FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn, is it any good?

[Giyari]

Okay so here's the deal. I think Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn looks hella pretty, and like an MMO I could get into, only problem is I've never played any other Final Fantasy games, and it's subscription based.


So here's the questions. Is Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn worth the money to someone new to the series?What's the positives and negatives about the game?

 

[Ammy]

I have a pretty long history with this game. Name is in the credits actually.


So. In spite of being an MMORPG I actually feel this is one of the better Final Fantasy titles. Back when I was still actively playing (quit due to time constraints and schedule shenanigans more than anything with the game itself) I noticed quite a lot of people in my guild who were completely new to the series. They seemed to really be enjoying themselves. We were one of the larger groups on Exodus at the time so it wasn't just a small sample either.


Could ramble on about this title for quite a long time so I'll try and keep it fairly brief.


Is it worth it? I'd say yes.


Positives:


+ The world is absolutely packed to the brim with lore and interesting info. There's a ton of depth to even the most minor details. Why does this particular normal mob only inhabit this area? Why did *insert enemy name here* increase 20% in size with the latest patch? What's the history of this completely minor, often ignored camp out in the sticks that serves no real in-game purpose? If you're willing to dig there's plenty of entertainment to be had even beyond playing the game itself.


+ There's actually a main story to this, which is kind of weird for an MMORPG. So going back to my first positive even if you aren't a lore junkie like me there's plot to be had. Cutscenes are quite common and enjoyable, with some characters rising far above others. Even specific sidequest lines have impressive looking events and interactions with memorable NPCs.


+ The OST is amazing. The Primal battles in particular stand out to me. Not only are they all great on their own but they all have their unique style to them. You never really know what you're gonna get when they patch in new content, but Soken (their sound guy) has really been killing it so far.


+ It's incredibly accommodating toward new players and, barring the few Legacy servers that were around from 1.0 times, has the most friendly community I've ever seen in an online title. As you go through the main story you'll earn abilities and learn your class, but I've often seen random shouts in town from people asking miscellaneous questions, attempted to reply, and have been beaten to the punch. Kind of heartwarming in a time with so much spite and salt in these things.


+ The combat and enemies in general are very entertaining. If memory serves right there are currently...ten combat classes you can choose from at the start with an additional three once you've completed the story up to the Heavensward expansion. While many of them serve the same function (a large chunk of which being DPS) they all their own unique identity. Monks constantly move around their opponents between each attack to gain bonus damage and speed, black mages try to remain stationary as they constantly juggle their MP from zero to full with their unique class mechanic. Everyone sort of has their favorites they stick to but even with that in mind you have incredible freedom in switching and trying all of them on a single character. So there's no real pressure of "ruining your build" or anything like that.


+ It has probably the best controller UI for an MMORPG I've ever seen. It's completely viable and can keep up with keyboard and mouse pretty well.


+ All servers are shared across all three platforms. PC, PS3, and PS4 all play together.


+ You're never really "locked out" of doing content with friends. You can't level past them to the point where you can't assist with their instances due to level sync. Have multiple level fifties on my guy and was often brought in as a healer due to that fact despite preferring tank.


As for the negatives;


- This isn't something I view as such, but I've heard complaint so it's worth mentioning. There are quite a few four-person dungeons in the game, some of which you have to run through as part of story progression. This means that a complete solo run of the game is impossible. I've always found that desire a bit silly in that I feel not socializing with anyone defeats the purpose of the genre, but eh. Anyway, the dungeons themselves are not particularly challenging, grouping is incredibly easy as it's adopted the automated system WoW has, and as said before on the average people are quite friendly so you aren't likely to have a bad experience with them.


- PvP is such an afterthought. This is a PvE game at its core. There are some people who like the modes that have been added but there are often serious design flaws that break the balance of matches between groups to the point where it isn't worth being too excited over, imo. A shame too as a lot of the gear earned through it looks quite cool.


- At the end it is still an MMORPG and you're going to hit the endgame grind sooner or later. Without going into a lot of detail you basically have two options if you want best in show as of right now. You either tackle the hardest content in the game for drops, or you grind for an obscenely long amount of time. Challenge or patience. Keep in mind that this isn't entry level endgame but rather the absolute peak as of the latest patch so there's still quite a lot to do.


Been considering resubbing the last couple days actually, but want to wait until after I at least try out Final Fantasy Explorers on 3DS. Already have a group ready for it. But yeah, FFXIV, while not without its faults, is still a ton of fun even if you only end up playing for the initial thirty days that comes with your game purchase.