WoW players that switched to FFXIV, I need your opinions

[Deleted]

First I played FF1-13 before (exluding 10x2 and 11) and there are times when I just get super nostalgic.

Second the story/campaign of FF14 is so much better in its narrative - if you get to 50 you are in. And you will not look back ever again. Loose zone-campaigns don't exist here. Also if you just play the story as first timer and ignore all side quests you will do your leveling "on the side".

Third Weekly Agends & Palace of the dead - wonderful repeatable leveling options. Bigly.


The only thing that turns me off roughly the same as in WoW but less "effective". Like mass pulling in dungeons - in this game you will laugh at these overconfident people a lot more than in WoW. Also - the fights get harder and harder even in the "campaign". Whenever you meet a new primae/new expansion you will realize: They get harder! I just did Susan o and hell - you need to know what's going on here. People are more lenient but there will always be that flamer. So you need to get your shit together. I don't use damage app, so its rather random besides on clear mechanic fails why the fight isn't going smooth. It's "optimize your play and you will get more insight".

On the other side... I don't dare to continue campaign big primal fights when I quest. It's not LFR and imo at least same than normal mode in WoW currently. What restricts me to continue now and then :P Also as someone new: FF14 has still the mentality "get a fc/guild and they will be more friendly to you than random people". It helps a lot and the people help a lot. Much better community overall imo.

[Resiak]

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.

They where. But I believe the final bosses of each dungeon where instanced. Like Runnyeye, the dungeon was open, everyone competed for the named through out it, but then at the end, there was a door that lead to an instance where you fought the head evil eye.

- - - Updated - - -

Yeah, LDoN did instancing before WoW. They were also not completely static...I don't think they were totally random, but each dungeon theme had several different versions.

The reality though is that this is a bit of a, "SIMPSONS DID IT" situation. No one title is going to have created all new, unique ideas. Especially within a genre like this.

Oh, don't get me wrong. The whole genre is just iterating on itself. The only true new idea was meridan 59 that started the whole idea of a graphical persistent world. I wasn't even going to respond until he came back so sure of himself that wow created all of these ideas. WoW does certain things really well, but credit should go where credits due.

[Echocho]

For me it was that the things that Blizzard destroyed over the years are still intact in FFXIV. Things like a coherent questing experience, somewhat difficult world mobs, gearing that's not riddled with RNG and even gear you can buy with a weekly cap currency like valor points used to, fights that's not designed around everyone having some sort of boss mod add-on and the ability to gem your gear. Also content isn't being reused in a billion different difficulties and considered different content.

[Sorrior]

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.

Wanted to say I actually think more then a bit of l egions being so story centric is because of ffxiv showing how it can be done and how popular it can be. But with wows alt emphasis bad mix


Oh and one thing I love about FF us how it is NOT all about endgame but the journey itself(which I think is one reason alot of former wow players get burned out they rush to reach endgame instead if enjoying the journey itself). I feel like blizzard gets too focused on the newest thing they do abd tends to ignore most older things..too much focus on rule of cool I guess.

- - - Updated - - -

For me it was that the things that Blizzard destroyed over the years are still intact in FFXIV. Things like a coherent questing experience, somewhat difficult world mobs, gearing that's not riddled with RNG and even gear you can buy with a weekly cap currency like valor points used to, fights that's not designed around everyone having some sort of boss mod add-on and the ability to gem your gear. Also content isn't being reused in a billion different difficulties and considered different content.

Think you left out destroying entire quest chains and dumbing every non raid activity down until legion.but even then making all new dungeons mythic as opposed to just a bit harder(or much harder see HoR)

I really feel wows sweet spot was Wrath abd they need to realize this..FFXIV has alot in common with wrath actually.

[Copey]

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'll break it down nice and simple. I've played both, I've got maxed levels on both, and high ilvls on both (end-game content).

FF14 Pros:
Very aesthetically pleasing
Streamlined combo-system makes it dummy proof for even newcomers
Vast variety in monster/mob uniqueness
Story-line is very well written and linear, with plenty of sidequests
Very very vast crafting/gathering system
They do have a transmog (glamour) system in place as well, but you can also dye your armor.
Pretty good different class representations throughout the game.
PvP-Battlegrounds are absolutely huge (3 sides to control points, 20+ people each side).
A generally much nicer community that is actually helpful as opposed to the gooks in WoW.
A place called Palace of the Dead, which is a very nice catch-up dungeon for your alts, which is still very grindy, however usually 2 runs through you gain a level, so it's very quick.
(A super big one) - You can level ALL Jobs/Crafters/Gathereres on ONE character, you don't have to create 20 different toons to do different things.

FF14 Cons:
Compared to WoW, the combos move a lot slower (I think a 2.5 GCD is the baseline).
PUGS are not as competent, though very comparable to WoW (People doing dumbshit).
ALOT of Gil/Content Spammers (Just like WoW).
Dungeons are only 4-man / Raids are only 8-man (This was a biggy for me personally).
Melee in PvP are sorely outmatched.

In closing, as far as community / asethetics / story-line + character story-line and crafting this game is as good as it gets.
As far as end-game content + dungeon numbers / fluidity of combo actions, this game is lacking in this category.

All-in-all, it's very comparable to WoW. You won't know that you really like it until you get into the 60's and start getting some real button mashing abilities to use.

[Florena]

I play XIV more now than I do WoW but I think both have strengths and weaknesses and neither is unilaterally better. However, if I still cared about end game raiding/progression I would play WOW over XIV in a heartbeat.

However, I've gotten burnt out on the loot treadmill and mostly play for story and RP purposes and for me right now XIV is willing out over WoW in those departments.

[Kazgrel]

WoW stopped calling to me once I (unfortunately) sampled the turd known as Warlords of Draenor.

This game actually took a while to grow on me. It wasn't until after I was around level 38-40, having just passed the section of the story involving Titan, that it began to draw me in. Up to that point, I had found the combat rather sluggish and story relatively meh. Once I reached that turning point, though, I was all in.

I did stop playing, though, not long after Heavensward launch (I had started this game 3 months before that launch). I don't pursue savage raiding that requires static groups, and all I had leveled was a single combat job (BLM), so I burned out quickly when all I was doing was logging on for expert roulette. I would skip the entirety of the 3.1 patch, which I spent derping around on GW2 (and bailing there with the launch of Heart of Thorns) and my last hurrah with WoW (completed the legendary ring + the raids) before returning right when 3.2 hit. Decided to not limit myself strictly to one class and to start leveling other stuff...and here we are, year and a half-ish later, and I have every job at 60 minimum. To me, a former altoholic in WoW, this game's job system and being able to play any role at the press of a button (that isn't the "log out to character select" button) has been an absolute godsend. Now I go back to other games where 1 character = 1 class and note that this game has spoiled the shit out of me on that front.

There are some rougher spots here and there with this game in terms of polish/QoL, but as an overall package, it's the most enjoyable MMO on the market to me.

[Wrecktangle]

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.

I'm glad you're going to download it again and try. It really is a good game. I am an avid player of both games, but currently sub'd to FF14, not WoW.

Why I like FF14:

• For me I really like the nostalgia of the old FF games in here. Things like having abilities from some of my favorite characters in the FF universe is a nice touch. I also really love the graphics when compared to most other MMO's and I particularly love the armor/weapon models. I feel much more in tune with my character in this game than I do in WoW.
• I happen to think that the trial content is some of the best in the industry and the raids aren't terrible either. I REALLY like the chocobo system in this game and hope they continue to expand on it. The other obvious points are the story presentation (when it's good, it's good) and the music while this go around is not as good IMO as the previous entries, it's still really good stuff.
• Lastly, the job identities are pretty cool. I generally "feel" like whatever job I am currently playing.

On the subject of things I don't like:

• I find their dungeon template to be one of the weaker bits when compared across the MMO industry. They're pretty for sure, but incredibly formulaic, uninteresting/non-challenging, and very on rails.
• I dislike the combat engine. Lots of button bloat, lots of built in latency and awkward sliding animations and a general lack of responsiveness compared to more recent MMOs.
• Lack of engaging content for a highly skilled player. Short of EX trials and savage raiding, I could close my eyes and clear most of the content in this game.
• Leveling pace. The fact is that this game is pretty damned good. The game also has some of the worst leveling pacing I've ever witnessed in an MMO. Low level gameplay is beyond stale. If you can survive that and the fetch quests of the early game, it truly does get better, but it's a terrible first impression for any seasoned gamer.
• Criminally underutilized source material. I.e. Materia, Gold Saucer, Chocobo Racing, etc. These things are bland, uninteresting, and generally not very engaging systems to things people fondly remember from FF universe (IMO).

I felt like no matter what I did there was no "getting to max level" and hanging out there for awhile. It became "oh you beat the raid? No no you don't get to really farm it for a couple months and enjoy your power, instead you simply do the same raid again but harder! And that gear you got? You'll replace that with the same gear but slightly higher ilvl and a different color!". I began to feel like a hamster in a wheel.

This statement applies to FF14 almost verbatim. Especially the point about slightly higher ilvl and color (dye).

PS 1) I am a huge fan of FF14 so don't assume I am attacking you personally or your choice of game.
PS 2) If I didn't quote a specific piece, it's because I either largely agree with it, or it's irrelevant for context.

The gap between savage raid gear and tomestone gear is very small, meaning raiders don't really have a significant advantage over non-raiders in player power. WoW kinda/sorta tried this with Mythic+ dungeons but the fact that a) constant treadmill doing the same dungeons over and over again... but harder! and b) gear that's still significantly inferior to raid gear, and it just becomes very "not fun" for me.

While the gear gap may not be that wide, the player skill gap certainly is. 2/3's of people I see clearing O1S/02S in pugs parse in the sub 30th percentile. These are actual raiders. Do you want to know how much further down non-raiders (normal raiding content) are?

Here's an example of 2 pug 03N's I ran a few weeks ago:



This is me, main tanking, doing #1 DPS in 2 DF runs back to back. In both of these runs there was not a single person with bonus, and the avg ilvl was not much lower than mine.

For reference, I parse in the upper 70's with pugs, which depresses me, because I'm used to seeing 95-99% in WoW. When I run a dungeon, I am consistently either tied with one of the DPS, or above them if I use DF.

I'm not interested in beating my head against a wall of high difficulty content. But at the same time, I want to increase my player power, I want to be able to outgear the content I DO engage in and I want content to engage in regularly (that isn't raids).

You already outgear all casual content this game has to offer at the onset of its release. I cleared Shinryu easily with the min ilvl. I cleared and farmed both EX primals at sub i300 (cheesed to get in ) with a learning party and it was 5 pulls for each clear. End game dungeons already sync you down to i310 anyway, so why would it matter to you if joe schmo 04S clear raider is in your group with an ilvl of 342 or so? He's i310 just like you here. Joe Schmo isn't running 04N with you for fun, trust me LOL so you're not going to see him there. PotD doesn't use ilvl, so where exactly do you feel "lacking" in player power compared against another player?

I guess that's my biggest hang up with your post. I don't understand why you care what gear someone else you'll never play with has? What ilvl that player is has absolutely no bearing on you personally.

Non-raiders in FFXIV aren't miles behind raiders in player power and raids don't dominate the major content patches in FFXIV, making the game much more enjoyable for someone who doesn't enjoy max difficulty raiding.

They technically are if we account for player skill on an average. Obviously isolated examples exist though.

Strictly speaking of "gear", which you've stated is not your focus despite repeating the notion frequently, the 10ilvl bit isn't a huge difference, but let's do an experiment.

Let's say that Omega savage gear was ilvl 390.

Based on this statement you would "feel" like a second class citizen, but in reality why would you? In dungeons you're sync'd to 310, so you're the same. So you wouldn't feel bad here. Are you worried about your open world damage? Everything else is sync'd and you don't do EX's/Savage, and it's unclear whether you do normal, you've stated

that isn't raids

. but I'm not sure if the context was relative to normal or savage, or both.

Better conmunity no elitist noobs asking for 900 ilvl for a mythic +0. Ive managed to clear all content in ff14 savage v4 also using pugs.

Not true. I see the same parties, blocking out specific jobs, with really high ilvl requirements. You've cleared O4S Neo Exdeath with strictly pugs with your PF group ilvl set to minimum so not to have any elitist noobs asking for too high and ilvl? I think not.

The bottom line in any game, is that players only want to play with like geared/skilled players. Seeing as the tools for identifying skill are rare, that leaves gear as the only measure.

Nothing will ever feel as smooth as WoW as far as gameplay.

For me I found BNS to be the smoothest MMO I've ever played. Granted I had 40ms, when most people didn't. That said, WoW is still infinitely smoother than FF14.

Also content isn't being reused in a billion different difficulties and considered different content.

I mean, EX trials, NM trials, normal raids, savage raids, super savage fight being a rehashed boss super-tuned etc.

That's not even counting that relic weapons typically force you to go back and do old content over and over, that you had already done over and over when it was current.

[Kyriani]

This statement applies to FF14 almost verbatim. Especially the point about slightly higher ilvl and color (dye).

PS 1) I am a huge fan of FF14 so don't assume I am attacking you personally or your choice of game.
PS 2) If I didn't quote a specific piece, it's because I either largely agree with it, or it's irrelevant for context.

I'm not sure I agree here. With FFXIV, I tend to be able to mostly max out my gear before a new major content patch comes out that adds a whole new tier. I get to enjoy that feeling of "oh hey I don't actually have to worry about capping my tomestones this week" for a little while... I mean I still do cap them for alt classes, but its nice knowing I don't actually have to since my main class's gear is maxed out.

As for clearing the raids, I admit that's similar to WoW. Once you clear it on normal, there's savage and I really dislike this type of content model because it doesn't feel like content to me. It's just a reuse of the same content with numbers tuned up higher and maybe some extra mechanics and/or a bonus boss. That feels like a lazy cop out/shortcut to me. I tend to ignore savage's existence in FFXIV mainly because the gear advantage is small enough to be fairly negligible. The same can't said about WoW.

While the gear gap may not be that wide, the player skill gap certainly is.

That's not really relevant to me. Skill varies between players and I accept that. A large gear gap in WoW, however, can make a crappy mythic raid geared player look good and a skilled but non-raid geared player look mediocre by comparison (assuming the crappy mythic raid geared player is at least competent enough to not die). Two equally skilled players, one in savage raid gear and one in equivalent tomestone gear, will not have a huge disparity between their performance. This is one reason why I prefer FFXIV to WoW. I can gear up doing content I enjoy... and on the off chance I want to (or get dragged into more likely) ex/savage content, I can perform nearly as well as the regulars there.

You already outgear all casual content this game has to offer at the onset of its release. I cleared Shinryu easily with the min ilvl. I cleared and farmed both EX primals at sub i300 (cheesed to get in ) with a learning party and it was 5 pulls for each clear. End game dungeons already sync you down to i310 anyway, so why would it matter to you if joe schmo 04S clear raider is in your group with an ilvl of 342 or so? He's i310 just like you here. Joe Schmo isn't running 04N with you for fun, trust me LOL so you're not going to see him there. PotD doesn't use ilvl, so where exactly do you feel "lacking" in player power compared against another player?

I guess that's my biggest hang up with your post. I don't understand why you care what gear someone else you'll never play with has? What ilvl that player is has absolutely no bearing on you personally.

I play with all sorts of people. Savage raiders actually do run content other than raids and that's where I tend to group with them. While I avoid savage content, I have been dragged into it by FC mates on occasion since I used to be an old school raider in several games and can actually perform well in savage content. I just really don't WANT to do that anymore. But when they need a spot filled I'm still one of the first they ask much to my chagrin -_-

They technically are if we account for player skill on an average. Obviously isolated examples exist though.

Again not relevant to me. Gear gap is not the same as skill gap.

Strictly speaking of "gear", which you've stated is not your focus despite repeating the notion frequently, the 10ilvl bit isn't a huge difference, but let's do an experiment.

Let's say that Omega savage gear was ilvl 390.

Based on this statement you would "feel" like a second class citizen, but in reality why would you? In dungeons you're sync'd to 310, so you're the same. So you wouldn't feel bad here. Are you worried about your open world damage? Everything else is sync'd and you don't do EX's/Savage, and it's unclear whether you do normal, you've stated . but I'm not sure if the context was relative to normal or savage, or both.

"Everything else" is NOT synced. Leveling dungeons and Ala Mhigo are the only SB dungeons that sync ilvl, the others do not (including Royal Menagerie), nor do I expect any new expert dungeons added in SB to do so (After Paraoh Sirius (Hard), no new dungeons in HW had ilvl sync). Its why I farmed Xelphatol for tomes rather than ARF like most people. ARF synced you, Xelphatol did not. Ultimately it worked out to be the same tomes over time because Xelphatol is shorter and easier than ARF and the non-syncing made it even easier, but Xelphatol was a far more enjoyable experience than ARF was. I also had a ton of fun in Void Ark at the end of HW because it didn't ilvl sync and by then everyone was so gear it was laughably easy and quick. Contrary to people looking for "challenge", I look more for "fun" these days, and I find steamrolling the crap out of stuff that used to be hard (not the Void Ark was ever particularly hard) a lot of fun.

Just to clarify, when I say raids in reference to FFXIV, I mean savage. Normal mode raids and 24 mans are of an acceptable difficulty to me (insofar as I'm not looking to be challenged, but rather entertained), and I get the impression many players don't consider normal mode "real raiding" and probably equate it more to WoW's LFR.

[leviathonlx]

FF14 was always the game I played off and on over the last 5 years while playing WoW. Though this time I cancelled my sub faster than expected (2 weeks after Stormblood) as I just couldn't stand the fact that Stormblood was just Heavensward 2.0. I think it may have lasted me longer if I didn't decide to re-sub 2 months before Stormblood which may have made the expansion feel more fresh than it did. I'll probably check it out again come 4.1 and see if anything new feature wise that's fun was added though otherwise it'll just be me finishing the patch story and cancelling again.

[Wrecktangle]

I tend to ignore savage's existence in FFXIV mainly because the gear advantage is small enough to be fairly negligible. The same can't said about WoW.

Just out of curiosity, what do you think the DPS differential is between a tomestone geared player and a full raid geared player? so ~i328 vs. ~i342? 5%? 10%? 20%? 30%? What exactly do you use to draw these conclusions?

Merely comparing my i310 ala mhigan gear and my current gear (i327) it's approx. a 700 dps difference, a hair over 25%. Does that qualify as negligible to you? What % qualifies as negligible to you?

Now switching to WoW, I compared my Trilliax kill against the rank 1 Trilliax kill for my spec. I am merely an average (if even a tiny bit lower than avg ilvl). The difference was 22% between us. The rank 1 had roughly 15 ilvl on me.

What does this say about your statement?

Here are the reasons I specifically chose Heroic:
1) It's the difficulty directly below the hardest. This mimics FF14 Normal.
2) Most players who progress Heroic don't set foot in Mythic (this is also true to FF14 as most people who do normal don't do savage).
3) Most players who raid mythic, only raid heroic for the immediate loot then focus on Mythic. This also mimics FF14 Savage (if you discount crafted gear).

I genuinely hope you don't plan to use normal/raidfinder as a comparison point, but god forbid you do, please detail your methodology as to why you chose it, and why you felt it was a better comparison over mine.

I play with all sorts of people. Savage raiders actually do run content other than raids and that's where I tend to group with them. While I avoid savage content, I have been dragged into it by FC mates on occasion since I used to be an old school raider in several games and can actually perform well in savage content. I just really don't WANT to do that anymore. But when they need a spot filled I'm still one of the first they ask much to my chagrin -_-

What content exactly are you running with savage raiders? Specific examples would be great. Excluding raiding, per your own statements.

"Everything else" is NOT synced. Leveling dungeons and Ala Mhigo are the only SB dungeons that sync ilvl, the others do not (including Royal Menagerie), nor do I expect any new expert dungeons added in SB to do so (After Paraoh Sirius (Hard), no new dungeons in HW had ilvl sync). Contrary to people looking for "challenge", I look more for "fun" these days, and I find steamrolling the crap out of stuff that used to be hard (not the Void Ark was ever particularly hard) a lot of fun.

I'll concede that I wasn't aware the others didn't sync (i know that most post release dungeons don't, but I was merely speaking about the current state, not the future), but then again I haven't done anything other than fucking Ala Mhigo in over 2 weeks I think.

I haven't pointed towards what you draw fun from because you and I have been down that road before and we got no where. If you draw fun from beating up children who can't fight back that's on you lol. (metaphor).

[Resiak]

I've come to a realization recently after resubbing to WoW:

First of all, I'm just always going to juggle these two games. It's just a fact. So instead of listing the things i like about each game, I'm going to do it differently.

When I play WoW, I miss FF14's:

Music
Visuals
Story
Only needing one character for all classes
World
FF refernences
Duty Finder
Jobs
Equipment Style

When I play FF14, I miss WoWs:

Visuals(different then FF14s, but I still like it)
Much more seamless world
Artifact weapons (yeah, I actually enjoy the system for the most part)
World
Looser play style
Dungeon and raid boss design
Being able to quest to level alts again (I hate that once you do all of the main story and side quests, you don't have many option to relax and level solo in 14)
More interesting equipment(set bonuses, side effects on legendaries and such, not just flat stat increases)
That WoW humor(come on, we need more Hildebrand)

Both games scratch separate itches for me. I enjoy each for what they are and will just go back and forth.

The second thing I've finally realized is that I hate repetition. I've always had an issue finishing single player games, or grinding out things in mmos. Friends always made fun of me for being a little flakey, and I never had an excuse except I got bored. But I finally realized what it is that causes the boredom. I don't like repeating tasks. When I raid, I do it to see the story, the zones, and the experiences, but once something is on farm...I quickly tune out. Single player games that basically have the same game play throughout take me for ever to beat because i fade away, and come back after switching it up. Farming rep and stuff? Yeah I only max rep when I don't have to put much effort in to it. Even at work, I love being a software developer because I'm always working on new and different stuff.

It explains my habits a lot. And it explains why I jump back and forth so much between the games. It's always during the lul when a patch or expansion has been out a little bit, and the next one isn't going to be dropping too soon. I'll probably play 14 again when 4.1 comes out.

[Echocho]

Yup, that's me exactly. I hate repetition. Just cannot stand it. I have completely quit games over (what I saw as) misplaced checkpoints or other things that have the effect of, "Repeat this because we say so".

That's what finally drove me away from WoW. The fact that the difficulty modes were no longer options but different pieces of content you were supposed to hamster wheel your way through.

[DStrukt]

Wouldnt say I have 100% switched but I am playing FF and I am not playing WoW, if that makes sense, still new to FF basically.
Why I switched? Substitute to WoW simple as that
Honestly I do think WoW is better at this point but I still dont want to play WoW anymore

FF is too flashy animation, I dont like it, I dont like the sound effects either. I also dont like the slow GCD combat in FF. Dungeons for some reason do not feel as engaging either, I think its because all of what I just said annoys me too much..... but saying all that negative, I am still currently playing FF and only come to these forums as im about to make a new thread asking for free company to join (guild)

[Gandrake]

I can actually play different classes without having to grind a welfare trophy

ill never play wow again

[Deleted]

I think FFXIV Class/Job system and the freedom you have in equipping them is one of it's major selling points.
WoW's "but you are playing an alt, so it's a different character" approach is absolutely garbage and pointless.

I want to farm AP with my Hunter and give it to my Lock... or farm mythic+ with my hunter and friends and give the items no one needs to my paladin etc.

Not only would I play the game more often than right now, it would also spice things up.
I hate it to equip and play twinks when they are completely undergeared.

[Usagi Senshi]

FF14 was always the game I played off and on over the last 5 years while playing WoW. Though this time I cancelled my sub faster than expected (2 weeks after Stormblood) as I just couldn't stand the fact that Stormblood was just Heavensward 2.0. I think it may have lasted me longer if I didn't decide to re-sub 2 months before Stormblood which may have made the expansion feel more fresh than it did. I'll probably check it out again come 4.1 and see if anything new feature wise that's fun was added though otherwise it'll just be me finishing the patch story and cancelling again.

While I'm staying subbed (and have been subbed for nearly 4 years straight), if we get another expansion that adds nothing new at the start and for months after again like these past two, I'm probably gonna have to evaluate why I'm still subbed in two years. They really need to redesign fates and add more open world content to the game IMO.

"Go grind your tomes again you fucking maggots and wait 3-4 months until we throw you a gristle-covered bone"

Only reason I went again and grabbed the new GW2 expansion (along with HoT which I skipped) so I can have some excellent open world content and PVP.

[Deleted]

To OP or anyone else who considers switching/switched just now.

A quick dictionary to help you become familiar with the new place.

Hydaelin - Azeroth

Our planet does not have a world soul but instead has a gigantic sentient crystal that talks to us regularly and gives us power. We are her champion

Aldenard - Eastern Kingdoms

Most of the game is set in Eorzea which is the name for the contient of Aldenard and the neighbouring island Vylbrand put together. It is filled with independant city states.

Meracydia - Kalimdor

An ancient continent fuck knows where, once filled with dragons, plant people, centaurs and other cool stuff. Basically Kalimdor before being rediscovered in WC III. Not accessible in game yet.

Othard - Pandaria

The Hydaelin equivalent to asia. Actually in the east.

Ul'dah - Gadgetzan

A city in the desert ruled by wealthy midgets, with an arena in the middle. One of the three starting cities.

Limsa Lominsa - Booty Bay

Pirate City. Can also start here.

Gridania - Darnassus

City in the woods ruled by a priest chick in white robes and filled with elves. Third starter city.

Ishgard - Gilneas

Used to be friends but locked the doors from outsiders. Dragon related problems caused said doors to open.

Gold Saucer - Darmoon Faire

The place for mini games and casual content. This one is open all the time.

Calamity - Cataclysm

The event that explains why and how the revamps happened. Caused by a dragon. The calmity has an anual remembrance event. Currently ongoing.

Bahamut - Deathwing

The dragon causing the revamps

Allagan Empire - Titans

While they are nowhere near as important as titans the Allagans had an ancient empire, actually created some of the races we encounter and left ruins that are a pretty good source of advanced technology. Not much is known about history before them.

Ala Mhigans - Orcs

The people of Ala Mhigo are human, but they resemble the orcs in many ways. The city of Ala Mhigo is in the region of Gyr Abania, which looks quite a lot like Durotar. They lost their home. Now they are mostly hobos who think themselves superior to everyone and whine about the good old days. The independent city states of Eorzea, including Ishgard first formed an alliance to drive them back when Ala Mhigo attacked them. They even have their own Thrall.

Ascians - Twilight Hammer

Manipulative assholes who want to cause the end times because their masters says so.

Raubahn - Thrall

Ala Mhigan warrior, ended up being a gladiator. Fought untill he could buy the whole arena with his winning. Now leads the armies of Ul'dah.

Minfilia - Jaina

Blonde chick with huge magical powers and even bigger tits who uses neither for anything useful.

Ysayle aka Lady Icehearth - Sylvanas aka The Dark Lady

Ill tempered elf chick with a scary name who had a hand in the dragon related problems that opened the door to the closed off city.

Lalafel - Goblins

Evil midgets. Most of them are traders.

Roegadyn - Vrykul

Buff humans. Sail a lot.

Au Ra - Draenei

Tails, horns, very noticable sexual dimorphism, outsiders, became playable in first expansion.

Guild - Class order

Where you get class quests.

Free Company - Guild

The one they player forms. You can have FC houses.

Grand Company - Faction

Every starter city has one. You can change it freely. Not a permanent choice.

Role action - talent

The skills you pick for yourself.

Protection Paladin - Paladin

Tanks and used holy stuff

Dark Knight - Blood Death Knight

Scary looking tank that doesn't use shields.

Ninja - Subtlety Rogue

Sneaky guy with dual daggers.

Summoner - Warlocks

Spellcaster with pets and dots

Dagoon - Survival Hunter

Uses spears.

Monk - Windwalker Monk

Punches a lot. And kicks.

Red Mage - Demon Hunter

Very different from each other. But they share one thing in common. Been requested since day one by the community. THE iconic class of the franchise.

Sastasha - Deadmines

First dungeon. Againts bandits. Starts in a cave, ends in docs.

C'Thun - Nael Deus Darnus

That one fucking fight old players remember for being super hard. Granted Nael is still hard to beat.


This is probably enough to make sure you don't get too lost.

[Darkarath]

To OP or anyone else who considers switching/switched just now.

A quick dictionary to help you become familiar with the new place.

Hydaelin - Azeroth

Our planet does not have a world soul but instead has a gigantic sentient crystal that talks to us regularly and gives us power. We are her champion

Aldenard - Eastern Kingdoms

Most of the game is set in Eorzea which is the name for the contient of Aldenard and the neighbouring island Vylbrand put together. It is filled with independant city states.

Meracydia - Kalimdor

An ancient continent fuck knows where, once filled with dragons, plant people, centaurs and other cool stuff. Basically Kalimdor before being rediscovered in WC III. Not accessible in game yet.

Othard - Pandaria

The Hydaelin equivalent to asia. Actually in the east.

Ul'dah - Gadgetzan

A city in the desert ruled by wealthy midgets, with an arena in the middle. One of the three starting cities.

Limsa Lominsa - Booty Bay

Pirate City. Can also start here.

Gridania - Darnassus

City in the woods ruled by a priest chick in white robes and filled with elves. Third starter city.

Ishgard - Gilneas

Used to be friends but locked the doors from outsiders. Dragon related problems caused said doors to open.

Gold Saucer - Darmoon Faire

The place for mini games and casual content. This one is open all the time.

Calamity - Cataclysm

The event that explains why and how the revamps happened. Caused by a dragon. The calmity has an anual remembrance event. Currently ongoing.

Bahamut - Deathwing

The dragon causing the revamps

Allagan Empire - Titans

While they are nowhere near as important as titans the Allagans had an ancient empire, actually created some of the races we encounter and left ruins that are a pretty good source of advanced technology. Not much is known about history before them.

Ala Mhigans - Orcs

The people of Ala Mhigo are human, but they resemble the orcs in many ways. The city of Ala Mhigo is in the region of Gyr Abania, which looks quite a lot like Durotar. They lost their home. Now they are mostly hobos who think themselves superior to everyone and whine about the good old days. The independent city states of Eorzea, including Ishgard first formed an alliance to drive them back when Ala Mhigo attacked them. They even have their own Thrall.

Ascians - Twilight Hammer

Manipulative assholes who want to cause the end times because their masters says so.

Raubahn - Thrall

Ala Mhigan warrior, ended up being a gladiator. Fought untill he could buy the whole arena with his winning. Now leads the armies of Ul'dah.

Minfilia - Jaina

Blonde chick with huge magical powers and even bigger tits who uses neither for anything useful.

Ysayle aka Lady Icehearth - Sylvanas aka The Dark Lady

Ill tempered elf chick with a scary name who had a hand in the dragon related problems that opened the door to the closed off city.

Lalafel - Goblins

Evil midgets. Most of them are traders.

Roegadyn - Vrykul

Buff humans. Sail a lot.

Au Ra - Draenei

Tails, horns, very noticable sexual dimorphism, outsiders, became playable in first expansion.

Guild - Class order

Where you get class quests.

Free Company - Guild

The one they player forms. You can have FC houses.

Grand Company - Faction

Every starter city has one. You can change it freely. Not a permanent choice.

Role action - talent

The skills you pick for yourself.

Protection Paladin - Paladin

Tanks and used holy stuff

Dark Knight - Blood Death Knight

Scary looking tank that doesn't use shields.

Ninja - Subtlety Rogue

Sneaky guy with dual daggers.

Summoner - Warlocks

Spellcaster with pets and dots

Dagoon - Survival Hunter

Uses spears.

Monk - Windwalker Monk

Punches a lot. And kicks.

Red Mage - Demon Hunter

Very different from each other. But they share one thing in common. Been requested since day one by the community. THE iconic class of the franchise.

Sastasha - Deadmines

First dungeon. Againts bandits. Starts in a cave, ends in docs.

C'Thun - Nael Deus Darnus

That one fucking fight old players remember for being super hard. Granted Nael is still hard to beat.


This is probably enough to make sure you don't get too lost.

Thank you ¡ Very useful ¡ And thank you all again for so many answers and good discussion.

[Faroth]

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 ¡¡

You'll have plenty to do in FFXIV for the two bolded reasons.

All the jobs on one character, each with their own relics to pursue, all the quests with lore about the world, the zones, the people. The MSQ that builds and builds and then something like an NPC from level 30 becomes a major plot contributor at 60, stuff like that.

There's not much I truly miss from WoW. Or at least, not the WoW as it is today anyway. I still pop back into WoW for a month here and there to keep tabs on playing through the story, but if Legion really does look like the end of the Burning Legion, I may finally feel like the story has complete closure and I can head canon that the world settled into some semblance of normalcy and relative peace from here on and not bother with future expansions.

FFXI recently had their final expansion and it actually concluded their ongoing storyline. So the game had a finish, a conclusion, as if you completed a 15 years long single player RPG. I expect Square would do the same with FFXIV when it reaches the end of its life cycle and has grown truly outdated in the far flung future. Personally, I appreciate that sentiment and the idea that one day they'll offer true closure instead of trying to milk it endlessly until it just shuts down from lack of resources.

I like the narrative and presentation of the story much better in FFXIV.

I particularly like that areas aren't lost and forgotten when new content releases. We're constantly returning to old locations and old zones for new plot threads rather than "Northrend is out, we never return to Outland again for the rest of the game's existence."

The devs also have a habit of looking at things and going "hey, this old crafting item is worth next to nothing. Let's use it for a new recipe and make it desirable again" which gives low level gatherers an income source in the initial surge (or any other gatherer willing to go get it). Not every item, but I've noticed items that dropped in value pop up enough times that it doesn't feel like old ores and such are forever worthless once we outlevel them. It's.... I dunno, logical somehow. We don't abandon minerals, we find new ways to employe them in our crafts in a sense.

Crafting itself is much more interesting than WoW.

I like that the community isn't split and the game isn't designed to breed resentment between half the player base.

FFXIV: A Realm Reborn felt like Classic/TBC era WoW for me. They took things that worked, including things Blizz did, and put a fresh polish on it, reworked some things, and made them better. I truthfully feel that after MoP and WoD, the success of FFXIV actually did contribute to Blizzard stepping up their game with Legion. I'm hoping to see WoW and FFXIV take each others ideas and tweak them back and forth going forward form here. Competition breeds creativity and all that.

FFXIV's 24 man raid is much more enjoyable than WoW's LFR and it's a separate, unique raid with its own story, art assets, and bosses.

I guess the one thing I do miss from WoW is the raids feeling like larger sprawling dungeons. I do kind of miss dealing with trash packs and having to manage them back in the BC and even Wrath days, with some trash loot drops, etc. It did feel more grandiose for a small assault force fighting their way through a stronghold.