On July 2, 2024, Dawntrail was released, marking the sixth expansion of the popular MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV. But which of the expansions is actually the best? This question is answered by MeinMMO editor Alexander Schürlein with his Power Ranking.
In Final Fantasy XIV, it’s easy to spend several hundred hours (or even several thousand) immersed in the game. Especially after Endwalker, the bombastic finale of the saga surrounding Hydaelyn and Zodiark, which had developed over many years, I couldn’t help but take a nearly nostalgic look back.
Our Warrior of Light (and Darkness) has experienced so much already. Countless battles and conflicts fought. Peoples, cities, and even worlds saved. Faced evil forces. And time and again, he has grown beyond himself.
During the adventures, players were offered numerous cool content and battles, in which you could easily lose track of time. Some expansions were simply stronger overall and captivated me more deeply for various reasons.
Below, I present my personal Power Ranking, detailing all the expansions and the reasons why they hold a special place in my heart. Or why they perhaps didn’t captivate me as much. Feel free to share in the comments whether you agree with my opinion or if your ranking looks completely different.
WARNING: The ranking contains some story spoilers. So if you haven’t completely finished a story, skip the corresponding ranking part if you don’t want to be spoiled.
Rank 6 – A Realm Reborn
Even though my first contact with Final Fantasy XIV was through A Realm Reborn, I must say in hindsight that the base game doesn’t necessarily provide the most exciting introduction. The main questline was somewhat drawn out, nerve-wracking, and simply too long in some places. Yes, it had its really cool highlights, but somehow too few, flanked by tedious phases.
Although around 13% of the quests from ARR have been removed and the base game has therefore been significantly shortened, it still feels somewhat … long even today. This is only improved by the fact that you can now fly in all areas of the base game quite quickly.
However, the trials with the Primals, which you already knew from many other FF parts, were definitely cool back then. I also loved the raid series “The Twisted Shadows of Bahamut.” The nature of the collaboration with other players was simply different back then.
Today, unfortunately, it’s hard to find people to experience the raids. You either have to organize players through the Party Finder or other means. Or you go in solo at a higher level without a level adjustment and check it out. But you can also just convince your friends… uh … persuade them.
Rank 5 – Stormblood
Similar to ARR, I also felt about Stormblood. I WANTED to like it. Honestly. But as soon as you discovered who Ida really was (and after the truly sad and dramatic death of Papalymo), the story surrounding Ala Mhigo somehow failed to captivate me.
I actually liked the framework and premise in Kugane, but it lacked a bit of depth for me. Perhaps it was also because you were less of a protagonist and more of a supporter in a war. Or it was the whole war setting that somehow lacked a bit of love.
Additionally, the areas of Stormblood didn’t really convince me. I missed the wow effect that I usually had in the other expansions. The highlights in the story also didn’t engage me as much as in the other addons.
However, I found Eureka to be very fun at the time. The system with the various areas and elements was just enjoyable and provided many funny evenings for my friends and me. The raid series around Alpha and Omega was also fun on both normal and high difficulty, and often left our group sweating. Let’s just not talk about the Alliance raids. I still can’t do math.
On the next page, we continue with ranks 4 and 3 of the Power Ranking for the expansions of Final Fantasy XIV.
