Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood

 PC
User Score
9.1

Universal acclaim- based on 993 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 890 out of 993
  2. Mixed: 39 out of 993
  3. Negative: 64 out of 993
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  1. kanelgiffel
    Jun 20, 2017
    1
    Exactly the same as the previous expansion, following the same old formula since the reboot some 3 years ago. Same dungeon format, same leveling format, same raid format. Nothing else new added to the game. Very uninspired overall.
  2. TristanX
    Sep 26, 2021
    9
    Square Enix makes this expansion with care. Top quality contents. Just buy if you love ARR and Heavensward. Battle system still on the slow side.
  3. saintninja
    Dec 12, 2020
    9
    I don't like theme of Far East. But hey! This expansion wake up my interest to this culture! Storytelling grow up again and more challenge and beautiful contents awaits! Bravo
  4. ZodaSoda
    Dec 13, 2021
    10
    While feeling like a weaker story than its predecessor Heavensward. the actual quality of Stormblood is leaps and bounds better than ever, the cutscenes, the dialogues, the character building, the world building, Stormblood is VERY good in a lineup of Expansions that are also VERY good and the other expansions are bolstered by its existance and willingness to focus more on world buildingWhile feeling like a weaker story than its predecessor Heavensward. the actual quality of Stormblood is leaps and bounds better than ever, the cutscenes, the dialogues, the character building, the world building, Stormblood is VERY good in a lineup of Expansions that are also VERY good and the other expansions are bolstered by its existance and willingness to focus more on world building than many players may not enjoy as much as it drags on.… Expand
  5. s3renity
    Oct 24, 2018
    9
    Still the best MMO RPG available right now, and probably the best I've ever played (and I've played them since Lineage 2). The sheer vastness and complexity of this game make it almost always interesting to log back in and play for a few hours. And so I have been doing, from the release of this expansion up til the current patch (as of Oct 2018).

    Graphics are better than they have been    Still the best MMO RPG available right now, and probably the best I've ever played (and I've played them since Lineage 2). The sheer vastness and complexity of this game make it almost always interesting to log back in and play for a few hours. And so I have been doing, from the release of this expansion up til the current patch (as of Oct 2018).

    Graphics are better than they have been before. They ditched ps3 support in an effort to allow for bigger areas and other graphical improvements and it shows. It is still a FFXIV, so the aesthetic is the same, but new areas, new skill effects, and new instances are absolutely great.

    Music is great, as it has always been. A bit too militaristic in some places for my taste, but plays into the overall theme of the expansion. And the new themes for new primals and other trials are beautiful, each better than another - and with such variety I haven't heard in not only other MMORPGs, but other games in general.

    New jobs (classes) are pretty good too. Even though they only introduced two dps, they differ enough to make for an interesting experiment (my main hasn't changed since ARR). My only complaint about them is that they don't feel complex enough on higher levels, but that's the situation with many other jobs. Speaking of which, the ability rework is not the highest point of the expansion. Removing and reorganizing many of them was necessary b/c there were just so many, but I feel they could have done better. Expansion to core kits for many jobs do not feel like natural progression, instead it often feels like a few new abilities have been plopped on top of a fleshed out class. All in all, most of it works out well and slight corrections since the initial release have improved the situation anyway.

    The lowest point of the entire expansion is probably the story. It's not bad - it's just not Heavensward level of epic. Heavensward had me logging in to continue main story with almost religious zeal. Characters were authentic, values rang true and the adventures were immersive (even if they dragged a bit towards the end). Stormblood's story is interesting, fun, the cast is diverse and there are some plot twists here and there but it feels somewhat uninspired. Still good, but not excellent.

    Additional content, like raids, trials, and dungeons, are pretty great. They are masterfully done and differ amongst themselves enough to keep you interested. While they follow pretty much the same script as before, they offer aesthetic variety and different mechanics so I was never really bored. To be fair, I think this is the part that has improved the most since ARR and I am happy devs are just getting better and better at it.

    The community has always been one of the reasons I kept playing for years. People are just nice and toxicity is limited. That said, with the game becoming a bit more popular, this has changed slightly with SB. It's still miles ahead of WoW though, so if you want to find friends online to do cool stuff with, this is definitely your game.

    Finally, I'm not a big fan of the most recent additions and changes to the game. Eureka especially feels dull. Luckily, there are so many other things to do this is really not a problem.

    Can't say much about PvP b/c I never really had time to try it ^^.    … Expand
  6. Kezian
    Jul 30, 2019
    10
    FF14 is amazing ! If you never played it, download the free trial and see for yourself !
  7. Wweald
    Dec 15, 2021
    8
    Stormbloods very good, but it's more on the level of ARR instead of Heavensward and Shadowbringers. The trials are amazing, the best of the game imo. The dungeons are among the best as well. I like most of the characters in Stormblood, but the pacing is awful on some parts it drags on similarly to ARR. The plot is good but not great like the other expansions.
  8. MazrimTaim14
    Jul 31, 2022
    8
    would have been a lesser score for me if not for the patches. main story got bland by dividing it into two regions but the patch stories and content made it for me.

    people might forget the tons of content the expansion brought due to not liking the main story quest of 4.0 but i did have a hell of a time although the empire plot could have gone another way but it did help set up the    would have been a lesser score for me if not for the patches. main story got bland by dividing it into two regions but the patch stories and content made it for me.

    people might forget the tons of content the expansion brought due to not liking the main story quest of 4.0 but i did have a hell of a time

    although the empire plot could have gone another way but it did help set up the big bad of the next expansion    … Expand
  9. Katzena
    Dec 12, 2021
    10
    Not my favorite expansion cause I dislike Lyse, but the story was still good! There were a lot of feely and funny moments!
  10. Mohammed-alsheh
    Jun 21, 2020
    9
    the expiation had it's fair share of launch problems but the actual content is actually quite phenomenal i enjoyed every bit of it , just remember this is an mmo it's not fair or reasonable to not expect grind for levels or a soft cap on gear THERE IS NO MMO THAT DOESN'T HAVE THAT , or even soft mmos so please be reasonable other than that the content that was provided was quite awesomethe expiation had it's fair share of launch problems but the actual content is actually quite phenomenal i enjoyed every bit of it , just remember this is an mmo it's not fair or reasonable to not expect grind for levels or a soft cap on gear THERE IS NO MMO THAT DOESN'T HAVE THAT , or even soft mmos so please be reasonable other than that the content that was provided was quite awesome not only in presentation but in execution as well… Expand
  11. candidKlutz
    Apr 30, 2022
    9
    Don't let anyone tell you that this expansion is bad, or even the worst one. While I wouldn't say it's quite as incredible as HW, it's still very much enjoyable. Every single character is enjoyable.
  12. TPLaMar
    Aug 22, 2021
    10
    I didn’t think this one would be better than the Heavensward expansion, but it was just continued excellence in game design and story telling. 10/10, and a loss for words this is an MMO
  13. jokerdamate8
    Dec 10, 2021
    8
    Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood was an ambitious tale of freedom, liberation, and what it means to stretch one's self too thin... which was, unfortunately, the major drawback to what could have been a great narrative. Mind, the overall experience was enjoyable, but the pacing and tonal issues hold it back severely. The characters were well written as per usual, but Lyse's development mightFinal Fantasy XIV: Stormblood was an ambitious tale of freedom, liberation, and what it means to stretch one's self too thin... which was, unfortunately, the major drawback to what could have been a great narrative. Mind, the overall experience was enjoyable, but the pacing and tonal issues hold it back severely. The characters were well written as per usual, but Lyse's development might be a tad rushed and sudden at times. The dungeons in this expansion range from awe-inspiring to rather average for the game's standard, while the trials in this game I must admit were all simply amazing. Not to mention, most of the new zones were fun to traverse and explore due to them taking place in locales only previously mentioned in passing.

    Overall, Stormblood is a good expansion, just not as great as what came before and what is to come after due to being held back by narrative and character development pacing issues.    … Expand
  14. MoofiaBossVal
    Dec 26, 2021
    8
    Fun adventure story and lots of content, much more compared to later expansions.
  15. 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.
  16. NN010
    Jan 29, 2023
    8
    Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood has some great gameplay segments & encounter design, but it's held back from surpassing Heavensward by a story that felt like two expansions smushed into one (still better than A Realm Reborn's story though). Far from a bad expansion, but still the weakest link due to just how great Heavensward, Shadowbringers, & Endwalker are.
  17. Imopsie
    Apr 7, 2023
    9
    Stormblood introduces the new antagonist Zenos. He is the first person in the game who truly instills fear in the player, as at first you have absolutely no chance against him and are completely at his mercy.
    Without wanting to spoil too much, we owe our lives to the fact that Zenos sees something in us, the player character, that he himself does not quite understand. His confused    Stormblood introduces the new antagonist Zenos. He is the first person in the game who truly instills fear in the player, as at first you have absolutely no chance against him and are completely at his mercy.
    Without wanting to spoil too much, we owe our lives to the fact that Zenos sees something in us, the player character, that he himself does not quite understand. His confused musings, in which he wants to see us both as a friend and an enemy, as he is still the prince of the Garlean empire, make every encounter with him truly interesting, and you want to learn more about him and why he cannot feel any joy except when he meets us.
    Unfortunately, his story is unusually short for this game, which is really puzzling to me. We learn almost nothing about him and only scratch the surface.
    In general, this expansion is much more ominous than the previous one, as it deals directly with war and its consequences.    … Expand
  18. EGAndrade
    Aug 8, 2017
    8
    An uncommunicaded increase in Steam subscription price less than one month after Stormblood release, making people pay from 60% to 300% more, making the subscription even more expensive than the base game itself. Now SE has decided to revert the price change from Aug 16, to Oct 16 and give affected players 30 days bonus on sub time for the inconvenient, which shows its team still valuesAn uncommunicaded increase in Steam subscription price less than one month after Stormblood release, making people pay from 60% to 300% more, making the subscription even more expensive than the base game itself. Now SE has decided to revert the price change from Aug 16, to Oct 16 and give affected players 30 days bonus on sub time for the inconvenient, which shows its team still values its player-base.
    This expansion recycles some of the 3.0 previous formulas into 4.0 (yeah, I'm looking at you under-water flying) but without an equally powerful story as Heavensward's. Stormblood is still at its beginning tho, so it has lots of time for improvements.    … Expand
  19. Kennyamr
    Jun 28, 2017
    10
    This is the best story, in my opinion, since the start of game services.
    Excellent characters, world, maps, quests.
    Tons of stuff to do, content everywhere, new ways of leveling, great dungeons, amazing music, impressive battles.
    This is, without a doubt, one of the best Final Fantasy games available, not only best MMO but best Final Fantasy overall.
  20. lenpup
    Jun 24, 2017
    9
    The combat changes are excellent and welcome upgrades making combat more interesting and fun. Already the best PVE mmorpg out there, the new content is gorgeous and epic and interesting. PVP is more fun, crisp, responsive, and consistent than ever. The two new classes are fun and unique.

    The two new dps classes have left the already unbalanced dps/tank/healer ratios in the game way    The combat changes are excellent and welcome upgrades making combat more interesting and fun. Already the best PVE mmorpg out there, the new content is gorgeous and epic and interesting. PVP is more fun, crisp, responsive, and consistent than ever. The two new classes are fun and unique.

    The two new dps classes have left the already unbalanced dps/tank/healer ratios in the game way further out of whack leaving dps players in duty finder queue for outrageous periods of time. A design mistake that everyone has been waiving red flags about for months. I pray SE's gamble that the population will settle back at an acceptable ratio pays off. Otherwise they'd better have another tank class in the works!!!!!!!!!!

    Yes, there was a technical snafu (bad decision) that left most players completely unable to progress the main story after just a few steps, for the first 48 hours of early access. I myself was furious and still to some extent am. I will never forgive SE for leaving such a short-sighted design choice in place without comment or correction for fully half of the early access period, and still no public acknowledgement or apology for the foolish mistake. That said, if you're writing your review or quitting the game based solely on that long-corrected issue, your opinion is worthless to me, authors of these raging 1-star reviews.    … Expand
  21. Monochr0m3
    Jun 20, 2017
    10
    Despite the early access issue (raubahn and pipin savage), the content of the expansion itself is very very good. I can say it's one of the best MMO expansion I've played and I played a lot of MMOs.

    - Story: The pacing is tighter and more streamlined than Heavensward, almost no filler or unnecessary detour in the main quest. Although I prefer the setting and setup of Heavensward,    Despite the early access issue (raubahn and pipin savage), the content of the expansion itself is very very good. I can say it's one of the best MMO expansion I've played and I played a lot of MMOs.

    - Story:
    The pacing is tighter and more streamlined than Heavensward, almost no filler or unnecessary detour in the main quest. Although I prefer the setting and setup of Heavensward, Stormblood has various twists and unforgettable moments, I'm excited to see where the story will unfolds in 4.x patches.

    - Gameplay:
    The two new Jobs (Samurai and Red Mage) are AWESOME. Tried both of them a lot in Palace of the Dead and they play very fluidly with interesting mechanics. Red Mage in particular seems very enjoyable to play, they got the jack of all trades role right. While Samurai is pure DPS monster with zero utility to the party, skill wise it is a bit harder than other melee DPS since you have to keep track a lot of things. The battle system changes they introduced is also mostly a success and make old jobs more streamlined (a bit dumbed down, but understandable, WoW had worse skill pruning).

    - Music:
    No comment needed here. Still reign supreme as the best MMO music.

    - Endgame:
    Can't give full impression on the endgame since raid is not out yet (2 weeks from now). The only endgame content currently is 2 Extreme Primal which I haven't tried yet.    … Expand
  22. Roka
    Apr 1, 2023
    8
    The story is darker and more intense than anything we've seen before in a Final Fantasy game. It's a grim and brutal tale of war, rebellion, and sacrifice. But don't worry, it's not all doom and gloom. There are plenty of moments of levity and humor to balance out the darkness.

    Speaking of bad-ass characters, let's talk about Zenos. He's one scary dude. When you first face him, you'll    The story is darker and more intense than anything we've seen before in a Final Fantasy game. It's a grim and brutal tale of war, rebellion, and sacrifice. But don't worry, it's not all doom and gloom. There are plenty of moments of levity and humor to balance out the darkness.

    Speaking of bad-ass characters, let's talk about Zenos. He's one scary dude. When you first face him, you'll be filled with a sense of dread and helplessness. But as you progress through the game, you'll discover that there's more to Zenos than meets the eye.
    He's a fascinating character, and you'll find yourself wanting to learn more about him. It seems as if he might be deeply depressed and is only finding satisfaction in combat. He doesn't even care for his own life and has mixed feelings about the warrior of light, in whom he sees a friend and an enemy at the same time.

    It's only getting an 8 though, because I feel like there should have been more screentime with Zenos, about his past and so on. That and also the beginninng of this expansion starts rather slow.    … Expand
  23. Maofdis
    Jun 20, 2017
    10
    Some negative comments are false. They really improved the game with this xpac. It is way better than heavensward content wise and system wise. All Jobs have changed in a better way (some more and some less). Even Cutscene animation is looking better now and with the graphical improvent ff14 is looking prettier than before. Stormblood is a truly great xpac for ff14 and a great in general
  24. marcosbravo1991
    Jun 21, 2017
    9
    Better than Heavensward in my opinion. The gameplay is smoother, classes updates makes more sense now.

    I found the history of Heavensward a bit confusing, in this new expansion, it seems to have a more defined line. The new classes are super fun to play and soundtrack keeps amazing like ever The only problem was the early acess congestion with large queue's. i hope that we can log    Better than Heavensward in my opinion. The gameplay is smoother, classes updates makes more sense now.

    I found the history of Heavensward a bit confusing, in this new expansion, it seems to have a more defined line.
    The new classes are super fun to play and soundtrack keeps amazing like ever

    The only problem was the early acess congestion with large queue's. i hope that we can log in easily on the upcoming weeks :)    … Expand
  25. BO3DYX
    Jul 22, 2017
    8
    Subscribe became too expensive for players in Russia. But despite this, we haven't tech. support in native language, we haven't localization, we haven't servers in Russia.
  26. Kamui22
    Jun 20, 2017
    10
    best mmo actually,nice story,Good dungeons,maps and content I recommend it

    El mejoro mmo actualmente,buena historia,buenos dungeons,mapas y contenido muy recomendado
  27. itti18
    Jun 29, 2017
    10
    heavensward expansion was great , stormblood is even greater

    story is very well designed and very engaging , new zones and music and jobs are all amazing
    I want to thank the development team for this masterpiece and hope they keep on making this game better
  28. agent_smashing
    Jul 6, 2017
    9
    I very rarely feel the need to review on here, but I was compelled this time.

    Can we just talk about how far this game has come? This expansion brings the best story yet, two fan favorite classes, gives the combat more options for most classes and expands on the battle mechanics in new primal battles, dungeons, and raids. I've tried out Dark Knight through to level 70, Red Mage    I very rarely feel the need to review on here, but I was compelled this time.

    Can we just talk about how far this game has come? This expansion brings the best story yet, two fan favorite classes, gives the combat more options for most classes and expands on the battle mechanics in new primal battles, dungeons, and raids. I've tried out Dark Knight through to level 70, Red Mage (simplistic but fun), and I've experienced all of the PvE content of the latest patch, I can say without a doubt that FFXIV has only gotten better and more refined with time.

    This game does what it always has but it does it now better than ever, bringing it up to the quality of World of Warcraft easily, and one of the best dev teams you've ever seen in a game. Bravo, well done.    … Expand
  29. yousuck1
    Aug 21, 2020
    0
    Sucks.,.................................................. ...................
  30. EevieRoseAmalee
    Nov 30, 2018
    10
    FFXIV is one of the games I just can't stop playing. I recommend this game to anyone, and I have easily put more hours in this game than 99% of any game I have ever played. If you're a final fantasy fan that is on the fence about an online Final Fantasy because you think they are suppose to be offline please do not be. FFXIV is worth it! It not only has it's own world but almost everythingFFXIV is one of the games I just can't stop playing. I recommend this game to anyone, and I have easily put more hours in this game than 99% of any game I have ever played. If you're a final fantasy fan that is on the fence about an online Final Fantasy because you think they are suppose to be offline please do not be. FFXIV is worth it! It not only has it's own world but almost everything from previous titles! If you are missing Final Fantasy and need something to suite your mmo sweet tooth this game is by far the best mmo on the market!… Expand
  31. chocletymilk
    Mar 21, 2021
    8
    This expac is for my fello Lyse stans. Story wise I think it's a lil less exciting than HW, MSQ got reaaally repetitive there for a while. It's not bad by any means, but def not the best. Some of the new zones added are really really cool, others not so much. The story is a lot more war/politics based and less fantasy epic battles. All in all it's 100% worth it for some main character'sThis expac is for my fello Lyse stans. Story wise I think it's a lil less exciting than HW, MSQ got reaaally repetitive there for a while. It's not bad by any means, but def not the best. Some of the new zones added are really really cool, others not so much. The story is a lot more war/politics based and less fantasy epic battles. All in all it's 100% worth it for some main character's developments, new races and characters, zones, mechanics and stuff, they added some really cool new stuff to the gameplay here.… Expand
  32. erazor2021
    Aug 18, 2021
    0
    If you don’t like the Trial / “Realm Reborn” take my word, you won’t like any of it…

    New players hope you are ready for 200+ hours of MSQ which is mainly reading text. I fell for the recent hype. To all the people who says “it gets better” seriously, what is wrong with you? This constant insincerity is what kept me going. IT DOESN’T GET BETTER (a least to the point it serves as a    If you don’t like the Trial / “Realm Reborn” take my word, you won’t like any of it…

    New players hope you are ready for 200+ hours of MSQ which is mainly reading text.

    I fell for the recent hype. To all the people who says “it gets better” seriously, what is wrong with you? This constant insincerity is what kept me going. IT DOESN’T GET BETTER (a least to the point it serves as a valid argument).

    I just finished Shadowbringers 5.5 MSQ, and let me tell you, this is an “interactive Novel” more than it is a video game.

    Sure with each expansion the game (novel) gets a little better, in terms of graphics, animations, storytelling, but the CORE of the game doesn’t change, it is still this outdated mmorpg tab targeting, with its main FOCUS on MSQ, which is basically walls of text.

    Your quests in order of occurrences is: talk, travel, click objects, kill NPCs, do dungeons/trials/story instances.
    They added one different mechanic in Stormblood lol, which is to “click stuff in FPS mode”.

    I can count the EPIC moments of the story in one hand! 3 of them were in Havensward and 2 in Shadowbringers (forget RR and SB).

    The main focus of this game is the MSQ, but the problem is; the MSQ is 90% fluff pointless writing and storytelling, you could cut out 80% of this writing and still get a concise accurate description of the story, albeit just more on point.

    What Square Enix is doing is inflating game time content with more and more text and sloppy animation screens, which I’m not kidding stretches the MSQ than it really needs to be. I’m not even talking about important background build up, I’m talking about content you won’t even remember because it served no purpose in the grand scheme of things. (Anything you wont remember a month from now isn't worth reading about).

    Because the MSQ is mainly storytelling, and single player orientated, why not just play better solo video games that are much, much better technically advanced in gameplay, like GTA 5, Witcher 3, red redemption 2, and hundreds of others titles?

    There were times I was so desperate to just “play” the game, because there is so few dungeons/trials and killing quests in-between all the walls of text.

    One could always pay a story skip potion, but the fact is MSQ is the focus of this game, the endgame is extra stuff. Players and Square have both said that MSQ is the focus of the game, and the more casual player base.

    WoW = focuses on repeatable endgame content after a short introductory (and often crap) storyline.

    FF14 = 200 hours of MSQ (at minimum) at which point you can cycle through some endgame content and get max ilvl gear fairly easily. But levelling others job/crafts, which has its own questlines seems be one of the most popular things to do.

    I won’t be buying Endwalker. People who enjoy reading fluff for hundreds of hours to see one good cutscene here and there, you do that, enjoy! I’ll watch it in a recap YouTube video and do more productive things with my life than read FLUFF MSQ content, which is intentionally used to extend game play time.

    “You can always make more money, but you can’t make more time” think about if you’re really enjoying that 200 hours or if you’re only enjoy small amounts of it. Whilst the epic moments were epic, the pain of going through so much unfun content to see it was not worth it. The balance is definitely not there.

    Even most fans think the post RR quests are so bad, yet square hasnt fixed it by just removing it for new players by using a short narration cutscene to bring players up to date for havensward. (And i heard it was even worse, oh dear God).    … Expand
  33. Genis94
    Jul 4, 2017
    10
    Although plagued by server issues during the early access release (this was revealed to have been due to a DDoS attack), Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood has delivered an amazing experience for players of the MMO genre. From a new compelling story about liberation from tyranny and the hardships of war, to completely revamping jobs and adding new mechanics, the game has improved by leaps andAlthough plagued by server issues during the early access release (this was revealed to have been due to a DDoS attack), Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood has delivered an amazing experience for players of the MMO genre. From a new compelling story about liberation from tyranny and the hardships of war, to completely revamping jobs and adding new mechanics, the game has improved by leaps and bounds.

    Gameplay: Stormblood has made several balance changes to PvE and PvP, not least of which is the abandoning of the Cross Class System in favor of a new Cross Role System. This means you no longer have to level something like Thaumaturge in order to be a good healer with Swiftcast, as that is one of your options in the Cross Role menu. PvP has now been given a normalized stat and skill system, resulting in matches that are more heavily reliant on player skill than before, and thanks to the increased potency on almost all skills, PvP has become less of a stalemate fest.

    Graphics: FF14 is still a game that is very appealing to look at and the new zones continue to impress with their level of detail and visual fidelity for an MMO. From different textures to show erosion on rock, to the interesting architecture of Ala Mhigo and Othard, the art team continues to deliver.

    Music: Masayoshi Soken hasn't let us down as he continues to find ways to take a leitmotif and spin it in several interesting ways throughout the different zones and battles. The Royal Menagerie having one of the most climactic themes of any battle yet was wholly appropriate given the scale of what you are undertaking at the climax of the story. I found myself getting so hyped that I would occasionally sing the small chant from the main theme of the expansion during boss fights.

    If you're a fan of MMO's Stormblood is a fantastic expansion that builds upon an already strong foundation, and with amazing raids like Omega and Ivalice coming out soon, there's always more content to keep the game fresh on the way.    … Expand
  34. Dokkodo
    Jul 2, 2017
    3
    Not worth $15 let alone $60. They've added new zones that are devoid of life just like the old ones. Two new EX Primals, that's a patch not an expansion. Sure there's an upcoming raid, but that's still not enough to justify the price.

    Not to mention they still haven't upgraded their servers (and there's significant server-side lag) and still continue to do things like charge MONTHLY for    Not worth $15 let alone $60. They've added new zones that are devoid of life just like the old ones. Two new EX Primals, that's a patch not an expansion. Sure there's an upcoming raid, but that's still not enough to justify the price.

    Not to mention they still haven't upgraded their servers (and there's significant server-side lag) and still continue to do things like charge MONTHLY for extra inventory space when they overpack your inventory which even F2P games shouldn't do.

    They also charge for a lot of cosmetics, which I can get over, but is still very distasteful for a subscription game.

    Music continues to be good, graphics are acceptable, new classes and class revamps are ok. Should've been a free patch and not an expansion.    … Expand
  35. vizzi01
    Dec 4, 2018
    5
    After coming off Heavensward I can't help but say what an immense disappointment Stormblood ended up being. I kept hoping the storyline would pick up like in HW but ultimately it was a contrived mess of a story with an even more disappointing ending. I can but hope that Shadowbringers fixes this.
  36. Nezia
    Jul 24, 2017
    0
    Price increase with no warning 1 month after expansion release, gj SE, that's how you ruin an entire player base, shady acts and even shadier responses.
  37. Powermario0
    Jan 24, 2019
    1
    Don't ever step in this **** This isn't a game, it's garbage. It's not fun, it's not rewarding and of course because it's made by Square Enix they can't make good games, can't they? Actually they do make some good games here and there, but this oh boy don't even touch this **** even with a stick because the stick is gonna pull you in the **** Don't buy it, don't even think about it. ThisDon't ever step in this **** This isn't a game, it's garbage. It's not fun, it's not rewarding and of course because it's made by Square Enix they can't make good games, can't they? Actually they do make some good games here and there, but this oh boy don't even touch this **** even with a stick because the stick is gonna pull you in the **** Don't buy it, don't even think about it. This is trash, not a game!

    This wasn't a joke review, I'm serious.    … Expand
  38. Malgarios
    Jul 5, 2017
    10
    The two new Jobs (Samurai and Red Mage) are AWESOME. Tried both of them a lot in Palace of the Dead and they play very fluidly with interesting mechanics. Red Mage in particular seems very enjoyable to play, they got the jack of all trades role right. While Samurai is pure DPS monster with zero utility to the party, skill wise it is a bit harder than other melee DPS since you have to keepThe two new Jobs (Samurai and Red Mage) are AWESOME. Tried both of them a lot in Palace of the Dead and they play very fluidly with interesting mechanics. Red Mage in particular seems very enjoyable to play, they got the jack of all trades role right. While Samurai is pure DPS monster with zero utility to the party, skill wise it is a bit harder than other melee DPS since you have to keep track a lot of things. The battle system changes they introduced is also mostly a success and make old jobs more streamlined (a bit dumbed down, but understandable, WoW had worse skill pruning).… Expand
  39. zaftgun
    Mar 7, 2019
    3
    Main quest are long, boring and tedious. Average characters, story, music, poor quality in some parts. Boss and dungeon design uninspiring. The game showed no improvement in terms of design and systems from the original release of ffxiv a realm reborn. Its just a big unenjoyable time-waster.

    The tasks are so lame and simple that automated bots make up half the player base, they do the    Main quest are long, boring and tedious. Average characters, story, music, poor quality in some parts. Boss and dungeon design uninspiring. The game showed no improvement in terms of design and systems from the original release of ffxiv a realm reborn. Its just a big unenjoyable time-waster.

    The tasks are so lame and simple that automated bots make up half the player base, they do the same main story quests as you do and even farm dungeons in duty finder. If you are playing the same game they do, you are doing it wrong.

    This is a ridiculous time waster that makes you dumb. Stay away.    … Expand
  40. kumbula
    Jul 14, 2017
    0
    I am rpg nerd i absolutely hate this VOICELESS mmo, absolutely rubbish quests without any narration, Just npcs opening their mouth and wall of text appears, it gets so boring the time goes on. Imagine leveling like that till the lvl cap. I dont understand how can anyone play this without buying max lvl boost so he can avoid talking to npcs.
  41. smahlt
    Sep 21, 2017
    7
    After a few months, I can say it's pretty decent. The story is a significant step down from Heavensward's but it's at least on par with A Realm Reborn's. The changes to every job I've levelled to 70 have been at worst meh to me (I'm not a fan of Bard anymore, but it's fine) to great (Ninja is far less of a **** to play). Most of the new music tracks are amazing.

    Unfortunately, the zones    After a few months, I can say it's pretty decent. The story is a significant step down from Heavensward's but it's at least on par with A Realm Reborn's. The changes to every job I've levelled to 70 have been at worst meh to me (I'm not a fan of Bard anymore, but it's fine) to great (Ninja is far less of a **** to play). Most of the new music tracks are amazing.

    Unfortunately, the zones continued the downward spiral started in HW. Most of them are huge with very little interesting things happening. I blame flying. Also swimming was woefully underused. ARR still has the most interesting and unique zones. I was also not a fan of how parts of some zones were completely walled off by the story. Having high level areas be filled with high level aggressive monsters ala ARR is a much better way to go about it.

    Worth buying if you're already an active player. I wouldn't say it's good enough to change your mind if you didn't like it already.

    There's a lot of people **** about the price change. They are dumbasses. The only change was that Brazilian and Russian players on the Steam version are now paying the same monthly fee as Brazilian and Russian players who played the not-Steam version, which is also now on par with what the rest of the world is paying.    … Expand
  42. vahn
    Jul 13, 2018
    0
    I played this garbage for 5 years now (in fact I had a review from 4.0), and the only thing I can think of is "fall in quality". The game never - EVER - got better in any possible way, not in gameplay or content - and the story is another thing which I'll gladly talk about very soon.

    In fact let me start with the story which is, to say it bluntly, completely garbage: I used to follow it    I played this garbage for 5 years now (in fact I had a review from 4.0), and the only thing I can think of is "fall in quality". The game never - EVER - got better in any possible way, not in gameplay or content - and the story is another thing which I'll gladly talk about very soon.

    In fact let me start with the story which is, to say it bluntly, completely garbage: I used to follow it during 2.0 and 2.1 and I could not believe how bad it was, it simply wasn't entertaining nor engaging to follow it to the point that I only followed bits and pieces ever since.

    I am a HUGE JRPG lover, some of my favorite JRPGs are Trails of Cold Steel, Berseria, Vesperia, and old classics like Legend of Dragoon, Xenogears, Chrono Trigger/Cross, the list goes on, but this game flat out fails to tell an entertaining story and at actually engaging you; if you don't follow from the very start, you're basically unable to follow afterwards and making it very noob unfriendly to anyone who even dares to step in.

    If at least each expansion was its own separate story - which is how it should've been - I could at least compare each story by itself and maybe even enjoy them, but nope: have fun following a bunch of morons with no personality throughout plot lines so forced not even lube would help.
    Oh and of course you cannot skip it as they wanted to make it clearly the focus of the game...until they decided to add a jumping potion that allows you to skip to level 60 and begin the story from the last expansion
    The story is truly important, but so is money, now pay up if you actually wanna experience the game or enjoy the 548 unskippable quests!

    Alright now, let's pretend you actually survived the long ordeal and you FINALLY manage to be able to do all the content: at first it is a lot of stuff, I'm not even joking here, but you will soon realize that it's a flash in the pan and you'll soon have nothing to do for the rest of the game.

    For example there are 50+ dungeons to unlock and clear, which sounds like you'll have a lot of fun doing them, but once you're done clearing you have no reason to re-run them as they give you no incentives or achievements or anything worth a second run. SE seemed to have realized this too and they started giving crappy glamour items in order to give them some more life, but even then it doesn't hide the fact that dungeons have no lasting power. Even WoW's dungeon are still re-run thanks to the achievements and a better transmog function, which ACTUALLY gives a good reason to do them.
    FFXIV dungeons are, essentially, rotten data.

    Crafting and Gathering are probably the only two things that seemed to have some lasting power, if they didn't rely solely on complete RNG, which is there only to make it LOOK harder: the potential was there but they ruined it by giving each action a % that will easily screw your rotation and basically make you quit instantly. Fishing is even worse and all you'll be doing is sitting for hours upon hours, hoping to hook the fish you want, hopefully HQ, and then repeat the process until you get better gear, which will become obsolete in few months...fun?

    And there are a lot of side content - or fluff content - that has no real staying power at all: Gold saucer is the prime example with its crappy card game, LoL copy, crappy Chocobo racing and other minor stuff that you'll most likely never bother with unless you're into collecting crap. Hunts were potentially progress content until it died out because it never innovated, with people preferring doing weekly stuff rather than jump into the toxic pool. Eureka is currently the worst content I EVER played in my entire life, even worse than Diadem, and I can't even recommend it as a joke! Beast tribes are okay but I wish they gave more than 3 quests per day: this takes less than 20 minutes to clear. There are many but it's the daily lockout that will stop you and make it LOOK like it's longer than it should. PvP is okay, but the combat system is clearly not made for PvP and it turns out clunky and just not fun. A shame.

    And now the community, oh dear Lord the community: we're talking about a group that will relentlessly defend this game and its flaws, even at the cost of harassing people or namecalling you.
    I mean It's not even hard to seek them out: simply mention your dislike for the main story and you'll be stormed by everyone; say that the game is boring and they'll slap you and shout "go back to wow" or something; try to say that you're having no fun with the current content and hopefully they'll just ignore you or say you whine a lot - even if that was your only complain.
    There is simply no discussing with these people: I've been playing for 5 years and I safely say "there is not a single person who was worth calling a friend". Not even one. I had better times in LoL - or even WoW - than in this toxic cesspool of a community.
    As such, I highly recommend staying away from this game and just save your sub.    … Expand
  43. sharkman265
    Jul 8, 2017
    8
    Updated Review : Its been about 2 weeks since the launch much of the bugs have been finally improved same with server stability , still some issues are around (some server congestion and login ques) how ever I have spent my time getting my character to level 70 and enjoyed the Story (main quests) very much what is annoying is the fact that Square Enix released 2 new classes which are bothUpdated Review : Its been about 2 weeks since the launch much of the bugs have been finally improved same with server stability , still some issues are around (some server congestion and login ques) how ever I have spent my time getting my character to level 70 and enjoyed the Story (main quests) very much what is annoying is the fact that Square Enix released 2 new classes which are both DPS (Damage Per Second) which results in long que times for the duty finder (Tanks and healers always get in Duties right away when using the DF) with that said wish they released a healer or tank class not just DPS classes , with that said it brings me to the next part of my review the classes (well just 1 since ive yet to start working on the other) the new class Samurai is unique , it uses a combination of monk style combos and the ninjas ninjitsu system also its a heavy hitter (does very high DPS) alas you start the samurai at level 50 so you got to get that up 20 levels to level 70 which can be grindy ive managed to level up twice in a 6 hour period (long DF que times) and several Palace of Dead fail groups (randoms via DF) so Experience farming is kinda tough starting at level 50-60 (level 60-70 is easier cause you can do lvl 60+ dungeons which award tons of EXP)

    The Zones are absolutely gorgeous (especially the Ruby Sea and the Stepp's)

    The Sound track is very well done as well (Especially the Lakashimi fight) !!

    Cons: Is the final Trial Duty (very hard even for a veteran like me) the mechanics are somewhat complicated especially when the corners start pulsating and you dont know where the safe spot is (you get hit and its insta death)

    My Initial Review below (was originally 2 stars)

    "After the initial Launch of the game FFXIV ARR they had massive server issues and problems (this is ontop of 2 closed betas and 1 open beta) that was 3-4 years ago , i then gave them benifit of the doubt cause it was their first launch of the new IP but after Heavensward i gave it a 5 because of the same issues aka server and bugs , now with Stormblood with all the issues on Early access and some now affecting official launch , ontop of the developement team not doing anything to resolve the issues only apologizing and twiddling their thumbs this is getting a 2 out of 10 due to the fact customer service sucks and we pay a $15 a month subscription to this game ontop of shelling out another $40 for this expansion , i will write an updated review later but for now this is my review in progress so far !!!"    … Expand
  44. stupidusername
    May 3, 2020
    1
    I tried out Final Fantasy XIV on a whim with a discounted price for some sale..Not wanting to have to level to max, I purchased for $25 a "level to 100" kit so I could try out the pvp(which was why I bought the game). Unfortunately, unbeknownst to me I was unable to even participate in pvp, or anything but the level 1 starter quest. That's right, in order to do ANYTHING in the game youI tried out Final Fantasy XIV on a whim with a discounted price for some sale..Not wanting to have to level to max, I purchased for $25 a "level to 100" kit so I could try out the pvp(which was why I bought the game). Unfortunately, unbeknownst to me I was unable to even participate in pvp, or anything but the level 1 starter quest. That's right, in order to do ANYTHING in the game you have to go through a 70000000 hour quest that is so boring you will want to die. DO NOT BUY THIS GAME unless you really enjoy storyline, which I do not. I felt ripped off, and will never log in again.… Expand
  45. sadcustomer
    Jun 21, 2017
    0
    The game is designed to keep you out of expansion, unless you pay them extra. You must rent inventory not all servers are treated to the same game experience. Also take into consideration this is the same fan base that sent the dev birthday gifts (that's right they sent the game dev birthday gift) and has a blind devotion.
  46. leviathonlx
    Oct 1, 2017
    5
    The story was good even if a bit cliche and tropey though the quests (gameplay wise) still were pretty inferior to what WoW does. Zone design was improved compared to HW but copying of assets is still pretty noticeable in areas like terrain doodads. I understand buildings having only 1 or 2 varieties but I shouldn’t see things like the same rock and tree over and over so easily which canThe story was good even if a bit cliche and tropey though the quests (gameplay wise) still were pretty inferior to what WoW does. Zone design was improved compared to HW but copying of assets is still pretty noticeable in areas like terrain doodads. I understand buildings having only 1 or 2 varieties but I shouldn’t see things like the same rock and tree over and over so easily which can usually be dealt with but just rotating an object. Ruby Sea feels like a huge empty zone given the water doesn’t add much actual gameplay either besides swimming. If you’re going to add a mostly water zone you should at the very least add some type of gimmick rather than having it be nothing more than a barren land of emptiness and copy pasted rocks and kelp that you swim through. In general some zones just didn’t feel like they reached their full potential such as the Lochs and Yanxia while others like Azim Steppe were really well done. The zones still feel dead in general when compared to WoW’s where you’ll see NPC’s actually doing things such as bears hunting fish or predators hunting prey and in general FF14 zone design seems to be nothing more than ‘this is the bear area and over there’s the wolf area and this final area is the bird area and the mobs are just all walking back and forth in their little zone’ and doodads just seem thrown into the game world and rarely are blended in.

    The main issue with SB right now is that once you hit 70 the game is the same exact game as HW. You do the same 3 dungeons over and over (with high DPS queues) to grind out tomes and in general are doing nothing at all actually new unlike how Legion added Mythic+, artifact weapons, and the world quest system (an improvement of the old dailies system). And of course with Omega they are continuing the convoluted gearing system from Alexander. Square is once again relegating any new systems to patches and we have to hope these new systems are well developed unlike Lord of Verminion and Diadem and even things like the eventual beast tribes may just be the same ol’ 3 daily quests. I’m iffy on this thing Square does where they release a ‘skeleton’ expansion and how they instead put new systems into patches I’m holding out hope that they surprise me with the upcoming patches though given Square has been nothing but predictable with FF14 so I’m not getting my hopes too high. It doesn't help that the one new system, Eureka, has already been delayed making the first patch pretty barren for a patch coming 4 months after release with some of the content not even being patched in till a month after that. So 5 months for everything while in that time Legion released 2 patches following a 77 day release schedule that added far more content than 4.1 is adding. Stormblood is a mediocre expansion and the playerbase should honestly expect so much better from a company like Square.    … Expand
  47. Renzokuken
    Jun 20, 2017
    6
    This expansion is a mixed bag but as a former White Mage, I logged in after a 3 hour queue to find they'd made my class completely worthless. The initial launch was even more of a shambles than usual, and considering Square-Enix have a history of shambolic launches they really should be stepping up to the plate for their paying customers by now. A 3 hour queue to log in, broken main storyThis expansion is a mixed bag but as a former White Mage, I logged in after a 3 hour queue to find they'd made my class completely worthless. The initial launch was even more of a shambles than usual, and considering Square-Enix have a history of shambolic launches they really should be stepping up to the plate for their paying customers by now. A 3 hour queue to log in, broken main story quests, and constant disconnections because Square-Enix refuse to reinforce their server infrastructure during major releases, are all unacceptable considering we pay to play this game.

    The content in the expansion is great the new area's, classes, quests, story and music are fantastic. If you played a White Mage or Dark Knight sorry, they've trashed your class, but other than that, the game is great and well worth jumping back in to once they get their act together and sort their servers out.

    As of right now I'm giving this 6 out of 10 because the issues are so bad.
    Consider this a 8 out of 10 once the issues are corrected.    … Expand
  48. HomeroomTeacher
    Jul 28, 2020
    6
    Final Fantasy XIV is my favorite PvE MMO, however I think this expansion was the worst. Story was boring, and I felt it a chore to play through. Towards the ending the quality shifted upwards, but this doesn't same my rating to go higher. Instances however were good, and I also liked the maps, and new classes.
  49. loliance
    Dec 11, 2021
    6
    Story was mediocre, too little voice acting to be immersive, lots of very "same-y" quests... walk to a place, talk to a person, walk back... occasionally kill a mob.

    Thankfully there was some excellent raids and dungeons which kept my interest and were thoroughly enjoyable. Unfortunately the savage raids are short and contain only a handful of bosses each time, so you run out of    Story was mediocre, too little voice acting to be immersive, lots of very "same-y" quests... walk to a place, talk to a person, walk back... occasionally kill a mob.

    Thankfully there was some excellent raids and dungeons which kept my interest and were thoroughly enjoyable.
    Unfortunately the savage raids are short and contain only a handful of bosses each time, so you run out of challenging content quickly. Ultimate's are ok, quite challenging but again so short.    … Expand
  50. KinimodYunmi
    Mar 3, 2023
    7
    Der Anfang war sehr langweilig und hat sich ewig gezogen, das Schleichen durch die große japanische Stadt war so schrecklich, das ganze rumgerenne wieder und wieder für eine weitere Szene mit der Frau mit den schwarzen Haaren, grauenvoll!
    Aber unter Wasser und vor allem der Unterwassertempel Dungeon und später das große Gefecht gegen den blonden in der vier Mal so großen Rüstung war schon    Der Anfang war sehr langweilig und hat sich ewig gezogen, das Schleichen durch die große japanische Stadt war so schrecklich, das ganze rumgerenne wieder und wieder für eine weitere Szene mit der Frau mit den schwarzen Haaren, grauenvoll!
    Aber unter Wasser und vor allem der Unterwassertempel Dungeon und später das große Gefecht gegen den blonden in der vier Mal so großen Rüstung war schon echt ganz gut, genrell alles was man mit anderen zusammen spielen kann, vor allem die 24-Mann Dinger!    … Expand
  51. DeWyntr
    Jun 26, 2023
    8
    Despite being originalyl received with far less praise, I've come to think of Stormblood as one of the better expansions in XIV's history. Starting with a stunning cast of new characters in a segment of the world developed solely for the purposes of expanding the cultural identity of XIV's cast, Stormblood is both impressive and perhaps the expansion with which SE injected the most fundingDespite being originalyl received with far less praise, I've come to think of Stormblood as one of the better expansions in XIV's history. Starting with a stunning cast of new characters in a segment of the world developed solely for the purposes of expanding the cultural identity of XIV's cast, Stormblood is both impressive and perhaps the expansion with which SE injected the most funding and resources to date. Stormblood heralded one of the most spanning naratives, began the threads that formulated one of the most notorious characters in the game's history, and all of that was managed while providing some of the most in depth-driven character casts I've seen in an RPG, let alone an MMO like XIV.

    It's worth your time, it's only drawback is that is absolutely does overstay it's welcome with the post MSQ patchquests. There are many of them, too many much the same as HW.    … Expand
  52. BetaReviews
    Nov 26, 2020
    10
    Amazing story. Graphics has a great emphasis on attention to detail from scenery to character.
  53. Light_Ain
    Jul 25, 2023
    10
    Stormblood is a little long for my liking but the setup it makes for the future is incredible. Some might not like how long it is but the payoff in the later expansions it sets up is worth it ten times over.
  54. Unoskd
    Sep 7, 2023
    7
    An expansion with a strong focus on war and its consequences. The story here becomes significantly darker, which is absolutely fine.
    However, Stormblood has a similar issue as ARR; it drags on at times and has many, many lengthy conversations about politics in Eorzea, which I found somewhat boring.
    Zenos, although we learn absolutely nothing about him, which I find quite odd in FF14,    An expansion with a strong focus on war and its consequences. The story here becomes significantly darker, which is absolutely fine.
    However, Stormblood has a similar issue as ARR; it drags on at times and has many, many lengthy conversations about politics in Eorzea, which I found somewhat boring.

    Zenos, although we learn absolutely nothing about him, which I find quite odd in FF14, still leaves an impressive impression. For the first time as a player, you encounter an enemy/friend, who is not only your equal but much stronger at the beginning. And this is despite him being a Garlean, who, unlike us, can't actually use magic. However, he finds other ways to continually increase his strength.

    As epic as Zenos may be, I find his story lacking. It's almost as if they only wanted to have a character who could match the Warrior of Light. Which is completely fine. But there's no explanation for why he is the way he is.
    For such an important character, that's completely unacceptable, especially if one has certain expectations for the quality of the story.

    7/10    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

11
#11 Best PC Game of 2017
54
#54 Most Discussed PC Game of 2017
55
#55 Most Shared PC Game of 2017

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
87

Generally favorable reviews - based on 21 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 21
  3. Negative: 0 out of 21
  1. Cubed3
    Jan 2, 2018
    90
    Stormblood is simply amazing. Not much more can be said about it. With a very well-crafted story, some tense and epic battles, two new classes, and wonderful zones, saying anything else would ruin so much of the expansion and what makes it great.
    Read full review
  2. Game Rant
    Aug 21, 2017
    90
    Do yourself a favor and lose yourself in the world of Hydaelyn for a good month at the very least. You won’t regret it.
    Read full review
  3. Everyeye.it
    Jul 25, 2017
    90
    Kugane's eastern atmospheres did a great job at Eorzea, which has never been so attractive.
    Read full review
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