How does FFXIV fare against other modern MMORPGs?

[Super_Bee_Brian]

I get the impression that A LOT of people think FFXIV is the best.

I myself have played World of Warcraft a little bit and Elder Scrolls Online a lot. I can't say much about World of Warcraft because I didn't really give it an honest chance. I left it as soon as I figured out that A.) It had no housing and B.) Its artwork is on par with those cheap Korean MMOs.

However, I can say a lot about Elder Scrolls Online. This is what I have to say...

It is as expected. FFXIV has better art work. This is crucial. JRPGs in general MUST have superior art work because they usually have inferior gameplay mechanics. Elder Scrolls Online arguably has MUCH MUCH better overall gameplay and combat system. Each player playing that game can create a truly unique build suited to what he really wants. There's a lot of options available. While in FFXIV, you're stuck with two options and two options only: Play well or play terribly... However, like I said, its art work trumps ESO by a mile. The writing, the music, and the visuals are beyond great. They are out-of-this-world whacky. Classic example, King Thordan the primal and Ravana the primal. They are pure flawless in every way...

What are your thoughts?

[Adeacia]

I played wow once. It was so generic I quit before reaching level 10. Did that twice, each time a few years apart.

I tried this game. I was ready to buy heavensward and sub by time I hit level 10.

I was in the beta for eso. I played it once, didn't bother logging back in.

I think that says it all.

[MomomiMomi]

I find ESO's combat to be inferior to this one, and by quite a bit. It's pretty bland.

The housing is superior, and the open world is leagues better than XIV's. Quests as well.

XIV has, to my knowledge, the best crafting system in any MMO (though it's a bit underutilized). And the story is great. It also has something that no other MMO has: a 30 year history of fanservice to deliver.

[Floortank]

XIV has, to my knowledge, the best crafting system in any MMO (though it's a bit underutilized).

*record scratch*

[Rymm]

I played WoW for twelve years. I played RIFT for about two years when it was new. I've gone back and forth on Guild Wars 2 many times since it's come out. I played Aion twice for a total of about 14 months. I beta tested ESO, TERA, and Secret World. I played a handful of other F2P MMOs like Perfect World off and on over the years. FF14 is the only one I am playing right now, which should give you a good idea how I feel about it.

The only game whose combat I liked as much as FF14 was WoWs; they are a great deal different from each other but I found them both to be fun. For art style FF14 easily beats them all except for Aion, which was a gorgeous game. In character customization FF14 is only middling at best. Music is another easy victory for FF14. Story (one of the important for me) is another category where FF14 beats all comers, hands down. FF14 also gets bonus points because it feels like they have more casual 'fluff' content than a lot of other MMOs, which isn't necessary for core gameplay but it keeps me logging on and entertained after I cap on tomes for the week, etc.

XIV has, to my knowledge, the best crafting system in any MMO (though it's a bit underutilized).

I'm with MomomiMomi on this one. I absolutely love the crafting/gathering system, though I realize it's not to everyone's taste. Only thing I wish FF14 would do is take a leaf out of GW2's crafting book and let us craft with mats held by our retainers.

[Kuzulo]

I still play Wow. I took about a week plus off from it to play FFXIV, starting with free, then I bought the complete; I could see how good FFXIV was.

Wow is more polished in some ways, though the look/music and atmosphere are far better in FFXIV. While playing FFXIV, I often find myself looking at the environments and just saying, "Whoah..."
Default interface use, such as just using your bags and such, seems way easier in Wow.

Wow has transmog, which is much better than what FFXIV has. However, I've not done much with FFXIV's, perhaps it is not as strict as Wow's? In Wow I can't mog a caster robe, as a death knight (plate armor class.) They've made it pretty simple in Wow, though; You get a lot and it is simply in your transmog system, you can sell it/whatever and it is still in there. You don't have to do something for it to be in there. Then you can simply save transmog sets.

You level, from nothing, just WAY easier in FFXIV (while having more fun along the way.) As I said, starting with the free time I got hooked on FFXIV. Now I'm a 48 lancer/44 fisher(or around that.) This is in a bit over a week, or something. Meanwhile, a main complaint (in Wow) is trying to level up a new character; This is brought more to the forefront because of "heritage armor", where you have this neat "mog" of "race armor" if you level the character up from 1.

FFXIV has "jobs", making me feel like I don't need "alts." This is one of the things I really like about FFXIV. It also took me some time to note that I can just switch to them whenever, like my lancer could be out fighting stuff and think "I'd like to fish here..." then just switch to the fisher by going to "character" then saved outfit for fisher.

Wow makes gathering easier, though. I can be out on my Death Knight, doing stuff, while passing all the herb/mine and fishing nodes on the way, which I can gather AS my Death Knight. This was my main way for making lots of gold, in both the Legion expansion and now Battle for Azeroth.

FFXIV seems more complex to me, while also not having something like "Wowhead" (as near as I can tell.) I might have a question in FFXIV, about a quest or some treasure bottle or something. I then may just eventually give up, when the treasure bottle map has an X on a spot I can't find, while searching on the web only yields other posts/information about the treasure bottle map that I DON'T have. So I just eventually give up. Meanwhile, Wow has Wowhead. You have a problem in Wow and you can find the quest/item on Wowhead with lots of good posts explaining what you do.

Right now, I'm subscribed to both. Wow has taught me a good MMORPG Lesson:

Don't put all your MMORPG eggs in one basket.

Both may frustrate me at different times, or have downtime on different days.

[Vahlnir]

FFXIV seems more complex to me, while also not having something like "Wowhead" (as near as I can tell.) I might have a question in FFXIV, about a quest or some treasure bottle or something. I then may just eventually give up, when the treasure bottle map has an X on a spot I can't find, while searching on the web only yields other posts/information about the treasure bottle map that I DON'T have. So I just eventually give up. Meanwhile, Wow has Wowhead. You have a problem in Wow and you can find the quest/item on Wowhead with lots of good posts explaining what you do.

There are various 3rd party sites along with youtube where people can get the information they need for items, quests and boss fights. Probably about as many sites as WoW has in total, but Wowhead's way more organized than all the others, including anything FF XIV has. But the information is indeed out there to research if people feel the need to. FF XIV could use something Wowhead-like though imo.

[Rymm]

FFXIV seems more complex to me, while also not having something like "Wowhead" (as near as I can tell.)

Most of your answers can be found at either https://xivdb.com/ (run by the same company as wowhead,) https://ffxiv.gamerescape.com/wiki/Main_Page, or https://ffxiv.consolegameswiki.com/wiki/FF14_Wiki. Oh also, since you mentioned you are a fisher, meet your new best friend- http://ff14angler.com/

[Floortank]

FFXIV is the best by a good margin.

[Skivvy]

For me, XIV is just middle of the road. I resbub now and then out of habit/familiarity, but it's not one I'd miss tremendously if it went away completely.

I'm not a fan of how they just rehash the same dungeons/8 man raid / 24 main raid, trial each patch. When they do try to branch out, it falls flat (diadem, Eureka, etc.). There is no real way to play at your pace when it comes to gearing. So many weekly caps in place, which only highlights a lack of relevant end-game content. Very little overworld content. The game feels like a rather fancy waiting room at times.

I do love the fact that you can level all things on one character (but this is ruined a bit due to how gearing/caps work). For the most part it's a very stable game, very minimal in-game glitches, etc. Looks nice (IMO).

There's a lot more to both sides for me, but the overall feeling is just sort of 'meh'.