How has the game positively affected you?

[ItMe]

I picked this up as a thing to do with my girlfriend when we moved overseas and ended up getting jobs in different prefectures.
My net was crap so steaming something and watching it together was a headache, but FF14 kept us from getting lonely and going crazy.
And I've made many new friends through Eorzea, some of which will be attending my IRL wedding next year (tentative).

The game has also given me something to fixate on for entertainment, and since $15/month is so cheap I was able to save money without cutting back on food.

[Pandie_Goodies]

On my first month on playing the game I got to heavensward, and at the point I was fairly hooked on the game, the big ending on realm reborn really sold me into wanting to see what would happen next, However I wasn't really happy with my haircut, and I wanted to go for a new haircut but it was fairly expensive at the time, The gyr abanian plate that was I belive almost 800k back then. I sorta typed about the hairstyle at the novice chat and suddenly a mentor just was like "Where you at?" and they came to me and gaved me the hair.

I'll never forget that person's kindness, it was also the start of realizing how great and kind the community can be and it makes me want to set an example and try to be helpful to new players as best as I can....only 100 commendations away and I can finally be a mentor myself.

[MiaShino]

It gave me something I can play for many many hours with my family and extended family. Then there is the aesthetic, maahh I was really really craving something rustic looking after coming from a sci-fi mmo and playing many sci-fi themed games.

Also Lalafell, they are why I originally decided to start playing. Finally finally finally a mmorpg other then Aion that allows me to make small characters that is alive and doing well. Seeing my character and my friends characters, putting on my big silly hat and my gaudy outfits I collect brings smiles.

[Krokov]

Positve Lets me "hang out" with my friends out of state. Thinking on it, crafting and the like can be relaxing. Cool meeting others and chatting with them.

[Neoyoshi]

After the lose of my 17-year-old Calico Cat Rikku back on May 25th 2019; I was in a very dark place for a good while; while it took some time to dig myself out of that place I was in, -Final Fantasy XIV and the people I have met here over the years have helped immeasurably. I probably would have gone completely out of my mind if it wasn't for this game and my friends to keep me distracted, as Rikku was such a large portion of my adult life for those 17 years.

[Fellgon]

This game helped me forget a bit about mourning times i had. Also i overthink too mutch dung the day, so its cease my thoughts. Im also kind schizo, so just like my medicine, help me organize my toughts. So i asked my doc to give me one to work like "videogame" out of videogame. I also failled in all jobs interwiew, im very honest, so i guees i have to learn to lie better for next interwiew. so i work with my family.

[NessaWyvern]

I met my now-husband in back in HW in FF14, it started out as an in-game wedding for the teleportation ring to make collecting gathering nodes easier, and then our relationship ended up growing from there Been married irl for almost 5 years now.

[Illmaeran]

The short of it-
The game has let me play a game the way I want to play. I know that sounds simple, but it's been more difficult to find than one might think. It's been a source of calm entertainment, deep imaginings and creativity, and social interaction over the course of many years.

The long of it-
After moving back to the US after two years in Japan I ended up living waaaaay out in the middle of nowhere with no real opportunities for making friends other than a single (as in one) coworker. In the hopes that I'd be able to convince my Japanese fiancee to play with me as a way to keep in touch, I bought us each a copy the game and rolled on a JP server. Having played a few other MMOs on English-speaking servers, the difference in culture on a JP server was very much appreciated. Even though my (now) wife didn't stick with the game, I enjoyed the gathering and crafting aspects of ARR so much that I stuck with it all the way into Stormblood.

Then I got hit with an extremely aggressive cancer and had to stop playing for the better part of a year. When I came back the FC were incredibly welcoming and encouraging, which was a blessing as I was on lockdown/house-arrest and my brain was suuuuper slow after all that chemo. Thanks to all of the non-dungeon/non-raid content available I was able to play the way I was able to (slowly and awkwardly) while making progress in things that folks in other games would call silly or stupid, but the FF community thought was cool.

Not long after coming back to the US, I discovered Isekai anime and it struck a cord with me. I'd always had a back story for my game characters, but now I had the whole impetus of making a character that I would want to be if I were "TRONed" into the game world. Add to that DRG/BRD/WHM (my three favorite classes) all start out in the forest zone and I hit the jackpot! My internal isekai imaginings hit overdrive and kept me mentally and emotionally engaged in a game in a way that I'd never experienced before.

To finish off, ARR (especially) and HW renewed my faith in the MMO genre and created a space for me to indulge my wildest safe-for-work fantasies while engaged in a supportive and caring community through some heavily trying times.

[Ravor]

It makes me smile a lot ever since 2020, its been a long time since I play a game that making me go online actually makes me very happy and excited, i actually make a monthly target in this game, just last month i was finished with bozja field record, now this month, i am focusing on eureka...... come to me Ozma

[Lunalepsy]

With all the negative threads going around, I thought it'd be good for us to share about how FFXIV has positively affected us - whether on a personal level or otherwise!

For me, I started on ShB in the middle of 2020, right when COVID peaked. I was at an all-time low (job offer had been rescinded, stuck at at home all day with anxiety + a toxic environment) and FFXIV was honestly just an escape. But the ShB story just drew me in and after a while I began to identify with what the WoL went through. The breaking point for me was when your character gazes up at the clear blue sky at the end and smiles. Despite having going through so much pain and suffering, the WoL still manages to overcome it all and carries on to see a better future (eternal wind playing did not help at all)...this broke me and I started sobbing uncontrollably at 2am. Since then, my situation has improved a lot, but I still vividly remember how that cutscene gave me the hope and the strength to believe that things would get better.

so yea, I'd love to hear how the game has affected you positively!

No positive effects here, only dreams.