With the quarantines not ending anytime soon, I'm considering it, but I hear the beginning is rough. Any advice on jumping in?
Also, I'd be playing with that basic PS4, no Pro or PC that is capable.
***To start off I'm going to say that I hate MMOs and I am not a fan of playing online with people I haven't met in person.
I played the game all the way up to the end of Shadowbringers and its initial endgame. I started playing the game when Shadowbringers was released and I took my time.
The initial start of the game is slow and there's some horrible voice acting but the story is great and VERY in-depth. The length and the slowness of A Realm Reborn is supposed to be rectified soon. But I actually enjoyed the quests and the stories. I didn't have long queue times due to them having set a system in place that gave people incentives to do lower level instances. I never waited long during prime time in my region.
I rarely conversed with people in the game. It's very easy and there are some really great guides on what to do against bosses so that you don't go in blind. You do have to join parties for most dungeons/raids, but the game is super easy. You don't even have to join any sort of guild or anything like that to be able to complete the story quests. The only time I had to talk to people is when I did end game hard mode dungeons with pick up groups. They are a little too intricate to just go in blind. They have done well implementing NPCs to accompany you in the newer dungeons so that you don't have to have a group comprised of actual real players.
I never had a feeling of FOMO or wanting to try and get stupid ridiculous gear. I never had a feeling of rushing through anything. I was there for the story and I made sure not to get enthralled by the typical MMO gimmicks to try and retain players. But at the same time FFXIV isn't really too bad about it.
Back to the story. Once you get out of ARR content and into Heavensward is when the story turns into something amazing. I actually enjoyed ARR and it laid a fantastic foundation for the journey ahead. There are also some very well written and HILARIOUSLY FUNNY sidequests that you shouldn't skip out on. There are also some super easy older raids that you can just power through that gives you some story that becomes pertinent later on so don't skip out on raids. The older ones are brain dead easy since everyone is so overpowered. Even in those you don't have to even type in chat. Just follow the crowd. BUT if you are a social person, unlike myself, almost everyone in the game is weirdly super nice. I don't know why. It's like the least toxic gaming community I've ever experienced.
Anyway. For me... FFXIV's story was the most emotional I've experienced out of all the games. While the game is kind of on the easier side, the boss fights are a site to behold. And harder versions of boss fights are even more of a spectacle. The music is my favorite, the lore is amazing, the writing and direction are intelligent, and the biggest thing to me is that I became vested with all the characters in the story. I had genuine care about the outcome of certain cast members. To the point where I got choked up. Even the villains are well done and not one dimensional... There's just so much.
Another amazing part of the game is the way they handle the story makes you the main character. For me it was like I was playing a single player RPG that was pack full of lore, story, character development, and exploring.
*** Also, if you decide to start before they rework ARR, don't skip the story. Everything ties in together and references are made later on all the way up to the new expansion.
