Final Fantasy XIV Online is an Unexpected Paradise for WoW Players
I finally gave this game a try and was rewarded in kind
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Seriously, what took me so long to get into this game? Final Fantasy XIV (FFXIV), aka the critically acclaimed MMORPG with a completely free trial including the award-winning Heavensward expansion is entering a new and exciting time in 2021. Perhaps spurred on due to a content drought in World of Warcraft (WoW) and more interest in playing video games during Covid-19, FFXIV may have reached a milestone like none it has seen before.
This game has an excellent story combined with satisfying gameplay and a lot of the components of a good MMO. I think the reason I did not try it until this year is that at surface level, it never seemed to appeal to me, but boy was I wrong and I am glad to have finally dived in. Now, the question is, should you do the same?
For me, WoW sets the stage for FFXIV
I have played WoW on and off for the past 14 years. I started playing in 2007, right along with my friends from high school; back in the days of The Burning Crusade. The game was unlike anything I had played before. I could play virtually with friends and strangers who would eventually become friends and there was a true sense of vastness to the world that was begging for exploration.
One of WoW’s biggest strengths is the world of Azeroth. The previous Warcraft games had already set up a rich universe with prominent characters like Kael’thas Sunstrider and Illidan Stormrage. As a fledgling player, I was excited to take my own character or ‘toon’ to this same level of greatness. In fact, walking around Ironforge and seeing the veteran players standing on the bridge was a major driver that kept me well engaged in the game for the next 5 years. I wanted to be like them, and get the best gear in the game for my class (a warrior).
Sadly, those early days of WoW were meant to end as some of my friends quit playing and the game was becoming ever so slightly stale. Even then, I kept playing for many more years, even if just to check out the new content for a while. Cataclysm was the last major expansion I played all the way through. More recently, even the new content has become less appealing…
