It has been over ten years since Square Enix and Creative Studio III rebooted one of the most catastrophic MMORPGs in history, and since then, they’ve only continued to impress. Final Fantasy XIV has quickly become one of, if not the best, MMORPG experiences on the market, offering an emotional and well-told story with a huge cast of likable characters, exciting raids and generally just a ton of content for every type of gamer, be it casual, midcore or hardcore.
With the recent release ofFinal Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail, we wanted to see how the expansions stacked up with one another. Some are no doubt better than others, but for the most part, every expansion listed below is heavily recommended despite their standings.
We should note that these rankings are purelybased on the initial release and base x.0 stories. It would be unfair to rank Dawntrail in with the rest when its post-release patch cycle has just begun. And to that, this list would look drastically different if we were to throw in the full cycle. We’re also not including A Realm Reborn in the mix because, well, it’s not an expansion and it would be at the bottom anyway. Regardless, here’s our ranking of the best Final Fantasy XIV expansions.
5Dawntrail
New Story, New World
Release Date
June 11, 2025
OpenCritic Score
The recently-released expansion, we were debating where on the list Dawntrail would end up. But, at the end of the day, we decided that it’s right at the bottom, at least compared to the other expansions. When put up against A Realm Reborn, it’s still drastically better, but that’s not exactly saying much. While there are certainly high points, there are just far too many story-related issues, be they plot holes or the extensive story conveniences without any explanation for them. It doesn’t help that the writing is incredibly inconsistent, making some of the beloved characters become insufferable and scenarios lacking empathy. It introduced interesting ideas that could have huge story revelations, but they end up never fully being expanded upon or fleshed out.
In the end, Dawntrail has the potential to be one of the best expansions in terms of content, because the trials and raids are already off to a promising start with compelling new mechanics, but in terms of story, it’s a colossal letdown.
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4Stormblood
Adventures in the East
June 18, 2025
The fact Stormblood beat out Dawntrail tells you how disappointed we were in the recent expansion because the adventure to the Far East and Gyr Abania was riddled with issues. The adventure to Kugane and Othard was the highlight of the expansion as the visual aesthetic was better than anything we saw in the MMORPG, and the Hien, Gosetsu and Yugiri trio was a breath of fresh air. That’s top of the ruthless Yotsuyu was arguably more interesting than Zenos himself, torturing not only the people of Othard, but experimenting on her own. There are still issues with some of the pacing, but generally speaking, the Far East section was what ensured Stormblood didn’t fall to last place.
Unfortunately, the Ala Mhigo portion is what dragged the experience down. While we’re a fan of Zenos during this period, he’s still a one-dimensional antagonist and the rest of the cast doesn’t do much to help. What’s sad is that it started off good with Pipin and Raubahn’s strategic invasion into the lands, but it just went downhill when coming back from Kugane, as Lyse’s involvement was not what the story needed. And then it just ends with the most awkward, out-of-place moment where everyone breaks out singing. We’re thankful that the content in the post-patches made it one of the best expansions, but since we’re only talking about the x.0 release, it’s near the bottom.
3Endwalker
Conclusion to the Ten-Year Saga
Jul 09, 2025
The conclusion to the ten-year saga, Endwalker had a lot riding on it, and for the most part, it delivered. It featured compelling new locations across the globe and a stellar cast that went beyond The Scions and their antics. Finally seeing Garlemald for the first time was a longtime coming, and even though we never got to see it in its prime, there was a sense of satisfaction after taking down so many of the Legions over the years. That’s on top of Elpis, one of the most beautiful areas we had the pleasure of exploring, and unforgettable dungeons to boot.
With that said, there are still issues, mainly stemming from Square pulling the rug from underneath the story that has been going on for so long to quickly introduce a new antagonist that was hidden in the background. It was apparent that it was forced in halfway through and felt like it was there to simply facilitate some of the characters that became popular in the prior expansion. Regardless, Endwalker still has fantastic and memorable story beats that are some of the most emotional the MMORPG has ever seen.
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2Heavensward
The War of Space Dragons
July 29, 2025
The first expansion ends up being one of the most memorable. This was a monumental step up from A Realm Reborn. Don’t get me wrong, A Realm Reborn made Final Fantasy XIV playable, but it still had a ton of issues, not only in its gameplay, but in its storytelling. Thankfully, Heavensward resolved much of it. A good portion of what made this memorable is that Square completely recast the vast majority of the cast, which was heavily needed. A Realm Reborn had stilted and forgettable moments which were contributed by the voice acting direction.
In Heavensward, they refocused on each character, and it worked perfectly, with their voice actors now being heavily tied and beloved by the community. On top of that, they told an amazing story that was closer to a true fantasy title. It dealt very much with the politics of a nation that has been at war with dragons for over one-thousand years. If that doesn’t sound exciting, I don’t know what it is. It then goes into the details of how much of history and the truth was lost over that time and the rage on each side only grew further. Heavensward kicked off the team’s storytelling chops, as you will laugh, you will cry and you will have your heart pumping for most of it.
1Shadowbringers
Back to the Fantasy Roots
August 07, 2025
We all knew it was coming. The third expansion, Shadowbringers, takes Final Fantasy XIV back to its fantasy roots by completely uprooting the cast and sending them to a dying world. It was the refresher that we desperately needed, as dealing with the Garlean Empire for over a decade at that point was getting stale.
But this wasn’t just some one-off side quest, as it had some of the biggest revelations that will set the groundwork for not only future games, but puts in perspective why most of the events in the past happened. While a dying world, we are also learning more and more about the Ascians, the ancient race that has been pulling the strings from behind the scenes for so long. And it helped that it introduces one of the most charismatic antagonists that you almost sympathized with, despite him being a genocidal maniac. The plot is just so on point with Shadowbringers that there’s a reason why some consider it the peak of Final Fantasy storytelling.
We have little negative things to say about Shadowbringers; maybe, like most expansions, the desert section is slow and ill-paced, but that’s still only a small complaint on the grand scale of what Shadowbringers brings to the table. It’s such a monumental leap forward, especially coming off the mixed Stormblood, shining a light on what the MMORPG has to offer.
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