Final Fantasy XIV has had a good run so far, with strong expansions that just keep making the game bigger and better. That said, it’s time to finally settle the debate. Here’s our ranking of every FFXIV expansion from worst to best.
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6. A Realm Reborn
Okay so this technically isn’t an expansion, but A Realm Reborn is a very important arc to the overall FFXIV story, so it needs to be included. Also, if it was borne out of the destruction of the OG FFXIV, doesn’t that technically make it an expansion?
A Realm Reborn kicked things off back in 2010, and while it was seen as a huge success for the FFXIV brand and a proper revival of the once-dead MMO, it’s clear that the team was still finding its footing. There were severe pacing issues and dreadfully boring encounter designs. It was such a slog that trying to onboard new players became a meme within the community. You’d often hear people saying, “Trust me, FFXIV is good. You just gotta get through A Realm Reborn.” while trying to convince their friends to give it a go. It was that bad.
It was so bad, in fact, that Square Enix eventually went back to the base game and truncated the story and trimmed a lot of the fat. It’s a much more bearable playthrough now, but it’s still easily the worst arc of the lot.
5. Stormblood
It physically pains me to rank Stormblood this low, but despite my own sentiments about this expansion, it’s clear that this is one of the least popular arcs in the FFXIV saga.
Make no mistake, though; Stormblood is still home to one of the most impressive storylines and sequences in the game. The Azim Steppe is ruled by three Au Ra clans, and that little arc culminates in one of the best instanced duties we’ve ever seen in the game. This expansion also gave us a fantastic villain in Zenos (though I do wish he’d stayed dead), who was pure evil, and a wicked final boss in Shinryu, who was hailed as the most difficult story encounter up till that point.
What really dragged the expansion down was the Ala Mhigo stuff with Lyse. It certainly didn’t help that Lyse herself wasn’t a particularly interesting character, and Ala Mhigo just came off as incredibly dull when compared to the warm colors of Kugane.
4. Heavensward
If A Realm Reborn breathed new life into FFXIV, it was Heavensward that really put this game back on the map and in the eyes of the mainstream audience. There was a lot riding on this expansion, as it would determine whether Square Enix could really keep this MMO going in the long term, and Heavensward delivered in every way imaginable.
Beautiful new medieval setting in Ishgard? Check. Better music and much better dungeon designs and encounters than in ARR? Check. Handsome Elezen boys that the FFXIV community could simp over? Check. Oh and dragons. Lots of dragons. That’ll be a surefire way of making your expansion a huge success.
All jokes aside, Heavensward didn’t just improve the game mechanically with new classes (though Machinist was a bit of a joke for the longest time) and better designs; it also told a very captivating and emotional story that took FFXIV to the next level. This expansion gave us Haurchefant, the beloved knight that the community will never forget, and Estinien, who undergoes such a beautiful development arc over the course of Heavensward, and continues to grow even today, in Dawntrail and beyond.
Lots of fans would probably tell you that Heavensward is hands down the best expansion in FFXIV even today, and they’d have a strong argument to make. The problem is that Square Enix just keeps outdoing themselves when it comes to these expansion.
3. Dawntrail
Alright, so this is a bit of a dark horse pick, and I am fully ready for the angry FFXIV mob to throw popotoes at me for putting this above Heavensward. But hear me out.
For the longest time, FFXIV had been completely absorbed in the Garlean and Ascians saga, and virtually every new plot development threw some kind of new world-ending threat at the Warrior of Light. I get it. This is an RPG after all. The stakes need to be high. The world always needs saving.
However, after bringing that chapter to a close in Endwalker, FFXIV effectively hit the reset button and said it’s time for a vacation. That’s what Dawntrail really is.
I called it a filler arc in my review of the game, but don’t take that as a slight against Dawntrail. What I loved about this expansion was how easy and breezy most of it felt. Helping Wuk Lamat in the rite of succession in the first half of the game while taking a backseat as the strongest person on the planet felt refreshing. It was nice not having to be the center of attention for once and instead focus my efforts on helping this young upstart grow and become a ruler worthy of Tuliyollal. Dawntrail feels very lighthearted, full of comedic moments that are often endearing.
This isn’t to say that the stakes don’t get higher in the second half; they do, but it’s nice that Dawntrail never loses sight of what it wants to be: a break from world-ending threats, and a well-deserved rest for the Warrior of Light.
Let’s also not forget that Dawntrail is basically the pinnacle of dungeon and encounter design at this point. Square Enix really ramped up the difficulty in this expansion, and the game assumes that you’re familiar with every mechanic that’s ever been in FFXIV, then throws you some more curveballs. No more kid gloves. Now the real game begins.
2. Endwalker
As the final chapter to a decade-long saga, and the follow-up to an incredible expansion, Endwalker had a lot to prove. This is the expansion that ends the Garlean and Ascians saga, and it did so beautifully.
There are missteps, to be sure. For starters, newcomers Venat and Meteion never quite stick the landing as new players in the game. The latter, in particular, gets introduced way too late, resulting in the expansion feeling like there’s no real antagonist driving the plot for most of it. This is also the expansion where Zenos makes his return, and while I understand that most players loved him, his constant need for attention felt very Ultros-like and ultimately left me exhausted.
With all that said, though, Endwalker tied up all of its loose ends with grace. The stakes have never been higher, and this expansion is the culmination of all the friendships and bonds the Warrior of Light has built up over the past 10 years. The result is a truly satisfying and beautiful ending to a long-running saga. You could criticize it for being predictable and even a little cheesy with its whole “My friends are my power!” mantra, but look. FFXIV‘s earned it.
1. Shadowbringers
Was there ever any doubt? Not only is Shadowbringers hailed as the best FFXIV expansion, it’s also been lauded as the best story in any Final Fantasy game, period. That’s seriously high praise, and it’s not a hyperbole either.
From start to finish, Shadowbringers is perfectly paced, with fun characters and plot developments that keep driving things forward. At the forefront of it all is Emet-Selch, who might’ve even dethroned Estinien and Haurchefant as best boy of FFXIV. And he’s the main villain! I’ve seen some comparisons between Emet-Selch and FFXV‘s own antagonist Ardyn because they’re both charming, smarmy dudes, but it’s not even close.
Emet-Selch is easily the most complex and fascinating villain we’ve ever seen in Final Fantasy. He comes off as pure evil at first, but his heavy involvement in the story of Shadowbringers also allows us to see that there is indeed a method to his madness. His desires and motivations all make sense, and our final showdown with him isn’t a battle of good versus evil, but rather one of truths and wills. You understand why he does what he does, and in another life, perhaps you’d even be on his side. But with the way things stand, it needs to come down to a battle to see who has the stronger will to see things through.
And we haven’t even talked about Ryne, or the Exarch, or just how beautiful the First is. Shadowbringers features some truly remarkable zones, and I’d also argue that it has the best soundtrack of the lot. And while we’re on the topic of bests, Shadowbringers also introduced the Dancer and Gunbreaker jobs, which are two of the most enjoyable jobs FFXIV has to offer today.
After Shadowbringers, Endwalker almost felt like a whole step down. But I guess you can’t beat perfection.
FFXIV is available to play now.
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