TYFP

One of the coolest things about Final Fantasy XIV as an MMORPG is how it’s character progression inside a single expansion, and over multiple expansion through level cap increases and kit changes seems like you are constantly becoming a more badass Warrior of Light.

In A Realm Reborn at level cap 50, the battle system and design was much different than it is now. Tanks had multiple combos, some for building enmity, some for DPS. Melee DPS jobs had an assortment of unique abilities and combos that all did different things; like making an enemy more vulnerable to blunt damage or piercing damage. Combat was slower, as our younger, less experienced Warriors of Light did terrible things like melding elemental defense Materia to their armor, and healers could actually miss.

Technically speaking, this is a result of a game coming from a very shaky foundation, and struggling to find balance in its own combat. And it hasn’t been without it’s own disappointing moments. I am not the only heartbroken Dark Knight main missing Scourge, nor am I the only White Mage missing Stoneskin II and pre-battle buffs. But if you’ve been playing since then, you get to experience a unique form of character progression. Not only does our WoL learn new abilities as they level up, but as time goes on and they are forced to face new challenges, they find ways to break limits like the level cap, and when old abilities disappear or changed you get a very distinct feeling that your WoL is ditching older techniques that didn’t work in favor of more powerful or strategic kits.

In 2014 a Scholar had to give individual orders to it’s fairy and it could miss with it’s spells. A Paladin’s aoe was a flash of light. Warrior’s could only protect their allies by holding enmity. Going into Endwalker, ranged attacks no longer break our combos. Healers speialize and share the load between shields and regeneration. Ranged DPS learned to channel stronger abilities, then quickly returned to castless skills after breaking the level 60 limit, becoming speedy support DPS. Monk no longer has to conform to rigid requirements to maintain Greased Lightning; such necessities are for level 80 baby Monks. Level 81 and up big boy Monks have more chakras to worry about than keeping GL up.

I know that the reason for abilities being removed, streamlined, turned into traits, etc is to prevent hotbar bloat. I know that abilities change or disappear to combine with others to improve balance when players inevitably find meta’s and attempt to break the game. But having played since early ARR, it’s very satisfying to see that our characters aren’t only getting powerful because number get bigger, but in ways that make sense in the context of combat and use.

Every 4 months (usuall) Final Fantasy continues to prove that it is the most polished, best balanced, and highest quality MMORPG available and I am constantly rewarded for playing it.