Why should you play Final Fantasy XIV?

MMOs were always something I was reluctant to get into when I was younger. The only one I ever played before I became an adult was Runescape, and I just couldn’t keep up with it after a while.

Years passed and eventually, a friend suggested we try Final Fantasy XIV as it was on sale. Some more years later and we have years of history with the game at this point, working through three expansions over the course of the last six years or so.

For anyone who’s never played an MMO before, let alone one themed around Final Fantasy, you might wonder if you should give this one a try.

Luckily for you, there’s plenty of good reasons to play Final Fantasy XIV, especially if you’ve never played an MMO before.

Play at your own pace

Fishing in Final Fantasy XIV.
Credit: Square Enix

If there’s one thing you can appreciate about Final Fantasy XIV, it’s that you are able to play at your own pace regardless of prior MMO experience. As quoted by producer Naoki Yoshida:

With Final Fantasy XIV, we deliberately targeted those who have yet to play an MMORPG and made certain that the first part of the game wouldn’t require players to recruit a party of other players.

This is the beauty of playing FFXIV. For the majority of the game, you don’t need to go out of your way to party up with any other players to complete most content.

The only times you need any other party members are when you run dungeons, and those make up a small chunk of any main campaign in the game.

The other great thing is that if you play the game for a while, it’s really easy to catch up if you take a break.

As Mr. Yoshida said, the game’s design lends itself well to people who don’t have the time to party up or dedicate plenty of time.

It’s common for FFXIV players to take breaks in between major game patches; as such, you can take extended breaks from the game if you feel some degree of burnout.

Huge community

Chocobo races that you can participate in Final Fantasy XIV.
Credit: Square Enix

Community is key to the health of an MMO, and FFXIV has one of the most expansive communities around.

There’s a robust clan system in-game that has plenty of features for anyone interested in creating their own clan; everything from group activities to a communal bank where everyone can share resources and clan housing allows people to make their clan as unique as possible.

READ MORE: Final Fantasy XIV: New DPS Job?

Different servers cater to players that enjoy Role Playing, PvP, or hardcore raiding; if you look hard enough, you’ll definitely find a server that has players with similar interests to yours.

Role players in particular are well known for their unique ways of interacting with the game, such as creating a theatre troupe in a specific server.

You don’t have to exclusively run raids and dungeons if you don’t want to, as there’s plenty to do if you look around the community. Taking one look at the official Reddit can give you ideas to tailor the experience to your liking.

Variety for more than just life

An eight man raid in Final Fantasy XIV.
Credit: Square Enix

The abundance of activities in-game allows players to experience the game however they want.

If you want to have fun chasing after vanity items, there are a tremendous amount of armor sets and clothes to customize your character with.

Crafting and gathering are extensive and have plenty of incentive for players to engage with these systems.

Don’t wanna bother with either of those systems? Want to dive deep into the PvE side of FFXIV? Then there’s plenty for you to do as of this moment.

Dungeons, Raids, 24-man raids, hunting, relic weapons, the list of things to do is extensive. Depending on how deep you want to go into the endgame, there’s enough for players at the top to do.

For the truly dedicated, the raid difficulties range from Normal to Ultimate, each ascending tier becoming more difficult.

Ultimate can take you days or weeks to master, depending on how skilled you and your party are. The rewards tend to range from armor sets to high tier weapons that can last you for a good while.

Storytelling mastery

Alisaie and her twin brother, Alphinaud, from Final Fantasy XIV.
Credit: Square Enix

Above everything else, Final Fantasy XIV has some of the best stories in any MMO, RPG, or Final Fantasy.

The base game, A Realm Reborn, isn’t the best story but everything afterwards has some amazing stories to experience.

Heavensward was the previous peak of the MMO, as it had a compelling story with many memorable characters.

Shadowbringers, the last expansion that was released, is the newest peak, as it has one of the best villains in Final Fantasy history.

READ MORE: How to Get Into Final Fantasy XIV

The climax of the main story is emotional and incredibly satisfying for anyone that has stuck with the game since the beginning. If storytelling in any game is important to you, know that FFXIV won’t disappoint.

The amount of story to catch up to the current patch may seem daunting, but with enough time, you can definitely reach the most recent content easily.

While there are items you can buy that can skip you to the most recent content, I would highly recommend playing through the entirety of the game.

It might take you a while but it’s worth it to experience all the story FFXIV has to offer, as the world is extensive and interesting to learn about.

A “Final” verdict

Final Fantasy XIV is an MMO that I can wholeheartedly say is worth trying out if you have some spare time. As of today, you can play all of the base game and the entire first expansion for free.

After that, you’d have to subscribe like everyone else; in addition to subscribing, you’ll have to buy the newest expansion to obtain all previous content.

Make a character, choose a starting class, and get to adventuring in the world of Eorzea today!

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