FINAL FANTASY XIV Online Reviews

it's nice if you want to play alone 99% of the time :-( the characters are cute and the world is nice but the story is a ton of filler and there's cut scenes for every story quest and there are a LOT of story quests and it just gets tedious after a while. tried to play with a friend and we were basically just watching cut scenes for 30 min straight. it's a fine game if you wanna solo stuff, but it doesn't really feel like an *mmo*

The developers are taking the wrong decisions update after update. Copy pasting same content template over and over and over again for years, story is shit, PVE got casualized and destroyed as well as PVP. Everything I loved about the game is gone. The developers prefer to listen to a bunch of casual pussies that can't press more than 1 button, neither does this overly positive all shines and rainbows community can take criticism at all and just pretend that everything is alright. I'm tired and disappointed with the approach SE is taking and Yoshi P should stop acting like he's some all caring dumbass and start working on his shit.

WARNING FOR PEOPLE WHO DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW TO BUY THIS GAME The 'demo' free trial lets you play the game for as long as you like with no time limit, with the base game story and the first expansion story as content. So do everything you possibly can in there first before you even think of buying anything else. The moment you buy anything else from this game, like the 10€ "starter edition" or the current expansion you unlock all the other parts; however now a 30 day countdown has started in which you have to complete this content, this is the "30 day free trail". When this countdown is over you are locked out of the game and need a subscription to play again and you are unable to return to the free trail. Don't be stupid like me and buy the 10€ version because you wanted to add your friend to your friendlist.

Dawntrail wasnt amazing but I still like the game overall.

Developer is just extracting as much money as possible without investing into the game.

dawntrail story is horrible, cliche, predictive, repetitive etc, bad story writing, bad character development, bad voice acting the big bad guys are evil just because they are throwing a tantrum, they magically steal and/or get key items without anyone noticing for to progress the story, Krile could have avoided everything but she didn't said anything, all the group was there just looking how the big bad guy kill and important character and no one did anything? rly? we can go to the edge of the universe but we cant stop one person 2 feet away? kill a GOD but not this random person... also... talk to Wuk Lamat...

So, FF14. Been thinking about writing a constructive review for people thinking about getting into this game. Obviously this will be opinionated to my experience with MMO's (WoW, LOTRO, FFXI, ESO, Etc.). I will be honest that these viewpoints are going to be through the lens of how I feel at end game. The game is quite an experience, but this experience is dictated by the MSQ (main scenario quests). For those who don't know, 14 prides itself with having a more linear experience when it comes to quests and story telling. There are side quests, yes, but side quests in this game are about as pointless as farming level 1 hogs in WoW. Class quests can be fun and obviously blue quests will have a little excitement since they unlock content of some kind. MSQ will be your main playtime though, as it tells the story and keeps higher level content locked until it is completed. The MSQ: Brilliant story telling. AMAZING cut scenes. You're part of an epic that tells a grand tale of growth, struggle, and rising up to the turmoils of the world. Not too much else to say here. Most players can easily agree that the story of 14 is world class and easily justifies playing it if storytelling is your cup of tea. So, how is the MSQ gameplay? Very hit and miss. Majority is the standard formula "run here and get this, then come back to me". Whether "this" is an item, killing a target, or talking to someone, it will be the majority of gameplay in the MSQ outside of dungeons and raids. This sounds boring, but I would argue the story will keep you pushing through a lot of the slog (be warned ARR/base game is a bit stale and dated, but the DLC are all amazing in their own rights). I only have one complaint about the MSQ and unfortunately the complaint doesn't go far because of the necessity of the quests. As mentioned above, content is gate locked by completing specific sections of the MSQ. This is by design so that the story makes sense and to ensure you don't feel lost down the line. The drawback to this design is the time dump required to get to late game content. If I had to estimate (this is assuming you stay engaged and pay attention to the story AND play casually) it can take about 1 year to get through the entirety of the MSQ, maybe 1.5 if you take healthy breaks from the game. Gameplay/Dungeons/Raids/Classes: The whoa factor of this MMO. In most MMORPG's you have to make a lot of characters to enjoy all the classes the game has to offer. FF14 encourages having a single character that can play all classes (you're able to swap class by equipping the weapon of that class). This is also on purpose because the monetary design of 14 has many features/mounts/emotes locked to the individual character and not the account. RAIDS AND DUNGEONS BABAY Yea so this is actually what kills me about this game. You're first time playing this content will be a GRAND show of drama, intense gameplay, and playing your class rotation like your life depends on it. It's AMAZING and will keep you hooked as you play through the MSQ. The issue here is when you get to end game.... Those reading this that have played the game forever can probably relate. FF14 is designed to keep you entertained as you experience everything for the first time, but once you have experienced it, and played it again, then again, and again more, then some more, a certain reality starts to set in. THE UGLY The spark fades quickly after you reach end game and have played most dungeons and raids. The issue, for me at least, is the repetitive nature of gameplay mechanics in the game. Fights are scripted, and once you've done a fight 5 times, you start to realize the bosses have the same rotating mechanics. The same can be said for your class. There is no real consideration to ability use once you get used to an encounter. You play your class to the cadence of the boss, repeating the same skills, in the same order, over, and over, and over again. This has been whats lost me after Dawntrail. Unless you get in to hardcore raiding, the magic starts to get lost. Content becomes less and less, and dungeons and raids start to feel as stale as the repetitive class rotation you perform as your brain autopilots through your dailies. Square did a great job on making this game accessible to a casual audience by making content a song and dance to be performed in a specific pattern. Unfortunately, this design just doesn't perform well on an end game stand point because it starts to feel like you're playing the same song on dance dance revolution for the 500th time. This results in memorizing patterns rather than critically thinking about how to handle a fight. This same sentiment carries to the hardcore scene as well. You're just upping the difficulty of your dance dance revolution song, adding more patterns to memorize rather than any meaningful mechanics to work through. SO, im just a peanut-brained idiot that got bored and decided to make a review for this game. My opinions are just my opinions. Do I recommend you play through this game at least once? Yes! Do I think this is a game leaves a lot to be desired after playing for a while? Yes. Thats my main point. The game feels more like a single player story game. Once you've played the content once, you've already experienced most of what it had to offer. Anything after that is just mindless gameplay for the sake of trying to get loot that has a 1% chance of dropping. That or you do the true retirement and go into RP, but thats a whole-nother discussion. Anyway hope that helps

cant suggest this game as it currently is Dawntrial IS FFXIV's BFA (battle for azeroth) the writing is terrable enough that it feels like a slap to those who stuck with the game since its 1.0 issues ( i have 35k hours in the game not all of it is recorded on steam) the only reason i continue to login is because i own a home on it its recycling content such as eureka bozja with the dawntrial relic i don't recommend this game to those who value there time and the only good thing about dawntrial is the raids which inless you enjoy that kind of content there is nothing for you skip this expan and wait for the next or play any other mmo i recommend elder scrolls online / star trek online and even mabinogi OR FFXI over this game mmos are a dying genre and square enix is milking FFXIV and its loyal fans while giving very little content im reminded of pso2:NGS

I love this game i really do but the community and the devs just make it so damn hard to continue enjoying it. Im tired of the same broken promises and the same damn issues every expansion. Im tired of the dumbing down and simplifying harder content. Im tired of the stupid server sided issues to the point where reset day has measurably higher ping. Im tired of the toxic positivity in this community where people will be lazy or even straight up deadweight and not only will they be angry if you ask them to contribute but SE will punish you for it. Im tired of getting a different story in ENG because some [strike]failed writer[/strike] localizer thought that the original vision should be changed. Im tired of the cashshop charging such a ridiculous amount of money for such simple basic cosmetics. Im tired of this game lacking even basic support for being able to measure your own performance. The only reason i play this game at this point is to spend time with my friends and if i was a smarter man i would find more enjoyable ways to spend time with them.

This game is printing money, and yet it’s not getting enough funding, so they had to cut back on content??? Borderline budget for their cash cow, stupid collabs, shitty merch, overpriced cash shop... No other company disrespects its own customers as much as Square Enix does. I love this game, but I’ve never felt so insulted as I did during the last live letter. I pay a monthly sub to play a game that is well-maintained and frequently updated with new content, and not to finance all the other garbage this dumb company is shitting out.