Final Fantasy XIV is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game that has faced numerous challenges and setbacks over the course of its existence. Faced with failure and nearly bankrupting Square Enix upon its initial release, the game was shut down and reopened a year later with Naoki Yoshida, where it has recovered from its previous disaster.

Final Fantasy XIV is currently the most popular MMORPG in the market in 2022, with over 2.44 million active players. The arrival of the Endwalker event caused a massive backlog in server queues, forcing the developers to temporarily halt sales of the game, which will be reopened on January 25th.

Some new and upcoming FFXIV players may be wondering which of the five expansions rank the best, with a total of five expansions under its belt, including the base game during its relaunch, A Realm Reborn. Is it possible for FFXIV to continue to improve their products with each new expansion, or does it deteriorate over time? This article will rank these five expansions in order of best to worst.

5. A Realm Reborn

A Realm Reborn is a fitting name for the relaunch of Final Fantasy XIV's base game after the game was forced to close down not long after its initial release in 2010. A Realm Reborn is released a year after the original 1.0 was closed down, dubbed Final Fantasy XIV 2.0.

A Realm Reborn, or ARR as it is more commonly known by players, is also widely regarded as the beginning of a new era for FFXIV and even Square Enix itself. The previously panned online game has now received positive ratings and feedback from its players, introducing new elements that players may enjoy and relish.

ARR has smoother game animations, less lag and server errors, and overall well-fitting gameplay that many online players enjoy. FFXIV has slowly but steadily regained the glory it lost upon its initial release, especially when the developers are active, listen to the players' feedback, and incorporate it into the game.

Despite these high points, A Realm Reborn remains a mediocre base game, especially when compared to its later expansions. Even after they have removed some of the tedious and boring Main Scenario Quests, many players may still find A Realm Reborn to be boring and monotonous due to its slow start in both story and battle.

Fortunately, with the Free Trial that the game has provided for any interested upcoming players, players will be able to try out the base game as well as the first expansion of the game after ARR, Heavensward, for free. Furthermore, all players can level all of their combat jobs, as well as their gathering and crafting classes, to level 60, the Heavensward expansion's level cap.

Unfortunately, due to the aforementioned problem with server congestion and queue after the release of Endwalker, the game has currently suspended new registrations for free trial accounts. But don't be too disappointed; after the release of the new Oceania Data Centre, there may be news of a re-opening for free trial account registration.

Full Details for A Realm Reborn can be seen here.

4. Stormblood

Stormblood is the game's second expansion, following the release of A Realm Reborn in 2011, which came after the Heavensward expansion. Stormblood raises the level cap for all classes and jobs to 70 and adds three new battle jobs: Samurai, Red Mage, and Blue Mage.

Stormblood clearly outperforms A Realm Reborn and even Heavensward in terms of graphics and visuals, especially since Stormblood introduces many new stunning fields and areas, as well as challenging dungeons that can be difficult to beat, such as The Burn.

Why, then, is Stormblood the fourth expansion rather than the third?

The main reason for this is that, as the fourteenth installment in the Final Fantasy series, Final Fantasy XIV is a game that, first and foremost, places a high value on the story. Even as an MMORPG, FFXIV places a strong emphasis on its Main Scenario Questline (MSQ), which contains the majority of the story.

Heavensward introduces a hefty story that will move many people to tears, and while some parts of Stormblood will be touching and beautiful, others will fall flat and slow. Not to mention, because Stormblood is an expansion where the majority of the story revolves around war and politics, players who aren't interested in these topics may find Stormblood's storyline to be unappealing.

Despite this, Stormblood introduces a plethora of interesting content and attractions for players, including the beautiful eastern city of Kugane, the grindy but vast fields of Eureka, which also offers a plethora of rare rewards, mounts, and shiny weapons and armours, as well as the game's first two Ultimate Raids, The Weapon's Refrain (UWU) and The Unending Coils of Bahamut (UCOB).

Stormblood, as a whole, caters to a wide range of players by providing a variety of content for them to explore and complete. Although they are still ranked fourth, Stormblood is an amazing expansion that provides a plethora of new content for both new and veteran players.

Full Details for Stormblood can be seen here.

3. Heavensward

Heavensward is the first expansion released by the game following the arrival of A Realm Reborn, and it increased the game's popularity and ranking even higher up the MMORPG charts. Heavensward, as a game that still focuses heavily on story and lore, definitely brings a lot to the table.

In this expansion, your character, the Warrior of Light, is caught in a conflict between man and dragon, and the story reveals dark secrets hidden beneath Ishgard's towering defenses. The story is far superior to its predecessor, A Realm Reborn, in that the pacing has been adjusted and players no longer feel as if the quest is going too slowly or tediously as they did previously.

Not to mention, the story introduced new and beloved characters, as well as paint moments that can bring a tear or a waterfall to the eyes, as well as becoming a memorable journey for many players who were experiencing the story for the first time.

Furthermore, Heavensward is now included in free trial accounts in Shadowbringers following the 5.3 update, allowing many newer players to gain more access to this expansion and ultimately purchase the game after experiencing the beautiful story that is Heavensward.

Heavensward also introduces new and interesting raids to the game, including the Alexander raid, which is written as its own story. The raid itself caters to casual players via normal mode, while hardcore players can access much, much harder content via the Savage Raids.

The new expansion also introduces much-loved content, such as harder and more challenging dungeons, interesting trials with extreme, harder versions for harcore players, and the beautiful relic weapon series, the Anima relic weapon, which players still adore.

It's safe to say that Heavensward deserves to be ranked third in this article.

Full Details for Heavensward can be seen here.

2. Shadowbringers

Shadowbringers has been dubbed one of the best Final Fantasy stories of the new decade, which is saying a lot coming from a veteran franchise known for its wonderful and gripping stories, particularly from an MMORPG.

Shadowbringers is the game's third expansion after Stormblood, and it is also the expansion that skyrocketed the game's popularity; it was also during this time that Asmongold and many other WoW players came and tried out FFXIV.

Shadowbringers is nothing short of a masterpiece in terms of story. Its gripping, fast-paced storyline moved many people to tears, and the game's main villain has even become a fan favorite among many players. The story is enchanting, beautiful, and exceptionally well-written.

Aside from the story, Shadowbringers adds a lot of new interesting skills to the job classes, as well as the introduction of Gunbreaker and Dancer, as well as the Firmament, a massive amount of content created specifically for players who enjoy gathering and crafting in the game.

Shadowbringers also added a very distinct raid tier, Eden, which is loved by many players for its story as well as the incredible fun they have in the tier, which is full of nostalgia as it brings back several bosses from A Realm Reborn.

Furthermore, there is the presence of Bozja, where players can enter for the story, glamour, rare mounts, minions, orchestrion rolls, as well as the shiny Resistance Relic weapon, the Relic weapon for Shadowbringers, and the best weapon in the game before Endwalker appears.

It is safe to say that the combination of Shadowbringers' intriguing and unique story, combined with the fact that they also add many fun raid content, including a new Ultimate Raid, The Epic of Alexander (TEA), and many other battle and non-battle content, makes it one of the best expansions that has ever been added into the game, and even bring a lot of new players from all over the world to become the top MMORPG.

Full Details for Shadowbringers can be seen here.

1. Endwalker

Endwalker will simply blow the player's mind if Shadowbringers is amazing. It delivers the ending in such a beautiful, unexpected, and brilliant way as the expansion that tells the final tale between Zodiark and Hydaelyn that has been brewing since 1.0.

Endwalker's storyline is so good that some players believe it even outperforms Shadowbringer's. Of course, opinions differ, and some may still prefer Shadowbringer's story to Endwalker's.

Endwalker's new sights, on the other hand, are a sight to behold. Sharlayan's beautiful cityscape, Garlemald's ruined and gloomy destruction, Thavnair's spanning desert, and even the moon's stunning beauty, Mare Lamentorum. The new graphics that the new expansion has introduced into the game are nothing short of spectacular.

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