Endwalker is the latest Final Fantasy 14 expansion. What makes it unique, and is it the best expansion yet?
Final Fantasy 14 (FFXIV) has become a successful MMORPG for nearly a decade now, thanks to its captivating story. Endwalker marks the end of the FFXIV expansion since its reboot in 2013. Before the launch of Endwalker in 2021, Square Enix had built three excellent expansions: Heavensward, Stormblood, and Shadowbringers. Four expansions later, Endwalker is a worthy conclusion of an incredible journey and delivers a stellar culmination for the thousands of fans who spent hours playing and acquiring FFXIV Gil in their challenge missions. Why was this chapter selected as the last one? Does this make Endwalker the best FFXIV expansion? Here are some reasons why.
- The Dungeons and Zones Have Evolved
Compared to the days of A Realm Reborn, the dungeon designs and zones on Endwalker have significantly evolved. The dungeons are more tightly designed to encourage a linear style of play with fewer puzzles. While the earliest Endwalker dungeons are the weakest, players can borrow new mechanics as they raid for FFXIV Gil, which cements them to the strongest dungeons ever seen in the game. The art team does an outstanding job in the late-game dungeons, which are some of the most daring designs in FFXIV’s history. Square Enix has mastered the art of keeping players hooked to their game by ensuring this MMO has new and interesting locations.
- It Values The Game’s Older Content
With Endwalker, the writer and director Naoki Yoshida still incorporates the game’s older content. Although there are clever new mechanics, the game doesn’t undergo a complete reinvention. Players have worked through the new experiences to earn new gear and FFXIV Gil, but that’s not the main focus. In this new expansion, the latest content is not the only thing that matters. Few developers respect their fans in the gaming world like the Final Fantasy 14 team did when creating Endwalker. This is clear because the creators did not try to overshadow and replace all the previous game features.
- The Team Listens To Its Player Base
The Final Fantasy 14 team deserves recognition for Endwalker because they consider fan feedback during the development process. The game’s success with each expansion is partly due to how the team engages with the gaming community when creating a new installment. For instance, a request to Naoki for Square Enix to add a controller rumble to Playstation 4 controllers was implemented.
- It Has New Interesting Jobs And Abilities
This new expansion has two new jobs; Reaper and Sage. The Reaper is a DPS job that can summon a demonic being known as Voidsent Avatar to tear open portals and aid you during combat. On the other hand, the Sage is a healer job and the first healer to be added on FFXIV in the past six years because it’s hard to balance healer jobs. What’s interesting is that the Sage is a hybrid job since it can attack enemies and heal the players simultaneously. In addition to these new jobs, the developers also added in some wild new concepts. They reworked popular characters and included stealth missions which is a deviation from the game’s basic traditional concepts. While new ideas don’t always work, it’s impressive that the Endwalker team seamlessly incorporated these new concepts into the game.
- It Captures Nostalgic Moments
When playing Endwalker, you can’t help but feel the excitement of playing for the first time. In any game, the first 50 hours or so can be a curse or a blessing. However, with Endwalker, the players get the nostalgic feeling from the start because the game constantly recaptures the magical feeling that they had when playing Final Fantasy 14 for the first time. From the beginning, the game brings out the story of the conflict between Hydaelyn and Zodiark, which has been a constant from the first chapters of this game. Despite this being the final expansion, the emotional connection and moments with characters from the start to the end have been worth the journey.
Final Thoughts
Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker is the best expansion because of how the captivating story concludes. Most games don’t close to perfection, but Endwalker has managed to capture the fictional and real journey of the characters through hardship and new beginnings. Compared to other FFXIV expansions, Endwalker is packed with hours of unforgettable experiences. From the new zones and state-of-the-art dungeons, Square Enix makes you feel like part of the story. The game introduced new gameplay elements, new jobs, and the best boss battles we’ve ever seen. Due to the popularity of Endwalker, thousands of players have earned FFXIV Gil as the decade-long story comes to an end. Endwalker is a thrilling conclusion and the best chapter from Final Fantasy 14.
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