Wow... What to say about this game? Well, I guess WoW is a good place to start, actually! As a long-time player of World of Warcraft, I can honestly say that I haven't felt this way playing an MMO in years! Before all of the instancing and cross-server stuff, the game had a sense of community, and upon playing, you'd bump into you'd met before. It was such a cool feeling to have a reputation amid the community outside your friend group.

Blizzard used to be that cool company I would always bet on; they made cool games, and they had that confident attitude to innovate and produce quality products. I guess you already know that, though.

But this isn't about WoW. Honestly, my experience with XIV has been partly in lamenting the loss of the game I once loved. It's like an old friend that you have memories with. It's become a toxic relationship, and I can no longer support the company that makes the game. It's a hollow shell of what it once was, and I think the exodus to XIV will be a good thing for Blizzard. They're really going to have to step up if they want their fans back.

The community in XIV reminds me of the times I had with WoW in the past, and it allows me to experience an adventure for the first time. The community morale is amazing, and the sense of belonging I get while interacting with people is a joy. The fact that the community loves their developers and vice versa really stood in stark contrast to the Stockholm syndrome I had for WoW. For years, I thought "all I have to do is wait for the next expansion. It's gonna be great". Final Fantasy has shown me that greatness doesn't come from engagement metrics or data sets-- it's about having developers who are active listeners and actually play the game they make. I've wasted at least 15 hours so far in the Golden Saucer alone, and to what end? Because it's fun! That's what gaming should be.

Thanks to Square, Yoshida, and the whole dev team for welcoming myself and other WoW refugees with open arms.

Wow... What to say about this game? Well, I guess WoW is a good place to start, actually! As a long-time player of World of Warcraft, I can honestly say that I haven't felt this way playing an MMO in years! Before all of the instancing and cross-server stuff, the game had a sense of community, and upon playing, you'd bump into you'd met before. It was such a cool feeling to have a reputation amid the community outside your friend group. Blizzard used to be that cool company I would always bet on; they made cool games, and they had that confident attitude to innovate and produce quality products. I guess you already know that, though. But this isn't about WoW. Honestly, my experience with XIV has been partly in lamenting the loss of the game I once loved. It's like an old friend that you have memories with. It's become a toxic relationship, and I can no longer support the company that makes the game. It's a hollow shell of what it once was, and I think the exodus to XIV will be a good thing for Blizzard. They're really going to have to step up if they want their fans back. The community in XIV reminds me of the times I had with WoW in the past, and it allows me to experience an adventure for the first time. The community morale is amazing, and the sense of belonging I get while interacting with people is a joy. The fact that the community loves their developers and vice versa really stood in stark contrast to the Stockholm syndrome I had for WoW. For years, I thought "all I have to do is wait for the next expansion. It's gonna be great". Final Fantasy has shown me that greatness doesn't come from engagement metrics or data sets-- it's about having developers who are active listeners and actually play the game they make. I've wasted at least 15 hours so far in the Golden Saucer alone, and to what end? Because it's fun! That's what gaming should be. Thanks to Square, Yoshida, and the whole dev team for welcoming myself and other WoW refugees with open arms.