I played 1000 hours of Final Fantasy XIV (FFXIV) to figure out the answer to the question: Is it worth it to play FFXIV?  Whether you got interested in it because of the upcoming Patch 6.3 or because of the ongoing sale, I hope that this article helps answer that question.

Let me preface this article by saying that there are other players with way more time in this game than I do. They've been playing for way longer, even some who started playing in the original game. This article is based on my experience with the game and is basically my thoughts on the game. You most likely will have a different experience compared to me. As such, don't take my word as gospel. This article should help you decide if you want to give the game a try. It's not something definitive that you should obey. With that out of the way, let's dive right into whether or not FFXIV is worth playing.

1000 Hours of FFXIV

Final Fantasy XIV is currently my most-played game. Second place is Terraria at 253 hours. Even though I only started playing this game less than a year ago, it quickly climbed up on my list of favorite games. This actually surprised me, as I'm someone who, before this game, never consistently played an MMORPG. I've played various MMORPGs before. Cabal Online, Runescape, Adventure Quest Worlds, Albion Online, and New World, to mention a few. I'm no beginner to the MMORPG scene, and I actually liked playing all the games I listed down. My problem, I think, was that none of these games ever succeeded in keeping my attention. Some felt too grindy, others had so many innate problems, and most of them didn't really have a compelling story.

When I first downloaded FFXIV last year, I really knew nothing much about it. All I knew about the game was the free trial copypasta, something that I now can recite and write from memory. I kept joking with my friends about it, especially with my two friends who actually played the game. It was at their insistence that I actually downloaded the game. This was also at the height of the pandemic, so I really had so much time on my hands.

What initially brought me in was the character creation. There were so many options to choose from, from the available races to the customization options for all of them. However, what really got me hooked is not just the fact that I can customize my character that much. It was the fact that I saw my character's face a lot. I don't just mean in-game, where I don't wear a helmet to see my character. What I meant was that even during the important cutscenes, I could see my character. What's better is that she's not just standing there doing nothing. I could see her facial expressions, her reactions, everything. She felt like she was an actual character in the story, not just someone who happened to be there.

This brings me to my next point, which is FFXIV's story. As I mentioned above, MMORPGs normally can't hook me when it comes to storytelling. A lot of MMORPGs skimp on the story, instead focusing more on the multiplayer content, such as dungeons and raids. Because of this, I usually found myself just skipping the stories of other MMORPGs. When I started playing FFXIV, I thought I would do the same thing. I thought that I could afford to skip the story, and just enjoy the game without it. Thankfully, my friends told me that I shouldn't skip it, and I'm thankful I listened to them. After all, FFXIV's story is one of the reasons why I think it's worth it to play it.

Before it is an MMORPG, it is a Final Fantasy game, and it shows. The game's writing is so well-written, that not a single story tidbit is wasted. That isn't to say that there aren't some boring parts, or that the writing was always good. There were some times during the base game, A Realm Reborn when I wanted nothing more than to get the quests over with. However, what I realized is that once I reached the later parts of the story, everything mattered. A good example of this is this group of side characters, who you didn't really have to interact with that much. I actually nearly forgot about them, that is until they popped up again down the line. Not as friends, mind you, but as part of one of the scariest dungeons, I have ever played.

It's similar to slow-burn stories, which take chapters upon chapters to build up the story. This could turn away a lot of people, as some people prefer the story here and now, or not at all. However, I believe that this is the main reason why I really fell in love with Final Fantasy XIV. No detail or story in the game is useless. There are plenty of callbacks in the later parts of the game, some of which still makes me cry now. Final Fantasy XIV is not like other MMORPGs where the story is just there for the sake of the story. You can actually feel the love and effort the writers put into the game's story. For me, that's enough to make FFXIV worth playing.

Of course, if the story is not enough to convince you, there are quite a lot of other things for you to do. The game has so much content that even with my 1000 hours, I still have not experienced it all. While this may seem overwhelming for some, it's anything but. One of the things that make FFXIV stand out from the rest is that players aren't forced to play. You don't have to keep running the latest raid or keep farming to power up. Players aren't forced to log in every day just to keep up with others, or to accomplish daily tasks for fear of being left out. In fact, the developers themselves said that if you didn't feel like playing the game, then don't.

FFXIV and its developers always have the player in mind. If all you want to do is AFK in Limsa Lominsa's Lower Decks, that's okay. I did that for at least a hundred hours myself. If all you want to do is run dungeons or raids all day, that's fine as well. If you prefer gathering and crafting over diving into dungeons, that's also fine. I remember the story of the player who leveled his fishing to 90, the level cap right now, without even leaving the base game. Players can choose how they want to play. There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to enjoying FFXIV. What matters is that you find the reason that will make playing FFXIV worth it for you.

1000 hours of FFXIV may seem a lot. It really is. I could be playing other games, or doing things people deem “useful” during that time. However, I don't regret any second of it. The 1000 hours I spent in FFXIV was some of the best of my life. I met new friends at the HERO Free Company. I experienced so many heartbreaks, so many great moments, and more, more than I ever experienced in other games. FFXIV is the gift that keeps on giving, and I intend to spend another 1000 hours there, maybe even more.

To summarize my thoughts on the matter, yes. My 1000 hours of FFXIV made me realize that this game is worth playing. We may have different reasons for playing it but at the end of the day, what matters is that you decided to jump into this critically-acclaimed MMORPG.