As Final Fantasy XIV’s expansion ‘Shadowbringers’ works its way through post-release content, there are still a bunch of reasons to play, but there are several key reasons you should know and why you should give the game a try.

Since its earliest days, I’ve been a fan of the Final Fantasy franchise, I even dove into Final Fantasy XI during the height of my time with World of Warcraft. In recent days, I’ve been digging around throughout the community, finding out why players play the game, what keeps them playing, and what the key reasons others should give the game a try because of.

After finding consistent feedback, I decided to ask myself the same questions: Why do I play? Why do I continue to play? Is the cost worth the experience? What’s the post-game experience like? Believe it or not: I knew the answers. Now, it’s time for you to know those very reasons, all of which are actually quite simple, but none-the-less, great reasons to jump on in today.

Final Fantasy XIV has an absolutely well-written story and it’s a very social experience

When it comes to any MMORPG, the first thing you expect is a social experience. From the beginning to whenever the end comes, Final Fantasy XIV is all about the community, the story you want to enjoy, and what you can do to enjoy it. That means you will make friends along the way across entire datacenters, giving you a chance to become a part of rather large experience, one where over 20+ million players have come to enjoy.

You’ll get to know story regulars including the character you design, the job you decide to start as (we’ll touch on classes aka Jobs here shortly) and even how New Game+ actually works. The story itself isn’t short, but it doesn’t involve just the main campaign. There are beautifully written Job (role/class) stories, there are some astonishingly well-done Beast Tribe (faction) stories, and even some storylines that tie into some of the raids within the game.

There are literally several hundred hours, if not thousands of hours, worth the story to enjoy. But there’s also New Game+ for those of you who want to re-experience the story, getting a chance to go back and experience story elements you haven’t experienced before.

Final Fantasy XIV doesn’t require you to play multiple characters in order to enjoy every Job in the game

One of the things that stands out about this MMO isn’t that Square is going to require to make a dozen or so alternate characters in order to enjoy the game. Rather, they only ask you to enjoy the one, which is a great option for fans to enjoy. This little route gives you the chance to experience every single Job whether it’s healer, tank, DPS, or even a crafter or gatherer that you might enjoy.

While this does open up a plethora of Jobs (classes) to choose from, you’ll find that even more of them will open up the more you play, some requiring you to progress through the “main scenario quests” or MSQs for short. You’ll find that none of them play the same either. Each Job requiring a bit different knowledge of how one focuses in comparison to the other.

Want to be able to burst heal and allow your party members to absorb some damage, making some wiggle room for mistakes possible? An Arcanist turned Scholar might be your best bet, which won’t happen until you hit level 30, which is where some (not all) jobs evolve into their truer form. Want to allow for a massive area of effect heals, throwing healing overtime on your party while also having a chance to burn enemies down? Conjurer (turns into White Mage at 30) is your other best bet.

But there are limitless possibilities and fortunately, you can try out every job you want whenever you want, you’ll just have to go to their respective cities in order to unlock them. It’s quite promising and it will keep the overall experience rather fun and unique.

Final Fantasy XIV’s end-game content is always changing and getting bigger

If you’re one of those that likes to look forward to experiencing end-game content, you won’t be getting left without anything to do. Final Fantasy XIV is rich when it comes to that portion of the game. It doesn’t hold back in the fact that end-game raids and the content will constantly be a part of the game’s overall design process in the patches following up the post-game release.

At the time of writing, we’re still waiting to see new parts to the ongoing raid’s called Eden and YoRHa: The Dark Apocalypse. They’re both incomplete at this time, which is fine, it gives everyone a chance to get through the content they want, work on their gear, and even help others through those raids.

Even then, previous content from previous expansions and content drops remain highly sought after as players will still go through raids such as the Crystal Tower, Alexander, Omega, and many others that you’ll have a chance to discover and enjoy.

Final Fantasy XIV’s community is one of the best to be apart of and there’s no shame in that

One of the things I’ve come to realize is: Communities are what makes an MMO or any online title for that matter. The better the community, the better your experience, which is what makes Final Fantasy XIV one of the few that can stand tall and show the world what it has to offer and why the game keeps breaking all-time records for itself and its fellow MMOs.

As someone who has been through numerous clans, guilds, etc, on MMOs such as World of Warcraft, Warfame, and The Elder Scrolls Online, I can tell you this: They all offer a unique experience. I’ll openly admit, I love MMO’s and their communities. Just like any game, you’ll find a few spoiled eggs out of the many others out there, but they don’t ruin the experience.

Final Fantasy XIV has been a title that welcomes new players, many Free Company’s (FC’s, also their name for Guild/Clan) even the one I’m in now called Azure Infinitum, teaches new players the ropes and will help them have the best experience yet. You can even find social media groups that are absolutely awesome towards new players and go out of their way to ensure those new players feel welcomed the moment they join.

Just remember, how you treat others, is how you will be treated by others whether it’s in a game or not, so what are you waiting for? Go, give this a try.

Even Final Fantasy XIV wants you to feel like you’ve never been left behind

Once upon a time, I’d have said that I wouldn’t join an MMO due to just how far the game has come. For some, Final Fantasy XIV can seem a bit overwhelming. You have three story arcs to clear, dozens upon dozens of quests, side quests, etc, in order to get to the real meat of the game. Actually not true. Square Enix has done a great job of ensuring that newcomers don’t ever feel left behind.

They’ve made the game more accessible than ever before. They’ve made it so you can track your quests, the game will show you where to go the moment you begin a quest, and the entire experience is up for you to experience how you want. While that does sound like you can go anywhere in the game you want at any time, that’s not the case, but you will get there in due time.

I’ve run into new players who have chomped away, quickly going through the campaign as fast as they can, clearing it with the help of our FC’s members or friends on a different server within the same Data Center itself. Some people, who I’ve talked to, have even cleared the main story in as little as two months’ time, only playing a few hours here or there, but not letting themselves get distracted from what they were doing.

Sound bad? It’s really not. I’ve taken my own hiatus’, coming back after several months gone only to find I’m not too far behind my friends and cohorts, quickly catching up to them in a matter of hours and once more delving back into end-game content ranging from raids to daily roulettes (duty finder for raids, dungeons, and even trials). Again, there’s something for everyone, even you diehard PvP fanatics who want to put your skills to the test against other players.

I hope to see you in Eorzea, fellow adventurers whether you are new or old

Look, I know I’ve only caused a ripple to tear across the surface of what Final Fantasy XIV has to offer, but there’s a reason you’ll find that David and I have opted for it to be one of our primary games we stream on the Official Blast Away the Game Review Facebook page.

We find it to be calm, enjoyable, and one that we love to share with our fans. While there are certainly]] other titles we will be streaming in the future, this is one we certainly enjoy and one we hope to see you join us in down the road.

Those of you looking to give the game a try can do so today for free through the PlayStation Store, Steam or simply by visiting the official Final Fantasy XIV website and giving it a go today.

About the Writer(s):

Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the borders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, Anime, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. You can find him over on Twitter or Facebook.

Share this: Facebook

Twitter

Tumblr

Reddit



Like this: Like Loading...