I think I'm finished; a new player's final thoughts

[Draylo]

That is where we are seeing things differently. When I pay for a product, I want to experience everything it offers. I don't buy a brand new video game and say "UGH I have to level and do the storyline to grind out gear in end game, they should so cut out that process" No I don't say that at all, I progress through the game as it was intended.

[Raydeus]

So after reading the OP it seems it's just another case of trying to sprint at full speed in a very long marathon.

And either he paces himself and plans for long term goals, or he will burst into flames and rage quit.

Edit >
Being at the same level as everyone else to do "relevant content"...

/sigh

What happened to playing to enjoy the huge world with all the quests, missions, stories, lore and adventure outside of the mindless repetition of "endgame"?

If this is how things are going to be in the future I guess the next step in "modernizing" MMOS will be to give all new players a fully leveled character with all the quests and gear already acquired so they can go do "relevant content" and leave the game a month or two later because "there's nothing to do".

I miss the old days so much... orz

[Draylo]

Me too, I agree with you. People in this gen are the call of duty/WoW meatheads that want instant gratification. I really hope SE doesn't cater to them, they already did with FFXIV.

[Demonjustin]

I bet I could restart the game on a new character and when I'm forced to play with people I could find them.

I bet you know people who would help you with no problems as well, even excluding that factor, I missed the part where he complained about parts that force you to play with people, rather it seems to me the problem most people have with this game when starting out is the fact that you have to go through a bunch of other things basically alone to get to the point where you can play with others without feeling as though you are dragging them down. Why is it so hard to understand people do not want to play a MMO so they can play for a month basically alone the entire time grinding through old boring content as an initiation process just so they can get to the point they can actually play the game with other people and join the community?

[Ziyyigo-Tipyigo]

When I pay for a product

He paid for Seekers of Adoulin. Everything else is just a pack-in that sold for a whopping $5 on Steam and Amazon half the time.

I want to experience everything it offers.

But on your own terms, no doubt.

In this case he isn't saying "I don't want to do content X" but "I don't want to be forced to do content X right now in order to do Y." And the fact that everybody else is doing Y right now, because everybody else already has 99 and has little reason to muck about with that old, $5 content doesn't exactly help with his frustration and isolation in a "massively multiplayer" game.

The boards are on fire right now with how crowded La'Loff is. Any other content (outside of farming an RME) only gets mentioned to cite how much of a struggle it is to do with so few people interested.

[Aezelas]

[...]
-Did not touch Adoulin; never got a good reason to go there, wanted to explore it with friends, but friends got burnt out and quit before we even got that far. Beyond that, from the looks of it, it looks like more time gated content (coalition?) and all the other things above seemed to provide better armor/items/worth than Adoulin.

Basically, all the stuff I've done has been a long journey in order to get on the same level as every player; so I can actually do the relevant content. Groups would not invite me for content because I did not have Alexander/summoning skill gear, or my gear was poor, or because I was a Summoner, or some other reason (mission requirement is a common one, there are some other things too). So, I had to gather gear (and finish Aht Urhgan to unlock Alexander). [...]

As others stated it, you sound like you burnt yourself out trying to accomplish so many things too fast. And you sound like maybe you've been given misleading pieces of advice.
I can imagine you asked what you needed to do and have to play smn, or read guides telling what an endgame smn is supposed to wear.

What's true is that, one day or another, you would want alex and tons of summoning skill gear to fulfill the requirements to some events, or smn specific gear to enjoy the job even more.
But there's no way you actually need all that to start having fun or joining parties.

You did not touch adoulin because you had no reason to go there. That's really the only content you should have looked into in the first place.
You could have just geared your smn with eminence stuff, done a few missions and you've found yourself having an active role in wildkeepers reives.
Those are imo one of the most fun endgame events, where you just show up and meet other players that wouldn't even care about your gear, skill and ability to cast alex and such.

There, you would have had this strong boss you wanted to fight with random people that never happened after one month.
That's just one example of the many things that can be done without fulfilling elitists requirements.

And maybe you would have met nice people that would have welcomed you in a social ls.
LS is most likely the answer to the "not being invited by random guys" problem. LS are filled with bored or kind people, that would help others getting things done.
You could join those ls members when they're soloing aby nms for example, since you mentioned you had trouble getting into that content, which by the way still has to offer to smn.
They would answer all your questions, so you would have to alt-tab a lot less. And unless it'd be for a really hard content, they wouldn't care about which job you'd want to show up as.

The community is not as bad as you describe it, and the fun is not just about content with restricted requirements.

[Demonjustin]

What happened to playing to enjoy the huge world with all the quests, missions, stories, lore and adventure outside of the mindless repetition of "endgame"?

I miss the old days so much... orz

You miss the old days, yet, you don't like mindless repetition? From what I ever experienced or saw the old days were, just that, mindless repetition, pull and kill this crab, move to that area, pull and kill that crab, get to 75, kill Colibris, leveling was mindless and it was the majority of what people did in the game. As for Quests, Missions, Stories, and Lore, they are integrated into games now through XP rewarding means as well, some people care about story others do not and either way you have a reason to do it, it never feels worthless, and it can even be part of the leveling up process unlike this game which gives you next to nothing so far as rewards go until the very end.

People constantly shit on new games saying they have worse stories or they are instant gratification, easy, whatever you want to call them but guess what, they are video games, games, not work, meant for enjoyment, and no matter what you want to tell yourself in your mind about this game, the beginning month when you are lost and trying to not only learn how to play, but figure out where everyone is, what your goals need to be, and how to get things done in a timely manner, is not fun at all to the grand majority of people.

[Ziyyigo-Tipyigo]

What happened to playing to enjoy the huge world with all the quests, missions, stories, lore and adventure outside of the mindless repetition of "endgame"?

Those players got 99+, ran out of lore, and moved on to the greener pastures of Eorzea, leaving newer players who might share those interests with nobody left to share those interests with.

If this is how things are going to be in the future I guess the next step in "modernizing" MMOS will be to give all new players a fully leveled character

It'd be an improvement for the status quo for people seeking to play GEO or RUN, who must level some other job to 66+ to get past Maat.

But you hardly hear complaints about that any more since only new players would be the ones complaining.

[L0IRE]

Me too, I agree with you. People in this gen are the call of duty/WoW meatheads that want instant gratification. I really hope SE doesn't cater to them, they already did with FFXIV.

they already have catered to the "call of duty/WoW " crowd with sync parties among other changes to XP and parties, the age that ffxi lives in is dead and gone, MMO grinds are a thing of the past, its a relic, even games like Lineage 2 which required hours upon hours to gain mid-game levels, like ffxi, died, and came back reborn with your so dubbed "call of duty/WoW" style, now is flourishing and opening new servers with the influx of new players, the game has even opened up in brazil and Russia, a game that was down to running 2 ghost town servers, so its like life, survival of the fittest, you can either adapt, change, and be relevant with times, or stay the same, wither, and die.

[Camiie]

You don't have to do things alone, there are still players out there. I bet I could restart the game on a new character and when I'm forced to play with people I could find them.

Not starting from zero without any of the knowledge and personal connections you have now. I guarantee you'd be left to your own devices just like any other newbie who's joined recently. People would write you off as someone not worth helping just like you've written off the OP.