WoW players that switched to FFXIV, I need your opinions

[Zyky]

Hi guys ¡¡ I quit WoW a few months ago, but the thing is that it still calls to me. I think that some of you know what I'm talking about. I have been a WoW player since the BC, a completionist, a lore nerd, I feel very attached to it, and I always keep returning.

Thing is that I tried the FFXIV free trial and I loved it. I quit it pretty fast because it was hooking me pretty strongly and I wanted to platinum the games that I had first. Now that I did that, I don't have an excuse anymore. But first I would like the opinion of experienced WoW players that switched to FFXIV.

Why you did it? What do you find better or worse? What do you miss of WoW? Anything that you could tell me to make my mind, because I'm thinking to make FFXIV my main game long-term.

Thank you ¡¡

Honestly I haven't swapped to FFXIV, but to play off WoW dont ever EVER come back. They way they're building the game now its impossible to do everything and get everything.

[Kyriani]

Thank you guys for your honest opinions. I'm going to download the free trial again and make the most of it. I love WoW, it characters and story, but I just don't find it engaging anymore, even if I have that feeling of coming back again and again. Plus in FF14 everything is new, a new start in a new world, and I love the Job System.

I would like to make a post about my experience when I'm done with the free trial, to help other people with my concerns. In the meantime, is there an MMOChampion, WOWhead kind of web about FF14?

Not sure if you're going to play on an NA or EU server but if you decide on NA and want to "know" someone you can ask for help and answers, feel free to roll on the Midgardsormr server and just add Nicodemus Mercy to your friends list. I'd be happy to help you out.

[Darkarath]

Not sure if you're going to play on an NA or EU server but if you decide on NA and want to "know" someone you can ask for help and answers, feel free to roll on the Midgardsormr server and just add Nicodemus Mercy to your friends list. I'd be happy to help you out.

Thanks ¡ But as an European player I guess that it will be better to play in European servers. Especially since my Internet connection isn't very good :/

[Kyriani]

Thanks ¡ But as an European player I guess that it will be better to play in European servers. Especially since my Internet connection isn't very good :/

Well you always have the forums here to get questions answered if nothing else

[Derah]

I left wow for FF because I can't recall the last time wow did something innovative. 99.9% of the features in wow were found in another mmo, usually years before.

This is not true.

For starters, wow was the online game that pioneered the concept of "Instanced Dungeons". Prior to wow, all the dungeons in MMOs were NOT instanced. Meaning there was only 1 copy available, and people had to compete amongst themselves to kill the bosses and get loot. I remember how the MMO I used to play before wow (Lineage 2) had 7 dragon bosses. Those dragons had a respawn timer of 10 days. When they spawned, you had to fight other people for the right to kill the dragon. We had to bring dozens and dozens of people, half of whom would stay behind to hold back the tide of other players trying to get in, while the other half fought the boss and then we split the loot. If you weren't among the top 10 best guilds in the server, you'd never do a dungeon in your life. Wow introduced the revolutionary concept of Instanced Content, where if you want to kill that dragon, and I want to kill that dragon, we don't need to fight each other, you get your own copy of the dragon to face, and I get my own copy of the dragon to face.

Wow also introduced things like phasing, terrain phasing, flexible difficulty modes that adjust on the fly to the number of players present, flying (Believe me, not a single MMORPG had flight before wow did it), multiple difficulty modes for dungeons (When other MMOs began copying the instanced content formula, they all had static difficulties, wow introduced the idea of heroic vs normal content) Battlegrounds for PVP (Prior to wow, most PVP took place almost entirely on the regular world. The idea of an instanced zone dedicated entirely for killing other players was unheard of).

The list goes on. Its true that several other features, wow has lifted from other games, often taking their sweet time to do so (AoE loot was done by several MMOs before wow did it. Same with Transmog. To this day we still can't dye our armor despite almost every MMO on the market allowing us to do so, etc).

But to say something as egregious as "99.9% of the features in wow were found in another game usually years before" is a blatant display of ignorance.

[Eleccybubb]

Honestly I haven't swapped to FFXIV, but to play off WoW dont ever EVER come back. They way they're building the game now its impossible to do everything and get everything.

Sorry but that is disingenuous to say the least. You can do everything in WoW. Want to raid high end for example? Go find a guild just like you would have to go find a static/FC in FF14.

I love both games but don't start posting false information about one. Name me one way they have built the game that it's "impossible" to do and get everything?

Both games are built really well. You can do and get everything in both.

[Zabatakis]

This is not true.

For starters, wow was the online game that pioneered the concept of "Instanced Dungeons". Prior to wow, all the dungeons in MMOs were NOT instanced. Meaning there was only 1 copy available, and people had to compete amongst themselves to kill the bosses and get loot. I remember how the MMO I used to play before wow (Lineage 2) had 7 dragon bosses. Those dragons had a respawn timer of 10 days. When they spawned, you had to fight other people for the right to kill the dragon. We had to bring dozens and dozens of people, half of whom would stay behind to hold back the tide of other players trying to get in, while the other half fought the boss and then we split the loot. If you weren't among the top 10 best guilds in the server, you'd never do a dungeon in your life. Wow introduced the revolutionary concept of Instanced Content, where if you want to kill that dragon, and I want to kill that dragon, we don't need to fight each other, you get your own copy of the dragon to face, and I get my own copy of the dragon to face.

Wow also introduced things like phasing, terrain phasing, flexible difficulty modes that adjust on the fly to the number of players present, flying (Believe me, not a single MMORPG had flight before wow did it), multiple difficulty modes for dungeons (When other MMOs began copying the instanced content formula, they all had static difficulties, wow introduced the idea of heroic vs normal content) Battlegrounds for PVP (Prior to wow, most PVP took place almost entirely on the regular world. The idea of an instanced zone dedicated entirely for killing other players was unheard of).

The list goes on. Its true that several other features, wow has lifted from other games, often taking their sweet time to do so (AoE loot was done by several MMOs before wow did it. Same with Transmog. To this day we still can't dye our armor despite almost every MMO on the market allowing us to do so, etc).

But to say something as egregious as "99.9% of the features in wow were found in another game usually years before" is a blatant display of ignorance.

City of heroes had instanced dungeons before wow. Just gonna put that out there. I didn't see a reason to read past your first sentance so forgive me if I don't correct any additional errors.

Edit; I lied. As I posted this I saw you saying no one else had flying. Lineage 2 had flying, although a really painful and exclusive process to achieve, it was there. But this is off topic so I have said my piece.

[Eleccybubb]

Thank you guys for your honest opinions. I'm going to download the free trial again and make the most of it. I love WoW, it characters and story, but I just don't find it engaging anymore, even if I have that feeling of coming back again and again. Plus in FF14 everything is new, a new start in a new world, and I love the Job System.

I would like to make a post about my experience when I'm done with the free trial, to help other people with my concerns. In the meantime, is there an MMOChampion, WOWhead kind of web about FF14?

Understandable man. If you like a good story then I highly recommend it. PvP though is godawful imo. PvE is very well designed but I wish they would make harder versions of Dungeons.

I used this a lot.

https://ffxiv.consolegameswiki.com/wiki/FF14_Wiki

[Zyky]

Sorry but that is disingenuous to say the least. You can do everything in WoW. Want to raid high end for example? Go find a guild just like you would have to go find a static/FC in FF14.

I love both games but don't start posting false information about one. Name me one way they have built the game that it's "impossible" to do and get everything?

Both games are built really well. You can do and get everything in both.

If you bothered to read the OP post, he said that he's a completionist. It is from a game design standpoint, that only recently took fruition in Legion, impossible to complete the game 100%. So with that in mind, you wanted 1 way and I'll give you 5 ways. 1) You cannot get full BiS gear anymore because of TF. 2) You cannot max out your Artifact because its time-gated behind artifact knowledge. 3) You cannot maintain alts and a main to a competitive level, again because of AP and the horrid legendary system. 4) On a patch to patch basis they're gating the content, again only started in Legion. 5) They have items in the game, that are physically unobtainable(most of them are toys), for example the fisherwoman who was up for less than 12 hours in Azsuna before Devs removed her stating "she wasn't supposed to appear yet", yet she has toys and items on her that are needed to be a completionist.

The Devs are time gating shit, they're building the game to be impossible to complete and impossible to have a realistic finish.

[Derah]

City of heroes had instanced dungeons before wow. Just gonna put that out there. I didn't see a reason to read past your first sentance so forgive me if I don't correct any additional errors.

Wrong. Just wrong. Wow was released the same year as CoH, and had instanced content before it became a thing. All other titles published by NCSoft (Including CoH) implemented instances way later. CoH was released along the same time as Lineage 2. Both titles were published by NCSoft. You'd think if one of their titles had instanced content, ALL their titles would have it. Specially if they came out before wow. But they didn't.

Edit; I lied. As I posted this I saw you saying no one else had flying. Lineage 2 had flying, although a really painful and exclusive process to achieve, it was there. But this is off topic so I have said my piece.

This only demonstrates your ignorance on the matter. Please don't try to educate me on Lineage 2.

Flight was implemented in L2 during Chronicle 4. Released in late 2007. After Burning Crusade.

You also failed to provide a counter to other features wow implemented before anyone else, including phasing, terrain phasing, Flexible difficulty that adjusts on the fly to the number of players present, multiple difficulty modes for dungeons and bosses, battlegrounds for PVP, etc.

[Eleccybubb]

If you bothered to read the OP post, he said that he's a completionist. It is from a game design standpoint, that only recently took fruition in Legion, impossible to complete the game 100%. So with that in mind, you wanted 1 way and I'll give you 5 ways. 1) You cannot get full BiS gear anymore because of TF. 2) You cannot max out your Artifact because its time-gated behind artifact knowledge. 3) You cannot maintain alts and a main to a competitive level, again because of AP and the horrid legendary system. 4) On a patch to patch basis they're gating the content, again only started in Legion. 5) They have items in the game, that are physically unobtainable(most of them are toys), for example the fisherwoman who was up for less than 12 hours in Azsuna before Devs removed her stating "she wasn't supposed to appear yet", yet she has toys and items on her that are needed to be a completionist.

The Devs are time gating shit, they're building the game to be impossible to complete and impossible to have a realistic finish.

1. Titanforging is not required. It is a bonus not a necessity even for a completionist. FF14 has it's own form of RNG in the form of Melding where eventually a piece of gear has an extremely low chance to succeed on a meld.

2. You are not supposed to be rushing 50/50 Concordance. Even a completionist should know not to be rushing it unless they want severe burnout.

3. Yes you can. Especially with the new catchup mechanisms in 7.3.

4. Because FF14 doesn't gate it's raids by upto 4 weeks for Savage at the start of an expac right? Both games have time gating.

5. All MMOs have items that become unobtainable over time. FF14 has the original Gobbue mount and the cosmetic tatoo from 1.0 for example.

Again you are being really disingenuous. You even listed things that FF14 is guilty of doing. I'm happy to discuss this with you but right now it just seems to be devolving into WoW vs FF14 which I have no interest in.

[Zabatakis]

Wrong. Just wrong. Wow was released the same year as CoH, and had instanced content before it became a thing. All other titles published by NCSoft (Including CoH) implemented instances way later. CoH was released along the same time as Lineage 2. Both titles were published by NCSoft. You'd think if one of their titles had instanced content, ALL their titles would have it. Specially if they came out before wow. But they didn't.



This only demonstrates your ignorance on the matter. Please don't try to educate me on Lineage 2.

Flight was implemented in L2 during Chronicle 4. Released in late 2007. After Burning Crusade.

You also failed to provide a counter to other features wow implemented before anyone else, including phasing, terrain phasing, Flexible difficulty that adjusts on the fly to the number of players present, multiple difficulty modes for dungeons and bosses, battlegrounds for PVP, etc.

I will pm you with how you are wrong on every count except phasing (lets just file that into the 0.01% of original shit, even tho the 99.9% thing was pretty obvious hyperbole) bud. Not gonna derail a thread for you. But fuck man you can easily google the CoH and L2 releases before spouting such falcities.

[Kyriani]

Wrong. Just wrong. Wow was released the same year as CoH, and had instanced content before it became a thing. All other titles published by NCSoft (Including CoH) implemented instances way later. CoH was released along the same time as Lineage 2. Both titles were published by NCSoft. You'd think if one of their titles had instanced content, ALL their titles would have it. Specially if they came out before wow. But they didn't.



This only demonstrates your ignorance on the matter. Please don't try to educate me on Lineage 2.

Flight was implemented in L2 during Chronicle 4. Released in late 2007. After Burning Crusade.

You also failed to provide a counter to other features wow implemented before anyone else, including phasing, terrain phasing, Flexible difficulty that adjusts on the fly to the number of players present, multiple difficulty modes for dungeons and bosses, battlegrounds for PVP, etc.

City of Heroes had instanced missions/dungeons and flight from day one and was released April 27, 2004.

World of Warcraft was released November 23, 2004

Just needed to set the record straight for my beloved and now defunct CoH how I miss it. I'd still be playing it today had NCSoft not shut it down.

[Zyky]

1. Titanforging is not required. It is a bonus not a necessity even for a completionist. FF14 has it's own form of RNG in the form of Melding where eventually a piece of gear has an extremely low chance to succeed on a meld.

2. You are not supposed to be rushing 50/50 Concordance. Even a completionist should know not to be rushing it unless they want severe burnout.

3. Yes you can. Especially with the new catchup mechanisms in 7.3.

4. Because FF14 doesn't gate it's raids by upto 4 weeks for Savage at the start of an expac right? Both games have time gating.

5. All MMOs have items that become unobtainable over time. FF14 has the original Gobbue mount and the cosmetic tatoo from 1.0 for example.

Again you are being really disingenuous. You even listed things that FF14 is guilty of doing. I'm happy to discuss this with you but right now it just seems to be devolving into WoW vs FF14 which I have no interest in.

Your arguments are invalid. Gratz you managed to look like a moron, because I hate to burst your bubble but if something is gated and when something is capped out then yes there is an end, Blizzard just made it unobtainable and unrealisitic, which is exactly what I said.

[Daws001]

I think FFXIV has the better main story experience, though, it can be a chore if you're looking to power to the latest content/expansion jobs. I started playing when Heavensward (first expansion) launched and because I wanted to play the astrologian (newest healer). I didn't realize that I had to complete the original game's main story and by the time I did and unlocked the astrologian, I was burnt out and quit the game lol. They now have stuff you can buy to skip the story so there's that.

If you're into crafting I feel like FFXIV is way more interesting than WoW's crafting system. I'm not really into it but I was surprised by how complex crafting was. I was use to just getting the necessary items and hitting a button in WoW. There's a lot more buttons to hit in FFXIV.

Combat...hrm. FFXIV's slower gcd is a good and bad thing imo. I'm enjoying it on dps because there's a lot you can do with like positional requirements for melee and weaving in off gcd abilities. It still feels busy. The two newest dps, red mage and samurai, are both hella fun. Maybe even more fun than WoW dps...I did really love Windwalker Monks, though... Healing on the other hand...I fell out of love with healing in this game. I've played all three healing jobs and unfortunately they all feel too similar and a bit bland once you can see the matrix. WoW's healing classes also have been homogenized but not as much as this. Resto Druid and Resto Shammy are not the same and play quite differently. Disc Priests are an entirely different animal.

Only little nuances like cards or a pet separate the FFXIV healers. Regen vs shielding. Mechanically they all share a little, a bigger heal, a spammable aoe heal (targets the same for all of them unlike say Circle of Healing vs Chain Heal vs Efflorescence, etc.), an instant heal, etc. I also think the slower gcd makes it less engaging. Also, you're expected to dps as a healer which is weird. You don't have to (for regular difficulty content at least) but then you realize how much more boring healing is and how you'll be standing around inert more. I soon realized the reason I enjoyed playing Scholar (a healer) was because it had the most robust dps kit. So I just played dps instead lol.

I am getting burnt out again tbh. May take a break and swap back to Overwatch.

[Eleccybubb]

Your arguments are invalid. Gratz you managed to look like a moron, because I hate to burst your bubble but if something is gated and when something is capped out then yes there is an end, Blizzard just made it unobtainable and unrealisitic, which is exactly what I said.

Because no other MMO does gating or removes some items as a sign of prestige after a while right? Oh wait.....

But if all you have here is insults and scream that my arguments are "invalid" then I see no point continuing with you. Feel free to throw me a PM if you want an actual discussion.

And again Titanforging is a bonus not a necessity.

[Melsiren]

Hi guys ¡¡ I quit WoW a few months ago, but the thing is that it still calls to me. I think that some of you know what I'm talking about. I have been a WoW player since the BC, a completionist, a lore nerd, I feel very attached to it, and I always keep returning.

Thing is that I tried the FFXIV free trial and I loved it. I quit it pretty fast because it was hooking me pretty strongly and I wanted to platinum the games that I had first. Now that I did that, I don't have an excuse anymore. But first I would like the opinion of experienced WoW players that switched to FFXIV.

Why you did it? What do you find better or worse? What do you miss of WoW? Anything that you could tell me to make my mind, because I'm thinking to make FFXIV my main game long-term.

Thank you ¡¡

Speaking here as some one who played wow all the way from about... two months ish from launch all the way until the release of patch 7.1 and during this time I never once let my sub lapse.

There was no one clear reason why I quit WoW, over the years things about both Blizzard as a company and changes they made to the game made me realize that the game 12 year old me fell in love with, got addicted to was no longer a game that was for me.

WoW (to me) is devoid of passion in comparison to it's past self, which is the very reason I ended up falling in love with FF14. The whole MMO is the story of turning a steaming pile of shit into something great. It drips passion, and I as a player have always been able to feel it. Now the game by no means perfect, it has some key era's that it need to improve in, but over time things are being addressed and things are improving.

The thing I love the most about FF14? I don't know how Square did It, I am better connected to my FF14 character than I ever was to any of my Warcraft characters. To the point of borderline obsession at times. I am not alone in this though, it's a common thing I hear among the FF14 community.

What I miss the most from WoW? I was a Roleplayer and a Raider, I do not miss the Raids, nor to I actually miss the RPers since most of the FF14 RP community is the MG and WRA RP community from WoW.

What I miss is the ability to have alts, and the diversity in the WoW race lore. Yes you can have alts in FF14, but there is very little reason to and the amount of work that you would have to put into the 2nd character hardly out weights the benefits.

Warcraft gave me some of my best years of gaming I ever had, how ever over time I no longer feel how I once did for the game. If you find yourself feeling the same, there is no point in playing the game hoping you will get that spark again. FF14 might be the game that gives you those feelings again, it also might not.

I would give it some honest thought and think why you don't want to play WoW right now, and why you're drawn to FF14.

[Super Kami Dende]

Hi guys ¡¡ I quit WoW a few months ago, but the thing is that it still calls to me. I think that some of you know what I'm talking about. I have been a WoW player since the BC, a completionist, a lore nerd, I feel very attached to it, and I always keep returning.

Thing is that I tried the FFXIV free trial and I loved it. I quit it pretty fast because it was hooking me pretty strongly and I wanted to platinum the games that I had first. Now that I did that, I don't have an excuse anymore. But first I would like the opinion of experienced WoW players that switched to FFXIV.

Why you did it? What do you find better or worse? What do you miss of WoW? Anything that you could tell me to make my mind, because I'm thinking to make FFXIV my main game long-term.

Thank you ¡¡

I play both FF14 and WoW. Moreso 14 at the moment but will be switching back for 7.3 whilst I wait for new content for Stormblood.

FF14's main thing is it's story. and there is a lot of it. Don't expect to jump into 14 and be up to max level and raiding in the same time frame as WoW. There are literally 450 REQUIRED quests to be done from lvl 1-60 just before you can start the latest expansion. Though it isn't a bad thing as the Story is actually pretty enjoyable.

for Better/Worse comparison.

Better in 14:
Professions.
Story
Random World Events
Side/Mini-games
Housing

Better in WoW:
Combat Flow
PvP
Class/Spec/Role choice (FF14 has pretty good classes, but all are directed into specific roles. i.e. can't play a DPS Paladin or Warrior)
Feel of power Progression.
Travel. (whilst FF14 has teleporting, I find getting around in WoW 10x easier.)
Raiding.

All in All. I play Both. SO I don't really HAVE to take a choice or side. If I had to choose only 1 for something like Money Reasons or anything I would still choose WoW as Endgame content became stale extremely fast in Stormblood.

- - - Updated - - -

If you bothered to read the OP post, he said that he's a completionist. It is from a game design standpoint, that only recently took fruition in Legion, impossible to complete the game 100%. So with that in mind, you wanted 1 way and I'll give you 5 ways. 1) You cannot get full BiS gear anymore because of TF. 2) You cannot max out your Artifact because its time-gated behind artifact knowledge. 3) You cannot maintain alts and a main to a competitive level, again because of AP and the horrid legendary system. 4) On a patch to patch basis they're gating the content, again only started in Legion. 5) They have items in the game, that are physically unobtainable(most of them are toys), for example the fisherwoman who was up for less than 12 hours in Azsuna before Devs removed her stating "she wasn't supposed to appear yet", yet she has toys and items on her that are needed to be a completionist.

The Devs are time gating shit, they're building the game to be impossible to complete and impossible to have a realistic finish.

You are wrong on so many of those levels. I've been playing multiple different games and am playing FF14 more than WoW at the moment and still have Multiple characters on WoW that are Heroic/Mythic Raid ready.

People that keep spouting this "OMG LEGUN HAZ SO MANY WALLZ I CANT PLAY ALTZ!" either haven't even bother to see how easy Alt gearing is, or are just too stupid to realise otherwise.

Also, there is BiS, TF doesn't remove BiS.

[Resiak]

Wrong. Just wrong. Wow was released the same year as CoH, and had instanced content before it became a thing. All other titles published by NCSoft (Including CoH) implemented instances way later. CoH was released along the same time as Lineage 2. Both titles were published by NCSoft. You'd think if one of their titles had instanced content, ALL their titles would have it. Specially if they came out before wow. But they didn't.



This only demonstrates your ignorance on the matter. Please don't try to educate me on Lineage 2.

Flight was implemented in L2 during Chronicle 4. Released in late 2007. After Burning Crusade.

You also failed to provide a counter to other features wow implemented before anyone else, including phasing, terrain phasing, Flexible difficulty that adjusts on the fly to the number of players present, multiple difficulty modes for dungeons and bosses, battlegrounds for PVP, etc.

I believe EQ started dabbling with instanced content before any other game. I think Lost Dungeons of Norrath had the first idea of this content in 2003. I think Legacy of ykesha also had some form of instancing. This then carried into EQ2. The main dungeons in EQ2 where open, but the bosses would be instances. EQ2 barely beat WoW to market if i remember right.

Phasing? You might be correct on this. But honestly, how deep is that. It's an iteration of instancing. But I'll go ahead give you that one.

EQ2 started the idea of making dungeons harder on the release of the game. WoW didn't start that until TBC.

I can't speak on PVp, never been an interest of mine. But I do know EQ had a pvp arena on release.

Blizzard has their faults, but I can say this, they know how to watch other mmo's, see what they do right, and what they do wrong, then modify their best ideas to fit in wow much more polished. They are great at what they do. They just arn't that great at coming up with new ideas them selves.

[lawow74]

I believe EQ started dabbling with instanced content before any other game. I think Lost Dungeons of Norrath had the first idea of this content in 2003. I think Legacy of ykesha also had some form of instancing. This then carried into EQ2. The main dungeons in EQ2 where open, but the bosses would be instances. EQ2 barely beat WoW to market if i remember right.

I know that EQ 2's standard-party dungeons were open-world, I remember being in them with groups and racing ahead of other groups with crazy pulls to get tag on the boss mob before they could. But their multi-party, i.e. raid dungeons were instanced.