

(Previously, the game necessitated a certain degree of replaying old content to earn enough endgame currency to purchase this gear, but now main story quests provide you with everything you'll need to survive your first foray into Ishgard and beyond.) "Heavensward's main story is spectacular, with a series of dramatic moments throughout that are among the series' most memorable." Thankfully, the prerequisite content has been adjusted and rebalanced to ensure that players can get through it and into Heavensward as painlessly as possible with minimal grinding: simply following the main A Realm Reborn quest will now see you happily outfitted in good quality gear by its conclusion, ready to begin your new adventures. However, this makes sense in the context of the game as a whole, since Final Fantasy XIV is one of the most narrative-rich MMOs on the market. Many MMOs tend to open up expansion content immediately upon release for those at an appropriate character level, regardless of their quest progress, but Square Enix has taken a stricter approach here.

This may be frustrating to those who enjoyed A Realm Reborn but never worked their way through the narrative.
