Current Events > Is FInal FAntasy 14 worth it as a single player experience?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Heard a lot of good things but really dont want to have to deal with other people. Is it a good game playing completely solo? I hear the story is amazing.

Well depends. There is alot of solo content. But during the main story you cannot escape having to complete dungeons in order to progress the story.

So it depends how much of a dealbreaker that is for you. But it'll happen quite a few times too, it's not a one off that you have to do a dungeon or trial (8 man group bossfights).

the first 100 hours of it are free

You can't play this game up to current content (whenever that is) completely solo, so if that is a hard "nope" for you then I suggest looking elsewhere.

Honestly I would say to everyone that starts FF14 to be in for basically a single player experience. 90% of your time is just going to be spent doing story.

Yes it is. They changed it so now you can do dungeons with npcs so you don't have to wait. It's pretty helpful for solo players.

Have you tried ESO? FFXIV requires partying with others to make progress/access areas.

Nazanir posted...

But during the main story you cannot escape having to complete dungeons in order to progress the story.

They've actually been making every dungeon soloable with AI party members, at least the main story ones. So far you can do all of A Realm Reborn, Shadowbringers, and Endwalker solo (except for the final boss trials), and I think Heavensward should be mostly solo at this point for the story.

i played it up to shadowbringers and loved it. i did barely any group content except basically what was required for the main story and a little extra . The meme is true ("it gets good after 100 hours"). The start is definitely a slog but once you push through it is great and remains great, and I'm glad I did so. only reason i havent played endwalker yet is because im taking a break to play other things but im definitely gonna return to it

I've always been put off my MMOs before. Partly because they always seem like massive grinds. Reason I'm interested in FF14 is because I've heard the story is amazing but all this talk of needing to put in 100 hours to get to that point puts me off.

For context it took me the best part of a month to beat FF Crisis Core so anything I do commit to better be fucking amazing!

eggcorn posted...

Have you tried ESO? FFXIV requires partying with others to make progress/access areas.

Not entirely it doesn't. A lot of the dungeons are doable with a party of npcs. It's mostly thr end game stuff you need to party for. I'm playing completely solo and have been for a while now. I haven't done one dungeon yet with actual people just npcs.

SHRlKE posted...

I've always been put off my MMOs before. Partly because they always seem like massive grinds. Reason I'm interested in FF14 is because I've heard the story is amazing but all this talk of needing to put in 100 hours to get to that point puts me off.

For context it took me the best part of a month to beat FF Crisis Core so anything I do commit to better be fucking amazing!

Unpopular opinion, I didn't think the story was that good. It was fine but it relies heavily on how invested you are in the characters and if you don't click with them the big moments fall flat. I think the game is hampered by the fact its an MMO and was built on an MMORPGs quest structure.

Basically all the main story stuff in the free trial can be done solo, outside of certain boss fights. They've reworked the dungeons to be played by yourself if you want.

So just get the free trial, do as much as you can solo, see if you like it. The free trial has 100s of hours worth of content, easily.

By the time you're done, you'll probably be fine doing the online stuff with other players regardless.

And even when you are with other players you don't actually have to talk to them. Everyone should know how to fight and beat enemies without communicating.

Nirvanas_Nox posted...

Not entirely it doesn't. A lot of the dungeons are doable with a party of npcs. It's mostly thr end game stuff you need to party for. I'm playing completely solo and have been for a while now. I haven't done one dungeon yet with actual people just npcs.

Even the eight man content? My wife and I quit somewhere in shadowbringers because we didn't want to deal with learning mechanics.

yes it is, I did a bit of savage raiding with my brother but get bored really quickly, my favorite part of FFXIV is the solo player experience, the storyline essentially, it's worth it as a JRPG, really most especially since the Shadowbringer expansion

eggcorn posted...

Even the eight man content? My wife and I quit somewhere in shadowbringers because we didn't want to deal with learning mechanics.

everything in the story you dont really need to learn anything

Everyone mentioning dungeons isn't taking into account 2 things.

1. Trials do not have npc modes
2. Crystal Tower is now mandatory, and it can't be done solo.

You can do everything except trials and crystal tower entirely solo. For those two, there is a que to find a group for you.

I would like to point out that doing dungeons with NPCs is a slog. Even if you dont want to deal with people, its much faster to queue up with randos and just not talk to them (nobody usually says much anyways).

it's true that apart from the tough end game content that people may need explanation for sometimes regarding mechanics, people usually don't talk to each other in dungeons joined through duty finder

MorganTJ posted...

I would like to point out that doing dungeons with NPCs is a slog. Even if you dont want to deal with people, its much faster to queue up with randos and just not talk to them (nobody usually says much anyways).

Agreed. The only time it's partly acceptable is if you're a tank, but tanks get instant ques anyway.

SHRlKE posted...

Heard a lot of good things but really dont want to have to deal with other people. Is it a good game playing completely solo? I hear the story is amazing.

Lol! My life TC

ROOTFayth posted...

everything in the story you dont really need to learn anything

I was a tank and my wife a healer.

You barely have to interact with anyone in the game, even when doing dungeons with others. Japanese gamers are inherently personal, and it was made with that playstyle in mind.

you dont have to sit in chat and go "lfg blah blah blah" if thats what you're worried about. just click a button, queue, and wait.

eggcorn posted...

Even the eight man content? My wife and I quit somewhere in shadowbringers because we didn't want to deal with learning mechanics.

How'd you get that far in without learning mechanics?

While they're working on making more of the dungeons/raids soloable, there are still a decent amount necessary for story progression.

As for the 100 hours before it gets good thing? The base game, A Realm Reborn, isn't great. It's not bad, but the story and gameplay are both kind of slow but there's too many characters and plot points introduced that you can't really afford to skip it.

Every expansion though is great with Shadowbringers and Endwalker being some of the best storytelling I've ever experienced both in gaming and out.

watch a story summary on youtube

Wedge_Antilles posted...

but there's too many characters and plot points introduced that you can't really afford to skip it.

I was pretty stoked when they announced they were putting in the codex to keep track of characters and stuff, thinking it was going to be added retroactively to the start of the game to help new players keep track of the hundreds of characters we come across.

But no, it's only for post-Endwalker, for players who already know all the stuff the codex covers.

Really big fumble right there.