Final Fantasy XIV Online: A Realm Reborn

 PC
User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 2236 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,673 out of 2236
  2. Mixed: 169 out of 2236
  3. Negative: 394 out of 2236
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. Bryguy1982
    May 20, 2014
    5
    **This is a long review, but I am just trying to help out my fellow hardcore MMO players out there. Even though I am a huge World of Warcraft fan and have played the game (WoW) for many years, I am not comparing FF14 to WoW. I am just trying to save you disappointment if you are trying to fill that WoW void with another MMO.**

    **Short list of Pros and Cons at the top, while details    **This is a long review, but I am just trying to help out my fellow hardcore MMO players out there. Even though I am a huge World of Warcraft fan and have played the game (WoW) for many years, I am not comparing FF14 to WoW. I am just trying to save you disappointment if you are trying to fill that WoW void with another MMO.**

    **Short list of Pros and Cons at the top, while details will be below that**

    Pros:
    + You can level all the classes and professions on one toon.
    + Plenty to do and experience leveling your first class.
    + Good graphics with a decent story.
    + Pretty easy to get geared and get right into the endgame action (This can be viewed as a con as well)
    + Challenging bosses for the parts of the game that haven't been nerfed yet.

    Cons:
    - Game world/community just feels empty and dull while questing.
    - NO world PvP. The game does have arena-like PvP, but it is the most boring thing ever.
    - There is no stand-out gear that separates the casuals from the best players. You can pretty much get the same ilvl gear without completing the hardest content in the game.
    - Professions are useless for improving your endgame, so there is no point in leveling them.
    - 30 minute to 1 hour dungeon queues for DPS classes using the duty-finder.
    - Too easy for bad players to get gear!!!

    FF14 Review:

    I have played this game for 40 days now while putting at least 5 hours a day into the game, so I feel I can give an honest review of the game. Like most MMOs, the gameplay grabbed my attention right away, but fell short for endgame material in my opinion.

    I am basing my review on Character Leveling, Endgame, Professions/Crafting, and just the overall server community (this will vary depending on which server you play on).

    Character Leveling: 7 out of 10
    What I like about this, is that you can basically level every class to 50 on one toon, which prevents the game from getting too boring right away, because you can mix-and-match different abilities. If you get bored of leveling a healer, just switch to a DPS class or tank.

    You can level by questing, queuing for dungeons (which start at lvl 15), doing Fates (random events that pop up around the world, which involve killing things), queuing for Guildhests (mini-dungeon). Basically, the game offers a variety of ways to level.

    The thing that sucks about using the same character to get your first few classes to 50, is that you will eventually run out of quests to do, because the quests don't reappear when you level a new class. As a result, you will be forced to grind fates over and over and over.

    Endgame: 5 out of 10
    (Before you FF14 fanboys bash me, I've completed Titan Ex and made it to T9 as a WHM. Basically, I feel I'm qualified to comment on endgame.)

    Dungeons consist of 4-man groups; Raids are usually 8-man groups, aside from Labyrinth which is 24.

    *Endgame provides a decent amount of dungeons for new players, such as Labyrinth of the Ancients, Primal HMs and Exs, and Bahamut Coil 1-9. My complaint with endgame isn't that the content is easy, but rather that you can grind the easier dungeons over and over and pretty much end up with the same gear as those who take pride in being a skilled player and spend hours wiping on near-impossible bosses.

    I feel the endgame is what killed this game for me. It basically becomes a grind-fest for Tomestones (these are used to get ilvl 90 raid gear). You don't even need to be good at the game and get equivalent gear to the best hardcore players. At lvl 50, most people are walking around with the same blues and looking the same. Due to this, you will get grouped with a lot of terrible players that were most likely carried by others.

    On a side note, it is really easy to gear up your other classes on the same toon. Just from healing raids over and over, I was pretty much able to get a full bard set and tank set.

    Professions/Crafting: 3 out of 10
    This game isn't any different from most other MMOs. It is a time-killer and doesn't give you any better gear that you can't easily farm for yourself. Most people do it just to sell stuff on the auction house (BTW... Money is pretty much pointless in this game. The only time you will spend it is on stuff for your guild house), or just to get achievement points. Basically... There is no benefit to leveling any profession to lvl 50.

    Server/Community: 4 out of 10
    Even though this is a MMO, most of the time you feel like you're playing the game by yourself. Once in a while you will group with people for dungeons/raids, but outside of that, the game just feels lonely. This is coming from someone that is on a popular server too. You will have the gold farmers spamming non-stop; the occasional troll yelling out random things; and the people in party finder needing people for extreme primals or fate grinding to upgrade their relic weapon. The world just feels empty to me. Maybe because their is no world PvP? I still can't put my finger on it.    … Expand
  2. Passivepete
    Oct 23, 2015
    0
    I've played a lot of games in my time and this one is bad. It's really simplistic, boring combat (press button, wait for cooldown, press the next button), boring missions (take this item to this guy) and clunky controls. It is designed around consoles so on a PC it is especially awkward to play. It looks like a little kids game, in fact I started to google it to see if it was designed forI've played a lot of games in my time and this one is bad. It's really simplistic, boring combat (press button, wait for cooldown, press the next button), boring missions (take this item to this guy) and clunky controls. It is designed around consoles so on a PC it is especially awkward to play. It looks like a little kids game, in fact I started to google it to see if it was designed for young kids. There is no real meat here, it's a dressed up grind fest. It makes me appreciate how good other mmos such as wow, eve, guildwars2 etc actually are and that I should appreciate them more!
    I really wanted this to be a good game I could sink some time into but I knew it wasn't it before hitting even level 10. The first introduction to the game, the hook that should make you think HELL YEAH, after creating your character is a whole bunch of dialog with no voice acting, it's your hint that this game is bad. Lucky they have a free tryout and I didn't waste money on it, they should have mini download of a few gig so you don't have to waste 20gig of data on it too.    … Expand
  3. JimmyCricket
    Nov 30, 2015
    4
    I am completely bewildered as to why this game is getting such a positive wrap. Laggy servers, terrible, boring and monotonous quest line, extremely poor UI all add up to make this feel like a title from 2005 (if not for the impressive graphics engine). Even so I'd much rather be playing Vanilla WoW cause it was such a smoother game experience, even 10 years ago in comparison to this.I am completely bewildered as to why this game is getting such a positive wrap. Laggy servers, terrible, boring and monotonous quest line, extremely poor UI all add up to make this feel like a title from 2005 (if not for the impressive graphics engine). Even so I'd much rather be playing Vanilla WoW cause it was such a smoother game experience, even 10 years ago in comparison to this.

    Alas, this game does not come close to being a WoW killer, and shows no signs of ever being one.

    Do yourself a favour... Don't bother.    … Expand
  4. CristianS
    Aug 28, 2013
    9
    Don't listen to all the low scores.. MMO's in early lifetime have this kind of login problems, who cares? Don't rate games on that. Please grow up! The 1017 and whatever other errors are annoying. but who cares!

    So that is that, the game plays great. It looks great, fun classes and a good fighting system. And a lot of things to do in the world. It is still a Final Fantasy game so it's    Don't listen to all the low scores.. MMO's in early lifetime have this kind of login problems, who cares? Don't rate games on that. Please grow up! The 1017 and whatever other errors are annoying. but who cares!

    So that is that, the game plays great. It looks great, fun classes and a good fighting system. And a lot of things to do in the world. It is still a Final Fantasy game so it's really story based. But than with an open world and thousands of others! This game has everything to be a great game in the future not only today. I can't wait to play 100's of hours more I think its much more fun than wow (for new players...) And it's better than GW2 what is very boring end game.

    So please guys stop giving stupid ratings because you are annoyed with some errors.... Go get a life or don't play games in their releases. The best thing the only errors are server errors. I never encountered a quest error, item error or world/ design errors!    … Expand
  5. marrew
    Sep 3, 2013
    9
    As an original player of FFXIV 1.0, I have to admit, I went into ARR with low expectations. I expected to see a rushed product only hoping to recoup the massive losses that 1.0 incurred. That said, I was blown away by the sheer overhaul of the game. The environments, sound, gameplay all did a massive 180-degree turn.

    Everything has made a drastic improvement from the original, with    As an original player of FFXIV 1.0, I have to admit, I went into ARR with low expectations. I expected to see a rushed product only hoping to recoup the massive losses that 1.0 incurred. That said, I was blown away by the sheer overhaul of the game. The environments, sound, gameplay all did a massive 180-degree turn.

    Everything has made a drastic improvement from the original, with better combat, a better HUD, and more accessibility for those who are new to the game. That being said, launch has been plauged significantly with constant server congestion and lockouts, which is annoying, seeing as how the game is beautiful once you beat the dreaded 1017. Much of the problem lies in SE not being prepared for the positive reaction to the game, which is a catch twenty-two indeed.

    As of today, Sept. 3rd, there is a scheduled maintenence that will hopefully restore functionality to the servers and clear up the massive congestion.

    tl;dr: The game is EXCELLENT once you get passed the dreaded 1017 log-in issues.    … Expand
  6. slickwilly06
    Sep 6, 2013
    10
    This is the first game to satisfy my MMO craving since WOW. I tried GW2 for a few months but it lacked the depth and social interaction i desired. FFXIV is easily accessible to MMO newcomers and offers enough content for veterans. The community is extremely helpful and it is nice to be able to play with both PC and PS3 players. My Free Company is composed of both PC and PS3 players and weThis is the first game to satisfy my MMO craving since WOW. I tried GW2 for a few months but it lacked the depth and social interaction i desired. FFXIV is easily accessible to MMO newcomers and offers enough content for veterans. The community is extremely helpful and it is nice to be able to play with both PC and PS3 players. My Free Company is composed of both PC and PS3 players and we are one big happy family. The server problems are fixed after their first big patch so all of the haters can stop picking and just enjoy the best final fantasy experience in years.… Expand
  7. Kyoushin
    Sep 7, 2013
    10
    Awesome game, Beautiful scenery, nice storyline, hard dungeons, challenging game overall! Ive just got my first character to 50 and there's still tons of content to explore and constant new content coming in.
  8. Bremic
    Sep 11, 2013
    10
    This game is a true success story, a total comeback kid. So far I love everything about this game. The gameplay, while not necessarily revolutionary, is done well, and to be honest I think that's what MMO gamers want. Something that's just done *well.*
  9. Bryst
    Oct 10, 2013
    5
    First off let my say, I didn't play v1.0. So I can't comment on game improvements from 1.0 to 2.0. I can however say: Meh it's an MMO. I played XI LONGGGGG ago, and loved they fact that one character could be ANY class. However, after you get that first character to 50 and want to start a second, be ready to farm fates. ALOT. And they become very repetitive. Its really all the game has toFirst off let my say, I didn't play v1.0. So I can't comment on game improvements from 1.0 to 2.0. I can however say: Meh it's an MMO. I played XI LONGGGGG ago, and loved they fact that one character could be ANY class. However, after you get that first character to 50 and want to start a second, be ready to farm fates. ALOT. And they become very repetitive. Its really all the game has to offer at the moment in terms of lvling. If you're not a tank or healer, be ready to spend 50+ minutes in que for a dungeon.(Which you HAVE to do almost all the dungeons to continue the story quest) They don't even give decent EXP, and the gear is kind of mediocre compared to stuff you can buy on the AH. Levequests work, but are boring and VERY repetitive.

    The story quest has no voice overs, and typical of SE they are a massive wall of text. Oh and 50% of them are go to this guy and talk to this guy or that. After playing Star Wars: The Old Republic, which had cut scenes for EVERY quest, which I loved, this is a huge annoyance.

    The class quests are a JOKE. To become a bard I had to walk maybe 300yards, kill 5-6 mobs and loot a sigil. DONE. To become a paladin I lit a brazer and killed a mob. Then at 45 to get my 4 pieces of relic gear I had to kill 2 non elite mobs at 4 different chests. To get your white mage relic gear you pray at an alter and kill ONE mob to get all FOUR pieces. Its just laziness on SE part. Very disappointing.

    I was very hyped for this game, and even after all of SEs fail with server issues and the congestion because they never implemented an AFK logout I was excited. But once I got my Bard to 30, I realized if I was to ever get my story quest done I would need to roll a healer or tank. So that's exactly what a buddy an I did. But yet again once we hit 45, the dungeons got few and far between, and we completed most the quest in our range. So guess what we got to do? FATES.

    Hopefully SE in a future patch will give more incentive to run dungeons, add some more quests and maybe add more Guildhiests(which I didn't really touch base on)    … Expand
  10. wawekar
    Oct 30, 2013
    3
    The game has very nice graphics. How ever it just becomes boring and a chore to play after a bit. I did not last a month with it. if you like repetition over and over then this game is for you. I tried to play a conjurer (healing class), apparently I was not too good at it. Skills are boring. As a healer when I got heal 2 I could not use it as I ran out of mana healing. What didThe game has very nice graphics. How ever it just becomes boring and a chore to play after a bit. I did not last a month with it. if you like repetition over and over then this game is for you. I tried to play a conjurer (healing class), apparently I was not too good at it. Skills are boring. As a healer when I got heal 2 I could not use it as I ran out of mana healing. What did not make sense is your skills like heal 1 would heal for the same amount but each level you attained the cost to cast it went up. This game wasn't for me. I give it a 3 because the graphics were really good.… Expand
  11. Sindena
    Nov 11, 2013
    2
    While it looks all shiny and pretty it is actually a grind fest with lots of problems. You only get quests once, but allowed to do all classes. So once you get to your second class it is grind till you go blind. Hours and hours of running in circles. Then if you are a lower level and trying to complete a quests, you are competing against a level 50 farming for items from same mob. He oneWhile it looks all shiny and pretty it is actually a grind fest with lots of problems. You only get quests once, but allowed to do all classes. So once you get to your second class it is grind till you go blind. Hours and hours of running in circles. Then if you are a lower level and trying to complete a quests, you are competing against a level 50 farming for items from same mob. He one shots everything so you either party up with him and stand there while he kills or you wait hours. Now the party up problem is, providing he will, is that you get lower exp if any cause you get ZERO hits in. Plus you do not learn how to play your class at all this way. The community is worst that World of Warcrafts andI thought that would be impossible. These people are down right hateful and snobby. Do not ask for help in the shout chat, they call you names and laugh at you. Oh and did I mention the relentless spamming in general chat and whispers by gold spammers. It is non stop and makes playing very difficult at times.

    Over all this is a bad game I would not recommend it to anyone. The only good thing Square Enix did was make it pretty. Another failure in my book with new clothes on.    … Expand
  12. Just_thetip
    Oct 20, 2013
    4
    There were a couple bright spots in this game but overall I found it to be painfully boring. The ability to mix abilities from different classes is a great idea. Unfortunately most abilities feel much the same. Combat felt slow paced. The Questing is its worst flaw. Reading through incredibly dull and unimaginative dialogue from quest giving NPCs was nothing short of a chore. None ofThere were a couple bright spots in this game but overall I found it to be painfully boring. The ability to mix abilities from different classes is a great idea. Unfortunately most abilities feel much the same. Combat felt slow paced. The Questing is its worst flaw. Reading through incredibly dull and unimaginative dialogue from quest giving NPCs was nothing short of a chore. None of it is compelling and I ended up skipping through all of it after a while. The character models look good but the graphics for the environments are sub-par and that's with all settings maxed. The tool used to find a group for dungeons is probably the slowest I've encountered. Especially when considering it can group you with anyone in the NA servers. PVP is completely absent at launch and will be limited when it does come from what I've read. I tried to like this game and gave it some time hoping it would get better as my character progressed but that just didn't happen.… Expand
  13. ntall1
    Oct 3, 2013
    4
    You can get to max level super fast. If you are one of those players that puts in a full 3 day weekend. You could probably get a max level character in that time. Then at max level you have a few choices. First you need to gear up a bit. That requires that you repeat the same dungeon over and over until you have enough of the currency required to buy that gear.

    After you gear up (Really    You can get to max level super fast. If you are one of those players that puts in a full 3 day weekend. You could probably get a max level character in that time. Then at max level you have a few choices. First you need to gear up a bit. That requires that you repeat the same dungeon over and over until you have enough of the currency required to buy that gear.

    After you gear up (Really takes no time at all even tho its super tedious and repetitive) You have have the option to do raid content. Yay. Well there is only one raid so far. A single 8 man raid for you to take down and repeat weekly.

    So, now you have a max level character and you have some gear. What to do, what to do. Run coil, wait a week, rinse repeat.

    tl:dr Pace of the game is super fast leaving you with next to nothing to do in a very short amount of time.    … Expand
  14. Sevorast
    Sep 7, 2013
    8
    Excellent game with amazing graphics and a really well done musical score, as expected from any FF game.

    While the launch (and pre-launch) were plagued by disconnects and other server issues, they have done an excellent job over the last week or so in clearing those up, and are expected to continue to improve the server performance and stability in the coming weeks. Game play is    Excellent game with amazing graphics and a really well done musical score, as expected from any FF game.

    While the launch (and pre-launch) were plagued by disconnects and other server issues, they have done an excellent job over the last week or so in clearing those up, and are expected to continue to improve the server performance and stability in the coming weeks.

    Game play is fluid and feels very good, animations are very well done and really match the skill or spell they are assigned to, while giving your actions a sense of weight that many games lack.    … Expand
  15. AtlasOrion
    Nov 30, 2013
    5
    I'm a big FF franchise fan and I was stoked to play this, lots of hype. There's good and bad, as with every game, but overall I found this game to be incredibly underwhelming. A great big "MEH". I really wasn't sucked in the way I have been with other games, even though it offers some really cool (albeit unoriginal things).

    Good: -Price, $30 is pretty reasonable, considering what you    I'm a big FF franchise fan and I was stoked to play this, lots of hype. There's good and bad, as with every game, but overall I found this game to be incredibly underwhelming. A great big "MEH". I really wasn't sucked in the way I have been with other games, even though it offers some really cool (albeit unoriginal things).

    Good: -Price, $30 is pretty reasonable, considering what you get
    - Graphics are amazing, though not recommended for anything less than an Nvidia 570 or above, or radeon 6870 and above if you want to get close to ultra settings, it's pretty demanding on systems.
    - Lots of detail, the mounts, pets, cities, characters and country side are very well drawn out with lots of little features
    - Great story lines adult scripts, not fluff for little kids, there's swearing and some "colorful" themes lol
    - Seems to be a decent crafting system in place, lots of mats to farm for ppl that like that thing

    Cons: Quests don't teach you much, you really have to make google your friend with this game. Can be very confusing and infuriating trying to figure out how to play and how to complete a quest. Like under quest objectives it will say "complete the quest objective". Ya, thanks for that...
    - Skills are very limited and very banal. Enjoy your half dozen ineffective skills with no customization.
    - Everyone looks the same. You're gonna wear THIS armor, and you're gonna not like it. No dressing room either.
    - Very tedious UI and game mechanics. To hand in an item you have to talk to the NPC, open your item log, click on the item to select "hand over" or place it in the "hand over box" then press "hand over". Iknowright?
    - Map tells you nothing, and there's icons all over the place that you will have no idea what they are, next to players, next to mobs, above NPCs. It's a crapshoot.
    - absolutely 0 visible range on mobs, PCs or NPCs. You can see them, but mousing over them does nothing past about 50 yards. That'll be fun for pvp...

    I'm sure they'll eventually fix it up and change a lot of things, they've already made some improvements while I was playing, but as of Dec 1/13 I would say wait another 3 months or so or you might become really disappointed and never come back to it.    … Expand
  16. Chaz0r
    Sep 6, 2013
    10
    FF14:ARR is a standard theme park MMO. If you don't like games like WoW, RIFT, Warhammer Online or Lord of the Rings Online, this game isn't probably for you either.

    If you like those games, FF14:ARR is for you! The core mechanics are great. Everything works polished. The story is awsome, the FATE-Events are fun. The graphic is absolutely awsome! Many MMO-Devs say that it's not    FF14:ARR is a standard theme park MMO. If you don't like games like WoW, RIFT, Warhammer Online or Lord of the Rings Online, this game isn't probably for you either.

    If you like those games, FF14:ARR is for you! The core mechanics are great. Everything works polished. The story is awsome, the FATE-Events are fun.

    The graphic is absolutely awsome! Many MMO-Devs say that it's not possible to create a MMO with awsome graphics and runs on middle class computers. FF14 takes those comments and spits on them. This game looks nothing else than awsome!

    Really, really good game!    … Expand
  17. wazula5
    Aug 28, 2013
    10
    So far the game is excellent. The vast majority of the issues in 1.0 have been resolved.
    Initial class leveling is pretty quick and keeps the story moving.
    The Gear Set option is clutch a simple but massive improvement on inventory management and switching between classes.
    Love that they have established a new paradigm for grinding.
  18. betelgeuzah
    Aug 28, 2013
    10
    This game does not deserve a 10. However, it does not deserve a 0 either. The server problems are annoying but the game itself is amazing and a million times better than 1.0.

    Square-Enix has done a great job with this game. There is a lot to do for a new MMO and the graphics are fantastic. The combat stays interesting since not all monsters can be facerolled, especially in class and    This game does not deserve a 10. However, it does not deserve a 0 either. The server problems are annoying but the game itself is amazing and a million times better than 1.0.

    Square-Enix has done a great job with this game. There is a lot to do for a new MMO and the graphics are fantastic. The combat stays interesting since not all monsters can be facerolled, especially in class and main quests.    … Expand
  19. wooflikeabear
    Sep 26, 2013
    3
    The game is simplistic, slow and inflexible. Did I say slow? There's a 2.5second global cooldown that leaves you wanting to do something else while in combat.. like watch tv. There's no variety in building your character, all white mages are the same, all warriors are the same, there's nothing to make you unique or stand out. Many of the cross class skills you can use are often soThe game is simplistic, slow and inflexible. Did I say slow? There's a 2.5second global cooldown that leaves you wanting to do something else while in combat.. like watch tv. There's no variety in building your character, all white mages are the same, all warriors are the same, there's nothing to make you unique or stand out. Many of the cross class skills you can use are often so underpowered that they are a waste of MP, TP and a global cooldown to cast.

    For a game that has been re-released, there are so many empty areas with NPCs that have no quests to give. There are also insufficient quests to level you completely and then little to no quests available to level the rest of the classes that it forces you to play on the same character. In other words there is insufficient content for a new release, let alone a re-released game. The public quest system called FATES is also simplistic and boring. Coming from having played Warhammer and Rift, the public quests here are a total letdown and the game forces you to grind these boring public quests to level subsequent characters. The dungeon matchmaker forces you to wait 40-90 minutes for a group unless you play a white mage which makes dungeons a lousy method of gaining XP or progressing.

    Character balancing also leaves much to be desired. Playing a melee in high level dungeons leaves you running away from boss attacks more often than actually attacking causing your damage to be lousy and leading groups to always prefer having ranged damage dealers over melee. Playing a ranged just leaves you standing around pressing 1..2..3.. repeatedly. Of the two tank classes, no one wants a Warrior in group and any high level group will insist on the tank being a Paladin instead. This may be acceptable if this was a game just out of beta, but for a re-release, it's not just disappointing, it's a ripoff.    … Expand
  20. squish88
    Oct 10, 2013
    3
    To say this game is outdated is putting it very kindly.

    Pros: 1) The ability to make a chat channel that's specific to a group of people that you choose is nice. No more spamming guild chat to talk to your smaller group of buddies all at once. 2) Inventory space is a non-issue from the get go. Finally a game that sees that it's more annoying than anything else to have to 'build    To say this game is outdated is putting it very kindly.

    Pros:
    1) The ability to make a chat channel that's specific to a group of people that you choose is nice. No more spamming guild chat to talk to your smaller group of buddies all at once.

    2) Inventory space is a non-issue from the get go. Finally a game that sees that it's more annoying than anything else to have to 'build up' inventory space. On a side note, the gear not going into your normal inventory is nice as well.

    Cons:
    1) The map functionality is so convoluted you have to "figure it out"... That's MMO gaming 101 folks... an easy to use map. They failed at that. Badly.

    2) The chat functionality lacks basic abilities like right clicking on the names of gold farmers and/or greifer-types to block/report them...

    3) Quest turn ins... WHY on God's green earth, do I have to drag a quest item from my inventory, to a special quest turn in window just to turn in the quest... No other MMO that I've ever played does this. It's absurd, and a waste of my time.

    4) Gathering... a) gathering sucks, other MMO's (think SWTOR) have found ways around this. Take a look at them & stop wasting players' time, and b) Why is it that I, all of the sudden, can't cast a spell, swing a sword/axe, or even wear the same clothing just 'cause I'm picking berries?!?!?!?! Stupid. Just plain stupid.

    5) The combat system is beyond dated. It's standard vanilla WoW. There's no active combat like, say, Guild Wars 2, or Tera for example where you actively dodge. It's the same boring, no thought, button clicking rotation that people used 7 years ago where you occasionally have to step out of the red circle on the ground.

    6) Last but not least... you have to travel on Chickens. No further explanation needed.

    Honestly, I don't care if they screwed up their first version, and this one is 'way' better. It's still not as good as a lot of other games currently out there, and they want people to pay a monthly fee for this... HA!! Good luck.    … Expand
  21. Hue
    Oct 18, 2013
    1
    Shall we begin with the force fed story or the fact that it took them over 2 months to get friends on the same server together?

    I should have taken my initial suspicions about this game and stuck to them. Just turn around before you waste your time working in a game. It will take you countless hours or boring repetitive story line quests to unlock end game dungeons. Just turn around    Shall we begin with the force fed story or the fact that it took them over 2 months to get friends on the same server together?

    I should have taken my initial suspicions about this game and stuck to them. Just turn around before you waste your time working in a game. It will take you countless hours or boring repetitive story line quests to unlock end game dungeons. Just turn around and pick a game that was actually developed for the story.

    This should have been marketed as a JRPG with ONLINE CONTENT as opposed to an MMORPG.    … Expand
  22. GrimStabberson
    Jun 15, 2015
    1
    This game is the final nail in the coffin for my love of the Final Fantasy series. FFXIV is a HUGE pain in the butt to even get started and has a monthly subscription- on top of the game's initial price tag. It is largely a chore to play and is designed more to eat up time more-so than actually be fun.

    FFXIV is chocked full of mindless fetch quests that have you delivering trivial    This game is the final nail in the coffin for my love of the Final Fantasy series. FFXIV is a HUGE pain in the butt to even get started and has a monthly subscription- on top of the game's initial price tag. It is largely a chore to play and is designed more to eat up time more-so than actually be fun.

    FFXIV is chocked full of mindless fetch quests that have you delivering trivial items, like tea leaves, from NPC A to NPC B. In typical MMORPG format you will run the same dungeons and kill the same mobs for endless hours for drops and levels. Again, most of this game is designed simply to eat up time doing menial tasks repeatedly to keep you subscribing for months to make progress.

    My main purpose for writing this bad review, however, is to warn about the ungodly amount of spam it has. The spam here is worse than anything I've ever seen in a game- including free to play games. On many servers it is so unbearable that people either have to use 3rd party tools to block some of it (which is against the ToS) or simply turn off the personal chat function. The whole freaking POINT of an MMO is to interact with other players, but many people struggle doing that due to all of the spam messages we are constantly bombarded with.

    The "Report Spam" function in this game is basically nonexistent and most players don't even know how to do this. SE basically expects you to stop what you are doing, log into their website, fill out a form for each spam message, and send it to their "Special Task Force" (which is basically 3 employees for all of North America). What makes this even more ludicrous is that we sometimes get a dozen or more of these spam messages from various characters with names like "Dffrffddf Gffgfdfg" every few minutes. This has been a problem with them for the last 2 years and it really hasn't gotten any better. Basically, they just don't care. It is totally unacceptable.

    Anyone that says this isn't a problem is either in a locked server that's hard to get an account on (for bots and players alike) or are on a Japanese server (which SE seems to actually give a damn about). NA/EU servers, as a whole, are completely spammed into oblivion and the developers just don't care. As a US player, I personally take this as a slap in the face.

    As an added bonus, a large part of this game's community consists of elitist metrosexual douchebags. Sure, there are nice people that play, but expect the obnoxious ones to drown them out. If you're new to a dungeon in end-game there is a very large probability you will be insulted non-stop and possibly kicked out of the party. You can expect rudeness and petty arguments in nearly every raid. This community is so toxic that- if understanding people like me try to explain the mechanics of a dungeon to new people- even I get hate for taking the time to do so. The mentality basically boils down to "GO! GO! GO! YOU SUCK, NOOB!!!" Of course, when they inevitably wipe due to this attitude, they rage quit. This might not sound so bad on its own, but often there is an hour wait *just to get into a dungeon*!

    If you like being trolled by metrosexual half-naked cat-men and spammed nonstop by bots trying to sell you game money for real money, then this is the game for you. If you want to make friends to go on an exciting and engaging adventure with, however, look elsewhere.    … Expand
  23. ChillingWind
    Aug 28, 2013
    10
    Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn is the best MMORPG I have ever played. It IS NOT the same game that came out years ago, and many people are judging it based on the past when I believe Square Enix has found the meaning to the word redemption. The graphics, music, gameplay, and game as a whole is amazing. It is a must buy especially with it being sold at under $45.
  24. Cocytus
    Sep 24, 2013
    5
    Be careful if buying this game.
    The game is riddled with unrestrained RMT bots, hacked user accounts that are used as RMT mules that when banned Squeenix refuses to reestablish. Heavy lag problems, long(90min+) dungeon finder queues along with unstable dungeon servers. The game is so poorly coded that high end gpu’s tend to run at very sloppy fps. (Same with Sli/Crossfire)
    As if this    Be careful if buying this game.
    The game is riddled with unrestrained RMT bots, hacked user accounts that are used as RMT mules that when banned Squeenix refuses to reestablish. Heavy lag problems, long(90min+) dungeon finder queues along with unstable dungeon servers. The game is so poorly coded that high end gpu’s tend to run at very sloppy fps. (Same with Sli/Crossfire)
    As if this wasn't good enough their customer support is the worst of any MMO ever to have graced us. Their email support takes 24hrs to create your ticket and 48hrs to receive a copy/paste response to any issue you may be having. Long wait times on phone/chat (2:00hrs+) only to be cut off because there are no agents available after you were already on a queue during working hours!! And even if you get lucky and are able to get attended by an agent they never resolve the issue and always respond with a 'Prepared response' followed by disconnecting the chat/phone call.
    Oh, but wait there's more. You'll love this one. They refuse to take your money. That's right, their payment system is so archaic and sloppy that it's unable to properly process your credit cards. After the first attempt fails your credit card gets locked for 24hrs and each additional attempt resets the timer and adds more wait time (48-72hrs). Until the systems locks your card for 30days. All this information was gathered via phone. The payment process makes no mention of this nor does it provide a way for you to see the time left on your lock down so you're left guessing whether or not you already have the 30 day restriction and resetting the timer if you attempt to use it again. (Customer service doesn't have a way to tell you either )
    Square Enix response to the issue? "It's your fault" "Your credit card denies the payment" Even after repeatedly informing them via email, chat, phone and forums that after calling to our respective banks (that's right more than one credit card/bank) there was no issue with them.
    OK, so paying with cc is a no-go. Let's try their "Crysta" system (it's a payment system similar to Xbox microsoft points). Assuming you fall under their designated allowed countries (Brazil & Venezuela aren't part of America and Puerto Rico isn't part of the USA Sqeenix has spoken!) you will be able to buy crysta via the UltimatePay option by buying their pre-paid $20 cards. Please note that this card will also be rejected by Squeenix and you will be required to call UltimatePay support in order for them to manually push the crysta onto your account once you provide them the card code via phone call.
    I strongly recommend staying away from this game until Square Enix fixes all these issues if at all. Please note that from past experience (FFXI, FFXIV) Square Enix has for the most part always ignored the player and done their own thing at their own pace. If anything I hope this post helps new players get a clearer picture of what they're getting into after paying for the game.

    Current outstanding issues on forums for those interested:
    Payment Method Registration Errors [Error Code 401 and 601]
    http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/threads/93493-Payment-Method-Registration-Errors-Error-Code-401-and-601
    Can't Buy Crysta
    http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/threads/94774-Can-t-Buy-Crysta
    Error 2002 and 90000
    http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/threads/94987-Error-2002-and-90000

    You can view all issues at their Technical Support Forum:
    http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/forums/627-Technical-Support    … Expand
  25. Marandopsu
    Sep 11, 2013
    5
    Now a mediocre game instead of an abysmal turd. This qualifies as a tremendous turn around for Square Enix, but don't expect anything other than archaic mechanics and a mundane story.
  26. CaptainGowa
    Aug 28, 2013
    10
    Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn is so much better than its previous incarnation that it's hard to fully describe. While there's nothing overly innovative about it, this game takes all of the great ideas from various successful MMORPGs and incorporates them into one package. The fantastic story telling and presentation of Final Fantasy XI, the usability of World of Warcraft, and aFinal Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn is so much better than its previous incarnation that it's hard to fully describe. While there's nothing overly innovative about it, this game takes all of the great ideas from various successful MMORPGs and incorporates them into one package. The fantastic story telling and presentation of Final Fantasy XI, the usability of World of Warcraft, and a number of great systems inspired by others. With a great deal of nostalgia and Final Fantasy goodness thrown on top, this game will keep any Final Fantasy fan busy for years to come.

    (While there are some hiccups during this initial launch phase, including errors that are being mentioned, this is to be expected of any big product launch. With new servers coming within a week's time, these annoyances are only temporary and do little to hinder a legitimate review score.)    … Expand
  27. Nightchills
    Nov 6, 2013
    0
    The game is a total grid fest. Yes you can have one toon and do it all but OMG. There’s only enough quests out there for 2 “MAYBE” 3 classes worth of grinding and that’s still doing fates Rifts like in rift or should I say stolen from Rift or ark falls in defiance) The combat system is complete trash every ability is on a global cool down due to the cross platform factor. Set a macro andThe game is a total grid fest. Yes you can have one toon and do it all but OMG. There’s only enough quests out there for 2 “MAYBE” 3 classes worth of grinding and that’s still doing fates Rifts like in rift or should I say stolen from Rift or ark falls in defiance) The combat system is complete trash every ability is on a global cool down due to the cross platform factor. Set a macro and auto combat. While the game looks GREAT the mechanics and game play is so far below the line to even call it a Final Fantasy game. Gold spammers ever where, and due to SE’s lack of planning for the PC gamers there is no such thing and right click so if u want to ignore someone that takes an hour to open the menu then try to catch the spammer through the waves upon waves of spam. Within the first week of open game play you couldn’t walk into a town without getting spam in gen chat and IM’d constantly… Crafting is ok not the best crafting system out there, again a system stolen from another game. The crafting system is much like that of Vanguard, however the market is so trashed due to all the gold farmers you can’t make any money, and on top of that, that is how SE expects you to make money so good luck there. The community is the worst part though, one of the main grind instances for level 50+ gear just happens to be the 2nd to last instance of the main quest line. People speed run that instance and just leave the new comers behind they don’t even care if it’s your 1st or 50th time through. While this game could be great it falls short in a big way.
    Find a demo or get on a friends account. This game is good for about 1 month then the grind and the community will get you and you will wish you had every cent back.    … Expand
  28. Bastrion
    Aug 28, 2013
    10
    A veritable phoenix risen from the ashes of a terrible initial game. This game is excellent, and once the login issues are resolved, hopefully everyone can begin to enjoy it
  29. Velaniswin
    Aug 28, 2013
    10
    While the launch has been frustrating, I'm enjoying this game a ton and will probably stick around for a while to see where SE goes with it.

    The launch of an MMO can be rough for any company, so I won't let some server issues ruin the great game play Yoshi P worked on.
  30. Bnburns2000
    Aug 28, 2013
    9
    Short Version: If you're a fan of vanilla WoW, but still prefer the updated accommodations standard with most MMOs, you'll find a lot to love with XIV:ARR. If you prefer the action-combat of GW2, TERA, etc., this game may not be to you. Beautiful graphics, intuitive interface. This is a game that appeals to mmo fans that have grown tired of the old titles, but are still looking for thatShort Version: If you're a fan of vanilla WoW, but still prefer the updated accommodations standard with most MMOs, you'll find a lot to love with XIV:ARR. If you prefer the action-combat of GW2, TERA, etc., this game may not be to you. Beautiful graphics, intuitive interface. This is a game that appeals to mmo fans that have grown tired of the old titles, but are still looking for that same experience with updated features. XIV:ARR doesn't reinvent the wheel, and while it's a slow starter for the first 20-30 levels, the pay off is definitely worth it. After floundering between various mmos for the last 3-4 years, I feel like this is the game I've been waiting for.

    Funny enough, with all of the so-called "WoW clones" on the market, very few games ever truly felt like the original World of Warcraft experience. This one does, at least for me.    … Expand
Page:

Awards & Rankings

33
#33 Best PC Game of 2013
19
#19 Most Discussed PC Game of 2013
31
#31 Most Shared PC Game of 2013

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
83

Generally favorable reviews - based on 32 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 29 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 32
  3. Negative: 0 out of 32
  1. Hyper Magazine
    Dec 28, 2013
    80
    Full of enough adventure, daring-do and chocobos to make any MMO fan happy. [Jan 2014, p.72]
  2. Gaming Nexus
    Nov 13, 2013
    85
    A Realm Reborn is such a substantial change from the original game that it merits a second look if you hated the first release. So much has changed for the better, and it has resulted in one of the most polished MMORPGs out there today.
    Read full review
  3. PCGamesN
    Nov 6, 2013
    80
    The completionist in me is nearly overwhelmed with the sheer amount of things to do in A Realm Reborn. Square Enix really do deserve praise for not only fixing the issues of the original game, but far exceeding their goal.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »