After a thousand years of suffering I have finally completed Final Fantasy 14's A Realm Reborn

[SolVanderlyn]

I feel like this took me a lifetime to do.

Across three characters and server changes, I climbed a bit higher every time.

The postgame was even longer than the game before it, but at least it wasn't gated as harshly concerning level requirements. The amount of times I had to grind three to four levels just to accept the next quest in ARR was mindbogglingly frustrating, especially when it was just to serve drinks at a resort or whatever.

The story did, finally, "get good" at the end, although it was slowly ramping up during the entire postgame.

So yes, I completed the 700 hours you need to get to "the good stuff." I'm about to unlock Dark Knight.

I did it. I finally did it.

Edit: I can't believe people are taking the 700 hours thing literally. NO GAME IS 700 HOURS LONG. It took a long time, not an eternity

 

[MattyG]

That final stretch in the 2.X patches burned me out so much that I haven't played at all for like 3 months. I know Heavensward is supposed to be where it gets really good (and the setup for it was awesome), but damn that grind wore me out

 

[Yolteotl]

Even 2.0 only ask me 3 weeks ~ 70 hours to reach lv 50, what were you doing ? And 3 more to complete part 2 (before HW) 2 years after...

 

[WhoaIsThatMars]

So yes, I completed the 700 hours you need to get to "the good stuff."

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that's an exaggeration. Why were you leveling three different characters?

Should be noted that patch 5.3 is changing 2.xx quite a bit.

 

[Refrain]

I'm trying to play A Realm Reborn to get to the good stuffs people keep talking about. But Jesus Christ, it takes 700 hours? I'm going to quit then.

 

[darkside]

I honestly didn't mind ARR? The only really brutal part was all the content it forced you to do -after- ARR and before HW.

I was thinking about doing it again because its been so long since I've played, I've forgotten a lot of the story beats and more important how to play any job entirely.

 

[Normal]

700 hours of boredom to get to the "good stuff" lol... No game is worth that.

 

[SolVanderlyn]

that's an exaggeration. Why were you leveling three different characters?

Should be noted that patch 5.3 is changing 2.xx quite a bit.

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One in beta, one at release and one to join my friend's server.

The first two I only got to level 20/43, respectively.

I still felt like it took forever just with one character.

 

[Theswweet]

It only gets better from here! Finished Shadowbringers the other day, and it's all worth it.

 

[WhoaIsThatMars]

But Jesus Christ, it takes 700 hours? I'm going to quit then.

Click to shrink...

except it doesn't. I've played all of MSQ through Shadowbringers and I don't think I've even put in 500 hours...

 

[Sandfox]

I'm trying to play A Realm Reborn to get to the good stuffs people keep talking about. But Jesus Christ, it takes 700 hours? I'm going to quit then.

Click to shrink...

It doesn't take anywhere close to 700 hours.

 

[Snowfruit]

I'm trying to play A Realm Reborn to get to the good stuffs people keep talking about. But Jesus Christ, it takes 700 hours? I'm going to quit then.

Click to shrink...

Of course not, it took me a weekend to get through ARR on a second character (skipping cutscenes).
Should take like a week at most if you just do the story and not mess with any other stuff.

You can skip the level grind OP had to do for quests if you join a preferred server that gives you bonus exp until a certain level.
Also 5.3 (the next patch) is revamping all of this to take less time.

 

[Gamer @ Heart]

700 hours of boredom to get to the "good stuff" lol... No game is worth that.

Click to shrink...

Youre right. But what the OP is describing is fucking absurd and hyperbole.

The base game and post launch 2.0 quests would take about 50-80 hours if your focusing only on them. The number fluctuates depending on your reading speed and what cutscenes you decide to skip. He described having to grind levels, which under the current xp boost system and restructured quest rewards (even before the upcoming rework this summer that cuts out quests), no new player would experience as you will always be overleveled until the last expansions, especially if your on a preferred server.

The game isn't insurmountable. Each expansion is basically a 40 hour rpg in themselves, with about 10-15 hours of quests and dungeons between them, again depending on your reading speed

 

[Ploid 6.0]

700 hours of boredom to get to the "good stuff" lol... No game is worth that.

Click to shrink...

A game you pay a subscription to no less. I hear they made it easier but I don't even think I'll do it on free weekend events.

 

[SolVanderlyn]

Note to self: do not exaggerate even when it is glaringly obvious on Era

 

[john tv]

Of course it didn't take 700 hours. The thread title clearly says it took a thousand years, which, if you do the math...

ARR was a grind, but I'm glad I got to see it all. Heavensward was great. Stormblood is really good so far (I'm like 3/4 through). Very different from Heavensward but still quite enjoyable. Probably take something like 1500 years to get to the end of Shadowbringers at your current pace, but I mean, it's not like we've got anything better to do during isolation. Have fun!

 

[TwinBahamut]

700 hours of boredom to get the good stuff lol... No game is worth that.

Click to shrink...

The bad parts of FFXIV are often still quite good, compared to many games. ARR was basically a giant lost opportunity brought about by 1.0's troubled development and 2.0's rushed development, but it is still fun. Somewhat less so now due to balance changes stripping out some of the gameplay elements from back then, but it is still the game that attracted loyal fans and salvaged the game after 1.0's failure. It has some good stories and fun battles, and slowly gets better as it goes on.

In other words, I'd much rather go through ARR again than replay several mainline FF games. It only really gets the reputation it does because "the good parts" are some of the best parts in the entire FF series.

 

[SolVanderlyn]

Of course it didn't take 700 hours. The thread title clearly says it took a thousand years, which, if you do the math...

ARR was a grind, but I'm glad I got to see it all. Heavensward was great. Stormblood is really good so far (I'm like 3/4 through). Very different from Heavensward but still quite enjoyable. Probably take something like 1500 years to get to the end of Shadowbringers at your current pace, but I mean, it's not like we've got anything better to do during isolation. Have fun!

Click to shrink...

For what it's worth, ARR had pockets of story I found entertaining, and postgame is when it really showed its true storytelling chops. That final string of cutscenes at the end, and the slow buildup to everything that had happened before - I've never seen anything like that in an MMO before. It felt like a "real" FF game. If that continues going forward I think I finally understand what everyone means when they say FF14 has a good story.

 

[Synohan]

OP is just joking, c'mon y'all.
ARR as it is now, especially the lead up to the expansion is incredibly long. Luckily it's getting a revamp in the next patch, so people on the fence have that to look forward to come summer.

 

[Feep]

Shadowbringers >> Heavensward >> Stormblood >>>>>>>> ARR.

 

[Chasing]

Note to self: do not exaggerate even when it is glaringly obvious on Era

Click to shrink...

Sarcasm and irony are quite often lost on the internet, to be fair. Not to mention there's the perception already that ARR is a bit of a drag.

 

[finalflame]

Burned out around 2.2 or 2.3 I think. Haven't been back since. Really wanna make it to Heavensward one day.

 

[Harusame]

I am currently working my way through the 2.1 to 2.5 content with some friends. I would definitely like to reach the Heavensword content, but I am in no rush. Currently trying to get all the base class to 50, so I can get a feel of how each position (tank, healer, dps) works during dungeons & raids regarding positionals, rotations and roles.

 

[Apollo]

Have fun. Everything that comes next is better than ARR to at least some degree. Hope you enjoy DRK too.

 

[Brat-Sampson]

Congrats, enjoy Heavensward, and storytelling really starting to roll.

 

[Chasing]

I am currently working my way through the 2.1 to 2.5 content with some friends. I would definitely like to reach the Heavensword content, but I am in no rush. Currently trying to get all the base class to 50, so I can get a feel of how each position (tank, healer, dps) works during dungeons & raids regarding positionals, rotations and roles.

Click to shrink...

While its a good idea, a heads up is that the way the jobs work can be starkly different at lvl 80. Take WHM for example; you are probably relying heavily on your GCDs now because that's all you have in your kit, but at level 80, oGCDs become your primary source of healing.

 

[SolVanderlyn]

I'm so beautiful

 

[DjDeathCool]

It took years, two expansion releases and a cancer scare to motivate me to get through 2.x but, man, am I glad I did. I hope you enjoy the sharp incline of amazing content OP!

 

[Mozendo]

3 characters? Even one was enough for me.
The wine and cheese arc almost made me quit.

 

[piratepwnsninja]

Congrats, now you're getting to the greatness. Shadowbringers is top-tier Final Fantasy.

 

[Philippo]

Currently close to finishing the OG campaign for ARR myself, I know there is one hell of an amount of 2.X content after.
Meeting main quest scenarios never felt that grindy to me, I kept switching from main quests to class/job quests to feature quests and I always ended up being higher than the required level. Now, armory level it's a whole other thing.

 

[Kalentan]

I'm so beautiful

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Hey! I'm using that hair. You can't use that hair. :(

 

[the magical kitsune]

NO GAME IS 700 HOURS LONG.

Click to shrink...

Have you tried to complete dragon quest 9

 

[Harusame]

While its a good idea, a heads up is that the way the jobs work can be starkly different at lvl 80. Take WHM for example; you are probably relying heavily on your GCDs now because that's all you have in your kit, but at level 80, oGCDs become your primary source of healing.

Click to shrink...

Thanks for the advice. I've been maining PLD during the 2.0 ARR msq, and I can see how greatly my rotation will change from 50 to 80.

 

[antitrop]

Thanks for the advice. I've been maining PLD during the 2.0 ARR msq, and I can see how greatly my rotation will change from 50 to 80.

Click to shrink...

It gets all sorts of magical, I mean literally magical like you get to spend your MP on attacks. I love PLD and I don't even like playing tanks. PLD is my favorite melee DPS. :p

 

[Theswweet]

PLD so good at higher levels most of the time you don't even need a healer.

 

[CaviarMeths]

The "bad" parts of ARR were decent for the MMO market in 2013. Pretty much only WoW was offering anything better at the time. Definitely dated by today's standards. The quest design feels archaic. It's a bit of a chore to get through now, but certainly not unplayable.

Should be noted that patch 5.3 is changing 2.xx quite a bit.

Click to shrink...

It's changing it slightly. It's targeting a few problem areas that data showed had the biggest new player drop-off. Anyone playing through ARR now and thinking it sucks won't have their mind changed. It's for the players who are having an alright time, but then hit a certain wall of aimless fetch quests and quit.

 

[CONCHOBAR]

One of the best pieces of advice I can offer to someone getting level-gated by the MSQ is to make sure you're doing the daily leveling roulette. It gets you almost 2 levels in 20-30 minutes. Even after the daily, running your highest level duty can get you almost a level per run.

 

[coredecepts]

I know the 700 hours is a joke, but I've been playing on and off since 2.0 launch and I have over 1300 hours. And that's not that much compared to others who have been playing since then.

Anyway, enjoy Heavensward. Watch the HW launch CGI trailer if you haven't already, it owns.

 

[Free Time Hooligan]

Dude I feel your pain. I have dropped FFXIV so many times. Over the course of years, I still have not progressed the story past ARR. I will go back to it soon and continue my efforts....

 

[dragn]

i played arr on launch and never had to grind without quests apart from the last 2-3 lvls, for which i just joined a fate spam grp in northern thanalan

 

[Laser Ramon]

People usually measure MMO playtimes in DAYS so I'm not sure why you thought 700 hours was wholly unbelieveable

 

[CaviarMeths]

I'm kinda confused by the "the amount of times I had to grind 3 or 4 levels to pick up the next quest" part though... the only time I remember a gap in MSQ is near the end between I think Lv45 and Lv49. And with things like Road to 70 buff and various accessories that give bonus XP, I can't imagine it ever being a problem. When I recently replayed ARR on an alt, I was waaaaay overleveled by the time I got to Praetorium.

---

Decided to look this up before hitting post reply.

Here is literally the only time there's ever a gap between story quests:

And like I said, with various XP buffs and running daily leveling roulette, you'll be like Lv55 by the time you get here anyway.

Are you sure you're playing Final Fantasy XIV and not some F2P Korean game?

 

[AlexBasch]

I know OP clarified his stance on the hours thing, but it definitely should be a "meme" for long games.

Like "it gets good after 700 hours".

 

[Sawneeks]

Real talk if you're struggling on XP you should queue for PvP once a day. The bonus xp from it is insane and doing that kept me above the levels needed and then some.

I also just finished ARR and got into Heavensward and the story is a huge improvement. I already kinda dug the story towards the end and a bit post ARR but it just keeps going up from there. Enjoy it!

 

[Sqrt]

I feel like this took me a lifetime to do.

Across three characters and server changes, I climbed a bit higher every time.

The postgame was even longer than the game before it, but at least it wasn't gated as harshly concerning level requirements. The amount of times I had to grind three to four levels just to accept the next quest in ARR was mindbogglingly frustrating, especially when it was just to serve drinks at a resort or whatever.

The story did, finally, "get good" at the end, although it was slowly ramping up during the entire postgame.

So yes, I completed the 700 hours you need to get to "the good stuff." I'm about to unlock Dark Knight.

I did it. I finally did it.

Edit: I can't believe people are taking the 700 hours thing literally. NO GAME IS 700 HOURS LONG. It took a long time, not an eternity

Click to shrink...

I played WoW for longer....

 

[komaruR]

op is scaring ppl away with that big 700hr number :(

It gets all sorts of magical, I mean literally magical like you get to spend your MP on attacks. I love PLD and I don't even like playing tanks. PLD is my favorite melee DPS. :p

Click to shrink...

half melee

 

[Gamer @ Heart]

op is scaring ppl away with that big 700hr number :(

Click to shrink...

Yup. That's why I take offense to them getting offended people don't get they were joking. No duh, but all their doing is scaring off the uninformed and reinforcing the bad notion the game is hard to get into.

 

[newmoneytrash]

I'm so beautiful

Click to shrink...

that's a final fantasy character if i've ever seen one

 

[Theswweet]

I finished

Yup. That's why I take offense to them getting offended people don't get they were joking. No duh, but all their doing is scaring off the uninformed and reinforcing the bad notion the game is hard to get into.

Click to shrink...

To be fair, the game *is* hard to get into.