Final Fantasy XIV: The combat

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Let's talk combat!




The way the combat is handled is the most important part of a game for most people. The combat for Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn isn't for everyone, but it's definitely not terrible. I found it very satisfying and enjoyable, actually, it's just not quite as action-oriented as some other games. Think Guild Wars 2 with a target-based combat system.

 I tend to hate games that feel too "floaty," but everything that happens in the combat in FFXIV feels impactful and satisfying. The classes all play uniquely so far and I was able to very distinctly decide on Pugilist as my favorite so far, but many more classes have been promised in the future.

In my experience as a Pugilist, the combat revolved entirely around comboing skills and avoiding damage when you could.

Red zone of death means MOOOVE IT

It seems that some classes are better equipped at avoiding damage than others. The Dragoon is highly mobile and able to avoid these AoEs, but the Thaumaturge seems to rely on the tank to keep the damage away from them in the first place, for the most part. Combat classes spam skills and cast them instantly with their TP gauge starting at 1000. Mage classes use their MP to fuel their abilities, which are generally more painful than TP-fueled abilities, but MP is a bit more limited, and these spells have casting times. If the mage tries to move while casting it interrupts the spell as well, so mages end up being less mobile than physical fighters like archers and gladiators. Their spells tend to be more overwhelming when cast, though. I noticed while briefly playing as a Thaumaturge that there was a unique mechanic attached to their casting. After casting blizzard, I received a buff that doubled the mana cost and potency of ice spells, but halved the mana cost and potency of fire spells. Casting a fire spell would cancel that buff and casting a fire spell again would give me another buff, opposite of the one for ice spells. Big nuking means sticking to one element and spending a ton of mana, while spellspamming was less damaging, but much less demanding of the THM's mana.

The skills and spells are all very flashy and enjoyable to use, though, and I feel like they couldn't feel as "solid" or "satisfying" if they were in a non-target combat system. If you play FFXIV: ARR, I highly recommend trying every one of the base classes and exploring what makes them unique. It might surprise you. This was my first time choosing a punchy type of job as my favorite.