A lot of expectations are made whenever a game titled Final Fantasy comes out and Square Enix Co Ltd has always come out on top the installment. What it needs to include is twisting storylines, epic magical landscapes, and a lot of epic battles. These are the basic ingredients of the game.

FFXIV mixes traditional Final Fantasy with up-to-date MMO format to perfection, that makes the gamer in you want to play endlessly. Heavensward is no different. It’s the first expansion of FFXIV and includes a massive new section to Eorzea’s map, it has a few new classes and doesn’t tip the balance of the game. When compared to The Elder Scrolls Online, where the game failed to meet the expectations of the player to mix Skyrim with an online open-world scenario, Heavensward tops the game by miles.

Heavensward opens on a grim note, taking the player to Ishgard, the sealed city. It takes some time for the first timer to get used to the game, but the experience is worth the effort. The boosts also help the newcomer to cut dungeon waiting times. Unless the player is interested in playing as the brand new Au Ra race, they can wait till they are ready before spending anything on Heavensward.

The new areas that have been added are massive and utilize the new flying mounts to their full potential. Camps are scattered all over the hill covered with snow, while the Sea of Clouds are filled with small islands that wait to be explored. Until and unless the player unlocks all of aether currents to “learn what the surrounding winds are like,” they cannot take advantage of the design of flight as they have to walk till then. The aether currents are scattered throughout the lands while some of them are earned through doing quests. While it does get a bit boring doing the basic MMO work, such as killing beasts from one point on the map to another, but as soon as the flight option is unlocked, everything is forgotten. Flying actually makes the most tedious task of delivering to be really fun even.

When it comes to battles, the fighting is equally as beautiful as the rest of the things in Final Fantasy world. The newly added classes: glob-spinning Astrologian, Sword wielding Dark Knight and gun toting Machinist all add a nice mix to the lineup, along with the new skills existing classes have, raising the level cap to 60. The player has to form a strategy to counter every new move, the new found greater choice factor is more appealing to the players. Dark Knights have the ability to leap forward during battles, hence winning in popularity stakes. The greatsword, while swinging at opponents, causes dark magic to emit from the character’s body in a fashion that is no less than stylish.

Dungeons have been added and have been well-received by everyone, as they add more environmental twists. Previously, there used to be angry mobs, now there are dragons that change the field with their fire breath, or hidden passageways behind shelves and changes like these are the key success formula that makes visiting the dungeon worthwhile.