Hey, actually curious about what your thoughts are regarding GW2's perks over FFXIV. I've played them both pretty extensively in the past year—two max level characters in GW2 before HoT dropped, as well as full map completion and a fair amount of more or less everything the game had to offer (in terms of game modes, e.g. dungeons, PvP, WvW), and several level 60 jobs in FFXIV, with raid experience and everything under the sun—but I played FF more recently, so I may be misremembering some things about my impressions.

I definitely agree with you about FF's core single player experience feeling leagues ahead of GW's. I like the way you put it in particular—the story really did shine at some points, and it seriously felt like I was playing a single player RPG with my guild only existing in chat during the highlights. I think GW was comparatively a major letdown in this regard, since the story was much less personal, engaging or long. I don't like to fault it too much for that, though, since I think it's more likely the case that FF was exceptional regarding storytelling rather than GW being poorer.

I initially responded to this comment because I was curious about what you meant in terms of character customization, but as I'm thinking now I'm remembering some of GW's perks in this area. The glamour system was the first to come to mind, particularly because its absence is so egregious in FF. I just remembered the level of customization you can exhibit with dyes in GW, which is a major perk as well. The only thing I will say, though, is that changing hairstyles in GW is rough because it's a cash source, while you can do it on the fly in FF.

Anyway, I'm sorry, I wrote a very long post with little meaning but I'm kind of drunk after the Super Bowl and I miss these games (recently canceled my FF sub and haven't patched GW in over half a year). I guess I'm wondering what you think is better about the gameplay controls of GW? Did you play full rotations in Heavensward, and how do they compare against HoT's rotations in your opinion? I felt that the rotations I learned for FF were far beyond any that I learned in GW, and I'm curious if HoT made gameplay that noticeably different.