Lots of great games come out, and I can t tear myself away from MMO Final Fantasy XIV. WoW did not pull in like that

Control. Wreckfest. New Age of Wonders. Astral Chain. Erica - many great games are coming out now, and I can't tear myself away from the MMORPG from 2015. If that wasn't enough, in Final Fantasy XIV I play not on PC, but on PS4. What is it about this game that I waste tens of hours driving through levels? Quite an honest answer: I have no idea. I have to write it down.

I tested a lot of MMOs. Lords of the Rings Online, Star Wars: The Old Republic, TERA, Neverwinter Online, Guild Wars, Guild Wars 2, The Elder Scrolls Online - I've left dozens of hours of my life in each of these titles. However, no, absolutely no MMO production has stuck me to the screen for as long as Final Fantasy XIV. Even World of Warcraft - objectively great, almost magical - did not enslave me as much as the exotic FFXIV. What's more, played on the console.

The first moments, the first hours of Final Fantasy XIV is a waking nightmare.

Okay, there is nothing to lie to - the beginning of the adventure with FFXIV is terrible. The login and registration process on the console is a traumatic experience. Entering values ​​with the PlayStation keyboard, controlling the cursor using an analogue, visiting the website displayed on the console - it's all a nightmare. An absolute nightmare. To make it funnier, I can't buy a monthly subscription from the PS Store. I need to start my laptop and write down my debit card numbers. In a word: hassle. Hassle a hundred times.

The first dozen or even several dozen hours inside the game also does not impress. The content of the bare base - A Realm Reborn - significantly deviates from today's standards on the MMORPG market. 80% of the plot tasks static conversations. From time to time there will be a movie scene on the game engine. However, the scenes are so boring that you will want to switch them as soon as possible. The story itself, in turn, belongs to those naive and banal.

I'm not doing Final Fantasy XIV good advertising, huh? However, I can't help the fact that the level between experience level 1 and 50 is boring, monotonous and repetitive. Only dungeons save the situation - activities for a group of 4 or 8 players in which unique mechanics are woven. For example, when fighting the great kraken, you have to watch out for its tentacles. Feet can throw players avatars like rag dolls. Or the fight with a demon, which consists of escaping between dimensional doors. If we don't get the mechanics, the whole team falls from a powerful area hit.

Square Enix itself is aware that the content of A Realm Reborn sucks. They want to change it.

The creators of the game announced that they are considering shortening, slimming and making the content of the basic version of the game more attractive. It doesn't surprise me at all. When a new player enters the world of Final Fantasy XIV, he encounters boredom and repetition. That is why I doubt that the persistent archer, swordfish or mage would prolong the subscription. Even if the player reads in the media that the content of the three great extensions - Heavensward, Stormblood and Shadowbringers - is terrific, he still has to break through 50 levels of A Realm Reborn.

For many, this is a task beyond their means. Spend a dozen, if not several dozen hours on a dull grind, because in the future it will be better? Many players do not make such a deal. He has too little time or too many other, more exciting games looming on the horizon. From here I perfectly understand the need to make the adventure for new players more attractive, which is sprouting in Square Enix. I am asking: why now ?!

However, when you reach level 50, when you show the Empire where crayfish hibernates, magic begins.

Many reviewers and critics write that the truly good, truly unique Final Fantasy XIV begins with the first major expansion. I claim that it starts much faster. The new storyline introduced in updates 2.1 - 2.5 (where 2.0 is the basic version of the game) is a qualitative leap felt by the naked eye. It is as if a completely different band was playing the game. A completely different approach to the game.

At level 50, the missions suddenly turn out to be interesting. The number of cut scenes is increasing dramatically. In turn, we can see effective fights, humorous inserts and well-directed dialogues. The side heroes have become more lively and more natural. What's more, some of them gained character for the first time. The NPCs who blended into me in A Realm Reborn suddenly gained clarity. I began to recognize specific heroes. Understanding their agenda. Support them Like them.

The qualitative change is amazing. Absolutely amazing. Tasks stop being boring conversations. The first attempts at differentiation appear on the developers' side. There are experiments with such mechanics as sneaking, flashbacks, the use of machines or interrogation. I realize that from the perspective of some amazing World of Warcraft missions it sounds like a grim joke. However, from the perspective of the starting point, FFXIV is a real breakthrough.

The best part is that the world of Final Fantasy XIV is constantly, beautifully and permanently evolving.

As archaic in some areas, the game like the FFXIV has a surprisingly flexible engine. This allows you to make changes from one mission to another. The deserted castle suddenly becomes a bustling stronghold. On patrol-free routes, soldiers of the organization appear, to create which we have laid our own hand. Under the influence of completed missions, NPCs change their location. They are still welded to the ground, but it still gives the illusion of a living community.

These several updates between version 2.1 and 3.0 give the game more than the entire giant campaign of A Realm Reborn put together. I'm not exaggerating. The world, dungeons, tasks - all of this evolves to the level expected after the modern MMORPG. Then this level exceeds. Many wonder how Final Fantasy XIV defends itself in 2019 with its ruthless, expensive subscription model. This is the only one apart from World of Warcraft and EVE Online MMO that has remained with the monthly tribute model. There is no shortage of players willing to pay this tribute. I belong to them myself, as do several million other people.

Plus the community ... this terrifyingly nice player community.

As I mentioned at the beginning, I was in contact with many MMORPGs. However, I have never met such a nice community. So benevolent. So friendly. As if the avant-garde of well-behaved players participated in the team chat. I'll tell you: what a subscription is a subscription. The monthly tax is a great sieve. The subscription separates engaged players who love their MMOs from locusts counting on free gameplay. I was reminded of the times of LOTR Online. There was also culture there. Until the transition of the game to the Free2Play model. The rudeness grew like Uruk-hai from Saruman's mud pits.

I know, I know ... you can write that here I divide the players into better and worse based on the thickness of the wallet. However, I can't help the fact that in FFXIV I immediately felt at home. Friendly attitude and willingness to help dominate. In the chat window, you will not find any new-style "OMG noob" internet newsletter. Nobody here boasts that he slept with my mother and nobody begs for 100k gold. Even the search for players for the team is articulated with full sentences. You can be amazed.

The content of Shadowbringers is just ahead of me. I can not wait.

There are many tasks and many levels ahead of me before I get to the latest extension released a dozen or so days ago. Reviews show that the add-on is outstanding. Maybe even better than all previous extensions. But I'm curious how else Final Fantasy XIV can develop. I am already very happy with the level of gameplay. If it is to be even better, then there is nothing left for me to grab for the rain and find an additional several dozen hours off.

When one of the journalists asked Square Enix when a new MMO would appear in the world of Final Fantasy, the publisher said it was not soon. According to the developers, FFXIV is in good shape and no new title is needed. Looking at how much fun this production gave me, I am willing to believe it. I would never have thought that my favorite MMORPG would be an exotic product on the PlayStation 4 console, but I got soaked in and have more fun than I might have thought. Final Fantasy XIV is certainly not a game for everyone, but I am no wonder where the title has such a faithful subscriber base.



Lots of great games come out, and I can't tear myself away from MMO Final Fantasy XIV. WoW didn't pull you in

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