I’ve seen/read lots of discussions comparing WoW and FF14 with arguments for and against the never-ending opinion wars of which one is the “best” MMORPG.

Sure, we could debate forever about story, combat, raids, dungeons, crafting, PVP, etc. and don’t forget the good old hardcore vs casual nonsense that permeates every discussion.

All of it pretty much boils down to personal preferences in gaming which makes the argument moot at best. Also, since the games are both so different as to their focus and target audiences, it’s like getting into shouting wars about whether bananas are superior to apples.

Hint: You can enjoy both apples and bananas…there is no “One Fruit” to rule them all…

So for me there were only two questions:

  1. The first question is simply equipment since my old laptop graphics card finally gave up and shut down my laptop every time I tried to run WoW. I’ve been saving up for a new one but some “disaster” like unexpected car repairs, emergency trips to the vet and the like makes saving pretty slow. FF14 still ran pretty good so…
  2. The second question is “Which game is more fun for ME?”

After playing WoW for about 12 years and FF14 for less than a year, I’d have to say FF14 is more “fun” for me than WoW.

It’s simply because I actually have the opportunity to do more “stuff” I want to do in FF14 than I ever did in WoW.

One obvious comparison is tanking.

Try queuing as tank as a new player in WoW then queue as a sprout tank in FF14. Then we’ll talk lol.

Try finding a Mythic dungeon or raid group in WoW without any achievements or raider.io numbers. Go ahead – I double-dog dare you lol.

After my Paladin hit level 90 in FF14, I needed 5 pieces of gear to meet the minimum item level for the “starter” end game content.

I was able to do that by buying a set of crafted gear.

Yes, you read that right – crafted gear. I ran some dungeons with the Trust system to get Tomestones to purchase better gear. No “systems,” no “power grinds,” no RNG, no time gating – get your gear and away you go.

Try that in WoW and let me know how it goes…

Yes, I do believe (correct me if I’m wrong) that one requires a dedicated group of players in FF14 for higher difficulty content such as Ultimates, but right now I can happily queue for dungeons (4 players), raids (8 players) and Alliance raids (24 players) with nothing more than the minimum required item level and reasonable competency playing my job (umm…still working on that…)

I must confess that I accidently fell into the FF14 Ultimate Black Hole also known as crafting. Took up Weaver just to make a couple of pieces of gear for my baby Black Mage and ended up leveling ALL the crafting/gathering jobs except Fishing. Believe it or not, crafting matters.

What really did it for me in FF14 – surprisingly – was the story. ARR is really tough to get through coming from WoW, but taking my time, reading all the text and watching all the cutscenes pays off 1000X.

Heavensward was heartbreaking. Stormblood was the thrill of battle where your character is cemented firmly in the world.

Shadowbringers….I don’t know what to say. It’s the gods damned best flipping story I’ve ever experienced. A rollercoaster ride that catapults you right into Endwalker. I finished Shadowbringers four days before the early release of Endwalker, and it still haunts me to this day.

I haven’t given up on WoW – the next expansion announcement today “Dragonflight” sounds like fun – so I have time to save up for a new laptop and might give it a try.

I could go on and on about what I love in FF14, but there is really only ONE reason FF14 surpasses WoW and this is something WoW will never, ever have in its’ game….

G’raha Tia: “I died 3 times in that dungeon! You’re a lousy tank!!
Me: “Don’t blame me Catboy! I saw you standing in the fire!!”

If you play FF14, you knew that was coming….