What is your "dealmaker"?

[Super_Bee_Brian]

I mean like... There are things like "dealbreakers" which absolutely make you abandon certain games. But then we got "dealmakers" that hook you into them. What did it for you with FF14?

For me, it's the fact that gathering is not trivialized. Guild Wars 2 and Elder Scrolls Online, while great in many aspects, mock gatherers. Gathering is COMPLETELY secondary. While in FF14, gathering is a class of its own, separate from everything else...

[Dzian]

My slowly shrinking circle of friends.

If it wasn't for them I'd have unsubbed years ago.

The game itself really isn't that good.

But friends can make a huge difference just like in life. You can have a great time even in the worst of bars or coffee shops if your with good friends

[TheHeavenAbyss]

I'm a Final Fantasy fan, but I always skipped the online games, because they weren't my thing. But, while looking into FF websites for news, I would always come across FFXIV stuff, mainly references to other FFs. I remember seeing news related to the Warring Triad and thinking how cool it was that these FFVI creatures were in FFXIV. And, when Stormblood was about to come out, I kept seeing news of stuff related to Doma and other FFVI elements, which was my favorite FF.

So that, and the fact that I was kinda disappointed with FFXV and wanted to give a try to other FF experiences, is what made me try the game. I'm really into the FFXIV story, but it didn't get me hooked until a bit later. What got me hooked early on I think was the world. I loved almost all the maps in Eorzea and how gorgeous, fantastic and full of stories they felt.

[SturmChurro]

I wanted to play an MMORPG, and I don't like any that are left on the market. SWTOR I liked and it was ruined, and WoW is being ruined (and a little bit old/overwhelming to get into - I do like the PvP in WoW MUCH more than here). I actually like themepark MMORPGs the most. I have played ESO, probably put 600-700 hours into a character, but I can't really give a reason why it never grips me like this game or SWTOR/WoW (for a time) did.

I like the progression of a game like this, I like to have a character that I have for years and years, see it grow, design new glam for it , etc.. A lot of the content right now is very new. The biggest thing that effects me in a game like this is burn out since I don't have a group of people to play with like I used to for mmorpgs. I play by myself the majority of the time. Burn out is what always breaks it for me.

[ern815]

I like the progression of a game like this, I like to have a character that I have for years and years, see it grow, design new glam for it , etc.. A lot of the content right now is very new. The biggest thing that effects me in a game like this is burn out since I don't have a group of people to play with like I used to for mmorpgs. I play by myself the majority of the time. Burn out is what always breaks it for me.

Pretty much this. However, I also like the aesthetics of this game and the character creation options which allows me to develop a character design that I really liked.

Other MMORPG games did not have that aesthetic factor in it as compared to FFXIV imo. In addition to the above:

- Gameplay is relatively easy to understand
- Community is generally nice and helpful
- I have a house even though it's a small one and I get to use it to express creativity for decoration.
- Same character gets exposed to all different jobs without having to create a new character.
- Lore & story are very much on the interesting side. Loved SB for the incorporation of Asian/Japanese culture into the game.
- Brought back references from previous FFs that I used to love. (FFX fan here and was glad to see Yojimbo and Ixion here).
- Some interesting cross game collaborations
- Wide glamour choices, though some are repeated designs and class locked but overall there are some great gear designs in here.

[TheHeavenAbyss]

- Brought back references from previous FFs that I used to love. (FFX fan here and was glad to see Yojimbo and Ixion here)

I think FFXIV really goes all out with the references to previous FFs (most FFs do it, but FFXIV is a type of game that can afford to have a ton of them). I really love it, specially as a fan of FFVI. Garlemald is basically the Gestahlian Empire at this point (aesthetically), but with the Judges from the Archadian Empire of FFXII.

Most of it it's pure fan service, but it's perfectly integrated into the FFXIV lore. Someone has said in the past that FFXIV is like a Final Fantasy theme park and I agree.

[LalaRu]

When I play a MMO, there are a lot of different factors that makes me return or stay:

• rmt spamming to a minimum: game is supervised and not abandoned by the publisher;
• places not empty, don't want feel playing a solo game;
• a decent story/lore/background;
• serious endgame not gated behind paywalls (ruled out 99,9% of f2p here...);
• useful tools for group playing (e.g., the Duty Finder);
• friendly environment for playing first time on a mature server (you don't find yourself isolated and hopeless because everyone capped but you);

Maybe I've missed some points but there ones are sulery key factors to me.

[SturmChurro]

When I play a MMO, there are a lot of different factors that makes me return or stay:

• rmt spamming to a minimum: game is supervised and not abandoned by the publisher;
• places not empty, don't want feel playing a solo game;
• a decent story/lore/background;
• serious endgame not gated behind paywalls (ruled out 99,9% of f2p here...);
• useful tools for group playing (e.g., the Duty Finder);
• friendly environment for playing first time on a mature server (you don't find yourself isolated and hopeless because everyone capped but you);

Maybe I've missed some points but there ones are sulery key factors to me.

Oh yeah, I don't even really bother with free to play games. They make you pay for pretty much EVERYTHING in it. ESPECIALLY Korean ones - and they dominate the f2p mmo market. I've heard LoTRO is decent, but it looks so dated.

[Rymm]

For me it's as simple and ambiguous as-

Am I having fun?
Do I feel like I am getting my money's worth?

If the answer is not "yes" to both, it's time to move on.

[Hercub]

What makes this game happen for me being thirty-seven and not having played video games very often in my twenties is

1) The overwhelming social environment. It's unbelievable how we can talk to almost anyone across the world at any time. We can talk about out lives, what's going on in our communities and not let what's going in the world drag us down.

2) The Lore. I'm new to FF14 lore, but there is nothing like this lore out there not even in literature or science fiction. I grew up on DragonLance books (Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman) and Forgotten Realms (RA Salvatore). As much as I love those worlds, I really don't fit into those worlds. For fans, maybe I'm a little bit of Raistlin but I feel more Tasslehoff Burrfoot most times. But in this world I and others I talk to fit it somehow in the Lore in the form of class/job. At this point I'm sort of Monk but I find the Black Mage story line most compelling (shouldn't we all turn our negative emotions into something powerful?). I think I finally found my home in the Blue Mage, a little bit of Raistlin and a little bit of kindred.

3) I like the fact that unlike other MMORPGs fifty percent of the world are women players. It shows women are just as much into games and fantasy as men. I never knew that myself growing up. And from talking to everyone we are all ages. I run into some many late thirty year olds, fourty year olds, and older playing this game. Incidentally, for most of us this is our first exposure to the video game world much less this series.

Those are some of things I find compelling but there are many more.