The summer of 2019 was hot for Final Fantasy XIV thanks to the next expansion “Shadowbringers”, which brought dramatic twists to the MMORPG’s story. Our guest author Grand Chancellor faces the demons of his past and gives Final Fantasy XIV a second chance: Is it worth starting Final Fantasy XIV in 2021?
“They say everyone deserves a second chance,” he thought to himself.
His gaze wandered over the dust-covered cases of past loves. His hand reached for the slightly yellowed DVD box of the Special Edition. His fingers gently glided over the insert. An in-game code for the Onion Helm, would Square Enix still remember him?
He didn’t even dare to think about it. The sting of bittersweet disappointment was too deep. The memory of those events faded only slowly. “Foolish, old man!” shot through his mind.
Once again, he had embarked on an adventure and was reminded of old times. Not those filled with suffering hours. No. He remembered those hours full of joy and dedication… But was it real love this time or just a rekindled flash in the pan from the ashes of a long-burned passion?
In 2010, Final Fantasy XIV was a bad purchase – What would it be like today?
It sounds like the beginning of a penny novel, yet it is a cheesy description of my tragic encounter with Final Fantasy XIV. Before me lies the original version from 2010. And only with horror can I recall the disastrous state this MMO was in at that time.
Apart from the never-ending cast bars, endlessly repeating textures, and missing basic functions, such as jumping (the space bar opened the chat), Final Fantasy XIV was nearly unplayable at that time.
Seven years later, the game is an unexpected success story, with its own two-hour YouTube documentary about the phoenix rising from the ashes. Incredibly, I had banished the game to my shelf as a painful bad purchase since release.
As the positive voices grew and the success showed that quite a bit must have changed since then, FFXIV rekindled my interest.
What does it feel like to jump into an MMO full of content seven years later? What is it like to play with others who have three, four, or even five years of lead time? Can that go well?
And more importantly, will Final Fantasy XIV erase the deep emotional scars it gave me? This and much more is reported by the Grand Chancellor in his travel diary: “The Fat Cat.”
The Trial version as an entry drug
My plan to face the demons of my past is helped by the fact that FFXIV offers an extensive trial version, allowing players to play unlimited until level 60. After that, a subscription is required.
You read that right, Final Fantasy XIV is one of the few MMOs that can still afford a subscription system. There is a shop, but its contents are neither game-relevant nor otherwise prominent. It goes so far that it can’t even be accessed from within the game, but only through the account website.
There are hardly any excuses not to have at least checked out the game.
The character editor
The character editor is solid and to my delight, Final Fantasy XIV also supports my ultrawide resolution of 2560×1080. A character is quickly created. However, choosing classes, as usual, is not so easy for me; ultimately, I decide on a warrior.
Fortunately, the editor offers a lot of options, though overly experimental creations are not possible. Bust sizes remain within realistic limits, and pink warriors are not something to be feared in this MMO.
I step into Eorzea, the world of the game, for the first time and am surprised. For an MMO of nearly biblical age, FFXIV appears almost sexy. Even with a release in 2020, I would hardly criticize the graphics. Of course, it’s not Black Desert Online, but very few games have aged as well as Final Fantasy XIV.
The first steps
I am welcomed, as expected, by a cutscene, which I watch with anticipation, not yet knowing what to expect. After a few dialogues, I click through, and into the fray… Oh wait, the dialogue was probably not finished.
Well, on to the action! Cutscene! Dialogue! Selection dialogue? That came unexpectedly! So I get to make some choices? To get it straight: The answer is: No. These decisions do not have any real impact. They are presumably meant to strengthen the bond with the game character.
So I continue clicking happily through dialogue boxes. Very few dialogues are voiced, even though I feel that the longer I play, the more frequent the voiceovers become. Video scenes can also be skipped, but I would not recommend it to anyone. Often, dramatic twists are conveyed in those videos.
Those who want to play Final Fantasy XIV should come prepared with time and patience.
But enough, let’s jump straight into the action, right into the thick of it.
An MMORPG that can be played well with a controller
Finally, I have arrived at the tutorial and learn the deeper meaning of the “W” key. I am impressed! No, not by the usual WSAD controls, but by the offer to play the game with a game controller.
A later attempt in the game showed that Final Fantasy XIV implements this control excellently, but also highlights the limitations and difficulties of this solution. A controller does not always do justice to the multitude of possibilities or requires detours that do not occur with a mouse and keyboard.
However, whoever wants will find FFXIV to be one of the best controller-optimized MMOs currently available on the market.
My first quest leads me straight to the local tavern “The Drowned Sorrow.” At this point, I must briefly note how brilliantly the localization of the texts has been done. The game becomes more likeable to me by the minute.
300 hours later: I treated myself to a subscription
After nearly 300 hours of gameplay, I have tried various classes, or jobs as they are called in Final Fantasy XIV. I have slain dragons, fought wars, formed alliances, fished, trained chocobos, a fat cat accompanying me, and countless more.
Listing all those adventures and possibilities would exceed the scope. At least the question is settled whether I could forgive FFXIV. My subscription is paid for a year!
But hand on heart, what was it like to start anew in a game that has existed for so long? Well, challenging and wonderful at the same time. This, however, is less due to the massive amounts of content than to Final Fantasy XIV itself.
There are beginner tutorials, but these are limited to a few well-known mechanics that MMO players usually already know. Aside from this introduction, it is up to the player to inform themselves.
Be it by reading all quest texts and completing every side quest or, as in my case, by consulting appropriate guides and videos from the internet. Final Fantasy XIV often goes three to five steps further than other MMOs.
One must acclimate to Final Fantasy XIV
One example: If you want to buy something at the auction house, that’s easy as pie once you find the market board, which is available in every larger city. But heaven help you if you want to offer your own goods.
Here’s the short version: Talk to an NPC, create a retainer in the character editor, give it a personality and a job, then find a sales bell, call your retainer, and give it the item to sell.
If only I had figured that out myself… Those unwilling to learn and work for such things should leave the game alone. However, those who miss that sense of discovery and exploration in modern MMOs can feel free to dive in.
As much as I love FFXIV, it has its flaws. Often the game seems inconsistent, also because it is haunted by its past. Some mechanics feel “tacked on”, occasionally a bit clunky, and more cumbersome than necessary.
Clothing system as patchwork?
The clothing system is a good example. It was introduced later and expanded several times as it was underdeveloped. However, instead of completely replacing it, further components were added. Thus, a system that other MMOs would represent in a single window is distributed across four or five windows in Final Fantasy XIV.
There are further stumbling blocks. A quest can only be completed if the name settings in the menu are set correctly, so that the name of the quest item is displayed at all.
After five unsuccessful attempts, including cutscenes, five-minute combat sessions, and desperate searches on Reddit, this quest section was finally completed. It takes nerves and persistence to truly love Final Fantasy XIV.
Final Fantasy XIV rewards players who immerse themselves
If you can come to terms with this circumstance, the game rewards you with that retro MMO feeling that many players long for today:
- A tab-targeting combat system,
- Holy Trinity group dynamics in pure form,
- countless instances and raids,
- an epic main story,
- countless meaningless gather, deliver, and kill side quests,
- a coherent fantasy world
- and a crafting system that without exaggeration is probably one of the best this genre has ever seen.
Other competitors could take a cue from the class system, as in FFXIV you do not need a second or even third character to play different classes. You simply change your equipment and thus also the class.
However, this does not mean that you automatically gain the corresponding experience. Each new class must, of course, be trained and leveled. Alongside countless story and instance content, hundreds of gameplay hours are secured through the job system as well.
Does Final Fantasy XIV still have enough players in the low-level area?
But do new players find enough companions in the low-level area?
I can wholeheartedly answer that question with yes. This is partly due to Final Fantasy XIV’s dungeon system, which rewards high-level players who complete instances with newcomers as well, as the incredibly helpful and friendly community of the game.
That alone would be worth a tribute. If you do not deliberately mess up, such as not checking in advance whether your equipment is suitable for the content you are about to undertake, the community will welcome you with open arms.
In over 300 hours of gameplay, I have only experienced someone leaving the instance group once, and I have not read a single insult in group chats, and if someone is new to an instance, experienced players often explain the stumbling blocks without prompting, and hardly any question remains unanswered.
Of course, there are exceptions in Final Fantasy XIV as well, but they seem to me to be significantly rarer than in other MMOs.
Outstanding Community
Despite the outstanding community, I recommend everyone to join a guild (called “Free Companies” in the game). My young lady Worldfire fortunately encountered the Free Company “Worldwatchers” early on, who stood by her side with advice and assistance from that point on.
While there are no relevant contents in Final Fantasy XIV that absolutely require a Free Company, playing an old-school MMO without a guild simply feels wrong. Also, Free Companies offer not only additional buffs but often also a nice guild house and, ideally, a lot of nice people.
Is it worth starting Final Fantasy XIV anew in 2019?
The question remains whether starting so long after the release of the game makes sense. Certainly, not every newcomer will be as excessive as a Grand Chancellor, investing over 300 hours into the game in a very short time, but in Final Fantasy XIV, that is not necessary at all.
Due to the class system, there is practically always someone who wants to level up a tank, healer, or DD, and there are currently enough new players as well.
The game offers many more gameplay elements beyond the hunt for better gear. These may not all be processed simultaneously for new players due to time constraints, but that also gives them the freedom to choose how they want to shape their journey.
Players are guided by the clear red thread of the main quest. If you follow it, the path to max level is hardly missteped.
Work required
For those who want to jump into the endgame raids, a character boost from the shop can at least bring them to level 70 and provides adjusted equipment.
However, one cannot get away from work in Final Fantasy XIV. Anyone who wants to level their character the classic way is assured that catching up to long-time players is quite possible, but it requires time and a little focus on the important things to achieve this.
Those who decide to play a tank or healer will surely reach their goals faster. Since these are typically chronically underrepresented, groups can be found much more quickly.
To summarize my experience, I would say: If you miss the “good old times” of MMOs, then you should give this game a chance. In my opinion, no other game has managed to combine so much nostalgia with still contemporary content, game mechanics, and relatively high graphical standards as Final Fantasy XIV.
However, a little dedication, passion, and endurance are prerequisites, especially when it comes to dialogue boxes and cutscenes, as the game has countless of them.
And thus, this penny novel ends just as it began: His contemplative gaze rested on the now dusted and cleaned case. The pale light of the streetlamp reflected off the clear plastic wrapping that spanned the aged polypropylene and illuminated his nostalgically pensive face.
“You have developed well!” he thought to himself, gently letting it slide onto the table. Why had he waited so long to give it a second chance? They had lost so much time. In the background, two monitors flickered to life, illuminating the dim room.
A soft mouse click breaks the silence and unexpectedly breathes life into the scene.
