Back when HW was being advertised, I didn't have much faith (heh) in this expansion pack. During ARR I had already spent a bunch of time doing quests in Coerthas Central Highlands, so I expected more of the same: more power tripping aristocratic douchebags, more blind religious zealots, and more dull snowy maps. So I lost interest and stopped playing the game altogether somewhere around patch 2.4. Coming back to it 4 years later, turns out I was wrong: HW doesn't have that much snow.
The common sentiment among FFXIV players is that HW is when the game finally gets good, but I just can't agree.
(another wall of text incoming, sorry, not sorry)
The plot is predictable in a lot of ways (as I already mentioned above). The major twist near the end of ARR is dealt with almost too easily and too quickly. One major antagonist is defeated without much ado thanks to a thing that was briefly introduced back in ARR (and said thing will constantly come back again and again to offer neat solutions to major problems) by a character that almost nobody remembers anymore (yes I am still bitter about Moenbryda). And the final battle against the big bad with an awesome theme song and improved visual and audio effects... barely requires any effort from the player and ends too quickly.
The most interesting part of the HW story is when a certain group of adventurers show up...
On a more positive note, HW gets some points for having a more focused story than ARR. In hindsight, the plot of the base game does follow a logical sequence, but for someone experiencing it the first time it can feel a little disjointed. The player simply jumps between one primal to another until they face the Garleans, with minimal foreshadowing. In comparison, HW's objective is quite clear: end the war between Ishgard and the dragons, and it sticks with it throughout the main story quests.
Some of the gameplay issues that were present on ARR still remain in HW. Too many boring quests (though lessened in number, I'll give them that), and linear corridor dungeons that barely offer any challenge or meaningful mechanics. The power creep affecting every old dungeon, trial and raid is felt the most on the last boss of HW, as already mentioned, which really ruins the fight that is supposed to be super climatic and bring closure for all the troubles that the player is subjected to during the main story quest. Once the actual battle starts you barely need to anything to win the fight.
On ARR there was this neat raid called Crystal Tower, which featured a lot of FFIII fanservice and an awesome soundtrack of top tier tunes remastered. The equivalent of HW is the Mhach raid, which has barely any FF references and it's easy to forget it exists. On top of that, the events of the CT raid become very important to the plot later in the game while Mhach... does not. The only thing it offers is some brief information on the War of the Magi, which is just a small backstory detail.
So, what did HW do right? For starters: the Dark Knight. The DRK job quests are easily the best of the whole game, in part thanks to showing some self-awareness of the nature of the game.
It also seems that they have learned their lesson with the Bahamut raid, and made Alexander (the HW equivalent) more accessible to casual players looking to experience the story. If only they would bother to fix the old Bahamut raids in the same manner...
A mostly predictable expansion pack with (supposedly) improved mechanics and less FF fanservice than before. Oh, and also it's free I guess.
The common sentiment among FFXIV players is that HW is when the game finally gets good, but I just can't agree.
(another wall of text incoming, sorry, not sorry)
The plot is predictable in a lot of ways (as I already mentioned above). The major twist near the end of ARR is dealt with almost too easily and too quickly. One major antagonist is defeated without much ado thanks to a thing that was briefly introduced back in ARR (and said thing will constantly come back again and again to offer neat solutions to major problems) by a character that almost nobody remembers anymore (yes I am still bitter about Moenbryda). And the final battle against the big bad with an awesome theme song and improved visual and audio effects... barely requires any effort from the player and ends too quickly.
The most interesting part of the HW story is when a certain group of adventurers show up...
On a more positive note, HW gets some points for having a more focused story than ARR. In hindsight, the plot of the base game does follow a logical sequence, but for someone experiencing it the first time it can feel a little disjointed. The player simply jumps between one primal to another until they face the Garleans, with minimal foreshadowing. In comparison, HW's objective is quite clear: end the war between Ishgard and the dragons, and it sticks with it throughout the main story quests.
Some of the gameplay issues that were present on ARR still remain in HW. Too many boring quests (though lessened in number, I'll give them that), and linear corridor dungeons that barely offer any challenge or meaningful mechanics. The power creep affecting every old dungeon, trial and raid is felt the most on the last boss of HW, as already mentioned, which really ruins the fight that is supposed to be super climatic and bring closure for all the troubles that the player is subjected to during the main story quest. Once the actual battle starts you barely need to anything to win the fight.
On ARR there was this neat raid called Crystal Tower, which featured a lot of FFIII fanservice and an awesome soundtrack of top tier tunes remastered. The equivalent of HW is the Mhach raid, which has barely any FF references and it's easy to forget it exists. On top of that, the events of the CT raid become very important to the plot later in the game while Mhach... does not. The only thing it offers is some brief information on the War of the Magi, which is just a small backstory detail.
So, what did HW do right? For starters: the Dark Knight. The DRK job quests are easily the best of the whole game, in part thanks to showing some self-awareness of the nature of the game.
It also seems that they have learned their lesson with the Bahamut raid, and made Alexander (the HW equivalent) more accessible to casual players looking to experience the story. If only they would bother to fix the old Bahamut raids in the same manner...
A mostly predictable expansion pack with (supposedly) improved mechanics and less FF fanservice than before. Oh, and also it's free I guess.