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MacAttack2015 t1_jdwims9 wrote

I am currently playing two MMOs.

I am subbed to FFXIV. I tried playing a couple of times in 2016 but struggled to get into it at the time (I was on console and it was my first MMO). Then I bought my PC in 2018 and picked the game back up in late 2019. The game's story from Heavensward through Endwalker was satisfying and dramatic, even if Stormblood was slow at times. I am excited to see where they take the story next given what's been happening in the post-Endwalker patches thus far. The game is packed full of content, though perhaps not as fulfilling if you are a long-time player who has already completed the endgame pursuits from past expansions. I really love the game's music (thanks Masayoshi Soken, you brilliant man), the "feel" of the jobs, and the welcoming community. My biggest criticism is that it isn't fully voice acted; in a game so story heavy and steeped in drama, it's getting tiring listening to other characters only on occasion, with my own input limited to emoted reactions of varying quality LOL.

I also play ESO. I have been subbed in the past but am not currently. I redownloaded the game and started a new character to play through the Elsweyr expansion (my first time) with some friends, who are totally new to the game. The game does very little to explain itself so it can be pretty overwhelming at first. Having played through other zones and their stories previously, Elsweyr seems like a quality expansion. The expansion's zones are big and detailed, the music is gorgeous and thematic, and the visuals impress all around - for a MMO, at least. My biggest criticism is that it relies heavily on its in-game store for things that should be at least achievable/obtainable through playtime; you can't even change your character's hairstyle after character creation without buying a cosmetic pack with IRL money (whether purchased directly or via the game's sub), which is just ludicrously greedy.

Both games have pros and cons for sure. FFXIV is the better of the two as a whole personally, but ESO has some very specific qualities that I really like about it. This may sound silly but ESO's level of detail in the animal/monster models and their behaviors is very immersive. The cities are large and full of NPCs, not just grand empty spaces for the sake of it (FFXIV is guilty of this even to this day). On the flip side, I am not invested in ESO's story in the long-term because there isn't an overarching plot connecting it all together yet (I believe they intend to move into larger/grander story arcs now), I don't understand the glam/appearance system at all outside of costumes (if it even exists), and collecting mounts/pets seems much more dependent on in-game purchases than FFXIV (so.... so many mounts and minions to work towards).

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