FFXIV’s World First winners explain how Final Fantasy raids are more “accessible” than WoW
YouTube: Shalfu, DexertoFollowing their jaw-dropping Final Fantasy XIV Dragonsong’s Reprise Race to World First win, Neverland have broken down why FFXIV’s raiding scene is more accessible than rival title, World of Warcraft.
2021 marked the rebirth of the MMORPG. With New World and Lost Ark finally hitting our screens and Final Fantasy XIV growing exponentially following a mass exodus from World of Warcraft, swathes of players have flocked to these expansive universes in search of new adventures.
In FFXIV’s case, interest around Race to World First events has also spiked. Following on from an insane WoW Shadowlands RWF, the Dragonsong’s Reprise competition saw record numbers tuning in to catch a glimpse of Neverland’s unexpected victory.
Comparing the two games’ competitive raiding scene is hardly an easy task, but the Neverland squad broke down the fundamental differences for Dexerto – and also explained why this has led to an increase in interest around high-tier raiding.
Square EnixNeverland explain differences between FFXIV & WoW raids
While parallels have been drawn between Square Enix and Blizzard’s MMORPGs, Neverland firmly believe that FFXIV’s raid system is far more accessible to players who can’t plow hours and hours into grinding.
“I think [FFXIV’s raids] are created to be very accessible,” Zeppe told Dexerto. “WoW releases patches very rarely but it’s a very big one, so it’s a very long race but then the gaps between them are relatively long. In Final Fantasy, the events are usually shorter – Savage usually lasts about a day or two, and an Ultimate about a week on average – but you get an event around every three to four months instead.
“I think this makes it more accessible for people because you can plan for it and the patch cycles are very reliable” he continues. “I can tell you right now when 6.2 is going to hit, when 6.3 is going to hit; I can make the plans for those now.
“Also, the way gear works in Final Fantasy is very lenient. Every new Savage tier effectively resets the gear and every new player can craft their own gear. It’s very affordable, it doesn’t need a lot of Gil [FFXIV’s in-game currency], so that way they ensure that anyone who wants to raid can do so. It takes no effort.”
Naarlocke is of a similar opinion, noting “World of Warcraft tends to demand a lot of your time with a lot of strong and very important consumables, as well as relying on you having a very large bank of gold and having multiple characters for World First.
“The difference is, in Final Fantasy, there’s very little outside of the raid itself that you can do to prepare outside of just working on your skills. People can actually spend their time living their lives outside of the raid so it’s easier to prepare because they don’t have to revolve their free time around it.”
Square EnixAs ex-WoW raiders flock to the emerald pastures of Eorzea, Neverland have noticed an exponential increase in players looking to get involved in the Savage and Ultimate universes.
In the FC he worked with before Neverland, Shalfu notes “I was in charge of recruitment, and I had a lot of WoW players coming with Warcraft logs like ‘I killed this in World of Warcraft,’ and I’m like ‘sure, it’s not the same!’ I definitely felt like there’s been a sudden influx of WoW players coming and trying out.
“It’s hard to start anew in a new game – I’ve been there,” he confesses. “But I hope they continue to grow in Final Fantasy and show their FFXIV achievements instead.”
As FFXIV’s competitive sphere continues to skyrocket in popularity, it’ll be interesting to see where it ends up in the future. Until then, though, we’ll be trying out for a spot in Neverland – after all, they have proven dreams can come true, right?