Earlier this year, a friend of mine recommended that I play Final Fantasy 14 (FFXIV). After several days of persistence, my friend convinced me to download the trial and test it out. I had only lasted an hour on the free trial before I was fully sold on the game. This MMORPG has everything I’ve wanted and more from a game.

It’s been several months since the first time I started playing and I’ve racked up a couple thousand hours since. I’ve completely fallen for the game and I decided to write up a post that covers five of the many reasons why I can’t put FFXIV down. 

What Is Final Fantasy 14

FFXIV is a MMORPG that takes place in the Final Fantasy world. Players can team up to run dungeons, trials, and raids together and slay powerful foes. There is plenty of PvE and PvP content, as well as a very in-depth crafting and gathering system. And if that isn’t enough, players can even purchase a plot of land and build their own homes in player-owned neighborhoods and decorate them to their liking.

FFXIV offers content for a wide range of players, from those who want super sweaty raid boss fights, to players who simply want to dress their character up and participate in fashion contests. All of this content is built on the back of a wonderfully fleshed-out story told through the Main Scenario Quest.

Most MMORPG games are strong in a small handful of areas, whereas FFXIV is strong in nearly all of its content. A player can enjoy FFXIV in their own way through gameplay that they personally enjoy. If you don’t feel like running dungeons in FFXIV, you’ll have a hoard of other content to explore. Here are some other activities that you can sink hundreds of hours into:

• Triple Triad: A collectible card game to play against NPCs and players. There are hundreds of cards to collect and different rulesets to master.
• Island Sanctuary: Inherit and manage your own personal island. You can grow crops and raise fauna here. Yes, you get your own island in FFXIV.
• Golden Saucer: A massive casino where players can play minigames and events together to earn dazzling rewards. You can race chocobos, play Mahjong, and even battle minions in Lord of Verminion at the Golden Saucer.
• Palace Of The Dead: A classic dungeon crawling game mode that challenges players to level through hundreds of floors in search of great rewards. A similar game mode, Heaven on High, exists to serve even more of a challenge for those who have bested PotD.

What makes FFXIV different from other MMORPGs is mostly a matter of taste. For me, FFXIV clicked fast for me since I’ve played several Final Fantasy titles. Being able to run around in another fantasy world with my own chocobo was enough to earn my monthly sub. 

FFXIV’s Combat is Simple and Satisfying

I wouldn’t consider myself an expert on determining what ‘good’ combat is in video games but I do find FFXIV’s combat fun. The combat is simple enough for inexperienced MMORPG players to get their toes wet while being complex enough to keep seasoned players engaged. You’ll face many different battle scenarios that demand you to use your job to the best of its abilities or you’ll risk getting your entire party wiped out. 

What really sells me on FFXIV is the ability to progress with any of the 20 different combat jobs all on one character. This allows players to try out different classes and swap between them instantly as they see fit. Being able to swap jobs without starting the game over is convenient for me, especially when I need a break from tanking.

While you have many different classes and roles to choose from, you’ll have plenty of prey to hunt down as well. Not only is there plenty of diversity regarding combat classes, there are several different combat scenarios you’ll find yourself in. Here are some common areas where you’ll find yourself unsheathing your greatsword:

• Dungeons: FFXIV offers dungeons that can be completed in 20-30 minutes that you can run with three other players. 
• Trials: Trials can be summarized as tough single-boss encounters that you’ll face in a party of eight players. These fights are more grand scale than dungeon bosses but make for quick, challenging, and replayable fun. 
• Raids: Raids are considered FFXIV’s endgame content and come in several different flavors of difficulty, party size, and mechanics. 
• Quests: Most of the quests featured in FFXIV will place you in situations where violence is the only option.
• Hunting: Some game content requires you to go out and hunt down specific mobs in the world in exchange for exp or crafting materials. There is also a hunting log that you can complete for each combat job available for bonus exp. 
• FATEs: Full Active Time Events (FATEs) are open quests located in various zones in Eorzea. You can perform escort missions, take down heavy bosses, or protect objectives with other players by joining a FATE. Completing FATEs offers a bounty of rewards and exp, not to mention they are always great to scratch the itch to kill something.
• PVP: Players can fight against each other in several PvP modes. You can have 5v5 objective-based fun in Crystalline Conflict, 72-player battlegrounds in Frontline, 24v24 strategy combat in Rival Wings, and even more!

While this list doesn’t cover everything that’s combat-related in FFXIV, it does cover a majority of what you’ll encounter. If you like to steamroll hundreds of mobs and get loot and exp, you’ll have plenty of skulls to crush in this MMORPG. Violence aside, what if you are feeling more peaceful and crafty?

Gold Standard Crafting and Gathering Mechanics

I’m easy to please when it comes to gaming, and I've been very satisfied with the crafting and gathering in FFXIV. One of my current favorite pastimes in Eorzea is throwing on a podcast and mining ore for hours. Eventually, I'll smelt down the ore and either use it for crafting or selling for a nice chunk of gil. 

While most MMOs offer some level of basic crafting and gathering systems, FFXIV stands out with a more in-depth approach. Instead of just pushing a button to mine some ore, you’ll be presented with different skills you can use to gather ore more efficiently. There are multiple values that you can manipulate while gathering at item nodes that allow players to optimize their gathering. 

The crafting mechanics are just as in-depth as the gathering systems. Once you’ve collected items from a gathering node, you can then use them in crafting recipes. To craft, you’ll enter the crafting interface, select a recipe that you have unlocked, and you’ll initiate the crafting ‘minigame’. During the crafting sequence, you must determine how to use your skills to craft the item without breaking it.

FFXIV offers these complex systems for players to optimize their yields from crafting and gathering while having additional immersion in the process. The best part, however, is that if you are pressed for time, you can ignore these systems. You can auto-gather at nodes for minimal effort, but you’ll miss out on massive gains if you know your miner or botanist skills well. As for crafting, you can auto-synthesize items as long as you have the materials and have manually crafted the recipe before, but you’ll have little control over the quality or success rate.

There are three gathering classes and eight crafting classes that you cap out at level 90. Each of these classes has their own storylines and quests attached to them. It’s pretty easy to see how addicting this game can be when you’ve got several hours of content focused on non-combat roles. 

Character Customization That I Actually Care About

I’ve never been one to care much for what my character in a game looks like, as long as my gear has good stats. This changed for me when I learned how addicting it was to use glamour in FFXIV. Glamour is a way to make your current gear appear as another without losing the benefits of the worn article. FFXIV has a massive amount of customization available to players.

While you can customize your armor with thousands of different styles and colors, you can also stand out in other ways. I like to collect minions, which are little NPC characters that will walk or fly around you wherever you go. There are hundreds of these in the game and it feels very satisfying every time you add one to your collection. You can even battle these minions in Lord of Verminion.

Mounts are another way players can show off their achievements and share their cosmetic taste with others. Plus, you get your own chocobo as a mount that you can customize with different colors and bardings. Nothing feels better and looks cooler than riding into battle on the back of a dragon, so grabbing the coolest mounts is one of my many time and gil sinks.

Why does customization matter so much in FFXIV? Aside from taking some interesting screenshots, it’s a great way for players to express themselves and feel more immersed in Eorzea. This, and the fact that your character is in nearly every cutscene in the game, so why not look awesome while you listen to a villain's monologue? 

A World That You Want To Save

Final Fantasy games are known for their epic stories and complex characters and FFXIV does not differ from the other FF titles. The Main Scenario Quest, or MSQ, is a long spiraling tale that players must forge their way through to unlock more zones and content. It weaves through several of the game's expansions and wraps the world up in a blanket of deep lore.

Going into further detail, FFXIV’s story plays like a visual novel. While returning fans to the Final Fantasy series expect a story in this format, it can catch some unsuspecting players off guard. Coming from WoW, I was expecting to blow through a mediocre story about saving the world for a couple of days and then start endgame content. I was pleasantly surprised to find myself enthralled with FFXIV’s story which grounded me further into the world of Eorzea. 

You’ll have to play through the entire story or use a story skip to reach endgame content. While this can be considered a con to some players, if you stick through the story, you’ll be rewarded with some unforgettable climactic moments. All in all, if you care about the story of the MMOs that you play, FFXIV offers an unforgettable tale.

An Award-Winning Community

FFXIV snatched up the award for having the best community at the Golden Joystick Awards for the second year in a row as of 2022 according to Gamesradar. This MMORPGs community is known for being extremely nice and helpful compared to other MMOs (looking at you, WoW). While you can still come across some undesirable players, you’ll more often run into players who are friendly and helpful. 

One of the most notable things that stood out to me when I first started playing FFXIV was how patient the majority of the players were. I still sucked as a tank when I first started playing, but I was given some expert advice by random players that I have met. I’ve been able to establish stronger friendships in this game than in any other multiplayer game due to how approachable everyone is. 

FFXIV’s community is generally really accommodating to new players (sprouts). If you want a more relaxed MMO environment, you won’t find a more welcoming community of players. The community makes the game much more approachable for casual gamers as well as people who have never played a game before.

Final Thoughts on FFXIV

FFXIV is a great MMORPG to try out if you are looking for a new game to get invested in. You’ll experience a unique take on the genre that might be a better fit for you than other MMORPGs. Across all of the content available in the game, you’ll always find something engaging and entertaining to do. If World of Warcraft isn’t quite scratching the itch, it's worth your time to check out FFXIV.

Don’t take just my word for it, try it yourself! FFXIV offers a free-to-play trial where you can play through a decently sized portion of the first two expansions. You’ll have limited access to the game while playing the trial, but you’ll be able to get a solid feel for the combat, world, and other mechanics. You can try it out completely for free at https://freetrial.finalfantasyxiv.com/na/.

More FFXIV Content Soon!

Now that I've finally gotten into a good groove with my blog, I'll be uploading several FFXIV related posts. I spend quite a bit of time playing this game, so I know quite a bit about it. There are several online resources and a large community that provides valuable information about the game, so my guides will be more in-depth and will cover content that I personally find hard to find reliable info on.

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Catch you all in Eorzea,

~ Greysyns