From time to time it happens to meet a game that totally changes the way of understanding the videogame hobby: a valid example was Final Fantasy XIV. We are talking about a title that has brought for the first time a multiplayer experience that can totally capture the attention like the best single player titles. The title of Yoshida has given a lot over the years, but after some time and an unsuccessful expansion, a common feeling began to spread in the fanbase that said "ah the good times of heavensward", extolling an expansion that was without doubt the absolute peak of the game.
With Stormblood, Square Enix tried to repeat what it did with Heavensward, maintaining the exact same narrative and content release structure, with certainly satisfactory results, but which failed to dispel the feeling that Final Fantasy XIV had already experienced its peak.. Once the curtain has fallen on the good Stormblood, the task of bringing the game back to its peak falls on Shadowbringers, which from the first minutes suggests that Yoshida's team has very clear ideas. This latest expansion has not only succeeded in its intent to bring Final Fantasy XIV back "to the good old days of Heavesward", but has completely obliterated the previous peak, with a phenomenal offering that combines much improved game quality with the best storytelling ever. seen in post-merger Square Enix.
Talking about Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers in a single review and doing it justice is almost impossible. In fact, we have drawn up a "pre-review" more focused on discussing the narrative sector, and we direct you to that article in case you want to deal with the history of the game, to which we will devote less space in this review. As already mentioned, we underline, even coldly, that the narrative of Shadowbringers is simply magnificent, it works in every respect, both as a standalone story arc set in the world of First, and as a climax of one of the most anticipated clashes in the history of Final Fantasy XIV . However, focusing on other aspects, not covered in the previous article, Shadowbringers offers a step forward in every element that Stormblood introduced through a mammoth rework to the global game system. The classes have been enriched and re-balanced, totally eliminating the exaggerated gaps between the "meta" and "off-meta" classes, but without distorting roles of heavy hitter such as the Black Mage or the Monk which remain high difficulty classes but highest reward when used well.
Not all is perfect, but the balance is so well managed, and each class so well constructed, that they can complain about tertiary dynamics, such as the functioning of a certain attack within the global Cooldown rather than outside that system; basically, Raider stuff. Also, even if you dig very deep, you won't find anything that doesn't work, just mechanics that high-level players of a certain class would prefer improved, and which will certainly be subject to balance in the next patch.
The new mechanics added to the combat system are simple but very witty. It is now possible to accumulate the cooldowns of some skills, making them available in multiple simultaneous uses. This mechanic is not totally new, but it consists of an improvement in the "skill bars" added to each class by Stormblood; these bars have not disappeared, but they work in parallel with the mechanics of multiple uses, thus allowing developers to have further potential to give each class a unique feel.
2 new classes have also been added, to which a total rework of the Machinist is added, thus giving 3 new classes to the players.
Gunbreaker and Dancer, the two new additions, bring additional variety to the support dps and tank roles, with the Gunbreaker offering a more dynamic version of the other tanks, but much more fragile and the Dancer covering the role of the dps. of greater inclination towards pure support. The Machinist rework is perhaps the best work Yoshida's team has churned out in regards to the Final Fantasy XIV Shadowbringers classes.
Stormblood's terrifying Machinist has been totally revised, but not distorted. They have taken out any luck based mechanics and made the class geared towards fast bursts of damage, very satisfying to score. There remains some small uncertainty about a couple of abilities, in particular Flamethrower may very well not exist, but nothing that cannot be fixed with some future patch.
A great job of improvement has also been done on the sub-quests. Now most of them have unique storylines, often interesting, sometimes hilarious like Ronka's magnificent quest line of the great snake. These quests also synchronize to the player level, thus also giving an alternate way to level, thus putting a big patch on one of Stormblood's worst flaws.
The leveling is also helped by the rework of the rewards of the FATE, small global events scattered around the game maps, which finally give excellent rewards in experience. The game maps are also much more pleasant to explore, thanks above all to what are the best 2 strengths of Final Fantasy XIV (in addition to the plot), a phenomenal and original design and the soundtracks among the best ever composed.
All the more cumbersome, and frankly even boring, actions of Stormblood are made much lighter in Shadowbringer, not through reworks, but thanks to a gameplay pacing that allows you to do everything without burdening the game sessions too much from semi secondary activities - mandatory, but boring.
The new dungeons are all very fun and very visually inspired, with more varied bosses thanks to the fact that the team has decided to give, even in dungeons, a minimum of additional challenge, adding very simplified versions of mechanics seen in Stormblood boss savage .
Ultimately, everything Shadowbringer added is perfectly promoted. The classes are varied and balanced, the amazing soundtrack, original design and new content are all compelling. The new tiers of raid savage contain very varied and original battles, and the potential for the content of the next patches is very high, with a raid with the signature of Yoko Taro arriving between October and November. There is no better time to play Final Fantasy XIV, and there has never been a better time before. Get over the “final fantasy can't be online” preconception and join the adventure that has been making millions of players dream for years.
