You will often hear people talking about Final Fantasy 14 Stormblood just isn’t good, or how it isn’t as good as Heavensward. Here’s my thoughts on this debate.
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Stormblood sets up a lot of foundation. It’s good, it allows the other expansions to rise up because of it.
That being said Stormblood is where the combat for trials and raids really hit their stride where the team figured out how to approach and design.
In addition they introduced two Ultimates that expansions.
Stormblood story strength also spikes with post expansion patches, really shines there but it needed the base expansion story first.
Most people complain about 4.0 but post patches 4.x is on HW&ShB quality
Btw Zenos is the emperor's son aka crown prince
Stormblood greatly suffers from its troubled development. Shadowbringers was actually supposed to come next, which is why the 3.4 Story is setting that all up. But something happened (I personally don't know what exactly) that made them change plans. To make Stormblood, they fused 2 Storylines that were meant to be seperate, one concerning Ala Mhigo and one concerning Doma. The fusion didn't exactly go smoothly, resulting in some odd pieces not exactly fitting together, which hurt Stormbloods Story. It is worth nothing that when people say Stormblood is bad, that only applies to the Story of the base Expansion, the Patch Content and basically everything else is living up to, if not surpassing the Standards set in Heavensward
I think the reason a lot of people experiencing the game now enjoy Stormblood's story is because they know great things are to come with the next expansions. When we were playing it fresh in 2017 we were unsure if the game was going to return to form or if that's the quality we were stuck with. If Stormblood came out right after ARR I think the game would not have taken off the way it did.The interesting thing is Yoshi P said they could have gone in any order and they chose Ishgard. Luckily, though, the 4.x patch content was really good.
Why are people showing they're understanding of a game when could be done showing gameplay without commentary but showing printed phrases as a superior presenter. No voice, no alterations to the gameplay. Games have no other understanding, it's already what it is being played. I am just listening for more English, I don't care for irrelevant voice and words from the person, and I love the stupidity of gamers that got the gaming life wrong, I guess. Sigh.
You summarized it perfectly, I think. It's a slower story with a lot of world building early on to build up steam for not just itself, but what is coming up. Heavensward was able to stand on its own so well BECAUSE of ARR even if people do judge ARR harshly Heavensward doesn't hit the same without it.
Right on the money 👏
I think every expansion is better than the one before, stormblood dungeons and music are just better than HW, storywise it also tells a beautifull story of war and liberation.
Something you didn't mention that people tend to forget about Stormblood, is that it was the first expack without the PS3 limitations. There was definitely some experimentation with things they simply couldn't do before because PS3s everywhere would explode. By the time you get to Shadowbringers, they've figured it out.
I feel Stormblood can't be adequately viewed until it's finished at least through 4.0 and maybe 4.3. It has highs that ARR doesn't have, and some rival Heavensward in a few places, but it also has pacing issues. I don't think that can be well understood until you've gotten through the intro and the slow parts, gotten to the climax, and looked back at what the whole package was doing.
To me, besides the story, everything in SB was better than HW. Dungeouns and more fun, I like the trials better alĺnce raids, Hub, even music. And even then 4.3 picks up the ball and runs with it to make the story almost on par w HW.
Stormblood is great. Only really brought down by Lyse.
Small point: Eorzea is just the western continent. The empire only controls about 20%, with Ala Mhigo.
God, I can't wait for you to finish shadowbringers and endwalker. The videos about them will be fucking top notch.
Eorzea is not the world, but only a part of the continent Aldenard. The other continents (that we know about) are Othard and Ilsebard. Sofar, Eorzea isnt really defined concerning its location and borders, but all in all it includes our three starting cities, Ishgard and Ala Mhigo. We also dont know what the name "Eorzea" means… maybe the Enzyclopedia has a hint.
Very good summary, and on the point. I would also add that HW deals more about your personal journey: for the first time since you joined the Scions, you are on your own, making your own decisions. This is also where we get the first dialog options, and though its not much, its a start – with the result that we can give our WoL a little more character other than the taciturn "nodder". SB on the other hand isnt about us, its about the people of Ala Mhigo and Doma and all the others. Though we are the hero rising to the occasion, we are one soldier, one cog, in the war – alongside many others.
I'm so excited for you to get through Stormblood and I to Shadowbringers. I started in 2019 because I saw the Shadowbringers trailer and thought "This is the coolest shit I have ever seen" and I was right
"back to world building"
If you go into SB with that attitude, you will love it, I bet. Exact way I viewed it early on and it's above HW for me, personally.
the side content in stormblood is where the expansion truely shines, god i love the trials and raids both <3
Apostates tend to be alot more fanatic in real life aswell
This is one of the best takes I've heard on what Stormblood sets out to accomplish. You pretty much nailed it on the head. Here's hoping you keep on enjoying the content!
Stormblood is great & super Important in the whole story of FFXIV
To me, Stormblood was ok but the patch msq was really good
Outside perspective on Stormblood. Stormblood has some of the best glamours, had the introduction of two of the classes I want to play the most (Samuari and Red Mage), music seems awesome. Introduces lore impact characters. It seems like while the story might fall short of Heavenward it is still an awesome expansion in terms of being a video game.
How do you dare questions your lord and saviour the holy government? Don't you know Politicians are literally saints and prophets of the almighty God of Government. They know better than you plebian. Don't you dare to question anything, just obey.
I played through HW and Stormblood without any knowledge of what other people were saying about them and honestly I enjoyed ARR though i felt the quests were tedious at times, and I enjoyed HW and Stormblood equally. I really enjoyed both. If anything I liked Stormblood more just because I really enjoyed the characters.
Stormblood, story aside, was a HUGE crossroads for the game’s lifespan
End of PS3 support, the introduction of ultimates, more defined gameplay/identity for each job, some of the better/best dungeons and trials and raids we’ve seen so far
It gets a really really bad rep alongside ARR (as the start of the journey) because it’s stuck between HW and ShB, the rose-tinted nostalgia expansion and the behemoth popularity spike expansion
But without Stormblood, without ARR, we would not have the FFXIV we have today
Everytime it comes up I just gotta say- I genuinely prefer 4.0 over 3.0
Im tuning in tonight! Thanks for bringing so much amazing content
I left for 5 years after heavensward, when I came back I really enjoyed stormblood. Great lore.
They have introduce new zones in patch content. Notables being Eureka and Boja, both great places to experience.
My analysis is like atm many people are taking a rest. Basically that means except for those who done most everything, many people are looking for the actions alone. (I’m not saying it’s bad it’s natural you seek actions in games. So it depends on whether you can enjoy even just the environment including music and interactions with characters. In terms of the setting up part I totally agree and I love your insights. At the same time bc I got attached to npcs over two expats and the more sophisticated dungeons (tbh I one time quit around lv 20 and went back to mmo I had been playing) I enjoyed it as much as I did HW. So for me ew > shb > sb = hw (story hw what I pointed out sb) > arr (and I don’t rate it low after I started to invest I liked arr too. And I think people hate Lyse bc she is simple and jumped the character growth (that’s the bad writhing). I like her bc I’m older now so I can accept that simple nature and maybe arrogance as youth. No problem. I been there.
Afraid of ILLEGAL immigration…
I enjoyed HW and it really got me hooked into the game. I remember just wanting to get through ARR to unlock Dark Knight, although once I got into the later parts of ARR I started enjoying it more.
Then I got to HW, unlocked Dark Knight (which I really enjoyed), started getting invested in the story, and had a great time. Estinien is my favorite character in FF14, and Ishgard is my favorite city. I loved the lore, I liked the new characters and the interactions between them, and I was hooked.
All that said, I feel like SB was a better expansion. While the story low points felt worse than in HW, the high points were excellent. The dungeons and raids were better, the impact your character had on the world stage felt greater, and the villains were more satisfying.
All of this is my obviously personal experience and opinion, but I think Stormblood was fantastic, and honestly rivaled Endwalker for the #2 spot imo (Shadowbringers stands alone at the top.)
Is this dude gonna be okay when he gets to shadowbringers? It’s gonna be intense if he likes everything else so far.