DarkGriffen
3 reviews liked by DarkGriffen
This being my first proper playthrough of an entire MMO was an experience that I won't forget. though, personal problem is trying to get friends to do extremes/savages with me lol.
The story itself was a great way to cap off the Hydaelyn/Zodiark storyline, and I can't wait for what's to come in the next expansion
The story itself was a great way to cap off the Hydaelyn/Zodiark storyline, and I can't wait for what's to come in the next expansion
Final Fantasy 14 was a roller coaster of an experience for me. In the beginning, the only thing keeping me playing was my friends and the amazingly kind community I ran into along the way.
I spent a long time playing the game doing only the dungeons/trials/raids as it is what I found most fun in the beginning. Learning new boss mechanics, learning new skills for my job, it was really satisfying getting all sorts of progression in both my level & gameskill.
After forcing myself to grind the base game "A Realm Reborn", I finally made it to the first expansion Heavensward, which kept me hooked pretty much the entire way through. A SOLID change of pace coming from ARR. After I moved to Stormblood, the second expansion, things started to slow down for me quite a bit. The pacing and overall narrative to Stormblood didn't appeal to me too much, it wasn't until the second half & post where Stormblood started to show its quality. After taking about a month break midway through Stormblood, I FINALLY pushed myself forward onto Shadowbringers.
Holding possibly my favorite villain in fiction, Shadowbringers is... one of the best experiences I have ever had in video games. After putting about ~250 hours into FFXIV, while liking the game, it wasn't anything I could consider a top 5, let alone a masterpiece. But Shadowbringers changed everything.
Everything about this expansion, from the music, areas, dungeons, characters and MOST importantly... story. It sunk me like no game ever has this late into one. Usually when I start a game, I can tell I'm going to love it within the first 50 hours, but FFXIV surprised me. FFXIV proved me wrong in more ways than one. I have to eat all of the words I spewed before. All of the doubt. All of the thoughts of skipping expansions (and yes, I debated on paying for skips during Stormblood because I just wanted to play the endgame content with my friends...). Let's just say, I'm ashamed to say that I was wrong about this game in the beginning.
Shadowbringers is an absolute masterpiece of story-telling, not only is it an amazing story on its own but it IMPROVED the previous expansions/base game. That is an incredibly hard feat to achieve for any game, but Shadowbringers did it and all I can say is... If you plan to stick with FFXIV for whatever reason it may be, even if you're not currently enjoying the story, please do not skip the expansions. All of them are linked heavily, and I can guarantee you that (so long as you enjoy good writing, and don't just play games for the combat,) you will not regret the time investment needed to get to Shadowbringers. I promise you, give it a chance.
Shadowbringers pacing starts and ends amazing, with some of (if not for me,) the BEST peaks in gaming, and this is coming from someone who would have dropped the game had my friends not been playing.
There were parts in Shadowbringers that still to this day bring me goosebumps when I think back to them, and the same goes for the next expansion afterwards.
Moving on the final expansion, Endwalker, I actually disagree with the few that have told me EW is "slower" than Shadowbringers, as I was hooked all the way through. Maybe it was due to the fact that I was just so hyped from Shadowbringers that the hype carried me through, but I don't think so. Even thinking back on the beginning of EW, I still want to erase my memories and experience it for the first time.
Endwalker ended the story of FFXIV perfectly and if you wanted to stop there, you very well could and I would not judge you. It is a perfect summary of everything the player went through, all that you achieved, all that time you put in... It was worth it.
My final thoughts on FFXIV as a whole:
This game would have a 5/5 for me if the first ~100 hours wasn't difficult to sink people. Because of that, I have to knock down to a 4.5/5. Regardless, if you are considering trying FFXIV and have the time to invest, please do. This is a game you do not want to miss the experience for. This game is packed with tension & emotion.
My final ratings on each expansion are as follows:
"A Realm Reborn" - 6/10
"Heavensward" - 9/10
"Stormblood" - 8.5/10
"Shadowbringers" - 10/10
"Endwalker" - 9.8/10
I spent a long time playing the game doing only the dungeons/trials/raids as it is what I found most fun in the beginning. Learning new boss mechanics, learning new skills for my job, it was really satisfying getting all sorts of progression in both my level & gameskill.
After forcing myself to grind the base game "A Realm Reborn", I finally made it to the first expansion Heavensward, which kept me hooked pretty much the entire way through. A SOLID change of pace coming from ARR. After I moved to Stormblood, the second expansion, things started to slow down for me quite a bit. The pacing and overall narrative to Stormblood didn't appeal to me too much, it wasn't until the second half & post where Stormblood started to show its quality. After taking about a month break midway through Stormblood, I FINALLY pushed myself forward onto Shadowbringers.
Holding possibly my favorite villain in fiction, Shadowbringers is... one of the best experiences I have ever had in video games. After putting about ~250 hours into FFXIV, while liking the game, it wasn't anything I could consider a top 5, let alone a masterpiece. But Shadowbringers changed everything.
Everything about this expansion, from the music, areas, dungeons, characters and MOST importantly... story. It sunk me like no game ever has this late into one. Usually when I start a game, I can tell I'm going to love it within the first 50 hours, but FFXIV surprised me. FFXIV proved me wrong in more ways than one. I have to eat all of the words I spewed before. All of the doubt. All of the thoughts of skipping expansions (and yes, I debated on paying for skips during Stormblood because I just wanted to play the endgame content with my friends...). Let's just say, I'm ashamed to say that I was wrong about this game in the beginning.
Shadowbringers is an absolute masterpiece of story-telling, not only is it an amazing story on its own but it IMPROVED the previous expansions/base game. That is an incredibly hard feat to achieve for any game, but Shadowbringers did it and all I can say is... If you plan to stick with FFXIV for whatever reason it may be, even if you're not currently enjoying the story, please do not skip the expansions. All of them are linked heavily, and I can guarantee you that (so long as you enjoy good writing, and don't just play games for the combat,) you will not regret the time investment needed to get to Shadowbringers. I promise you, give it a chance.
Shadowbringers pacing starts and ends amazing, with some of (if not for me,) the BEST peaks in gaming, and this is coming from someone who would have dropped the game had my friends not been playing.
There were parts in Shadowbringers that still to this day bring me goosebumps when I think back to them, and the same goes for the next expansion afterwards.
Moving on the final expansion, Endwalker, I actually disagree with the few that have told me EW is "slower" than Shadowbringers, as I was hooked all the way through. Maybe it was due to the fact that I was just so hyped from Shadowbringers that the hype carried me through, but I don't think so. Even thinking back on the beginning of EW, I still want to erase my memories and experience it for the first time.
Endwalker ended the story of FFXIV perfectly and if you wanted to stop there, you very well could and I would not judge you. It is a perfect summary of everything the player went through, all that you achieved, all that time you put in... It was worth it.
My final thoughts on FFXIV as a whole:
This game would have a 5/5 for me if the first ~100 hours wasn't difficult to sink people. Because of that, I have to knock down to a 4.5/5. Regardless, if you are considering trying FFXIV and have the time to invest, please do. This is a game you do not want to miss the experience for. This game is packed with tension & emotion.
My final ratings on each expansion are as follows:
"A Realm Reborn" - 6/10
"Heavensward" - 9/10
"Stormblood" - 8.5/10
"Shadowbringers" - 10/10
"Endwalker" - 9.8/10
As of writing this review, the current patch for Endwalker is at 6.2, which is part of the post-endwalker story.
So far, this is the best expansion out of all of them in my opinion. It puts you straight in the action, and has argubaly the best areas in the game. The mechanics for each dungeon/trial are very unique, with a lot of flavour in each dungeon/trial thus far.
It is a perfect conclusion to this storyline. I couldn't of asked it any better. Thank you for this wonderful journey, Square.
So far, this is the best expansion out of all of them in my opinion. It puts you straight in the action, and has argubaly the best areas in the game. The mechanics for each dungeon/trial are very unique, with a lot of flavour in each dungeon/trial thus far.
It is a perfect conclusion to this storyline. I couldn't of asked it any better. Thank you for this wonderful journey, Square.
