Is Final Fantasy 14 better on PC or console?

I will wear even the dumbest hat if it doubles my experience points.

I will wear even the dumbest hat if it doubles my experience points. Screenshot: Square Enix / Kotaku

If I weren’t holding a DualSense controller while playing the PlayStation 5 beta of Final Fantasy XIV I would think it was running on my gaming PC.

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As much as I love my massively multiplayer online role-playing games, I hate playing them on game consoles. They always look muddy and the frame rates are always abysmal. It’s a shame to take a beautiful PC game like, say, Black Desert Online, and turn it into a sluggish mess to shoehorn it onto an Xbox One or PS4.

Final Fantasy XIV on the PS4 fared better than most in the trip between PC and console, but the difference between the two versions was still too much for me. The game felt mushy around the edges on the console, not nearly as crisp and vibrant. On the PlayStation 5, however, things are looking and feeling so sharp and lovely. The lights are bright, the edges are sharp and clean, and the latest version of my go-to catboy character, Back Clawtooth, has never looked prettier.

Started
a new character in order to get used to gamepad controls.

Started a new character in order to get used to gamepad controls. Screenshot: Square Enix / Kotaku

The frame rates are silky smooth at full HD resolution, which is exactly the sort of smooth I like them to be. Square Enix says that at 4K resolution in crowded places the frame rate dips but always stays above 30, but as someone who prefers a faster lower-resolution monitor, everything is buttery on my screen.

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It’s nice to have options. Without them, UI designers would be bored and sad.

It’s nice to have options. Without them, UI designers would be bored and sad.Screenshot: Square Enix / Kotaku

Would you like to see for yourself? I took the liberty of recording a little video. I complete a quest, hop around like an idiot, and then teleport to the city, which takes far less time than it ever has on a console before, thanks to PS5 magic.

Getting used to the game controller is tricky, but I am getting there, and if I really wanted to chat with folks I’d hook up a keyboard. At this rate, I might never do that. Folks are overrated.

The PlayStation 5 version of Final Fantasy XIV is the first console MMO I’ve played that doesn’t feel like a console MMO. The fact that I want to keep playing it and not run screaming back to the extra teraflops of my expensive gaming PC is the highest praise I can give.

Is it better to play ff14 on console or PC?

The answer to this debate for any game almost always comes down to your PC. If your PC has the capability to run the game at a higher overall graphical fidelity than your ps4 without dropping frames, then the only advantage to playing on PS4 is the small smattering of trophies.

Does it matter if I buy ff14 on Steam?

Theres no benefits to using the steam version other than the ability to use steam funds on the games store, including game time. Openong the game from steam just opens the game launcher, and you still need to log in again.

Does Final Fantasy 14 require a good PC?

Do You Need a Good PC to Play FFXIV? If your PC has a dedicated graphics card and CPU from the last decade, it runs FFXIV. Older hardware like the GTX 600 series (released in 2012) and Intel's 3000 series CPUs (Released in late 2011) can run FFXIV without issue if the hardware performs nominally.

Can I transfer ff14 from console to PC?

Similarly, customers who own a copy of FFXIV for the PlayStation®3 or PlayStation®4 and wish to use their account on the Windows® version will need to purchase a copy of the Windows® version. However, please note that your account will only be able to log in to one platform at a time.