Long time FFXIV player thoughts on general gameplay

[Felpickle-illidan]

Thank you for agreeing

[Nikolo-proudmoore]

@Sabbia-moonrunner

FF14:

• [+]Catgirls

WoW:

• [-]No Catgirls

FF14 knew this was so important that they added a second cat girl race in the last x-pack, lol. Now there are “cat” girls and cat girls

[Daiza-gilneas]

I also play both for different reasons. Neither is better than the other in my opionion blah blah blah.

The only thing that bothers me about them is that it’s obvious that Blizzard knows XIV has a housing system and that housing system is bad. (limited plots, expensive, something only a few characters can have, ect ect ect).

They have the tech to make it significantly better verion right now, gathering dust on Draenor…and just…won’t…use it!

/fustrated

[Pazazzy-proudmoore]

Oh FFXIV how you give me so many emotions.

Like I liked every expansions story up to Dawntrail a lot.

But oh my goddess do I hate how every class is a strict rotation class in that game. I think I would have enjoyed it more if the game had more whack a mole mechanics class mechanics.

I actually hate the way FFXIV does bosses. I hate they tell you where and how big an attack is with red circles. I refuse to use add-ons that do the same here. Like I don’t mind it for some attacks but every attack always seemed a bit much.

However the boss music for every trial and raid boss slaps hard. The theme for both Shiva’s are my fav!

I also really didn’t enjoy the end game loop on XIV some aspects had far more of a grind Eureka (etc.) and even then the dungeon culture there is what I partially blame for WoW’s current gotta go fast dungeon culture.

If I wasn’t on Balmung (one of the 2 unofficial RP servers.) I don’t think I would have played XIV past MSQ and Patch stories for as long as I did. (I quit playing anything more than MSQ after Shadowbringers as I just wasn’t into The end game of XIV and it finally wore me down.)

These are just my opinions ofc and I don’t judge anyone who feels differently than me!

But one positive is I met my partner in FFXIV so that’s always been one fond memory I have of it.

[Stinkypig-barthilas]

If you think GTP generated that you’re giving mu ability to articulate my thoughts far more credit than I deserve lol.

You can see how many times I had to edit spelling mistakes which wouldn’t occur if it was AI generated.

[Mustachio-eredar]

Holy moly that’s a lot of info to absorb.

@Eizenaut-kiljaeden

I dislike the vanilla UI’s ability to communicate, and I find mechanics themselves “tend” to be less interesting mechanically. Perhaps because FFXIV’s jobs are mechanically more straight forward it makes up for it in the fight.

As an ex-savage raider myself (Leaving just this tier), I can say 100% that WoW’s mechanics are a million times more interesting and engaging than FF14’s. The combat alone is enough to keep you from dozing off mid-fight.

[Nor-aggramar]

Wow, a “TLDNR” post that is actually well written has great points and doesnt sound like a manifesto of a crazed lunatic. It kept me interested and engaged throughout. Grats OP.

[Azstarys-wyrmrest-accord]

FFXIV classes feel cosmetic tbh

[Ambiren-wyrmrest-accord]

@Gertt-skull-rock

I’d reckon FFXIV hasn’t hit the age where system bloat impacts game design. One of the hallmarks of FFXIV’s combat is the “level scaling” (I don’t know what it’s officially called over there.) So we can do content almost exactly as it was when it was current. WOD (6.0) is when pruning started becoming more of a thing.

I actually really hate that about FFXIV. Sure it means scaling is better, but it feels so much worse to play. I have all these cool skills that I’m acquiring but then I queue for something and don’t get to use them.

[Ratherin-crusader-strike]

I’m not sure what you mean by that.

[Grimmantle-thrall (Grimmantle)]

I like FFXIV’s raids but I don’t enjoy their highly choreographed nature. I did a few Savages and encounters that required everybody to dance around felt too restrictive compared to WoW.

The music though is topnotch. I still remember the first time I heard Lakshmi’s theme.

[Kynlea-blackhand]

@Stinkypig-barthilas

FFXIV does boss encounters/boss music far better. You get a sense of the dramatics with the music and the paired visuals. You actually learn the mechanics quite intuitively instead of having an addon essentially play the game for you.

The music! I wish WoW had better raid and dungeon music. They do pretty good with open world music but I miss having that unique jam for each boss.

@Gertt-skull-rock

I gave a real attempt at FFXIV, got through ARR and got to lvl50 BLM. But my experience helped me enjoy the differences each game has. While ARR isn’t a great intro to the game, I hear nothing but praise for their expansions, specifically the story. But because I don’t play for the story, it’s not “my first choice.” I absolutely love PVE combat, and I wish I could slot into FFXIV’s endgame, but I also didn’t like how mechanics snapshot/resolve.

This might be why you didn’t stick around past level 50 . That job is such a slog before 70. I do appreciate your take on the story though. It definitely isn’t for everyone. I had never touched XIV until WoW sent me over the edge in SL and I decided to try something new. It was a chore to get through and I actually enjoyed the story. It’s hard for new people to come into the game because it takes sooooo long to get to end game with the MSQ being a requirement.

Everything else OP mentioned I 100% agree with. There are some really good takes in your analysis. Coming back to WoW after two years away has really made me appreciate some of the little things it has that XIV doesn’t. They are both very different games and great in their own way. I was disappointed in the lack of new systems with Dawntrail. The music was great and the new zones were pretty but the lack of anything else feeling “new” was what ultimately sent me back to WoW (for now at least).

[Breayanna-bloodsail-buccaneers]

As a diehard fan of FF14 even I can’t defend its barrier of entry with ARR. While it’s not outright bad, it definitely hasn’t aged well, especially depending on your chosen class as some of them just do not feel satisfying until well beyond level 50

On the other hand, the game is completely free up to the 2nd expansion now (capping at level 70) so it’s not like there’s anything to lose just taking it at your own pace…

[Zitaska-aerie-peak]

@Moondoggíe-faerlina

their combat is trash now lol.

Ugh yes.

The 1-2-3 and 1-2 loop lost it’s sauce. Yoshi needs to spice it up. If they can give me something like New World’s combat they got more than my attention.

They overhauled their msq to be solo friendly, now work on the combat next.

[Lilcheetus-illidan]

My favorite part of FFXIV is the fact that there aren’t PTRs and minimal datamining.

Whenever new content comes out everyone goes in blind, meaning you get a lot of honest to goodness learning/chill groups that don’t disband after 1-2 wipes. I can be a bit of a slow learner, so it felt extremely good to be able to just practice fights with a few different groups for as long as I wanted until I felt comfortable enough to join groups that were actually trying to kill stuff.

Also shout outs to them for having a way more polished and balanced game despite not having legions of unpaid beta testers sending them thousands of pages of feedback

[Ziatema-zuljin]

FFXIV is better in a lot of ways, I would probably just echo those above. WoW is a bit smoother, sometimes. They are both very good mmo’s and if you are bored of one and love mmo’s I would say pick between these two at the moment. Man FFXIV has such jams and visual boss fights compared to WoW, and the telegraphs are superior as well (as long as you know the golden rule in FFXIV, you are a bit behind when the mechanics hit, so move a bit quicker. " also learn to slide cast.

edit: I am making it harder to explain I think, move into a mechanic as you let the other resolve, but move quickly into the next.

[Ambiren-wyrmrest-accord]

Overall the FFXIV story is better but the presentation of it is such a slog. In the few actual scenes there are in WoW, the pacing is very snappy. In the many of them in FFXIV, there is a lot of delay between lines that always feel a few seconds too long. I want a skip button for all those pauses in dialogue rather than for the actual dialogue!

[Missfire-dentarg]

Played FFXIV religiously up until Dawntrail. I just couldn’t go through their MSQ again, way to long and boring. I got 19 jobs to 90 in Endwalker and every relic on Endwalker. Never did Savage or Mythic + as I’m not a great player.

Community is better in FFXIV and guilds seem stronger, as well. I do like the Glamour closet over WoW’s transmog system and FFXIV’s graphics are stunning.

I enjoyed Wow’s remix a lot unlike most of FF’s mini events which are awful. On the other hand, I feel burnt out with wow and not feeling the love from Wow’s new owners. They just seem less involved and very disorganized. That being said, I’ve let my Wow sub expire on Nov. 1st and plan on going back to FF.

[Paeldryth-hyjal (Paeldryth)]

FF14 is better in the play like a single player game with online features way, but WoW is better in a MMORPG combat with distinct classes and gearing way.

[Azstarys-wyrmrest-accord]

I don’t think any MMO is gonna be able to touch New Worlds combat. 1v1 tournaments in that game feel like the old 1v1 tournaments in UOs early days where you knew the winner was a scary MFer cus the skill gap.