Happy Alternatives

[Sivante]

Gonna try bringing the positive junk out again

Yoshida has commented about playing other games, and encourages players to step away from FFXIV and return later as necessary. We also know Yoshi tried Elden Ring, WoW, EQ, and others. I've seen it said on these forums, often in fact, 'go play something else then.' It's a popular dismissal. I've seen people say that for the quality of content received at the pace we get it we 'might as well' play Genshin Impact, which has no sub by comparison but provides comparable (apparently?) experience and enjoyment.

So what is it you play in your down-time, or when FFXIV isn't making you happy? I'll list some of the alternatives I've seen mentioned below: Is yours missing? Why do you love the one(s) you play? What's special about them to you? Gush a little, convince me to give it a try! I'm curious to see what everyone's passionate about, and what brings them some joy when it can't be found here.

I'll add some of my own with asterisks, to out myself sufficiently.

Ze List

· World of Warcraft
· Monster Hunter
· Guild Wars 2
· Warframe
· Genshin Impact
· Honkai Starrail
· Baldur's Gate
· Death Must Die*
· Rimworld*
· Elden Ring*
· Lies of P*




Please, as always, try to be civil: this isn't an invitation to start flaming other games out of FFXIV pride or vice versa. We have enough friction in the other threads to fuel a fusion reactor as it is.

[Tunda]

I am really thinking of monster hunter but there is no magic

[Hanayumi]

I am really thinking of monster hunter but there is no magic

Well.. there kinda is magic in monster hunter... just more in form of elements... Coming from a FFXIV stand point think of Eureka element str and wkn, not only that but statuses are very much a thing. If folks haven't tried MHW by now its definitely a huge recommendation, its playerbase is fairly strong, mostly because players are waiting on Wilds next year.

[Boblawblah]

Playing right now:

• Like a Dragon (the first one)

• The Planet Crafter

• Final Fantasy 2 still

• Diablo 4 a..bit

• FFXIV a very little bit

Thinking about playing:

• Cyberpunk 2077 again

• ESO and/or SWTOR

• Lost Ark just for giggles

[Lizvette]

path of exile
new league is pretty fun and melee is somewhat relevant again

[Tunda]

Well.. there kinda is magic in monster hunter... just more in form of elements... Coming from a FFXIV stand point think of Eureka element str and wkn, not only that but statuses are very much a thing. If folks haven't tried MHW by now its definitely a huge recommendation, its playerbase is fairly strong, mostly because players are waiting on Wilds next year.

maybe.. but I never played FFXI before Idk if it is welcoming new players

[LilimoLimomo]

Right now I'm devoting nearly all my gaming time to FF14 because despite the complaints I have with some aspects of the expansion, I am overall having a very good time. But here are some of the games I played recently when I wasn't playing FF14:

Elden Ring
Y'all know what this is. It's one of the best comedy games out there. An action RPG with tons of customization. A thoroughly unique world with interesting lore and an nuanced exploration of philosophy and the human experience. I'm looking forward to dipping my toes into the DLC.

Bloodborne
I never played the DLC for this back in the day so I was going through it before Dawntrail released. I played for a bit the other night when the FF14 servers were down and had a good time.

Tunic
If you fused NES Zelda, Dark Souls, and The Witness into a single game, that's Tunic. I won't say more than that because Tunic is best experienced going in blind, but I really, really recommend it.

Warframe
Besides FF14, this is my other "forever game". It's a co-op 3rd person acrobatic game where you go through levels and fight tons of enemies with melee weapons, ranged weapons, and the sci-fi magical powers of your body of choice. Warframe has the most delightful movement of any game I've ever played, such that doing something as simple as traversing a level feels great. The level of customization is so deep and nuanced that I doubt anyone won't be able to find a setup that feels like home for them, regardless of your skill at games. You wanna be tanky? You wanna be a glass cannon? You wanna be a healer, a controller, a mage blasting groups of enemies with spells, or some bizarre mix of any of these? Warframe's got you covered, and they just keep rolling out more content. And the world is extremely creative and interesting, with some great stories, including what I think is the best narrative reveal in any game I've ever played. And it's free, with some of the least predatory microtransactions of any game I've ever seen. Is the game's modding system unintuitive and confusing at first? Absolutely! That's part of why there's no shame in looking at guides or watching videos to understand the intricacies of these systems; in fact, I recommend it!

Baldur's Gate 3
If you have any interest in RPG's where you can be strategic and solve problems different ways, I'd be really surprised if you wouldn't enjoy this one. It's got a lot going on. I love the characters (even the characters I "dislike"), I love the interactions, the way the story flows, and the way that the devs have somehow taken something as complicated as D&D and - with a few tweaks - overall made it work in a canned video game with no organic DM. Everything is voice-acted!? And yeah you can pick your junk and cozy up to a bear if that's your thing.

Monster Hunter: Rise
Monster Hunter is a series where you pick from a handful of weapons with completely different play styles and then use them to hunt dinosaurs and dragons with up to 3 friends as well as your adorable dog and cat companions. Basically every mission is a boss fight in an open world where you chase these monsters around, tactically retreat, and wear them down until you either kill them or capture them, then build gear and weapons from what you collected during the hunt. Each monster has so much personality that it's a pleasure just to learn how they behave and inch ever closer to mastering combat against them. The combat can feel clunky at first, as it's in the Dark Souls category of big weapons actually being slow, but once you understand that every button press means making a commitment and you find the weapons that gel with you, it feels great; my great sword isn't just an extension of my body, it is my body. Plus there's a solid amount of customization you can add by upgrading yourself with various skills you can apply to your armor. Some people like MH: Rise more, some people like MH: World more. They're both great games, but I'm in the Rise camp, because I think the monsters are more interesting, the palette is more colorful, and as the more recent title it learned from some of World's strengths and ran with them to add even more. But both are great games.

[Midare]

World of Warcraft

I gave them money for 12 years and I stopped 3 years ago.

I'm not going back to retcon limbo.

[gllt]

Try out retroachievements if you're into older games.

[hydralus]

Playing some old final fantasy games at the moment. Up to 8. I dunno why people were complaining about how they didn't explain the junction system very well... they have like 4 forced tutorials about it that seemed simple enough to me. Other than that, it might be the funniest game I've played all year. Highly recommended.