WoW is an ok game, but it simply does not match the quality of FFXIV.
Visual and story wise FFXIV just stands above WoW though i played WoW for a long time FFXIV just feels a lot more polished even WoW feels polished but just not like FF... the last quest chain in suramar just feels like a grind and so do a lot of things in WoW. FFXIV never feels like a real grind. And i have not even talked about the crafting system.
Which story you prefer really is your preference. Neither is better than the other; it's personal preference that counts here...
Graphics don't matter in the enthusiast market. On decent systems, WoW can be run at High+ settings, and it looks really good. So does FFXIV. No one with decent PC specs really complains about how WoW looks. I do think newer games are a bit over the top with effects, lighting, etc. FFXIV and GW2 are two that spring to mind immediately...
Where Graphics do matter is in the casual market with users who are running off the shelf, older, and less powerful systems... I tested both games on an AMD A10-5745M Laptop (768p) with 8GB DDR 1600MHz RAM (in Dual Channel Mode) and an Intel 530 Series SATA3 SSD Drive.
FFXIV was barely playable without putting the graphics down so far, that it actually looked worse than WoW (to me). WoW was playable at Medium+ Settings. In fact, I ran an LFR Raid in those settings, and it remained playable throughout...
I also tested ESO and GW2 on this hardware. GW2 was basically unplayable without dropping the settings WAY down (similar to FFXIV), but ESO was surprisingly decent (considering how heavy this game is) - probably due to it having a better/more efficient graphics engine (GW2 is full of all sorts of superfluous visual fluff, as well as FFXIV). My guess is that WoW and ESO utilize multi-core processors better than FFXIV and GW2. This causes the latter two games to bottleneck on pre-Ryzen AMD APUs, while the first two do not because AMD's APUs get a lot better when the software is properly designed for Multi-Core systems.
FFXIV has grindy aspects to its game as well, and it's as much a gear treadmill as WoW. I don't think the crafting system in WoW is anything worth crying over, personally, but no it isn't that good.
On the flip side, WoW has much better content systems than FFXIV - which FFXIV is now starting to copy... LFR->Normal->Herioc->Mythic Raiding. Mythic+ Dungeons. Battlegrounds and Arena. The PvP in WoW is much better.
The combat and gameplay "pace" in WoW is also much better. Playing FFXIV feels more like waiting than fighting. And while many people will say "get to end game," it's not hard to go to Twitch or YouTube and see people in end-game gear playing the game. The GCD is still ridiculous. The casting and combat speed is still molasses. It feels designed for mentally retarded people who can only process information at half the rate of the average human being.
I cant really agree its the best anymore, a few games hold my attention just as well these days. Maybe up until Wrath that was true, but not anymore, way too much degradation of what made the game fun. I tested Legion you know nothing serious played a class I could faceroll with its maybe better than MOP but god knows what they were thinking with Survival hunters, I dont know.
It feels like a sloppy safe zone money grab now. Dead areas all over the place, bad design from CATA makes some areas unplayable. Past a certain level crafting is useless. It feels more like a mount collecting incentive game now, gotta catch em all. Although I do REALLY like the firelands phoenix its not reason enough to keep playing.
Low level players dont even play the game, no one is in the barrens, there is zero population in STV, no one is in Ashenvale, outside of the starting zones you wont see anyone as soon as they reach level high enough to get a first talent (15) its dungeon time afk in the city.
Theres plenty of bait, carrots, nice looking rare mounts etc, but no real fun in the actual game anymore unless you're a die hard raider or do competitive arena, but thats hardly the majority.
Comments
Graphics don't matter in the enthusiast market. On decent systems, WoW can be run at High+ settings, and it looks really good. So does FFXIV. No one with decent PC specs really complains about how WoW looks. I do think newer games are a bit over the top with effects, lighting, etc. FFXIV and GW2 are two that spring to mind immediately...
Where Graphics do matter is in the casual market with users who are running off the shelf, older, and less powerful systems... I tested both games on an AMD A10-5745M Laptop (768p) with 8GB DDR 1600MHz RAM (in Dual Channel Mode) and an Intel 530 Series SATA3 SSD Drive.
FFXIV was barely playable without putting the graphics down so far, that it actually looked worse than WoW (to me). WoW was playable at Medium+ Settings. In fact, I ran an LFR Raid in those settings, and it remained playable throughout...
I also tested ESO and GW2 on this hardware. GW2 was basically unplayable without dropping the settings WAY down (similar to FFXIV), but ESO was surprisingly decent (considering how heavy this game is) - probably due to it having a better/more efficient graphics engine (GW2 is full of all sorts of superfluous visual fluff, as well as FFXIV). My guess is that WoW and ESO utilize multi-core processors better than FFXIV and GW2. This causes the latter two games to bottleneck on pre-Ryzen AMD APUs, while the first two do not because AMD's APUs get a lot better when the software is properly designed for Multi-Core systems.
FFXIV has grindy aspects to its game as well, and it's as much a gear treadmill as WoW. I don't think the crafting system in WoW is anything worth crying over, personally, but no it isn't that good.
On the flip side, WoW has much better content systems than FFXIV - which FFXIV is now starting to copy... LFR->Normal->Herioc->Mythic Raiding. Mythic+ Dungeons. Battlegrounds and Arena. The PvP in WoW is much better.
The combat and gameplay "pace" in WoW is also much better. Playing FFXIV feels more like waiting than fighting. And while many people will say "get to end game," it's not hard to go to Twitch or YouTube and see people in end-game gear playing the game. The GCD is still ridiculous. The casting and combat speed is still molasses. It feels designed for mentally retarded people who can only process information at half the rate of the average human being.
It feels like a sloppy safe zone money grab now. Dead areas all over the place, bad design from CATA makes some areas unplayable. Past a certain level crafting is useless. It feels more like a mount collecting incentive game now, gotta catch em all. Although I do REALLY like the firelands phoenix its not reason enough to keep playing.
Low level players dont even play the game, no one is in the barrens, there is zero population in STV, no one is in Ashenvale, outside of the starting zones you wont see anyone as soon as they reach level high enough to get a first talent (15) its dungeon time afk in the city.
Theres plenty of bait, carrots, nice looking rare mounts etc, but no real fun in the actual game anymore unless you're a die hard raider or do competitive arena, but thats hardly the majority.