World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy 14 Are Currently Trading Blows

It is no exaggeration to say that World of Warcraft has been the king of the MMO scene since it was released in 2004. Though it wasn’t the first of its kind, it wrote the book on many conventions that are still copied by other games to this day. There have been many contenders for its crown over the years, but few have come as close to seizing it as Final Fantasy 14. The critically-acclaimed MMORPG even temporarily stole the throne in 2020 due to the popularity of Shadowbringers and Endwalker, contested by the unsuccessful Shadowlands expansion in World of Warcraft.

The two games have been competitors for over a decade now, but things are starting to really heat up between the two. WoW has not only launched its incredible Housing system into early access, but it is also releasing World of Warcraft: Midnight before Final Fantasy 14 even announces its next expansion. On the other hand, Final Fantasy 14’s next update is overhauling its glamour system with some next-level improvements that leave WoW in the dust. Both MMOs are taking some big swings right now, and fans are only going to benefit from this ongoing contest.

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World of Warcraft is Lapping Final Fantasy 14 For the First Time

How WoW is Giving Final Fantasy 14 a One-Two Punch

For most of their respective lifespans, both World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy 14 had development cycles of about two years. After the release of Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn in 2013, every year would feature an expansion release for one of the two MMOs, bouncing back and forth between them.

All of that changed in 2022 with the release of World of Warcraft: Dragonflight. After a sluggish pace in Shadowlands due to COVID-19 and an internal upheaval at Blizzard, WoW hit the ground running in Dragonflight, setting a breakneck pace for World of Warcraft releases. It began dropping new content updates every eight weeks, or approximately two months. Instead of around two years, Dragonflight was only 21 months: a trend that has only sped up in the Worldsoul Saga, with only The War Within lasting only a year and a half.

Image via Blizzard

Meanwhile, the opposite has happened with Final Fantasy 14. The same year WoW was speeding up, FF14 announced it would actually be taking even more time between patches, with a four-month release cadence expected for each major update. This means expansions would likely be well over two years apart from one another, as was the case with the 31-month gap between Endwalker and Dawntrail. What’s worse, despite this projected four-month cadence, Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail patches like 7.3 have actually taken up to five months to release.

Image via Square Enix

This combination of factors means World of Warcraft is officially releasing two expansions without Final Fantasy 14’s reprisal for the first time in history. What’s more, with Final Fantasy 14’s Fan Festival starting in April, World of Warcraft will drop its second expansion before FF14 even announces its next one. The final convention ending in November also suggests a winter 2026 or early 2027 release for this unannounced DLC, which means WoW will probably have done a formal reveal for The Last Titan at BlizzCon by then as well.

If this is the shot, then World of Warcraft’s new Housing system is the chaser. Now live in early access as a part of WoW Patch 11.2.7, Blizzard’s Player Housing has borrowed elements from the systems that have been implemented over many years to create what fans are calling the best MMO housing system to date. While it still has plenty of room to grow, and it is not without flaws, its accessibility, customization, and lack of a lottery or auto-demolition features have put it a cut above Final Fantasy 14’s own Housing system.

Final Fantasy 14 Strikes Back With Unlimited Glamour

World of Warcraft’s Transmog System is Being One-Upped by FF14

Though World of Warcraft may be running circles around Final Fantasy 14 as far as release dates and Housing are concerned, the latter is countering the competition in one field in particular: fashion. Final Fantasy 14 Patch 7.4 is dropping December 16, and one of its biggest changes comes with the complete removal of glamour class and level restrictions. Outside of weapons, which are still locked to each job, characters of any class in Final Fantasy 14 will soon be able to wear whatever they want. Monks in Blacksmithing gear, Dark Knights with White Mage robes, and more will all be possible, opening up the floodgates on customization in a truly groundbreaking way.

WoW is making some changes to its own transmog system in Midnight, too. Players will soon be able to unlock and set up outfits, which can automatically change depending on different Situations, such as mounting up or jumping in the water. While these improvements are incredible, doing plenty of things Final Fantasy 14’s glamour system doesn’t, characters of each class in WoW are still restricted to gear that fits their armor type, which its competitor no longer does.

• Cloth

• Leather
  • Demon Hunter
  • Druid
  • Monk
  • Rogue
• Mail

• Plate
  • Death Knight
  • Paladin
  • Warrior

Image via Blizzard

While World of Warcraft has held on to this restriction in the name of class fantasy, that argument becomes weaker with every passing day. Many transmog sets from World of Warcraft’s Trading Post, cash shop, or in-game events like Legion Remix are class agnostic, letting Warlocks wear heavy armor or Paladins don dresses or spellcasting attire. Many NPCs in the game also wear outfits that combine Plate, Mail, Leather, and Cloth, making this restriction for players especially egregious.

Image via Blizzard

At the end of the day, fans are the ones who are really winning this war, however. When one game makes a big move, it inevitably puts pressure on the other to improve as well, lest it be left behind. This should inspire each game to borrow ideas from one another, all while putting out new innovations on its own. Until then, players should be sure to let their respective game developers know what features they would want to see make it into Azeroth or Etheirys, respectively.

Systems

Released

2026

Multiplayer

Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op

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