Have you fallen in love with the iconic Final Fantasy series and you’re looking to live in that world for many hours? FFXIV Online has not stopped since its debut in 2013.

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, the last pitcher of the saga, debuted to much fanfare on the PC and PS3 in 2013. As one of the biggest recent successes for Square-Enix, the gaming company continues to invest in FFXIV Online with the latest major expansion, Shadow Bringers, released on July 2, 2019.

In other words, it’s not too late to begin this game.

FFXIV has received a tremendously positive reception. It had over 20 million people playing it around the world. This amazing game comes with lots of variety and flexibility.

What it means for FFXIV to be Cross-Platform

You must be aware that it operates as a cross-platform game. FFXIV is available on PC, PS3, and PS4. The players from all three versions can play together irrespective of the version they purchase! It’s fairly impressive that FFXIV runs on three different platforms with the same account.

Players can play this game on the same servers. The players on PS4 can fully interact with PC players. You can even transfer your progress on a different platform.

Comparing the PS4 and PC Versions

If you are interested in FFXIV and have both a PS4 and PC, you might be wondering which platform to pursue. Is FFXIV better on PC or PS4?

Well, this is a tough question to answer!

Here’s the short answer:

Seeing that FFXIV is constantly being updated, the PC will alway be a better option, depending on how good your hardwares are! 

Both the PC and PS4 versions have improved server structures and an improved interface. They both come with a brand-new game engine, better gameplay, and run at a higher frame-rate in higher resolution. FFXIV has a more engaging story than the original.

The difference between PS3 and PC versions of FFXIV had been quite apparent and explicit. The PC version was soaring miles ahead in the graphics race. The PS4 version of FFXIV has made the game look beautiful. It has amazingly utilized the gaming consoles’ new architecture and hardware.

Here’s what you need to know about the PC and PS4 version of FFXIV:

Keyboard set up required

FFXIV is a massively multiplayer online game that requires a keyboard and mouse setup on either platform.

In FFXIV PS4 version, you may probably need a mouse and keyboard setup just like with the PS3 version. This will be required to chat when you’re using the group finder.

If you feel more comfortable, you can play the entire FFXIV game with a keyboard and mouse. However, a controller also works fine for playing this game.

Graphics

If you have a powerful gaming PC, you can always play games with superior graphics than consoles. A PC can always run cross platform game settings better than a console can.

The FFXIV appears gorgeous on the PS4. The graphics and speed of gameplay easily rival that of the most advanced gaming PCs. You cannot tell the difference between the graphics performance of PS4 and an advanced gaming PC unless you run the game on both the devices with the screen for comparisons side by side.

However, if you are a graphics guy, you should go for the PC version of Final Fantasy XIV.   

Movement

If you are playing the PC version of FFXIV, you might be using the familiar WASD keys to navigate the game. This can lead to excessive amounts of strafing and backpedaling. Due to this and the movements that grow repetitive, it seems unnatural when constantly engaged.

Most MMO players have become accustomed to navigating with the WASD keyboard buttons. Using a combination of mouse and WASD is best for maximum mobility. 

If you want to have better control, you might use the analog control stick. The PS4 players can take advantage of the analog control stick for optimum control of their characters and analog movement. You have a full 360 degree range of motion available at the disposal of your left thumb. It makes maneuvering and travelling much more enjoyable.

Skill Mapping

If you only play solo mode, skill mapping is not a problem. It’s much of a concern at first when you simply don’t have that many abilities.

When you have many abilities and eventually earn a lot of skills, it’s a lot to keep track of. Skill mapping becomes a bit cumbersome with a controller. To overcome this, you can manage it well with a keyboard and the buttons it offers.

Raids are much better on PS4 as compared to PS3 with much less lag and latency. There are numerous buttons on the PS4 controller to tie to your most frequently used skills. Still, if you participate in raids, you may find it less effective than a keyboard.

Raids can push you to your limits. This can become awkward and irritating, especially in a fast-paced raid environment. They might require the use of skills you would otherwise never employ. 

To accomplish this, you would need to tie these skills to another set of controller functions, and switch between this and your main skill-set. Of course, you can resolve this issue by buying a Playstation keyboard.

Targeting

If you are playing with a PS4 controller, targeting can be tough. It’s quite difficult to target friends and enemies without a mouse. Targeting action is simple with the use of a mouse, but troublesome and annoying with the controller’s directional pad. 

With a PS4 controller, a player must manually scroll through an entire list of enemies to find the preferred target. This can get a little annoying when you’re alone. But, when you are fighting a great number of opponents or a room full of enemies and allies, you constantly need to switch your attention between. So, a PS4 controller becomes especially problematic on raids.

Touchpad Use

FFXIV has tons of situations that require players to use the touchpad. The PS4’s touchpad takes the place of the “Start” and “Select” buttons. Its cursor is meticulous and you can have a hard time getting it to stop exactly where you want it to. You can swipe your finger on it to move a cursor around the screen, sort of like how you would with a mouse on a PC.

With a controller, you have to scroll through a list of them before finding what you want. While using a keyboard, you can access any menu just by clicking on a specific key. 

Navigating Menus

Menu navigation was a huge problem with PS3. Thanks to PS4’s touchpad, this problem has been resolved. The touchpad of PS4 makes the navigation of FFXIV game’s extensive menu system and pop-up screens easy. However, this is still nowhere near as easy to handle as it is with an actual mouse and keyboard.

Is FFXIV worth it?

Definitely! It’s a brilliant game all around with a friendly community. It has a perfect balance between a compelling story and MMO elements.

Here’s why you should play FFXIV: 

• If you are on PS4 and have a friend playing on PC, you both can play and have fun together.

• There are tons of things that you can do in this game. If combat isn’t your thing, there’s a range of crafting and gathering jobs. You can spend hundreds of hours without getting bored or running out of content to explore.

• The game gives you compelling and fascinating stories. FFXIV Patch 5.4 has brought more story, a new dungeon, trial, and the final four raids from the Eden series.

• FFXIV has a killer soundtrack that is a pleasure to listen to.

• It’s very welcoming to newcomers. It’s a brilliant game all around, with an awesome community. The game’s population has only kept growing. There is minimal toxicity and you will never struggle to find people to run instances with.

One concern is sometimes it can be annoying trying to find a specific target when there are a bunch of enemies on the PS4 version. But nothing stops you from plugging in a mouse and keyboard.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the Final Fantasy XIV game on both the devices look almost identical and gorgeous. Your problems and concerns with PS4 gets resolved if you have keyboard and mouse accessories.

If you aren’t confident with your PC specs, you can play on PS4 since the game is cross platform.

The PS4 version supports a keyboard and mouse setup. This is something the PS3 port didn’t support. If you use a keyboard and mouse, FFXIV becomes very similar to the PC experience. So, FFXIV on the PS4 is also a worthy experience. It controls fairly well, especially if you focus on solo quests. 

If you play on PS4, and want to play on PC later, it’s simply a matter of rebuying the PC copy of the game and linking it to your existing service account.

At the end of the day, it’s all about your personal preferences. Simply choose Final Fantasy XIV on your preferred device, and you’ll be slaying monsters in no time.

Stay cool and enjoy your gaming adventures! And hey — stick around and join the Miranda Lemons gaming community by catching a Miranda Lemons Twitch stream. I hope to see you there.