I think it’s safe to say that 2021 will go down as the year of FFXIV’s third coming. A Realm Reborn being its second coming literally, it was with the release of the Heavensward expansion that Square proved to the world they are still capable of creating wonderful RPG experiences with a mass market appeal – and that they can also deliver this experience as an MMO themepark. The title has been going from strength to strength since and has known a notable influx of new players in 2021, to the point where FFXIV is now officially Square’s most profitable Final Fantasy game in the entire series. The hype is so big that even the father of Final Fantasy, Hironobu Sakaguchi, has started playing the game this fall and is apparently racing through Eorzea like a champ. Good times.
Welcoming Captain Grim to Shadowbringers on Omega
Along with the increasing player base, many more well-known WoW streamers have jumped ship this year which has led me to follow Twitch for the first time ever. Honestly, I never expected that many grown up men to cry over an MMORPG (yes really, it’s everywhere on twitch and youtube), to the point of where several streamers confessed they had forgotten what this genre “was really about”. It’s been a real joy to watch these tired old WoW players discover Eorzea and break the shackles of toxicity that are Blizzard and their abusive shenanigans. And that isn’t even related to the Californian lawsuit, no – I am talking about the state of WoW and Shadowlands. This is where you’ll have to bear with me while I rant.
Against all better judgement, I joined a few old WoW guildies this late spring for the odd dungeon run and raid night. You could say the timing of my return couldn’t have been more ill-advised. Despite all the bad press that literally broke about two weeks after my resub (after 10 or so years), I decided I would judge the expansion myself and I really tried my best to find anything redeemable. But what I’ve encountered was a disgusting, manipulative shell of an MMO that is frankly insulting in the way it’s treating its playerbase and its players’ time. I cannot believe what passes for content in WoW nowadays, all the lazy micro-management and RNG-infested gear sub-systems and stupid re-grinds…for what? Raising another 0.5 item level on the third iteration of the exact same gear item or exact same skill conduit, so you can go have a shot at the third iteration of the exact same raid. Oh and shards and legendary slots and currencies and timers and cooldowns for almost everything! I’ve never known another MMO to grab such exclusive hold of its playerbase the way WoW does, by design and very deliberate engineering. And don’t get me started on the joke that is Oribos, lackluster circle in the sky hub, the Maw and Torghast. Nothing in WoW feels alive any more – 99% of the world is dead, pugs are toxic and players hate the devs. Now I understand why this community is so resentful; the hamsterwheel Blizzard have created demands constant playtime in a joyless world full of recycled, meaningless rewards. Heck, they don’t even design tier sets anymore.
If you ever felt MMORPGs were about the whimsy, world building, community, diversity and social interaction, WoW 2021 is not for you. Sadly, it isn’t even killing it on the endgame side of things anymore either. FFXIV has hundreds of epic fights and some of the hardest raid/trial encounters in the genre right now. There is not enough COPIUM in the world to keep me playing this game anymore. It is truly and veritably over!
FFXIV Community Highlights
No time in MMORPGs is more exciting than when the community is collectively psyched and waiting for the next expansion. Endwalker is three weeks away and you can feel the excitement in the air whenever you log into Eorzea. Especially since Yoshi-P’s recent media tour, where he gave a large number of streamers personal interview time, message boards have been ablaze with new info and speculation. I was personally very happy to hear that some of my most wanted class changes are going to happen and I love the new armor sets and class designs. Sage and Reaper make older jobs look like nubs.
Pop-up concert in Limsa Lominsa
The anticipation of Endwalker has led me to some personal milestones and discoveries too. For one, I’ve finally founded my own FC on Cerberus as more mates are flocking to the game. We’ve hit rank 8 last night and I am both antsy and weary in equal amounts for a shot at the housing lottery in 6.1. The housing system is my biggest gripe in FFXIV bar none and now that we have an FC, I would love nothing more than a (small) house for our daily business. Here’s to hoping fortune will smile on us come Endwalker.
Dance Party at Slayers FC on Cerberus
Our server’s community has also been very lively of late with concerts, house parties and Halloween events. The clubbing scene is one of FFXIV’s many subcultures I had never looked into before. Having finally experienced a Halloween event, I am positively surprised as it was a completely enjoyable and friendly experience (with a live DJ via standalone webpage, no less). It’s interesting how effortlessly fun and joy are spread in MMOs when everyone’s having a carefree time. That’s what I’ve really come to appreciate so much about FFXIV; after so many years it can still surprise you and while it has all the trappings of a traditional themepark MMORPG, a bottomless well of side-activities and creative opportunities lie underneath. You never quite know what you may encounter next.
This is a game I’ve always wanted to like. I really should try out the free part at least, even though I still hate subscriptions. Y’know, when I have time. Which ought to be in 2028 or so. Thanks for the reminder!
I think you would like it, Tesh! A lot to do and see off the beaten path 🙂
The free trial includes Heavensward which is incredibly good value.
Despite all the bad press that literally broke about two weeks after my resub (after 10 or so years), I decided I would judge the expansion myself and I really tried my best to find anything redeemable. But what I’ve encountered was a disgusting, manipulative shell of an MMO that is frankly insulting in the way it’s treating its playerbase and its players’ time. I cannot believe what passes for content in WoW nowadays, all the lazy micro-management and RNG-infested gear sub-systems and stupid re-grinds…for what? Raising another 0.5 item level on the third iteration of the exact same gear item or exact same skill conduit, so you can go have a shot at the third iteration of the exact same raid. Oh and shards and legendary slots and currencies and timers and cooldowns for almost everything! I’ve never known another MMO to grab such exclusive hold of its playerbase the way WoW does, by design and very deliberate engineering. And don’t get me started on the joke that is Oribos, lackluster circle in the sky hub, the Maw and Torghast. Nothing in WoW feels alive any more – 99% of the world is dead, pugs are toxic and players hate the devs. Now I understand why this community is so resentful; the hamsterwheel Blizzard have created demands constant playtime in a joyless world full of recycled, meaningless rewards. Heck, they don’t even design tier sets anymore.
And this is why I don’t play Retail.
Seriously.
I found I had the most fun in Vanilla/Classic, where I could go wherever and do whatever without worrying about Metagames or rushing to the level cap or any other BS. The Meta infection that has semi-ruined TBC Classic is going to follow to Wrath Classic, and I think about that point I’m going to jump off of the progression raiding thing, if not sooner. On our server, only 9 raids have cleared all of the current content in TBC Classic, and yet you’d think that everybody has because all of those top guilds are cracking the whip to get more content released faster.
I may yet play FF XIV, but I still have major hangups over the anime style and JRPG style that Square Enix has, and I doubt I can really ever overcome that to the point where I’m having fun in that space. But I’d never say never, because I’m glad so many people are having fun over in that space, and WoW’s dev team has no freaking idea how to counter it.
Yea, it’s sad – it feels like every week some bad news is breaking about what’s going on at Blizzard. They are such a great example of having your head up your own ass for too long, while the world around you moves on. The fact that you have to go back and play the 17 years old version of WoW to enjoy it speaks volumes.
And I hear you about the jap aesthetics. It’s certainly different but there’s a chance you may get used to it. The character creation has a lot of diversity and well, the trial is two full installments entirely cost- and subfree. So you could always give it a go.
The irony is that when I compare the two, I prefer GW2’s aesthetics more than FF XIV’s. And I’d have thought you were crazy if you’d have told me that back when I first tried GW2 (at your behest, IIRC) and found GW2 a home for what I called ‘the beautiful people’. When the farmers and peasants look like they’re wearing their Sunday Best clothing just for regular work out in the fields…
By contrast, FF XIV’s aesthetics are like Aion’s or TERA’s but without the Elin’s, um, overt creepiness.
And the overt “you’re the savior of the world” narrative that FF XIV has –built into the game’s story– potentially could wreck the game for me. I am so not a fan of that style of writing.
But on the flip side, it does sound like the gear grind and raid grind that Retail WoW is currently mired in has been “fixed” in FF XIV by basically ignoring it entirely. I’m sure that the diehard WoW playerbase would be completely unable to understand that at all, given how ingrained raiding and gearing is tied to the game at the moment. (Which makes me laugh, because you can’t expect that to appeal to people forever.)
But in the end, I say “Go FF XIV!” because it may force Blizz into making some decisions about WoW. Unfortunate that the decisions might be ones that say “follow modern corporate playbooks and just kill it rather than try to fix it” but at least I can dream.