My perspective as a new player who started in 2018

[Edax]

First,how he was set up as a villain.


Zenos establishes himself right from the moment you meet with him in Rhalgar's Reach,yes it's a solo fight you meant to lose but it happens very early on and he's the only solo duty enemy to be 10 levels higher than you by default and your attacks do nothing against the terrifying Resonance power he wields.That right there sets up the mood for Zenos as this intimidating powerful figure whom you're gonna be working your character's butt off throughout the game for your eventual confrontation with him at the end.And it concludes gameplay wise with pretty fun battles in Ala Mhigo's palace and is crowned by his battle as Shinryu which,in comparison to Thordan and Gaius/Ultima Weapon,is a decently challenging fight that does teach you some mechanics you'd encounter in later story patches rather than (Go throw yourself at the boss repeatedly until he dies)

Second,his presence and performance.Sure he might lack some of the intrigue Gaius had from 1.0 up to ARR,but for me he makes up for it with his presence.Right after the battle in Rhalgar's Reach you start to see how Zenos's rule has affected both Ala Mhigo and Doma in different ways from his control over Fordola and her skull unit,how he crushed the resistence in Doma during his time as a viceroy there before he appointed Yotsuyu....not to mention the fact that you do encounter him again in Doma so he's not just waiting at the end game for his imminent defeat but he does get involved himself.Sure his endgoal is self-centered compared to the previous two villains since all he cared about is finding someone strong enough to give him a thrilling battle,but he does so well as a villain for me to be dissapointed with him.

And his performance is so hammy and over the top he almost owns every scene he appeared in thanks to his voice actor Luke Allen-Gale in the English version.

Maybe it's just me but when it comes to ranking villains from XIV,,Nidhogg would be first,Gaius and Zenos would be tied(each for different reasons),followed by Nael Van Darnus in third and finally Thordan in last

Ehh, I thought the setup solo fight with Zenos was lame. You'd probably get killed by any boss quicker if you tried to solo them, especially Thordan. Heck, you could have made ol' Captain Madison from Sastasha your nemesis, since this game isn't really set up for the WOL to fight bosses one on one. We've been conditioned from day one of the game to get at least 3 others to help out in a big fight.

[MetalSnakeXI1]

Ehh, I thought the setup solo fight with Zenos was lame. You'd probably get killed by any boss quicker if you tried to solo them, especially Thordan. Heck, you could have made ol' Captain Madison from Sastasha your nemesis, since this game isn't really set up for the WOL to fight bosses one on one. We've been conditioned from day one of the game to get at least 3 others to help out in a big fight.

Lol.It's just my personal opinion.

You do get solo boss-esque battles in HW and Stormblood,some of which you don't even have NPCs with you like Estinien's boss battle in the dragoon questline so no I kinda disagree here xD

Again I'm relatively new so maybe that's why I don't have much hatred towards Stormblood.....maybe that'll change in the future but right now I did like most what I got from it except Eureka which was bleh

[Edax]

Lol.It's just my personal opinion.

You do get solo boss-esque battles in HW and Stormblood,some of which you don't even have NPCs with you like Estinien's boss battle in the dragoon questline so no I kinda disagree here xD

Again I'm relatively new so maybe that's why I don't have much hatred towards Stormblood.....maybe that'll change in the future but right now I did like most what I got from it except Eureka which was bleh

Well, I only finished HW at the end of patch 4.0 because I wanted a chance at getting a Shirogane house (boy was that a let down), so I ended up blowing through Heavensward and Stormblood's story at lightning speed back to back. Granted, Stormblood's story isn't over with, but I could really feel the difference in the quality of storytelling since I experienced both expansions within weeks of each other.

[MetalSnakeXI1]

Well, I only finished HW at the end of patch 4.0 because I wanted a chance at getting a Shirogane house (boy was that a let down), so I ended up blowing through Heavensward and Stormblood's story at lightning speed back to back. Granted, Stormblood's story isn't over with, but I could really feel the difference in the quality of storytelling since I experienced both expansions within weeks of each other.

I took my time with it honestly.I started in June with ARR but didn't get to Stormblood until September.I took my time doing things like sidequests,job quests,side storylines....etc

Yes Heavensward is better than Stormblood but I still think Stormblood is excellent so far as I observe it with all the background and lore I gathered from ARR and HW and seeing things unfold as I keep playing.It ain't perfect by any means,but personally I'd preserve my judgement till the final SB patch rolls out

And even then,both HW and SB in their own way fix a lot of major issues I had with A Realm Reborn as both are better than ARR in almost every way.

ARR might be the revival of XIV but you can see the remnants of 1.0 lingering in more ways than one.Especially the excessive amount of padding especially in Coerthas and the fact that 90% of the scions barely did much with the exceptions of Yshtola,Thancred and maybe Papalymo and Lyse.Minfillia in particular was very infuriating for me as a lot of the tasks she gave you in ARR felt like busy work which added to the excessive padding I mentioned earlier storywise.Something that both HW and SB fixes as those two don't have anywhere near as many stretches of nothing happening like ARR did

[Ramesses]

Personally, I like both expansions for several unique reasons and the very slight edge still goes to 3.0. Heavensward is very dear to me for several reasons... the story, the high fantasy art, Estinien's evolution, new Au'Ra race, Ysayle and Alphy's resolve, more on the Allagans, so many elements...plus I love dragons.

But what really did it for me was that Ishgard finally got to open to us five years after many of us began playing... and it did not disappoint. Plus, that was the expansion in which I took my endless time with everything. I found many of the characters superbly written and it was as if the Dev team finally found their inner creative strength by riding on the success of ARR.

Stormblood on the other hand has it's excellent charm and I have always loved Far Eastern influences, perhaps I liked it was well because I've also been eager to understand the Garleans. There are a lot of things I'd like to list out, debate and compare between the two expansions but it would take the whole afternoon.

Fact is, in all fairness to the Dev Team, the 4.0 patches have been solid and there have been quite a few cheers for the story but there is something within the SB tale that's a little less dense than HW and I attribute this to the fact that the team wants to maintain a sense of mystery as we head into 5.0.

[MetalSnakeXI1]

Personally, I like both expansions for several unique reasons and the very slight edge still goes to 3.0. Heavensward is very dear to me for several reasons... the story, the high fantasy art, Estinien's evolution, new Au'Ra race, Ysayle and Alphy's resolve, more on the Allagans, so many elements...plus I love dragons.

But what really did it for me was that Ishgard finally got to open to us five years after many of us began playing... and it did not disappoint. Plus, that was the expansion in which I took my endless time with everything. I found many of the characters superbly written and it was as if the Dev team finally found their inner creative strength by riding on the success of ARR.

Stormblood on the other hand has it's excellent charm and I have always loved Far Eastern influences, perhaps I liked it was well because I've also been eager to understand the Garleans. There are a lot of things I'd like to list out, debate and compare between the two expansions but it would take the whole afternoon.

Fact is, in all fairness to the Dev Team, the 4.0 patches have been solid and there have been quite a few cheers for the story but there is something within the SB tale that's a little less dense than HW and I attribute this to the fact that the team wants to maintain a sense of mystery as we head into 5.0.

Yeah,I've been loving the recent SB patches but it's clear they're holding some crucial stuff back for the next expansion which,at this point,is most definitely gonna be in Garlemald

[Spiroth]

This was easily the best moment of FFXIV for me, as well! It didn't cement it as my favourite FF game - it's surpassed by FF7 (my first) and FFXI for me - but it was a really well-done climax.

I'm glad to hear you're enjoying the game, and I hope it lasts. Alas, I'm afraid it's no longer appealing to me all that much. I mostly stick around because it's a nice activity I can share with my significant other, and I have a house that I enjoy decorating. I remain hopeful for 5.0, however: I think the community has become more vocal, and I'm hoping SE is taking it to heart with their development plans. Some original and diverse content would go a long way toward revitalizing the game for me.

In the meantime, enjoy your time in Eorzea!

I will never understand this mindset. Progression System is not the only type of content in existence.

Diadem, Lord of Verminion, Eureka, Deep Dungeon, Polis/Canals-styled Maps, Fashion Report, Climbing Puzzles, Wondrous Tails, Reconstruction, Airship/Submarine Voyages, Custom Deliveries, Spearfishing, Squadron and Command Missions, Orchestrion Rolls, Ultimate Raids... all these and many more are entirely new content that were not there until after Heavensward was released.

On top of everything else that existed since 2.0 being expanded.

There are tons of original content, what you are probably feeling is fatigue from playing something for thousands of hours. For all that is holy, we have a good, stable thing going here, I hope the development team does not succumb to this extreme minority's mindset and change the whole progression system for people that are fleeting in this realm and will want them to change it again when they pour thousand of hours again. And again. And again.

I hope they keep playing to their strengths, and let fleeting people... flee... they will return for the main attraction (Story) either way.