I personally felt that this was a step up in most areas over the base game. Keep in mind that MMOs are constantly evolving, so I can only review the game as it is now, not how Heavensward was at release. The plot is the main focus here, and a big step up over the first part of the game; I personally found the dynamic between the uber-religious Ishgard and their war with the dragons to be really interesting and engaging. The expansion also adds a number of great locations; of which Zenith, Idyllshire, and Ishgard itself stood out the most to me. I have noticed a pattern where I didn't feel the plot was terribly wrapped up by the end of the expansion proper, but the episodic post-release quests did a good job mopping up most of my complaints, and doing a good job at setting up events for the next expansion. I have two complaints that stop this from earning an A however. I know that political intrigue can be a bit over done lately, but I do wish we got a bit more on the relationship between the Great Houses of Ishgard. As it stands, it feels like there's really only four houses of about 5 people each running this entire country. We spend so much time talking about the political dynamics of the country, I would've liked to see them on screen better. I also felt that the big cliffhanger at the end of A Realm Reborn was resolved rather easily. Yes, you're in exile, but the problems in Ul'dah are mostly ignored before being resolved after rather little effort. The very end of the expansion sets up some of those characters in a better place, but it did feel like they wanted to focus on Ishgard first and foremost.