Originally Posted by
Cebo
Those who argue it lays the foundation and is necessary for world-building really oversell it. Things like Good King Moogle Mog, Leviathan/Ramuh, the Ivy's subterfuge etc. could all have been on the chopping block (ie. moved to sidequests), without much loss to the primary narrative. They could easily just trim it down to the Monetarists subplot, the Doma refugees/Yugiri's arrival and Alphi establishing the Crystal Braves, and move right on to Lady Iceheart and Moenbryda's arrival. Hell, even the Monetarists, while critical for 2.55's conclusion, is basically a footnote for the rest of the game, so even that's scrapped in later expansions. Unlike later expansions where the post-HW, post-SB, and post-ShB quests continue the narrative from x.0 - x.3, and have their big moments...ARR's 2.0 - 2.3 is the definition of filler content.