LogFAQs > #973277222

#7. Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/7/9/1/AAK53VAAEcnf.jpg

It only took 100 hours of slogging through ARR, but finally - HW was what made me a believer in FF14.

It was an improvement on ARR in every way. The combat got more challenging and less mindless, the story got better, the music got better.

Like sure, ARR was pretty great for it's time, but it never felt truly "Final Fantasy." The characters were kind of just a bunch of weird strangers that I couldn't get attached to, and they just fell flat when compared to other characters in the series.

But then near the beginning of HW, when you're going on a journey with a ragtag group of friends - Alphinaud, Ysayle, and Estinien - and they have little moments where they bond over a campfire, or bicker over politics - it finally felt like Final Fantasy.

And it finally became a 9/10 for me when we were all defending Ishgard from Nidhogg, and the fight was just EPIC, and every character was bringing their A-game, and the music was just going full blast.

There's also some DONT HIGHLIGHT THIS IF YOU AINT PLAYED FF14: great character deaths, including the death of my fav FF14 character, Haurchefant ;-; and I never thought we'd get a Dragoon who could top Kane or Freya... but Estinien might be it. I just think it's so metal he dyes his armor in the blood of dragons. Also this is probably my favorite depiction of Shiva in the entire series. Like... she sleeps with dragons? It's all just so metal.

I also got heavily into Triple Triad around this time, which bleeds into a ton of side content, and somehow I ended up going on adventures with sky pirates and shit. That's the great thing about FF14 - there's so much player freedom, you never know where your adventures are gonna take you. In that regard, I truly believe Eorzea is the most fully realized FF world, topping even Spira from FFX.

So yeah, honestly, I haven't played many MMOs, but FF14 is definitely my favorite. And shout out to the community. Everybody I've met has been so incredibly helpful and pleasant to talk to. And that's just... generally unheard of when it comes to gamer communities.

So yeah, we're in 9/10 territory now baby.

The ranking so far
#7. FF14 HW - 9.0
#8. FF8 - 8.7
#9. FF5 - 8.6
#10. FF14 ARR - 8.6
#11. FFX-2 - 8.5
#12. FF12 - 8.5
#13. FF11 - 8.4
#14. FF7R - 8.4
#15. FF1 - 8.3
#16. FF15 - 8.0
#17. DoC FF7 - 6.0
#18. FF2 - 3.5
#19. FF13 - 3.0