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Over the last decade, Final Fantasy 14 has transformed from a ******** to one of the most-played multiplayer games in the entire world. A huge part of that success is how FF14 has broken the mold of MMOs, striking out in new ways that have clearly attracted millions of players. Over a decade after the relaunch of A Realm Reborn, FF14 shows no signs of stopping, and if you find yourself tired of the usual MMO fare, it might be the right choice for you. With a huge main game and multiple expansions starting FF14 might seem like a daunting task, but so much of what the game does differently revolves around attracting new players, or those wholly unfamiliar with the genre. Here are some of the major ways FF14 differs from other MMOs. A Story to Rival the Single-Player Games Final Fantasy’s most defining feature has always been its story, and FF14 carries on that tradition with gusto. In fact, it’s fair to say the story is one of the major focuses of the game, which is fairly uncommon in the world of MMOs. Set in the land of Eorzea, FF14 tells a sweeping tale about the Warrior of Light, a chosen hero with the power to see into other people’s souls using something called “The Echo.” Despite being a multiplayer game, FF14 has a core cast of characters that serve as the party. These characters grow and change in fascinating ways alongside your Warrior of Light, building deep complex relationships with the player. While each expansion has a new story, each one is basically the next step in a larger narrative. What makes FF14 so compelling, however, is the deeply human and emotional themes it consistently tackles. Heavensward tackles religious fervor and the cycle of revenge, Stormblood shows rebellion against subjugation, Shadowbringers deconstructs the nature of heroes, and Endwalker asks big questions about the meaning of life itself. While these core themes permeate the stories, the grand sweeping tales also do a great job of fleshing out the world with lore and politics, making Eorzea and the rest of the world feel like real places. At the same time, despite being a multiplayer game, FF14 has a core cast of characters that serve as the party. These characters grow and change in fascinating ways alongside your Warrior of Light, building deep complex relationships with the player. Seeing these characters grow and change across each expansion is a delight, especially when coupled with the larger themes present. While the main story is riveting on its own, FF14 also has dozens of side stories that tie into that overarching narrative, or help develop side characters even further. Nearly everything in the game has some kind of story or narrative purpose attached, and the tales found within the MMO rival the best you can find in the Final Fantasy series. You Can Play Final Fantasy 14 Solo Despite being a massively multiplayer game, you can play through a surprising amount of FF14 solo. If you want to ***** in and experience the story, there is a wealth of systems to let you do that with as little interaction with other players as possible. The majority of story-related dungeons can be completed using Trusts, which are NPC characters that act as your party members. Of course, the majority of story quests can be played solo on top of that. This means you have a massive world and riveting story with hundreds of hours of content to experience. Doing dungeons with NPCs means you can also take your time, soak in the story, and even experiment with jobs and train your skills. The only times you’ll need to strike out are whenever you do 8-man content, like the boss-****** Trials. But if you don’t know anyone playing FF14 you can always use the game’s matchmaking to take these on, and the Roulette system means there are always players looking to help with content. Of course, if you find that you want to get more social and engage with more multiplayer content, like Alliance Raids, those options will always be there waiting. You Can Do Everything With One Character One of the major differences between FF14 and other MMOs is that literally everything in the game can be done with a single character: every quest, every job, every dungeon. In FF14 you can learn every battle job and crafting job with just that one character, and swap between wherever and whenever you want. This means you won’t need to craft multiple characters to see every class, or side with different factions. On top of that, all of FF14’s content is designed to be as easily accessible as possible. This means if you want to play everything as a DPS job, but avoid Tank and Healer entirely, you can do that. The matchmaking and party systems in FF14 are built to make getting through content as easy as possible, and again, that includes if you just want to play the game solo. Jobs/Classes Only Have One Build Final Fantasy 14 features dozens of different jobs to choose from, and there’s a lot of variety baked into the actual individual roles. However, each job has a specific set of skills that will apply to anyone and everyone who plays it. Unlike other MMOs, there aren’t any alternative builds you can construct, or different ways to play a specific class. So if you’re playing Dragoon there’s one set of skills, you learn those, and that’s it. For some players, this might count as a negative, but for anyone who might not be well-versed in MMOs, it means you won’t have to juggle trying to choose different builds or options, but can focus on learning the core ins and outs of each job. It also means you’ll have more opportunities to try out different jobs and find whatever you like best. It Plays Great on a Controller MMORPGs have traditionally been seen as PC-focused experiences, but more and more have started to make their way to consoles over the years. In that regard, FF14 has nearly every other MMO out there beat with its controller support. Playing FF14 with a controller is every bit as viable as playing with a mouse and keyboard. Square Enix has put a ton of thought and time into making that a reality, with minimal time and learning required from players. By default, you have quick access to 16 different actions when using a controller, by setting actions to the left/right trigger and then D-pad and face buttons. Past that, there are little additions, like the Cross Hotbar, that you can use to add even more actions. Other elements, like cycling through allies for healing, have also been given intuitive button presses that are easy to use. You will, of course, need to spend a bit of time learning jobs and getting used to setting up your hotbars on controllers, but the FF14 community has created countless videos and guides to advise new players on setting things up. If you’re hesitant to pick up FF14 on consoles because of having to use a controller, don’t let that be a worry at all. Just keep in mind you still may want a keyboard if you’re planning on chatting in-game a lot. Final Fantasy 14 Respects Your Time There are hundreds of hours of content to wade through in FF14, and catching up is always going to be an undertaking. That being said, the MMO does a fantastic job of respecting player’s time, making sure that you always feel rewarded or engaged in some way. Outside of the main story nothing in FF14 is mandatory, and you can always engage with every piece of side content as much, or as little, as you want. The game liberally makes sure that you don’t have to waste dozens of hours grinding to get to any content unless you’re looking to do the absolute hardest raids available. If you want to follow the main story you’ll gain all the levels you need simply by doing story quests and dungeons, and some of the more “grind-y” side quests are still worth doing because they have unique stories or mechanics attached. On top of this, you can acquire new gear in a multitude of different ways, from new raids to purchasing on the market board. This means anytime a new patch is released you should have an easy time leveling up your jobs to stay relevant. Apart from that, the development team has been vocal about how they want players to take breaks, with director Naoki Yoshida previously saying it’s “okay” to not play the game every day. There’s always new content to play through with a new patch, but FF14 isn’t going to soak up your time every day or even every week. You can stop playing, come back months later, and be able to jump right back in. Old Content Stays Relevant One of the remarkable things about FF14 is that you can go back and play virtually any piece of content released. Any piece of content from when the game relaunched as A Realm Reborn to now, is still accessible, and more often than not changed or enhanced. The only exception to this rule is timed season events or collaborations, like the Fall Guys collaboration or the crossover quests with Final Fantasy 15. More often than not, though, times events tend to come back later down the road. Other than that, Square Enix has made a deliberate choice to not block off any old content or make it inaccessible. In fact, the development team has taken ******** steps to update old story quests, raids, and more, so they fall more in line with what you’ll find in current updates for FF14. Daily roulette rewards make it easier to find parties for old content, but even if you’re unable to find matchmaking you can take on older content with a tight group of friends, or even solo it after you’ve leveled a bit. The Developers Genuinely Listen to Fan Feedback One of the core reasons FF14 has been so successful over the years is the transparency and dedication the development team has shown. There’s a reason director and producer Naoki Yoshida is lovingly referred to as “Yoshi-P” by the community. There are other MMOs out there that do a great job at addressing feedback, but in many ways FF14 has set the precedent for the last decade. Every few months Yoshida holds a “Letter From the Producer” livestream that goes in-depth on all the changes or additions coming with each patch. More often than not, during these segments, Yoshida and other members of the team will directly address player feedback. There is, of course, always a balance that needs to be struck, as Yoshida and his team simply can’t adapt or change everything players want. But over the years there’s been a meaningful change to player housing, differences between jobs, more solo options, varied content like the cozy building sidequest Island Sanctuary, and more. In a 2017 interview with Newsweek Yoshida summed up the development team’s philosophy by saying it wants to "make sure that we are growing this game together, and the development team is not the ****** of the players. We all love Final Fantasy 14, and we just want to come together as allies. The communication should be going both ways, not unilaterally." FF14 still has problems and things that can be improved upon, but it’s the perfect MMO to pick up if you’re looking for something that has had meaningful change in the past and will likely continue to have even more. Hayes Madsen is a freelance writer for IGN. View the full article

The first Slitterhead gameplay trailer has leaked, confirming that the title will be released on November 8, 2024. The trailer was published early on developer Bokeh Game Studio’s YouTube channel, ahead of what’s been billed as Slitterhead’s “gameplay world premiere” at the Summer Game Fest showcase later on Friday. While the trailer has since been made private on Bokeh’s YouTube channel, it quickly started circulating on social media platforms including X. Read More... View the full article

Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: DnD Bard 5e class guide DnD stats explained Pride flag creator designs fabulous DnD dice for charity View the full article

Version 2.3 of Honkai: Star Rail says goodbye to Penacony and our adventures in the land of dreams. Don’t be sad, though, because the devs prepared two new permanent game modes for you to play in this update. The Divergent Universe and Apocalyptic Shadow are two previously confirmed game modes for Honkai: Star Rail, and in a livestream on June 7, our beloved host Owlbert revealed more details about what we can expect from them once the update goes live. View the full article

Image: Summer Game Fest It’s that time of year again. Summer Game Fest kicks off this week, and we’re expecting to see new game trailers and other exciting updates during the two-hour-long presentation. There might not be as many new game reveals as previous years, as Summer Game Fest host Geoff Keighley says this event is “largely focused on announced stuff.” Even still, the event is bound to have a few surprises. Here’s how and when you can catch the show. What time does Summer Game Fest start? Summer Game Fest starts on Friday, June 7th, at 5PM ET / 2PM PT. That’s not the only gaming-focused show happening, either, as the indie game showcase Day of the Devs will air right after Summer Game Fest, followed by Devolver Digital’s game presentation at 8PM ET /... Continue reading… View the full article

Cloud9 are staring down the barrel of adversity in the LCS, and not for the first time. The six-time champions risk losing a legendary streak: Since their debut in 2013, C9 have made a final at least once every year. And with that record in the balance, they again looked to South Korea for their answers and may have found them in the form of Park “Thanatos” Seung-gyu. Thanatos is a highly touted top lane prodigy from Dplus KIA. He’s tasked with helping Cloud9 stabilize and regroup for a push at the LCS Summer Split title. After they limped to a third-place finish in the Spring Split, something had to give. View the full article

In RTS games like Command and Conquer you've got to think of the big picture: grand battlefield strategies enacted by individual units. Well, what if instead you looked at the tiny picture, and your individuals were all connected by a hive mind? That's what Manor Lords publisher Hooded Horse's ant strategy game Empires of the Undergrowth offers, and after seven long years in early access, it's finally hit version 1.0. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: After seven long years, stunning ant RTS game is finally hitting 1.0 View the full article

Capcom has addressed the consumer response to its first $70 game as well as its strategy for future software pricing. Dragon’s Dogma 2, which was released on March 22, is the ********* company’s first game to carry the increased price point that has been adopted by many publishers this console generation. The game sold over 2.5 million copies during its launch month and surpassed three million sales by late May, according to Capcom. Read More... View the full article

For a limited time, you can claim a digital copy of Marvel’s Midnight Suns completely free from the Epic Games Store. This promotion ends on June 13. As long as you have an active Epic Games Store account, you can claim the game for free and keep it forever. View the full article

Cloud9 are staring down the barrel of adversity in the LCS, and not for the first time. The six-time champions risk losing a legendary streak: Since their debut in 2013, C9 have made a final at least once every year. And with that record in the balance, they again looked to South Korea for their answers and may have found them in the form of Park “Thanatos” Seung-gyu. Thanatos is a highly touted top lane prodigy from Dplus KIA. He’s tasked with helping Cloud9 stabilize and regroup for a push at the LCS Summer Split title. After they limped to a third-place finish in the Spring Split, something had to give. View the full article

The release of The Final Shape DLC for Destiny 2 dictates the end of the decade-long Light versus Darkness saga, established with the release of the original shooter in the series back in 2014. The new expansion by developer Bungie now takes players into the heart of the Traveler following the events involving the terraforming entity and the Witness at the end of the Lightfall DLC. With Guardians now wielding both Light and Darkness, they will give it their all to stop the Witness plans of reshaping life itself and finally saving the galaxy from an ever-present threat. View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

An announcement for Civilization 7 appears imminent after an image for the game was spotted on 2K Games’ official website. As spotted by users on ResetEra and Reddit, the banner for the unannounced strategy sequel was briefly available on the 2K website homepage and even pointed to a currently non-existent trailer and Steam page for wishlisting before it was removed. The ***** suggests an announcement at Summer Game Fest today, June 7. 2K is yet to comment. In May, Summer Game Fest said 2K Games would reveal the "next iteration in one of its biggest and most beloved franchises" during the show. The tease instantly got fans speculating on the possibilities, with many wondering whether BioShock 4 would finally be revealed after a five year wait. Others suggested it might be ****** 4 or Borderlands 4. It seems likely now that the tease is related to Civilization 7. 2K plans to reveal the next iteration in one of 2K's biggest and most beloved franchises at @SummerGameFest on Friday, June 7. [Hidden Content] — Summer Game Fest (@summergamefest) May 16, 2024 Sid Meier's Civilization 6 was developed by Firaxis Games and published by 2K on PC in 2016, before ports for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and mobile were released. IGN's Civ 6 review returned a 9.4. We said: "Civilization 6 is fully loaded with features and makes some very smart changes to its winning 4X strategy formula." Given the game’s enormous popularity (Civ 6 ******** in the top 20 most-played games on Steam and the franchise has sold an impressive 71 million copies to date), a seventh entry in the long-running series was inevitable. Indeed, in February last year Firaxis announced it was working on the next mainline Civ, although it didn't call it Civ 7 at the time. That’s all we have to go on for now, with more sure to be revealed during Summer Game Fest. Wesley is the *** News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at *****@*****.tld. View the full article

Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks, and more "gone but not forgotten" video game studios were honored by a Los Angeles billboard ahead of this week's major summer showcases. Spotted by Stephen Totilo on X/Twitter, the electronic billboard was created by publisher New Blood Interactive in the wake of brutal industry lay-offs and studio closures. "Gone but not forgotten," the billboard reads, before listing affected studios and their 2024 closing dates: Arkane Austin, Roll7, Tango Gameworks, Volition, and Sony's London Studio. It also shouts out "everyone ***** off, downsized, and made redundant." “We love you. We miss you. We hate money.” An electronic billboard from New Blood Interactive in downtown LA mourns the closure of Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks, Roll7, Sony’s London Studio, Volition and more “Gone but not forgotten” [Hidden Content] — Stephen Totilo (@stephentotilo) June 7, 2024 "Thank you for your great games from your friends at New Blood," it added. "We love you. We mss you. We hate money." Microsoft shut down Redfall developer Arkane Austin alongside Hi-Fi Rush and Ghostwire Tokyo developer Tango Gamework in May 2024 in a move met with shock and anger by industry peers and fans. Xbox owner Microsoft posted a 17% increase in revenue and $21.9 billion in profit in its latest financial earnings report. Xbox executives have blamed the move on the video game industry's lack of growth and a need to prioritise other games and studios. OlliOlli World developer Roll7, meanwhile, was seemingly shut down by Take-Two Interactive in the same month despite its CEO Strauss Zelnick refusing to confirm this in an interview with IGN and dodging follow-up questions. Last month IGN reported on how the closure of Kerbal Space Program 2 developer Intercept Games and Roll7 are a part of a larger move by Take-Two to either sell off or shut down the entirety of its indie label, Private Division. "Thank you for your great games from your friends at New Blood. We love you. We mss you. We hate money. The embattled Embracer Group shut down Saints Row developer Volition in 2023, while Sony shut down its London Studio in March 2024 amid layoffs affecting 900 staff across the PlayStation business. The billboard will be seen by many still in the video game industry as it looms over downtown LA in the lead up to a number of summer events, including Summer Games Fest, a showcase featuring several high profile announcements in the place of defunct video game event E3. Microsoft is set to host an Xbox showcase followed by a Call of Duty Direct, where it will unveil ****** Ops 6. Xbox and PlayStation are both confirmed as SGF partners, though Nintendo, as usual, is a no show. As for what to expect, a LEGO game based on Horizon: Zero Dawn, Sonic X Shadow Generation, what's seemingly a console version of Amazon's New World, and Civilization 7 have all leaked. Image Credit: Stephen Totilo on X/Twitter Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day. View the full article

As we prepare to jet off to Tural in FF14 Dawntrail, PCGamesN had the opportunity to speak with game director and producer Naoki Yoshida - or 'Yoshi-P' to his community - about the class design in the beloved MMORPG and what future jobs might look like. The incoming Viper and Pictomancer feel like ambitious plays into an already crowded space, so how did they come about, and where are we likely to see jobs going next? Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: FF14 server status and maintenance times - is FFXIV down? FF14 Dawntrail proves Final Fantasy's future is brighter than ever The best MMORPG on PC is 60% off right now, and totally worth it View the full article

The veil is about to be lifted on Bioware’s new Dragon Age title on June 11. But until then, one thing we know for certain is that The Veilguard is anything but a live service game. Bioware’s Michael Gamble, project director for the next Mass Effect game, cleared any doubts about Dragon Age: The Veilguard being a live service game on X (formerly known as Twitter). “Some takes out there about this game being a live service game or something like that. That part is in the article,” Gamble referenced yesterday’s Bioware blog about the title switch. “It ain’t,” he added, “It’s straight up single player story goodness.” View the full article

Stalking your mark through busy streets, hiding in the shadows and on the rooftops, planting a hidden blade into an unsuspecting target, nothing hits quite like the original *********'s Creed formula. If you fell off the series during its RPG era, or you're geared up for *********'s Creed Shadows, you can return to the series' golden years in *********'s Creed Mirage, which is suddenly 50% off - but only if you act fast. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: *********'s Creed Mirage free trial joined by DLC outfit for all *********'s Creed Mirage just became the hardest open-world game ever *********'s Creed Mirage's hottest new feature skips the latest update View the full article

Competition among the best MMORPGs is tough. With giants such as Final Fantasy 14, World of Warcraft, and ****** Desert Online continuing to rule the roost, it can be tough to establish and hold a base. That's only further exacerbated by the fact that many players will commit to a single MMO and not have time for another. The latest casualty of this space is Archeage, which is set to shut down after ten years due to unsustainable player populations. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: ArcheAge: Unchained is live today, promising a buy-to-play MMO without pay-to-win hooks ArcheAge's Beanstalk House returns with furniture fit for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ******** and The Returned are still coming to ArcheAge View the full article

Plans for a Civilization VII reveal have seemingly leaked ahead of a potential announcement at Friday’s Summer Game Fest showcase. According to Resetera and Reddit users, a promotional banner for the game briefly appeared on publisher 2K’s website today, before being pulled. 2K said last month that it planned to reveal the next iteration in one of its “biggest and most beloved franchises” at Summer Game Fest on June 7. Read More... View the full article

Cardy, Dale, and Alex are here to preview this week's selection of summer showcases, including a delve into what to expect from Summer Game Fest, Xbox, Ubisoft, and Nintendo. Then there are a handful of film, TV, and game recommendations from Cardy's Big Week Off, ranging from French resistance cinema and Vietnam war thrillers to open-world cat games. Send in your food nonsense to [email protected] (or questions and thoughts about games, TV, and films – we should probably stay on topic at least 60% of the time). IGN *** Podcast 752: Our Summer Showcase Predictions IGN *** Podcast 751: The State of Astro ****IGN *** Podcast 750: Scrotus, Erectus, and Other Good BoysIGN *** Podcast 749: The Worst Way To Roast a Chicken and Other StoriesIGN *** Podcast 748: Microwaved Bacon and Other HorrorsIGN *** Podcast 747: A Great Time for Sweaty Films View the full article

Hello there. As you'll know if you haven't been living under a rock, it's that time of year when all of the showcases descend upon us. This year, one of the places games - and some other cool stuff - are being shown off and chatted about is IGN Live, which is set to take place from June 7 to June 9, 2024 - and you can watch all three days right here. Yup, chuck any plans you might have for today and this upcoming weekend out of the window, it's time to have people talk to you about that thing we all like via trailers, interviews and gameplay showcases they've put an almost terrifying amount of effort into. IGN Live's got three streams of that kind of stuff - with the full schedule being avialable here - and all the key details for all of them being below. First of all, you can watch the IGN Live stream for today, June 7, above when it airs at 9PM BST, which is 1PM PT and 4PM ET. Seriously, just click play right there when the time hits, and ***** into it. Read more View the full article

MSI has unveiled a new Nvidia RTX 4080 Super graphics card that combines air cooling and liquid cooling in a single, self-contained unit. Not only is there a waterblock attached to the GPU on the new MSI GeForce RTX 4080 Super 16G Expert Fuzion, but the card also contains the whole radiator and pump system, meaning you don't need to find room to mount an extra radiator in your case. We had the chance to see this new MSI graphics card for ourselves on the show floor at Computex, and it's a really interesting take on one of the best graphics cards you can buy right now. It doesn't look any larger than the MSI RTX 4080 Super Expert (and it has a very similar outside design too) that we saw at CES earlier in the year, but there's a whole water-cooling loop hidden under the cooler's exterior. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: MSI's latest Steam Deck rival has much more than just a new Intel CPU MSI is already planning to release a new Claw gaming handheld MSI MPG 491CQP review: a stunning 49-inch OLED monitor View the full article

Alongside Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2, Team Fortress 2 feels like Valve's neglected, less-loved child. It still pulls in players by the tens of thousands. A decade and a half since launch, the FPS ******** one of the most accessible and (when it's working right) enjoyable multiplayer shooters on PC. But TF2 has a **** problem, and the game's community is pressuring Valve to intercede and implement fixes. The SaveTF2 petition has so far gathered more than 250,000 signatures. Now, the actor behind the Team Fortress 2 Medic offers a message of support, in the style of his beloved character. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Team Fortress 2 drops to 'Mostly Negative' on Steam for the first time Team Fortress 2 petition of 100,000 players demands Valve fix the game New TF2 update boosts your frame rate and stops antivirus issues View the full article

s a PC gamer who doesn't have a Steam Deck, playing my games on the move is a no-go presently. But after discovering this ace free app on Google Play Store, I've been able to take my most recent reinstall of the original Fallout on the go, playing the game on my Android phone. And the experience is actually really good... Read more.View the full article

A staffer on GOG mentioned that due to legal reasons, the classic Delta Force series is going to be removed from all storefronts. Read the full article here: [Hidden Content] View the full article

The upcoming Xbox Games Showcase may reveal Microsofts next console, and if the rumors surrounding it are correct, the Xbox Portable will avoid the mistakes of the lackluster PlayStation Portal. Despite the Portals financial success, its longevity is dubious, as an expensive gadget with the singular function of streaming games from a PlayStation console. PlayStation fans have been able to do this on their mobile devices and computers for some time thanks to the PS Remote Play app, and the officially licensed Backbone controller offers ideal tactile controls for mobile users, making the Portal entirely pointless. View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]