[Main Story Quests] "Role-playing" duties-- can they be optional, please?

Beatrix from INDIA invades Eorzea and one-shot the WoL, under our command.


In seriousness the right fights are fun, and while I can see them getting stale if we get one in 4.5 AND I doubt it would be Than credit doing the thing from the trailer it would be a good way to introduce some Gunblade skills before the xpac.

Either that or confirm he is a MCH.

I'm going to have to say... no. They're not to be made optional. You do realize how long each patch cycle is supposed to last right? You know that these instances won't even last half an hour of your time? It's like when I read the constant complaints about the Y'shtola's instance. It isn't difficult yet there was "such a controversy" here on this forum about it. I liked the instances and found them to be a breath of fresh air despite their lack of longevity.

I mean look back at the single player FF games, you had segments in most if not all games where you were forced away from your current party to fight as someone else. If anyone has a problem with these instances and fail them then practice up? They're not going anywhere.

Personally I love the new roleplay system they got in place here. First time I actually played as Alphinaud I was psyched that I was experiencing something new. And Y'shtola was incredibly fun along with the aftermath cutscene.

But I can understand that it's not for everybody and people have different ways to enjoy how a story is told. It's possible they might make these instances optional in the future but given how positively received this new feature was, it won't be for a while.

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Originally Posted by LauraAdalena

I will admit I also think it could be used as a clever way of introducing people in playing other classes. I could see this making people go "Oh. This was fun. Now I want to try White Mage" and I feel maybe giving players 5 or 6 more moves than just 4 might help that a lot more. I'll support it if it gives us the ability to introduce players into other play styles and see if we can get more tanks/healers out of this or people who play all three.

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I was thinking this. Both Alphinaud and Y'shtola are healers, and playing as them exposes players to the experience of new roles. I'd love to try out playing as tank in this way to get some experience before diving into a new kind of play.

How do I press 4 buttons?

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Originally Posted by SenorPatty

I honestly hope in some future they can do this as prolonged side content for various npcs like Merlwyb or Raubhan as an example.

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Postmoogle - the next generation. You deliver a letter and instead of seeing the result of that letter, you have to play as the sender of the letter, living through what's written. Afterward, a short cut-scene to wrap things up and you get your rank up.

Joining the crowds who liked it. Once a patch is more than decent, especially when the party is spread so very thin.

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Originally Posted by BillyKaplan

Postmoogle - the next generation. You deliver a letter and instead of seeing the result of that letter, you have to play as the sender of the letter, living through what's written. Afterward, a short cut-scene to wrap things up and you get your rank up.

Joining the crowds who liked it. Once a patch is more than decent, especially when the party is spread so very thin.

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Yet another reminder that more Post Moogle hasn't been added. I want them, please. Also liked the RP events. They're neat and I will look forward to more as long as they're not over done, as in, keep them scarce.

I don't mind the roleplay battles, but I am a bit peeved by battles and cutscenes that we bear witness to - but that our character does not. I feel like we should not have knowledge of things that our character does not, but we've seen things like

Uriange's conversation with Elidibus prior to his "joining" the Warriors of Darkness, Elidibus conversing with the Warrior of Darkness on the moon, Solus's reprimanding of Varis in the Garlean throne room

and so on and so forth. We should discover this stuff when the WoL does, since the WoL is, essentially, our viewpoint character in the game.

So the battle as Y'shtola was fine. Our character was there to see it. Alphinaud's, not so much. We shouldn't even know about the Shadowhunter yet.

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Originally Posted by LineageRazor

I don't mind the roleplay battles, but I am a bit peeved by battles and cutscenes that we bear witness to - but that our character does not. I feel like we should not have knowledge of things that our character does not, but we've seen things like

Uriange's conversation with Elidibus prior to his "joining" the Warriors of Darkness, Elidibus conversing with the Warrior of Darkness on the moon, Solus's reprimanding of Varis in the Garlean throne room

and so on and so forth. We should discover this stuff when the WoL does, since the WoL is, essentially, our viewpoint character in the game.

So the battle as Y'shtola was fine. Our character was there to see it. Alphinaud's, not so much. We shouldn't even know about the Shadowhunter yet.

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Game has had cutscenes with events WoL hasn't witnessed ever since ARR. Nero (or was it Gaius instead?) talking to Lavinia while watching WoL and Y'shtola from afar.

Even books with only one viewpoint character often have a couple of chapters or even just scenes showing events where the character wasn't present.

It wouldn't make sense if your character wasn't present for most of the game's events but they're telling the story for the player, not the character.

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Originally Posted by Reiryuu

I know I'm probably going to get a lot of hate for this, but here it goes anyway...

First of all, as someone who left the game at the later end of 4.0 and returned just 2 weeks before 4.4 and had to catch up all that way I have to say that the solo duties are my least favorite content in the entire game. However, I can tolerate these because they're things that are happening to *my* character and obstacles that *I* have to overcome.

Then I get to patch 4.3 and I'm put into a solo duty... on Alphinaud... then at the end of 4.4 we're forced to play Y'shtola in a back to back duty (fail one and you get to repeat both!) and I can totally see them forcing us to play Thancred sometime during 4.5 where we're fighting that lion thing in the trailer. I have to say I'm not really excited about these duties-- I don't want to be forced to play a job I don't necessarily want to play and doubly so when I am forced to play that job on a *character* that I don't necessarily want to play.

From a RP standpoint, as the WOL I would really like to know that my companions have the ability to handle themselves in situations like this. I don't want to feel that I have to do everything for them and this really flushes that image down the toilet. And from a player standpoint-- if I wanted to make another character or play another job (I mean, I leveled all my jobs to 70) I would be playing that job or character of my own creation and not one given to me.

Don't get me wrong though. I can totally see how people might enjoy this content, but why can it not be optional content unlocked through the main story and put on... say the wandering minstrel or a similar NPC? I just really dislike the idea of being forced to play a job/character that I am not interested in playing. And I will admit that yes, being forced to do another solo duty on a character that I don't want to play on a job that I don't want to play does make me especially hostile to this content. I just don't really feel its appropriate to force something like this on a player for storytelling purposes in an MMO or any RPG where the player creates a character for his/herself.

Sorry for the rather lengthy rant. And NO! NO TLDR for J00! If I'm forced to do this content, you can be forced to read the post! (j/k).

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1000% agreed. Who plays MMOs to be an NPC? not me that's for sure. I only have any interest in playing my own character, thats what I created it for.

I can really feel Yoshi P's sad, disappointed, and tired face after reading this. Finally, we can enjoy parts of the MSQ away from the perspective of our own character and actually add some depth and immersion to the MSQ. The 1 instance with Alphy would've just been a 2 minute cutscene but instead we got something new and relatively memorable (mainly bc it was new). But the big benefit we get from this system is being able to take part in parts of the story otherwise inaccessible and that adds so much to the MSQ, imo.

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I just don't really feel its appropriate to force something like this on a player for storytelling purposes in an MMO or any RPG where the player creates a character for his/herself.

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you know we're all playing the same exact story, right? theres nothing different about any of our characters, story-wise.

Well I respect and like Yoshi P but he did make a mistake with those duties. I encourage him to correct it and continue making FFXIV a great game.

Is it a mistake if a majority of players enjoyed it?

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Originally Posted by Dualblade

Is it a mistake if a majority of players enjoyed it?

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Show me this poll that all the players participated in which shows this. All we have is the forums which maybe 20% or less of the players use.

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Originally Posted by Sylvina

Show me this poll that all the players participated in which shows this. All we have is the forums which maybe 20% or less of the players use.

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By that same coin you can't say it was a mistake and ask Yoshi-P to change it.
Not to mention that generally speaking, 30+ people are enough of a sample group to get a decent idea of what %s are like. This thread reaches that minimal threshold.

I enjoy them.
But here is my issue with solo instances in general. My Friend and I quest together, we are going along then bam solo instance we have to disband go in do the thing. Sometimes she fails and has to do it several times. Sometimes I have to do it for her when she gets frustrated. While I understand they are meant to be immersive and this is a story driven game, I think at times they can be contrary to a mmo experience.

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Originally Posted by Sylvina

Well I respect and like Yoshi P but he did make a mistake with those duties. I encourage him to correct it and continue making FFXIV a great game.

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That's weird... I didn't see any mistakes. Must be playing a different game.

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Originally Posted by Sylvina

Show me this poll that all the players participated in which shows this. All we have is the forums which maybe 20% or less of the players use.

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Where's your poll saying the most players disliked the duties? All we have is a thread with a handful of people who disliked it.

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Originally Posted by Reiryuu

I also notice that you say more options are a good thing while advocating for a feature that is not optional.

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"more options to play" doesn't mean more options for everything is good.

in a game, an event happens and the player can
1) be told about it
2) watch it
3) play it for themselves

saying the 3rd option/choice is good, doesn't mean all 3 options should be available.

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I don't mind the roleplay battles, but I am a bit peeved by battles and cutscenes that we bear witness to - but that our character does not. I feel like we should not have knowledge of things that our character does not

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Not going to happen. Teasers/stingers are a big part of what build anticipation toward the next parts of the story (particularly if they are parts yet to be released).

Many books, movies, comics, etc. do this sort of cutaway from the main protagonists' perspective a LOT, so this is not some kind of unusual method of storytelling at all.

I quite enjoyed them. It was nice to see their point of views and play as them. It wasn't long at all either. I actually hope we have more duties like them.

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Originally Posted by laurtias

I was thinking this. Both Alphinaud and Y'shtola are healers, and playing as them exposes players to the experience of new roles. I'd love to try out playing as tank in this way to get some experience before diving into a new kind of play.

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But Alphinaud is functionally a Summoner.

Arcanist, really. And throwing out a few healing abilities as an NPC ally in solo duties doesn't say anything about that ally's class or job, because they all do it. Some use items instead of spells (notably Cid), but it's functionally the same.

DUDE, spoilers!

I'd honestly really enjoy them if only their toolkits weren't so smoothered. Even without requiring the player to have read a single tooltip or guessed at an icon's effect beforehand there could have been far more of the combatant's techniques showed off in their scenarios.

I enjoyed them quite thoroughly and am patiently awaiting more.

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Originally Posted by Shurrikhan

I'd honestly really enjoy them if only their toolkits weren't so smoothered. Even without requiring the player to have read a single tooltip or guessed at an icon's effect beforehand there could have been far more of the combatant's techniques showed off in their scenarios.

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I'd have to disagree, I only have one main class, so when the duty first started I was like "UH OH I don't know nuthin' about playin' no summoner!" but then there were only a couple buttons and I was like, ok cool, this is less about doing a duty with skill and more about just the experience that even dummies like me can figure out!

So long as there's a mix of duties that take skill, and fun RP duties, it makes MSQ patches a little less monotonous and I like it. :)

This personally baffles me as I don't see any good reason why role playing duties should be removed. It's really just a more engaging way to deliver the story and I would rather have these than cutscenes that are just take out weapon(s) -> cut to NPCs being defeated. It's different and adds more flavour, seeing as this is a Final Fantasy game and previous ones did have switches to different characters so it's a pretty good nod to those.

You'll probably be able to skip them when shadowbringers comes out, you'll just have to pay some money for the MSQ jump potion, then you can skip them along with everything else.

Until then, it's like every other MSQ quest in the game, and I know these are more interesting than all the quests that are just "find some info by talking to 3 npc's in town".

One of the very reasons I play RPG’s is BECAUSE I want to play as different characters. This is something of which the Final Fantasy series is very well known for too. (With perhaps a few exceptions) But as someone else said, it’s not just FF. Many types of entertainment works do this. They shift between characters (which means moving the spotlight OFF the main characters every now and then) to give you, the viewer/player, a different perspective from another character’s viewpoint. Yes, this does mean that you learn things that your character doesn’t know about. It helps to keep that in mind when your own character is surprised by a thing that you personally already knew was coming.

IMO, I feel that some people get way too attached to their created character and tend to forget that said avatar is just another character who’s just following the script like all the other characters. (Especially in this game) Even though you chose how the character looks, said avatar is still ultimately just another character that SE is giving scripts to follow. Some games are better about giving you “Choice and Consequence” that helps determine how the game story ends for you, sure. But even in those cases, said character is still following a script. All you’re doing is pointing which way you want them to go. Lets also not forget that FFXIV has already been giving us different character viewpoints where our WoL character wasn’t even present since ARR. (Or did those scenes with the Empire somehow mysteriously not happen?)

All that said, I LOVE that they’ve started allowing us to play as other characters for this game. As I said earlier, it’s one of the very reasons I play the FF series. It’s one thing to simply see what they’re up to. It’s even better when you get to actually play as them. Plus, from a gameplay stand point, it gets players to branch out and try other jobs, if they’re one of those players who refuse to play as anything but one particular job. (For me, there was no issue with this because I go out of my way to level all jobs, so I have experience in all of them)

So I say keep them coming! (One per patch. One every two patches would work too) It brings some fresh air to the MSQ. And it’s nice to be reminded that there are other characters in the story that are more then capable of handling themselves in a fight.

I find it amusing that people are more offended by the 10m it takes to play as another character because "it's not their character" than they are the 325 hours of "run this cabbage down the road to grandma will you" quests. I'd assume those quests would be more "unrealistic" but IDK, maybe some people enjoy seeing their WoL be a boring errand person who gets called back halfway around the world to carry a letter from one end of a building to the other...

I'd honestly love to see a role play duty where you're teamed up with yourself just to see how you look in the eyes of an npc. :p

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Originally Posted by Vanitas

I'd honestly love to see a role play duty where you're teamed up with yourself just to see how you look in the eyes of an npc. :p

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While I can only imagine that would be even more hated (that's not how MY character would act! they don't know me! how dare they?) I think it would be really cool.

I personally like these. They give us the opportunity to see exactly what the characters skills are and in turn show how strong/weak they are. Plus it spices up the MSQ IMO.

I take this over our character just nodding their head every cutscene.

I thought it was fun playing as another character and seeing their viewpoint. If done right it can really add depth to the story. Though, I do understand the sentiment of having the option to skip. Places to go, things to do.

With that said...

If having the extra instances is going to cause the sample problem when stormblood launched where everyone had to get in line to deal with Raubahn EX or Pipin Savage. I would much rather skip it. "A system error occurred during event movement". I had nightmares for days!!

I honestly like this. It is a good way to give us little snippets of the story where our character isn't around or is otherwise preoccupied for whatever reason.

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Originally Posted by InkstainedGwyn

"run this cabbage down the road to grandma will you" quests.

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Hey now, the Cabbage quest can get tough. Sometimes it tries to fool you with a head of lettuce. :P

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Originally Posted by Alestorm

Hey now, the Cabbage quest can get tough. Sometimes it tries to fool you with a head of lettuce. :P

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http://avatarthelastairbenderonline....ts-a-break.gif

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Originally Posted by KaivaC

Really? Was that necessary?

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Nope, absolutely unnecessary.

I just felt like it.

I'll edit it to make it more "on topic".

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Originally Posted by InkstainedGwyn

While I can only imagine that would be even more hated (that's not how MY character would act! they don't know me! how dare they?) I think it would be really cool.

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If it were a battle scenario, I think the hate would come from some ppl seeing the game's AI playing their job more effectively than they can.

"That's not fair! How come I can't do that!?" ….because you don't use half your skills or know your rotations, that's why Karen!

I would REALLY love to know what was in my post that made the mods want to delete my comment entirely. Just because there was a heated discussion recently, doesn't mean every other comment is going to lead down that exact same path of heated discussions. JC.

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Originally Posted by otarolgam

Nope, absolutely unnecessary.

I just felt like it.

I'll edit it to make it more "on topic".

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Anyways, no, you're good. Wasn't intending to spin this off into a debate, just threw my own comment out there. Which apparently is now being moderated.