Final Fantasy XIV A Realm Reborn 2021 Review | A New Player's Experience

[@LowkeyJayR]

I felt like I watched a video of an individual with thousands of subscribers. Great vid and quality. Thank you for sharing.

[@chloekaftan]

I wonder if he even realizes that the trailer for ARR is actually the events that transpired at the very end of 1.0's lifecycle and Dalamuds fall really did happen, not just some flavor text for the story. That to me speaks volumes of how amazing this game is. REBORN ANEW FROM THE FLAMES OF DESPAIR, A WORTHY HERO RISES TO THE CALL. the story of ARR doesnt revolve around you as much as the later expansions do because as far as the scions are concerned youre a nobody at this point. And they in contrast have a long history and protege to prove their worth, from being the Archons of the Sharlayans, To Uniting the 3 City States against the Garlemald Empire to prevent the 6th Umbral Collapse. to summoning the power of Haedelyn and the 12 Great Spirits to Imprison Bahamuth in a Great Seal that rivaled the Allagan Prison of Dalamud in power and scale. So of course the story would at first revolve around their greatness. (Especially Y'shtola, she constantly blows my mind with her law breaking abilities) and yet we blow her mind with our ability to slay Eikons and Ascians on a whim.

[@wladstarskirrrt3266]

Huh. Time to get him those thousands of subscribers i'd say 🤔

[@Uedukai]

I was going to say something about this too. Was watching and paused to go "this is a good video", liked and then resumed haha.

[@ronskeez916]

I thought the same. Very well done.

[@greenith]

Felt the same

[@DawnAfternoon]

KZbin recommendation has blessed you my friend, and with this level of polish on your videos? You deserve it.

[@ennui6297]

I love the community on this game. Coming in as a new player was overwhelming and the further you got into the game, the more layers you had to unpack. But the community on this game is so welcoming and willing to help (sometimes to a fault) that it made the transition so easy. My Free Company even set me up with gear to set me up for the first few levels for free. When I got into dungeons I had no idea what I was doing, even died several times but people are so supportive and patient and just willing to help instead of criticizing or being toxic. If you're on the fence about the game, play it for free until lvl 60 and see for yourself 🤷‍♂️

[@D3th10rd]

Final Fantasy 14 for me is like trying beer for the first time. Everyones talking about how good it is so you take a sip and hate it. You take another sip and it doesn't taste that bad. The next sip you wake up in a random bar on the other side of the state three days later severely depressed and the only thing that can take your mind off the pain is Final Fanta- I mean beer.

[@lyhthegreat]

damm right, hated it the first time i tried it, then 2 years later picked it up again and i got hooked ever since.

[@ellerionsnow3340]

My life.

[@ikkeheltvanlig]

Ha ha ha ha, best damn description

[@TheNameCannotBeFound]

Holy crap, this describes exactly how I felt with the game. I hated it at first, God I couldn't stand the MSQ nor the over the top Anime-esque story. I found it extremely off-putting. I tried it again like 5 years after launch during summer when I was extremely bored and decided to power through the story and, wow, it easily became my top favorite MMORPG of all time. I can't recommend it enough, but I also don't want to recommend it because unless you really love it, it'll take over a hundred hours of gametime until you start enjoying it.

[@roogo9337]

@@TheNameCannotBeFound I mean, a game from japan is more than likely gonna have some of that anime esqueness in it, so I would do research to see if a game was made in the west or not if that sort of thing rubs you the wrong way, my man.

[@Balsley1105]

Here's is my review and its quite short: FFXIV is currently going through maintenance, I cannot play. I'm watching this video eating yogurt and granola on my gaming PC that has alot of other games that I could be playing but i'm not because...... once FFXIV's servers come back up, i'm logging back on, to play more FFXIV...... The game is good, get it.

[@Balsley1105]

@Dale Macarena You can play ff14 on ps4

[@doraemon.23]

@Dale Macarena they have it on ps4. I was playing it on ps4. If your a big fan of ff games you will love this one.

[@UnashamedlyHentai]

@Dale Macarena Also, when the ps5 version launches, the upgrade from the ps4 to ps5 version will be free.

[@nh8603]

Does it still look nice on ps4

[@TheGokki]

The cash shop mostly holds items from past events that were available "for free" in game for a limited time, and since then have been put into the cash shop. So if you play the game normally you get those seasonal items by just playing.

[@refulgence2097]

REGALIA ;_; I MISS YOU

[@zeninspriggan794]

😂😂😂😂

[@mikoto7693]

I'm thinking of buying a fast and pretty mount once I learn how to make them fly.

[@TheGokki]

@@mikoto7693 You learn to fly after finishing the original campaign story, then each Heavensward zones you unlock each individually by finishing the main story there (plus currents). As for the shop mounts - they're not any faster. Mounts don't give you extra speed, it's the riding skill of your character that does.

[@petrus9067]

@@refulgence2097 its coming back

[@TaiLysana]

An important thing to keep in mind, is that ARR was made in only two years, while maintaining and patching the failing 1.0 that is no longer available. Normally you'd need 5+ years for something like this. While it can still be rough to go through for new players, it is amazing in what it achieved. Plus you are seeing it in its best form. Leveling was not always so smooth, flying in ARR zones only happened recently, certain options were simply not there. The devs not only look forward and add in quality of life in later sections, they look back and make sure to take care of those who are coming in with fresh eyes.

[@esprix1550]

I'm not new to FFXIV, but I love watching vids like this seeing other's discover the game and enjoy it like I once did!

[@testogel85]

Heh I'm just like that too :3

[@mikoto7693]

I'm one of those new players experiencing FF14 for the first time. I'd love to chat about some of the stuff I've seen and encountered. I mean last night... Lahabreas without his hooded mask on. Didn't see that coming. Not entirely anyway.

[@testogel85]

@@mikoto7693 lovely to have you in the game! Enjoying the story so far then?

[@mikoto7693]

@@testogel85 Hi! Overall yes I am! I'm currently a lvl 50 Smn just about to take on Operation Archon. I will admit to not being fond of the Scions as I regard them as employers or clients than allies because they don't help unless it's fun for them. Yda and Papalymo just stood around and watched while I won the trust THEY broke with the Sylphs until it came to fight tempered ones. Y'shtola stood around while I did the menial dirty work for those mercenaries before they'd tell us how to reach Titan. So I don't like them. The Scions are my client, not my group. That aside I've been loving the game so far. As a roleplayer I've also created a whm and Elezen lnc to try out, though they're lvl 28 and 21 respectively. If I didn't enjoy the game I wouldn't want to experience it again from a different perspective. The slow pace of the story is fine by me. My FC has assured me it gets better from Heavensward onward so it's best to sit back and let ARR set the scene. Of course I like the part of the rpg story where you're not the legendary hero everyone hears of. There is a charm to being a low level rookie who is suited to slowly building coin and reputation through good old grunt work. Afterall it never comes again once you get known. Still, we'll see how I take to Heavensward.

[@testogel85]

@@mikoto7693 I can definitely see where you're coming from, regarding the Scions, at this point in the story. That said, I'd be surprised if the game didn't manage to change your mind about them with what's to come - as others will no doubt have said already. Great that you've been enjoying the game enough to try out alts for RP purposes! Though my general advice would be to stick with one character to get caught up in the story first - practical considerations aside, knowing where the narrative is headed can be immensely beneficial for character role play development. My BF and I started alts to replay the story with strong RP leanings, and being able to map personal character development to story progression has been a huge boon for our enjoyment. Naturally, however, I'm not trying to tell you how to play the game or anything - if branching out into different experiences is what feels right to you, then more power to you! Letting ARR set the scene is a good mindset. For all its flaws which it undeniably has, it does an admirable job at establishing the world that the expansions following it draw from. People telling you that the game gets good once Heavensward comes around might be selling the ARR patch content short, though. The post-ARR story from 2.1 to 2.5 is often derided as being boring and terrible, but I disagree with that assessment - I don't mind any of it myself, and I would say it starts picking up from patch 2.3 onward. Of course, perceptions of this differs from person to person, so your mileage may vary on this. Even so, you'll be hard pressed to find anyone who doesn't agree that ARR goes out with a massive bang to lead into HW. Please, continue to enjoy your journey!

[@drunkendevil]

I’ve loved this game since it’s launch. Yes, the story gets better into the first expansion. The 3rd expansion, Shadowbringers, IS one of the best Final Fantasy stories. Period. While I agree the game can be played solo, running those dungeons and raids with friends is truly something special. It just takes the already great game to the next level.

[@lucasluo5094]

Yeah, gotta love trolling my tank friend as a healer waiting for him to drop to 10% hp before healing them AHHAHAHAAHAH

[@mu8275]

@Dale Macarena Find friends online! That's one of the joys of MMOs, imo.

[@CobaltDysprosium]

@Dale Macarena Honestly a LOT of this game is single player. Not 100% but a LOT. You really dont need friends to enjoy it. I play every day mostly solo because none of my friends will try the game.

[@Johnavfc7]

@Dale Macarena you dont need friends to play this. None of my friends was into mmo they preferred cod and fifa. When you start this game i guarantee you will make lots of friends on the online gaming community in this game. So many friendly people on this game you soon forget about your real life friends. You soon be running round with a gang of friends doing raids and dungeons together from all parts of the world. Only if you give the game abit of time. Many people will help you if you stuck if you ask in the chat bar. I recommend downloading it and give it a try. Its free so what you got to lose apart from space on your harddrive

[@mikoto7693]

Yes you don't need friends to enjoy FF14, especially if you choose a tank or healer class. I find I enjoy smn solo but whm when it's time for group dungeons or bosses. The party finder is very efficient. I've never had to wait more than 15 minutes for a party at a dungeon as a summoner and never had to wait at all as a conjurer or white mage. The party's just formed as soon as I signed up for a dungeon run. Plus you can always join a Free Company. These are groups of players who join the same guild or club to chat, advise or play with each other. The senior members of my own FC have taught me so much.

[@ReconWafflez]

I've been playing this game since 2013 and im still not used to the fact that you can fly in ARR areas. It literally startled me when you started to fly in one, why do I always forget you can do that? lmao

[@Frost3yte]

Cause, like me, you are so used to not being able to lol, though since coming back (about 3 to 4 days ago?) Had to catch up from 5.3 I think? I dont want to be specific since Im not sure where youve made it (realising this is a month old comment)

[@celticlord88]

I started playing last year. I remember having to run everywhere in arr areas

[@nicogalax]

Howww

[@yagsipcc287]

I just started playing it eariler this week when I have some free time, I'm still early in it and wow I love it so far :)

[@ChandaniAranka]

Ive played it nonstop for 10 years now and never felt bored hehe welcome to eorzea :)

[@Hijynx87]

@@ChandaniAranka You played pre ARR? You must have had a freakin beast of a pc.

[@zavv_]

Update so far?

[@shintis4965]

The most important thing to a game is how your players feel when leaving your game, if they feel like shit then they ain’t coming back but if they feel satisfied and happy they’ll come back eventually cus you did a good job.

[@mikoto7693]

Agreed, so the rare times the main quest had annoyed me I made sure to craft, race chocobos or play triad in the gold saucer or do a side quest to ensure I felt good upon logging out. 99% of the time I don't need to tho. FF14 is a fantastic game.

[@REDLINE4WD.]

I've played WoW for 15 years and i started the 4 day trial a few days ago. I went into this game comparing it with WoW and set out to not like it. I love this game. Even the fetch quests are fun and the world is so damn huge. The class/job system is insanely good aswell as the crafting system/jobs. You don't need alts and the amount of quests you get per zone is outstanding. Im lv 30 and i haven't even thought about going back to WoW to do my daily grinds.

[@Kullerva171]

I quit during BFA abt 2 years ago, i can p easily say im never going back lmao.

[@madlinkers8595]

i played both game over 800 days ...(ff14 1200 days) and ff14 endgame is where its going to get bad all the events systems and stuff to do turns around tomestone and relics fate farming its mostly the same thing for 2000+ hours and pvp sucks so dont expext much outta it while wow endgame and pvp is just better .both game are fun in their own ways but dont try to compare for now

[@Hijynx87]

@@madlinkers8595 They both have their ups and downs, but I prefer Everquest project 1999/ classic servers out of any mmo. It's mmorpg in it's purest form. You could say the same for wow classic too I suppose. FFXIV's main appeal is the fact that it feels like an actual final fantasy game with other people. Same with FFXI, but this is the modern rendition.

[@Kullerva171]

@@madlinkers8595 I have so, so, so much time in both games and I'm gonna' hard disagree here. WoW's endgame isn't much better IMO, the only thing it has is difficult 4 man content in form of M+. Raiding is much more bland than XIV, there's more bosses but a lot of them simply don't have many mechanics or have mechanics that aren't reasonably resolvable without DBM making callouts for you, which just isn't fun. As for PVP, I don't think either of them have had good PvP for a long time (and XIV never has.) So idk. I definitely disagree with you, and WoW is generally just a bunch of world quests and boring crap anyway, just with more RNG on gear and less respect for the players time, and a terrible story to boot.

[@Carpatouille]

@@Kullerva171 The game for pure PvP players has been rotten and killed since MoP ended so it's not even good in PvP, and I won't be talking about PvE, the gear progression or the terrible shop and buyable in game money that ruined the community and plagued it with spammed /2 with boosting services for real money, you see tons of players who are trash at the game but paid real money to be strong have twice your stats, WoW became pay to win compared to its older self where you needed actual effort and talent to be geared, and the gear you had was adapted to what you did during cata and mop for example. WoW is only a shadow of its former self, which is very sad since it's a game I played massively and have the most of good memories since I played it non stop for years, but I just accepted that Blizzard would not fix the game since it only got worst and worst over time with shady business practices and their games dying left and right, appealing only to whales. The fixes would be so easy, but since it would reduce the money income from whales for them they won't do it. Actually sad for the state of many Blizzard games, the only one that's still good is SC2 and maybe Overwatch everything else was destroyed almost beyond repair for what they once were for actual players.

[@cardcaptorsnaruto]

If you don't cry while playing this story at some point u a robot.

[@stevenalvarez2924]

So, to not spoil anything. There are many moments in the game people would classify as Chekhovs Gun. I can't tell you what they are or when they go off. All I will say is that they feel like throwaway scenes in most games. Something you normally believe would be ignored or of insignificant value. Keep playing and enjoy the ride to the end.

[@annotated1353]

Being a fan of One Piece, I definitely understand what that feels like. I'm looking forward to the rest!

[@PeninatorSS]

FFXIV is know for having forced movement in combat, which I think makes it a lot more interesting at lower levels

[@Hijynx87]

Can't auto attack and make a sandwich, 0/10.

[@esrarchitects53]

This by far the best review for FFXIV, especially for beginners

[@pforgottonsoul]

idk he sounds so jaded like he wants to hate the game and i think beginners will take it as the game not being worth it.

[@esrarchitects53]

@@pforgottonsoul I think this feeling just like mine when I first try it, not so convinced by the game but the game keep proving it's worth

[@pforgottonsoul]

@@esrarchitects53 to me it was the opposite but that may be because i'm used to the MMO lifestyle having played WoW for like 5 years before quitting the only reason it took me so long to get into FFXIV is because i was hesitant to sink so much of my time into another MMO especially since i have much less time than i used to.

[@marky6456]

Not really. This review was padded out with more filler than the original main scenario.

[@darkl1nk07]

What a great and impressive video man! You deserve way more subs and likes. This seemed so professional! Great work! I really enjoyed this as someone who loves FF14!

[@kpenn100]

Arr isn't a slog though it's the foundation.

[@Sylttia]

ARR? No. 2.1 to 2.5? Very much so.

[@kpenn100]

@@Sylttia nah all good set up for future content.

[@F34RDSoldier805]

@@Sylttia ARR is a good intro to how the game mechanics work, classes work, roles work, etc. Its a slog sure, but it's necessary for people new to MMO's. I saw a level 70 tank today that didn't even understand why he couldn't aggro the mobs. He didn't even know he needed to have grit on as a Dark Knight to tank. The smallest things are important yet can be easily overlooked when skipping ARR. Plus you would be extremely overwhelmed skipping it.

[@Elidan1012]

@@kpenn100 It's still a slog. It's gets more interesting the more you learn later on, where you see that it was setup and needed, but when you are doing it? Real slow and boring imo.

[@kpenn100]

@@Elidan1012 fair enough im a big lore guy i find allot of joy in the details

[@EM_vi_ix]

I just got my first chocobo.

[@k.vn.k]

Congratulations!

[@zox101]

i need something to escape boring WoW.this looks like real deal

[@SoSakashii]

“I want to do everything” oh boy, I’m the same type and constantly switching between high end raids to housing savage, crafting, sightseeing logs, collecting mount, minions, emotes, getting all beast tribes to final ranks, maps, hunt, glamour... don’t forget the forrays (eureka n bozja)... truly a death sentence. I’ve played for over 2 years and still have things to do...

[@MumonguGaming]

Great video. Just downloaded it now. Thanks for helping me choose.

[@ZoraKurosagi]

so im on day 3, anytime i get off to watch some ff14 video i immediateley want to get back on

[@commiekittiessaymao]

Such a well put together video! The production quality is top-notch. Looking forward to seeing more FFXIV content from you! Also, what up PRIMAL! Greetings from Leviathan. Maybe I'll see you in my roulettes some time. ;)

[@carstan62]

OH GOD! It kills me inside when you mention lv50 DRGs "generally staying put." They stripped so many of the positionals off of lv50 DRG from the ARR era.

[@mikoto7693]

I'm tempted to try drg since pld isn't really working out for me.

[@PMSJordans]

ARR is very slow, but I still enjoyed my time with. The expansions really amps things up and fleshes about your abilities/how your class is played. Edit: btw great video. Just subbed and can’t wait to watch more of your videos 😊

[@Taokoan]

Currently working on a similar video myself but I have been struggling to find the courage/motivation to see it through. This video has given me the spark I needed so thank you! I am also falling in love with this game and hope to share my experience with as much passion as you have here. Liked & subbed

[@jw-fb1iq]

Please put the link here if/when you do it :-)

[@Firabe]

Hey there, thank you for this video! Hearing your thoughts somehow made me tear up a little :) I'm a FF14 veteran, saw your video and wanted to hear your opinion. And you beautifully expressed the scepticism and grumbling "What the heck do all people find good about this game? Fine, I'll check it out for myself pfft." up to "Wow this is amazing! And I am not even in the supposedly good parts yet!" I will eagerly await hearing about your updated opinions from here on out :) I am glad you enjoyed it so far and I am very sure you will enjoy liking it even further. And whether you will end up buying and subscribing to the game or not. My take on this is... yes. I pay 10€ a month and I bought the expansions and all, I mean, I have been playing this game for 11 years now. With breaks in between. That adds up to a huge amount of money over the time. But as you mentioned it ... what did I get from this money? : Value. These crazy developers are adding lots and lots and lots of new stuff every 3ish months. You invest with 10€ a month into a game that just keeps going on and on. And I love it! And if you are sick of content, take a break, return a year later, have even more content! Thank you for the video!

[@Ed-hc5iz]

Okay fine. I'll give it another shot. I have tried 2 times already but the beginning always bored me to death (but everyone is also telling me that you have to "suffer" through this). Hope it works this time. Great video!

[@bonbonnom30]

I agree, found the beginning of the game to be a slog with no rewarding content available as, apart from leveling, you dont really get access to much of anything you will be using long term, you'll be able to pretty easily blow through the story with little challenge. The boss mechanics are just repetitive and once you get them, there really is no challenge. Classes feel 1 dimensional and the majority of your time in end game is just chasing cosmetics which just seems like a waste of time and a "fun with friends" game. There really is no feeling of earned progression either since just playing through the story with virtually 0 challenges being presented to you, other than reading ever block of text they throw at you, and doing run of the mill "talk to him, then him, deliver this, watch scene, will net you more xp than actually exploring the world. Feels less like an open world mmo and more like a guided theme park with thrills that lose their flare too quickly.

[@annotated1353]

Give it a shot but don't force yourself if you don't find something that appeals to you. It's okay to dislike the game, its not going to be everyone's jam.

[@crimsondaoist798]

K so as someone who forced xiv max. Level into savages here's some tips and flags I would give 1: if u don't enjoy it till HW don't bother it just becomes painful 2: community is overhyped and is your normal mmo community 3: Everything is gatekept, even side content and goddamn hairstylist is locked behind a short story 4:Content isn't there if you're not up for rp or socializing and watching cinematic even Yoshi P described XIV as a seasonal series where u unsub and resub when new story Comes 5:Dont ever pug savages because it's painful. Classes are pretty fun at lvl 70 when it becomes a actual class. Tanking is relatively easy and the games. Dungs are pretty well designed

[@adamwalton9312]

The community is certainly a highlight, coming from WoW one of the things I was pleasantly surprised about, in a story raid there was a player who was regularly struggling on a mechanic on this boss fight causing a wipe, coming from WoW that person would have been either been kicked or verbally abused then kicked. Not in FF XIV the players explained and stayed patient with this person explaining what to do and when and guess what we killed the boss.

[@mikoto7693]

Likewise! In my first Ifrit battle as an arcanist I didn't understand the nails have to be destroyed quick and we wiped. The party explained the issue to me and we tried again. The second time we won quite easily.

[@ikkeheltvanlig]

Healer is God. Revere your healer or be doomed. All hail the healer.

[@arixphes]

Thanks. I can show this to people so they can understand why this is a good game and can be enjoyed without spending a dime. I have the same mentality towards pay to play mmos. I hate point and click. You should add you can play with a controller as well as a keyboard. That makes a difference for me. Having the option. This is actually a great review and is on a level anyone can understand. Thank you!

[@kiraleshoth]

ARR isn't that bad tbh. The story, though seemingly cliche, is decent enough and reaaaaaally important for the rest (and is still VERY, relevant even in 2021). It's basically a prologue or season 1.

[@KargothTheDeathknigh]

Very amazing beginners guide mate, keep up the good work. I'm playing FFXIV for 8 years now and its not the game i play for hours to catch up or anything. You never feel being left behind or anything like that, you can always catch up. Something last and important, you feel addicted from either the story or the combat or whatever? Just wait to reach max lvl and start glamouring, the moment you do that and you learn about Fantasia, there is not drug stronger than that lol. Have fun playing.

[@Judas390]

9:44 Not healers fault, you pulled 5 mobs at brayloft and at that lvl they don't have their proper spells yet but the mobs still scale higher so white mage didn't have the spells yet to pull that and heal you enough.

[@svingarm9283]

Stopped a few years ago when I could not get on with my char because it required me to go to the dungeon to be able to continue. And I do not want to play with others, but just for myself, so stopped. Will damn not want a game try and force me to play with others

[@vickigroesbeck1104]

I was already enjoying the video, before I spotted my own character in it! Welcome to the game, neighbor!

[@Neoyugi]

I put off touching this game just because of the final fantasy name alone, I regret it. It's a slog for sure but an enjoyable one if you like campaign stories.

[@Saiyan0805]

Started playing about 3 weeks ago, over 100+ hours and still in the post ARR content. I haven't even got to what is called the "good" part and I'm addicted.

[@gorz2013]

Lol it's cute that you think you'll only play ff14 for 400 hours. I'm like 7 years deep lol.

[@LagunaLeonhart]

One key thing to remember is the FFXIV core story is told over all of its expansions and will end in the next expansion Endwalker (6.0). There will be a brand new story in FFXIV after that point which will probably be told in the same format. Every expansion has its own story as well but there's a much larger plot going on that doesn't take centre stage until around Shadowbringers. Think Avengers and how it started with Iron Man, and went on for years with various movies which had their own plot but eventually showed a larger more epic story. That's what FFXIV is. Combine that with the gameplay mechanics of an MMO there's so much to do and the music is phenomenal. If you're a fan of Nobuo Uematsu you're going to love this. Masayoshi Soken has done an amazing job and continues to do so. The graphics are current and don't look like cheap pixelated characters like WoW.

[@ActualCobalt]

Hey, im also on Hyperion and was a fresh sprout last year. Glad to know that someone else went through similar things to me.

[@swft89]

I might try this again, Have they finally sorted the starter expansion? :P

[@Khalmidgar]

its still a bit of a grind, but much less so. Msq quests were trimmed down, tickets to teleport u to a place u have to go to frequently are given to new players, exp from main story quests below 50 has been increased. You can tunnel vision nothing but main quests in arr and youll level up high enough to be ready for the next expansion no problem.

[@lvelez6490]

Been playing for 2 years. Surprised how well this video was made. Get to heavensward and shadowbringers. Epic, just epic

[@mintshroom]

Yo, as someone who has been playing FFXIV since May of 2018, currently very hype for the new expansion this coming fall, I want to say thank you for this review. It's a very well made video, and you explained a lot of the good parts of ARR very well. Looking forward to your perspective of the other expansions. Absolutely take your time with everything, it will be a great ride.

[@oliverh.6702]

I just started playing a few days ago, too and I am addicted! I wanted to start playing this game because I am currently learning for exams and needed a game to turn on, do a few quests, and then turn it off. After the exams I wanted to play Ghost of Tsushima and let me sink in. Now I sunk into FFXIV and really need to push myself to lean instead of playing the game ^^ And Ghost of Tsushima needs to wait a few hundered hous now.

[@raulinhentchel1237]

Your comments are very similar to my own journey. My boyfriend asked me to play with him back in 2018. I didn't like MMOs but I gave it a shot cause he asked me and bought the game for me for Christmas. Now I've been subscirbed ever since, capped every class, become a mentor, done at least 1 of each relic weapon, I raid twice a week with our FC and so much more. I love this game. And it's so great to see you starting your journey like I did. I hope you enjoy the expansions, and I hope you will get just as hype for the new one coming this year. I love this game, and I hope I never have to stop.

[@dacbiet]

I felt the same way with tanking. I didn’t like tanking in other MMOs but in FF14, I feel like I’m DPSing than tanking which is a huge plus

[@Novaphaux1984]

Another thing I belive yoshi p said, 'if your players leave the game, they have to leave satisfied.' This makes the prospect of them comming back easier.

[@mewfangirl1052]

As someone whose been playing FF14 since 2.2 in ARR, it always interests me to hear what new players have to say and think about this amazing game in it's current state, as opposed to me remembering how it was in the past. Glad to hear you're getting so much enjoyment out of the free trial of a game that I love so much. ^_^

[@challenge733]

-So, I like the review so far (as someone who has played the game since ARR or 2.0 launched) however I do have to point out that Black Mages are actually the field artillery of the game, implying that their aoe ability is stupidly powerful. Still very unique with their mana mechanics though. In addition, ALL melee character have positional abilities, aka, the stuff --you were highlighting with monk. Monk does have the MOST of those however. -Thank you so, SO much for talking about the massive amounts of EXP buffs this game has. -ARR (A Realm Reborn) was heavily about world building. Expansions get much more about the Warrior of Light's journey (your journey). -Oh my god! Hildy! Such a deep rabbit hole that everyone loves. -I had a suspicion that you pushed the free trial to it's limit and then some. Glad to see I was right. -I love this video, you have earned yourself a new subscriber good sir! Some final thoughts are below if you would like some advice from a veteran. -First of all, if you haven't paid already, don't until you get up to the maximum you can in the Free Trial for MSQ. yes, you will probably max out every job in the game by then, but then you will have a very good idea what you want to tackle the game with moving forward. -Speaking of which, and I understand that what I am about to ask is a difficult thing for a lot of people, Pick your favorite for the jobs you have played. No, this does not mean that you will abandon all others once you get out of the free trial, however it is important to establish what job is your 'main' as that will help you out later on when you get into the endgame content and you join the ranks of weekly capped farming (i'll let you judge that on your own if/when you get there). -I would also heavily recommend (once you get out of the free trial) finding yourself a Free Company. It sounds silly, but Free Companies (especially good ones) can be a MASSIVE source of information for you. I specifically recall playing with someone who NEVER got the chance to sit down and pick the brain of a veteran for specifically Dragoon, and boy oh boy did she have a lot of questions about both the class AND the game as a whole, and she was almost 60 with the job at the time. The lack of this knowledge was (in part) her not fully reading everything BUT the other part of it is that even though the game has a 'help the new people out' system, not a lot of people will abide by it and even if they do, half the time they just get snob nosed a-holes who have something to prove (speaking from experience here). This is part of the reason why a good FC is very important, as those are people you will see and potentially interact with DAILY so it's a lot harder to be a dick to someone who's in your FC and if that happens too often, congratulations, report them and get out, find somewhere better.

[@sleepysera]

Haha, do you understand now why people find it so hard to explain why someone should give it a try? 🤭 It's just...the sum of all the small things it does right~

[@Yomens123]

Why i love FF14 so much ? Growing up I pretty much played every Final Fantasy game under the sun, I grew up with that series. FF14 is like a huge fan service to the fans who know the series well. Seeing enemy, names, many references from other FF games is like 50% of my enjoyment alone in FF14. The rest of the 50% is the well crafted story :D

[@mikoto7693]

I grew up with the FF series starting with FF7 and now ending with FF14. I'm not sure I'm interested in 15 as it looks like there are no female party members.

[@megasrdc]

I started playing and what got me was how friendly people were.

[@echo_s1186]

There it is. Fashion is the true end game.

[@yabiyabi]

Take your time progging and enjoy the main story like Netflix

[@TimothyRitchey]

Dude, it's nearly 5 full minutes before you get into the actual review. You can trim these videos a ton and not lose any good content.

[@annotated1353]

I wanted to establish some context but I agree that it could have been done in a more efficient way. In my videos looking at the games expansions I tried my best to do more trimming

[@OMartinez91]

As a returning player, I love this guide because it refreshes my memory

[@k.vn.k]

When he said for the next 400 hours, I feel weird checking my current game play clocking at 35k hours.......... FFXIV is actually a solo game that has MMO part only if you want to.

[@notmedude]

Looks like lineage. Meh.

[@TheMusicolophile]

I am also a lifetime gamer that tried a couple of MMO’s; WOW, Ultima Online, etc. Like you, I never liked them. Last week, I took the plunge with this game and I haven’t looked back since. Beautiful game, all around. So far.

[@maamiimii]

I don’t know man, I’ve been having trouble finding the motivation to play this thing any longer myself. I’m currently 47 after starting like 6 months ago. I pretty much only played White Mage so maybe that’s why but all I know is it’s just not hooking me mostly due to the story not being as great as everyone’s professed it to be (though that huge machine thing killing all the gods and absorbing their power has made it a bit more interesting recently lol). I’m likely going to try to push into 50 at least but otherwise idk

[@richardhitch5198]

Funny enough, I said the same thing, pushed myself to 50, said "The story has to get better...right?" Slogged through the nightmare of a questline between arr and HW. Only to be disappointed with the HW story. Everyone always says it's so great but the main group that the expansion is names after hardly do anything at all, and the writing of specific characters in hw was so transparent, a 5th grader could see the twist coming. Plus the whole writing with Niddhog and a specific Lancer was...dumb, not a single npc even cares about what happens to him, and everyone just goes on as if it were another Tuesday. I ended up playing through to Shadowbringers and the story didn't get much better. I finally reached my breaking point with the writing on a major villain and how poorly they build him up. I quit before I finished the expansion and haven't even considered going back. Tl:Dr if you don't enjoy the pacing of the story now, it doesn't change, and you won't enjoy it later. I learned that the hard way.

[@dracocrusher]

Don't pay much mind to Richard Hitch, things actually do pick up a lot at the final strech of A Realm Reborn with things coming together really well for the final zone and boss. It's also a pain to replay because for whatever reason they thought it was a good idea to shove in unskippable cutscenes, but thankfully they got rid of that concept immediately afterwards. I think the big thing to keep in mind is that FF14 is always going to be weird and wordy with its dialogue and quests, but it honestly does get better. And the biggest advice I can give anyone picking up the game is to try out every role, because honestly playing healer isn't for everybody but the management of playing Tank is a way better in-between where you don't have to manage everyone but you also get fun bigger moves, and DPS is pretty streamlined fun for people who just want to hit buttons and do big crazy combos. Big warning, though, Black Mage and Warrior are really weird classes that can be hard to get into, so be prepared. They're not underpowered by any means, but it's way easier to use other Tank AoEs than it is to use the Warrior's because it's a cone, which makes things awkward. And then Black Mage just has a lot of weird non-obvious skills and stuff, but if you can get used to it you get really nutty damage. Heavensward is pretty straightforward in what the themes are about, but honestly I think that's completely fine. It knows what it is, goes for it, and tells a pretty fun story with interesting character moments on the side. And it definitely lives up to a lot of the hype specifically in its Duties/Dungeons and the optional Alexander Raids, which are legitimately really cool and interesting, with Alexander essentially being capable of time travel and creating all kinds of crazy time loop shenanigans with a lot of really good dungeons and boss fights to it. I can't say as much good about Stormblood, though. It's not as much of a slog as A Realm Reborn, but it's honestly pretty mediocre. I never hated it, but the storyline with Zenos and the resistance to the Garleans never felt that compelling. The optional raids for Stormblood are pretty good, though, being a big crazy plotline about how the Omega Weapon is putting you in a tournament full of battles to the death against recreations of various bosses from the Final Fantasy Omniverse, so if you're a fan of FF5 or 6 then you'll definitely have a lot of fun with some of the cameos that show up. Currently, I'm getting through Shadowbringers and it's not going to be this big crazy mind-blowing experience so far, but what I can say is that it's good and it's MILES better paced than any of the other story arcs. There's still busy work and padding here and there, but it feels like each section has pretty immediately lead to some really strong interesting moment, like seeing how the new villain group works and how absolutely horrifying they are or like going out and stumbling across the ghost of a fallen hero who has all these fun interactions. To put things into perspective, one of the first things you encounter in the expansion proper is a super cool location where you stumble across an old merchant who naturally feeds you a bit of exposition that makes you go "Wait, what?" and sets the tone for just how desperate things are in the arc. And things have only gotten more promising from there. Not sure if I'm going to come out of it holding it up to the impossibly high standard of "The best FF story ever", but so far I legitimately feel like if Shadowbringers was somehow its own FF game then people would definitely say it's one of the best MODERN Final Fantasy titles without question. It definitely gives me that FF6 vibe of how every new location is punctuated by some memorable moment or really cool sequence that makes the whole experience feel alive, if that makes sense. And part of that is because each expansion so far has been written by a different writer, with the writer for Shadowbringers being so popular that they're just sticking around for the next expansion to do the main story stuff again, which is great. But yeah, definitely worth your time, but maybe consider checking out Lancer, Gladiator, or Arcanist for some interesting other options. Or if you don't mind going to Level 50, you'll be able to get into some more interesting newer classes like Samurai, Red Mage, Machinist, or Dark Knight, which all have a lot of really cool interesting mechanics to them. And with the new expansion coming out players will be able to play Sage, which is a healer class where you get to form barriers with mecha-style funnels/drones that form shields around people, which looks super neat.

[@richardhitch5198]

@@dracocrusher I only gave my experience because I felt the same way about the game, but was told it gets better by people, and ended up wasting my money. Simply trying to help someone who potentially feels the same way I did about the game when I was at that level. Maamimi isn't me, so they may end up enjoying it, but I'm just throwing out my experience with the game.

[@dracocrusher]

@@richardhitch5198 If you're not feeling Heavensward then that's probably fair enough overall because with the free trial that's basically $60 or so anyways, right? At that point it's like if you don't enjoy it then the other expansions are basically like buying sequels to a franchise you're already not into.

[@kbutta01]

I just wish they would redo the first 20 or so hours cause honestly it’s pretty darn bland and boring until you get through the opening content. The game needs a lot more voice acting. You only get voice acting durning very special cut scenes for quite some time.

[@Elidan1012]

That is a pretty big time investment for almost no return.

[@juansandoval3004]

wait till you try crafting and gathering HOUSEING chocobo racing leveling/feeding your chocobo leveling up blue mage different monsters to tackle down and they are not the same except crafters all crafters are the same mostly

[@BadAtGaming3484]

Appreciate the review really helped me come to a decision. Gonna pull the trigger on it since ive just been playing wow on autopilot anytime I feel like even after not really playing it all recently. Too much BS. Thanks again

[@joeyknight1989]

Very well made video you definitely deserve more love earned a sub!

[@Hijynx87]

The free trial seems pretty amazing (unlimited play up to lvl 60 with all of those classes), I've always wanted to get into this game again (I quit as a lvl 15 lancer lol). The XP bonus for the first expansion is pretty nuts now compared to launch.

[@KristianNox]

You made new fan also were same server. Hope we can team up someday I'm glad you enjoying the game so far. I wish you nothing but the best of luck to you. If you need help with anything mostly not I'm here to help. I sub hope to see more content from you friend.

[@LagunaLeonhart]

I'm watching this while the Shadowbringers credits roll. I was very impressed with the storytelling through shadowbringers but even more so towards the end. It felt reminiscent to ffx in parts. Now onto the post game!

[@mynameispash6427]

5.3 is the end of the shadowbringers story and it’s even better than 5.0. You’re in for a treat!

[@Nic9963]

Great video, let's get you more subs!!

[@nemzumi1]

I end up playing solo alot due to my anxiety and shyness, and I only started playing two mmorpgs ff14 and black desert mobile.

[@dreamer6737]

Good review! FF14 is one of my fav FFs it’s like a single player game with MMO features. The story and characters through all expansions are amazing

[@TheDapperDragon]

"I want to do everything! Literal death sentence." Me: -capped Omniclass/Omnicrafter with a overcapped chocobo, house, most relics and silver in PVP.- Yeah, hehe, who'd be stupid enough to do that >>;

[@anteibrahimovic881]

Really good review my friend! Hope you get more subs, this is some good quality stuff! You just earned subscriber 💯🙋🏼‍♂️

[@drittz5470]

Amazing Video and Execution. Spot on. I jumped in a few weeks ago and stopped for a few days. Jumped back in and I’m hooked. Amazing Game. One of the best MMO’s

[@skeliskull]

I think ARR was more fun than later expacs prior to the exp buffs because I remember there were actually a lot of points where you couldn’t progress MSQ due to level requirements. So you’d need to go do hunt log, fates, dungeons and just take a lil break from msq to go out and do stuff. As much as I love the MSQ story, the xpacs are all a straight shot point A to B where the game never forces you to take a break and actually you will massively over-level the MSQ by the time you reach stormblood.

[@tminusfivetwu]

I’ve been playin WOW since December 2005 and I’ve been seeing FF14 pushed hard recently on KZbin. I downloaded it yesterday and I’m really loving it. I jumped in as a marauder and at level 10 became a rogue. My first character in WOW was a rogue too!

[@chkh007]

I like ur video and the some of the points u made I completely agree with. But I dropped it b/c I don’t like how the combat system, graphic looks . My first FF is FFVII remake. I loved the the art, the combat system and how realistic the graphics looked. Then my second FF was FFXV. remake had better graphics but still XV was still good and had good graphics too. And the combat system is similar to Remake now this FF14 is completely different to graphics to combat system. I don’t like how it is and frankly it doesn’t have the spark that the other two has. Therefore I’m not interested. Not to mention remake story is so good and once I found out crisis core everything made sense I liked the game even more….

[@DanKaschel]

I just can't do it. The graphics are just so. Bad. And I know that doesn't bother most people, at least after they've been playing a bit. But they just assault my eyeballs. I wish there was an mmo that offered both an eye-candy version and an easy-to-run version. Give me an MMO that looks like God of War on PC and I'll play the shit out of it.

[@catiangaming5659]

this was such a well thought out video so hats off to you (unless you're Hrothgar or Viera, then they're always off, rip headwear) I've been playing since back in 1.0 when it was broken as all heck but a good few of us still cherished its sloppy offerings. the entire story of ARR builds off of the death of the previous failed version, even in so much as the nuking of the servers has become a canon event in in game lore. The battle of Cartenau and fall of Dalamud, a.k.a the 7th umbral calamity. even a decade on from the 1.0 release I still return regularly from other games and its like coming home. despite the fact there's no need to do so, I can guarantee the urge will arise at some point to make a new character and see it all fresh once again. I've racked up around 20 characters across the various data centers and worlds in my time playing while racking up around 2000-3000 hrs in game. every new patch brings new content, be it a dungeon, a raid, a seasonal event or a new expansion. that's one of the things that kept me coming back. even between expansions there's new content every three months minimum. Each time a new expansion is released I fall in love with this game all over again, you could go as far as to say I'm a proud Eorzean who sometimes visits other worlds (games) the upcoming expansion in November is set to round off the story begun in 1.0, what the future holds is unclear but they've already made it clear the game is going nowhere, they've got many more years of content planned. Enjoy Heavensward, try not to cry too much. A smile better suits a hero.

[@madscrandy856]

Bro i dont know how i have just now stumbled upon this guide but. MY DUDE, you are the best. Every other review i have watched has left me with zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz feeling.... Yours has me loading up ready to give it a real shot. I just wanted to say thank you.

[@jabronibasher]

I quit shortly before heavensword. I love this game, but the only issue i have with it was the lack of outfits and interesting armor. Everyone looked the same, just with different colors. Has it changed now? Might consider going back =p

[@EarnyTV]

I tried the game for a month now... it really is not a bad MMO it is actually really good, but the story stuff that came after the main game (i think its around 80+ quests that give almost no EXP) and the same for the story after the first expansion (also about 40+ quests with almost no EXP) kinda broke my excitement for the game... i just wanted to get to the endgame and have fun in dungeons and raids with my friends which already played it for quite some time. I talked a bit with 'em and they told me that those two choke points were equally as bad for them and they just bought a story skip... in my opinion they could change it to where you get just normal amounts of EXP in those parts of the game so you can level normally to where your friends are or to max level and if you are really interestet in the story you still could finish it at level 80 or max level... that is the biggest reason why i dropped the game again.

[@posivibez2094]

Great video! Never played this game and this was super informative

[@vampyrefollower]

The first five minutes was you expressing your opinions and generally not even talking about the game it seemed maybe put your opinions at the end of the review. I would actually suggest cutting back your opinions by like 80% and just talk about the game. I got annoyed waiting for information almost 27 minute video and only like 5 minutes was helpful information

[@NoxLegend1]

All we wanna know is HOW MUCH SQUARE paid you to make this? I hope it made you rich!

[@mikoto7693]

So I'm now lvl 50 and about to take on what I think is the last set of climax quests. Finally in my full artifact gear. My weakness for alts has gotten to me though. Smn, whm, pld and drg. Has to be done.

[@Cygryf]

I Leveld up every job to level 60, collected every possible card for the cardgame minigame, i completed every possible irrelevant side quest on the map, i did every dungeon at least once (hard mode and normal) and did every extreme trial aveliable for me at least once, and completed every Normal Raid (sadly didnt complete savage ones), and only got all craftings and gatherings only to level 50. All of this is aveliable to trial and it took me on /playtime 32 days. So the free trial actually offers you around 730 hours if not more of game time if you are planning to finish it all.

[@Poporoporancio]

I have been between wow and eso , mostly wow, but wow seems to have lost it, every time it feels worst, maybe my 10 years of playing this game have become exhastive, finally with Shadowlands I played it for a little bit and got booooored as fuck, I even stoped playing for months for the first time, and not planing to go back, so I decided to give it a try to FFXIV, I never liked the character anime style, but I guess wow has pushed me to FFXIV so much that now I am starting to like it, I can't wait to get to cap level to play the real game, but so far I am liking it, I don't even want to go back to wow, people in FFXIV are better and the game overall, eventhough I loved pvp in wow, I slowly have stopped the need to play bgs, FFXIV free trial has done the tricked helped by the bad stated of wow, I don't know if I want to go back to wow and pay a subscription when it is not even worth it, I prefer to play FFXIV and they can surprise me and if in the future I decide to pay a subscription with FFXIV it will be because I want, but so far it is fun.

[@djukor]

Yea some classes take time to truly become unique. Tanks for instance are more or less the same at lvl 50 but each new level cap per expansion makes them different. Warrior becomes a burst damage monster. Paladin becomes a secondary healer/caster. Gun-breaker becomes a DPS whit tank privilege. Dark knight has no real thing he excels at like the other tanks he is basically a jack of all trades but he does have the most diverse and unique set of skills.

[@gr_avery]

Boring, slow game with dead pvp, and shitty netcode. 0 content after u end story except relic's grind. And yea, glamour/transmog system in gw2 is better

[@chadvader974]

Hmmm still not sold. Why don't you talk about the atrocious start of the game where you are in some mega low resolution desert city and the msq has you delivering pretzels to people. You don't talk about the line after line after line of useless dialogue in every quest with absolutely no voiceover. I can't bring myself to play through this... I'm about level 10 and want to gouge out my eyes

[@weekendnoobbsgaming7170]

Love it.. May be I was trying to watch a Video which explains how I feel about the game. Great job!!

[@HaloDJumper]

I still remember starting out a year and a half ago as a Gladiator not knowing what the hell I was doing

[@pipebomber04]

Is therr large faction battles? Geoplitics?

[@annotated1353]

Large faction battles and geopolitics are happening in the overall story but you will not be participating in huge 100+ people fights. You get instanced into a dungeon and the dungeons backdrop could be a big battle or a seige, but you'll only really be going through it with 3 other people. Does that kind of make sense? You experience a small slice of the big battles as your role is often to go in as a specialized strike team while the big armies are fighting somewhere 'over there.' In terms of geopolitics, it is there but not as deep as a game like Witcher. It's very JRPG - unite the different factions against the BBECountry. But each of those factions you are trying to recruit have their own separate story arcs that play out over the course of a whole expansion. Its very much an A Plot, B Plot situation and is well executed and paced.

[@pipebomber04]

@@annotated1353 the large faction battles happening that you mentioned, are the other players participating in it? Or is it just a background story for your dungeons?

[@jasonbourne4865]

FFXIV doesn't just have tons of activities to sink your teeth into, but these also emerge and fit naturally into the world, and aren't just something tacked onto the game for the sake of padding.

[@blksamri]

Honestly I like your review but if you could not talk so slowly you could shave off like 7 minutes lol. Found myself fast forwarding a ton. But good job dude.

[@polo_sheridan2869]

I just started playing about two weeks ago and I’m loving it. Dart Highborn on Lamia also a bard.

[@NoxLegend1]

Of course they dont care if you stop to ply the other games. The model isnt to keep you playing every day. Its to keep you playing once per month Atleast. The perfect scenario is that you arent burning Yourself out of their product. They want to stretch it out over the long term. Its a game as a service. Youre paying monthly as well as paying for each new game. As long as you pay the monthly you could play the first of each month for all they care. This is business no one cares about you as a person.