Ah, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. What an MMORPG it is. Though, like many MMOs, it may be far from flawless, it still is a lot of fun to play since they ditched the atrocity that was the original FFXIV. Though some people may be sceptic at the idea of a subscription-based MMORPG, I didn't see many other MMOs where a sub fee was actually worth it.
To further convince you to pick up your blade and fight alongside many others, let me show you both the strengths and weaknesses of this AMAZING game.
- - - - - - - - Presentation - - - - - - - -
Be forewarned: You might need a somewhat good computer to run this game at a constant 60 FPS, even on the lowest settings, seeing as it is a Square Enix game and they ALWAYS focus on insanely good graphics.
You rarely come across two areas that feel the same, even within the same raid or dungeon, like e.g. the Crystal Tower gives off a calming vibe at first, before you reach the upper areas where it quickly increases in tension.
Furthermore, there are a lot of different music tracks that very rarely feel out of place and GUARANTEE there will always be at least one track you will love. Also, whenever they DO feel out of place, it still feels fitting due to the situation presented.
- - - - - - - - Gameplay - - - - - - - -
Since FFXIV also has a PS4 support, you can feel free to play with either keyboard and mouse like any other PC MMO, or with a gamepad for the console game feeling. And while some people might think the controls for an MMORPG couldn't work properly with a gamepad, it works WAY better than you may expect, so there's hardly a disadvantage in that.
Actually fighting feels a little slow, but satisfying. Every single job class feels drastically different from one another, even if they fulfill the same role in a group, e.g. the Marauder/Warrior feels very offensive for a tank compared to the far more defensive Gladiator/Paladin.
Also, you don't feel compelled to play through the story multiple times to learn and master each playstyle, since the system in FFXIV allows you to play multiple classes on the same character, not to mention carry over certain skills from one class to another, which gives a very rewarding feel to every single level-up you gain. In fact, FFXIV ARR even rewards playing as a different class than you started off as with a slight EXP boost, just so the level grind will go a tiny bit faster.
Also, whenever you go into a dungeon, you rarely feel overpowered, since the system will lower you down to a certain level/equipment cap if needed so you can run through a dungeon hundreds of times while still maintaining a certain challenge to it.
- - - - - - - - Community - - - - - - - -
The community within the game is way more cooperative and friendly than you would expect from a subscription-based MMORPG, though expect a few disappointed tanks or healers to leave the dungeon prematurely because of low-level content.
Rarely do you find a toxic or salty player, seeing as the majority are helpful and patient towards newcomers, and even if you find one leaving a dungeon prematurely, you can always search for a replacement via the duty finder.
- - - - - - - - End-game - - - - - - - -
With an expansion as popular as Heavensward and soon Stormblood, you would expect the end-game around the old level cap of 50 to be left in the dust, but nope. Even for people without the expansion, there is still a ton of end-game content like raids, crafting, gathering, arena PvP and the procedurally generated dungeon "Palace of the Dead". Furthermore, there are Hard Mode variants of a lot of bosses, like Ifrit, Shiva and Leviathan, so you can push the skills you've learned and honed to their very limits, which, if you aren't prepared, can take quite a bit of time to get down.
Crafting and gathering, while boring in most MMOs, feel like their own skills to be honed, since it isn't just "click button to gain item". Instead, like with the combat classes, you get a lot of skills to put to use and a lot of equipment to boost your chances of success. It even rewards the optimal use of skills by raising a crafted or collected item to High Quality status, which increases the stats or buffs an item or equipment piece gives you.
- - - - - - - - Expansion - - - - - - - -
Heavensward can be accessed after you've completed the main story questline from A Realm Reborn, giving you a HUGE new area to explore ranging from the snowy city-state of Ishgard over the mountains of Dravania up to the floating islands of Abalathia, as well as three new jobs to play with: Dark Knight, Machinist and Astrologian. All three of these jobs start off on level 30, making it much less compelling to give them a try and level them up for end-game use. Every job class gains 5 new skills through level-up from 50 to 60, sometimes helping whatever weaknesses they may have had, sometimes completely switching up the way you play them.
The story of Heavensward is quite a bit more serious in tone, but this little serious tone was admittedly needed with a conflict like that, and it gives the player a few moments to breathe inbetween the fighting, making it much easier for the player to adjust to the shift in tone.
In terms of end-game, the expansion has a lot to offer, ranging from the weekly challenges of Khloe Aliapoh over challenging the sealed primals of the Warring Triad up to the raid line that is the gigantic mechanical behemoth called Alexander, all of which have the potential to reward you with superb rewards like rare items and powerful equipment.
- - - - - - - - Verdict - - - - - - - -
Gameplay: 8.5/10 Some minor nitpicks like the slow fighting system, but still very good
Presentation: 9/10 Gorgeous graphics and amazing soundtrack, as to be expected from a Square Enix game of this scale
Difficulty: varies depending on dungeon/job class/group composition
Final rating: 8.5/10 A must-play for any Final Fantasy fan and/or MMORPG player

Ah, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. What an MMORPG it is. Though, like many MMOs, it may be far from flawless, it still is a lot of fun to play since they ditched the atrocity that was the original FFXIV. Though some people may be sceptic at the idea of a subscription-based MMORPG, I didn't see many other MMOs where a sub fee was actually worth it. To further convince you to pick up your blade and fight alongside many others, let me show you both the strengths and weaknesses of this AMAZING game. - - - - - - - - Presentation - - - - - - - - Be forewarned: You might need a somewhat good computer to run this game at a constant 60 FPS, even on the lowest settings, seeing as it is a Square Enix game and they ALWAYS focus on insanely good graphics. You rarely come across two areas that feel the same, even within the same raid or dungeon, like e.g. the Crystal Tower gives off a calming vibe at first, before you reach the upper areas where it quickly increases in tension. Furthermore, there are a lot of different music tracks that very rarely feel out of place and GUARANTEE there will always be at least one track you will love. Also, whenever they DO feel out of place, it still feels fitting due to the situation presented. - - - - - - - - Gameplay - - - - - - - - Since FFXIV also has a PS4 support, you can feel free to play with either keyboard and mouse like any other PC MMO, or with a gamepad for the console game feeling. And while some people might think the controls for an MMORPG couldn't work properly with a gamepad, it works WAY better than you may expect, so there's hardly a disadvantage in that. Actually fighting feels a little slow, but satisfying. Every single job class feels drastically different from one another, even if they fulfill the same role in a group, e.g. the Marauder/Warrior feels very offensive for a tank compared to the far more defensive Gladiator/Paladin. Also, you don't feel compelled to play through the story multiple times to learn and master each playstyle, since the system in FFXIV allows you to play multiple classes on the same character, not to mention carry over certain skills from one class to another, which gives a very rewarding feel to every single level-up you gain. In fact, FFXIV ARR even rewards playing as a different class than you started off as with a slight EXP boost, just so the level grind will go a tiny bit faster. Also, whenever you go into a dungeon, you rarely feel overpowered, since the system will lower you down to a certain level/equipment cap if needed so you can run through a dungeon hundreds of times while still maintaining a certain challenge to it. - - - - - - - - Community - - - - - - - - The community within the game is way more cooperative and friendly than you would expect from a subscription-based MMORPG, though expect a few disappointed tanks or healers to leave the dungeon prematurely because of low-level content. Rarely do you find a toxic or salty player, seeing as the majority are helpful and patient towards newcomers, and even if you find one leaving a dungeon prematurely, you can always search for a replacement via the duty finder. - - - - - - - - End-game - - - - - - - - With an expansion as popular as Heavensward and soon Stormblood, you would expect the end-game around the old level cap of 50 to be left in the dust, but nope. Even for people without the expansion, there is still a ton of end-game content like raids, crafting, gathering, arena PvP and the procedurally generated dungeon "Palace of the Dead". Furthermore, there are Hard Mode variants of a lot of bosses, like Ifrit, Shiva and Leviathan, so you can push the skills you've learned and honed to their very limits, which, if you aren't prepared, can take quite a bit of time to get down. Crafting and gathering, while boring in most MMOs, feel like their own skills to be honed, since it isn't just "click button to gain item". Instead, like with the combat classes, you get a lot of skills to put to use and a lot of equipment to boost your chances of success. It even rewards the optimal use of skills by raising a crafted or collected item to High Quality status, which increases the stats or buffs an item or equipment piece gives you. - - - - - - - - Expansion - - - - - - - - Heavensward can be accessed after you've completed the main story questline from A Realm Reborn, giving you a HUGE new area to explore ranging from the snowy city-state of Ishgard over the mountains of Dravania up to the floating islands of Abalathia, as well as three new jobs to play with: Dark Knight, Machinist and Astrologian. All three of these jobs start off on level 30, making it much less compelling to give them a try and level them up for end-game use. Every job class gains 5 new skills through level-up from 50 to 60, sometimes helping whatever weaknesses they may have had, sometimes completely switching up the way you play them. The story of Heavensward is quite a bit more serious in tone, but this little serious tone was admittedly needed with a conflict like that, and it gives the player a few moments to breathe inbetween the fighting, making it much easier for the player to adjust to the shift in tone. In terms of end-game, the expansion has a lot to offer, ranging from the weekly challenges of Khloe Aliapoh over challenging the sealed primals of the Warring Triad up to the raid line that is the gigantic mechanical behemoth called Alexander, all of which have the potential to reward you with superb rewards like rare items and powerful equipment. - - - - - - - - Verdict - - - - - - - - Gameplay: 8.5/10 Some minor nitpicks like the slow fighting system, but still very good Presentation: 9/10 Gorgeous graphics and amazing soundtrack, as to be expected from a Square Enix game of this scale Difficulty: varies depending on dungeon/job class/group composition Final rating: 8.5/10 A must-play for any Final Fantasy fan and/or MMORPG player