What's there to say about Final Fantasy XIV that you have not heard already. It's the critically aclaimed MMORPG, which has a free trial, and includes the entirety of A Real Reborn AND the award-winning Heavensward expansion up to level 60 with no restrictions on playtime... Bet you have not heard that one before. And maybe you haven't, this is the copy-pasta that's circulating the internet and yes, it's all true. I know of people who have sunk way over 1.000 hours into the free trial alone and believe it or not, still not being done with everything you can do in it.

With that said, what is Final Fantasy XIV? Maybe you've never heard of Final Fantasy, maybe you just never cared but with all the buzz the game is creating right now, you're curious. Well you know one thing, it's an MMO right? Weeel, yes and no. Don't get me wrong, it is by all definitions a full fledged MMORPG game, there are players everywhere and you can do all sorts of content with them. But hear me out, what if an MMORPG is an RPG first and an MMO second? Sounds wild, but that's more or less what this title is.

FF XIV is a very story focused game, it is a Final Fantasy game after all, spaning decades back, series of story rich JRPG games and XIV is very much a love letter to the series as a whole. This doesn't mean that someone who played exactly 0 Final Fantasy games before will not be able to enjoy this game, but if you did play any before, you can be sure you'll catch a refference somewhere. This game is largely played as a single player RPG and you'll be following a trail of Main Scenario Quests for the vast majority of your playtime, at least the couple hundred hours. What you're jumping into is a story that's been laid out 10-11 years ago and soon, with the release of Endwalker, will have its first big conclusion, an end of an arc and what a story it is. The story the game presents is so vast by now, that I wouldn't be able to make it justice in a simple steam review if I tried. Just know that getting to the end of any expansion doesn't mean, that you're at the end of a story, as every ending still leaves many questions unanswered and the main plot line is very much still ongoing and is waiting for some kind of conclusion. On your way, you will solve many major plot points and uncover many secrets, each step being crafted brilliantly and with love. It is not a stretch to say that XIV has the best FF story of all time and it could very well be the best story in a video game you might have ever seen, depending on your preferences and gaming history.

The start of the game is pretty slow, making it a perfect game for someone completely new to MMOs, veterans of the genre might find it a bit too much however. We start in 2.0 (A Realm Reborn), which follows the disasterous 1.0 launch, the original state of the game, which is no longer playable, there is an excelent documentary about this on youtube by Noclip if you want to find out more about that. They essentially destroyed the old world and worked it into the lore of this game. You're set into the world of Eorzea as an adventurer but quickly find out there's something special about you. Being put into the role as a "Warrior of Light" you get yourself into an organization called the "Scions of the 7th Dawn" which is fighting against Primals the beast tribes of Eorzea are summoning out of fear and desperation. You'll also quickly find out about these mysterious beings called "the Ascians" that are seemingly trying to turn the world to chaos. You and your fellow group of scions will have to overcome many trials, suffering losses along the way and uncovering the truth behind the planet as a whole.
A lot of the initial qustline is a setup, a lot of groundwork has to be laid in order to tell an epic story. A Realm Reborn also had to be made in a record time for the MMO genre and you'll no doubt notice the filler quests on your way through it. But to be honest, they don't differ much from any other MMO on the market, if you've played any before, this will be completely normal and expected. If this is your first MMO, you'll most likely be too lost in the wonders of the world to let it bother you. Despite that, many people quit somewhere through ARR, when they realize just how many quests are still before them before they can finally jump into the "end-game". Let me just tell you that, the end-game, should not be your goal with this game. I did not spoil anything from the story that you wouldn't learn very early on for a good reason. This game is about the journey, not the destination. Nobody should look at a quest list online and see a mountain of "chores" before them, it's all content very much worth experiencing for any RPG fan or fans of great storytelling. There's a quote I really like "You either quit through A Realm Reorn or you make it through heavensward and become a walking advertisement for the game".

So how's the gameplay? If you're familiar with tab-targeting MMOs, it's that. If not, it's what it sounds like. You press tab (or click on an enemy) to select what you're fighting and then you press spells/abilities on your hotbar to battle. There are many classes to play, fans of Final Fantasy games will instantly recognize many of them. Game features the "holy trinity" system for its battles, meaning you have your DPS, Tanks and Healers. Each class featuring a unique set of abilities and gameplay with them. Furthermore, you can unlock every class (called a Job in this game) on a single character and switch between them freely, outside of instanced content. Tired of tanking? That's fine, click a button and be a healer for a day. All on one character. On paper, it has a pretty long global cooldown (time you have to wait inbetween pressing abilities) which is 2.5s, however the combat being slow is a huge misconception spred by those, who never really made it anywhere in the game. As you level up, not only do some Jobs lower this global cooldown, every job also gets a plethora of off-global cooldown abilities which can be bressed inbetween your global-cooldown. If you want the fastest possible gameplay, you'd play a rogue (Ninja), you'll be playing keyboard piano. Yes, the game is pretty slow at the start and with every job you'll have to wait out this 2.5s cooldown but this game does a really good job at easing you into everything nice and steady. It won't take too long for you to realize it's actually a lot of busy work. Couple that with increasing encounter difficulty and suddenly having to perform your job correctly while also paying attention to the encounter, making sure you don't die becomes quite a challange.

There's honestly so much to talk about, the raids, the dungeons, the trials, the pvp, the mini-games, the crafting and gathering, the library of optional content, some end-game grinds and so much more. Remember I told you people are capable of sinking over 1.000 hours into the free-trial alone, which only includes the base game and the first expansion and still not have done everything the game has to offer. It helps that all old content is still in the game and kept relevant for one reason or another.

How is the end-game then?
Very, very varied. There's no single end-game here. There's the obvious hardcore approach, beating the hardest content in the game, obtaiing the best gear, or even DPS racing in community-kept online leaderboards. Fancy trying a 15 minute, hardcore boss-rush, the hardest content in the game with your group, one that requires hundreds of hours of progression? It's there. But there's also so much more. Some people collect fashion items and take screenshots all day. Some enjoy various community driven Role Play. Some just spend their days crafting and some do it all.

This is a very special game worth experiencing, truly one of a kind. A review on steam can't do it justice...

What's there to say about Final Fantasy XIV that you have not heard already. It's the critically aclaimed MMORPG, which has a free trial, and includes the entirety of A Real Reborn AND the award-winning Heavensward expansion up to level 60 with no restrictions on playtime... Bet you have not heard that one before. And maybe you haven't, this is the copy-pasta that's circulating the internet and yes, it's all true. I know of people who have sunk way over 1.000 hours into the free trial alone and believe it or not, still not being done with everything you can do in it. With that said, what is Final Fantasy XIV? Maybe you've never heard of Final Fantasy, maybe you just never cared but with all the buzz the game is creating right now, you're curious. Well you know one thing, it's an MMO right? Weeel, yes and no. Don't get me wrong, it is by all definitions a full fledged MMORPG game, there are players everywhere and you can do all sorts of content with them. But hear me out, what if an MMORPG is an RPG first and an MMO second? Sounds wild, but that's more or less what this title is. FF XIV is a very story focused game, it is a Final Fantasy game after all, spaning decades back, series of story rich JRPG games and XIV is very much a love letter to the series as a whole. This doesn't mean that someone who played exactly 0 Final Fantasy games before will not be able to enjoy this game, but if you did play any before, you can be sure you'll catch a refference somewhere. This game is largely played as a single player RPG and you'll be following a trail of Main Scenario Quests for the vast majority of your playtime, at least the couple hundred hours. What you're jumping into is a story that's been laid out 10-11 years ago and soon, with the release of Endwalker, will have its first big conclusion, an end of an arc and what a story it is. The story the game presents is so vast by now, that I wouldn't be able to make it justice in a simple steam review if I tried. Just know that getting to the end of any expansion doesn't mean, that you're at the end of a story, as every ending still leaves many questions unanswered and the main plot line is very much still ongoing and is waiting for some kind of conclusion. On your way, you will solve many major plot points and uncover many secrets, each step being crafted brilliantly and with love. It is not a stretch to say that XIV has the best FF story of all time and it could very well be the best story in a video game you might have ever seen, depending on your preferences and gaming history. The start of the game is pretty slow, making it a perfect game for someone completely new to MMOs, veterans of the genre might find it a bit too much however. We start in 2.0 (A Realm Reborn), which follows the disasterous 1.0 launch, the original state of the game, which is no longer playable, there is an excelent documentary about this on youtube by Noclip if you want to find out more about that. They essentially destroyed the old world and worked it into the lore of this game. You're set into the world of Eorzea as an adventurer but quickly find out there's something special about you. Being put into the role as a "Warrior of Light" you get yourself into an organization called the "Scions of the 7th Dawn" which is fighting against Primals the beast tribes of Eorzea are summoning out of fear and desperation. You'll also quickly find out about these mysterious beings called "the Ascians" that are seemingly trying to turn the world to chaos. You and your fellow group of scions will have to overcome many trials, suffering losses along the way and uncovering the truth behind the planet as a whole. A lot of the initial qustline is a setup, a lot of groundwork has to be laid in order to tell an epic story. A Realm Reborn also had to be made in a record time for the MMO genre and you'll no doubt notice the filler quests on your way through it. But to be honest, they don't differ much from any other MMO on the market, if you've played any before, this will be completely normal and expected. If this is your first MMO, you'll most likely be too lost in the wonders of the world to let it bother you. Despite that, many people quit somewhere through ARR, when they realize just how many quests are still before them before they can finally jump into the "end-game". Let me just tell you that, the end-game, should not be your goal with this game. I did not spoil anything from the story that you wouldn't learn very early on for a good reason. This game is about the journey, not the destination. Nobody should look at a quest list online and see a mountain of "chores" before them, it's all content very much worth experiencing for any RPG fan or fans of great storytelling. There's a quote I really like "You either quit through A Realm Reorn or you make it through heavensward and become a walking advertisement for the game". So how's the gameplay? If you're familiar with tab-targeting MMOs, it's that. If not, it's what it sounds like. You press tab (or click on an enemy) to select what you're fighting and then you press spells/abilities on your hotbar to battle. There are many classes to play, fans of Final Fantasy games will instantly recognize many of them. Game features the "holy trinity" system for its battles, meaning you have your DPS, Tanks and Healers. Each class featuring a unique set of abilities and gameplay with them. Furthermore, you can unlock every class (called a Job in this game) on a single character and switch between them freely, outside of instanced content. Tired of tanking? That's fine, click a button and be a healer for a day. All on one character. On paper, it has a pretty long global cooldown (time you have to wait inbetween pressing abilities) which is 2.5s, however the combat being slow is a huge misconception spred by those, who never really made it anywhere in the game. As you level up, not only do some Jobs lower this global cooldown, every job also gets a plethora of off-global cooldown abilities which can be bressed inbetween your global-cooldown. If you want the fastest possible gameplay, you'd play a rogue (Ninja), you'll be playing keyboard piano. Yes, the game is pretty slow at the start and with every job you'll have to wait out this 2.5s cooldown but this game does a really good job at easing you into everything nice and steady. It won't take too long for you to realize it's actually a lot of busy work. Couple that with increasing encounter difficulty and suddenly having to perform your job correctly while also paying attention to the encounter, making sure you don't die becomes quite a challange. There's honestly so much to talk about, the raids, the dungeons, the trials, the pvp, the mini-games, the crafting and gathering, the library of optional content, some end-game grinds and so much more. Remember I told you people are capable of sinking over 1.000 hours into the free-trial alone, which only includes the base game and the first expansion and still not have done everything the game has to offer. It helps that all old content is still in the game and kept relevant for one reason or another. How is the end-game then? Very, very varied. There's no single end-game here. There's the obvious hardcore approach, beating the hardest content in the game, obtaiing the best gear, or even DPS racing in community-kept online leaderboards. Fancy trying a 15 minute, hardcore boss-rush, the hardest content in the game with your group, one that requires hundreds of hours of progression? It's there. But there's also so much more. Some people collect fashion items and take screenshots all day. Some enjoy various community driven Role Play. Some just spend their days crafting and some do it all. This is a very special game worth experiencing, truly one of a kind. A review on steam can't do it justice...