
Remember when I said earlier that I enjoyed doing the side quests despite offering little experience points? Well, it doesn't change the fact that these quests offer little tangible rewards to warrant investment from most players. However, there is one issue I had with the structure of the game. You can also tackle a few dungeons solo with NPC allies using the Trust system. On top of that, you will undertake Trials that involve joining a party of eight players to take on a massive boss with multiple phases. There are side quests between these Main Scenario Quests to complete, aether currents to attune to so you can fly with your mount, optional world events called "FATES," which offer experience points to level up your character and much more.Īt specific points in the Main Scenario Quests, you will have to form a party with other players using the matchmaking systems known as the Duty Finder or Party Finder and fight through dungeons populated with hordes of enemies and bosses. You progress through the story and unlock content by completing Main Scenario Quests and Role Quests. The gameplay structure of Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker follows the same routine as its predecessors. That's a sign of a good story if I went out of my way to engage in the side-content out of curiosity instead of necessity. Even the world-building had me intrigued enough to explore some of the optional side quests to find more lore about the new areas despite offering little experience points. It was a fun, heart-breaking, cathartic, and satisfying send-off to a storyline ten years in the making. Nonetheless, these sticking points don't detract from the rest of Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker's well-written story. Yet, given the gravity of the situation, it would've helped the pacing if we could've sped these plot points along. I understand that these moments of downtime are needed to give the players a much-needed break after a climactic showdown. There are also some points in the story that I won't spoil that drag out for too long.

As it stands, despite being built up as our hero's evil counterpart for years, Zenos still feels too underdeveloped to earn that right. It's just unfortunate that Fandaniel stole the show and screentime that could've delved into Zeno's backstory - which to this day is only available through a book compilation of short stories called Final Fantasy XIV: Chronicles of Light, not the the game itself. He does get some character growth and a few great moments that got under my skin. That isn't to say Zeno was a bad villain. By the time I learned all there was to know about him, I both pitied and despised Fandaniel and was fully motivated to lay all his plans to ruin. Not to mention, Fandaniel has tons of intriguing character development devoted to the mechanics of his insanity. Fandaniel is a fantastic villain that commits atrocities with such maniacal and sadistic glee, that I couldn't help but be entertained by it. His single-minded obsession with fighting the main hero at the expense of the world gets old after a while, and it isn't as interesting compared to the madness of his partner-in-war crimes, Fandaniel.

Zenos was criticized in Stormblood for being a simplistic warmonger who kills for fun and, without revealing spoilery details, that sadly doesn't change much in Endwalker. My only major problem is with Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker's narrative is with one of the main villains, Zenos.
Final fantasy xiv pc mods#
Players have actually built mods specifically to address this, but it would be nice if Square Enix provided options themselves. Still, I wish there was an option in the graphics settings to increase the contrast to brighten up some areas. Granted the desaturated color scheme makes sense for some areas like the bureaucratic nation of Sharlayan and Endwalker's later areas do have brighter and more vibrant contrasts. A lot of the areas in Final Fantasy XIV have a washed-out colour palette which makes exploring them feel a little dull at times.

The only issue I have with Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker's presentation is a problem that's been a part of Final Fantasy XIV since day one - the color contrast. This MMORPG is over ten years old, so you won't need to track down the latest, cutting-edge graphics card or processor to experience Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker at its optimal performance.
Final fantasy xiv pc Pc#
My modest PC sports an Intel Core i5-9400 CPU and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 GPU, and makes short work of FFXIV, which has enjoyed ongoing optimizations over the years.
Final fantasy xiv pc 1080p#
Source: Windows Central (Image credit: Source: Windows Central)Īs far as performance goes on the PC version, on my rig, it maintains a smooth 60fps frame rate with a 1080p resolution even in more intensive battles.
