To be fair they actually say why there is no Aetheryte in Vesper Bay.
Short answer: politics
Long answer: ...politics
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You think FFXIV is 'unfriendly to new players' - this is actually completely false, as the game's very design was intended for new players. This is why content is locked behind story completion - Naoki Yoshida wanted to guide new players into the game gradually, letting them 'learn the ropes' so to speak by not overloading them with everything at once.
Sure there are a lot of filler quests that do drag the story out a bit, but even those so-called 'filler' quests have a deeper connection to the story - everything happens for a reason, even if said reason is just to build your rapport with the people of Eorzea, which given the events of 2.55 ended up karmic and helped the player out in a big way. This is the actual point of the story - you're the Warrior of Light not just because you can slay Primals and save the world, but also because you're not afraid to help those in need, no matter what trivial problem they have or regardless if there is a potential reward or not.
As for the lack of an aetheryte in Vesper Bay, Aska Ray summed it briefly, but the specifics of it (which is actually mentioned during the storyline), is the Scions of the Seventh Dawn refused to accept bribes from Lord Lolorito, so to spite them he conspired with the rest of the Syndicate to prevent an aetheryte from ever being installed there, instead having an ostentatious statue of himself erected there, effectively laying his own ego over the good of the realm. Besides, how hard is it to simply teleport to Horizon and ride a chocobo to there? It takes what, not even a minute? It's actually not that far even if you have to walk it.
I'm really sorry for sounding harsh but you are coming across as very entitled and lazy in your posts - maybe if you weren't in such a rush to get through the game and actually took the time to stop and actually immerse yourself in your surroundings, you might actually enjoy it more.
Another new player here. To be honest, it sounds like you, your wife and your friends all dislike MMO levelling, because this 'back and forth' seems to be pretty standard. At least FFXIV gives you plenty of options with travel, you can teleport or hire a chocobo if running is too slow.
Personally, I'm enjoying the story and the running around. The world looks fantastic and because I chose to run rather than teleport, I'm getting a sense of the geography. If I need to run to a dungeon, I can because I know where it is.
I guess there's not much more I can say, you either enjoy questing and feeling immersed in the world or you don't.
If you want to skip all that 'garbage' and get to the end as quickly as possible, this game won't accommodate you. It's a shame you're not enjoying it but you shouldn't assume every new player feels the same way.
EVERY single find X, deliver Y, kill Z quest inside of the MSQ has a reason that is tied to the MSQ.
If you skip the MSQ and ignore the reasons, then this game is NOT for you, it's heavily story based.
You start as a no-name adventurer, one of thousands. NOBODY has a reason to trust you, to help you, to give you ACTUAL tasks, you need to prove your worth, show what you are capable of.
Nobody would just follow a random adventurer on a raid of Castrum Centri for example. But someone who killed 3 primals? That's a very different story.
Later it picks up though. You become the savior of Eorzea, the Warrior of Light.
Especially in 3.0 the amount of "fetch" quests or "kill 15 X" quests is very low, and the story is incredibly well written.
So you want it to be like WoW? Where everything is in one place? Where after you are done with the quests you never revisit zones? Where it's literally a theme park with disposable rides?
No thank you.
I want a WORLD. Not an amusement park.
Not to mention it's such a waste the way they do things in WoW. Entire zones left to rot after you run through them once.
And seriously, you complain about running back and forth in this game? You can teleport instantaneously around the world! Unlike WoW with its ridiculous flight paths that have you sit on a stupid bird 15 mins straight able to do nothing. Talk about lengthily "cutscenes" - because that's what flight paths are.