into it with my friends to learn the fights, it is just like those other times when we did it last tier or 2 years ago or 4 years ago etc. All those old moments and memories are still fresh and aren't fading away into a distant past of 'better days' lost forever. The story of the game also does this so well. To explain my favourite moment of the new expansion without giving any spoilers... It was a song. A song that was in a cinematic years ago that I thought was so awesome and amazing that I decided to try out this MMO called Final Fantasy 14. I have always loved that cinematic and that song and know it by heart... Then they break it out in a huge story moment and the lyrics clicked for me and the meaning of it went to a whole new level. That old memory, the old day gone by moment of me being so amazed at a cinematic that I bought the game had been brought back and heightened to a ridiculous degree. 8 years of investment into this world and loving the story. 8 years of looking back and listening to that song, and somehow they managed to make me look back at the lyrics in new ways that I had never thought of before, with fresh eyes and a new incredible moment born from my old one. Never has another game even come close to doing the things that FFXIV does to me. But I hope that one day, they will.
"Then they break it out in a huge story moment" - I wasn't sure what you're talking about, I but I think I know now. Walking, persistently... I love your post, it's kind of how I feel too, even as a non-raider. FFXIV I started in the military and have continued it when I got out. A lot of games have come and gone in my life, but this one I've stuck with. I don't have the stories of meeting irl friends and stuff that a lot of people have, but I've loved the story and the challenges I've taken on myself, and just the experiences and memories. And I love that it's all still there - I can go back and work on another ARR Relic any time, for example - for new people and old alike to enjoy, and even in my semi-solitary wanderings (though I did finally try P1S this last weekend and get my first ever Savage clear!), I still love the world and lore and characters; the old memories and the new. And I still carry the shield of my House when on my PLD. :D I love how they've expertly and flawlessly bookended things with EW for the first saga, and am excited to see what they have in store for us next, even if I expect it to ramp up slowly and be kinda low key for a bit. And I love this community, too.
I know exactly which story moment you're talking about. When I heard the opening chord of that song, I gasped so loud. The friends I was doing the story with, we were all huddled up in a Discord call at 4 am while we were watching that. None of us could think to say anything, we were just gawking at it. Tears welling at our eyes. It was incredible. It was so powerful. It's one of our favourite cutscenes from Endwalker.
this was my first ever mmo and also my first ever ff game! i was SO overwhelmed at the beginning, but i just kept telling myself "once you understand it will all be worth it." and im so glad i stuck to it, because this game is my absolute favorite and the community is so amazing! i would be at a totally different spot in my life had i not played this game and met the people i did. ive made life long friends and even my partner through my very first FC on this game. ill forever be indebted to this game and its community ♥
@@Kelpie9423 that's cool, but I wouldn't want my significant other to like video games like me. We'd never get anything done. Glad my wife hates video games and does girly things.
Strong agree on the bizarrely limited number of faces in FF14 (especially for a game that focuses so much on you having a singular protagonist character). Really weird that this has never been changed, especially given the massive number of other cosmetics. I frequently run into my character's many twin sisters (like Rowena).
Odd, I made my Miqo'te (Cat Girl) on the day the game launched, & I've never seen another character that remotely looks like me, or even the same hair. By any chance are you a Lalafell? b/c a lot of them look the same to me, 'tomatoes'.
I agree with a lot of your criticisms, but I do feel the need to point out a minor overlooked aspect, when you were discussing larger scale 24-man content and wanting to make challenging stuff they actually have experimented with that and I honestly find it some of the more refreshing stuff they've put in. Namely BA and DRS. Granted those aren't as easily accessible as an alliance roulette.
that's the thing isn't it. I doubt the game hasn't made interesting experimentations, it's just that most people don't want to play that so they end up focusing on that which most people want to play
@@raianabedin4300 i just want harder 4 player content something like a harder Deep dungeon with changing layouts and bosses on a reset or more something else like the monster hunter crossover boss
@@qaztim11 The floor 101-200 of Palace of the Dead and 31-100 of Heaven on High are meant to be challenge floors. Including a 1-200 solo challenge to get a special title for Palace of the Dead.
@@TankHunter678 Yeah. It was weird that the review lamented the lack of exploration in dungeons when we have content designed for just that. Only two so far, but still. PotD is great.
@@qaztim11 Produce said, this will not happen, because he wants that bad players can be dragged through by the better players. he said small groups put too much pressure onto the individual. But overall I think he just lies again and it's all about just milking the game. They cut so much and just don't want to create more content, that's all, but he's pretty good at finding those cheap excuses.
The music is so good that just hearing you talk about how the music makes you feel nearly made me teary eyed. What an incredible game, I'm hoping it continues to get better and better.
It's crazy how FF14 does get better and better with every expansion. It almost makes me worry cause how many times can they one up themselves? Wow on the other hand gets worse with every expansion. I'm honestly surprised it's lasted so long. That game went to shit in cataclysm imo and never recovered.
You're probably the most fair and open-minded videogame video essay/review channel on this website and I've been watching video essays for so many years lmao. I love your channel!
Just started Heavensward. The new Expansion start, at least for that, is slightly on the slogging side, and the wonderment gets strained a little but, so far I'm really enjoying it. Some of the AAR and pre-Heavensward Storyline are great. And people in my FC are telling me that AAR is the weakest, so, its like, if I think thats great, I'm in store for something special. If folks see this comment, stick it out, find a good FC, and talk to people, it makes this game even more incredible. Even if your shy, a lot of people in FF14 are pretty accepting, and understanding.
You are right if you can raid with friends it becomes better. Personally to me ARR was the best part of the game, this probably sounds weird but the game makes a nosedive in dungeon design, every single one of them from HW onwards is a tube with 3 bosses and trivial trash encounters. It's really disappointing. Quest design also never improves, aside from solo instanced content, especially in Endwalker it becomes the best content of the whole game which is ironic since you are acutally playing an MMO, but yeah solo instanced content is rare and spread out far between the game, so most of the time you still have to slog through. So I wouldn't count too much on general belief, but you will see for yourself if it really becomes better. (gameplay-wise it won't become more varied anymore)
@@Ageleszly I do hope they bring back some variety in dungeon layouts (although frankly, a dungeon with interesting design and music and contextual importance with a story is more than enough for me), but I think it's become pretty clear at this point that a majority of the fanbase was not all that interested in the different layout structures, so they just settled on what works and went with it.
This. When my fiancee got me playing, she warned me about how weak ARR was. My thoughts starting Heavensward: (1) where has Astrologian been all my life, (2) If ARR was weak, I don't know if I can handle strong o.o
I would highly recommend Baldesion Arsenal and Delubrum Savage, as these represent Unique 24+ man content that represents actual themed location, punishing mechanics, and can reach a challenge level similar to Extreme Trials. Its hard to find a group at times, but I think it will be a very eye opening experience on what this game can do. I would also argue that the Challenge Floors of Palace of the Dead and Heaven on High provide a true dungeoning experience with different map layouts, punishing exploration and a few unique rewards. Eureka as a whole, which is required to unlock Baldesion Arsenal, represents a more challenging open world experience, and Bozjas Critical Engagements can also be very punishing open world activitys, Its Duels provide a unique experience as well. These are all entirely option activitys, but have unique rewards of many spades. I cannot recommend this content enough to people who desperately want something different in the game. I will also add Blue Mage content represents a very unique experience as well, and breaks the homgenization loop we've grown used to. I agree that we could use a *LOT* more of this kind of content, but its not completely absent from it.
I'd even go as far as to add as side content like most of the stuff bozja's southern front can offer is a great example of what 24+ content can offer in this game. Sure Delubrum normal or something like Dalradia, or hell just critical engagements may not be as challenging as savage, but they're still a few notches above in terms of difficulty compared to normal raids/allience raids/normal trials. And soundtracks are a treat too, especially Diablo's theme(though getting into Dalradia might prove to be difficult, if people are still afk farming fates in there lol)
I really wish that SE would do more of something similar to the Delivery Moggle questline where you simply travel around the world and talk to various random NPCs. It made the world so alive and live-in as opposed to the massive empty zones that you rarely revisit.
MMOs are one of the hardest games to make. In the end when you started to talk about the music you got me and yes it is one of the reason I love the game. And yes for me too is a home I can return to. What a great review, just wanted to say thank you for making it
It's uncanny how you've put all the criticisms I've personally had with the game into words. This game really is special, and your video is testament to that.
No game has made me feel every single possible emotion multiple times throughout the experience. Final Fantasy 14 is an immaculate video game that can only be described as a journey
Seems you are a fan of cheap powerfantasies and white washing war crimes and planetar genocide, eh? FF14 is by far one of the worst stories I've seen in my life and I read thousand of books and have seen thousand of movies. A bunch of self-righteous Mary Sues just murder all their problems, brutally ruining everything that could have been interesting about the plot.
This is one of the best, honest, fair, and grounded reviews of the game I've ever seen. Somehow you've managed to capture what I consider to be the essence of the game and communicate it in a way that is not only easily understood, but felt. From another die-hard FFXIV fan, Thank you.
To be honest, I clicked on this video fearing what my favorite game critic will have to say about my favorite game, and I did not expect I would end up almost crying by the end. Well done.
Haven't finished the full video, definitely disagree with the lack of interaction in duty groups. They're only as quiet as you allow them to be. I always tend to strike up conversations and in eight of out ten cases, people are receptive to it. I believe "conditioning" from World of Warcraft plays a large part into that.
Eh it's mostly true but there's not much time to talk between mechanics in Savage and most groups are chain pulls. Unless your argument is they are not. Yes people strike conversations at times but don't pretend like it's the majority of runs.
Its not conditioning from wow. That's how every mmo is. Not everyone wants to sit there and chat when they go into a dungeon. There are times to be social and times to focus and get your goal done. Some chat happens but most people don't sign up to go into a dungeon and take 4x the time so they can have a friendly chat along the way. Every game with a LFG system is like this. There are always some chatty people but they aren't the majority.
People don't have much reason to interact in leveling content anymore cause it's all so easy, even more easy in wow. Back in pre wow mmos, interaction was necessary in all groups because leveling content was much harder and dying was far more punishing than it is today. Games like everquest you could actually lose levels from dying too much, it was awesome. With that said, FF14 community keeps a lot of old school mmo culture alive with being social friendly and helpful. They're far more likely to engage in party conversation than wow players. Wow players don't want to talk to anyone in group they just want to get in and get out of dungeon asap and if you wipe once they leave.
In a Realm reborn we were trying to finish our relic weapon quest by killing titan since it was the most advanced thing out, and my friend was a dragoon. They had like 2 second jump animations that would eventually get shortened A LOT over time, so he kept dying. My friend and I bought him a cake and put the words "Dodge the bombs bitch" on the cake. I also remember when leviathan came out and we all played in the same room on our ps3s, but my friend and I bought ps4s because we the lag for the leviathan slap was unreal and the twintania bombs was so bad. So my friend (the dragoon again) would watch my screen so he knew the position of the bombs and the leviathin slap. Good times. Excited to see this, even though I haven't played it in a couple years.
Game has become streamlined too much after ARR IMO such funny dungeons quirks are a thing of the past, nowadays they are only straight tubes, which are optimized to be farmed as carefree as possible. Every single one of them past ARR, no exception. Trivial content thats only there to consume time.
you haven't played in a couple of years? it's so worth to come back to now more than ever! if you don't expect instant queue on saturday evening that is :P
Ahh yes so you remember the Myth (i90) gear? I remember having to eat food and the like to buff my health some as stomps from titan would always kill my Bard, lol
Your channel is the only one that can keep me interested in a 2 hour long video of a game I've only ever been mildly interested in and can make me feel so guilty about not being more invested in it since release. The payoff from watching your videos are so satisfying and I hope you never stop making them.
Re: The story standing between them and "endgame". Much of the game, and its 10 year history, is evergreen content. ARR least of all, in terms of tuning and some meh dungeons, but I run Crystal Tower at least every week, for currency or EXP. Players not at the "end" are not left behind.
It's a problem of (generally) WoW players, who have been conditioned to only want to engage in the newest, most shiny raid content and nothing else, asserting that mentality onto other MMOs as if that way is and should be the end all, be all way to tackle a new game. Simply put: ex-wow player mad that other mmo isn't more like wow
I agree with this too. I rushed through ARR since I wanted to raid with my friends with Shadowbringer, but now I wish I took more time in ARR. You have a lot of time to clear Savage so you really don't need to be in any rush. The longer the tier goes on the more catch up mechanics are given to players to encourage them to go in. The game will never hard gear gate you from content without giving you a reasonable means to catch up. Meanwhile other games I've played, you're essentially punished for being a new player because if you don't blitz to end game, you will be even more behind in gear and sometimes straight up unable to do the next patch content due to gearchecks. A lot of MMOs have really trivial stories that are just kind of there, but FF14 does put a lot of care into it's stories and even ARR is extremely relevant to the rest of the story elements. Luckily, they added something that lets you rewatch cutscenes in your inn room, so I've been spending some time going through those.
I havn't finished watching yet so idk if it has been mentioned but I think one factor that contributed to its success is FFXIV has an expanded free trial which you can play through the entirety of A Realm Reborn and the award winning Heavensward expansion up to level 60 for free with no restrictions on playtime.
Your 1:02:30 part about Ultima is spot on. I remember fighting the MSQ fight and feeling extremely lukewarm about it but then I somehow randomly unlocked Minstrel's Ballad Ultima and it was quite literally the most exhilarating time I've had with the game for the 60+ hours I've had with the game up to that point. The fight being actually challenging, the music, everything just felt right for the first time, It finally cemented that feeling that I've found something special since WOTLK. now over 6 months later since the fight mentioned and I have over half the jobs at 90, full blown mentor, completed current savage tier and many previous savage content amongst other things and I'm having a blast.
I agree in almost all of your point except story pacing and patch cycle that you find it predictably boring. I think this a greatest strength of FFXIV that you know exactly what to expect and it does not waste you money and time.
same here, you know what you're paying your sub for. it ensures no content droughts of a year or so as WoW has had. It might be a bit of a hamster wheel of 'new dungeon, new raid, new tomes, new gear' but we always get extra stuff on top of that, including some story, and plenty to do in between so you got stuff to work towards.
As a raider you get about a week of content every 6 months, plus the ultimates (which also last about 2 weeks at best). I wish we got more raid bosses per tier.
I'd be fine with the pace if it were a 'smaller' MMO like it was years ago... but it's not anymore. FF14 is making absolute bank and it feels like the extra revenue they're making isn't being funneled back into the game itself.
@@AGuyWithFace I've been told that Mogstation revenue is being funneled over into FF16, not FFXIV, so bear in mind that executive meddling might be playing a role in this.
I don't particularly find the "glacial nature," cutscene heavy story with a lack of player agency to be something bad that I put up with. I actively like this type of game, and I don't know if I'd have stuck with it if it were faster paced and branching. I lose my interest quickly in games like that.
Agreed. I found leveling in ARR awful because I felt like I was always running around doing unnecessary things. I'm positive I wouldnt have made it to Heavensward if it weren't for my brother pushing me. I really loved Heavensward onward because that's where the character development and story got really great. I don't know that I've felt like it was too slow since then, outside of a few small moments here and there. I greatly prefer this style because I can always do endless gameplay once I finish the MSQ
I think the story needs downtimes from time to time, though in some cases it feels too forced like near the end of endwalker where you storywise have to wait and because you the character has nothing better to do, you're helping others with meaningless tasks.
As someone coming from a background of being really into visual novels and other text-based games within the medium in addition to final fantasy and other single-player role playing videogames, and having read through and enjoyed some really big, long VNs like the when they cry series it's kind of a non-issue to me, especially considering most role playing games are, and should, imo, be text-heavy to at least some degree... It also definitely helps that the dialogue is fed to you throughout digestible text boxes instead of the walls of text that other games will often use for presenting their story. And that's not even getting into just how verbose and lore-dense this game's vocabulary can be. It's through this and many other well-executed flourishes that it does an excellent job of miring you within it's own atmosphere. I can't even bring myself to skip through side-quest dialogue anymore; I'm far to busy drinking it all up.
It's been almost a year ago or so since Endwalker released and I still can't get over how good the story for this game has been so far. I honestly didn't think it was possible to write such an incredible story within the format of a video game let alone an MMORPG of all things. I honestly had such a hard time getting through the first expansion, but man am I ever glad I stuck with it! I have never been so emotionally invested in a story before.
@@juannito6318 I'm only just now starting from the beginning and I'm already heavily invested in the lore : ) Awesome game and kind of overwhelmed by just how much content lies before me! haha
Great video but you focused so heavily on the combat experience. One of the most amazing things about FFXIV is how many non combat things you can do. Crafting and gathering are involved systems with lots of side content, diadem, ishgard restoration, collectables, ocean fishing, relics, expert crating. And these things are relevant in the end game as well.
Man I remember trying to load into ul'dah on release day and the absolute mess the launch was, then reading about (Nobu, maybe?) breaking down crying and apologizing for how bad it all was. Thats when I knew this game was going to be great one day. And now it is. Or has been? Just came back today. I'm really happy for all the devs. They deserve this And yeah. Ifrit used to be way different. My fondest memory is the healer for our group dropped but I was playing arcanist so I healed and had carbuncle in the off tank role, back when carbuncle had actually use, pulling enmity when the tank got low and I was waiting for pot cds or cool downs. What a fun fight that was
Regarding interacting with the world around you going away after ARR, that applies only for the MSQ. You can still interact with the world with the gathering jobs and leveling secondary combat jobs while doing side quests.
I'd also argue that the world is built around a variety of facets rather than just interesting looking enemy groups. Trying to understand the lore of each zone/finding locations for your sightseeing log/gathering jobs are all devices used to flesh out the world.
I believe he’s referring to the immersion aspect, the world tends to feel very placed and not organic. You can interact with stuff yes but it doesn’t feel as natural or meaningful. Everything has it’s designated spot to sit, there’s not a lot of aspects that just flow. From above looking down you can really tell.
@@kohtas This is especially true of gathering - it requires no exploration and no real engaging gameplay at all any more given Hide is always on and everything is always in the exact same spot - the only real wrinkle are timed nodes. If anything, the way gathering is formatted validates his complaint that the world feels incredibly artificial even more.
I know these are different games, but let me show you 2 examples of games I've played Black Desert Online has people all around you, doing something next to you. You fight against them when farming, or gathering, or hunting, and even fishing, because one can steal the loot-rock-tree-plant-fishing spot from the other. So even though the world is not that dynamic, players are always interacting with each other through mechanics to explore the world. In Guild Wars 2 there are events everywhere. I build is broken by enemies, you and players have to reconstruct. NPCs travel from villages to village. Cities-fortresses are attacked, taken, retaken. Tribes are helped in different locations, so they can go to the center of the map and summon a barrier that protects a army base. Players invade a city, killing generals, destroying statues from the enemies, defending the harbor area with canons against naval ships. Plant like creatures from an elder dragon attack 4 fortresses, players protect them by rebuilding their walls, using canons, then the center of the fortresses open, with a whole of vines from the dragon, players go inside and kill plant bosses, then they attack the center of the plants by attacking in 3 different areas (with 3 different groups of players). etc etc etc The world is always changing, something is always happening, making it all very dynamic. And players do that together, by just exploring, and you dont need to enter a party or talk to anyone, you play alone, but you still interact with other players. This goes for both MMOs I said (in Guild Wars 2 you cooperate with each other, while in BDO you fight each other) Gathering plants and interacting with the world is the minimum that these 2 MMOS offer. So again, they are different games, with different purposes and philosophies.
Thank you for this! I tend to agree on most points, and it really is as concise of an in-depth critique one can make with a game as expansive as FFXIV. One more thing that I feel you glossed over in the story part is the actual accessibility of the lore compared to WoW. For WoW if you want to know things and whys and wherefores you have to go outside of the game. Read books and so on. It wants you to already know who all those characters are and why they matter. FFXIV delivers all it's cosmic and personal lore in game. And while that does tend to lead to lengthy pieces of exposition, they have gotten so good at them with the last two expansions I'm actually looking forward to the lectures. Ascian and world lore delivered by Emet-Selch I would say was a personal highlight for me in Shadowbringers. P. S. I actually shed a tear in the end when "Our Song of Hope" started. Beautiful work.
01:35:49 "Dungeons don't feel like real places we're exploring." Unfortunately they tried doing more unusual dungeons like "The Thousand Maws of Toto-Rak" or "Cutter's Cry" that had a little more forced exploration and a less obvious direct path to take, but players just end up finding the most efficient paths regardless. I think Toto-Rak might even be among most players' least favorite dungeons if you ask them. It's also interesting to note that both dungeons I listed had equivalents in 1.0, so perhaps their less-direct quality was due to that, being based off of dungeons that were originally VERY large and vast and required exploration.
I don't imagine many people hate Toto-Rak for being slightly non-linear, otherwise Hauke Manor would be much further up there. I personally hate Toto-Rak for the obnoxious slow zones you have to wade through and the webs that you have to kill to let anyone slightly behind the group through.
I was absolutely gutted when I saw the issues you'd be having with age restrictions. I really hope they are sorted now because your videos are among the finest on the platform and it's cultural robbery to prevent the world from having more! So far this video hasn't disappointed at all. Another booming success and one that I'm going to enjoy watching (albeit in sections haha)
I couldn't disagree more about the leveling experience, to me it's infinitely better to level your first job through the MSQ and have all the extras for trying out other jobs, and the ARR patches are great after the pruning.
ARR patch quests are still a boring slog (I've leveled through before and after the prune). The leveling experience for alternate jobs in 14 is one of the worst alt grinds in any MMO I've played. Without the MSQ, you are forced to play repeatable quests or the same dungeons you've likely ran a number of times as is (the side quests alone are not enough to level your alt job, and once you do them once they are gone). FFXIV is a good MMO that suffers a lot of the same issues that other games in the genre do. While it does some things much better than other MMOs, it does some things far worse.
I agree. "there is no exp incentive to doing the hunting log" It is one of the easiest ways to get a new class to lvl 15 and the same goes for fates. Doing the Job quests and doing most of the blue quests was also pretty nice. Also gaining extra exp when you have a higher lvl class, makes the lvling experience a lot better too, while the msq ensures that you have at least one class that has a decent lvl.
@@mattt6201 I went through MSQ as dancer and later leveled reaper with almost only yellow and blue quests. If i had done less blue ones with dancer i'm sure it would've gotten my reaper to lvl90. So side quests are pretty good for leveling but only one job. But yeah since i ran out of quests leveling astro to 90 had been sluggish but not too bad. However if someone wants to level cap every single class my heart really goes out to them lol
I just finished crystal tower. ARR is still a horrible experience. The patch content has taken me over a month, i just dont want to log in to fetch quest for hours each time
something very smart about the job system is that there job specific stories for each class including none combat classes, its not nearly as fleshed out as anything in the main story but it is a nice way to give extra context to the world and classes and at times it does have genuinely great moments and payoffs for those who pay attention and continue it all the way to Endwalker
I started playing FF14 a few months ago, like most people and it was/is even better than I expected. I'm excited to hear what you have to say about it. It's been a return to the core of MMO's for me, playing with strangers and friends, having fun together and getting immersed in the world.
At first I did not think I would sit, listen and watch to a 2 hours long video. But I am glad I did. Extremely well placed criticisms supported by a long experience in the game - and the summary which in my opinion just could not be better. 10/10 work.
The whole encounter with ShB's last 5.0 boss, and how the music plays into it. How I'll always cry when that guitar riff kicks in during the cutscene. EW is good, but it's not yet matched that moment for me.
That last part really got to me. When you said "the future is bright" I got teary eyed. FFXIV has been my home for so long. It's the place I return to when I'm sad or stressed. Every I teleport to Ul'dah is like receiving a warm hug, when I hear the day theme I feel invigorated and at night, I'm soothed by night theme. It feel pointless to get so emotional over something like a game, but it is this community, the developers and the content that makes this game so memorable and enduring. Thank you!
Agreed these are super though and very enjoyable things that you can still do today! They could be more accessible arguably but they do exist for the Ayers who want them
BA was not for 24 people and you needed discord groups to get in WHILE it wa current content people cared for. As soon as the influencer PR campaing of Square dies down again, when people realise how the game really is (= not eight years of piled up ontent that seems so much when you rush through it in some weeks, but 1% of that), it will be again close to impossible to get in there - without using means like discored or a giant guild. Better us the chance now wit the steamer still around, they can just get enough players from their crowd.
@@miriamweller812 yes it’s a niche form of content. That’s fine for content like this to be niche. It’s fine you need to find groups in specialised circles.
@@Scottistic Nonsense. The game got such little content, that you can't just tell something that is the MAIN content of the actual patch is just for "some people". You can act like that, if you deploy 3,4,5 times that content, but they don't. They cut content, massively in SB and ShB even more. And it's not niche in sense of: it's not fore everyone, the system simply sucks. For what reason do you abolish your duty finder? For what reason in a game tha struggled enough with enough players in that time, do you put such strict windows on top of that? Even more in content that needs sooo many people?
@@miriamweller812 there’s always something for everyone just not everything is. Sure the game puts out less “content” for more quality of the content. This game isn’t an infinitely grindy game on purpose. It’s not supposed to be played 365 days a year unless you just want to do so. Why do they abolish duty finder in these places? It probably has to do with some sort of limitation when working with a part of the game that operates independently of the rest. Instances within instances as well. I think Yoshi P would love to put out more content. If he could higher the staff and budget it
I spent 3 1/2 years playing straight through this game from ARR to post Endwalker. It was an adventure like I never could have dreamed. I appreciate your review of it.
Having played through the story all the way to Endwalker's grand finale, I can tell you it's something that I will remember till I die. It's just such a sweeping, epic tale that only an MMO could tell. You'd need an RPG series with multiple sequels to get something as grand as what they told through FFXIV. The only thing I can think of in similar glowing praise was the Mass Effect trilogy. But where they stumbled at the finish line because they hadn't really planned out from the start how'd they tie it all up, XIV sticks it. It's clear that the writers knew, if not specifics, the general idea of where the story would end when they set out. So everything after ARR builds on what the previous content started.
@@CrashB111 no, Mass Effect had a plan for the whole trilogy, but midway through ME2 they threw out that plan after the original director of the game left and the new one stepped in.
This was a joy to watch. Your insights and perspective, your ability to mix the good and bad make all of your videos a unique experience. Thank you for your work.
Great review. I fully agree with most of the things you said and mostly agreed with the rest. The only things I would have liked to mention were Bozja and Eureka. The place where they tried new experimental content (like more demanding bigger group challenge you said the game lacked Delubrum Reginae (Savage), or demanding solo fights). Sure, it's not wholly unique, it's still meant for ffxiv fans, and the gear it gives is mainly meant as glamour or for jobs you neglected to gear so they can have it as well. Still, at least for me, they were pretty fun, quite long-lasting content bits.
Feel like if FF ever wanted to make a "mythic dungeon" like content, harder more involved dungeons for smaller groups, it would be in these two. It is a noticeable hole in what 14 offers as of now
@@danielnolan8848 they probably won't do it because 14's dev care about balance a lot and balancing between both 8 and 4 man content would just result in every class feeling the same as the others in its role (more than they already do)
@@capo3645 they already do and do more so with each expack, so I don't see any problems with this, every dps and tank job has an aoe rotation now. Be nice for some dedicated use for that, which is on par with savage
@@capo3645 I think it's mostly a few things. The hard 4 man content we did have nobody really did when it was current (HoH 60+ and DD 100+) and brother floor 150+ back in HW when everybodies AoE sucked and was a race to 0 TP? Yeah that was a struggle. On the other side, Ultimate's already exist for the ultimate upper end character challenge content and was made despite the fact that it flat out won't get experienced by the majority of the playerbase.
@@themur880 nobody did hard content back in ARR years ago, when the playerbase was very different, it has greatly expanded since, especially now that trusts are a thing, even if the playerbase was smaller, which it no longer is, that's no excuse, millions of entirely diffent people play 14 now. From WOW to Guildwars to ESO having challenging engame dungeons is a staple that 14 lacks, when people say "14 lacks endgame content" this is what they mean
There is something about FF14 that's just so cozy and homey like no other game to me. It gives me that feeling of when I was a kid logging into an MMO for the first time and feeling immersed in a new home, but it gives me that feeling every time I log back in. Everything from the music and art direction, even down to the soft looking menus and UI being pleasent to look at.
I think your way of categorizing endgame lacks to mention ffxiv's enormous RP/socializing community and how a lot of the game's systems and new releases directly support it (half the emotes exist for RP purposes only + now fashion accessories + dungeon explorer mode etc) and WHY someone would want to gather collectibles outside of completion, but i understand how that might not be something someone focused stricly on raiding might think about. many people's "endgame" is treating the game like Second Life, since the game does such a great job at supporting that, and i think it's also a big part of its success. cool video otherwise though
The screenshot community is enormous. Building sets, using the in game tools to make neat lighting effects, or just trying to capture the right ambiance out in nature. It's what has kept me engaged in the game in between content droughts when there's nothing else to do... well, that and big fishing, which is its own unique hellish form of endgame.
This! It's a shame how RP is often overlooked by gamers and devs alike when it is a really fun creative activity that can be enjoyed at all the stages of the game. FFXIV is very friendly to its RPers with things like tags and the housing system. It's a big part of the game, and keeps people engaged when they aren't doing the other endgame activities.
8:37 the point about QoL features like Dungeon/Duty finders reducing the importance of in-game community really hits home! Prior to FF14 I had only ever played F2P MMOs which often lack these types of convenience features (since anything convenient needs to be locked behind irl purchase to turn a profit, of course). One thing that those games always seemed to have that was missing for me for a long while in FF though was just... a more open/broad social aspect, I guess? I was amazed that I was able to play for hours and hours through the MSQ slowly making my way to level 35 or so without really needed to interact with other players at all outside of a "hi" and "gg" in dungeons. I set my sights on finding a compatible FC around that time because it very much felt like if I didn't go out of my way to find a social group to be a part of, it just wouldn't happen in this game. I luckily found an amazing FC shortly thereafter, but that sentiment still holds true for the most part. I know basically no one outside of my FC which is kinda sad lol. The price of convenience
Isn't it better this way - to not force unwilling to socialize players to do so? This game encourages you to do things, but never forces anything on you, that's a big reason why I personally love it so much.
I just have to mention The Secret World as the MMO that also put the story and the world above everything else. And it was / is truly outstanding in that regard.
TSW is still my favorite MMO. I think FF14 nails an overarching story better but man TSW sidequests, variety, and worldbuilding in particular are still top notch for me.
Damn I loved TSW back in the day, even after the changes they made to it. It’s been a hot minute since I’ve thought about it and now I’m itching to experience that game’s story again.
This was pretty dang great. FFXIV being a "Home you can return to" put words to a feeling that I've had ever since I started in 2.0 and periodically came back every expansion. Great analysis. One thing that I found interesting is your comments about the post expansion MSQ's for each expansion. One thing about how it's structured is that you essentially get to experience a highly condensed version of that expansion's endgame (albiet much easier). Then again, I'm probably in the minority on that opinion, but I'm kind of saddened that they cut the MSQ quest down in that regard, since the post-ARR quests were a great time to level additional jobs, experience all the trials, work on the Coils Raid, etc. It's probably the same reason that I also think the MSQ being enough to fully level one job is great, since it gives you the opportunity to play other classes for the additional variety.
I've never played a final fantasy game before and have minor experience with mmos in general, but after starting this game a few days ago man I'm having a blast and cant remember a time that I've felt so good playing a game
HEY Love your channel, this channel makes me think the hardest about topics I actually care about, so thanks for making your content, please don't stop anytime soon!
I really like this nuanced take of ff14. We really need it tbh. However I do disagree with the lack of mention to rp in the endgame section. Even if it isn't for you, endgame in ffxiv isn't just raids and I think that's a big strength it has at least to people like me who doesnt care for any other mmos...
I've never heard anyone so beautifully articulate the depth of nostalgia I always feel about the "good old days" in an MMO. You're right: that sense of loss is born from unfamiliarity, and especially in the case of WoW, the overwhelming sense that those triumphs of the past no longer matter. When the memories of those triumphs are tied to community and friendships, it's very hard to let go. I only ever played Final Fantasy 14 briefly, but I really think I ought to visit again. Thank you for this.
@@hidehide8766 Have you had luck finding friends in game? My last WoW return was only more exhausting because, despite my best efforts, I struggled to find a friendly guild.
@@chaddoell no modern mmo seems keen on mechanically incentivizing player interaction like the old days, i.e. - requiring a coordinated group to simply level up. That said, you will definitely meet people in xiv if you go beyond msq and normal/extreme fights. Savage and ultimate content will inevitably lead you to various discords where you'll have ample opportunity to connect with people. Many free companies also have active discords and in game chat rooms. The rp scene is also a good way to meet people from my understanding, but I never engage with it personally.
It’s great to be watching this video over a year after it’s released, and see that the developers have actually worked on many things you mentioned! Fixing ARR, harder dungeons (criterion), so on and so forth
There's still room for more. I think all of Crystal Tower should be brought up to about where World of Darkness is. Gordias should be brought up to where Midas is, etc.
@@rudolfambrozenvtuber I see the Crystal Tower point! However, I don't really get what you mean by bringing Gordias up to Midas? Gameplay wise, being in a MINE prog group for it rn I can safely say A3S, A4S are some of the more difficult fights with pretty unique mechanics. A8S is significantly harder but that's kind of an outlier since it was the "mini ultimate" before ultimates were a thing
@@YBthree I mean for normal. This is all for the new player's benefit, remember? Generally I think on normal, old raid and trial content should aim for "easy to die difficult to wipe"
@@rudolfambrozenvtuber Ah that makes more sense! Good point. I kinda assumed otherwise since most people I know either don't touch 8-man raids or only do normal for unlocking savage so I forgot that people actually run it for story. I agree with you on that goal, it's been a while since ive done the normals though so I have no idea how it actually is X]
Criterion is great but it's merely a drop in the bucket. The game (bar current savage and up) is way, way too easy. To the point where I feel insulted, actually.
This was a pretty great and surprisingly heartfelt video. I really should give FF XIV a try. I bounced off of ARR a few years ago and never gave it another chance, but maybe this time I'll try to stick through it into Heavensword.
I think the problem with experimenting with dungeon design is that with large open world dungeons, people just optimize routes and skip most of the dungeon anyway so it’s not really an exploration unless you and your whole party are doing it for the first time. Else new players want to explore and old players want to save time. Reasons to explore aren’t great either as there will always be better gear the next dungeon or side quest. Having large scale “dungeons” like Eureka or Bozja are fun but Eureka is dead nowadays and Bozja is mostly for EXP. They just streamlined dungeon design as they did most of the troublesome but more complex mechanics throughout the game. Some people see the complexity as fun (like back when aggro for mobs was actually something you had to think about and work around) but players then started to find ways to ignore mechanics in pre-fight rituals. Devs saw this and just streamlined that part of the gameplay. I think more boss variety (RNG mechanics and less obvious telegraphs that require you to pay more attention) would be fun though, which they have been doing.
This whole review was amazing. And as a wow player since original TBC that stuck with blizzard through goods and bads always pushing for the cutting edge, i really sympathize with you and thank you for the fair comparisons. Now in short, I ll give you my experience in ffxiv and what i found here compared with wow and why now i would chose FF over WoW everyday, adding to your arguments. First i started playing it for ultimates, raids and dgs. And as enjoyable i found them, and quite diverse flashy and challenging, i really loved the satisfaction you get from a smaller group. Everyone has to do something, isnt RNG 3 ppl out of 20 get to do a mechanic rest just blast. We were all as good or as bad, felt more relatable to each other, and as you said cozy/intimate atmosphere. However.. as pleasant as this was, this wasnt the real reason for me sticking to it. Eventually raids were cleared and alts geared. What now? i really started exploring the game.. and aside of PotD, crafts/gather, side quests like Hildisbrand and such, i started to interact more and more with ppl, actually socializing more and more than i did in wow. And to my surprise i found ppl are really nice and opened minded and i dare to say happy to socialize back. Speaks alot when players are happy they tend to share that happiness with other players, compared with, where my wow experienced were most of them felt frustrated.. as i did. Didnt have the mood or time to interact with someone after grinding my borrowed power for the last 2-3 even more hours a day and then raid afterwards. Now coming back to FF, the social part grew up on me and eventually got into housing and its RP. i know, i know most ppl think of ERP. No, some different and pure. Actually tailors or blacksmiths opening their small appartment or house as a shop, trying on the outfits on manekins, previews of carpenters masterworks etc. And it didnt stop there, i found out theaters, where a small or long show was presented, house arranged like a theater or cinema, my mind was blown; Bards playing as an orchestra, amazing performances sometimes long for even few hours; whole guilds/statics/fc coming together to wish someone happy birthday at the FC house while actually holding a party, same thing with weddings; casinos and Nightclubs that were hosting 1-2 or 3 DJs and we were all listening to him/her on twitch while socializing and dancing with your partner or grp of friends, all taken care of the hosts + security,bartenders,dancers, all in a house that was actually shaped as a nightclub or casino. I was simply in awe and amazed and i wanted more and more of it. And all this happening and revealing itself to me at start of covid period, left me really impressed. So impressed actually i took it 1 step further and became one of the DJs in these clubs, making me continue a hobby that i always loved even when the real life clubs were closed. For this ff will always have a special place in my heart. So i came to FF to farm raids and dgs and reputation and ended up doing that but also farming glams and emotes and growing my friends list with wonderfull ppl, while exploring the game and riding the wholesome moments together. Amazing simply amazing from my pov. FF as a game has the tools and resources and an awesome community to keep you and itself happy for many years to come with our without "newest" content released, and i am honored and humbled to be part of something like this. And as wow goes.. while i am still playing it and somewhat attached to my guild there, but i ve never experienced something similar in it while playing it for 15 years. And if i were to choose now 1 from the 2, would be FF without hesitation. ♥ Take care NKB, will deff binge watch some of your videos. Glad i found you buddy. /bow
Really nice to hear another vet's opinion(I have been playing since 2.0 launch and cleared every piece of content available ultimate/blue mage raids/DR savage) about some of the game's factors. I do disagree with you on a few things and found the overall tone of the video to be negative but that's fine with how much positivity the game gets from newer players now. There is harder 24 man content within the relic zones so that seemed a little off as part of your criticism for that not existing especially since it's not even particularly new in implementation of it's earliest form. But overall I do like your suggestions for ARR content and some of the critique in smaller factors. I think the XIV team does try more risks than you made it sound like they do they frequently just end up as smaller scale projects or side activities at the end of the day. Dungeons were reduced in scope in the amount of the game they took up so things like relic zones, deep dungeon, blue mage, etc could elaborate on some of that alternative content that might offer unique or different types of challenge.
Another aspect that's wholly unique to XIV is the deftness with which they've woven the story of the project as a unicorn comeback into the marketing and brand persona of the game itself. At this point it's hard to evaluate the game without also thinking about the team behind it. The combination of it being a project that should not have succeeded, much less become a keystone in propping up SE, and the ongoing level of detail and transparency the team provides in customer communication are what make the fan ardor so resilient. E.g. heaping praise on a $12/mo live service game despite hours-long service delays with no resolution in sight. Every criticism is softened and every accolade amplified by this "tempering" effect.
Yeah but for what price? They are transparent but the game is awfully predictable for years because it follows the same formualic approach again and again. After 4 expansion it has become stagnant to me.
@@Ageleszly What is stagnant for you was a breath of fresh air and a plus for many others. No other MMOs are as predictable as FFXIV is and it inadvertently becomes the MMO's strongest points. By playing it very safe, it's very unlikely for the game to start flopping at one point or another.
@@Ageleszly while most points are predictable, fights, BiSes and other things are not. In WoW for example you can learn your BiS and every new fight mechanic before the expansion/patch even released because Blizzard doesn't put any NDAs on their public PTRs. Here in FFXIV they have an actual QA group that tests things behind closed doors which is one of the few good things conservative Japanese games industry conglomerates still have.
@@loganreed23 Yeah this might be true, but i'm refering more to the games structure, what the previous commenter also said is a fallacy to me, change is important in life, sure some have a higher tolerance bar but sooner or later meaningful changes can only improve the situation for both parties, that's worth the risk, if you have trust in the team the game can only get better. Especially it nags me that the team is unwilling to tackle the games weaknesses, sure they cut "some" fluff out of ARR, but like NNB stated, Castrum Merdianium/Pratetorium is still a trainwreck.
I really loved your story section. I think people can skip cutscenes and dialog, but then that opens them up to the community. There is always a player that will inform you what happened, tell you bonus lore, or will watch that Ethys Asher to video to let you know. The story experience when you are caught up is like everyone watching the latest season of some hot TV show together. Just felt that that element was lacking in your review.
I think your perspective on a lot of these topics differs quite a bit than a newer player who would traditionally be looking for a game review, and because of this I disagree with a decent amount of points made in this video. That being said, I seriously respect the quality and dedication you've clearly put into this, and appreciate your outlook of trying to point out that FF14 isn't perfect, with constructive feedback on what could be done better.
1:30:20 small abendum here: The party finder culture for high end content is actually quite positive in this game. if you join a "practise "(theres a tag, you cant mistake those groups for the more elitist ones) group that says " blind prog" "start from 0" or "guide experience start from 0", then all you need to do is watch a guide, people in those groups are super forgiving and helpfull, and frown on people that come in to shit on new players. example The curent 4 savage bosses released 5 days ago, i have done THREE out of those, in aprty finder, within 8 hours for the first two repsectively and 2 days of 4 - 5 hours for the third one , the third one generally considered to be a filter boss, took me 3 different groups but the first 2 i started a group, too the first people i got, and ran it with them, everyone eventually got there. Its unlike ANY other experience in ANY partyfinder, in ANY other game. The best thing is? as a group leader, i do not get to choose, if you meet the ilvl requirement and the completion status requirement (as in, you have or have not completed it yet, groups can require completion), you can sign up, and me removing you unless you really are asking for it by being a toxic shitter, is gonna get me banned.
I would like to bring up "Star Wars: The Old Republic", as it is still chugging along on its own and is an even closer "WoW" clone than any other successful MMO on the market right now. It also had a huge emphasis on the story, with the original base game having 8 unique class campaigns (one for each class). It was also one of the MMOs that Yoshi-P had in his list of influences/previous MMOs played.
Too bad it was a disaster because devs thought it was a good idea to synch GCD with abilities animations in MMO. This was probably the biggest reason why it flopped on release and never recovered even though they brought major QoL changes over the years. Year ago I played newest planets and questlines and while writing is still consistently good, new zones were laggy as hell for me (I don't have a high-end PC but no other area had such a bad performance) and seemingly uninspiring, combat still feels disconnected from your input and the lack of financing from EA becomes quite noticeable. I also hate their big empathise on cash shop, I think it cheapens the overall quality of their and your work in the game.
Man, I love Star Wars, but yeah like that guy above me said, there's no OCE/Asian server. My free company (guild in FF) are actually from my country Star Wars ToR community. A lot of my friends there moved from Star Wars to FF gradually, the move peaked at around September. Man, playing at 90ms instead of 250ms is crazy smooth. Also, fucking EA didn't do any promotional work for Star Wars. Ffs, there's a new expansion coming soon and zero trailer for that.... I will come back for the new patch, but probably won't stay for end game.
@@blushingralseiuwu2222 Yeah, I can definitely understand the issues with with the lack of a Japan/OCE server. From my experience, SWTOR showed that you could absolutely have a focus on the story and succeed. Up until Shadowbringers, the Imperial Agent story was the best I'd experienced in an MMO. I'm still hopeful that at some point FF14 will just copy Huttball and slap the name "Blitzball" on it.
I feel like SWTOR doesn’t get the praise it deserves. I mean yeah obviously there was lots wrong especially at launch and a reason why it has such a small player base now but until I played FF14 I hadn’t experienced any stories in mmos better than in SWTOR. The fact that each class has its own main story line and you can also romance your companions and have your own little ship which is basically like your home is amazing. When the servers for SWTOR eventually go down forever I really hope there ends up being a way to play through the stories in an offline mode or something. They’re good enough to be their own little single player games imo. Also… YOUR CHARACTER IS VOICE ACTED. And they’re all really good voice actors.
@@maltsutty There is an amazing FF XIV A Realm Reborn docu out there. After watching it the game hits different :) If you wanna watch it: th-cam.com/video/Xs0yQKI7Yw4/w-d-xo.html
This is easily on of my favorite videos you've done. The passion in this video really shows (not that it doesn't in your other videos, but it does especially in this one).
It'd be interesting to see you do a followup since you spend so much time on The ARR Problem which they've recently fixed a very large handful of the stuff you were talking about, with the trusts and the final dungeons being broken up and such.
For any non-final fantasy fans, you need to know this franchise has been taking so many goddamn Ls for the last 10+ years, so the fact that FF14 is so widely praised and considered a masterpiece is absolutely monumental and kind of emotional. Its a game that nearly bankrupted its company, was the final nail in the coffin for a lot of fans of the series and it killed the development of many games that were yet to be released. And now it stands as both a masterpiece on its own and within its own franchise (some say it is even better than VI, IX and VII, and in some ways im starting to agree.) I cant speak for the future of the game, but right now in 2022, its honestly one of the best things I've played and I've barely scratched the surface (still playing story mode) Give it a try if you get the chance (if the servers ever get fixed that is)
XIV have those magical moments that we experienced in VI, VII, IX etc. It has all the aspects of what Final Fantasy should be. Endwalker was the best FF game for me since FFX.
59:30 as someone who's never played a game with this sort of targeting system or way of moving the character around and who has to look at my hotbar a lot to see what skills I'm using I really really appreciate the way ARR dungeons are more about easing into getting comfortable with all of that stuff, like, yeah I get to sastasha or whatever the first dungeon is called and like I (a conjurer pre lvl 30) only have like, stone, aero, and like a single target heal, but up to that point I never had to use those skills while also managing teammates healthbars or being mindful of aggro and juggling all of the skills together so I can effectively heal AND damage, so when I did start unlocking trials, then full party content, then alliance raids, then hard/extreme stuff (I'm still in the post ARR before Heavensward), I've felt adequately prepared now to learn that content because I'm not looking at my hotbar as much, I've been given ample time to explore my skills and figure out what their place is, and I don't feel like I'm fighting with my character or the camera to make more precise movements and move where I want to go
On the issue of “floating island instances”… yeah, I definitely feel like there’s an issue in noticing it. It’s funny since they clearly thought about doing it exactly like wow with the Turns. But the turns was every worse idea they’d eventually take out of raiding together. -the single difficulty of turns -the integrated story -multiple fights in a single instance in the earlier content -trash mob floors -unrefined fight design -mixing and matching fight markers for knockback, stacking, spread, tank busters etc.(sometimes none at all) But what’s interesting is with content like Eureka’s final instance and the instances of Bozja. it feels like they’re aware of the things wow does that they still don’t, and with EW dropping I’m wondering if they’re gonna have a new piece of content that tries it again
I disagree some of the points but I sit through the whole 2 hours, I concluded it was an extremely good video. I would argue Persona series OST has extremely good music, but I concur FF14 has THE best selection of boss OST out there. Again, I love your video and your perspective. ps: have you ever tried imitating Crystal Exarch's voice and accent?
I should note that 1:02:30 Ultima problem is not an issue anymore - In 6.1 final dungeons/trials sequence of A Realm Reborn was completely redone, and you cannot skip Ultima cast anymore ;)
I think a better solution to the skills would be to give players the uncombined versions earlier and to combine them at a later level. It would even make sense from an in-game perspective. As your character becomes more and more versed in combat with that job, he learns how to do certain skills simultaniously instead of one after the other.
I very much appreciate that you can’t skip the story. I’m a new player, and in the past, I would just dungeon level as a tank or healer class in wow or eso. Missing alot of the story. I’m looking forward to experiencing the whole story in ffxiv.
The boss themes really are fantastic. The soundtrack as a whole is great, but the boss tracks are dewfinitly where it really shines. My personal favourite is 'Wayward Daughter', Tsukuyomi's theme, but there are countless others. The lyrics are often great too.
To me the EW ones are great competitors through probably mainlz because of the context ... for Endsinger the first theme that plays is basically a recap of our journey placing parts of the boss themes of all the expansions and weaving them together ... and then the second phase ... :D love that Then there is In the Balance .... I just love that one ...
Wayward Daughter is so good and one of the most significant examples of music being tied to the emotions you feel while playing the game… even watching a video of the music and the fight is enough to make me want to cry
Honestly as someone who's only Final Fantasy experience prior to 14 was Kingdom Hearts, Crisis Core, Dissidia, and Advent Children, I loved the Omega fights. It's just cool taking part in fanservice and fighting all these iconic villains that were pulled from the history of Final Fantasy.
I'm glad someone finally spoke up about how old content is not only boring for veterans, but also isn't a proper experience for new players due to how scaling and changed potencies work. It's one of the main aspects of the game that I wish were improved, as a big fan of it and someone who has been playing since 2016.
That's right. But I wasn't disappointed about the kind of content, it was just undertuned I still think ARR had the best duneons in the whole game and it's a shame they streamlined them so extremely.
As a 3 years "vet" player...when i am doing the copperbell mines...I absolutly regretting doing the duty roulettes. Specially the second f*cking boss. The first "boss battle" is just a horde of one-shot mobs coming at a super slowing pace, The second boss battle, two DPS can go AFK for the entire fight and they miss nothing. And the last one barely even hit you at all. It's an absolute horror and lack of fun. I sincerly wish every update they change that dumbass dungeon. Even as a newbie it has no interest and is boring as HELL. Even Sastasha has far more fun and interest and it's a dungeon i spam like a psychopath in unsync for Khloe's book.
@@Ageleszly if you don't streamline them, the community does - even during ARR the extra, non-required rooms in dungeons where completely ignored. Is just the nature of the beast and how players will play things, though I would like there to be a different category of dungeon that is different in some ways each time. Not the completely random nature of Palace of the Dead, but something that meant you had to look around and was a different type of challenge to the standard ones.
Damn. I didn't expect to be tearing up until the end section came. So relatable on so many levels, all my memories from WoW while I was growing up playing the game, only to quit for good after 17 years in Azeroth. I will always miss them... FFXIV is a nice change compared to WoW, and would honestly be my main MMORPG if I had the time to invest into the game still. Maybe in a few years I'll be able to, but for now I only play for the story, and holy fuck is it a wonderful story. At the time of typing this, I'm only about halfway through Endwalker, and my god I'm loving every minute of it.
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Good to see you back! Here's hoping TH-cam doesn't censor you again. Keep up the good work. I hope you have an awesome 2022!😎👍
i know you have just read a script, because the text and the video at 4:59... its just....perfect :D
"Chop your balls off." -thelonelyisland
Jesus fucking Christ I was just about to buy one of these and you're the only TH-camr I like. GET OUT OF MY HEAD.
@@JordanPDuns I've shaved my junk every day for 20 years. No regrets.
"But fighting a train as the first boss is just weird for anyone that haven't played the original game"
Bad example on this one, I have never played a single ff game before 14, and I was so excited to fight a train.
I'm just always hyped to fight a train.
I never played any mainline FF title and the train is one of my favourite fights XD thankfully my husband and friends are all into the franchise so I usually get some sort of background summary on the bosses in 14, but of course knowing these bosses makes people feel nostalgic and gives existing fans acknowledgement, while us non-FF players can still enjoy the crazy ride. I liked the omega raids and the fan service meant nothing to me XD
Fighting a train is pretty much the first boss of most New Yorkers
Yeah I was confused by this one. I've played a few main titles for Final Fantasy, but not 6. Still, the entire raid arc was immensely fun for me. Mechanically, thematically, the story, characters, etc. Everything pieced together and it was an enjoyable raid experience. Complaining that you're fighting a train in a game where you fight a goblin in a mecha suit with its pet cat is a head scratcher for me.
Lmao wow this game is so easy on eays mode they have u fighting a train ? Hahahahahahaha never hard that one
I’ve never played FF14 online ever in my life, but I sat and watched all 2 hours of this. You actually made me want to start my journey. Thank you for your content.
You should definitely. Just put around 11 hrs on my first day
I hope you like books.
Did u try it?
Same thing here. I've seen so many things about the whole Final Fantasy series that made me not want to try it, but this review has definitely piqued my curiosity. And giving away a big chunk of gameplay is a big part of that, I think. It's a smart play, letting people play enough of the game to get them hooked before demanding money from them to keep going. WoW could learn something from that; their free-to-play level 20 limit is so limiting that with the new sped-up leveling, you really don't even have time to experience the game before your progress is shut down, and I think that often means potential new customers stop at the paywall.
It can be a fun run, but don't expect much when you catch up. It's a barren game.
I never touched a final fantasy game before this, but after watching both hours of this video I decided to give ffxiv a try. Currently about 250hrs in post stormblood/pre shadowbringers and I've honestly never had this much fun with a game, let alone an MMO. Genuinely glad you decided to make this review and offer so many people who otherwise would never be aware of this game an introduction! Love your videos, honestly this one acted as somewhat of a gateway to your channel!
It's super addicting. Even when you think there is nothing else to do,you remember there is always more stuff to do. And it hardly ever feels like a chore,because the game doesn't make you feel rushed to do anything to keep up.
@@zifym.8373 The DS remake of FF4 was my first one, and it was an excellent introduction to the series. You don't actually have to own a DS, either, since it's on PC now.
have you made friends to play with? i’m wondering if i’m gonna like it as someone who doesn’t have any…
@@morgboat744 Currently up to the current patch and I generally play solo. Everyone tends to be super polite, so even if you don't play with friends the experience isn't intimidating or unpleasant. I feel you though, man. I suck at social shit and going into a social game made me kinda apprehensive, but I'm really glad I gave it a try. Even if you don't take my word for it you could always give the free trial a go, and see if you like it enough to continue.
@@morgboat744 The community is extremely welcoming; New players get access to the 'Novice Network', basically a global chat where players that have met certain conditions, called 'Mentors', can answer questions, help with content, etc. I've heard horror stories about the Novice Network in some worlds, but as a mentor myself, I've been in multiple (since you can freely visit worlds in your Data Center from in-game, and can visit other data centers from your region from the log-in screen), and I've never really seen any issues. There's almost always someone around that can answer questions.
As someone who has only played FFXIV as my FF game I can only disagree on not liking the omega and eden bosses or feeling disconnected. I found them really enjoyable and getting a glimpse of the older games was fun. Seeing peoples reaction when they saw these and got nostalgic was wholesome. I like them and their very unique mechanics.
I feel the same. Even if I personally don't get the references.. At least the fights were fun as heck.
Omega is cool because the bosses feel like they are champions pulled from different times and places. I like the way it feels like a Tournament of Power especially after Endwalker where we learn more about Omega and Midgardsomr's backstory.
100%. Don't understand how anyone can not like them tbb
I already was used to seemingly random bosses from the Alexander raids, and even then I loved them because you were never sure what to expect and they were all pretty fun. I quickly caught on in the Omega raids that they were all references to previous games, and even though I didn’t really understand them, I still appreciated them and thought it was pretty cool.
Not only does it bring nostalgia for hardcore FF players by remaking boss fights and making them bigger and more epic, but it introduces new players to what FF is as a franchise. Like the dev's say. They want the raids to be a celebration of FF, and I think they really accomplished that.
Comfort games really do have their place, the way they feel like home, being centered and at peace in them and their tasks, their communities, our memories in them. Whilst I myself am not really an MMO person the later part of the video really captures that feeling I get from my comfort games.
i've been playing for about 3 years now. i keep coming back because it's a game you can just do for an hour after work, hang out with friends, kill some time and unwind. I know FFXIV isn't in any way unique in that way... but in the MMO genre that's actually kind of rare when you really look in to it. You don't need a huge investment of time to do what you want to in the game
but yeah, those kind of games are the ones you keep coming back to
You'd be surprised about how many "non mmogamers" love ff14, it feels much more like a jrpg than a mmorpg, especially later on
Comfort game... I like that
I think that's what Terraria is for me.. I've played for hundreds of hours but I haven't actually _done_ anything in it, story/progress wise
Kerbal Space Program and Cities: Skylines, too
@@unbearifiedbear1885 Cities Skylines is one of my comfort games too cuz i really like to micro manage everything. I also love your name bears are my fav animal
@@JaylalaBear howdy, bear ❤❤❤🍻
I really appreciate that you aren't just willing, but never fail to go into the emotions evoked by games. Too many on this platform get lost in the objective facts about games without focusing in on how that can make a player feel (though they've definitely got anger covered). It really makes your channel stand out, and I respect you a ton for it.
His superb voice, accent and inflection are built by God for remarking upon emotional profundity, IMO. A born dramatic, dignified narrator, he's like the English Morgan Freeman of YT.
Yes. He is very effective at communicating what it feels like to play various games.
I'm going to disagree with you on that. Most people I see talking about and praising this game's story are usually talking about the emotions and the really subjective stuff. I really want someone to do a deep dive on the game's story and it's themes and the writing methods in how it executes them (don't know if this video does as I haven't watched it yet). There are so many great things to pick apart about this game (a lot of flaws as well if I'm being honest) that never get talked about.
I'd classify the endgame as:
1. Economic - Crafting, Gathering, or farming rare items for sale on the marketboard
2. Fashion Fantasy XIV - Collecting glamour items or decorations for housing.
3. Raiding - doing end-game content while it's relevant and challenging.
4. Social - Building RP venues, running events, and so on.
Facts facts facts, though I'd expand 2 to just collectables in general but with a bigger focus on glam than in the vid
3.5. do old raids with sync on so you experienced fully how hard was said raid was.
@@antonissofoulis6032 raids aren't hard
@@TDR-0484 Probably speaking about Savage raids
@@EeveeHawkFan ults aren't hard. Mmos are all pretty easy to play compared to other games. The problem isn't the difficulty of the game, it's the average gaming skill of an mmo player. Competitive shooters, souls like games, many platformers, etc all are more demanding mentally and physically (hand-eye)
I haven't related to a video this hard in a long time. As a relatively recent 14 player, and a retired WoW player that started in Wrath of the Lich King: I understand everything you're saying on another level.
Your stuff is always top shelf. Can't wait for the Dream Drop Distance review!
Your video on it is like a parralel timeline reflection of this one, I've been playing since the arr beta so I more or less agree with everything said in this video. It was really cool to see your take too, the fact people can come in fresh eyed and still feel the game a lot speaks volumes of it.
Hey Mr K I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate your videos immensely and your care and quality you put into them is an inspiration. I am glad you are taking time to focus on yourself and the qol of everything you touch. I urge you to take your time, and have some well-deserved fun everyday.
"I understand everything you're saying on another level."
Lol OK then
I stop playing by the end of pandora and I started to play in Burning Crusade....sometimes u miss it...but I was so competitive it was like a job and got burnt out of whipping in heroic raids for hours every day....my mom still plays though
Just here to say regarding older content being super easy, they have addressed some of it with patch 6.1, and it is so much more enjoyable now. Got the ultimate weapon fight in a roulette the other day, and was able to (for the first time) hear the entire song and get halfway through the Ultima cast. Really hoping they continue to update older content like that.
And that’s another thing in favor of the game. Even though it might take forever, they are constantly working to provide improvements to the issues that are the result of making a revamped MMO in half the normal development time of a standard MMO (all while providing content and updates to the crappy version they were intentionally ending), as well as addressing the issues that have arisen since 2013.
I still manage to clear the fight before hearing the 'good' part of the song... Nothing much has changed.
Someone would have to be on a very low DPS group or wipe to hear it.
it's ultima weapon not ultimate weapon
@@tmmtohru what? they reworked the fight substantially. it absolutely gets to the ultima cast every time.
I love what they did to Castrum, Praetorium, and the Ultima Weapon fight now.
That whole final section really got to me. That feeling of having a home to return to, a world that you have all these memories and stories about, I know it well. So many games over the years that I have played, I've had those moments of reflection, of remembering the good times whether it be in an MMO or any other genre. Memories of playing Halo 3 with friends, of my first time using cheats to spawn in all kinds of things in Age of Empires 2 or GTA. Could I go play those games again now? Yes. Would it be the same? Never again. But FFXIV has been an exception to the rule. I mostly play the game to raid and have done since I started in ARR and when a new raid tier comes out and I get into it with my friends to learn the fights, it is just like those other times when we did it last tier or 2 years ago or 4 years ago etc. All those old moments and memories are still fresh and aren't fading away into a distant past of 'better days' lost forever. The story of the game also does this so well. To explain my favourite moment of the new expansion without giving any spoilers... It was a song. A song that was in a cinematic years ago that I thought was so awesome and amazing that I decided to try out this MMO called Final Fantasy 14. I have always loved that cinematic and that song and know it by heart... Then they break it out in a huge story moment and the lyrics clicked for me and the meaning of it went to a whole new level. That old memory, the old day gone by moment of me being so amazed at a cinematic that I bought the game had been brought back and heightened to a ridiculous degree. 8 years of investment into this world and loving the story. 8 years of looking back and listening to that song, and somehow they managed to make me look back at the lyrics in new ways that I had never thought of before, with fresh eyes and a new incredible moment born from my old one. Never has another game even come close to doing the things that FFXIV does to me. But I hope that one day, they will.
Thanks for sharing, and I agree 100% with that.
"mono no aware"
Same... and then this guy hits us with that ending! What is he trying to do, make us all bawl all.
"Then they break it out in a huge story moment" - I wasn't sure what you're talking about, I but I think I know now. Walking, persistently...
I love your post, it's kind of how I feel too, even as a non-raider. FFXIV I started in the military and have continued it when I got out. A lot of games have come and gone in my life, but this one I've stuck with. I don't have the stories of meeting irl friends and stuff that a lot of people have, but I've loved the story and the challenges I've taken on myself, and just the experiences and memories. And I love that it's all still there - I can go back and work on another ARR Relic any time, for example - for new people and old alike to enjoy, and even in my semi-solitary wanderings (though I did finally try P1S this last weekend and get my first ever Savage clear!), I still love the world and lore and characters; the old memories and the new.
And I still carry the shield of my House when on my PLD. :D
I love how they've expertly and flawlessly bookended things with EW for the first saga, and am excited to see what they have in store for us next, even if I expect it to ramp up slowly and be kinda low key for a bit. And I love this community, too.
I know exactly which story moment you're talking about. When I heard the opening chord of that song, I gasped so loud. The friends I was doing the story with, we were all huddled up in a Discord call at 4 am while we were watching that. None of us could think to say anything, we were just gawking at it. Tears welling at our eyes. It was incredible. It was so powerful. It's one of our favourite cutscenes from Endwalker.
this was my first ever mmo and also my first ever ff game! i was SO overwhelmed at the beginning, but i just kept telling myself "once you understand it will all be worth it." and im so glad i stuck to it, because this game is my absolute favorite and the community is so amazing! i would be at a totally different spot in my life had i not played this game and met the people i did. ive made life long friends and even my partner through my very first FC on this game. ill forever be indebted to this game and its community ♥
You met your husband on Final Fantasy?
@@nikkapubess3349 I've met my girlfriend through final fantasy and just moved in with her
@@Kelpie9423 that's cool, but I wouldn't want my significant other to like video games like me. We'd never get anything done. Glad my wife hates video games and does girly things.
@@nikkapubess3349 like curious, wdym by girly things
@@nikkapubess3349 So if liking games means you don't get anything done, does this mean you don't help get anything done?
Strong agree on the bizarrely limited number of faces in FF14 (especially for a game that focuses so much on you having a singular protagonist character). Really weird that this has never been changed, especially given the massive number of other cosmetics. I frequently run into my character's many twin sisters (like Rowena).
To this day, I’m so mad about the beards. I just want a big, bushy beard on my midlander.
yeahhhh i just started playing and the character creation is pretty bad lol
I'm so mad that Au'ra horns are linked to faces
Odd, I made my Miqo'te (Cat Girl) on the day the game launched, & I've never seen another character that remotely looks like me, or even the same hair. By any chance are you a Lalafell? b/c a lot of them look the same to me, 'tomatoes'.
I agree with a lot of your criticisms, but I do feel the need to point out a minor overlooked aspect, when you were discussing larger scale 24-man content and wanting to make challenging stuff they actually have experimented with that and I honestly find it some of the more refreshing stuff they've put in.
Namely BA and DRS. Granted those aren't as easily accessible as an alliance roulette.
that's the thing isn't it. I doubt the game hasn't made interesting experimentations, it's just that most people don't want to play that so they end up focusing on that which most people want to play
@@raianabedin4300 i just want harder 4 player content
something like a harder Deep dungeon with changing layouts and bosses on a reset
or more something else like the monster hunter crossover boss
@@qaztim11 The floor 101-200 of Palace of the Dead and 31-100 of Heaven on High are meant to be challenge floors. Including a 1-200 solo challenge to get a special title for Palace of the Dead.
@@TankHunter678 Yeah. It was weird that the review lamented the lack of exploration in dungeons when we have content designed for just that. Only two so far, but still. PotD is great.
@@qaztim11 Produce said, this will not happen, because he wants that bad players can be dragged through by the better players. he said small groups put too much pressure onto the individual.
But overall I think he just lies again and it's all about just milking the game. They cut so much and just don't want to create more content, that's all, but he's pretty good at finding those cheap excuses.
The music is so good that just hearing you talk about how the music makes you feel nearly made me teary eyed. What an incredible game, I'm hoping it continues to get better and better.
It's crazy how FF14 does get better and better with every expansion. It almost makes me worry cause how many times can they one up themselves? Wow on the other hand gets worse with every expansion. I'm honestly surprised it's lasted so long. That game went to shit in cataclysm imo and never recovered.
final fantasy games are not FF if they donesnt have that kind of music
you cried because of music?
@@chabbab6698 Art is powerful.
The opening bar of Dragonsong: *Plays*
The entire FFXIV Community: *Starts tearing up*
You're probably the most fair and open-minded videogame video essay/review channel on this website and I've been watching video essays for so many years lmao. I love your channel!
Just started Heavensward. The new Expansion start, at least for that, is slightly on the slogging side, and the wonderment gets strained a little but, so far I'm really enjoying it. Some of the AAR and pre-Heavensward Storyline are great. And people in my FC are telling me that AAR is the weakest, so, its like, if I think thats great, I'm in store for something special. If folks see this comment, stick it out, find a good FC, and talk to people, it makes this game even more incredible. Even if your shy, a lot of people in FF14 are pretty accepting, and understanding.
You are right if you can raid with friends it becomes better.
Personally to me ARR was the best part of the game, this probably sounds weird but the game makes a nosedive in dungeon design, every single one of them from HW onwards is a tube with 3 bosses and trivial trash encounters. It's really disappointing. Quest design also never improves, aside from solo instanced content, especially in Endwalker it becomes the best content of the whole game which is ironic since you are acutally playing an MMO, but yeah solo instanced content is rare and spread out far between the game, so most of the time you still have to slog through.
So I wouldn't count too much on general belief, but you will see for yourself if it really becomes better. (gameplay-wise it won't become more varied anymore)
@@Ageleszly I do hope they bring back some variety in dungeon layouts (although frankly, a dungeon with interesting design and music and contextual importance with a story is more than enough for me), but I think it's become pretty clear at this point that a majority of the fanbase was not all that interested in the different layout structures, so they just settled on what works and went with it.
Heavensward's story is going to blow your mind as it progresses. Enjoy!
if you even moderately enjoyed ARR, you're in for a whopper friend, see you in Endwalker
This. When my fiancee got me playing, she warned me about how weak ARR was. My thoughts starting Heavensward: (1) where has Astrologian been all my life, (2) If ARR was weak, I don't know if I can handle strong o.o
I would highly recommend Baldesion Arsenal and Delubrum Savage, as these represent Unique 24+ man content that represents actual themed location, punishing mechanics, and can reach a challenge level similar to Extreme Trials. Its hard to find a group at times, but I think it will be a very eye opening experience on what this game can do. I would also argue that the Challenge Floors of Palace of the Dead and Heaven on High provide a true dungeoning experience with different map layouts, punishing exploration and a few unique rewards. Eureka as a whole, which is required to unlock Baldesion Arsenal, represents a more challenging open world experience, and Bozjas Critical Engagements can also be very punishing open world activitys, Its Duels provide a unique experience as well. These are all entirely option activitys, but have unique rewards of many spades. I cannot recommend this content enough to people who desperately want something different in the game.
I will also add Blue Mage content represents a very unique experience as well, and breaks the homgenization loop we've grown used to.
I agree that we could use a *LOT* more of this kind of content, but its not completely absent from it.
I'd even go as far as to add as side content like most of the stuff bozja's southern front can offer is a great example of what 24+ content can offer in this game. Sure Delubrum normal or something like Dalradia, or hell just critical engagements may not be as challenging as savage, but they're still a few notches above in terms of difficulty compared to normal raids/allience raids/normal trials. And soundtracks are a treat too, especially Diablo's theme(though getting into Dalradia might prove to be difficult, if people are still afk farming fates in there lol)
Delubrum Savage is my fave piece of content in the game. The actions and essences mixed with actual fun trash pulls is great.
Having skipped eureka during stormblood, I just got done with pyros, so looking forward to getting my Ozma mount.
@@darkendbeing my ozma mount is my pride and joy.
@@jacobkyle4573 honestly I want that mount so bad I haven’t even been keeping my gear current.
I really wish that SE would do more of something similar to the Delivery Moggle questline where you simply travel around the world and talk to various random NPCs. It made the world so alive and live-in as opposed to the massive empty zones that you rarely revisit.
They are doing something similar with the Tataru Side quest in EW,
MMOs are one of the hardest games to make. In the end when you started to talk about the music you got me and yes it is one of the reason I love the game. And yes for me too is a home I can return to. What a great review, just wanted to say thank you for making it
It's uncanny how you've put all the criticisms I've personally had with the game into words. This game really is special, and your video is testament to that.
You deserve to be awarded a medal for this video. This is a lot of quality content from beginning to end
No game has made me feel every single possible emotion multiple times throughout the experience. Final Fantasy 14 is an immaculate video game that can only be described as a journey
well, no other game has more pure story content than 14 either :P atleast none that i know of
@@_Encie a single video game ? , no i don't think there is one , at least if we are tanking in terms of a good story
You never played EVE online then.
@@arcosiancosine1065 are you serious? i thoguth eve was just some space economy sim with battle ships
Seems you are a fan of cheap powerfantasies and white washing war crimes and planetar genocide, eh?
FF14 is by far one of the worst stories I've seen in my life and I read thousand of books and have seen thousand of movies.
A bunch of self-righteous Mary Sues just murder all their problems, brutally ruining everything that could have been interesting about the plot.
This is one of the best, honest, fair, and grounded reviews of the game I've ever seen. Somehow you've managed to capture what I consider to be the essence of the game and communicate it in a way that is not only easily understood, but felt. From another die-hard FFXIV fan, Thank you.
To be honest, I clicked on this video fearing what my favorite game critic will have to say about my favorite game, and I did not expect I would end up almost crying by the end. Well done.
Haven't finished the full video, definitely disagree with the lack of interaction in duty groups. They're only as quiet as you allow them to be. I always tend to strike up conversations and in eight of out ten cases, people are receptive to it. I believe "conditioning" from World of Warcraft plays a large part into that.
Eh it's mostly true but there's not much time to talk between mechanics in Savage and most groups are chain pulls. Unless your argument is they are not. Yes people strike conversations at times but don't pretend like it's the majority of runs.
Its not conditioning from wow. That's how every mmo is. Not everyone wants to sit there and chat when they go into a dungeon. There are times to be social and times to focus and get your goal done. Some chat happens but most people don't sign up to go into a dungeon and take 4x the time so they can have a friendly chat along the way. Every game with a LFG system is like this. There are always some chatty people but they aren't the majority.
People don't have much reason to interact in leveling content anymore cause it's all so easy, even more easy in wow. Back in pre wow mmos, interaction was necessary in all groups because leveling content was much harder and dying was far more punishing than it is today. Games like everquest you could actually lose levels from dying too much, it was awesome. With that said, FF14 community keeps a lot of old school mmo culture alive with being social friendly and helpful. They're far more likely to engage in party conversation than wow players. Wow players don't want to talk to anyone in group they just want to get in and get out of dungeon asap and if you wipe once they leave.
@Just Me I do that, and I came from World of Warcraft in late Stormblood.
@Just Me nope, it was always like that
In a Realm reborn we were trying to finish our relic weapon quest by killing titan since it was the most advanced thing out, and my friend was a dragoon. They had like 2 second jump animations that would eventually get shortened A LOT over time, so he kept dying. My friend and I bought him a cake and put the words "Dodge the bombs bitch" on the cake. I also remember when leviathan came out and we all played in the same room on our ps3s, but my friend and I bought ps4s because we the lag for the leviathan slap was unreal and the twintania bombs was so bad. So my friend (the dragoon again) would watch my screen so he knew the position of the bombs and the leviathin slap. Good times. Excited to see this, even though I haven't played it in a couple years.
Game has become streamlined too much after ARR IMO such funny dungeons quirks are a thing of the past, nowadays they are only straight tubes, which are optimized to be farmed as carefree as possible. Every single one of them past ARR, no exception. Trivial content thats only there to consume time.
you haven't played in a couple of years? it's so worth to come back to now more than ever! if you don't expect instant queue on saturday evening that is :P
@@Ageleszly He wasn't talking about dungeons to begin with...
@@Ageleszly what was that one questline that was like an anime. that shit was fun you learn that weird ass dance.
Ahh yes so you remember the Myth (i90) gear? I remember having to eat food and the like to buff my health some as stomps from titan would always kill my Bard, lol
Your channel is the only one that can keep me interested in a 2 hour long video of a game I've only ever been mildly interested in and can make me feel so guilty about not being more invested in it since release. The payoff from watching your videos are so satisfying and I hope you never stop making them.
Re: The story standing between them and "endgame".
Much of the game, and its 10 year history, is evergreen content. ARR least of all, in terms of tuning and some meh dungeons, but I run Crystal Tower at least every week, for currency or EXP. Players not at the "end" are not left behind.
It's a problem of (generally) WoW players, who have been conditioned to only want to engage in the newest, most shiny raid content and nothing else, asserting that mentality onto other MMOs as if that way is and should be the end all, be all way to tackle a new game.
Simply put: ex-wow player mad that other mmo isn't more like wow
I agree with this too. I rushed through ARR since I wanted to raid with my friends with Shadowbringer, but now I wish I took more time in ARR. You have a lot of time to clear Savage so you really don't need to be in any rush. The longer the tier goes on the more catch up mechanics are given to players to encourage them to go in. The game will never hard gear gate you from content without giving you a reasonable means to catch up. Meanwhile other games I've played, you're essentially punished for being a new player because if you don't blitz to end game, you will be even more behind in gear and sometimes straight up unable to do the next patch content due to gearchecks. A lot of MMOs have really trivial stories that are just kind of there, but FF14 does put a lot of care into it's stories and even ARR is extremely relevant to the rest of the story elements. Luckily, they added something that lets you rewatch cutscenes in your inn room, so I've been spending some time going through those.
I havn't finished watching yet so idk if it has been mentioned but I think one factor that contributed to its success is FFXIV has an expanded free trial which you can play through the entirety of A Realm Reborn and the award winning Heavensward expansion up to level 60 for free with no restrictions on playtime.
Your 1:02:30 part about Ultima is spot on. I remember fighting the MSQ fight and feeling extremely lukewarm about it but then I somehow randomly unlocked Minstrel's Ballad Ultima and it was quite literally the most exhilarating time I've had with the game for the 60+ hours I've had with the game up to that point. The fight being actually challenging, the music, everything just felt right for the first time, It finally cemented that feeling that I've found something special since WOTLK. now over 6 months later since the fight mentioned and I have over half the jobs at 90, full blown mentor, completed current savage tier and many previous savage content amongst other things and I'm having a blast.
I agree in almost all of your point except story pacing and patch cycle that you find it predictably boring. I think this a greatest strength of FFXIV that you know exactly what to expect and it does not waste you money and time.
same here, you know what you're paying your sub for. it ensures no content droughts of a year or so as WoW has had. It might be a bit of a hamster wheel of 'new dungeon, new raid, new tomes, new gear' but we always get extra stuff on top of that, including some story, and plenty to do in between so you got stuff to work towards.
As a raider you get about a week of content every 6 months, plus the ultimates (which also last about 2 weeks at best). I wish we got more raid bosses per tier.
I'd be fine with the pace if it were a 'smaller' MMO like it was years ago... but it's not anymore. FF14 is making absolute bank and it feels like the extra revenue they're making isn't being funneled back into the game itself.
It definitely gets old after a while, mainly because I wasn’t raiding. It’s one of the reasons I took a break from it.
@@AGuyWithFace I've been told that Mogstation revenue is being funneled over into FF16, not FFXIV, so bear in mind that executive meddling might be playing a role in this.
I don't particularly find the "glacial nature," cutscene heavy story with a lack of player agency to be something bad that I put up with. I actively like this type of game, and I don't know if I'd have stuck with it if it were faster paced and branching. I lose my interest quickly in games like that.
Agreed. I found leveling in ARR awful because I felt like I was always running around doing unnecessary things. I'm positive I wouldnt have made it to Heavensward if it weren't for my brother pushing me. I really loved Heavensward onward because that's where the character development and story got really great. I don't know that I've felt like it was too slow since then, outside of a few small moments here and there. I greatly prefer this style because I can always do endless gameplay once I finish the MSQ
I think the story needs downtimes from time to time, though in some cases it feels too forced like near the end of endwalker where you storywise have to wait and because you the character has nothing better to do, you're helping others with meaningless tasks.
As someone coming from a background of being really into visual novels and other text-based games within the medium in addition to final fantasy and other single-player role playing videogames, and having read through and enjoyed some really big, long VNs like the when they cry series it's kind of a non-issue to me, especially considering most role playing games are, and should, imo, be text-heavy to at least some degree... It also definitely helps that the dialogue is fed to you throughout digestible text boxes instead of the walls of text that other games will often use for presenting their story. And that's not even getting into just how verbose and lore-dense this game's vocabulary can be. It's through this and many other well-executed flourishes that it does an excellent job of miring you within it's own atmosphere. I can't even bring myself to skip through side-quest dialogue anymore; I'm far to busy drinking it all up.
It's been almost a year ago or so since Endwalker released and I still can't get over how good the story for this game has been so far. I honestly didn't think it was possible to write such an incredible story within the format of a video game let alone an MMORPG of all things. I honestly had such a hard time getting through the first expansion, but man am I ever glad I stuck with it! I have never been so emotionally invested in a story before.
The first expansion being arr or hw?
@@juannito6318 I'm only just now starting from the beginning and I'm already heavily invested in the lore : )
Awesome game and kind of overwhelmed by just how much content lies before me! haha
@@randalthor6872 oh man I envy you 😭
I always appreciate when you upload, voice is so calming and I love how these are hours long. Thank you for making these!
Great video but you focused so heavily on the combat experience. One of the most amazing things about FFXIV is how many non combat things you can do. Crafting and gathering are involved systems with lots of side content, diadem, ishgard restoration, collectables, ocean fishing, relics, expert crating. And these things are relevant in the end game as well.
Man I remember trying to load into ul'dah on release day and the absolute mess the launch was, then reading about (Nobu, maybe?) breaking down crying and apologizing for how bad it all was. Thats when I knew this game was going to be great one day. And now it is. Or has been? Just came back today. I'm really happy for all the devs. They deserve this
And yeah. Ifrit used to be way different. My fondest memory is the healer for our group dropped but I was playing arcanist so I healed and had carbuncle in the off tank role, back when carbuncle had actually use, pulling enmity when the tank got low and I was waiting for pot cds or cool downs. What a fun fight that was
On release date of ARR or 1.0? If i was ARR then it was our accidental cult leader Naoki Yoshida that was profusely apologizing for the messy launch.
Regarding interacting with the world around you going away after ARR, that applies only for the MSQ. You can still interact with the world with the gathering jobs and leveling secondary combat jobs while doing side quests.
I'd also argue that the world is built around a variety of facets rather than just interesting looking enemy groups. Trying to understand the lore of each zone/finding locations for your sightseeing log/gathering jobs are all devices used to flesh out the world.
I believe he’s referring to the immersion aspect, the world tends to feel very placed and not organic. You can interact with stuff yes but it doesn’t feel as natural or meaningful. Everything has it’s designated spot to sit, there’s not a lot of aspects that just flow. From above looking down you can really tell.
@@kohtas This is especially true of gathering - it requires no exploration and no real engaging gameplay at all any more given Hide is always on and everything is always in the exact same spot - the only real wrinkle are timed nodes. If anything, the way gathering is formatted validates his complaint that the world feels incredibly artificial even more.
I know these are different games, but let me show you 2 examples of games I've played
Black Desert Online has people all around you, doing something next to you. You fight against them when farming, or gathering, or hunting, and even fishing, because one can steal the loot-rock-tree-plant-fishing spot from the other.
So even though the world is not that dynamic, players are always interacting with each other through mechanics to explore the world.
In Guild Wars 2 there are events everywhere. I build is broken by enemies, you and players have to reconstruct. NPCs travel from villages to village. Cities-fortresses are attacked, taken, retaken. Tribes are helped in different locations, so they can go to the center of the map and summon a barrier that protects a army base. Players invade a city, killing generals, destroying statues from the enemies, defending the harbor area with canons against naval ships. Plant like creatures from an elder dragon attack 4 fortresses, players protect them by rebuilding their walls, using canons, then the center of the fortresses open, with a whole of vines from the dragon, players go inside and kill plant bosses, then they attack the center of the plants by attacking in 3 different areas (with 3 different groups of players). etc etc etc
The world is always changing, something is always happening, making it all very dynamic.
And players do that together, by just exploring, and you dont need to enter a party or talk to anyone, you play alone, but you still interact with other players. This goes for both MMOs I said (in Guild Wars 2 you cooperate with each other, while in BDO you fight each other)
Gathering plants and interacting with the world is the minimum that these 2 MMOS offer.
So again, they are different games, with different purposes and philosophies.
Thank you for this! I tend to agree on most points, and it really is as concise of an in-depth critique one can make with a game as expansive as FFXIV.
One more thing that I feel you glossed over in the story part is the actual accessibility of the lore compared to WoW. For WoW if you want to know things and whys and wherefores you have to go outside of the game. Read books and so on. It wants you to already know who all those characters are and why they matter. FFXIV delivers all it's cosmic and personal lore in game. And while that does tend to lead to lengthy pieces of exposition, they have gotten so good at them with the last two expansions I'm actually looking forward to the lectures. Ascian and world lore delivered by Emet-Selch I would say was a personal highlight for me in Shadowbringers.
P. S. I actually shed a tear in the end when "Our Song of Hope" started. Beautiful work.
01:35:49 "Dungeons don't feel like real places we're exploring." Unfortunately they tried doing more unusual dungeons like "The Thousand Maws of Toto-Rak" or "Cutter's Cry" that had a little more forced exploration and a less obvious direct path to take, but players just end up finding the most efficient paths regardless. I think Toto-Rak might even be among most players' least favorite dungeons if you ask them. It's also interesting to note that both dungeons I listed had equivalents in 1.0, so perhaps their less-direct quality was due to that, being based off of dungeons that were originally VERY large and vast and required exploration.
I don't imagine many people hate Toto-Rak for being slightly non-linear, otherwise Hauke Manor would be much further up there. I personally hate Toto-Rak for the obnoxious slow zones you have to wade through and the webs that you have to kill to let anyone slightly behind the group through.
I was absolutely gutted when I saw the issues you'd be having with age restrictions. I really hope they are sorted now because your videos are among the finest on the platform and it's cultural robbery to prevent the world from having more!
So far this video hasn't disappointed at all. Another booming success and one that I'm going to enjoy watching (albeit in sections haha)
I couldn't disagree more about the leveling experience, to me it's infinitely better to level your first job through the MSQ and have all the extras for trying out other jobs, and the ARR patches are great after the pruning.
ARR patch quests are still a boring slog (I've leveled through before and after the prune). The leveling experience for alternate jobs in 14 is one of the worst alt grinds in any MMO I've played. Without the MSQ, you are forced to play repeatable quests or the same dungeons you've likely ran a number of times as is (the side quests alone are not enough to level your alt job, and once you do them once they are gone).
FFXIV is a good MMO that suffers a lot of the same issues that other games in the genre do. While it does some things much better than other MMOs, it does some things far worse.
I agree. "there is no exp incentive to doing the hunting log"
It is one of the easiest ways to get a new class to lvl 15 and the same goes for fates. Doing the Job quests and doing most of the blue quests was also pretty nice.
Also gaining extra exp when you have a higher lvl class, makes the lvling experience a lot better too, while the msq ensures that you have at least one class that has a decent lvl.
@@mattt6201 I went through MSQ as dancer and later leveled reaper with almost only yellow and blue quests. If i had done less blue ones with dancer i'm sure it would've gotten my reaper to lvl90. So side quests are pretty good for leveling but only one job. But yeah since i ran out of quests leveling astro to 90 had been sluggish but not too bad. However if someone wants to level cap every single class my heart really goes out to them lol
@@mattt6201 This is just wrong. roulettes daily and books and class quests will get you to max lvl in a week without much effort
I just finished crystal tower. ARR is still a horrible experience. The patch content has taken me over a month, i just dont want to log in to fetch quest for hours each time
something very smart about the job system is that there job specific stories for each class including none combat classes, its not nearly as fleshed out as anything in the main story but it is a nice way to give extra context to the world and classes and at times it does have genuinely great moments and payoffs for those who pay attention and continue it all the way to Endwalker
I started playing FF14 a few months ago, like most people and it was/is even better than I expected. I'm excited to hear what you have to say about it.
It's been a return to the core of MMO's for me, playing with strangers and friends, having fun together and getting immersed in the world.
At first I did not think I would sit, listen and watch to a 2 hours long video. But I am glad I did. Extremely well placed criticisms supported by a long experience in the game - and the summary which in my opinion just could not be better. 10/10 work.
The whole encounter with ShB's last 5.0 boss, and how the music plays into it. How I'll always cry when that guitar riff kicks in during the cutscene. EW is good, but it's not yet matched that moment for me.
When Hydaelyn and Emet-Selch visit you the last time though. Or the home of the dragons. Those hit hard af.
"Everyone has a vault of happy memories associated with this game"
...and a VAULT of sad memories too.
/smile
That last part really got to me. When you said "the future is bright" I got teary eyed. FFXIV has been my home for so long. It's the place I return to when I'm sad or stressed. Every I teleport to Ul'dah is like receiving a warm hug, when I hear the day theme I feel invigorated and at night, I'm soothed by night theme. It feel pointless to get so emotional over something like a game, but it is this community, the developers and the content that makes this game so memorable and enduring. Thank you!
cringe
@@nopixellifestyle451 No. Emotions, especially positive ones, are never cringe.
I am really glad that I took my courage to start this game. Having a blast - the feel trains in the story is exceptionally good for this genre.
Just started playing it, now your review comes.
Thank you for your bizarrely well researched and beautifully delivered reviews, NNB!
They do have harder 24 man content. There was Baldarsian Arsenal in Eureka and even more so Delubeum Reginae Savage 24-48 man content.
Agreed these are super though and very enjoyable things that you can still do today! They could be more accessible arguably but they do exist for the Ayers who want them
BA was not for 24 people and you needed discord groups to get in WHILE it wa current content people cared for.
As soon as the influencer PR campaing of Square dies down again, when people realise how the game really is (= not eight years of piled up ontent that seems so much when you rush through it in some weeks, but 1% of that), it will be again close to impossible to get in there - without using means like discored or a giant guild.
Better us the chance now wit the steamer still around, they can just get enough players from their crowd.
@@miriamweller812 yes it’s a niche form of content. That’s fine for content like this to be niche. It’s fine you need to find groups in specialised circles.
@@Scottistic Nonsense. The game got such little content, that you can't just tell something that is the MAIN content of the actual patch is just for "some people".
You can act like that, if you deploy 3,4,5 times that content, but they don't.
They cut content, massively in SB and ShB even more.
And it's not niche in sense of: it's not fore everyone, the system simply sucks.
For what reason do you abolish your duty finder? For what reason in a game tha struggled enough with enough players in that time, do you put such strict windows on top of that?
Even more in content that needs sooo many people?
@@miriamweller812 there’s always something for everyone just not everything is. Sure the game puts out less “content” for more quality of the content. This game isn’t an infinitely grindy game on purpose. It’s not supposed to be played 365 days a year unless you just want to do so. Why do they abolish duty finder in these places? It probably has to do with some sort of limitation when working with a part of the game that operates independently of the rest. Instances within instances as well. I think Yoshi P would love to put out more content. If he could higher the staff and budget it
I spent 3 1/2 years playing straight through this game from ARR to post Endwalker. It was an adventure like I never could have dreamed. I appreciate your review of it.
Story is why I loved Guild Wars 1 and it’s expansions so much as a teen. Story is certainly what stays with you in the end.
Dragon Quest X took A LOT of inspiration GW1.
@@keiichimorisato98 great to know, might check it out!
@@TheLethalIntrospectionCrew it's getting a offline version soon, which will likely get localized.
Having played through the story all the way to Endwalker's grand finale, I can tell you it's something that I will remember till I die. It's just such a sweeping, epic tale that only an MMO could tell. You'd need an RPG series with multiple sequels to get something as grand as what they told through FFXIV.
The only thing I can think of in similar glowing praise was the Mass Effect trilogy. But where they stumbled at the finish line because they hadn't really planned out from the start how'd they tie it all up, XIV sticks it. It's clear that the writers knew, if not specifics, the general idea of where the story would end when they set out. So everything after ARR builds on what the previous content started.
@@CrashB111 no, Mass Effect had a plan for the whole trilogy, but midway through ME2 they threw out that plan after the original director of the game left and the new one stepped in.
Jesus Christ, I've been playing for three years now and literally jumped out of my chair in surprise at the Ultima Weapon theme. I had no idea!
This video is a gorgeous testament to the beauty of MMORPG's. Well done, you've earned my sub through and through.
This was a joy to watch. Your insights and perspective, your ability to mix the good and bad make all of your videos a unique experience.
Thank you for your work.
Great review. I fully agree with most of the things you said and mostly agreed with the rest. The only things I would have liked to mention were Bozja and Eureka. The place where they tried new experimental content (like more demanding bigger group challenge you said the game lacked Delubrum Reginae (Savage), or demanding solo fights). Sure, it's not wholly unique, it's still meant for ffxiv fans, and the gear it gives is mainly meant as glamour or for jobs you neglected to gear so they can have it as well. Still, at least for me, they were pretty fun, quite long-lasting content bits.
Feel like if FF ever wanted to make a "mythic dungeon" like content, harder more involved dungeons for smaller groups, it would be in these two. It is a noticeable hole in what 14 offers as of now
@@danielnolan8848 they probably won't do it because 14's dev care about balance a lot and balancing between both 8 and 4 man content would just result in every class feeling the same as the others in its role (more than they already do)
@@capo3645 they already do and do more so with each expack, so I don't see any problems with this, every dps and tank job has an aoe rotation now. Be nice for some dedicated use for that, which is on par with savage
@@capo3645 I think it's mostly a few things. The hard 4 man content we did have nobody really did when it was current (HoH 60+ and DD 100+) and brother floor 150+ back in HW when everybodies AoE sucked and was a race to 0 TP? Yeah that was a struggle. On the other side, Ultimate's already exist for the ultimate upper end character challenge content and was made despite the fact that it flat out won't get experienced by the majority of the playerbase.
@@themur880 nobody did hard content back in ARR years ago, when the playerbase was very different, it has greatly expanded since, especially now that trusts are a thing, even if the playerbase was smaller, which it no longer is, that's no excuse, millions of entirely diffent people play 14 now. From WOW to Guildwars to ESO having challenging engame dungeons is a staple that 14 lacks, when people say "14 lacks endgame content" this is what they mean
There is something about FF14 that's just so cozy and homey like no other game to me. It gives me that feeling of when I was a kid logging into an MMO for the first time and feeling immersed in a new home, but it gives me that feeling every time I log back in.
Everything from the music and art direction, even down to the soft looking menus and UI being pleasent to look at.
I think your way of categorizing endgame lacks to mention ffxiv's enormous RP/socializing community and how a lot of the game's systems and new releases directly support it (half the emotes exist for RP purposes only + now fashion accessories + dungeon explorer mode etc) and WHY someone would want to gather collectibles outside of completion, but i understand how that might not be something someone focused stricly on raiding might think about. many people's "endgame" is treating the game like Second Life, since the game does such a great job at supporting that, and i think it's also a big part of its success. cool video otherwise though
Foe a game with an ""enormous rp community"" it sure does have an atrocious open world rp scene.
The screenshot community is enormous. Building sets, using the in game tools to make neat lighting effects, or just trying to capture the right ambiance out in nature. It's what has kept me engaged in the game in between content droughts when there's nothing else to do... well, that and big fishing, which is its own unique hellish form of endgame.
This! It's a shame how RP is often overlooked by gamers and devs alike when it is a really fun creative activity that can be enjoyed at all the stages of the game. FFXIV is very friendly to its RPers with things like tags and the housing system. It's a big part of the game, and keeps people engaged when they aren't doing the other endgame activities.
@@TDLHatMan if your comparing it to WoW RP thats because FF14 has player housing
@@BeanBossing Yes, another reason not to play FFXIV.
8:37 the point about QoL features like Dungeon/Duty finders reducing the importance of in-game community really hits home! Prior to FF14 I had only ever played F2P MMOs which often lack these types of convenience features (since anything convenient needs to be locked behind irl purchase to turn a profit, of course). One thing that those games always seemed to have that was missing for me for a long while in FF though was just... a more open/broad social aspect, I guess? I was amazed that I was able to play for hours and hours through the MSQ slowly making my way to level 35 or so without really needed to interact with other players at all outside of a "hi" and "gg" in dungeons.
I set my sights on finding a compatible FC around that time because it very much felt like if I didn't go out of my way to find a social group to be a part of, it just wouldn't happen in this game. I luckily found an amazing FC shortly thereafter, but that sentiment still holds true for the most part. I know basically no one outside of my FC which is kinda sad lol.
The price of convenience
Isn't it better this way - to not force unwilling to socialize players to do so? This game encourages you to do things, but never forces anything on you, that's a big reason why I personally love it so much.
The music is actually what drew me into this game. So good.
I just have to mention The Secret World as the MMO that also put the story and the world above everything else. And it was / is truly outstanding in that regard.
TSW is still my favorite MMO. I think FF14 nails an overarching story better but man TSW sidequests, variety, and worldbuilding in particular are still top notch for me.
@@Argonaut1ka Mine too. I still have the original client installed and just going back and replaying some of the story is amazing for me.
Damn I loved TSW back in the day, even after the changes they made to it. It’s been a hot minute since I’ve thought about it and now I’m itching to experience that game’s story again.
or starwars the old republic
This was pretty dang great. FFXIV being a "Home you can return to" put words to a feeling that I've had ever since I started in 2.0 and periodically came back every expansion. Great analysis.
One thing that I found interesting is your comments about the post expansion MSQ's for each expansion. One thing about how it's structured is that you essentially get to experience a highly condensed version of that expansion's endgame (albiet much easier).
Then again, I'm probably in the minority on that opinion, but I'm kind of saddened that they cut the MSQ quest down in that regard, since the post-ARR quests were a great time to level additional jobs, experience all the trials, work on the Coils Raid, etc. It's probably the same reason that I also think the MSQ being enough to fully level one job is great, since it gives you the opportunity to play other classes for the additional variety.
I've never played a final fantasy game before and have minor experience with mmos in general, but after starting this game a few days ago man I'm having a blast and cant remember a time that I've felt so good playing a game
Fuck man that ending with the song of hope part, so well said and edited. I loved the analysis of why FFXIV has worked out as well, I tend to agree.
HEY Love your channel, this channel makes me think the hardest about topics I actually care about, so thanks for making your content, please don't stop anytime soon!
How...did a *review* video...make me tear up multiple times? This was so good. Spot on, interesting, and insightful
Its likely a sign that you need to get your medication levels adjusted.
@@booradley6832 I really liked you in the movie "Mask" from 1985
I really like this nuanced take of ff14. We really need it tbh. However I do disagree with the lack of mention to rp in the endgame section. Even if it isn't for you, endgame in ffxiv isn't just raids and I think that's a big strength it has at least to people like me who doesnt care for any other mmos...
I've never heard anyone so beautifully articulate the depth of nostalgia I always feel about the "good old days" in an MMO. You're right: that sense of loss is born from unfamiliarity, and especially in the case of WoW, the overwhelming sense that those triumphs of the past no longer matter. When the memories of those triumphs are tied to community and friendships, it's very hard to let go.
I only ever played Final Fantasy 14 briefly, but I really think I ought to visit again. Thank you for this.
do it :) as for me it was one of the best decisions i made in my life :)
@@hidehide8766 Have you had luck finding friends in game? My last WoW return was only more exhausting because, despite my best efforts, I struggled to find a friendly guild.
@@chaddoell no modern mmo seems keen on mechanically incentivizing player interaction like the old days, i.e. - requiring a coordinated group to simply level up. That said, you will definitely meet people in xiv if you go beyond msq and normal/extreme fights. Savage and ultimate content will inevitably lead you to various discords where you'll have ample opportunity to connect with people. Many free companies also have active discords and in game chat rooms. The rp scene is also a good way to meet people from my understanding, but I never engage with it personally.
@@chaddoell FFXIV is all about friendly gamers in general, strangers tend to help you
It’s great to be watching this video over a year after it’s released, and see that the developers have actually worked on many things you mentioned! Fixing ARR, harder dungeons (criterion), so on and so forth
There's still room for more. I think all of Crystal Tower should be brought up to about where World of Darkness is. Gordias should be brought up to where Midas is, etc.
@@rudolfambrozenvtuber I see the Crystal Tower point! However, I don't really get what you mean by bringing Gordias up to Midas? Gameplay wise, being in a MINE prog group for it rn I can safely say A3S, A4S are some of the more difficult fights with pretty unique mechanics. A8S is significantly harder but that's kind of an outlier since it was the "mini ultimate" before ultimates were a thing
@@YBthree I mean for normal. This is all for the new player's benefit, remember?
Generally I think on normal, old raid and trial content should aim for "easy to die difficult to wipe"
@@rudolfambrozenvtuber Ah that makes more sense! Good point. I kinda assumed otherwise since most people I know either don't touch 8-man raids or only do normal for unlocking savage so I forgot that people actually run it for story. I agree with you on that goal, it's been a while since ive done the normals though so I have no idea how it actually is X]
Criterion is great but it's merely a drop in the bucket. The game (bar current savage and up) is way, way too easy. To the point where I feel insulted, actually.
This was a pretty great and surprisingly heartfelt video. I really should give FF XIV a try. I bounced off of ARR a few years ago and never gave it another chance, but maybe this time I'll try to stick through it into Heavensword.
If nothing else going all the way through Heavensward won't cost you a dime
@@CErra310 not a dime. but time :)
You won't regret it my friend. Trust me.
Would love to hear an update on this :) How's your journey been? Or have you not yet gotten around to it?
I think the problem with experimenting with dungeon design is that with large open world dungeons, people just optimize routes and skip most of the dungeon anyway so it’s not really an exploration unless you and your whole party are doing it for the first time. Else new players want to explore and old players want to save time. Reasons to explore aren’t great either as there will always be better gear the next dungeon or side quest. Having large scale “dungeons” like Eureka or Bozja are fun but Eureka is dead nowadays and Bozja is mostly for EXP. They just streamlined dungeon design as they did most of the troublesome but more complex mechanics throughout the game. Some people see the complexity as fun (like back when aggro for mobs was actually something you had to think about and work around) but players then started to find ways to ignore mechanics in pre-fight rituals. Devs saw this and just streamlined that part of the gameplay. I think more boss variety (RNG mechanics and less obvious telegraphs that require you to pay more attention) would be fun though, which they have been doing.
Euerka isn't dead. I've done BA twice in the last week, and I wasn't even trying to do it when I joined both times.
This whole review was amazing. And as a wow player since original TBC that stuck with blizzard through goods and bads always pushing for the cutting edge, i really sympathize with you and thank you for the fair comparisons. Now in short, I ll give you my experience in ffxiv and what i found here compared with wow and why now i would chose FF over WoW everyday, adding to your arguments.
First i started playing it for ultimates, raids and dgs. And as enjoyable i found them, and quite diverse flashy and challenging, i really loved the satisfaction you get from a smaller group. Everyone has to do something, isnt RNG 3 ppl out of 20 get to do a mechanic rest just blast. We were all as good or as bad, felt more relatable to each other, and as you said cozy/intimate atmosphere. However.. as pleasant as this was, this wasnt the real reason for me sticking to it. Eventually raids were cleared and alts geared. What now? i really started exploring the game.. and aside of PotD, crafts/gather, side quests like Hildisbrand and such, i started to interact more and more with ppl, actually socializing more and more than i did in wow. And to my surprise i found ppl are really nice and opened minded and i dare to say happy to socialize back. Speaks alot when players are happy they tend to share that happiness with other players, compared with, where my wow experienced were most of them felt frustrated.. as i did. Didnt have the mood or time to interact with someone after grinding my borrowed power for the last 2-3 even more hours a day and then raid afterwards.
Now coming back to FF, the social part grew up on me and eventually got into housing and its RP. i know, i know most ppl think of ERP. No, some different and pure. Actually tailors or blacksmiths opening their small appartment or house as a shop, trying on the outfits on manekins, previews of carpenters masterworks etc. And it didnt stop there, i found out theaters, where a small or long show was presented, house arranged like a theater or cinema, my mind was blown; Bards playing as an orchestra, amazing performances sometimes long for even few hours; whole guilds/statics/fc coming together to wish someone happy birthday at the FC house while actually holding a party, same thing with weddings; casinos and Nightclubs that were hosting 1-2 or 3 DJs and we were all listening to him/her on twitch while socializing and dancing with your partner or grp of friends, all taken care of the hosts + security,bartenders,dancers, all in a house that was actually shaped as a nightclub or casino. I was simply in awe and amazed and i wanted more and more of it. And all this happening and revealing itself to me at start of covid period, left me really impressed. So impressed actually i took it 1 step further and became one of the DJs in these clubs, making me continue a hobby that i always loved even when the real life clubs were closed. For this ff will always have a special place in my heart. So i came to FF to farm raids and dgs and reputation and ended up doing that but also farming glams and emotes and growing my friends list with wonderfull ppl, while exploring the game and riding the wholesome moments together. Amazing simply amazing from my pov.
FF as a game has the tools and resources and an awesome community to keep you and itself happy for many years to come with our without "newest" content released, and i am honored and humbled to be part of something like this. And as wow goes.. while i am still playing it and somewhat attached to my guild there, but i ve never experienced something similar in it while playing it for 15 years. And if i were to choose now 1 from the 2, would be FF without hesitation.
♥ Take care NKB, will deff binge watch some of your videos. Glad i found you buddy. /bow
Really nice to hear another vet's opinion(I have been playing since 2.0 launch and cleared every piece of content available ultimate/blue mage raids/DR savage) about some of the game's factors. I do disagree with you on a few things and found the overall tone of the video to be negative but that's fine with how much positivity the game gets from newer players now.
There is harder 24 man content within the relic zones so that seemed a little off as part of your criticism for that not existing especially since it's not even particularly new in implementation of it's earliest form. But overall I do like your suggestions for ARR content and some of the critique in smaller factors. I think the XIV team does try more risks than you made it sound like they do they frequently just end up as smaller scale projects or side activities at the end of the day. Dungeons were reduced in scope in the amount of the game they took up so things like relic zones, deep dungeon, blue mage, etc could elaborate on some of that alternative content that might offer unique or different types of challenge.
Endwalker having the Warrior of Light in the same pose as the FFXIV "OG" boxart was such a good bookend, an utter masterclass of a game and a story.
Came back to this video just to watch Never's take on the Manscaped ad again. It's so beautiful. Just like MMO players.
Another aspect that's wholly unique to XIV is the deftness with which they've woven the story of the project as a unicorn comeback into the marketing and brand persona of the game itself. At this point it's hard to evaluate the game without also thinking about the team behind it. The combination of it being a project that should not have succeeded, much less become a keystone in propping up SE, and the ongoing level of detail and transparency the team provides in customer communication are what make the fan ardor so resilient. E.g. heaping praise on a $12/mo live service game despite hours-long service delays with no resolution in sight. Every criticism is softened and every accolade amplified by this "tempering" effect.
Yeah but for what price? They are transparent but the game is awfully predictable for years because it follows the same formualic approach again and again. After 4 expansion it has become stagnant to me.
@@Ageleszly What is stagnant for you was a breath of fresh air and a plus for many others. No other MMOs are as predictable as FFXIV is and it inadvertently becomes the MMO's strongest points. By playing it very safe, it's very unlikely for the game to start flopping at one point or another.
@@Ageleszly while most points are predictable, fights, BiSes and other things are not. In WoW for example you can learn your BiS and every new fight mechanic before the expansion/patch even released because Blizzard doesn't put any NDAs on their public PTRs. Here in FFXIV they have an actual QA group that tests things behind closed doors which is one of the few good things conservative Japanese games industry conglomerates still have.
@@loganreed23 Yeah this might be true, but i'm refering more to the games structure, what the previous commenter also said is a fallacy to me, change is important in life, sure some have a higher tolerance bar but sooner or later meaningful changes can only improve the situation for both parties, that's worth the risk, if you have trust in the team the game can only get better. Especially it nags me that the team is unwilling to tackle the games weaknesses, sure they cut "some" fluff out of ARR, but like NNB stated, Castrum Merdianium/Pratetorium is still a trainwreck.
I really loved your story section. I think people can skip cutscenes and dialog, but then that opens them up to the community. There is always a player that will inform you what happened, tell you bonus lore, or will watch that Ethys Asher to video to let you know. The story experience when you are caught up is like everyone watching the latest season of some hot TV show together. Just felt that that element was lacking in your review.
I think your perspective on a lot of these topics differs quite a bit than a newer player who would traditionally be looking for a game review, and because of this I disagree with a decent amount of points made in this video.
That being said, I seriously respect the quality and dedication you've clearly put into this, and appreciate your outlook of trying to point out that FF14 isn't perfect, with constructive feedback on what could be done better.
1:30:20
small abendum here:
The party finder culture for high end content is actually quite positive in this game.
if you join a "practise "(theres a tag, you cant mistake those groups for the more elitist ones) group that says " blind prog" "start from 0" or "guide experience start from 0", then all you need to do is watch a guide, people in those groups are super forgiving and helpfull, and frown on people that come in to shit on new players. example
The curent 4 savage bosses released 5 days ago, i have done THREE out of those, in aprty finder, within 8 hours for the first two repsectively and 2 days of 4 - 5 hours for the third one , the third one generally considered to be a filter boss, took me 3 different groups but the first 2 i started a group, too the first people i got, and ran it with them, everyone eventually got there.
Its unlike ANY other experience in ANY partyfinder, in ANY other game. The best thing is? as a group leader, i do not get to choose, if you meet the ilvl requirement and the completion status requirement (as in, you have or have not completed it yet, groups can require completion), you can sign up, and me removing you unless you really are asking for it by being a toxic shitter, is gonna get me banned.
I would like to bring up "Star Wars: The Old Republic", as it is still chugging along on its own and is an even closer "WoW" clone than any other successful MMO on the market right now. It also had a huge emphasis on the story, with the original base game having 8 unique class campaigns (one for each class).
It was also one of the MMOs that Yoshi-P had in his list of influences/previous MMOs played.
No Japan/OCE server so that's a no for me...
Too bad it was a disaster because devs thought it was a good idea to synch GCD with abilities animations in MMO. This was probably the biggest reason why it flopped on release and never recovered even though they brought major QoL changes over the years. Year ago I played newest planets and questlines and while writing is still consistently good, new zones were laggy as hell for me (I don't have a high-end PC but no other area had such a bad performance) and seemingly uninspiring, combat still feels disconnected from your input and the lack of financing from EA becomes quite noticeable. I also hate their big empathise on cash shop, I think it cheapens the overall quality of their and your work in the game.
Man, I love Star Wars, but yeah like that guy above me said, there's no OCE/Asian server.
My free company (guild in FF) are actually from my country Star Wars ToR community. A lot of my friends there moved from Star Wars to FF gradually, the move peaked at around September. Man, playing at 90ms instead of 250ms is crazy smooth.
Also, fucking EA didn't do any promotional work for Star Wars. Ffs, there's a new expansion coming soon and zero trailer for that.... I will come back for the new patch, but probably won't stay for end game.
@@blushingralseiuwu2222 Yeah, I can definitely understand the issues with with the lack of a Japan/OCE server.
From my experience, SWTOR showed that you could absolutely have a focus on the story and succeed. Up until Shadowbringers, the Imperial Agent story was the best I'd experienced in an MMO.
I'm still hopeful that at some point FF14 will just copy Huttball and slap the name "Blitzball" on it.
I feel like SWTOR doesn’t get the praise it deserves. I mean yeah obviously there was lots wrong especially at launch and a reason why it has such a small player base now but until I played FF14 I hadn’t experienced any stories in mmos better than in SWTOR. The fact that each class has its own main story line and you can also romance your companions and have your own little ship which is basically like your home is amazing. When the servers for SWTOR eventually go down forever I really hope there ends up being a way to play through the stories in an offline mode or something. They’re good enough to be their own little single player games imo.
Also… YOUR CHARACTER IS VOICE ACTED. And they’re all really good voice actors.
People always forget that ARR was developed in 2 years while maintaining FF14 1.0
I am the other people who didn’t know this in the first place. Thanks for the info
@@maltsutty There is an amazing FF XIV A Realm Reborn docu out there. After watching it the game hits different :)
If you wanna watch it: th-cam.com/video/Xs0yQKI7Yw4/w-d-xo.html
This is easily on of my favorite videos you've done. The passion in this video really shows (not that it doesn't in your other videos, but it does especially in this one).
The level of uncomfortable-ness? In that sponsorship made it hilarious. Thank you for the laugh.
Love the content man!
It'd be interesting to see you do a followup since you spend so much time on The ARR Problem which they've recently fixed a very large handful of the stuff you were talking about, with the trusts and the final dungeons being broken up and such.
For any non-final fantasy fans, you need to know this franchise has been taking so many goddamn Ls for the last 10+ years, so the fact that FF14 is so widely praised and considered a masterpiece is absolutely monumental and kind of emotional.
Its a game that nearly bankrupted its company, was the final nail in the coffin for a lot of fans of the series and it killed the development of many games that were yet to be released. And now it stands as both a masterpiece on its own and within its own franchise (some say it is even better than VI, IX and VII, and in some ways im starting to agree.)
I cant speak for the future of the game, but right now in 2022, its honestly one of the best things I've played and I've barely scratched the surface (still playing story mode)
Give it a try if you get the chance (if the servers ever get fixed that is)
XIV have those magical moments that we experienced in VI, VII, IX etc. It has all the aspects of what Final Fantasy should be. Endwalker was the best FF game for me since FFX.
59:30 as someone who's never played a game with this sort of targeting system or way of moving the character around and who has to look at my hotbar a lot to see what skills I'm using I really really appreciate the way ARR dungeons are more about easing into getting comfortable with all of that stuff, like, yeah I get to sastasha or whatever the first dungeon is called and like I (a conjurer pre lvl 30) only have like, stone, aero, and like a single target heal, but up to that point I never had to use those skills while also managing teammates healthbars or being mindful of aggro and juggling all of the skills together so I can effectively heal AND damage, so when I did start unlocking trials, then full party content, then alliance raids, then hard/extreme stuff (I'm still in the post ARR before Heavensward), I've felt adequately prepared now to learn that content because I'm not looking at my hotbar as much, I've been given ample time to explore my skills and figure out what their place is, and I don't feel like I'm fighting with my character or the camera to make more precise movements and move where I want to go
one of the best thing about collecting mounts is that they usually play the boss music they drop from when you ride them
On the issue of “floating island instances”… yeah, I definitely feel like there’s an issue in noticing it. It’s funny since they clearly thought about doing it exactly like wow with the Turns. But the turns was every worse idea they’d eventually take out of raiding together.
-the single difficulty of turns
-the integrated story
-multiple fights in a single instance in the earlier content
-trash mob floors
-unrefined fight design
-mixing and matching fight markers for knockback, stacking, spread, tank busters etc.(sometimes none at all)
But what’s interesting is with content like Eureka’s final instance and the instances of Bozja. it feels like they’re aware of the things wow does that they still don’t, and with EW dropping I’m wondering if they’re gonna have a new piece of content that tries it again
I feel like things like Eureka or Bozja are there specifically for people looking to mirror the old school MMO experience.
I disagree some of the points but I sit through the whole 2 hours, I concluded it was an extremely good video. I would argue Persona series OST has extremely good music, but I concur FF14 has THE best selection of boss OST out there. Again, I love your video and your perspective.
ps: have you ever tried imitating Crystal Exarch's voice and accent?
I should note that 1:02:30 Ultima problem is not an issue anymore - In 6.1 final dungeons/trials sequence of A Realm Reborn was completely redone, and you cannot skip Ultima cast anymore ;)
FF14 players always look like they're having a lot of fun.
I think a better solution to the skills would be to give players the uncombined versions earlier and to combine them at a later level. It would even make sense from an in-game perspective. As your character becomes more and more versed in combat with that job, he learns how to do certain skills simultaniously instead of one after the other.
I very much appreciate that you can’t skip the story. I’m a new player, and in the past, I would just dungeon level as a tank or healer class in wow or eso. Missing alot of the story. I’m looking forward to experiencing the whole story in ffxiv.
I have absolutely zero interest in this game but my god I cannot wait to hear your take on it, huge fan of NeverKnowsBest!!
The boss themes really are fantastic. The soundtrack as a whole is great, but the boss tracks are dewfinitly where it really shines. My personal favourite is 'Wayward Daughter', Tsukuyomi's theme, but there are countless others. The lyrics are often great too.
To me the EW ones are great competitors through probably mainlz because of the context ... for Endsinger the first theme that plays is basically a recap of our journey placing parts of the boss themes of all the expansions and weaving them together ... and then the second phase ... :D love that
Then there is In the Balance .... I just love that one ...
Wayward Daughter is so good and one of the most significant examples of music being tied to the emotions you feel while playing the game… even watching a video of the music and the fight is enough to make me want to cry
Honestly as someone who's only Final Fantasy experience prior to 14 was Kingdom Hearts, Crisis Core, Dissidia, and Advent Children, I loved the Omega fights. It's just cool taking part in fanservice and fighting all these iconic villains that were pulled from the history of Final Fantasy.
I'm glad someone finally spoke up about how old content is not only boring for veterans, but also isn't a proper experience for new players due to how scaling and changed potencies work. It's one of the main aspects of the game that I wish were improved, as a big fan of it and someone who has been playing since 2016.
That's right. But I wasn't disappointed about the kind of content, it was just undertuned I still think ARR had the best duneons in the whole game and it's a shame they streamlined them so extremely.
Thankfully, they've said they're looking at prae/castrum right now, so hopefully that means further looks at future proofing old things.
Yeah, I've tried getting into the game 3 times with new accounts, but I can never get past the slog that the start if the game is.
As a 3 years "vet" player...when i am doing the copperbell mines...I absolutly regretting doing the duty roulettes. Specially the second f*cking boss. The first "boss battle" is just a horde of one-shot mobs coming at a super slowing pace, The second boss battle, two DPS can go AFK for the entire fight and they miss nothing. And the last one barely even hit you at all. It's an absolute horror and lack of fun. I sincerly wish every update they change that dumbass dungeon. Even as a newbie it has no interest and is boring as HELL.
Even Sastasha has far more fun and interest and it's a dungeon i spam like a psychopath in unsync for Khloe's book.
@@Ageleszly if you don't streamline them, the community does - even during ARR the extra, non-required rooms in dungeons where completely ignored. Is just the nature of the beast and how players will play things, though I would like there to be a different category of dungeon that is different in some ways each time.
Not the completely random nature of Palace of the Dead, but something that meant you had to look around and was a different type of challenge to the standard ones.
Damn. I didn't expect to be tearing up until the end section came. So relatable on so many levels, all my memories from WoW while I was growing up playing the game, only to quit for good after 17 years in Azeroth. I will always miss them...
FFXIV is a nice change compared to WoW, and would honestly be my main MMORPG if I had the time to invest into the game still. Maybe in a few years I'll be able to, but for now I only play for the story, and holy fuck is it a wonderful story. At the time of typing this, I'm only about halfway through Endwalker, and my god I'm loving every minute of it.
Using the Hildibrand theme for your manscaped ad is the most genuis thing I've ever seen