13 Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker
Ever since Final Fantasy 14 essentially rebooted itself with Realm Reborn, the game’s fans have been blessed with a series of high-quality expansions that represent the high points of the game’s much-needed change in direction. While any (or at least most) of those expansions could have made this list, Endwalker somehow raised a bar that people thought couldn’t go any higher.
I won’t bore you with the wealth of content Endwalker offers and how it could have easily filled a lesser game. Instead, I think it’s enough to say that Endwalker somehow brought an emotional and satisfying end to the most ambitious MMORPG narrative ever crafted. It’s not quite the end of Final Fantasy 14, but it certainly feels like the culmination of this game’s achievements.
12. Fallout: New Vegas – Old World Blues
While Fallout 3 and New Vegas’ DLC expansions weren’t always perfect (you know what you did, Courier’s Stash), those titles really do represent a brief golden age for ambitious DLC when creative expansions to established single-player titles were sometimes taken for granted. Yet, even when measured by some fairly high standards, Old World Blues stands apart.
In Old World Blues, the player soon learns the legend of the Big MT: a research facility that once supposedly housed the world’s greatest scientists. What follows one of the most insane adventures in a franchise known for its insane adventures. It’d be a crime to ruin some of this DLC’s greatest moments, but it’s enough to know that Old World Blues is the funniest and best-written chapter in the entire New Vegas lineup. If you ever needed proof that Obsidian should have been handed the keys to the Fallout franchise, you’ll find plenty of it here.
11. World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King
Though the arguments over the best World of Warcraft expansion will likely never truly stop, it’s no surprise that Wrath of the Lich King regularly finds itself at, or near, the top of such lists. At the very least, Wrath of the Lich King led to the peak of WoW’s popularity, power, and cultural impact. For some, Wrath will always be associated with the MMORPG’s best days.
Popularity aside, what actually made Wrath of the Lich King so special? Well, along with wrapping up some of the lingering narrative threads that began in Frozen Throne (and allowing players to explore the wonderful world of Northrend in the process), it offered a brilliant blend of requested improvements and creative new concepts. Previously ignored class archetypes got a little more love, Raids were more accessible (yet far more intricate), and numerous mechanics were made more accessible without losing that underlying sense of wonder.
