Fans of both MMOs and Final Fantasy most likely have heard and at some point played Final Fantasy 14 and its expansions. As expected from a Final Fantasy MMO, this Square Enix RPG has fan-favorite signatures such as the iconic Job System, memorable characters, captivating storylines, and an outstanding soundtrack.
Overall, fans consider FF14 one of the best things to have come out of both Square Enix and the MMO space. However, with one reboot, three expansions, and a fourth expansion underway, how would fans rate FF14's many iterations?
Updated on December 17, 2021, by Rhenn Taguiam: With the Endwalker expansion finally hitting gamers’ screens last December 7, newcomers and veterans of Final Fantasy 14 might appreciate a quick look back at the previous expansions of the critically-acclaimed MMORPG. With Endwalker heralding a lot of changes to the future of the world of Hydaelyn and the Warriors of Light, players might not realize just how much the game changed since its previous expansions. However, just which FF 14 expansion provided the best changes to the game since its re-release as A World Reborn?
10 A Realm Reborn: Self-Aware And Into New Life
Essentially, A Realm Reborn formally "corrects" the underwhelming original FF14 release. The story begins at the end of the Sixth Astral Era, back when the Garlean Empire launched a full-scale assault that culminated in the use of an ancient magic Meteor. This magic would force the moon Dalamud to descend and release its prisoner, the Primal Bahamut, that will purge all life in Eorzea.
Unfortunately, it would take the life of almost all heroes (NPCs) in 1.0 to stop Meteor. As such, ARR officially starts when the player wakes up in a new Eorzea and soon discovers their true identity as the Warrior of Light.
It's noteworthy to give credit to Square Enix's handling of ARR's story. Instead of simply "restarting" the game, the team managed to salvage the original FF14 story and segue a means to add a restart while at the same time paying homage to players of 1.0.
9 A Realm Reborn: Square Enix MMO Done Right
In the context of 2013, ARR easily bests the other expansions with its highest achievement: redeeming the disastrous reception of FF14 1.0. However, in the context of FF 14 today, ARR simply provides the framework of patch upon patches of its unique MMO formula.
Players gain access to eight Classes that can evolve into Jobs. Additionally, players can switch Classes (and carry over special skills) at any point. Moreover, ARR's combat shuffles the traditional MMO formula by focusing on juggling resources, CDs, and combos.
At this time, ARR also captures player interest with its console compatibility. Despite the intensive nature of its combat mechanics, players can perfectly enjoy ARR with a controller. As such, aside from the story overhaul, ARR's console-compatible, high-attention MMO gameplay easily makes it a standout game for its time.
8 Stormblood: Enter The Morally Grey
Unlike the other expansions, Stormblood gets praise for its focus on the morally grey. Its story revolves around rebellions within the Eorzean state of Ala Mhigo and the Far Eastern Doma against a conquering Garlean Empire. However, instead of being a standard "resistance good, empire bad" story, Stormblood tackles more of the human condition that revolves around this tale.
As such, Stormblood has a delightful cast of characters with equally-valid personal stakes in the expansion. Additionally, players would love Stormblood's slate of villains equally-invested in their goals. Sadly, despite its solid ending, Stormblood did drag the story too often for players to properly enjoy the experience as a whole.
What’s New in Stormblood?
Stormblood, dubbed 4.0, will have players liberate Doma and Ala Mhigo after two decades of subjugation under the rule of the Garlean Empire:
- Level 70 level cap.
- Underwater diving paves the way for more exploration on the part of users.
- New Jobs are added: the versatile Red Mage and the stalwart Samurai, alongside a significant revamp among other Jobs.
- Omega becomes the highlight of a new raid, while the Return to Ivalice becomes the alliance raid.
7 Stormblood: PVP Focus, Swimming Became Underwhelming
Being the "second" expansion after ARR, it makes sense for Stormblood to ease on rapid innovations. As such, aside from the underwhelming swimming mechanic, its biggest gameplay changes come in two categories. Firstly, the Samurai Job makes a welcome addition for a fairly balanced melee DPS. Additionally, the Red Mage finally gives much-needed mobility to magic users.
However, players do criticize Stormblood for its revamp on major combat mechanics. Essentially, Stormblood majorly "simplifies" combat and PVP by combining some interrelated abilities. In turn, others would say Stormblood's PVP focus made combat more repetitive and less challenging for overall PVE.
6 Heavensward: Take To The Skies
Of all early FF14 expansions, Heavensward easily trumps the others for its robust improvement on ARR aside from stylish outfits. Essentially, Heavensward sends the Warrior of Light to find refuge in the icy lands of Ishgard where they get involved in an ancient feud between humans, beastmen, and dragonkin. Without spoilers, this deep dive into a new region of Eorzea is standard Final Fantasy at its core.
However, despite its attempts at innovation, Heavensward does falter in terms of player experience. For instance, to ensure players become familiar with major players in the story, Square Enix did require all players to finish all content prior to Heavensward. Additionally, even the Jobs had to grind in previous story zones to meet the level cap requirement to take on Heavensward and its quests.
What’s New in Heavensward?
Dubbed 3.0, Heavensward introduces the Dragonsong War - a millennium-long conflict between the Ishgard and the Dravanian Horde. Alongside this story comes new features:
- Level 60 level cap.
- Sky zones, giving way for flying mounts and player airships.
- New Jobs are added: the support Astrologian, the heavy-hitting Machinist, and the sturdy Dark Knight.
- The Alexander citadel becomes the venue for the expansion’s top raid, while the alliance raid series The Shadow of Mhach is located in the Sea of Clouds.
5 Heavensward: Testing Ideas, Innovation
As with other "first" expansions, Heavensward took stride in a lot of ideas for its mechanical and visual changes. First, the new race Au Ra corresponded to the dragon theme of Heavensward. Additionally, the new Astrologian, Dark Knight, and Machinist Jobs added much-needed versatility for Classes in terms of skills and visuals. These new Jobs do come with drastic rotation changes across the existing roster of Classes, forcing players to switch up their playstyle to adapt.
Additionally, Heavensward boasted a new flying mechanic that fits well with the stunning visuals and depth of new areas such as Sohm Al and Ishgard. As such, the vast spaces of these zones also accommodated new dungeons players had to traverse in the grind from Level 40 to 50 in Heavensward. Despite criticisms towards this grind, others praised this change as a breakaway from immersion-breaking reliance on FATE events in ARR to progress to the endgame.
4 Shadowbringers: A Worthy Climactic Game-Changer
Of all FF14 expansions, Shadowbringers boasts its heaviest story yet. After the events of Stormblood, the game ups the stakes when the evil immortals Ascians begin their plan to revive their dark god by plunging the world of Hydaelyn into chaos. In order to do this, they need a cataclysm in a dimension of darkness that would spill over into Hydaelyn. As such, players have to go to this dimension, called the First, to stop the eternal light from dominating the darkness - to restore balance.
At its core, Shadowbringers combines the intricate storytelling of Heavensward with the personal stake of Stormblood. In turn, all plot points theoretically diverge in Shadowbringers. Most characters introduced in the previous expansions settle their stories in Shadowbringers, much to the joy and devastation of players. In the end, the story concludes with a climactic finish that sets up a new status quo for Endwalker.
3 Shadowbringers: A Set Up For The Future
Given the criticisms with Stormblood's gameplay changes, Shadowbringers once switches up overall mechanics. Essentially, the expansion reworked almost all Jobs to boost the efficacy of most kits. This change is a welcome one, considering the challenging nature of the expansion's new dungeons. Sadly, players have qualms over the White Mage and healing, as most Healers seem to have very similar kits in the expansion.
Regardless, Shadowbringers boasts endgame content that continues to challenge the existing meta. In turn, players can feel satisfied in both training for Endwalker and the sheer grind for new loot.
What’s New in Shadowbringers?
Shadowbringers serves as 5.0 of the game, players venture into the dying region of Norvrandt in the First, where everything is overrun with Light. Players dwell within the haven city of Crystarium while Eulmore is the home of the elite and wealthy. Here are other features:
- Level 80 level cap.
- New Jobs were added, such as the long-ranged Gunbreaker and the flexible Dancer.
- Battle system received a revamp, where Jobs received rebalancing features and other elements were removed such as TP (resource) and damage types (Piercing, Blunt).
- Eden raids, based on FF8, were introduced. Meanwhile, Nier:Automata receives a crossover with the game through the YoRHa: Dark Apocalypse alliance raids.
2 Endwalker: Building To A Crescendo Across 10 Years
Unlike other MMOs, it seems Endwalker will put an end to FF14's ongoing 10-year storyline. Granted, Square Enix made no news that Endwalker serves as the final expansion for the game. However, director Naoki Yoshida did emphasize that this expansion provides an "end" that other MMOs can't provide.
This sense of foreboding further adds to the excitement and thrill that Endwalker teases into its story. As per the trailer, players find themselves at the dawn of yet another end of days. This time around, the game now takes players to Hydaelyn's remaining Moon, the Garlean capital of Garlemald, and its neighbor state of Radz-at-Han.
What’s New in Endwalker?
Endwalker, dubbed 6.0, is the climax of the story between Hydaelyn and Zodiark, wherein the Final Days receive a return alongside a new threat. Here are other new features:
- Level 90 level cap.
- The moon becomes a new area, with two major areas. Mare Lamentorum is a lunar landscape, with only an observatory being the only sign of life. Meanwhile, Old Sharlayan is a new town in the expansion.
- New Jobs come in the form of the stealthy Reaper and the healer Sage.
- The game will receive multiple new dungeons, alongside a new difficult raid (Pandaemonium) and a brand new alliance raid.
1 Endwalker: Enter The Sage, New Mysteries
Granted, Square Enix has yet to reveal the full extent of changes to Endwalker. However, players know enough to feel optimistic about the expansion. For instance, players can expect a new healer in the form of the Sage. This addition merits a balance change across healers, which will make the Scholar focus on shielding while the Astrologian becomes healing-oriented.
Meanwhile, players can expect a new melee DPS to appear as well. Outside combat, it seems FF14 will let players enjoy life not just in player housing but also in an island sanctuary.
Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker was released on November 19, 2021, for the PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and macOS.