Final Fantasy XIV Online
This is quickly becoming the hot new MMO to play. The curious thing though is that FFXIV Online is not new, it's almost as old as WoW, going back to 2013 as an MMO and 2010 as a single player game. It's had a number of expansions: A Realm Reborn (ARR), Heavensward, Stormblood, Shadowbringers and soon to be released Endwalker.
It's seen recent exposure from some big name streamers such as Cohh Carnage and Asmongold, who had 200,000 people watching his first FFXIV stream the other day.
It is seeing a lot of WoW players switch to FFXIV from WoW, mainly because they are bored or fed up with WoW. Unlike WoW and other MMO's you can switch classes. Want to be a Tank?, no problem. Want to try being a Healer?, sure. Fed up with DPS? Ok then. It's as easy as changing your weapon. FFXIV still has the classic DPS/Tank/Healer roles, but it is based on what weapon you are carrying, for example axe wielding Marauders are tanks, Archers are physical DPS and magic using Conjurers carry a book are healers.
There are guilds, but they are not player created guilds (I'll get to that in a moment), they are for training in what class you want to play as, or a craft you want to train. If you got to level 20 with a sword, and switch to a bow, you're back to level 1 again as an archer. You level up different skills separately, be it bows, swords, axes, magic, leatherworking, carpentry and so on.
Yes there are player guilds, but they are called Free Companies. And there's houses you can build on plots of land you can buy, and yes you guessed it, there's lots of things you can put in those houses to decorate them with and yes you guessed it again, it's all micro-transactions cosmetic stuff you can buy on the website (you still get stuff in-game however).
And there's all sorts of usual MMO game mechanics in there as well, all wrapped up in a Final Fantasy game (yes you can own a Chocobo and ride it).
OK, some downsides .... There's not much voice acting at first (I've been told it gets better in later stages of the storyline). It can get a bit grindy, you are trying to level up several skills at the same time (you don't have to, you can concentrate on the main story quests with your starter class if you want). It can be a bit of a puzzle as to where you have to go, especially if you are new and don't know your way around. Getting used to how a new MMO works is also a bit weird. FFXIV can be a bit hit & miss, it just depends how much of a chance you will give it, and how much you're willing to forgive.
So, how is this suddenly popular now after nearly eight years? I have no idea. It's like how Among Us became the big hit it was, people started streaming it, then slightly bigger streamers started streaming it, and that attracted slightly bigger streamers, and then the really BIG streamers got into it.
There is one thing to remember though if you're going to put it on YouTube, Square Enix don't like it on Youtube. That might be because of the music or they don't want the main storyline spoiled, I don't know, no-one can seem to get a straight answer out of them.
So I thought I'd try give a brief explanation of what FFXIV is, and why people are suddenly playing it now and why it seems to be getting popular.
Oh and if you want to try it yourself, it is free to play up to level 60 and the end of the Heavensward expansion, with some things you can't do on a free trial such as join a Free Company, but still worth checking out.
This is quickly becoming the hot new MMO to play. The curious thing though is that FFXIV Online is not new, it's almost as old as WoW, going back to 2013 as an MMO and 2010 as a single player game. It's had a number of expansions: A Realm Reborn (ARR), Heavensward, Stormblood, Shadowbringers and soon to be released Endwalker.
It's seen recent exposure from some big name streamers such as Cohh Carnage and Asmongold, who had 200,000 people watching his first FFXIV stream the other day.
It is seeing a lot of WoW players switch to FFXIV from WoW, mainly because they are bored or fed up with WoW. Unlike WoW and other MMO's you can switch classes. Want to be a Tank?, no problem. Want to try being a Healer?, sure. Fed up with DPS? Ok then. It's as easy as changing your weapon. FFXIV still has the classic DPS/Tank/Healer roles, but it is based on what weapon you are carrying, for example axe wielding Marauders are tanks, Archers are physical DPS and magic using Conjurers carry a book are healers.
There are guilds, but they are not player created guilds (I'll get to that in a moment), they are for training in what class you want to play as, or a craft you want to train. If you got to level 20 with a sword, and switch to a bow, you're back to level 1 again as an archer. You level up different skills separately, be it bows, swords, axes, magic, leatherworking, carpentry and so on.
Yes there are player guilds, but they are called Free Companies. And there's houses you can build on plots of land you can buy, and yes you guessed it, there's lots of things you can put in those houses to decorate them with and yes you guessed it again, it's all micro-transactions cosmetic stuff you can buy on the website (you still get stuff in-game however).
And there's all sorts of usual MMO game mechanics in there as well, all wrapped up in a Final Fantasy game (yes you can own a Chocobo and ride it).
OK, some downsides .... There's not much voice acting at first (I've been told it gets better in later stages of the storyline). It can get a bit grindy, you are trying to level up several skills at the same time (you don't have to, you can concentrate on the main story quests with your starter class if you want). It can be a bit of a puzzle as to where you have to go, especially if you are new and don't know your way around. Getting used to how a new MMO works is also a bit weird. FFXIV can be a bit hit & miss, it just depends how much of a chance you will give it, and how much you're willing to forgive.
So, how is this suddenly popular now after nearly eight years? I have no idea. It's like how Among Us became the big hit it was, people started streaming it, then slightly bigger streamers started streaming it, and that attracted slightly bigger streamers, and then the really BIG streamers got into it.
There is one thing to remember though if you're going to put it on YouTube, Square Enix don't like it on Youtube. That might be because of the music or they don't want the main storyline spoiled, I don't know, no-one can seem to get a straight answer out of them.
So I thought I'd try give a brief explanation of what FFXIV is, and why people are suddenly playing it now and why it seems to be getting popular.
Oh and if you want to try it yourself, it is free to play up to level 60 and the end of the Heavensward expansion, with some things you can't do on a free trial such as join a Free Company, but still worth checking out.
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. Keep in mind that the story line is full of choke point where you must complete a group activity, be it a trial or dungeon, to continue the quest line. The challenge of these dungeons, trials and raids has been reduced over the years to make it easier for the new player to complete in Pick Up Groups (PUGs).