much better structured than ARR and a story i have enjoyed a lot more.

but, it still falters in the same way ARR did, in the sense that:
oh? you were enjoying the story for a minute there?
now do a quest chain with 12 quests in it that are absolutely unrelated to the story in any sense.

but i digress, it was a good expansion, especially dragonsong war.

Honestly, this is where XiV peaked, nothing after this expansion ever quite grabbed my attention like this one did. Stormblood just wasn't as exciting or classic.

The jobs felt like they had more skill expression in heavansward. I like stormblood for the jobs it added, but overall stormblood took away more than it added, and the gameplay felt stale afterwards.

nidhogg is a very relatable villain, made the expansion fun to play through just to get face him. Also the soundtrack was absolutely amazing.

The start of what makes FFXIV special. There are still things to complain about this game, and the way the quests are designed, but the incredible story and characters and performances just wash most of it away. In hindsight, as someone who is (for the most part) current on the latest expansion, much of the actual gameplay and content still feels a bit simple to a fault compared to later expansions.

Personally, this is possibly my favorite expansion despite the ways it might be worse than other expansions. I have a nostalgia for this expansion, and I think the music and atmosphere and story are my favorites through all the expansions. I prefer the way this game's story manages to be "small-scale", which is something that is quickly lost in other expansions, where the stakes get incredibly high very quickly.

When I started Heavensward I was optimistic but still somewhat doubtful, Arr was a very exhausting play through with me and I doubt I would've stuck through it if I hadn't have had my Father to play with me, with that being said Heavensward really made me feel that this game can be truly special.

Heavensward writing was clearly a shift for this games focus in Arr which was to build an Mmo not an amazing story. Dogma, Lose, Cyclical War, and Hope Heavensward themes brings a much needed breath of fresh Air compared to Arr's brooding the games scope as well as its idea's. Character writing is so much better it feels like im experiencing real characters instead of cardboard stand ins now my favorites are Estinien, and Ysayle espically their dynamic with how they show the hope for a better tomorrow and damage of the Dragonsong War.

I think gameplay has also really grown on me I played mostly Paladin in my Heavensward play through up till 3.4 where i switched to Gunbreaker but it was thoroughly enjoyable, getting big pulls and actually pulling it off is very satisfying. Dungeons and Trials (espically Thordans and Nidhoggs trial are fun) feel much more fine tuned and not just something thrown in.

I do have problems with it despite it all but while they are problems I dont think its horrendous. During the third act the pacing just falls flat on its face and really doesnt pick up till you get to the final area. There's also some really janky integration of some of the idea's going on in the third act (asican prime being one). Plot isn't as tight as it could be in the base game but after the patches is pretty well knit.

Some miscellaneous praises of this game. Patch 3.2-3.4 is actually fucking nuts like its an amazing stretch of the game. The ost pops out a lot more in this game feels very well integrated compared to Arr's where outside of the town locations I don't think i cant remember one if i heard it. Setting of Ishgard and Cortheas are so damm good as well I love how much there is too each of their area's in this game.

All in all I really liked Heavensward this really felt like I was starting to understand what people meant by it gets good after Arr (regardless that it's a terrible statement), I feel like im only in the middle of something spectacular and that I can appreciate it so much more, Heavensward was awesome and I cant wait to play more Final Fanasy XIV.

I never thought I would get hooked on an MMO but lo and behold – I’ve plopped a just shy of 300 hours in this huge fantasy RPG. I’ve worked through the base game and the first expansion and, at the end of 2020, I’m working through the second major expansion Stormblood. It’s an unbelievably cozy, easy-breezy game to return to day after day, and it was an incredibly important game to me, too: I played it for hours upon hours while exercising, resulting in (alongside other exercise regimens) losing nearly 35 pounds throughout 2020. Few games have had this impact on my lifestyle – FFXIV is now a treasured game in my heart.

Full Review: https://neoncloudff.wordpress.com/2020/09/01/now-playing-august-2020-edition/