Cloud Information and Distribution

FFXIV vs WoW – Which MMORPG Should You Play?

The battle for MMO supremacy is a hot topic of debate even in 2020. While there are many titles from this genre to choose from, there is often a question raised over which of these two powerhouse entries are better; FFXIV or WoW? A tough question to answer, so let’s take a look at what makes each game better than the other, in a battle that sees FFXIV vs WoW.

In this article, we will be discussing the following:

  • Which MMORPG has better content?
  • Which has the superior story and quests?
  • Comparing the dungeons and raids
  • Endgame Content

To make a better judgement of which game trumps the other, let’s start by taking a look at which offers the best combat.

FFXIV vs WoW – Which Has Better Combat?

If you have been a long time player of World of Warcraft and you decide to make the switch to Final Fantasy 14, you will soon notice a stark difference, and that is with the game’s combat. This is a result of the global cooldown. With FFXIV having a higher global cooldown than WoW, it means that the former has a slower combat movement than the latter. While in WoW you could effectively spam attacks much quicker, FFXIV has you casting at a slower pace.

With a higher cooldown coming in, it’s then up to you as to whether or not it flows with your style of combat. Having more time to cooldown, which is also true for enemies attacking you, can give you a bit more time to plot your attacks and prepare in kind. However, it can be seen as just a bit too slow, where it feels like you are waiting for the game to catch up with your attack input. Meanwhile, WoW feels far more like an action game in this regard. Having instant reactions to button presses, which might seem like common practice in other genres, is a big deal when comparing these two titles.

FFXIV vs WoW – Story and Quests

There’s little doubt that WoW’s narrative has kept a number of players coming back for the years that it has been running. What’s more, when playing the game you can expect to see many colourful characters and epic scenes here and there for you to enjoy. However, it does fall short when you compare it to FFXIV.

There just doesn’t seem to be as much depth with certain aspects of some of the quests and story in comparison. You can complete a task in WoW without being entirely sure why you had to do it. In this department, FFXIV has cut-scenes to lay out the narrative for even the smaller quests that you partake in. With this, there is a much bigger sense of purpose when playing FFXIV, as the title goes all out in even the smallest spaces to make sure the player is entertained and emotionally attached.

Dungeons and Raids in FFXIV and WoW

Then you have dungeons which feature in both games, and one offers a better experience here than the other too. In World of Warcraft, you aren’t really given much motivation to revisit a dungeon once you completed it, unless you want to level your alts. This may suit your goals better than the FFXIV, but it would be easy to argue that Final Fantasy 14’s approach stands out more. With a level scaling method along with daily roulettes, it gives you more reason to revisit the dungeons that FFXIV has to offer.

As for raids, there are arguments for both sides. As we touched on earlier, the combat is arguably less frustrating in WoW, which means that clearing a raid can feel much easier in certain ways compared to FFXIV. Having said that, having bigger groups in WoW for certain raids means there’s more room for error on your team’s part, meaning they are going to take longer than they would in FFXIV even with more players.

The way in which FFXIV’s combat works also leaves very little room for mistakes, so your reaction times need to be on point. WoW including a number of raid difficulties gives it a slight advantage for those looking to challenge themselves. You can see why you would choose either game for the best raids and dungeons, as both have positives that work in their favor.

Which Has Better Endgame Content?

This is another tough choice to make. Regardless of whether you like to take part in it or not, PvP is a big part of MMO games, and this is something that shines brighter in WoW. You can engage in duels, participate in tournaments in Arena PvP, and even War Mode to take on your rival faction. FFXIV meanwhile is rather limited in this area, offering less Player vs. Player opportunities for gamers to enjoy.

WoW also offers more raids, with more difficulties to choose from (as mentioned earlier). The mechanic of having a bigger party size makes it feel more like you are in a raid too. That being said, it still feels like there is much more variety in FFXIV as it makes the most of the content it has. Whilst WoW essentially focuses on Raids, Mythic+ and PvP, FFXIV has a bit more of a wide range to give. Final Fantasy 14’s content ranges from trials, raids, map dungeons, instanced areas such as Eureka to increase elemental experience, housing and more.

Conclusion

With all of that being said, there are arguments for both sides. In the end, it is a completely subjective matter as to which game is better than the other, depending on what you are looking to get out of your MMO experience.

When it comes to FFXIV vs WoW, you could say that if you are looking for more variety to your content, with a deeper sense of storytelling and meaningful questing, then FFXIV would be your choice. If you are looking for a much more approachable set of gameplay mechanics, with plentiful raid content and higher difficulty levels to challenge yourself with, then you should certainly opt for World of Warcraft. Whichever you choose, you are getting an MMO experience that is more than capable of keeping you entertained for a long time to come.