How does FF14 compare to WoW? (And other MMOs)

[SecretIsland]

These two seem to be the biggest MMOs on the market right now. I have heard over and over again that FF14 has a nicer community than WoW, and my impression is that WoW is more hardcore. What are the main differences between FF14 and WoW? I would love for someone who has played both games to give us some idea on how the two games are different. (Comparisons with other games are welcome too! Always curious and always willing to learn more!)

Edit: Can we please not turn this thread into a superiority complex race on who's more hardcore like the other one? The whole point of this new thread is to promote an unbiased and level-headed comparison of the two games since the other one is drowned in negative comments.

Edit2:

I already covered a bit of this in that other thread too, but:

Things that FFXIV has:
- Better Story
- Better Crafting/Job System
- Friendlier Community
- Better Player Housing (better than garrisons, so not a high bar)
- Better Dungeons/Trials
- Better Graphics/Player models

Things that WoW has:
- Better Transmog System/Banking/Inventory System
- Better PVP
- Trade Chat
- Better Leveling
- Better Endgame
- Larger Community, albeit more toxic
- In-Game Store that actually works and accepts your payments
- Better Add-ons
- Feels like an MMO
- Better Punishment System (this is newly added)

I would say the main problem with FF14 is the fact that in-game chat is kept to a minimum, because it seems like SE likes punishing players and leaving strikes on people's accounts, resulting in strangely quiet chat most of the time for an MMO. People here also like to bash WoW and Blizz, but like others have said, for serious endgame raiding progression/endgame PVP WoW will fill that niche. Each game has it's strengths but I would say WoW feels closer to an MMO

Interesting. I do find FF14 a bit quiet in-game which is why I decided to join Reddit and the forums to discuss this game more!

[Edax]

Do we really need another thread talking about WoW? The conversation is still active in "FF14 devs just keep doing your thing because my god"

[SecretIsland]

Do we really need another thread talking about WoW? The conversation is still active in "FF14 devs just keep doing your thing because my god"

That thread is actually why I made this one, because people were very heated in that thread but I got curious so I'm looking for an unbiased explanation here. Hopefully by coming from an angle of a neutral newcomer I would be able to get genuine and useful knowledge!

[Valkyrie_Lenneth]

That thread is actually why I made this one, because people were very heated in that thread but I got curious so I'm looking for an unbiased explanation here.

I don't know that you'd get an unbiased opinion on either games official forums.

[van_arn]

The best way I've seen the communities described was "Criticize wow and the wow player will agree with you; criticize FFXIV and the FFXIV player will fight with you."

The games themselves are essentially the same thing at their core.

[SecretIsland]

I don't know that you'd get an unbiased opinion on either games official forums.

I believe most people can be pretty reasonable on the forums. Most of my interactions here were very helpful and nice other than a few trolls. I don't have a WoW account so I can't ask them but hopefully someone who has played both can answer (and will likely be more unbiased since they played both). Always curious to know more! No judgments here.

The best way I've seen the communities described was "Criticize wow and wow player will agree with you; criticize FFXIV and a FFXIV player will fight with you."

The games themselves are essentially the same thing at their core.

Interesting. Is that due to the developers or due to the playerbase? In other words, do people criticize WoW more because the developers are bad, or because they are more critical of a game?

I'd say it's a mix of the two. Blizzard has been all over the place with development, but XIV has been more stable. The WOW community is more likely to speak their mind and more likely to recognize game faults; the XIV community is more likely to leave things that need to be said unsaid until they get out of control, and more likely to attack an "outsider" that dares to question the status quo.

See also: Scottzone.

The way you describe the issue, it sounds like both communities could find a middle ground between the two extremes! Thanks for the explanation.

biggest significant differences are that world of warcraft will retcon and abandon 99% of what happens from expansion to expansion so they can rehash the same 3 narrative arcs they've used since like 1993, and there is always a chase item to keep people on the RNG loot treadmill towards the next arbitrary number increase.

FFXIV has more consideration in general for keeping its world and setting consistent with itself and more clear of a notion that games should just be fun to play in the first place without a carrot on a stick to chase forever.

I see! It does very much look like FF14's world-building and story is amazing. I've had a lot of fun playing through the story!

[van_arn]

Interesting. Is that due to the developers or due to the playerbase? In other words, do people criticize WoW more because the developers are bad, or because they are more critical of a game?

I'd say it's a mix of the two. Blizzard has been all over the place with development, but XIV has been more stable. The WOW community is more likely to speak their mind and more likely to recognize game faults; the XIV community is more likely to leave things that need to be said unsaid until they get out of control, and more likely to attack an "outsider" that dares to question the status quo.

See also: Scottzone.

[TurtlesAWD]

biggest significant differences are that world of warcraft will retcon and abandon 99% of what happens from expansion to expansion so they can rehash the same 3 narrative arcs they've used since like 1993, and there is always a chase item to keep people on the RNG loot treadmill towards the next arbitrary number increase.

FFXIV has more consideration in general for keeping its world and setting consistent with itself and more clear of a notion that games should just be fun to play in the first place without a carrot on a stick to chase forever.

[Penthea]

What is better depends on what a person wants from a game. FFXIV fulfills my needs as a player far better than WoW ever did, but for someone else it could easily be the opposite.

If you want loads of high end raid content, then go to WoW. FFXIV's raid content is great but there isn't as much of it. If high end content is your only concern you likely won't be as happy here as you would be in WoW. If you want a well told story and a variety of content that doesn't require the time commitment and seriousness of hardcore raiding, then FFXIV is probably the better choice for you. It has far more content for those who have little to no interest in high end content.

[MPK]

WoW is just the better game overall. They care about their raiders unlike ffxiv.

These words you will never hear from a FFXIV developer:
https://www.pcgamer.com/wows-directo...s-we-hear-you/