Final Fantasy 14 is over 10 years outdated and gamers are ending up its latest growth, Dawntrail. With six expansions, together with A Realm Rebron, Final Fantasy 14 is certainly one of gaming’s biggest comeback tales. From a critically-panned launch to turning into one of many largest video games of all time for Sq. Enix, all of it was due to the constantly wonderful work from the builders.
However which growth reigns supreme? With so many to select from, and every growth with its personal distinctive traits, it is arduous to decide on. However we have gotten collectively to rank each Final Fantasy 14 growth to search out out which one we beloved most.
So hit the leap to see our favourite expansions in Final fantasy 14 beneath.
Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn
The story of Final Fantasy 14’s rise from the ashes is well-documented. Following a disastrous launch, producer Naoki Yoshida took reins on the undertaking and rebooted the sport with A Realm Reborn, which accurately destroyed the world of the launch recreation, and constructed on prime of it the beloved MMORPG we all know and love right this moment.
A Realm Reborn was a two-fold undertaking that mounted the irritating gameplay and RPG methods of the launch model whereas telling a narrative that actually incorporates the destruction of the launch model into the broader narrative. And whereas A Realm Reborn fairly actually saved FF14, the necessity to reboot a complete MMO and reintroduce gamers to the sport is its biggest weak point. In comparison with later expansions, A Realm Reborn feels downright glacial on the subject of pacing, and the necessity to revamp the world means its story is way extra bloated than it must be in later expansions. Whereas A Realm Reborn will all the time be cherished for saving Sq. Enix’s MMORPG, you’ll be hard-pressed to say the later expansions aren’t higher. – Matt Kim
Final Fantasy 14: Stormblood
Stormblood is commonly checked out as one of many lesser-liked expansions, which, to me, speaks to how robust the remainder of them are. That’s as a result of Stormblood remains to be an important piece to Final Fantasy 14 that labored to conclude long-standing conflicts and present you simply how evil and damaging the Garlean Empire was. I vividly bear in mind the sensation of taking again Ala Mhigo in spite of everything these years of them being beneath Garlean rule, and taking again Doma Fortress after seeing how Domans had suffered from the occupation. There are moments during which Stormblood undercuts its personal messaging and maybe didn’t totally discover the nuance essential to elegantly inform a politically charged story. Nevertheless, it will get the bigger image proper, and the liberation of the peoples throughout the totally different areas was invigorating nonetheless.
Stormblood’s zones won’t be probably the most thrilling of the bunch, however there’s a tranquility I nonetheless really feel when flying throughout the Ruby Sea, over the plains of Azim Steppe, and previous the rice patties in Yangxia. I typically mirror on the tales of oppression and revolt in these moments due to the smaller tales informed all through the growth. I additionally bear in mind Yotsuyu as one of the vital advanced villains of FF14 – her heartbreaking story represents how sadistic and corrupting residing beneath oppression might be, which culminated in the most effective boss fights to this present day. Stormblood could not have been the most effective growth, nevertheless it had peaks that make FF14 what it’s right this moment. – Michael Higham
Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail
With Dawntrail recent in my reminiscence, it’s a bit arduous to gauge its place within the Final Fantasy 14 pantheon, however even with all its implications but to be explored, it nonetheless stands as a worthy addition to the MMO’s lengthy historical past. The land of Tural opens FF14 to so many alternative themes and cultural influences it wasn’t in a position to incorporate prior to now, and though it does include some blended outcomes, the colourful basis it lays leaves much more room for progress. Newcomer Wuk Lamat is a big focus and though she’s not the strongest character in FF14, she has the center vital to hold out Dawntrail’s message of discovering peace by means of mutual respect and embracing our variations.
Dawntrail’s lasting legacy is within the second half of its story the place issues flip in unpredictable instructions. Its fusion of references to historic civilizations, its Latin American roots, and the old-timey American West in some way make sense once they conflict with the cyberpunk-tinged sci-fi parts that finally come to the forefront. It’s in a position to contact on basic Final Fantasy narrative themes from a recent perspective. We explored the depths of the ache we really feel from shedding the issues we love most throughout Shadowbringers and Endwalker, however the best way Dawntrail contextualizes mortality is powerfully intimate. In its greatest moments, Dawntrail might be as impactful as the rest present in FF14, and for that alone, this growth deserves its flowers. – MH
Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker
Endwalker is the end result of a 10-year lengthy story arc for Final Fantasy 14. From the times of A Realm Reborn, gamers grew to become embroiled in a celestial battle between the gods Hydaelin and Zodiark. Beset within the real-world by a world pandemic that delayed the growth by a 12 months, Endwalker was a reward for gamers who caught with the MMORPG from its earliest days who can now see the conclusion to a long-running storyline.
The stakes have been excessive however Endwalker is FF14’s most emotional growth thus far, reinforcing Final Fantasy 14’s core themes of how friendship and braveness can overcome even the best challenges. And with a lot of Final Fantasy 14 now playable in single-player, a brand new participant might play from A Realm Reborn by means of Endwalker and really feel that they’ve completed the most effective Final Fantasy video games of all time.
However fortunately, Endwalker is just not the tip of FF14, and the most recent growth, Dawntrail, is setting the stage for the subsequent 10 years of Sq. Enix’s beloved MMORPG. – MK
Final Fantasy 14: Heavensward
What a distinction an growth makes. Free from the necessity to repair a complete MMORPG, Final Fantasy 14’s subsequent growth after A Realm Reborn, Heavensward, is ready to leap proper into the motion. With the Warriors of Gentle on the run, they escape to the frozen, holy land of Ishgard which has been too busy embroiled in a conflict towards dragons to do a lot in Eorzea.
What’s instantly obvious in Heavensward is that it shortly establishes the themes and storytelling the FF14 workforce appears to experience: dramatic, excessive fantasy that harkens again to the outdated pixel video games like Final Fantasy 6. Heavensward is such a throwback to the basic sword and sorcery fantasy of early Final Fantasy video games, whereas additionally introducing the darkish courtly politics that might make George R.R. Martin grin. If A Realm Reborn took numerous time to get going, Heavensward is action-packed nearly from the leap and from there units the bar for all later FF14 expansions.
To cite FromSoftware, the true Final Fantasy 14 begins with Heavensward. – MK
Final Fantasy 14: Shadowbringers
Final Fantasy 14 actually discovered its voice in Shadowbringers. Lead author Natsuko Ishikawa stepped into the position and her poetic storytelling fashion gave the growth its identification, specializing in its characters with a stage of depth and emotional sincerity by no means earlier than seen in FF14. From the second you step into The First, there’s an instantaneous sense of urgency that units the tone for the way dire the flood of sunshine has been on your entire realm, flipping the script on typical mild versus darkish tales. And in horrifying methods, leaned on exhibiting quite than telling.
Shadowbringers captured its grand moments with a weight and pleasure that few RPGs are in a position to pull off. It earns these moments by constructing characters just like the Crystal Exarch, Ardbert, and Emet Selch in a fancy internet of heroes and villains to hold its heavier themes, and contextualize despair and tragedy in a world separate from something we’d recognized in Eorzea. FF14 started to ask the massive questions on loss, grief, and the lengths individuals will go to protect the issues that matter most to them, and did so with nuance.
And if we need to rely the post-launch content material, Patch 5.3 capped off what was already the most effective tales within the collection with one other unbelievable conclusion, reaching a top that I don’t assume FF14 will ever be capable to prime. My valuable crystal cat boy gave his all to avoid wasting a realm, and all of my Scion associates have been there to witness his greatness as he immortalized his life’s work on the Seat of Sacrifice. From its writing and narrative themes to its music and visible storytelling, Shadowbringers not solely proved itself as peak FF14, it’s arguably peak Final Fantasy. – MH
These are our rankings for our favourite Final Fantasy 14 expansions. Tell us beneath within the feedback which expansions are your favorites.
Matt T.M. Kim is IGN’s Senior Options Editor. You possibly can attain him @lawoftd.