Summary: Some brief thoughts on XIV before I start XIII, along with future plans in XIV.
Note: due to the sheer number of stories and characters in XIV, I’ll only touch on a few highlights per category. Apologies to characters, stories, and mechanics I don’t address.
Note: due to the sheer number of stories and characters in XIV, I’ll only touch on a few highlights per category. Apologies to characters, stories, and mechanics I don’t address.
Spoilers inside through patch 4.4.
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Protagonists
Scions of the Seventh Dawn: Most of the Scions were kind of “meh” through the early parts of the game. At least, when taken as a group. Things got way more interesting when individual Scions came to the forefront with different stories.
Some favorites here include Alisaie’s arc in the Bahamut raid, Lyse coming into her own through Stormblood, . I’m especially interested in Alphinaud’s current arc with Garlemald.
The Garlond Ironworks: Cid’s fine enough on his own, but it’s Cid’s dynamic with Nero tol Scaeva that make me constantly look forward to dealing with the Ironworks. It especially shined in the Omega raid.
Sultana Nanamo Ul Namo and Raubahn: I’m just now noticing that FFXIV’s strength comes in its group dynamics as much as individual character. The Sultana and Raubahn enhance each other so much. Their love for each other is a pure thing of beauty.
I’m a sucker for characters who care for each other so deeply and openly.
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Antagonists
The Empire: Oddly enough, this Empire is the opposite of all those protagonistic pairs I love. It’s less than the sum of its parts.
The faceless magitek villains bored me. The individual Imperial leaders can shine.
I can’t wait to see where Emperor Varis’ arc goes, with him and the reborn Solus!
Nidhogg: A more sympathetic Heavensward villain than I expected. XIV’s dragons constantly get a raw deal. Sure, he wanted to kill and torture all of Ishgard, but dang if he didn’t have his reasons.
Yotsuyu: The Witch of Doma is an all-time great FF villain. I put Yotsuyu right up there with Kefka, Kuja, and Lilith. She lacked their raw power and I couldn’t care less.
She’s sympathetic without relinquishing her villainy. She’s flavorful, flamboyant, stylish, sadistic.
[Later edit: Tsukuyomi’s theme came on while I was writing. When the phase 2 music hit, I started to cry.
That moment when she’s remembering all the horror of her life – both inflicted to her and by her – and still she gets that one moment of goodness and care as Gosetsu protects her.
Yotsuyu will stick with me for a long time to come.]
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Protagonists
Scions of the Seventh Dawn: Most of the Scions were kind of “meh” through the early parts of the game. At least, when taken as a group. Things got way more interesting when individual Scions came to the forefront with different stories.
Some favorites here include Alisaie’s arc in the Bahamut raid, Lyse coming into her own through Stormblood, . I’m especially interested in Alphinaud’s current arc with Garlemald.
The Garlond Ironworks: Cid’s fine enough on his own, but it’s Cid’s dynamic with Nero tol Scaeva that make me constantly look forward to dealing with the Ironworks. It especially shined in the Omega raid.
Sultana Nanamo Ul Namo and Raubahn: I’m just now noticing that FFXIV’s strength comes in its group dynamics as much as individual character. The Sultana and Raubahn enhance each other so much. Their love for each other is a pure thing of beauty.
I’m a sucker for characters who care for each other so deeply and openly.
---
Antagonists
The Empire: Oddly enough, this Empire is the opposite of all those protagonistic pairs I love. It’s less than the sum of its parts.
The faceless magitek villains bored me. The individual Imperial leaders can shine.
I can’t wait to see where Emperor Varis’ arc goes, with him and the reborn Solus!
Nidhogg: A more sympathetic Heavensward villain than I expected. XIV’s dragons constantly get a raw deal. Sure, he wanted to kill and torture all of Ishgard, but dang if he didn’t have his reasons.
Yotsuyu: The Witch of Doma is an all-time great FF villain. I put Yotsuyu right up there with Kefka, Kuja, and Lilith. She lacked their raw power and I couldn’t care less.
She’s sympathetic without relinquishing her villainy. She’s flavorful, flamboyant, stylish, sadistic.
[Later edit: Tsukuyomi’s theme came on while I was writing. When the phase 2 music hit, I started to cry.
That moment when she’s remembering all the horror of her life – both inflicted to her and by her – and still she gets that one moment of goodness and care as Gosetsu protects her.
Yotsuyu will stick with me for a long time to come.]
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Some Side Characters
Sadu: I LOVE MY MURDEROUS BLUE XAELA. Her gender-shifting history, her humor, and her near-sexual pleasure from combat make her presence last far beyond the relatively short screentime she gets.
Sadu art by @madaoba on Twitter.
Edda: She snuck up on me.
Fordola rem Lupis: She probably fits better under “antagonist,” but screw it. I love her ferocity and background. Like Yotsuyu, she has both a sympathetic background and doesn’t shy away from real villainous actions.
Fordola art by Hannah Santos.
Unlike Yotsuyu, she actually cared for her homeland of Ala Mhigo. It’s been a joy to watch this strain of selfless patriotism begin to redeem her.
The Butcher of Ala Mhigo is sitting in a jail. I’ll bet she re-emerges for Stormblood’s conclusion.
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Story
Main Story Quests: The main stories for each expansion have been solid with moments of brilliance. If I had to rank, I’d put Heavensward slightly above A Realm Reborn, and Stormblood ahead of both by far. (I really like the Doma and Ala Mhigo stories, which I did NOT expect since the Empire is not my favorite villain.)
I still remember the gut punch of ARR’s ending. Except… well, yeah, let’s talk about that.
Death is Merely a Setback: XIV has an intensely annoying pattern of negating clear character deaths, or making like the character who just got sliced in half had a simple wound. The worst for me was the Sultana’s “death.” It took the potential for change at ARR’s end and just totally undid it.
Square Enix seems to have learned a lesson in Stormblood. Take Yotsuyu’s and Zenos’s “reversed” deaths. I was a bit annoyed with Yotsuyu, but the conclusion to her storyline post-reversal – the Tsuyu/Tsukuyomi plots – were SO FRIGGING GOOD that I didn’t care about the pattern.
Same with Gosetsu’s death reversal. If you use a trope well and make a great story, go for it.
And Zenos’ death turned out to stick.
PRIMALFEST! The other repetitive trope that they’ve improved with is the use of primals. This was mostly a problem in ARR, where it seemed like every boss fight was “Oh no, So-and-so summoned a primal!”
Just like with the reverse death, they learned from this by playing off our expectations and changing course. Take Tsukuyomi. She was summoned with the intention that we’d kill her.
Some Side Characters
Sadu: I LOVE MY MURDEROUS BLUE XAELA. Her gender-shifting history, her humor, and her near-sexual pleasure from combat make her presence last far beyond the relatively short screentime she gets.
Sadu art by @madaoba on Twitter.
Edda: She snuck up on me.
Fordola rem Lupis: She probably fits better under “antagonist,” but screw it. I love her ferocity and background. Like Yotsuyu, she has both a sympathetic background and doesn’t shy away from real villainous actions.
Fordola art by Hannah Santos.
Unlike Yotsuyu, she actually cared for her homeland of Ala Mhigo. It’s been a joy to watch this strain of selfless patriotism begin to redeem her.
The Butcher of Ala Mhigo is sitting in a jail. I’ll bet she re-emerges for Stormblood’s conclusion.
---
Story
Main Story Quests: The main stories for each expansion have been solid with moments of brilliance. If I had to rank, I’d put Heavensward slightly above A Realm Reborn, and Stormblood ahead of both by far. (I really like the Doma and Ala Mhigo stories, which I did NOT expect since the Empire is not my favorite villain.)
I still remember the gut punch of ARR’s ending. Except… well, yeah, let’s talk about that.
Death is Merely a Setback: XIV has an intensely annoying pattern of negating clear character deaths, or making like the character who just got sliced in half had a simple wound. The worst for me was the Sultana’s “death.” It took the potential for change at ARR’s end and just totally undid it.
Square Enix seems to have learned a lesson in Stormblood. Take Yotsuyu’s and Zenos’s “reversed” deaths. I was a bit annoyed with Yotsuyu, but the conclusion to her storyline post-reversal – the Tsuyu/Tsukuyomi plots – were SO FRIGGING GOOD that I didn’t care about the pattern.
Same with Gosetsu’s death reversal. If you use a trope well and make a great story, go for it.
And Zenos’ death turned out to stick.
PRIMALFEST! The other repetitive trope that they’ve improved with is the use of primals. This was mostly a problem in ARR, where it seemed like every boss fight was “Oh no, So-and-so summoned a primal!”
Just like with the reverse death, they learned from this by playing off our expectations and changing course. Take Tsukuyomi. She was summoned with the intention that we’d kill her.
Job Stories:
One of my favorite parts of XIV. Not all the stories are great, but
even the not-so-great ones fill in the background and provide fantastic
flavor. My favorite by far was the dark knight 30-50 quest. Runners are
the dragoon questline and 1-30 thaumaturge.
Old and New: XIV does a great job incorporating elements from its prior games while still centering original contents. Which is how it should be! It stops XIV from feeling just like a “Greatest Hits” album. I want to love FFXIV for Yotsuyu with “Ooh, hi Kefka!” as flavor, not the other way around.
It’s rare for the game to feel sloppy with its callbacks, but it does sometimes happen. Deltascape, for instance.
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Gameplay/Mechanics
Tab Targeting: There’s a trend for MMOs to become more action-oriented in their combat systems. I wouldn’t mind some individual jobs using this, but I’m happy that XIV
Job System: I can imagine FFXI fans feeling constricted with XIV compared to XI since XIV lacks the “subjob” combinations of XI. Personally, I prefer FF’s more linear job systems like in FFIX or FFIV, so I’m okay with this.
I’ve only tried a few jobs, but even the two casters feel distinct. Black Mage has its own feel and systems from Red Mage. I’m super psyched to keep exploring these.
Crafting and Gathering: I have a limited set of experiences with crafting and gathering systems. None of them were EVEN SORT OF REMOTELY as complex and fluid as XIV’s.
Like. I can’t believe this is a thing? With each crafting and gathering profession interlocking with others and having unique job stories? HJKlhjkl???
Group Finders: A huge improvement over XI. This was actually the biggest hindrance to my enjoyment of FFXI, since it was so hard to find others for group content. Here? Even as a DPS, the least-needed role, it usually takes 4-20 minutes to find a group.
This is the case almost regardless of content size. 4-players, 8-players, or 24-players. All are accessible, and it opens the game right up.
Collect ALL the Things: Triple Triad and card collection, Gold Saucer events, minion and mount collection, achievements… all sort of cool stuff to do. I love ticking off checkboxes. No shortage of this fun side stuff in XIV.
Old and New: XIV does a great job incorporating elements from its prior games while still centering original contents. Which is how it should be! It stops XIV from feeling just like a “Greatest Hits” album. I want to love FFXIV for Yotsuyu with “Ooh, hi Kefka!” as flavor, not the other way around.
It’s rare for the game to feel sloppy with its callbacks, but it does sometimes happen. Deltascape, for instance.
---
Gameplay/Mechanics
Tab Targeting: There’s a trend for MMOs to become more action-oriented in their combat systems. I wouldn’t mind some individual jobs using this, but I’m happy that XIV
Job System: I can imagine FFXI fans feeling constricted with XIV compared to XI since XIV lacks the “subjob” combinations of XI. Personally, I prefer FF’s more linear job systems like in FFIX or FFIV, so I’m okay with this.
I’ve only tried a few jobs, but even the two casters feel distinct. Black Mage has its own feel and systems from Red Mage. I’m super psyched to keep exploring these.
Crafting and Gathering: I have a limited set of experiences with crafting and gathering systems. None of them were EVEN SORT OF REMOTELY as complex and fluid as XIV’s.
Like. I can’t believe this is a thing? With each crafting and gathering profession interlocking with others and having unique job stories? HJKlhjkl???
Group Finders: A huge improvement over XI. This was actually the biggest hindrance to my enjoyment of FFXI, since it was so hard to find others for group content. Here? Even as a DPS, the least-needed role, it usually takes 4-20 minutes to find a group.
This is the case almost regardless of content size. 4-players, 8-players, or 24-players. All are accessible, and it opens the game right up.
Collect ALL the Things: Triple Triad and card collection, Gold Saucer events, minion and mount collection, achievements… all sort of cool stuff to do. I love ticking off checkboxes. No shortage of this fun side stuff in XIV.
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Music
This is one of the best soundtracks in all Final Fantasy. I can listen to these tracks over and over. These are just a few of my favorites, but I look forward to a full re-listen.
-Fallen Angel (Garuda’s theme)
-"Nightbloom," "L****y," and "Wayward Daughter" (Tsukuyomi’s themes)
-The Warrens (Snowcloak’s theme)
-Beauty’s Wicked Wiles (Lakshmi’s theme)
-eScape (Omega’s theme)
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Art/Graphics
I can’t say enough good things about this. Some categories where the game excelled:
Primal Diversity: Each boss has its own feel in the arts. Lakshmi’s allure, Titan’s overwhelming force, Tsukuyomi’s terror and mystery.
Environmental Diversity: This is absolutely one of my favorite parts of the game! Each new dungeon was a whole artistic experience to drink in, popping with life. The bright blues and oranges of Hells’ Lid. The whites of Snowcloak. The rainy ruins of Ampador, or the spooky Tim Burton feel of Dun Scaith. On and on and on.
My least favorite environments are the Allagan and Imperial areas. They can feel a bit repetitive – or maybe it’s just that I’ve seen so much of them.
Realism: XIV opts for a more realistic art style. This is not generally my preference, as I prefer the cartoonier and more stylized graphics of Final Fantasy IX, Wildstar, and World of Warcraft.
That’s just a minor preference, not a significant complaint. And there are plenty of times where the realism works much better than cartoon style would. I’m thinking of the end of ARR, watching the Scions broken and divided as Lolorito takes power.
Humor: Not that realism implies a lack of humor. The game can be goofy as hell, and I LOVE IT. Like, anything with Hildibrand or some of the moments where Nero gets Cid’s goat.
Christmas bear mount.
Sometimes the more realistic art style enhances the goofiness, like the super-realistic and serious-faced Gilgamesh being carried off into the sky by a small green chicken.
---
Length
Currently at over 54 days played. That’s about 1,300 hours.
Like. Jesus. And I don’t feel remotely burned out. What an accomplishment for the developers.
Music
This is one of the best soundtracks in all Final Fantasy. I can listen to these tracks over and over. These are just a few of my favorites, but I look forward to a full re-listen.
-Fallen Angel (Garuda’s theme)
-"Nightbloom," "L****y," and "Wayward Daughter" (Tsukuyomi’s themes)
-The Warrens (Snowcloak’s theme)
-Beauty’s Wicked Wiles (Lakshmi’s theme)
-eScape (Omega’s theme)
---
Art/Graphics
I can’t say enough good things about this. Some categories where the game excelled:
Primal Diversity: Each boss has its own feel in the arts. Lakshmi’s allure, Titan’s overwhelming force, Tsukuyomi’s terror and mystery.
Environmental Diversity: This is absolutely one of my favorite parts of the game! Each new dungeon was a whole artistic experience to drink in, popping with life. The bright blues and oranges of Hells’ Lid. The whites of Snowcloak. The rainy ruins of Ampador, or the spooky Tim Burton feel of Dun Scaith. On and on and on.
My least favorite environments are the Allagan and Imperial areas. They can feel a bit repetitive – or maybe it’s just that I’ve seen so much of them.
Realism: XIV opts for a more realistic art style. This is not generally my preference, as I prefer the cartoonier and more stylized graphics of Final Fantasy IX, Wildstar, and World of Warcraft.
That’s just a minor preference, not a significant complaint. And there are plenty of times where the realism works much better than cartoon style would. I’m thinking of the end of ARR, watching the Scions broken and divided as Lolorito takes power.
Humor: Not that realism implies a lack of humor. The game can be goofy as hell, and I LOVE IT. Like, anything with Hildibrand or some of the moments where Nero gets Cid’s goat.
Christmas bear mount.
Sometimes the more realistic art style enhances the goofiness, like the super-realistic and serious-faced Gilgamesh being carried off into the sky by a small green chicken.
---
Length
Currently at over 54 days played. That’s about 1,300 hours.
Like. Jesus. And I don’t feel remotely burned out. What an accomplishment for the developers.
---
Replayability
Mixed. The main story has zero replayability for me. Bless the job system for not forcing me into alternate characters for new jobs.
The dungeons and raids at the top level have more replayability. I enjoy redoing them with friends. (Grinding them for gear, cards, pets, and mounts is less interesting.)
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A Brief Ranking of the Main FF Games I’ve Played It’s Just One Small Opinion Please Don’t Kill Me
1. FFIX
2. FFX
3. FFVI
4. FFXIV
5. Chrono Trigger
6. FFXII
7. FFV
8. FFVIII
9. [TIE] FFVII and FFIV. I like the FFIV story more and FFVII gameplay more.
11. FFIII
12. FFXI
13. FFII
14. FFI
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Final Thoughts
A brilliant game. Simply brilliant. It’s hard to compare this to other games in the Final Fantasy main series since the MMO genre is so different. It mostly compares for me with Final Fantasy XI and World of Warcraft.
First, it hits me as a flat-out better game than Final Fantasy XI. I get that there are some purists who love XI above all else, and that’s valid. For me, the mechanics, the quality of life blow it out of the water. I also like the story and character development better in XIV, though this is closer.
Then World of Warcraft. I’ve played that game since its open beta, a few days before it released. I still play it. And I can’t believe I’m saying this, but FFXIV is just as good. I play far less WoW than I used to because I simply enjoy XIV so much. This is the highest praise I can give.
Replayability
Mixed. The main story has zero replayability for me. Bless the job system for not forcing me into alternate characters for new jobs.
The dungeons and raids at the top level have more replayability. I enjoy redoing them with friends. (Grinding them for gear, cards, pets, and mounts is less interesting.)
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A Brief Ranking of the Main FF Games I’ve Played It’s Just One Small Opinion Please Don’t Kill Me
1. FFIX
2. FFX
3. FFVI
4. FFXIV
5. Chrono Trigger
6. FFXII
7. FFV
8. FFVIII
9. [TIE] FFVII and FFIV. I like the FFIV story more and FFVII gameplay more.
11. FFIII
12. FFXI
13. FFII
14. FFI
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Final Thoughts
A brilliant game. Simply brilliant. It’s hard to compare this to other games in the Final Fantasy main series since the MMO genre is so different. It mostly compares for me with Final Fantasy XI and World of Warcraft.
First, it hits me as a flat-out better game than Final Fantasy XI. I get that there are some purists who love XI above all else, and that’s valid. For me, the mechanics, the quality of life blow it out of the water. I also like the story and character development better in XIV, though this is closer.
Then World of Warcraft. I’ve played that game since its open beta, a few days before it released. I still play it. And I can’t believe I’m saying this, but FFXIV is just as good. I play far less WoW than I used to because I simply enjoy XIV so much. This is the highest praise I can give.
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The Road Ahead in XIV
Unlike prior wrap-up posts, this isn’t the end of my time in XIV. I’ll keep playing and writing. When I have a bunch of posts, I’ll create a separate XIV post for them on Spoils.
a) Future main story quests.
b) The Alexander 8-player raids from Heavensward. (Doing these with my friend group eventually.)
c) Heaven-on-High, the new ROGUE-like content in Stormblood.
d) Future raids, dungeons, and other new content.
e) Crafting and gathering jobs stories. All my crafting and gathering jobs are currently at 50.
f) Random achievements and collections. Triple Triad, mounts, and more.
And then the big one.
g) Combat jobs. Red mage is my only level 70 job and I want to see all the job stories! There are 14 remaining jobs across five roles – healers, tanks, caster dps, melee dps, and physical ranged dps.
This is a TON of job content. I’ve gone back and forth about how to tackle it. Do I pick one job at a time or multiple jobs simultaneously? Do I pick jobs randomly or purposefully?
I’m settling on a mix. I’m going to level up “teams” of three jobs at a time to plays simultaneously, only moving on when each “team” hits 30. I’ll choose from roles that have the most jobs remaining, randomizing from within those groups.
Lastly, I’ll bounce between each team randomly too. Each job usually has separate story arcs from 1-30, 30-50, 50-60, and 60-70. I’ll bounce between jobs and tiers randomly.
That sounds overly convoluted. I’m going to pick the first team now:
1) ROLES: No randomization. Tank, healer, and melee dps all have the most jobs remaining.
2) JOB #1, TANK: Gladiator/Paladin – Marauder/Warrior – Dark Knight
I randomized numbers between 1 and 3 on random.org. It got #2. Marauder/Warrior!
3) JOB #2, HEALER: White Mage – Astrologian – Scholar
Random.org chooses #3. Scholar! (I’ve heard this also will have me level up summoner, though I’m not sure what this means in the details. I’ll see.)
4) JOB #3, MELEE DPS: Rogue/Ninja – Dragoon – Pugilist/Monk – Samurai
Random.org chooses #4. Samurai!
5) FIRST JOB STORY: Marauder/Warrior (1-30) – Scholar (1-30) – Samurai (50-60)
Random.org chooses #3. Samurai (50-60)!
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Next time: Final Fantasy XIII!
The Road Ahead in XIV
Unlike prior wrap-up posts, this isn’t the end of my time in XIV. I’ll keep playing and writing. When I have a bunch of posts, I’ll create a separate XIV post for them on Spoils.
a) Future main story quests.
b) The Alexander 8-player raids from Heavensward. (Doing these with my friend group eventually.)
c) Heaven-on-High, the new ROGUE-like content in Stormblood.
d) Future raids, dungeons, and other new content.
e) Crafting and gathering jobs stories. All my crafting and gathering jobs are currently at 50.
f) Random achievements and collections. Triple Triad, mounts, and more.
And then the big one.
g) Combat jobs. Red mage is my only level 70 job and I want to see all the job stories! There are 14 remaining jobs across five roles – healers, tanks, caster dps, melee dps, and physical ranged dps.
This is a TON of job content. I’ve gone back and forth about how to tackle it. Do I pick one job at a time or multiple jobs simultaneously? Do I pick jobs randomly or purposefully?
I’m settling on a mix. I’m going to level up “teams” of three jobs at a time to plays simultaneously, only moving on when each “team” hits 30. I’ll choose from roles that have the most jobs remaining, randomizing from within those groups.
Lastly, I’ll bounce between each team randomly too. Each job usually has separate story arcs from 1-30, 30-50, 50-60, and 60-70. I’ll bounce between jobs and tiers randomly.
That sounds overly convoluted. I’m going to pick the first team now:
1) ROLES: No randomization. Tank, healer, and melee dps all have the most jobs remaining.
2) JOB #1, TANK: Gladiator/Paladin – Marauder/Warrior – Dark Knight
I randomized numbers between 1 and 3 on random.org. It got #2. Marauder/Warrior!
3) JOB #2, HEALER: White Mage – Astrologian – Scholar
Random.org chooses #3. Scholar! (I’ve heard this also will have me level up summoner, though I’m not sure what this means in the details. I’ll see.)
4) JOB #3, MELEE DPS: Rogue/Ninja – Dragoon – Pugilist/Monk – Samurai
Random.org chooses #4. Samurai!
5) FIRST JOB STORY: Marauder/Warrior (1-30) – Scholar (1-30) – Samurai (50-60)
Random.org chooses #3. Samurai (50-60)!
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Next time: Final Fantasy XIII!
