Final Fantasy 14 Is Becoming Almost Impossible to Resist on PS5, PS4

Stormblood may be the worst expansion in all FF14. But considering how ridiculous many hours of content you get for free, it would be silly not snag it up for free. Highly recommend people grab it if you have any intention of giving the game a shot at some point.

Square showering us playstation owners with even more final fantasy goodness, when will it end lol. Now let's remake 8 and 9 and put the final fantasy 13 collection on playstation plus premium.

I find it very easy to resist subscription games. Also games that are big and constantly demanding my time, even when free.

It's an MMO. That makes it a simple thing to ignore the game.

I'm a single-player gamer. Always have been, always will be.

@rawzeku I didn't like Stormblood storywise, but the zones it added were fantastic. I love gathering in some of them solely for the ambiance and music.

@jmac1686 That's exactly why its the expansion most people dislike. The Story just wasn't up to par with everything else. But the zones were really well done and looks incredible.

@rawzeku Stormblood is my favorite. I love political stories.

@Ralizah You can play it as a single-player experiencing. Writing it off just because it's an MMO its locking you out of some of the best Final Fantasy stories

I've tried a few mmo games on various platforms ,and gameplay seems to involve a massive amount of people just stood about ,or jumping around in circles like maniacs ,whats happening ?

I've just finished the main story of the brilliant Shadowbringers. I've hardly touched any other game since I started playing FFXIV again a couple of months ago. Loving it.

@Ralizah I've played through 3 expansions as a strictly single player game. Even the dungeons can be done in single player with ai companions (except Stormblood which is strange). All other hard-core MMO stuff is entirely optional.

I also really enjoyed Stormblood. Dunno why it's gets a bad rep.

I adore this game. I take month-long breaks from time to time but always keep my sub because I will get a week or two of non-stop playing here and there. Incredible world just to hang out in. I did NOT like Stormblood though, but the new zones I do love. If that makes sense.

@ApostateMage FFXIV is basically an incredible single-player FF experience in an MMO wrap. And they continue to make it more solo- accessible which is fantastic.

I'm not an MMO player at all but part of me has always wanted to try 14. I know they've made updates to make it play more like a single player game over the years which is appreciated. Thing is though I can't justify paying a subscription for just one game to myself.

That's kind of always been the barrier to entry for me. I'll just wait for FF16.

@ApostateMage duty support not in stormblood dungeons they start that in 6.4

I really want to love FFXIV. The gameplay and world is brilliant! But the journey to level 50, even if it can be done entirely via the story is too much of a slog.

@RadioHedgeFund it's rapid fast up to 60 now though, new quest rework, and much more streamlined story.

Almost impossible to resist? LOL As long as it has that mmo subscription model is an easy pass for me.

As someone who returned to 14 after two failed attempts, I've actually become a new mainstay WHM/BLM.

I think I just needed to be in the right headspace to get into the game, and I've finally gotten here. So much so that I've abandoned all other games for the foreseeable future to focus on all this content.

I was always against the monthly subscription, but I've decided to stop being a cheapo and just pay it, since while I do, I'll be passing on all new major releases, so it'll be a net win for me.

The thing that bugs me most about XIV is that on console it's just awkward and often infuriating to try to play with a controller. It does an OK job of mapping to a controller, and it's the one and only time the trackpad on PS controllers has ever actually been useful for anything, vital even. But it's still so impossibly awkward. IMO the game truly needs keyboard and mouse with a UI consiting of numerous windows that you move focus to and fro all the time.

I really wish it was more solo friendly. I enjoyed it somewhat but bad player experiences really turned me off. People saying you can solo play it are way off. Most gameplay involves teaming up with random people who will make your life miserable if you don't play the game the way they think you should.

@ApostateMage @Athrum The situation sort of reminds me of Genshin Impact. People insist you can ignore the gacha aspects almost entirely because the single-player story stuff doesn't require engaging with it. And, technically, that's true, at least of the twenty hours or so I played of it. But it also means that everything that exists beyond the periphery of the story missions is tainted by and designed around the focus on getting the player invested in its slot-machine mechanics. I liked what I played (quite a bit!), but it just left me feeling rather sad that I'd never be able to fully experience what the game had to offer.

I feel like the same would be true here. And, unlike GI, this one is hooked to a subscription model.

If Square-Enix ever designs an offline version of the game, where you can play without mechanics designed around cooperation with other players, a monthly subscription fee, and the need to maintain a persistent internet connection, then I'll be there.

@Darkthany That has... been my experience with MMOs as well, lol. I play games for enjoyment-- solitary enjoyment. I don't want to have to deal with other people and their expectations in that space.

@Korgon that was one of my main issues when 1st starting but tbh with all these offers SEs doing, they're practically giving the game away for free. And assuming it clicks with you both gameplay and storywise, it is absolutely a worthwhile experience to keep paying the sub. It really is one of if not the best FF out there. If you're naturally a player that goes through content fast enough, you can probably even finish the rest of the expansions with the $70 it takes to buy FF16 lol

But like their marketing slogan says you can play the whole base game and 1 expansion, which is widely considered one of the best, for free. If you're just not clicking with it then, you don't have to pay the sub

@Judal27
The deal they got is definitely tempting for sure. Maybe if I find myself with basically nothing else to play for a few months I might give it a shot then.

Though I'm not sure when that time will come with all the games coming out soon. 😄

FFXIV is the best single-player Final Fantasy

My two cents for those in the comments concerned about dealing with other people: in recent updates, they have added a feature for a lot of the earlier dungeons where you can run them solo with a party of NPCs. This doesn't apply to all dungeon instances, however.

As a newcomer, the biggest problem I've found is that people running these low level dungeons have been doing it for so long, that they just bum rush to the end with little concern for newbies along for the ride. If you're the kind of person that likes to take things slow and take it all in, this is a problem, naturally.

YMMV, but I've yet to run into a group in dozens of dungeon runs that have been rude or mean about a newbie in the party. Sometimes I fell, but they were always supportive, even when I was the healer and my falling is the worst possible outcome.

I still think the best approach is to play if you have a small group of friends, preferably three others to always party together for dungeons. But of the many MMOs I've played, this is one of the friendlier ones.

Could read every comment but I'll still ask. If I buy this I get tons of content. Will I still have to pay a monthly subscription? Or will that kick in if I want to play additional content?

4 free days of FFXIV? Welp, there goes my spring break...

@Ralizah It's "fine" solo for the most part, but....it's still an MMO with go here, go there, fetch this, do this repetitive thing which looks like a line at an amusement park because there's 30 people playing different parts of the same looping campaign quest all at once. IMO if I were playing with keyb/mouse I'd probably get along with a lot better, but any time I try to play it and resubscribe I feel like I spend 3 minutes fighting with the UI with a controller for every 1 minute playing the game. It just needs a mouse, really. I'm glad they've been trying to put MMOs on console, but they whole genre and necessary UI just doesn't suit a controller well. The only one to make it really work well is TESO.

@NEStalgia If I ever play this, it'll be on PC. Can't imagine playing a game like this on a console.

XSX has support for M&K, right? If this ever hits Team Green's platform, you'll be all set.

Starter edition is $20, not $10.

I'm with a lot of others on this one, always been curious about it but not a fan of MMOs or games that I feel like I need to play regularly and don't end.

@Ralizah PS5 supports M&K too IIRC. I haven't actually checked if it works with XIV, I probably should, but I can't see sitting on the couch with a keyboard on my lap and some kind of makeshift mouse pad. And I was over desk gaming 15 years ago... If I wanted to go die-hard with this I'd probably invest in it though because the controller is just so freaking unpleasant. It's really the only game that has ever made me glad PS has a track pad, I don't think it would be playable at all without it, but it's still unpleasant to play fingering around a track pad to move a mouse cursor around. I've tried so many times and the UI/input just gets in the way of enjoyment. I'm technically glad these games do try console releases but it's just so awkward that I kind of feel like the series should have stayed PC-only. Though M&K support on console would have made it perfect for me if I didn't abjectly hate sitting at a desk to play games these days.

@Korgon fair since I also took a break from it since I wanted to take the time to play some backlog games along with all the new releases which are very many these past months lol

But all I'll say is to treat it like another one of those anticipated titles. If you treat it like this whole other entity in gaming that you sorta want to play but sorta don't. You'll likely never get around to it and if you do probably wouldnt like it either. I know people make a big deal about MMOs being these giant time sink monsters but it's really not that much different from, say playing a massive rpg like Witcher 3. At least to me

isnt it still 15quid a month subscription? or is that gone

@NEStalgia I been playing since PS3 it very easy to play with controller in 14

@stvevan u still have to pay it not f2p will never will be

@C25CLOUD That's definitely not my experience with it. I found wrangling the interface with a DS4/5 to be a really frustrating experience... It's just a very mouse-centric design, which is to be expected for an MMO.

@NEStalgia do know u can use kb and mouse on ps5 for it

@Mikey856
A relic of a bygone era. Before the proliferation of the "Free to Play" model, and every platform having their own subscriptions to play online, PC first experiences could have individual subscriptions per game, most notably with the MMORPG.

Now, the argument could be made if this is still viable, given that a game with less antiquated design on "modern" devices like a smartphone (Genshin Impact, for example) can be enjoyed almost in its entirety without ever spending a penny.

I doubt we'll see many new games with subscriptions like the MMOs of old, but those that still exist will continue to operate as long as there are people willing to pay the monthly fee.

@C25CLOUD Ah, yeah, that's what @Ralizah and I were talking about, and that's good to know. Props to anyone that can manage to use the controller for that UI, but I really feel it just absolutely needs a mouse. Anything that has you changing focus with multiple popup windows just doesn't work very well without a mouse.

I don't really have a keyb/mouse setup for my consoles, wouldn't work on the couch and I don't like to sit at a desk to play games these days, but at least that makes it far more viable.

@Ralizah @NEStalgia for what it’s worth, if either of you are interested in XIV on console, the controller support is arguably some of the most accessible in the MMO genre for the tab-target style of combat mode.

The main issue is that the UI and UX are so bogged down by legacy content and a KBM-first approach, it takes the player having to actively set everything up. The game also does a terrible job of explaining any of these options to the player aka it doesn’t explain a thing.

I nerded out and watched a bunch of controller tutorials/guides, experimented and eventually landed on a really versatile, flexible setup that was snappy, easy and super fun to control!

I found that the stick-based movement meant that I was just generally in better control of my character than my KBM buddies on PC. I still used a wireless keyboard for chat, but the controller was SO comfy with the setup.

So yeah, sorry for the lengthy reply but it’s a fab game and I really enjoyed my time in it (so fun, so many emotions lol), thought I’d share as it might be worth a second thought if controller is the deciding factor ☺️

@handyboots If I did play it, it'd only be PC, but it's good to hear you found a setup that worked well for you.

I assume you played with pre-existing friends? Or did you make new ones through the game?

@Ralizah At least there's no voice chat 😬

@handyboots How does the map and quest selection/navigation work with your setup? That's one thing that seemed infuriating with the stock setup. I'd spend more time trying to just select a quest and then try to find it on a map and fight the UI never being focused on the right window than I did playing quests.

@Ralizah ah no worries at all ☺️ I think I was the only console player amongst my in-game friends, haha! Definitely the only controller user 😂

And the friends were all people I met in-game! I’d never tried an MMO before, and XIV was such a wonderful intro to online gaming in general. Your mileage may vary, but there were some genuinely wonderful people in the newly established Oceania data centres (from AU/NZ) ☺️

@NEStalgia from memory, it was never a major issue. I honestly think the information architecture is pretty rubbish in general, so simply knowing what to look for and where to look had a learning curve, but became pretty second nature after a time.

I will say, the touchpad can be used as a virtual mouse and that was useful in niche instances! Spent some time working on targeting schemes too, especially when I learned a Healing job/class - made everything a breeze!

Fab game, many rubbish design decisions most likely made unknowingly/ignorantly aha. I used to be a lecturer on interaction design and would actively discourage doing a lot of the things I’ve seen in XIV 😅 love it but gosh, the UI can make ya work for it!

I so wanted FFXIV to be THE MMO for me after the hearbreaking demise of Dragon's Dogma Online (whyyyyy didn't they just open it up to the west instead of making it Japan only?!?!? 😭😭) but despite FFXIV being such a deep game, for someone who needs dynamic Dogma/Soulsborne/Nier/Bayo action, the combat in FFXIV is a dealbreaking let down when it comes to playing it long term... 😔 If it had THAT combat instead of this frustrating tab-targeting skill button/rotation mehness (and that's strictly MY humble opinion lol), it would be the perfect MMO!