Overview: Final Fantasy XIV is the new king of MMORPGs. Review of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn What is the main gameplay of FFXIV

Role-playing game Final Fantasy XIV: Online went through many metamorphoses before becoming the very project that we see now. Eight years after the release of the franchise's first MMORPG, Final Fantasy XI, the original iteration is released Final Fantasy XIV. That game gained notoriety for its clumsy implementation of game mechanics directly taken from FFXI, with dubious content, when players quickly skimmed through the story and optional quests, and subsequently drowned up to their ears in a monotonous aimless farm with a slow combat system. The project was so bad that it almost turned out to be a swan song in this area for Square Enix. The losses were enormous, and the company lost one of its major investors.

Fortunately, Square Enix decided to go for broke and completely redo the game. Responsible for the resurrection of the project, which received a speaking subtitle A Realm Reborn, was appointed Naoki Yoshida, who has been working in the industry since 1993 and is distinguished by a fiery love for IMO generally. Yoshida-san was inspired by the iconic World of Warcraft, Ultima and Dark Age of Camelot. And if FFXI featured a very complex game design, where you had to level up for a long time in the initial zones and make long-term reliable acquaintances in order to leave the first lands, A Realm Reborn has become the quintessence of the ideas of recognized online RPG framed by the legends of the series final fantasy- with the holy trinity of roles, a focus on constant looting, and a combat system with targeting enemies.

Before we plunge into the thick atmosphere of soul-warming adventures around the world" Finals", it is worth telling about the first experiment Square in the field of MMO - Final Fantasy XI. As Naoki himself said, "You can't make something completely new out of nothing." FFXI was a very complex game where you had to literally gnaw through the experience of your character with only one chosen class, teaming up with more experienced people, conquering monsters in the initial zones and discussing in detail what to do next in specialized chats - the so-called Linkshell-channels. It was common to die in a normal location and lose your progress there. At the same time, the project had a specific progression system. The fact is that it took months and even years to farm the most powerful equipment - when it came to special outfits and other similar sets, as well as things falling with a certain percentage of probability from world bosses - monsters that rarely appeared on the location and required entire alliances high level heroes to kill. However, in turn, you could wear them for a long time and they were up-to-date in terms of characteristics, whereas today you have to constantly change everything with the release of certain patches.

Final Fantasy XI for its five additions, it has assembled a close-knit community of players with a special mindset, but it was not a game for everyone. A lot of people lacked the time and patience to methodically and continuously perform a pattern of hackneyed actions for the sake of a possible reward in the distant future, and even with the likelihood of losing what they earned. With all this, the game was actively supported for 14 years, until 2016 (on consoles. The game is still supported on PC), and became a cult.

original Final Fantasy XIV turned out to be a beautiful game for owners of powerful hardware, but it came out with a completely killed content and gameplay. Unlike FFXI, here it was easy to change the class, just by choosing a different weapon, and there were no loadouts in the zones. In general, this is where all the positives end. The project was horribly structured and executed, starting with the fact that you didn't even know where to go. When you started playing, you found yourself in a kind of MMO sandbox, where you had to constantly switch the character to combat mode and manually attack - there was no auto-attack then. To complete this or that quest, you were given explanations on the mini-map, the path to which took ten clicks, and pumping up to level 50 took about three months of real time. There were no recipes for crafting - you had to poke through hundreds of items or run to specialized sites. At the same time, it was possible to move mainly on foot - tens of minutes through giant zones, since teleportation cost a special resource, which was restored for a very long time - no chocobos were provided.

Everything was very bad with the content - for a long time the entire endgame consisted of two (!) Dungeons, and only later boss battles for eight people were added. First came the heavy version known to all fans of the series Garuda, and then Ifrita with a couple of primitive mechanics. Thus, for the first time after the release, players only had to farm dungeons, and you could be proud of the artifact armor knocked out of there, made for each profession in the classic style for the series, inspired by offline " Finals".

Released in 2013, it performed a miracle, and from an ugly duckling the project turned into a beautiful swan, fighting for the attention of gamers with such a mastodon as World of Warcraft, as well as other popular MMORPG. The first thing that draws attention in the game is how painstakingly and carefully recreated the world based on legends and myths about creatures, places and events from the license plates. final fantasy. At the same time, the project feels independent and complete, and not a game based on motives.

The action takes place in the world Heidelin on the continent Eorzea. At the very beginning, you are prompted to choose a set of personality characteristics of the hero, such as the sign under which he was born, a class that determines the starting location, appearance with a number of settings that almost always result in a pleasant appearance, and race.

There are five races to choose from - local Hury people, elven-like elezens, amusing lalafelli babies, big roegadins and cat-like mycotes. The equipment adapts to the physiology of the character, so, for example, mycots wear helmets with ears, and a tail is visible under the armor.

In addition to Garuda and Ifrit, we will get to know the whole story of deity worship. Primal(barbarian gods) on behalf of the animal races inhabiting a certain region of the world - telling about the power titan, Leviathan, Moogle King, Odin, Ramuha and Shiva familiar to all fans of the series. And, of course, not without Bahamut- the gigantic size of the supreme god of dragons merasidia in the ancient era. Almost all players agree that history Coil of Bahamut- the best chain of raids, both in terms of game mechanics and storyline, to this day. And if the intermediate stages only serve as a link for progressing through the scenario, then the battles with the eminent bosses of the series, from Twintanii from Final Fantasy V before rafflesia and Phoenix, let you feel the spirit of the series FF with his staging. Battle with Bahamut impresses with its atmosphere, the beauty of the attack animations and the musical theme that gives you goosebumps" Answers", which went on at an increasing pace and broke into a sonorous chorus at the final stage of the battle.

Here we should paint a picture of the storyline of the versions 1.0 and 2.0 to make the place clear Primalov in the universe. Last few days Sixth Astral Era The Garlean Empire launches a full-scale assault on the continent of Eorzea. Alliance of Allied Forces, consisting of 3 Great Companies representing the main regions of the world, Gridania, Uldy and Lims Lomins tried to fight back the intruders. But they soon learned that the real plan of the imperials was to use the ancient magic of the Allaghans (an ancient race that was the most advanced) called Meteor, and end once and for all the allied forces, as well as the deities that pose a threat to the Harleans, who did not want to submit to the invaders.

The plot introduces us in detail to each country, its environs and myths, along the way leading us along the path of a flaring conflict with the empire. History successfully fulfills the mission of introducing players to the universe, but in the first half of the game, the authors went overboard with quests. Unfortunately, fillers that make little sense, but make us do tedious tasks, often give us a reason to get bored. However, the further you go, the richer what is happening with events and scope, and the unpleasant aftertaste is leveled.

Among the sidequests, a breath of fresh air is the story about the inspector hildibrand and his henchmen. The witty and funny line about Hildy's extraordinary investigations will not leave anyone indifferent. What is his father Godbert worth, walking around in his underpants so that playful muscles are better visible, and teaching how to be a “real man”!

In the project, given its colossal scale and updating content, of course, a rather primitive production by the standards of modern plot RPG. The story is told through dialogues and cutscenes. Alas, only the most important videos are voiced, and the bulk of the narrative passes through reading the text. Of course, if they fight on the screen, then they try to show it in all its glory. When the characters communicate, only critical moments are voiced.

Speaking of lands, it is impossible not to look at the world. Each of the three regions presented is distinctly distinguished by its location, landscape topography, history, mythology, inhabiting creatures, available races, local crafts and curiosities, and of course, their capitals. Be it cozy turquoise groves Gridania, the harsh outlines of the sand scale of the fortress Uldy, or shores giving off the sea breeze Lims Lomins- cities and local locations are firmly engraved in memory from the first acquaintance. At the same time, according to the legends of the stories of the corresponding quests, inside the locations there are certain dungeons, fortresses and abodes of the gods, which we will visit in the course of completing tasks, both story and optional. Even PvP-The arena with headquarters and the church for wedding ceremonies are thoughtfully woven into the geography of the game world.

A competent balance of distances to the most important points and sizes of zone maps makes movement on a feathered friend that has appeared here Chocobo pleasant and understanding.

Of course, any adventurer must excel at a craft, be it combat, gathering, or crafting. The holy trinity of combat roles from tanks, healers and DPS (damage-focused classes) is hierarchically divided into classes and professions (subsequently, only the latter remained, but more on that later). Thus, in order to acquire a profession, you need to pump the required classes to a certain level, namely the 15th and 30th, leading to the acquisition Soul Crystal, the idea of ​​which is taken from Final Fantasy Tactics and old final fantasy. A Realm Reborn gave a choice of 2 tanks: a paladin and a warrior, 2 healers: a white mage and a scholar, as well as 6 dps: a black mage, a summoner, a bard, a dragoon, a monk, and a ninja. At the same time, it is important to note that in this MMO you can upgrade all classes on one character - just like in offline final fantasy.

Professions in - not just icons above the names of the characters. Behind the titles native to the series is the centuries-old history of the formation and development of the martial arts of various nations, the stories of which are reflected in the chains of class quests. The developers have prepared whole story arcs with characters and various events, ending with epic battles to inspiring melodies.

Final Fantasy XIV is an online game set in the Final Fantasy universe.

Everyone has heard of the Final Fantasy series. Yes all. Yes, even those who do not like anime, manga and Japanese computer games at all. And in terms of the number of outgoing parts, this series can be attributed to the record holders of the gaming industry.

Well, it's not about the whole series, but about the part for which the developers had to apologize for the first time. Even the most delicate of critics could not describe the 14th part of the Finale as "a very mediocre and uncomfortable MMO." Closing it, they exhaled, sought out a comrade named Yoshido Nasaki, and challenged him to try again, only this time successfully. He scratched his head (probably) and agreed. Now we have before our eyes the fruits of the labors of him and his team.

Admittedly, this time online Final Fantasy came out much better. And all that was needed was to make the world from scratch, leave a couple of good finds from the old version (like multiple classes for one character) and throughout the entire development process do not forget that an MMORPG is being made, and not just another part of the series .

The result is a very worthy MMO that was skeptical at first, but quickly gained popularity and today is already very much on its feet in anticipation of additions that further expand its content. True, she already has a lot of interesting things in stock. Interesting? Then let's start...

A little about the world

The atmosphere of the Middle Ages, originating in the 11th part of the series, has given way to "high fantasy".

Before the closure of the first "version" of this game, the developers hinted at some kind of meteorite that will blow this continent to its continent grandmother. It is obvious that the new team, when created, decided to play the role of this very meteorite. They have torn apart the continent. Almost nothing remains of the original geography. A couple of old names, however, remained, but everything else is radically new. Apparently, this meteorite not only redrawn the existing one, but also fell apart and increased the former area by several times. Now, instead of monotonous "tunnel" areas, there are vast colorful spaces that can be explored for hours.

A lot is built on the plot here. Up to most gaming features. However, do not be afraid, no one will constantly lead you by the hand. On the contrary, you will discover the main points relatively quickly, after which, again, no one will hold you back. Moreover, the sandbox mode here is quite interesting, and it will also take you a lot of interesting hours to master it.

But back to the plot. They won’t press a tear out of you, instead of it there is a well-measured dose of epic (“does not make you laugh and does not feel sick”, as they say). No, seriously, the plot is made so exciting that in the first passage you will not even think of switching to something else.

In addition, the developers clearly remembered well what they were doing MMOs, so a lot of story missions are tied to the team passing through many dungeons. By the way, the latter are made here, on the one hand, according to the classical scheme (“cut through to the boss and kill him”), on the other hand, the enemies here are so nimble, especially the bosses, that they don’t let you get bored either.

Therefore, it is necessary to work well with your team in advance, and only then will you have every chance of winning. All this makes the passage of the plot even more interesting, believe me.

Who can play?

In the world of the fourteenth "Final Fantasy" there is much more technology, the surrounding world has become more modern, and the races, although they have remained similar to their predecessors, have also evolved.

It was already mentioned at the beginning of the article that one character can, in principle, master all classes and professions. Yes, by the way, professions are also varieties of classes, with a completely separate buildup and gameplay (how). And how many of them are there, these same classes and professions? As Zadornov says, "did you get all the air ... are you ready?" So... Seventeen classes and ten prestige classes. Not impressive? And how do you like such a moment that, pumping the second class, you can attach any skills from the first (third, fifth, tenth) to it. Not a weak field for builds looms, right?

The combat classes are divided into Followers of War, of which there are six types, and Followers of Magic, of which there are only three. The peaceful professions are divided into Followers of the Hand, of which there are eight kinds, and Followers of the Earth, of which there are three more. Well, there are still ten prestige classes left. Although they should rather be called multi-classes, since in order to master them, you need to bring at least two other "basic" classes to a certain level.

At first glance, everything looks a little confusing, but this system is not only very interesting and unusual, but (which is rare) it works. That is, it is not so difficult to understand it. It is much more difficult to choose your own path. But that's the whole point, right?

Final Fantasy 14 videos

What is the bottom line?

The second attempt to bring Final Fantasy to the MMO arena turned out to be much more successful than the first. It is already clear that this is a completely independent, working and interesting project that will not only be able to hold on, but also begin to actively compete with many mastodons of the modern MMO world. He has the makings for this, and the developers do not intend to stop there, which is encouraging. So, if you miss good and interesting MMORPGs, Final Fantasy XIV: A realm reborn is definitely for you! Good luck!

Final Fantasy XIV, released a few years ago, was heavily criticized by gamers and journalists, pointing out the very poor quality of the game. This year, Square Enix is ​​back with an updated version, promising that it's a brand new game. After spending a lot of time with the PlayStation 3 version, we have to agree.

The fourteenth installment of the Final Fantasy series is written in history as one of the most sensational defeats in the MMO market. The game was released in late 2010 on PC and was extremely critically received by fans. The game was sterile, sealed, weird, wrong, and empty, and as if all that wasn't enough, the public had little to no contact with the developers. Square Enix tried to save the game, but it was too late. In the end, the publisher decided to take the desperate step of withdrawing Final Fantasy XIV from circulation in order to quietly refine and transform the product.

The basic version of Final Fantasy XIV was so weak that few people believed in the success of the Japanese plan. But the game came out transformed for the better, and quite successfully returned to the gaming product market. It's nice because it's one of the few games of this type available on the console, and in particular on the PlayStation 3.

Final Fantasy and MMO.

The action of the fourteenth part takes place in the world of Hydaelyn, on the continent of Eorzea, which has experienced a serious cataclysm. We are talking, of course, about the famous herald of "death", by the name of Bahamut, indirectly symbolizing the fate of the first version of Final Fantasy XIV. In the game, you play the role of heroes who participated in these events, but do not remember anything from their past. Thus, Square Enix explains the development of the universe and the fact that veterans of the first part of the game and completely new faces now meet in it. The characters are united by one goal - to help restore the world and overcome the forces that threaten it.

As a rule, it happens in such games, the plot is conveyed in the description of the tasks. Only a few of the quests have voice acting, so get ready to read a lot if you want to keep a close eye on developments. Admittedly, there are interesting themes in the plot, and they evoke pleasant associations. Moreover, it is connected with the mechanics of the game - for example, with service in one of the three factions, local city-states. Final Fantasy XIV also operates with a traditional design for the series - absolutely serious questions are closely intertwined with completely absurd ones. Therefore, expect a mixture of pathos and humor, provided, for example, in the form of fights with both powerful beasts and crazy pudding. Thanks to this, Final Fantasy XIV becomes a little more colorful than other parts of Final Fantasy.

Character classes.

The mechanics of the game have also been updated, which now looks more thoughtful. Let's start with the fact that in the game we create a hero representing one of the eight classes that fit the classic MMO roles; tank, healer, support classes and DPS - the first of them is designed to concentrate the attention of the enemy, the second is to heal, the third is to strengthen allies, and the fourth is to deal damage. An interesting fact is that, starting from a certain point, the class can be freely changed and leveled up, at the same time, thus acquiring additional skills, and even opening up new areas of development. Not all abilities of another class can be used, but still there are plenty to choose from. As a result, the mechanics of the game seem to be quite simple at first, but over time it allows you to create various combinations and creates a large field of activity. One option is to unlock a special profession that combines the traits of several others - for example, an archer can develop into a bard. It's a good idea because it kind of eliminates the need to create multiple heroes to try out all the options.

Professions work on a similar principle, they allow you to collect raw materials, or create items. We develop each of them separately, and if I'm not mistaken, there are no restrictions here. In addition, even a miner or an alchemist has his own skills - some of them allow you to track minerals, others make mining easier or increase the chances of crafting success.

The game leads us by the hand with a system of journals pointing to the next thing to craft or farm. On a positive note, we've also avoided having to craft hundreds of items to level up - instead, we're more likely to work on a single item, improving its quality. In addition, Final Fantasy XIV offers daily quests dedicated to each of the disciplines.

CLASSES:

  • - Arcanist (scholar or summoner") - deals damage, heals, summons;
  • - Archer (bard) - deals damage, offers support;
  • - Conjurer (white mage) - heals, resurrects;
  • - Gladiator (paladin) - tank;
  • - Lancer (dragoon) - deals damage;
  • - Marauder (warrior) - tank;
  • - Pugilist (monk) - deals damage;
  • - Thaumaturge (black mage) - deals damage, crowd-control.

Over time, we get new opportunities, often in places we have visited before. An example is a very good system of three associations, in which we carry out special levequests, supply raw materials or products and receive seals. You can exchange them for rewards, such as a chocobo that plays the role of a horse. There are also dynamically appearing events called "Destiny", most often based on fighting a group of enemies and a boss. These missions, which are especially generous in terms of experience points, are very popular. To this should be added raids of various levels - full-fledged dungeons, smaller, group and so-called "tests". You can start them with a pre-arranged team or rely on finding a party. This can be slow, but it works well, and besides, the search happens in the background, so we don't have to stand still waiting for the group to dial.

It's great that almost any form of pastime can be used from an early level. Because of this, in Final Fantasy XIV you can find a lot of activities in any location, we always have a lot of opportunities to gain experience. Abundance and variety are the hallmarks of the fourteenth installment - and Square Enix can be commended for that, because there was a fear that the company could not cope with filling the players' time.
And Realm Reborn is by no means revolutionary in terms of combat mechanics, but it offers solid solutions. This system is based on abilities that require a cooldown time and a certain number of points, tactical or magical. The game displays the area of ​​effect of some attacks, so in many fights, you need to constantly move. All in all, a fairly typical MMO combat, with all the advantages and disadvantages of this type of game. I will say this: there are many battles, but it is interesting to play, because there are different solutions for each. You can always find something for people who just want to relax. There are also many more difficult places. Of particular concern are the dungeons and boss fights, which are implemented in an interesting way. Raid bosses often call for assistants and sometimes use non-standard moves - the lack of reaction from the raid ends in a quick death.

I spent a lot of time in Final Fantasy XIV - all the time sitting on the couch watching TV. This won't be out of the ordinary for fans of Final Fantasy XI, a game available on three platforms, including two consoles. I think PC gamers don't believe it's possible to master such complex systems with a gamepad. But I admit it's possible because Square Enix has done a lot of work on the interface. Of course, in the first moment it seems to be incredibly complex, chaotic, and strange (tracking / blocking the camera on opponents will become a problem). The console controller isn't guaranteed to be as precise as the keyboard and mouse, but it works quite well. Another thing is to write in the chat and on the forum - here it is worth purchasing additional accessories, which is probably not a problem, because the game recognizes any USB keyboard without problems. You can even connect a wireless mouse to the PlayStation 3 and play in the same conditions as on a PC.

This version of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, in terms of "brakes", is far from perfect. It's probably not Square Enix's fault, just the hardware and the need to run at full capacity. In short, on the PlayStation 3, the game looks and runs very unevenly. In some locations, you can see 15 animation frames per second, while in others everything is fine. These dips occur despite a noticeable deterioration in graphics, and this is evident in low resolutions, poor quality textures, pixels, and sometimes poor frame-by-frame animation of characters and objects. Playing on a small screen will probably even give you a headache (especially around the city of Gridania).

Eorzea is saved.

After the cloudy and airtight first version of Final Fantasy XIV, Square Enix has redone a lot and is back with a project that is a lot of fun to play. Realm Reborn is addictive, the rich world of Final Fantasy, the thoughtful systems of the game, the variety of gameplay - these elements should lead to the fact that fans and, in particular, veterans of Final Fantasy XI, will be delighted.

In addition, Square Enix proves once again that MMOs can be played with a joystick in hand, which may not be important in the context of the past generation of consoles, but will certainly be important in the future. The publisher offers an almost finished game for the premiere of PlayStation 4. - In short, Final Fantasy XIV is truly a “rebirth of the kingdom”, and it is worth participating in this “miracle”.

I've been playing Final Fantasy ever since it debuted in North America. Two of the main themes that are the core of any game in this series are great soundtrack and beautiful nature. Realm Reborn includes both of these elements. The original soundtrack for ARR could be the best soundtrack in MMO history.

Realm Reborn showcases beautiful environments. Wandering around the Black Shroud area, I wanted to go there in reality. Running past streams in search of water elementals brought back childhood memories. Limsa Lominsa with its hills is a marvel to behold. Rolling green fields separate sheer white granite walls, creating a beautiful visual contrast. These views encourage you to go and look for what might be hidden behind the next hill. The game really makes you want to explore it and find everything that is there. I just wanted the environment to be more open and possible for more in-depth study. The character and armor models are great, and the effects of the spells excite with their beauty.

The gameplay is the biggest insinuator in Final Fantasy XIV: Realm Reborn. An issue that was raised in the beta and left unresolved was game lag. Most enemies make it clear that they are about to make a special type of attack or maneuver. When they do so, the skill's cast bar appears and highlights the area that will be attacked. Players start running out of this area and still get hit by the spell.

Most people can get used to it over a period of time. But it's not something players need to get used to. This is something the developers need to fix. It's unacceptable for an MMO released in 2013 to suffer from the inability to solve problems like this.

A month after the release of the game, there are still other gameplay-related issues. The Duty Finder's automatic group search is a thorn in the side of Square Enix. You have to wait in long queues to reserve an instance server to run one of these dungeons.

The storyline is one of the most compelling stories I've seen in an MMO. Not only is it good by MMO standards, it's so good that it deserves to be called a true epic fantasy game. At the moment, a large amount of diverse content is planned for release in the coming months. Some of these innovations will develop the main storyline, while others will finally focus on adding a player versus player (PvP) combat system.

Dungeons are a huge part of leveling. Most of them consist of killing omnipotent bosses. These fights are among the most difficult and rewarding. They were designed specifically to test the hero's skill level, concentration, teamwork, without being too difficult for casual players.

Final Fantasy XIV: Realm Reborn is a very social game and has a number of systems to support this claim. The game requires its players to explore group content in order to participate in the main storyline. Active dynamic FATE events, unique events that add momentum to world battles and adventures (similar to those in RIFT and Guild Wars 2) are made specifically to motivate group play...

Players can unite in "Free companies", analogous to traditional guilds, for joint participation in adventures, quick games "Guildleves" and "Guildhests", implemented in the form of events, as well as for trips to interesting "instances" (dungeons) where you can put together a raid, trying to find countless treasures.

But it should be noted that there is nothing truly evolutionary in the game. The ability to level multiple chosen classes with a single character is currently rare, but is actually a common holdover from Final Fantasy XI with a few tweaks. The weapon system of the game is just a new face of the old system of binding a class to a certain type of weapon. Using a Chocobo as a companion in battle is a handy feature, but it's nothing new. The hardcore boss battle mode has been around for a long time. True quick games are a new twist on the old quest design. Now one person acts as the whole hub. Even the crafting system, a bright spot in the game, doesn't offer anything that hasn't been done before. What Square Enix has really done, and done very well, is that it has combined in one project all the traditional systems familiar to us from other MMOs, and brought them to near perfection, which is rarely seen today. This is what we see at Blizzard and what has done World Of Warcraft so successful.

Creating an MMO is no small feat. Trying to remake a game and give it a second life is something that not everyone can do. Final Fantasy XIV: Realm Reborn is arguably one of the best MMOs in recent times, and I would even say better than Guild Wars 2. It's fun, interesting, and a great game.

At the end of September 2010, the second massively multiplayer role-playing game in the series was released on PC. final fantasy at number XIV, which turned out to be a very low-quality product despite the high budget, which resulted in losses for its developer and publisher, the Japanese giant Square Enix. Undoubtedly, the project turned out to be a failure, so the president of the company, and at that time it was Yoichi Wada, apologized to the players and said that Final Fantasy XIV will be thoroughly revised and then released again. For this, a new development team was formed, which eventually created Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, which is fundamentally different from its predecessor. Although the game takes place in the same world of Eorzea, in addition, players were allowed to transfer their characters, A Realm Reborn uses a new engine and network architecture, and the gameplay and graphics component have undergone major changes. The events of the original game came to an end in 2012, when its support ended: the dragon Bahamut escaped from the lunar prison and initiated the apocalyptic event - the Seventh Dark Calamity, which led to the destruction of most of Eorzea. However, thanks to a divine blessing, the player characters escaped death by moving forward five years. And while Eorzea was actively recovering, there was a threat of an invasion by the Harlean Empire from the north. This is how the story began, the revival of which received high marks from critics, as well as awards for the best MMORPG. The game went on sale on August 27, 2013 on PC and PlayStation 3, and on April 14, 2014 it reached PlayStation 4. Then the project received two full-scale expansions heavensward and Stormblood, the latter of which will be discussed in this article.


Since there is no review of the main game on our site Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, as well as the first major addition heavensward, released on June 23, 2015, it would be correct to make some digression, and also tell more about the system of classes, professions and races presented in the game. First, in Final Fantasy XIV the chosen class when creating a character is not fixed to him tightly, you can master any other as you progress, and then change them at your request almost at any time. For example, if you are tired of the role of a damaging DPS and want to heal your comrades in the dungeons, then you can safely pick up a staff ... However, first you have to join the Wizards guild and upgrade the class from zero to the desired level. But with professions, things are different, their level is equal to the level of the class to which this profession belongs. The main professions are aimed at strengthening the class and allow you to develop its specialization. In addition, there are several other professions that do not depend on any class and were added in additions. heavensward and Stormblood. By the way, in addition to the two disciplines Disciple of War and Disciple of Magic, which include damage dealers (DPS), healers (Healer) and tanks (Tank), the game has craft professions Disciple of Hand, as well as extractors of useful resources Disciple of Land. And all of them can be learned by one character, without the need to create others.

AT Final Fantasy XIV you can meet a total of six races for every taste. We will not delve into their origin, I will only briefly explain what they are: hyur look like ordinary people elezen on elves, Miko "te on cat people, lalafell for the undersized Roegadine on giants, and besides Au Ra(race from expansion heavensward) on dragonmen.

The process of creating a character can be delayed not only because of the painful choice of race, but also due to the periodic unavailability of servers for creating characters. In addition, on crowded servers, for example, on Cerberus, which is popular with Russian-speaking players, this feature did not appear at all after the release of Stormblood. And who wants to play on a server whose queue for entry exceeds several thousand people, which in terms of time means more than an hour of waiting.


Get comfortable in Final Fantasy XIV will not be difficult, all the basic functions necessary for beginners lie on the surface, and the knowledge of what the rest perform will come gradually over time. However, players who do not know English, French, German or Japanese at all may have certain problems, because Russian localization is not provided here. But it is also worth considering that in order to understand the description of quests, a minimum knowledge of one of the presented foreign languages ​​is sufficient, and an interpreter can help with unfamiliar words. True, in this case you will lose an excellent plot, which is rightfully considered one of the best not only in the MMORPG genre, but also in the series. final fantasy. By the time of passing the main game alone, it will last for more than two hundred hours.

So, two years after the release heavensward, June 20, 2017, Square Enix released a new major expansion Stormblood for Massively Multiplayer Role Playing Game Final Fantasy XIV on PlayStation 4, PC and Mac, and the old PlayStation 3 version of the project ceased to exist at this point. The plot of the expansion is based on the liberation of the city-state of Ala Migo from the invaders in the face of the Garlean Empire, as well as the restoration of the independence of Doma. Surely to loyal fans who played that very first version Final Fantasy XIV, the sad fate of Ala Migo is known, which is the only city of Eorzea captured by the Garlean Empire. However, after the end of the Dragonsong War between the Holy See of Ishgard and the Dravan Dragon Horde led by Nidhogg (the events heavensward) the previously impenetrable border fortifications of Baelsar's wall were breached, and the way was opened for the campaign to liberate the city. I will not reveal any more details of the story, I will only say that it is full of interesting characters and fascinating plot twists, backed up by sincere emotions. Only outdated animation in cut scenes, which looks a little clumsy for 2017, can spoil the impression. However, in the game itself, as well as in battle, it feels very high quality, so you should not rush to draw conclusions here. The voice acting of the dialogues is present only in the main episodes, the rest of the time the characters just open their mouths. Nevertheless, in this regard, the developers can be understood, since voicing tons of phrases requires not only a colossal amount of time, but also money.

Controls are perfectly adapted to the DualShock 4 controller, the layout at the bottom of the screen allows you to quickly use abilities, as well as make multiple selections for all occasions. In addition, the gamepad touchpad can be used as a replacement for the mouse, it allows you to move the cursor and resize windows when necessary. Of course, if it is inconvenient for you to control the gamepad, then you can always connect a keyboard and mouse to the console, since this feature is present in the game.


Musical accompaniment as in the most Final Fantasy XIV, and in its two additions is delicious. At each of the locations you can hear motives that are pleasant to the ear, which are unlikely to get bored quickly. Insofar as A Realm Reborn had a restriction on pumping characters up to the fiftieth level, and heavensward raised this bar to the sixtieth level, then Stormblood did not lag behind and increased the maximum level of characters by another ten.

I think it's worth mentioning the problems Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood that occurred at the start of the add-on. Although with what popular online games does this not occur at launch? The DDoS attacks that hit the game servers created artificial entry queues of more than thirty thousand people, although without them on popular servers, as mentioned earlier, it was necessary to wait more than an hour to enter the game. The free transfer of the character to one of the new servers saved, but Duty Finder, a mechanism that processes dungeons and mini-instances, without which it is impossible to go through certain moments of the storyline, periodically fell on them due to the influx of players. Nevertheless, there have not been so many players lately, so nothing prevents a calm game.

Among the notable innovations is the ability to swim and dive, the latter of which opens in the story at the sixty-third level. It provides an opportunity to go diving and visit underwater cities. The only sad thing is that there are almost no locations with deep reservoirs. In addition, starting at level 50, you can learn two new professions: Red Mage and Samurai, which have their own unique mechanics and combinations. You can get them by completing certain tasks. Both classes perform the role of DPS, however, the red mage is designed for ranged combat, and the melee samurai. Their animations, abilities, and everything else is done pretty well.


Graphic component in Final fantasy XIV looks very nice, besides the owners of the PlayStation 4 Pro, along with the release Stormblood received its improvement and support for 4K resolution. All the screenshots that you can see in the review are taken on the Slim version of the console, but even on it the picture is very good.

It is worth noting that all players have the opportunity to skip the story as the main A Realm Reborn, as well as additions heavensward, as well as instantly increase the level of the character to the sixtieth, in order to immediately go to the passage Stormblood with your friends, but you will have to pay dearly for such pleasure. You can learn more about these items

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