When comparing Town of Salem vs Final Fantasy XIV Online: A Realm Reborn, the Slant community recommends Town of Salem for most people. In the question“What are the best Massively Multiplayer games on Steam?” Town of Salem is ranked 2nd while Final Fantasy XIV Online: A Realm Reborn is ranked 4th. The most important reason people chose Town of Salem is:
The main aspect of the game is that you never know if anyone is lying to you at any particular time. This also goes for the player as well, as you can lie to anyone anytime. Which makes for quite the guessing game that asks of the player to use their deduction skills. When doing this with large groups and especially groups of friends this can make for a fun time trying to figure out who is doing what in the game.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Fun bluffing based gameplay
The main aspect of the game is that you never know if anyone is lying to you at any particular time. This also goes for the player as well, as you can lie to anyone anytime. Which makes for quite the guessing game that asks of the player to use their deduction skills. When doing this with large groups and especially groups of friends this can make for a fun time trying to figure out who is doing what in the game.
Pro The game keeps you playing, it's actually original
You can't find a game where you are this involved with other players anywhere else on the internet.
Pro Dedicated player base
Tons of people are playing Town of Salem and its different game modes, so you won't have a problem finding people to play with.
Pro Diverse gameplay
There are so many different game modes and roles to add.
Pro Combat is very in-depth
The combat in FFXIV is incredibly polished. It requires quick, real-time decisions and reactions, as well as a plan for how your team is going to take on whatever you're fighting.
Like many games, it begins as simply hitting your attack buttons and waiting for your abilities to be ready again. FFXIV, however, has taken it a step further and has implemented complex combos and other interactions. These other interactions often have wildly different end results, so you must decide how best to use them.
Pro The story is incredible
Most MMORPGs don't offer much in the way of a story line, but that is not the case with FFXIV. The story will span the entire world, and is completing it is actually a requirement to get into most of the game's content. However, it doesn't feel like you're being forced into following a story you don't care about, the characters get into your head and you begin to feel like an actual hero.
It's very well written, and can be listened to in multiple languages if you prefer that.
Pro An absolutely stunning game
Final Fantasy XIV is gorgeous. The developers clearly put a lot of time and energy into creating all types of climates, ranging from harsh, desolate deserts to untamed, icy wastelands. The cities and villages in this game are vibrant and alive, while the cinematics can be dreary and depressing.
Apart from the landscapes, the spells and abilities of this game will take you by surprise. Every ability is animated very well, and has gorgeous pixel designs to pull you even further into the game.
Pro Play all classes with one character
You don't have to create a different character for every single class. Your one character can be every single class. Each class has a specific weapon (bow for archers, daggers for rogue, axes for marauders, etc.), and you just equip that weapon type and your character switches classes. Each class starts at level, so you have to level each class you want to play, but there are numerous ways to get exp so it feels a little less like a grindy chore.
Pro Plenty of side-quests to keep the player busy
For those that would like to level their character without having to d a lot of grinding in dungeons or the main story, There is quite a lot of side-quests on offer in this game. So many in fact that the player could level up through mainly side-quests if they liked. Every area the player reachers will see plenty of NPCs that will offer a new quest to go out on (an even sometimes multiple quests), which not only means a ton of content but an actual story to the game (that is different from the main quest) that can keep the player involved without feeling like they are repeating the same things over and over again.
Cons
Con A lot of renegades
There are players that like going on their own and killing innocent people without any clue or strategy.
Con Gamethrowing
Sometimes, players act against their goals to win. For example, a member of the Mafia may end up purposefully revealing the whole Mafia. At that point the game is practically over. Luckily, you can report people who are gamethrowing within the game itself.
Con Uses Adobe Flash
Most browsers are starting to deprecate Flash as a plugin, (unless you have a browser like Google Chrome, which uses its own fork of Flash) you won't be able to play this game without having to purchase it on Steam.
Con High learning curve
It may be best to read up on this game and familiarize oneself to the rules and mechanics as well as common abbreviations. One particular aspect to learn about would be the 29 different roles found in the game, as you may be any one of them at the beginning of a game.
Con Pay to play
The game itself has a base price of $19.99, but also has expansion pack prices that could be added on top of that. This is just to get the game, once purchased the player will also need to pay a monthly subscription of $12.99 to continue playing the game, which can add up over time making for a pretty steep investment for some.