Final Fantasy XIV: Land of Smiles
Final Fantasy XIV is the counterpart to World of Warcraft. With neither game is everything black or white. But while WoW hasn’t received a kind word in recent months, Final Fantasy XIV hardly hears any bad remarks.
Even the waiting period for the expansion isn’t as long as with other MMORPGs. It will take a quarter of a year between the end of the 2.x series and the start of the 3.x series. That is bearable compared to competitors, where players have to endure much longer drought phases. Additionally, in FF XIV, there is a lot to do with all the jobs, game contents, and mini-games.
Square Enix has big plans. There is always a feeling that the team is one or one and a half years ahead, and the future is still slightly brighter than the present. Although the game is not exactly a block buster here due to its idiosyncratic basic orientation, anyone who has found their home in Eorzea can consider themselves lucky.
Long term, the question arises whether the gameplay with long cooldowns, which sometimes makes FF XIV feel turn-based, can withstand the test of time. Development in the market of offline games is going more towards game designs that correspond with the action elements of The Elder Scrolls Online or Guild Wars 2. This could become a problem that even having plenty of content and diligent work may not solve. However, it could also turn out to be an advantage when players want to recover from action MMOs with a different concept.
One advantage they have repeatedly over the competition. Players know exactly what’s next. On June 23, Heavensward arrives, and plenty of content has already been announced for the time thereafter.
