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
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  1. Ived
    Sep 10, 2013
    10
    Different classes give dynamic play-styles.
    Mixing abilities from other classes allows for interesting builds.
    Combat gameplay is enjoyably fast and action based.
  2. perfectm
    Sep 10, 2013
    10
    Really surprised at how much I am enjoying this game. The leaving and story of the game are on par with the best of SWTOR, but the crafting and gathering system is so much better than any MMO I have ever played. On top of everything, the graphics and sound/music are A1
  3. Masekase
    Sep 14, 2013
    10
    Fantastic game few hiccups at the start with servers. I am on Japanese server and we have had same problems same as other servers but they are in the past now. I played in beta and 1.0 this game has come a long way. Cancelled my FFXI game after 10 years as this game offers everything I need in a game.
  4. TsukasaHiiragi
    Jan 2, 2016
    5
    After playing FFXIV beta and deciding it was a train wreck, I never played the game up until getting a 30 day account via humble bundle and I've been playing constantly each day enough to warrant a fair review, as with most MMOs your always going to get fanboy reviews with 9 or 10s, and you're going to get haters with 0s which this game doesn't deserve both, FFXIV is a solid 5 because itsAfter playing FFXIV beta and deciding it was a train wreck, I never played the game up until getting a 30 day account via humble bundle and I've been playing constantly each day enough to warrant a fair review, as with most MMOs your always going to get fanboy reviews with 9 or 10s, and you're going to get haters with 0s which this game doesn't deserve both, FFXIV is a solid 5 because its just average, sure it does several things right, but also does several things wrong. FFXIV still suffers from the Ver 1.0 trainwreck but has at least headed in the right direction since then, but still there is a large room for improvement.

    Some of the greatest issues are mostly for new players such as making gil, its very difficult for new players to make any descent money since most of the original methods for making money are either over farmed, or dead resources that no one really uses anymore, and with veteran players having countless millions of gil, its created a massive rift in the game, with certain features such as housing clearly showing these problems - having to pay upwards of 4 million+ for a basic house, and perhaps as high as 70 million for a large house is obnoxious, it more or less prevents new players from ever owning a house, garden and all that fun stuff.

    Another problem is with questing, simply put - there isn't enough quests, with the primary source of levelling with grinding fates and repeating dungeons which honestly, does get boring quite fast - then times this via the amount of jobs you want to level and you get a really grindy game with honestly, little in the way of content to show for it. The saving grace is that at least when you unlock an advanced job, at least that doesn't start at level 1 at least - crafting and gathering are also both quite grindy and boring, especially at higher levels when you start to need cross job materials so your either forced to buy from other players, and lets face it - alot of these items are not going to be cheap in a player driven economy, or forced to grind it out yourself - which again, adds to more grindfest - veteran players though will probably tell you that ultimately this is one of the few ways you can make large amounts of money later in the game, assuming you can stick with the game long enough.

    Questing and combat does have issues as well, with casters suffering from a 2.5 second timer on all offensive spells, plus a global cool down which honestly, feels like the combat is slightly on the slower side compared to melee fighters who have no cast times on skills. The cool downs for magic users feels a tad excessive to be really honest, especially during fates when 2.5 seconds is actually a really long time when casting a spell at a target just for a few melee players to decimate the mob you was targetting in less time.

    Another issue is with the fact that some of the quests I would say haven't been properly balanced, some quests are either stupidly easy or stupidly difficult - these are almost always story quests which have balance issues. Also, there isn't any banks, there is a retainer which is kinder like a bank but you don't unlock that until later in the game so for new players. Zone design ranges from great to poor, many zones at least are well designed but personally I never liked the Gridania zones, they feel too cramped and far too many aggro monsters compared to other areas and finally, lag is also a major problem in FFXIV, lag spikes are deadly for squishy characters.

    Overall, the game can be fun to play at times if you can stand the monotony of the typical Japanese (excessive) grind, there are many more issues with the game that I could easily mention too but there are also positive points about FFXIV, so I would say that this really is a game that isn't for everyone, but since you can get a free 14 day trial, this could be a game you'll totally enjoy, or hate but at least with the trial, your not losing anything.    … Expand
  5. FarzanZand
    Aug 28, 2013
    10
    Ignore the negative reviews because they give it bad reviews just cause of a failed launch. They are fixing it and in a day or two it will be fine.

    This is the the only game since 2004 (wow-release) that made me feel real joy from playing it. The game has real soul and I haven't had this much fun playing anything. This game is well done and polished. Give it a try. Ignore the bad    Ignore the negative reviews because they give it bad reviews just cause of a failed launch. They are fixing it and in a day or two it will be fine.

    This is the the only game since 2004 (wow-release) that made me feel real joy from playing it. The game has real soul and I haven't had this much fun playing anything. This game is well done and polished. Give it a try. Ignore the bad reviews due to launch issues. Every MMO has had a bad launch, but that is temporary a temporary problem. The game itself is golden! It will give you that warm MMO-feeling that you have missed.    … Expand
  6. tmuntan1
    Aug 28, 2013
    10
    This game is much more enjoyable than its 1.0 counterpart. It had a few problems with launch, however, those issues will be invalid in a few days and are getting better now. As a whole, I find the game really enjoyable and that it lives up the the FF standard.
  7. x_ares_x
    Jul 22, 2014
    5
    FFXIV is an amazing feat - Square Enix did the unthinkable; they resurrected a previously doomed video game. With that being said, the resurrection leaves players like me wanting more. Before I get any "WoW fanboy!" responses, I *have* played World of Warcraft, but I've also played Final Fantasy 11, Guild Wars 1 & 2, Rift, Star Wars the Old Republic and many, many more MMORPGs. To say I'mFFXIV is an amazing feat - Square Enix did the unthinkable; they resurrected a previously doomed video game. With that being said, the resurrection leaves players like me wanting more. Before I get any "WoW fanboy!" responses, I *have* played World of Warcraft, but I've also played Final Fantasy 11, Guild Wars 1 & 2, Rift, Star Wars the Old Republic and many, many more MMORPGs. To say I'm a fan of one is to say that for one reason or another, I'm a fan of them all.

    What FFXIV isn't is a terrible game. It's not a bad game, it just has few qualities which make it stand out from the crowd and justify the monthly subscription.

    Pros would be obviously the graphics - the game's simply stunning to look at. The sound is great, music is great. A plentiful amount of pets and mounts. The game is pretty decent to play. FFXIV has a really good story and the community for the most part is somewhat friendly. It's nice to be able to move from one class to another just by swapping out your weapons.

    The darker side, or cons of this game however would be that with weapon and class swapping comes fewer spaces in inventory and fewer quests. Inventory stays the same no matter how high your level and there is, at this time no way to increase it unless you hire retainers - you get two of those at the most, after their inventory is full, you're out of luck. Main quests are limited in number which leaves the player seeking out something called Leves. Levels too are limited by how many you can do, depending on how many you have "saved up". You have credits which act as Leve currency, which will cot you 1 credit per Leve taken on, regardless of whether you're successful or not. Dungeons are mediocre at best, for the most part. As with most MMOs, if you're not a tank or a healer, get ready to wait in queue for a while, if you can figure out how to access the queue system - or as far as that goes, how to use the Glamour (read transmogrification) system, or even how to make or even use Materia. Unlike other MMORPGs, Square makes everything into a quest - do you want to make your armor stronger? You need to obtain Materia. How do you obtain Materia? Wait until 18 and quest the ability to change old gear into Materia - ah, but again, it's not that easy; no, again, you have to wait until your "spirit bond" with that piece of gear is at 100%, which might take a while, depending on how often you're in battle. However, let's say you finally completed the quest and have obtained some Materia, now to slot it - but how? That's right, another quest. However, even after you've successfully done these two quests and you have Materia and you're all set to slot it.... you get hit with the information that you can't slot it because the piece of gear you're wearing is for your current level which is 30, but your craft for that respective piece of gear is only at level 10. Let me clarifiy; if you plan on slotting Materia, you better keep your crafts (yes, CRAFTS) on par with your current class's level. You will also need more than one craft leveled as well, if you want to cover all of your gear. If you want to place Materia into your main gear if you're a plate-wearing tank, that will mean you will have to level Armorer for your armor, Blacksmith for your weapon/shield and Goldsmithing for your accessories at minimal. At the rate one craft depends on another for materials, you better be ready to level them all or shell out whatever the other crafters want for those much needed leather materials you will ultimately need. Raids are uninspiring and boring. The 2.5 second global cooldown encompasses almost every move, even stuns, which leaves one apprehensive at times on using abilities because the boss at any second could use a special move which needs to be stunned and ultimately isn't stunned because the tank's abilities are on cooldown - and so the group is wiped.
    The public quest system known as FATEs is another thing that is rather bothersome. When you join a FATE, you have to willingly, temporarily level down via Level Sync. However, your abilities do not scale with your level, they just become unavailable if they're higher than your current level. Have a new favorite ability you got at 35? If you're in a level 12 FATE and you're synced, better get ready for it to be temporarily disabled. These are not all of the flaws I see in this game, just the ones which bother me the most.

    Despite what I have posted here, I don't find the game terrible, I just feel that some of the systems and ideas in the game are not as user friendly as they could be. Aside from that, this game does nothing different than any other MMORPG hasn't done before it, it just doesn't seem to be able to do it as well. Can I recommend it? I'm sorry, I can't - not when there are far more user-friendly MMORPGs out there which have been around for so much longer and therefore have so much more content. Give this one a year and check back then - the game may have gotten better.    … Expand
  8. Namath
    Aug 28, 2013
    10
    This a great package for people who are looking for a classic style MMORPG that focuses more on strategic tab-targeting combat than action/hack-slash/twitch based combat. It is also a heavy final fantasy game so expect lots of dialogues and cutscenes that immerse the players into the storyline. There are also great voice acting in 4 different languages on important cutscenes as well.This a great package for people who are looking for a classic style MMORPG that focuses more on strategic tab-targeting combat than action/hack-slash/twitch based combat. It is also a heavy final fantasy game so expect lots of dialogues and cutscenes that immerse the players into the storyline. There are also great voice acting in 4 different languages on important cutscenes as well.

    More importantly, this game offers every MMORPG fans a bit of everything. From solo to group play. From casual to hardcore (some might even call it middlecore). This game caters to a wide audience. For the base game box price, you get 30 days of subscription to start off with, which should be enough for someone who play 20 hours a week to get to max level and complete the main story.    … Expand
  9. vandana
    Sep 17, 2013
    10
    Not being a huge fan of Final Fantasy, I came to the world of Eorzea without huge expectations. More from curiosity and boredom with other MMOs then anything. All I expected was another generic MMO, which is doomed to go free-to-play in 6 months. God, was I wrong! Final Fantasy is a great piece of craftsmanship and a result of blending together of features invented over the years ofNot being a huge fan of Final Fantasy, I came to the world of Eorzea without huge expectations. More from curiosity and boredom with other MMOs then anything. All I expected was another generic MMO, which is doomed to go free-to-play in 6 months. God, was I wrong! Final Fantasy is a great piece of craftsmanship and a result of blending together of features invented over the years of development of modern MMOs. That has been done in a way that actually works, and all the pieces together make this game incredibly fun to play. With plenty of content added to the equation, this actually puts FF14 as a frontrunner in MMO world, quite unexpectedly. The positive effect is of course amplified by the fact that version 1.0 sucked, however that doesn't matter to a player like me, who never played 1.0 (that being said, I very much applaud the courage to go ahead with the reboot, which is an example to the whole industry how to deal with failure, and give justice to legendary franchises) But I judge this game on its own merit, without any reference to its predecessor. And the judgment can be only one: this is the best MMO that I can remember, and one that is full of hope that it won't actually go f2p/maintenance mode anytime soon, because of how good the engine is, how it gives the game a base on which it can add to its already stunning amount of content. i can see myself playing this game for years to come, and seeing how cleverly designed it is, I am certain that the game is managed by people who know what they are doing and has bright future ahead of it. Square Enix just acquired a loyal customer, and I doubt they will do anything to loose him. My score is 8/10, however to offset the 0 scores given for issues that no longer exist I give 0.

    P.S. People who come to Metacritic on day 1, and give a game a 0, because of login issues, should rethink their lives. There was an MMO that had 120 servers at launch, look where it is now.    … Expand
  10. Artanisx
    Aug 31, 2013
    10
    This game is really really good. I played the 1.0 version of the game, a grand total of 30 minutes (Open Beta) before uninstalling it. It was HORRIBLE.
    But A Realm Reborn is really another game. It's fun, it's complete, it's full of features, the class system is fantastic, the gathering and crafting is similar to Star Wars Galaxies (the best Crafting system ever made), the music is    This game is really really good. I played the 1.0 version of the game, a grand total of 30 minutes (Open Beta) before uninstalling it. It was HORRIBLE.
    But A Realm Reborn is really another game. It's fun, it's complete, it's full of features, the class system is fantastic, the gathering and crafting is similar to Star Wars Galaxies (the best Crafting system ever made), the music is outstanding, the graphics are great.
    I'm just having tons of fun, and while the endgame has yet to be tested (I'm level 29 with my highest class, though I have over 150 levels if I sum all my classes), for the moment I'd say this is a gem and while it has a couple of flaws, those are not severe and don't reduce the experience in any tangible way.    … Expand
  11. Ezekius
    Aug 30, 2013
    10
    The change from 1.0 to 2.0 is unbelievable. The game is just great now, it's smooth and runs fantastic. Combat is actually fun, quests are actually fun, guildleves and dungeons are actually fun. I just can't believe how much of a difference has been made to the game. It's fantastic.
  12. Quatra
    Aug 28, 2013
    10
    This game is not a 10, more of a solid 8! Ten is to counter all the unnecessary 0's. Square Enix did the right thing and corrected the horrendous launch of the incomplete original FFXIV. Character development, Class and Job system, world, and environment is magical. If I had to describe it in other MMO terms, I would say it incorporates the best parts of WoW, such as dungeon finder,This game is not a 10, more of a solid 8! Ten is to counter all the unnecessary 0's. Square Enix did the right thing and corrected the horrendous launch of the incomplete original FFXIV. Character development, Class and Job system, world, and environment is magical. If I had to describe it in other MMO terms, I would say it incorporates the best parts of WoW, such as dungeon finder, need,pass,and greed on items, as well as much quicker travelling. FFXI elements show themselves in lore, world, class, and job areas. Definately a solid MMO, and all the haters, are hating mostly for normal launch problems. Personally I haven't had a problem getting on or playing. I wish people would not rate a game they can't play because of an error, many of which are localized to their system.… Expand
  13. NyanReaper
    Aug 28, 2013
    10
    This game is a huge difference and improvement compared to the initial FFXIV. The graphics are gorgeous, just looking at the environment makes me wanna play more and more. The combat system and Jobs/Classes are good too, especially when crafting. The addition of FATE system is fun to play. I didn't expect the game to be this good. Instead of giving scores of 0,1, 2 just because of theThis game is a huge difference and improvement compared to the initial FFXIV. The graphics are gorgeous, just looking at the environment makes me wanna play more and more. The combat system and Jobs/Classes are good too, especially when crafting. The addition of FATE system is fun to play. I didn't expect the game to be this good. Instead of giving scores of 0,1, 2 just because of the server issues and character restrictions and stuffs(we should expect this to happen), I'd say be patient and enjoy the game, those will be solved sooner, I'm sure they won't be just sitting idly and do nothing.… Expand
  14. Immaprinnydood
    Aug 29, 2013
    10
    The game does everything right that an MMO, should do right, it's quests are fun and creative, the story is epic, and makes you feel like a hero, it has tons of things to do, so you can play for a really long time and never get bored. Yoshi and his team really put their heart into this game, and it shows.
  15. Zwente
    Aug 29, 2013
    10
    This isn't the best game ever made. But for an MMO it is almost perfectly created! You can tell that they learned from the mistakes in the first version of the game. Story is great, I actually feel like I have walked into the Final Fantasy world. The graphics are impressive and the battling system is much better than most MMOs. One of my favorite features is the great compatibility for aThis isn't the best game ever made. But for an MMO it is almost perfectly created! You can tell that they learned from the mistakes in the first version of the game. Story is great, I actually feel like I have walked into the Final Fantasy world. The graphics are impressive and the battling system is much better than most MMOs. One of my favorite features is the great compatibility for a game pad on PC. Overall, probably one of the best MMOs i have played!… Expand
  16. seasode
    Aug 30, 2013
    10
    This game is great. My only issue is that its a lot easier then old school MMOs. Ever since wow, every MMO feels too easy. Once they fix the server issues everything will be fine. Every online game has its server issues at launch. People need to get over it and stop acting like this is something new.
  17. Alerith
    Sep 2, 2013
    10
    Square-Enix seems to have won its gamble with Final Fantasy XIV's re-release. Coming strong out of version 1.0 with the '7th Umbral Era Event' storyline, Yoshida's development team seems to have hit the ground running.

    A Realm Reborn, formerly known as XIV 2.0, has become the game XIV was always meant to be. The world, the music, the storyline...ohhh the storyline.... Everything has    Square-Enix seems to have won its gamble with Final Fantasy XIV's re-release. Coming strong out of version 1.0 with the '7th Umbral Era Event' storyline, Yoshida's development team seems to have hit the ground running.

    A Realm Reborn, formerly known as XIV 2.0, has become the game XIV was always meant to be. The world, the music, the storyline...ohhh the storyline.... Everything has been reworked for the re-launch and the amount of change done to this game in such a short time-frame is nothing short of miraculous.

    Setting:
    Set in the world of Hydaelyn, on the continent of Eorzea, the game boasts beautiful and diverse zones for players to explore and adventure in. Gone is the copy-paste of 1.0's repetitive terrain and each zone now contains different elements making them unique from one another and giving a true sense of diversity. The greatest area to benefit from this change is probably The Black Shroud. Once nothing more than a maze of tunnels with trees out of reach, the zone has become a true forest area for the players of Gridania.

    Gameplay:
    Leaving 1.23+ in the original game, one could already tell that solid systems were being put into place. ARR expands upon these systems and what we end up with is a solid combat system, an enhnaced crafting/gathering system and an overall enjoyable experience. The start of the game feels a bit spammy, as you only have a few combat abilities that are supposed to be used, but the diversity in your skill set increases as you level up, rounding out very nicely by the end. The Limit Break system, while not very diverse, functions as it should and acts as a great method of strategy and as an "Ah hell..." button. While there isn't anything very innovative about the system, new and veteran MMO players alike will find the systems functional and enjoyable.

    Music:
    What can be said here that hasn't been said before? Square Enix has some of the most amazing composers in the industry on staff and it shines through in nearly all their games. ARR is no exception. The soundtracks are rich, diverse and the themes fitting with every scenario they are placed in. Just about anyone who plays can go on for hours about the quality of the music in the game, and the mood the themes set go perfectly with the depth of the story.

    Story:
    Ah the story. In true Square Enix fashion, the story turns into something phenomenal. It starts off rather slow, and I believe this is what Yoshida meant when he said he was making the game accessible to players who are new to MMOs. Once you reach a certain point, however, the story takes off into something that can only be described as magnificent. Without giving away too much, you'll see some familiar Final Fantasy enemies and a final boss worthy of the franchise title.

    All in all, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn is a fantastic game and a credit to the company. It's proof that hard work can, and will, pay off and that even a sinking ship can be salvaged.

    *Note: Server issues are not taken into consideration as these temporary issues do not affect the overall game itself and a scheduled server patch is to take place 04/SEP/2013.    … Expand
  18. donuts842
    Sep 6, 2013
    10
    I know it had been said about a thousand times already, but this game is a million times better than the first. Better graphics, UI, framerate. I played the original about 2 days and had to stop. This one I can't put down.
  19. Aquilla
    Aug 28, 2013
    10
    The negative reviews about server outages have been written literally 24 HOURS after release. It's obvious that some people are seriously damn impatient.
    As to the game: It's AMAZING. the graphics are great. the story is engaging, immersive, and hands-down the best story offered in a MMO recently. The gameplay is miles away from 1.0. The dungeons are well-designed, the bosses interesting,    The negative reviews about server outages have been written literally 24 HOURS after release. It's obvious that some people are seriously damn impatient.
    As to the game: It's AMAZING. the graphics are great. the story is engaging, immersive, and hands-down the best story offered in a MMO recently. The gameplay is miles away from 1.0. The dungeons are well-designed, the bosses interesting, and the difficulty curve expertly designed it starts out easy enough, but gets hard. I can imagine no better MMO to spend money on.    … Expand
  20. Boonah
    Aug 29, 2013
    6
    I've never played a final fantasy game before so I'm reviewing this as just an MMO like any other.

    It feels very slow, there are insanely long gcds on abilities. Ive been playing for several hours as a conjurer and have two damage abilities. im level 13. Im dotting a target then spamming one key over and over ad infinitum. It gets old very fast. Quests are very dull and repetitive.    I've never played a final fantasy game before so I'm reviewing this as just an MMO like any other.

    It feels very slow, there are insanely long gcds on abilities. Ive been playing for several hours as a conjurer and have two damage abilities. im level 13. Im dotting a target then spamming one key over and over ad infinitum. It gets old very fast.

    Quests are very dull and repetitive. Kill X. Fetch Y.

    The map is awful and useless. Navigation proves very challenging.

    All in all, if htis was 2005 id give it a 10. But its 2013. So its a 6. Its just more of the same old same old im afraid.    … Expand
  21. joshb120
    Aug 28, 2013
    10
    This game is great. The story line is amazing, the combat is much more polished then version 1.0, and its a heck of a lot funner to play. Try it out! Dont listen to all the haters about the login issues and errors. These will be resolved and these people will have nothing to complain about.
  22. Reira
    Sep 4, 2013
    4
    Starts out as fun as any MMORPG but quickly deteriorates due to lack of any substantial content. It becomes a grind no matter how you play it. It is worth mentioning that the customer service is extremely bad. However, being in Japan and working for Japanese companies has showed me that what passes as bad in many countries is actually "normal" in Japan. Don't expect things to changeStarts out as fun as any MMORPG but quickly deteriorates due to lack of any substantial content. It becomes a grind no matter how you play it. It is worth mentioning that the customer service is extremely bad. However, being in Japan and working for Japanese companies has showed me that what passes as bad in many countries is actually "normal" in Japan. Don't expect things to change much as the Japanese players aren't as likely to complain about this as players from other countries are.… Expand
  23. mikemilz
    Sep 20, 2013
    1
    I don't understand how anyone with a PC can enjoy this game. The game play is mind numbingly slow. The quests are mundane and boring. The graphics are less than spectacular. As a new pay to play MMO it's dated in almost every way. It offers nothing that wasn't offered 5 years ago in this genre. I'm a huge MMO fan and I can usually get at least a month of play out of newly released MMOs.I don't understand how anyone with a PC can enjoy this game. The game play is mind numbingly slow. The quests are mundane and boring. The graphics are less than spectacular. As a new pay to play MMO it's dated in almost every way. It offers nothing that wasn't offered 5 years ago in this genre. I'm a huge MMO fan and I can usually get at least a month of play out of newly released MMOs. This one just makes me want to take a nap every time I've played it. There's nothing even remotely addictive about this game.… Expand
  24. Masterhummel
    Aug 27, 2013
    6
    I've played the game back in 2010. Not for long tough, it simply had too much issues. I looked forward to the relaunch, especially since i've had some crystas still stored. However, it runs smooth except for the login issues. For me, the problem is that i don't know what they've done in this almost three years except polishing. The game still feels like the original from 2010 and let's beI've played the game back in 2010. Not for long tough, it simply had too much issues. I looked forward to the relaunch, especially since i've had some crystas still stored. However, it runs smooth except for the login issues. For me, the problem is that i don't know what they've done in this almost three years except polishing. The game still feels like the original from 2010 and let's be honest, it wasnt already very innovative back then. It pretty much plays like all the mmos from the 10s. There may be people who really like that, i however find it rather boring. Compared to newer mmos like Guild Wars 2 or even Rift, it can't convince me. The overall design in gameplay, storytelling and art style is just too worn-out and dull.… Expand
  25. Winterlight212
    Nov 13, 2014
    7
    I initially gave this game a very good review, and I regret jumping the gun. New Review having played for a few months now: 1) Slowest combat of any MMO I have ever played (2.5 second global cooldown, compare that to WoW's 0.5 second global cooldown; now imagine drinking tea between spells). 2) As a result of extremely slow combat pace, there is no complexity or diverse rotation, there isI initially gave this game a very good review, and I regret jumping the gun. New Review having played for a few months now: 1) Slowest combat of any MMO I have ever played (2.5 second global cooldown, compare that to WoW's 0.5 second global cooldown; now imagine drinking tea between spells). 2) As a result of extremely slow combat pace, there is no complexity or diverse rotation, there is no complexity in dungeons or boss mechanics, because the pace of combat is so slow you would have enough time to anticipate nearly anything that comes your way.

    3) No public chat channels, and no standard intuitive chat interface, in fact you can't even set reply as the R key, it must be set with CTRL or ALT, really? As far as no public chat channels I mean no "General" or "Zone" or "Map" or "Trade" sort of chat channels as you may see in other games. You can create a private channel, though you have to go all the way to an NPC, read through some text, and can't even name it what you want because they are apparently anti-everything (i.e. very controlling), and won't let you use most words to name your private chat channel.

    4) The actual gameplay, aside from the extremely slow combat, just feels like an outdated Final Fantasy game that tries to be dramatic, and ends up being redundant. What I mean is they try to impress you with flashy spell/sound effects, and music, but then the actual gameplay is so redundant that you are just wandering aimlessly to try and repetitively grind the same quests over and over (literally, you repeat the same quests over and over, not even joking there, it is the exact same set of quests, with the exact same name, and the exact same objectives).

    5) Dungeons are very straightforward, in fact so straightforward that I would say there's absolutely no challenge whatsoever, which goes hand in hand with the slow combat limiting the complexity of ANYTHING in the game at all, but again no surprise here. As far as how the dungeons look, I was not impressed, they were all largely just going through "tunnels" of some sort or variation, and killing pretty much the same set of 5 different monsters up until the boss fights, which also were pretty redundant as well.

    6) Again with redundancy: Everyone looks the exact same. Why? Because there's pretty much only a few templates for gear of each type, which is why most people end up looking the exact same.

    7) Healing is a complete utter joke. I cannot emphasize this enough, as it is truly tragic, because I absolutely love healing. Zero complexity here, and again I think a big reason for that is the pace of combat, which means there is no need for a diverse range of options for healers, which is why it ends up being redundant as well.

    8) As many other players have noted: Zones feel extremely small, and I agree.

    9) Extending on the previous point: The FFXIV world is not an open world, it is divided up into many different instanced type zones. What does that mean? It means that if you go to a new zone, you will see a loading screen when entering that zone, because the world is not interconnected. Even more interesting is that even just within the same city there are multiple instanced zones, which is laughable to say the least, because it makes the city feel even smaller.

    In conclusion: Too small, too slow, too repetitive, and the game director is now talking about implementing "marriage," which is fine, but then he went on to say that it would exclude gays. Really? I mean come on, even Electronic Arts has plenty of gay relationships in their games, who cares if two male or two female characters want to get married? Are the Tea "Patriots" and Ugandans and all the radical ignorant populace of the world going to teleport in and suddenly crash the servers every time two male or two female characters get married in some undisclosed location? No. Does it destroy straight relationships who will have no idea that gay marrying is going on somewhere far, far away in some undisclosed location? No, because they won't even know, because it's not their business, and it's not announced, so they would not know, yet they feel the need to control what everyone does and thinks, which is ironic coming from these "Patriots" claiming to be "Pro-Freedom," really now... the ignorance is astounding. If Yoshida didn't want this to be an issue, he shouldn't have implemented marriage in the first place, at all, period. As for the rest of the game: Garbage. If you like garbage, you might like this game, I say might because garbage flavor can vary, you might not like this particular flavor of garbage.    … Expand
  26. Jos848
    Aug 28, 2013
    10
    This game as it stands try's to do nothing new, but tries to do it better than it's competitors.

    If you have played a MMO before everything will be familiar to you. It's game play is smooth and each class offers a different type of game play that you can switch on the fly. The graphics are superb, and the game play is smooth and fluid. The story quest is complex and follows a deep    This game as it stands try's to do nothing new, but tries to do it better than it's competitors.

    If you have played a MMO before everything will be familiar to you. It's game play is smooth and each class offers a different type of game play that you can switch on the fly.

    The graphics are superb, and the game play is smooth and fluid. The story quest is complex and follows a deep and twisting path trying to cover all points of what is going on within the world.

    The only downside to this game is that if you are within the EU your data centre is based in the US leading to a terrible delay at times.    … Expand
  27. Akabaneist
    Aug 28, 2013
    9
    Looking back to when the first version was released the game has truly been improved on all aspects imaginable. Before I start however, I want to point out I'm a huge fan of the SP FF series and the massive lore that comes with it.

    The new and shiny version of the game offers full support to everything you do and explains things as you advance through the colorful storyline, and when I    Looking back to when the first version was released the game has truly been improved on all aspects imaginable. Before I start however, I want to point out I'm a huge fan of the SP FF series and the massive lore that comes with it.

    The new and shiny version of the game offers full support to everything you do and explains things as you advance through the colorful storyline, and when I say everything I do mean EVERYTHING.
    One of the best things in my opinion is the fact that you never run out of things to do. You might be working on your skills in leatherworking and moments later find yourself chasing after a particular monster to grow your overall bank of slain enemy types. After felling your quarry you notice a group of players escorting a valuable asset to a specified location nearby and decide to join them in order to earn some extra cash and EXP.

    What really makes this game unique though is the option to make one character a real multitalent. You can train every single class and craft simply by joining the corresponding guild and after a LOT of hard work, master it. In addition, you can switch your current class at any time simply by switching your main weapon.

    Every single aspect of the game has been improved from the time of it's predecessor. The one point deduction from the total score I gave was only because of my own frustration after experiencing long login queues and even that is a problem that will surely be fixed after the server capacity is raised. I can only recommend the game to every mmorpg fan and suggest that you enter the world of Eorzea to discover the things it has to offer yourselves. Have fun!

    Although I would love to list everything that makes this game special right here I'm afraid the list would be too long for anyone to read through.    … Expand
  28. Xareswe
    Sep 2, 2013
    0
    I'm so let down by all the errors, server issues, log in issues and much much more. This is a subscription based game and they haven't even made any progress since launch to fix it all. I'm not supporting them anymore, This is not a way to treat players! Even F2P games fix these issues faster than them. It's embarrassing SE... Shape up!
  29. Jeimaiku
    Aug 27, 2013
    10
    A phenomenal game. This is the kind of MMO that MMO players have been waiting for, for a very long time. It doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it's a gorgeous game with a well made engine. It's so good that people are clamoring by the thousands to play.

    There have been server issues (which is common among every MMO launch), but it's anticipated they'll be resolved in a week and then there    A phenomenal game. This is the kind of MMO that MMO players have been waiting for, for a very long time. It doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it's a gorgeous game with a well made engine. It's so good that people are clamoring by the thousands to play.

    There have been server issues (which is common among every MMO launch), but it's anticipated they'll be resolved in a week and then there will be literally nothing that would make this game less than a 10.    … Expand
  30. hardjack
    Aug 29, 2013
    0
    First of all I love FF (specially FF VI).
    I wish I could love this game, I really wanted to, but FFXIV:ARR is far from being the perfect MMO.
    Many people will downvote my review as they're doing to all the negatives. But before buying this game take some time to read all the negative reviews, they don't lie! Pros: - Nice graphics - Decent character customization (not perfect though,    First of all I love FF (specially FF VI).
    I wish I could love this game, I really wanted to, but FFXIV:ARR is far from being the perfect MMO.
    Many people will downvote my review as they're doing to all the negatives. But before buying this game take some time to read all the negative reviews, they don't lie!

    Pros:
    - Nice graphics
    - Decent character customization (not perfect though, we only have 4 faces for each race)
    - Yay! it's Final Fantasy!
    - You can have more than 1 class in the same toon.

    Cons:
    - Voiceless and very long cutscenes (some can be skipped though)
    - Dull quests: a) Click on a NPC, read the wall of text, then b) find the other npc and read another wall of text (sometimes hand him some items, one by one...zzz...) or c) kill x mobs/fetch x props and d) turn in your quest to quest-giver NPC); Quests are not interesting and I didn't find any motivation to finish them.
    - Boring combat: It's just button-mashing and the global cooldown is huge which turns out a very slow combat;
    - Story is flat and not motivating;
    - Mapping system is frustrating and unfriendly. There's an Aethernet system to teleport to different locations, though it's not map based: you'll have to learn by heart all the destination names. Mini-map is useless as it doesn't help at all and the icons on maps have not hovering texts. It's like you have to spend quite a time in order to learn all the names and locations very well if you don't want to get lost (which is quite easy if you're just starting).

    All in all, FFXIV:ARR is an outdated system with nice and fresh graphics with not too much Final Fantasy on it you won't find those moving stories we are used to see in the series. It's an MMO made to be also played on a console that's why some game design options can look bad on a PC. But, if you're new to MMOs or you just played some bad quality ones, perhaps FFXIV:ARR can be a good game for you. I'd prefer worse graphics with a better gameplay and story, and a more friendly mapping system/UI.    … Expand
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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.
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  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
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