Can ‘Final Fantasy XIV’ Stand the Test of Time?

One of the most important MMORPGs of its generation, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn helped revitalize a franchise that suffered severe backlash due to previous titles. How long can it survive in such a saturated market?

[PhoenixUp]

"Square Enix seems to be playing it safe with FFXV"

That's a complete understatement

[caelumsixsmith]

They're catering to the Western open world RPG formula. It's very difficult not to see that. You're forgetting that I also said "but there seems to be so much more under the hood that the upcoming entry feels as unique as it’s expected to from its name."

[Ratty]

"The content revolves around repetition, with quests following the most basic and forgettable format, introducing players to missable NPCs and mundane tasks."

I'm guessing you haven't played since ARR? Heavensward's story and quests are a cut above A Real Reborn's. I do agree that ARR was like that. It had so many pointless fetch quests that I don't remember half of what I did in it. I remember saving the world at the end and at one point delivering wine to people or else they wouldn't let me fight Titan.

Heavensward doesn't have many fetch quests. The story is a lot more interesting. Even the patches after Heavensward were very good in quality. Some of the story content was even better than the expansion itself.

Palace of the dead added a new and interesting take on dungeons. I spent a lot of hours in there and I haven't even finished it. It does get repetitive though, I'll agree. A lot of the content does when you get to the endgame part of an MMO.

As for standing the test of time, I would say definitely if they keep their pace up. They used to be slower to respond to player feedback (especially from this side of the globe I suppose) but we're starting to see big changes in older mechanics.

[Nu]

I got a chance to play The Elder Scrolls online and discovered it to be a horrible game and realized how awesome Skyrim single player actually is.
I'll need to try this FFXIV and see how it compares to the ESO. I assume it's way better.

[caelumsixsmith]

I'm actually relatively new to FFXIV. Played for a month so far, then needed a break. Couldn't make it to Heavensward yet bc of the post game MSQ, which are worse than the entirety of ARR. So much pointless running around, I literally logged out before even leaving the Rising Stones and haven't been back in a week, give or take. It would be great for the game if they reworked the earlier content to be more like HW, if it's such a major improvement. This early quest grind could end up being a deal breaker for newcomers who have to go through all that in order to get access to HW :/

[BLKxSEPTEMBER]

I have a love hate relationship with FF14. If you played FF11 from day one then you'll know what I mean. FF11 was a hardcore MMO before they started adding those silly books and other things to make it casual. FF14 was never a hardcore MMO imo and that's where my love hate comes in at. Back in the day I had time to wait for hours to get a party invite on FF11 but now my lifestyle is much more demanding so I just don't have that kind of time. FF14 allows you to pretty much solo majority of the content which kind of defeats the purpose of an MMO. I do like being able to que up for a Duty that helps pass the time but I just don't get the same satisfaction when I get new gear like I did on 11. I miss the days of paying over priced teleports and praying my sneak and invisible wouldn't wear off.Basically FF14 is for people who like things handed to them instead of going out and taking it...