LogFAQs > #928640696

redrocket posted...

How does it actually compare to WoW?

Pros:
-The combat starts off a little more clunky, but it later becomes much more complex in its rotations and situational skills.
-Being able to play/level any or all classes on the same character is a breath of fresh air.
-Level sync means running old dungeons isnt a complete snore, and it lets newbies pair with more experienced players regularly.
-The storyline is quite good. Some parts are hit or miss, but its definitely there and not something to ignore like much of WoWs story. In the expansions the story goes from good to amazing then back down to a-bit-above-good.
-Jesus Christ the soundtrack is amazing. And varied to boot.
-Raid bosses or trash encounters are separated into their own unique instances. If you wipe on a boss, you get to jump back in for another try immediately, and you dont have to worry about trash respawning.
-Epic encounters feel suitably epic. A lot of it comes from story buildup plus the soundtrack as mentioned above. The Final Steps of Faith is one of the most amazing boss fights I have done in my life.
-So many references from the FF past to tickle those nostalgia bones.
-As expected from Squeenix, the character models and animations look great, albeit with some clipping issues occasionally. So many of the bosses (read: Ravana) look badass and/or metal as fuck.

Neutral
-PvE combat and especially Trials / raids are way heavier on telegraphed AoE than WoW. They even have a bunch more standard symbols to react to besides just dont stand here.
-All of the classes feel quite distinct. That isnt really different from WoW but its cool being able to change them on the fly.
-The game does not rely on popping cooldowns appropriately like high-end WoW content. Theres no real equivalent to Bloodlust, little DPS cooldowns to pop at just the right phase (BLM excepted), and unless youre a tank, survival cooldowns dont really exist, at least nothing equivalent to a mage Ice Block or rogue Cloak of Shadows.
-Talent trees dont exist, but those suck in modern WoW anyway. If anything this could be a boon because you get ALL your moves whenever you need them.
-There are no subclasses like most WoW classes have. If youre a Paladin in FFXIV, youre a tank. Period. However, you can just swap to a different class if you want to do something else, so its a wash for me.

Cons:
-The UI is garbage. Sweet god, let me check my mailbox while on my Chocobo. This isnt that hard. I understand it was built for PS4 as well, but that still shouldnt preclude me from checking my mail on my chocobo.
-Similarly, theres no support for mods, even the ones that are strict Quality of Life upgrades. No DBM, no Auctioneer, none of that. Using even a DPS tracker is against Terms of Use and can get you banned.
-Theres no in-game guide to prep you on mechanics. Either somebody in your party/friends fills you in, you look it up in browser, or you fly by the seat of your pants. What the fuck did I die to gets really frustrating after the 7th wipe. Wishing there were a guide in-game is met with the equivalent of git gud scrub.
-Boss mechanics arent as varied as in WoW. So far, theres nothing like having to pick which part of a boss to kill first, no vehicle combat, no swimming through the air like in Alysrazor, no splitting the raid to handle separate mechanics. Maybe thats in Shadowbringers?
-Aside from graphics, you can tell theres not a lot of money invested compared to WoW. Most bosses completely lack voice acting, which means no audio cues for some mechanics that could reeeeally use them. At least the fight music kicks ass.
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