Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward

 PC
User Score
9.1

Universal acclaim- based on 1083 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 989 out of 1083
  2. Mixed: 25 out of 1083
  3. Negative: 69 out of 1083
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  1. ScottyTB
    Jun 24, 2015
    9
    If you liked ARR then you will love this continuation of the story. Graphics and sound are unmatched in the mmo genre. Im enjoying this to the fullest. So much content has been added and Square Enix didnt skimp out on this xpac. Lots to offer here and it will help bring in newer players. Im looking forward to finishing the story and seeing what more they can do witb future patches.If you liked ARR then you will love this continuation of the story. Graphics and sound are unmatched in the mmo genre. Im enjoying this to the fullest. So much content has been added and Square Enix didnt skimp out on this xpac. Lots to offer here and it will help bring in newer players. Im looking forward to finishing the story and seeing what more they can do witb future patches. Long live subscription games, as long as they continue to deliver.

    This one does!    … Expand
  2. kronosys
    Jun 24, 2015
    10
    This is an outstanding expansion to an already outstanding MMORPG. The development team's passion for this game is apparent in every detail. If you love PVE and Story content, this isn't an expansion to be missed.
  3. Huckit
    Jun 24, 2015
    10
    As a former Mythic raider from wow turned casual mmorpg player, I enjoy ff14. The quest line is engaging and not just level grind. I like that the leveling takes time and at least feels rewarding. As a new player, I actually like that it makes me finish the story quest before Heavensward content, though it is not a popular opinion. Great improvements on classic tab target combat and theAs a former Mythic raider from wow turned casual mmorpg player, I enjoy ff14. The quest line is engaging and not just level grind. I like that the leveling takes time and at least feels rewarding. As a new player, I actually like that it makes me finish the story quest before Heavensward content, though it is not a popular opinion. Great improvements on classic tab target combat and the classes are all unique, unlike in wow, where they have molded together to be replaceable.… Expand
  4. PhantomDusk
    Jun 24, 2015
    10
    I made an account just to give this game a review, as I do not wish to users to be deceived by the score of 5.6. These scores of "1" are given from three different crowds.

    -WoW fanboys who want to see FF fail -People who are angry they need to do the Realm Reborn story to experience Heavensward. -Mac Users. I will try my best to give an objective review, outlining all the pros and    I made an account just to give this game a review, as I do not wish to users to be deceived by the score of 5.6. These scores of "1" are given from three different crowds.

    -WoW fanboys who want to see FF fail
    -People who are angry they need to do the Realm Reborn story to experience Heavensward.
    -Mac Users.

    I will try my best to give an objective review, outlining all the pros and cons of not only Heavensward but of A Realm Reborn.

    Presentation(10) - This right here is Heavensward's biggest strength. The story of this expansion is in my opinion, greater than any MMO I have ever played, even rivaled some of SWToR's stories. If you're a new player, the starting of the story is slow. I was meh about it, but the story keeps getting better and better. By the time I hit level 50, it was one of the best stories I'd seen in an MMO. By the time Heavensward came around and I experienced 50-60, the story rivaled that of the single player FFs.

    Gameplay(9.5) - This aspect right here is what will split players. There is a 2.5s GCD instead of 1.5s. This can make combat seem slower, and mistakes are punished more severely. It's really not that bad but it's all up to your tastes. The three new classes feel and play unique and flow well, though Machinist is a bit weak right now. The side quests are quick are easy, though more of the same fetch quests mostly. Dungeons and raids are fun to play. Crafting is deeper here than in any other MMO. You can switch classes simply by changing your weapon, so there is no need for alts.

    Content(9.5) Oh boy, is there a lot of quality content in Heavensward and Realm Reborn as well. Square Enix churns out content every three months.

    -25+ dungeons, all still relevant because of the duty roulette, a system that awards you experience and tomes at the end. Tomes are like tokens that buy raid gear.
    -A challenging 8 man raid with 13 wings(Coil of Bahamut.) This is the bleeding edge of their content, for the hardcore players. Two weeks from now, they come out with a new raid called Alexander. Four weeks from now, they come out with the Savage version of Alexander, a super hardcore punishing version of the raid.
    -Three 24 man raids that are all still done. They are not as challenging as the Coil of Bahamut, but they're not necessarily faceroll easy either.
    -Trials/Primals in Normal, Hard, and Extreme difficulty. Trials are a fight against a boss in a single room, no trash mobs. Primals is the same, but they are fights against the Gods of the FF world. These fights are amazing.
    -Guildhests. These are like tutorial quests that teach you the mechanics of the game. I believe there is a roulette for this as well, giving vets incentive to run these for tomes, thus helping newbies.
    -Levequests. These are quests you with timed objectives that you can activate at any time for good experience, and sometimes other bonuses.
    -Fates. Dynamic events that happen randomly in the world that give experience.
    -Gold Saucer. A casino type city that lets you participate in entertaining side games such as Triple Triad(a card game.) And chocobo racing.
    -Many pets and mounts to collect and farm in the world, along with a plethora of achievements.

    Honestly, 5,000 characters is not enough for me to list all of the content here. The only place I'd give their content a minus is in PvP. Restricting by faction kind of ruined it, and they treat it as a side gimmick, but their PvE content is spectacular.

    -Sound(10) You won't find better music in any MMO, I can guarantee you that. The voice acting in Realm Reborn was not the best, but progressively got better. I rated sound a 10 because the voice acting in Heavensward is 3x better. These sound like actual professional actors, they really portray the emotion.

    -Lasting Appeal(10) Unlike WoW where you farm your apexis crystals and then stay in your garrison, you will never run out of things to do in FF14. If anything, you may feel overwhelmed, as there will be too much for you to do, so you may have to choose a path at some point. Or just go with the flow enjoy the endless choices available to you at your own pace :). Having a lot of choice means casuals and hardcores both have content made for them.

    -Transition/Launch Issues(9.5) I've not seen an MMO launch this smoothly in awhile. Aside from issues on the first hour of EA, 90% of this launch has been playable for most players. The lobby is more unstable than the servers themselves, which are rock solid.

    I really wanted to write more, but alas, this is where I come to a close. A forewarning, you have to complete Realm Reborn's story before Heavensward. PvP is also not this game's strong suit. If that bothers you, this game is not for you. Mac client is horrible do not get it. Realm Reborn is very newbie friendly, eases new players in just right.

    So would you rather be farming apexis crystals for yet another recolored mount? Or enjoying the unrivaled adventure that is Heavensward? The choice is yours.    … Expand
  5. Ronivan
    Jun 23, 2015
    10
    Heavensward was an astonishing expansion to Final Fantasy Online. The new landscapes are just gorgeous with great ambiance. The new flying feature makes the game incredible, enabling fast area traveling and a new perspective to the landscapes. Soundtrack are just wondrous too. The game development made a great work, and expect great things to come.
  6. akumarage1
    Jun 23, 2015
    10
    Awesome expansion. Being a long time WoW vet, this is how you do added content. Not to mention the free content patches that add stories, dungeons, primals, gear ect after the fact. good job SE
  7. TristanX
    Sep 26, 2021
    9
    Slower battle system than WoW remains. Contents are better than ARR. Currently with unlimited time trial up to Lv60, this game is priceless. Plenty of quality cutscenes and new classes. Just buy after you are done with the trial.
  8. saintninja
    Dec 12, 2020
    10
    Dragons. Many Dragons. Many beautiful mighty Dragons and dark knight. Good drama story and perfect continue of main game
  9. ZodaSoda
    Dec 13, 2021
    10
    Heavensward takes everything the team started in ARR and expends upon it, their talents increasing as they go along, This expansion is exactly what you could ask for after ARR and the story in and of itself is something any JRPG fan cannot miss. The Raid series is still one of my favourites to this day and if you know the music, then you know.
  10. writethat
    Jul 23, 2021
    10
    I never thought an expansion for a MMORPG could make me feel so much emotion. All the praise Heavensward gets is well deserved, if anything, it deserves more. Absolute masterpiece.
  11. Latorn
    Sep 2, 2020
    10
    It took a long time to reach this point, but the quality of the game soared and as I continued playing it just got better and better. Now that Heavensward is included in the free version of FFXIV there is no reason a Final Fantasy fan shouldn't give it a try and experience one of the best Final Fantasy stories of the modern era.
  12. Kezian
    Jul 30, 2019
    10
    FF14 is amazing ! If you never played it, download the free trial and see for yourself !
  13. Wweald
    Dec 15, 2021
    9
    ARR was already quite good, but Heavensward was a big step up. The characters and the story were much more compelling. And the story of Heavensward didn't feel like it dragged on like ARRs did. I think the areas in Heavensward arent as good as Stormblood and Shadowbringers, and both of those beat it in the dungeon and trial department as well. Although Heavenswards are still very good asARR was already quite good, but Heavensward was a big step up. The characters and the story were much more compelling. And the story of Heavensward didn't feel like it dragged on like ARRs did. I think the areas in Heavensward arent as good as Stormblood and Shadowbringers, and both of those beat it in the dungeon and trial department as well. Although Heavenswards are still very good as well, much better than ARRs.… Expand
  14. MazrimTaim14
    Jul 31, 2022
    9
    this is were the game comes to its own. first time in 14 that i felt really playing a JRPG with the PC traveling with a band of companions

    story is great. and the game is starting to have the awesome moments

    judging the score based on ALL the content. main game and patches.

    end of 3.0 and 3.3 are there in the top moments for me.
  15. xavierboutot
    Apr 10, 2020
    10
    A major improvement from ARR. The story is more interesting and the character development goes even deeper. Compared to ARR, it feels like you are saving the world. Less stupid quests, which means less boredom and more fun overall. I would definitely recommend this expansion to any person who is interested in MMOs.
  16. Katzena
    Dec 12, 2021
    10
    This is one the best expansions for FF14. It helped me get way into the game. Its amazing
  17. Nohri
    Jun 7, 2020
    9
    An incredible development of arr that flows well with fun dungeons a great story that has you question what's going on. As well as some of my favourite bosses in a lot of games.
  18. Mohammed-alsheh
    Jun 21, 2020
    9
    outdated fights and dungeons , but amazing story and world i will not soon forget the awesome journey that is heavensward and neither should you .
  19. candidKlutz
    Apr 30, 2022
    10
    HW is the critically acclaimed expansion for a reason. By god am I glad that it was included in the free trial. As much as I did actually enjoy ARR, i might not have continued if it weren't for how insanely good HW is. The story of this expansion starts off strong on the heels of the post ARR content, and it only gets better and better.
  20. HomeroomTeacher
    Jul 28, 2020
    8
    Story wise this patch is currently the best for me while I'm writing this review, however I'm not finished with Shadowbringers yet. I enjoyed the lore so much, I rather slept 4-5 hours a day just to make progression. Significant jump after ARR both in production quality and gameplay or instances. Downsides is the pack of many filler quests which sometimes break the pacing of the game,Story wise this patch is currently the best for me while I'm writing this review, however I'm not finished with Shadowbringers yet. I enjoyed the lore so much, I rather slept 4-5 hours a day just to make progression. Significant jump after ARR both in production quality and gameplay or instances. Downsides is the pack of many filler quests which sometimes break the pacing of the game, hence I deducted two points from the game (and also there's still no quality PvP content). Flying mounts are a great idea, but goes pretty much useless, as you can only fly in an area after you finished main story quests for that region.… Expand
  21. chocletymilk
    Mar 21, 2021
    9
    Heavensward. Was. Amazing. As someone that installed FFXIV just because I was bored and everyone said the free trial included a lot, Heavensward was what made me an absolute fan (and convinced me to buy the complete edition). The graphics improved, the new characters you meet in HW are still some of my all time favorites in the FF universe. There is a lot more voice acting than in ARR, andHeavensward. Was. Amazing. As someone that installed FFXIV just because I was bored and everyone said the free trial included a lot, Heavensward was what made me an absolute fan (and convinced me to buy the complete edition). The graphics improved, the new characters you meet in HW are still some of my all time favorites in the FF universe. There is a lot more voice acting than in ARR, and the missions and storyline are notoriously better written. It really got me on the edge of my seat at times and ontroduced a lot of new mechanics and fights that I didn't even imagine would be in this game. It also made me cry and get attached to the new characters. The new cities you discover are AMAZING.

    An amazing continuation to ARR and definitely the expansion that made me fall in love with FFXIV.

    And for free included with the free trial as of 2020!!!    … Expand
  22. TPLaMar
    Aug 22, 2021
    10
    Playing this first expansion this is a 10/10 easily. I can’t wait to see how the next 3 expansions progress. I’m all in.
  23. Drely
    Aug 23, 2021
    9
    This game is so awsome! I'm enjoying every minute of it. Can't wait to reach Shadowbringers!
  24. Rodmund
    Nov 25, 2021
    10
    Отличное продолжение. Продолжайте в том же духе!
  25. LastResource
    Jan 14, 2023
    10
    worth it and glad to play this game again. so much memories and nostalgia within this fourteenth game in the series. this expansion is breathtaking!
  26. NN010
    Jan 29, 2023
    9
    Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward is a solid expansion & a huge step up over A Realm Reborn in terms of story, but it does still have some pacing issues and you can still see some growing pains in some respects.
  27. Roka
    Apr 1, 2023
    10
    Oh, Heavensward, how do I love thee? This expansion is a masterpiece that will take you on an emotional journey unlike any other. You'll laugh, you'll cry, and you'll be left in awe of the incredible storytelling.

    The story follows the Wol as they journey into the uncharted lands of Ishgard, where they'll face new challenges and meet new friends (and enemies). But it's the emotional    Oh, Heavensward, how do I love thee? This expansion is a masterpiece that will take you on an emotional journey unlike any other. You'll laugh, you'll cry, and you'll be left in awe of the incredible storytelling.

    The story follows the Wol as they journey into the uncharted lands of Ishgard, where they'll face new challenges and meet new friends (and enemies). But it's the emotional journey that really sets Heavensward apart.

    And let's talk about the characters, shall we? Haurchefant is one of the greatest characters you'll ever come across in a video game. He's charming, loyal, and just a tad bit naive. You'll fall in love with him from the moment you meet him, and his fate will leave you heartbroken. But that's the beauty of Heavensward - it's not afraid to take you on an emotional rollercoaster.

    The gameplay is as fantastic as ever. The music is also top-notch, with some of the best tracks in the entire Final Fantasy series.

    Overall, Heavensward is a must-play for any Final Fantasy fan or MMO enthusiast. It's a beautifully crafted expansion that will take you on an unforgettable journey.    … Expand
  28. Zinr
    Apr 2, 2023
    9
    One of the expansion's greatest strengths is its characters. Aymeric, Alphinaud, Estinien, and Haurchefant are just a few of the incredible personalities that players will encounter along the way. In particular, Haurchefant is a truly wonderful character, one whose kindness and selflessness will touch the hearts of even the most jaded players. His story arc is one of the most emotional andOne of the expansion's greatest strengths is its characters. Aymeric, Alphinaud, Estinien, and Haurchefant are just a few of the incredible personalities that players will encounter along the way. In particular, Haurchefant is a truly wonderful character, one whose kindness and selflessness will touch the hearts of even the most jaded players. His story arc is one of the most emotional and memorable I have ever seen in a game. I simply love that guy.

    Heavensward is an incredible expansion that builds on the strengths of the base game while adding new layers of depth and complexity. With its engaging characters and emotional story Heavensward is a must-play.    … Expand
  29. Imopsie
    Apr 7, 2023
    10
    Heavensward had a breathtaking story, and I really wish I could play it again completely from scratch just to experience the story again.
    The characters in this expansion, especially Haurchefant, of course, were simply amazing, and the story has both heartwarming moments and ones that tear your heart apart because they are so sad. Overall, it's just a great expansion.
  30. Anthonyi
    Apr 7, 2023
    10
    Heavensward is a stunning expansion to an already incredible game. From start to finish, the expansion immerses you in a world of magic, wonder, and intrigue that will leave you spellbound.

    The expansion features an engaging storyline that builds upon the events of A Realm Reborn. From the mysterious Ascians to the political machinations of the Ishgardian nobility, there's always    Heavensward is a stunning expansion to an already incredible game. From start to finish, the expansion immerses you in a world of magic, wonder, and intrigue that will leave you spellbound.

    The expansion features an engaging storyline that builds upon the events of A Realm Reborn. From the mysterious Ascians to the political machinations of the Ishgardian nobility, there's always something new and exciting happening in the world of Eorzea. And Heavensward has Haurchefant. He alone is worth a 10/10.
    The addition of new dungeons, and raids also adds a new level of depth to the gameplay, providing even more ways to explore and conquer the game's many challenges.

    Of course, it wouldn't be a Final Fantasy game without a memorable cast of characters, and Heavensward delivers in spades. From the enigmatic dragon Nidhogg to the valiant Ishgardian knights, the game's NPCs are richly drawn and full of personality, making it easy to get invested in their struggles and triumphs.

    Heavensward is an outstanding expansion that takes an already good game to new heights. With its engaging storyline, and memorable characters, it's a must-play for fans of the franchise and MMORPGs in general.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

13
#13 Best PC Game of 2015
48
#48 Most Discussed PC Game of 2015
61
#61 Most Shared PC Game of 2015

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
86

Generally favorable reviews - based on 14 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 14
  3. Negative: 0 out of 14
  1. RPG Fan
    Nov 5, 2015
    95
    An extensive and well-planned expansion that makes Eorzea an ever-more compelling place to get lost in.
    Read full review
  2. USgamer
    Aug 14, 2015
    90
    In addition to flying, players get an all-new storyline, new Primals, a brand-new raid dungeon, and three new jobs to level up. FFXIV still retains a few annoying issues here and there, but Heavensward is one of the best MMO expansions I've played.
    Read full review
  3. GameCritics
    Aug 9, 2015
    75
    The music is often phenomenal, the translation and dialogue are exquisite, and the world is one that's worth spending time in. However, it's all based on grind-heavy gameplay, and it's still subscription based. My advice is to buy it, burn through the new content, and then put it aside until the next substantial expansion is released.
    Read full review
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