Any talk about them doing away with Aether Currents for flight

They are usually in areas we are going to anyway so nah...keep them. It's hardly any time or work involved.

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Originally Posted by Lanadra

Going to have to disagree on the importance and relevance of the Role Quests. True I don't care too much about the contacts and their tales. But I do care about Ardberts companions.. we fought them in post-HW, before they returned home with Minfilia to stop the Flood of Light, and now we get to see both what happened before in their lives and what became of them after their clash with us in HW.

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I meant important in the sense you're forced to complete one of them. It isn't the story I have any issue with. In fact, I quite like them for the reasons you said. I'd just prefer to enjoy them at my leisure and not abruptly have to stop near the very end of the MSQ to partake in them. When I'm invested in the MSQ, I want to continue forward. And the person I quoted claimed they were important to the MSQ but they can't be since you aren't forced to complete all four. Just one.

They enrich the MSQ but that doesn't mean they need to be required.

Personally, I'd rather they made all of the flight requirements for an area into aether currents. Even if they put them blocked in areas you have to complete a quest to access, it always felt really artificial to me to have them quest locked. It's like "Hey, you helped Bob fix his chocobo-cart.. bam, you have attuned to an aether current!" Like, what, is the aether current coming out of the chocobo's rear end?

Going to be honest—I'm pretty fine with the aether current system.

I guess that I'm supposed to be mad at it, but I'm not ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

It would be lovely if when you do the last quest of the zone (the one that gives the last quest aether current), it enabled flying in that zone without needing to hunt down aether currents. I know people that still can't fly in some zones, even though they are in the end game, just because they are lazy and can't bother. It drives me crazy!

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Originally Posted by StriderShinryu

Personally, I'd rather they made all of the flight requirements for an area into aether currents. Even if they put them blocked in areas you have to complete a quest to access, it always felt really artificial to me to have them quest locked. It's like "Hey, you helped Bob fix his chocobo-cart.. bam, you have attuned to an aether current!" Like, what, is the aether current coming out of the chocobo's rear end?

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For gameplay reasons, they chose specific quests as the medium. I just think of it as doing an activity in that zone is an alternative way to going to a specific place in that zone for attunement. It's just so convenient that the MSQ is a worthy activity for part of that attunement.

I enjoy the aether currents, even the hilariously sadistic ones in lochs. If they made a daily out of doing them that forbade flight, I'd do it frequently just for my own amusement.

Getting those things is easy AF anyway so i hope they never get removed

Honestly, I agree with OP, it's always a nasty shock when I come back to an area, especially on my alt, and discover that I didn't do the unnecessary chore of grabbing all the aether currents, and so now I can't fly.
I feel like they only exist because MMO players have this inexplicable mindset that enjoyable content, be that flight in a zone, or completion of a weapon, or access to a new dungeon, must be locked behind doing something inherently non-enjoyable, like grinding the same dungeon 15 times *cough cough* or running around a zone for an hour trying to find little green fart-clouds that have been intentionally placed in difficult but not enjoyable places to access, looking at you, the lochs.

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Originally Posted by Zfz

I feel the problem with aether currents is that people who love exploration will explore with or without locking flying behind the currents; people who don't enjoy exploration simply feel like they're being forced to waste time.

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The other thing is that, especially for people who joined the game with 5.3, the Aether current system doesn't feel like a reward for doing something, it feels like an obstacle between you and something that you've had in ARR zones ever since you completed ARR's MSQ; it feels more like you're being punished for continuing the story by having flight taken away than it does that you're being given flight for completing something.

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Originally Posted by Arkevorkhat

Honestly, I agree with OP, it's always a nasty shock when I come back to an area, especially on my alt, and discover that I didn't do the unnecessary chore of grabbing all the aether currents, and so now I can't fly.

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I can't quite relate to this. I started playing last year, and I just got the aether currents in each zone as I leveled through them—I'm not sure why I would have done otherwise considering the minimal time it takes and the fact that I routinely do any blue quests that I see.

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Originally Posted by Arkevorkhat

The other thing is that, especially for people who joined the game with 5.3, the Aether current system doesn't feel like a reward for doing something, it feels like an obstacle between you and something that you've had in ARR zones ever since you completed ARR's MSQ; it feels more like you're being punished for continuing the story by having flight taken away than it does that you're being given flight for completing something.

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I can understand that view if FFXIV has a seamless open world, but the instanced nature of the zones allows you to differentiate between zones where you've unlocked flying and zones where you've never unlocked flying. So you're not punished because nothing that you've unlocked has been taken away.

You don't unlock flying. You unlock flying in specific zones and can unlock flying in future zones.

I think the point of aether currents is that you can't fly into areas you're not supposed to reach until the story let's you. But they could just put that aether current in the main story quests and be done with it. I especially hate it when the aether current is in a hard to reach spit or hidden

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Originally Posted by not_ya_wify

I think the point of aether currents is that you can't fly into areas you're not supposed to reach until the story let's you. But they could just put that aether current in the main story quests and be done with it. I especially hate it when the aether current is in a hard to reach spit or hidden

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I think a couple are more obtuse than they need to be, like in the Lochs where you need to go around about a third of a zone to get to the right ledge from the right angle etc.

The vast majority of them though are easy to just get while doing the msq through the zones.

I would miss them. I like the little puzzles some have. That original one in CWH and the one in the Lochs are my favorites because you had to figure things out.

I don't like the ones that start from first quest of the side quest lines, like others have said. I'd rather do that whole quest all at once. So I'm in the camp for either single quests that unlock the current or single quests that unlock the areas where the current is found.

I'll be honest, they appeal to the collector in me. I like hunting them down as I quest in a zone for the first time and seeing the diamonds fill on the aether current window. Just don't do anything like that Lochs one again.

I do agree that I don't like them on the first step of a quest chain, however. Would much rather the quest ones be kept to MSQ and stand alone quests.

I dont mind hunting for aether currents.

perhaps you would prefer WoW's version, faction, dungeons, raids, basically a full time job just to unlock flying?

hard pass on that.

aether currents are fine.

I'm not the biggest fan of aether currents to be honest, I kind of appreciate that without them we'd all just fly from point to point and never really experience the zone in any depth but I do find some of them annoying. I wouldn't moan if they limited them to maybe 6 per zone plus 3 or 4 quested ones and didn't put them in hard to reach places.

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Originally Posted by Unholychinchilla

I'll be honest, they appeal to the collector in me. I like hunting them down as I quest in a zone for the first time and seeing the diamonds fill on the aether current window. Just don't do anything like that Lochs one again.

I do agree that I don't like them on the first step of a quest chain, however. Would much rather the quest ones be kept to MSQ and stand alone quests.

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I'm of two minds on the side quest ones.

On the one hand, they tend to be some of the more interesting quest lines and it's nice to have something nudge people towards them, without requiring them to do the entire quest lines if they don't want to.

But I think aether currents would also work just fine if it was just the story completion and exploration based ones involved.

I'm not terribly bothered by them... Only a couple were actually problematic to get.

But I also wouldn't mind a simplification: Just the zone related MSQ completed + full map exploration (given that there wouldn't be un-reachable places) would probably be good enough

The only gating for flying as far as I'm concerned is finishing the MSQ of that particular zone. The aether currents are unnecessary.

Dear Square. Please ignore the op's request. He can ground mount anywhere he wants to in this game if he is not willing to play the game as intended. Thank you.

If they do away with Aether currents then you more then likely have to wait until max level to fly. They are not just going to hand you flying right out the door.

I don't mind them, but I hate ones that are like up on a ledge, where you don't know how to get up there and you don't realize until later that you'll get access to that part eventually.

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Originally Posted by Reinha

This. It's a reasonable requirement for unlocking flying. It takes only a few hours per zone and the devs get to design how we see the landscape for the first time, what mobs we encounter and how long it takes to travel to objectives.

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"Grinds Fisher to max level with Ocean Fishing. Proceeds to swap to max level Fisher, turn stealth on, ignore all mobs, toggle auto-run on, and then tab out of the game until arriving at Aether Current"

I like the currents.
They make people go see how nice the scenery is before they fly over it forever forgetting it exists.

I don’t mind them because it’s content I will do anyway. I do all the sidequests.

Should it be a requirement? Probably not. But there should be a reward for doing the quests and ‘completing’ the zone beyond the standard xp and white gear.

If I remember WoW used to give achievements for this.

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Originally Posted by Stormfur

I don't mind them, but I hate ones that are like up on a ledge, where you don't know how to get up there and you don't realize until later that you'll get access to that part eventually.

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Yes! Mord Souq!

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Originally Posted by HisShadowX

I was very happy to see when they added flight to the MC they didn’t require you to do pointless aether currents hunting. I think it’s just a pointless process meant to extend your time doing pointless things. The only people I can defending them are a minority of hardcore players aka the former Everquest m, FFXI fans you know people who like DKP and requiring a party of people to fight bats and rats.

I am not a masochist.

Please do away with them or at least remove it from the next expansion but leave it maybe as an old outdated mechanic that people thank god is no longer in use (Hopefully)

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No. Keep them in previous and future expansions. It encourages EXPLORATION.

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Originally Posted by Malia_Chan

No. Keep them in previous and future expansions. It encourages EXPLORATION.

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Some people in this thread though are like

https://media.giphy.com/media/xT5LMq...dN60/giphy.gif

And I just don't get it. My brain refuses to comprehend this. This is one of the easiest activities to do in the game. lol

But like, the zones are so empty and uninteresting, what is there to explore.

In smaller but busier zones like ARR's, why not sure, but aether currents are just so boring to do only because there is nothing to see.

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Originally Posted by Vahlnir

Some people in this thread though are like

https://media.giphy.com/media/xT5LMq...dN60/giphy.gif

And I just don't get it. My brain refuses to comprehend this. This is one of the easiest activities to do in the game. lol

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Think it has more to do with it being busy work and generally people dislike busy work.

Though that is the nature of an MMO

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Originally Posted by Awha

Think it has more to do with it being busy work and generally people dislike busy work.

Though that is the nature of an MMO

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I would say that attuning with aether currents is not busy work as it doesn't take long to do and it offers a concrete reward like unlock the flying feature. Busy work is mostly done to pass the time rather than for anything more substantial. That's what grind is and there is no grind in aether currents attunement.

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Originally Posted by linayar

I would say that attuning with aether currents is not busy work as it doesn't take long to do and it offers a concrete reward like unlock the flying feature. Busy work is mostly done to pass the time rather than for anything more substantial. That's what grind is and there is no grind in aether currents attunement.

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Aye busy work is meant to keep one busy without any real value. Collecting of the currents does not offer much value in that moment but it does have a pay off in the end but the action itself for the most part is valueless to some.

Like kinda like working a brain dead job. Most would view their tasks as busy work even if it bets them a paycheck at the end of the day.

Gathering the currents by no stretch is hard but it does offer very little in terms of value to most it is just a means to barrier players into playing the content for longer.

Remember I never said it was a grind. Busy work can be a grind but does not necessarily have to be a grind. I find doing my daily roulette to be busy work but far from a grind. If that makes sense.

Aether currents from a personal gameplay perspective would change nothing on a personal level if they were optional but from player retention level it could on SE's part so that is why they exist. It is a barrier to get people to not blow through content as quickly.

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Originally Posted by Awha

Aye busy work is meant to keep one busy without any real value. Collecting of the currents does not offer much value in that moment but it does have a pay off in the end but the action itself for the most part is valueless to some.

Like kinda like working a brain dead job. Most would view their tasks as busy work even if it bets them a paycheck at the end of the day.

Gathering the currents by no stretch is hard but it does offer very little in terms of value to most it is just a means to barrier players into playing the content for longer.

Remember I never said it was a grind. Busy work can be a grind but does not necessarily have to be a grind. I find doing my daily roulette to be busy work but far from a grind. If that makes sense.

Aether currents from a personal gameplay perspective would change nothing on a personal level if they were optional but from player retention level it could on SE's part so that is why they exist. It is a barrier to get people to not blow through content as quickly.

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It doesn't have to be a grind, but it is meant to keep you busy. Collecting aether currents and a few side quests fails to keep one busy, especially when only done once per character.

Roulette, in that sense, can be considered busy work if you do all the roulettes every day. If you only do a trial and a raid roulette every day, which can take 30 minutes for both, I wouldn't consider that busy work either.

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Originally Posted by linayar

It doesn't have to be a grind, but it is meant to keep you busy. Collecting aether currents and a few side quests fails to keep one busy, especially when only done once per character.

Roulette, in that sense, can be considered busy work if you do all the roulettes every day. If you only do a trial and a raid roulette every day, which can take 30 minutes for both, I wouldn't consider that busy work either.

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That is the thing it differs from person to person. Yeah it is far from a grind that point of contention I disagree with from some. Though the value currents offer is meh at best. For me currents kept me in a zone for longer then I needed to be aka busy work. Just like I view the sight seeing log as a busy work task. Sure some like it but it is not my thing. It is an MMO though busy work comes with the genre though that inclusion of busy work is a factor as to why I feel the genre has stagnated over the keys coupled with many other things. Though yes to you it may not seem like busy work but I do hope you can see why to others it may be seen as nothing but busy work and thus they may not like it.

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Originally Posted by Awha

That is the thing it differs from person to person. Yeah it is far from a grind that point of contention I disagree with from some. Though the value currents offer is meh at best. For me currents kept me in a zone for longer then I needed to be aka busy work. Just like I view the sight seeing log as a busy work task. Sure some like it but it is not my thing. It is an MMO though busy work comes with the genre though that inclusion of busy work is a factor as to why I feel the genre has stagnated over the keys coupled with many other things. Though yes to you it may not seem like busy work but I do hope you can see why to others it may be seen as nothing but busy work and thus they may not like it.

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Well, I can see why some people don't want to do it. In fact, one reason why I always use MSQ boost for alt characters is to not have to do aether currents again.

It's just that I don't qualify it as busy work, though I will concede that it can be subjective in terms of how people interpret what it means (but I would still disagree).

I just think that people have this idea that, if it doesn't take a long time to do, that it's fine to do it even if you're not having fun doing it. That's why I'm more against the idea of interpreting busy work as something that merely you don't find value in (intrinsically).

For me, the term "busy" in "busy work" has a meaning. If it's only something you don't find value in, "meaningless/unfun chore" might be a more appropriate term.

"Taking longer than it needs to be" does not necessarily equate to busy for me.

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Originally Posted by Vahlnir

Some people in this thread though are like

https://media.giphy.com/media/xT5LMq...dN60/giphy.gif

And I just don't get it. My brain refuses to comprehend this. This is one of the easiest activities to do in the game. lol

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Seems to me people find then annoying rather than difficult. Personally I have never been a fan of zones that aren't intuitive to navigate. I dont mind the odd bridge or whatever but when you look at the map, make your way to where you want to go only to have to backtrack for half the map due to some silly obstacles I find frustrating. Its not the end of the world or anything but I certainly don't find it fun, personally.

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Originally Posted by linayar

Well, I can see why some people don't want to do it. In fact, one reason why I always use MSQ boost for alt characters is to not have to do aether currents again.

It's just that I don't qualify it as busy work, though I will concede that it can be subjective in terms of how people interpret what it means (but I would still disagree).

I just think that people have this idea that, if it doesn't take a long time to do, that it's fine to do it even if you're not having fun doing it. That's why I'm more against the idea of interpreting busy work as something that merely you don't find value in (intrinsically).

For me, the term "busy" in "busy work" has a meaning. If it's only something you don't find value in, "meaningless/unfun chore" might be a more appropriate term.

"Taking longer than it needs to be" does not necessarily equate to busy for me.

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On the point of meaning I guess we are just splitting hairs. Since my view of busywork more so operates around the definition of an activity that is undertaken to pass time and stay busy but in and of itself has no actual value.

To me that is legit what the currents represent. You may say I should use a different term, from your perspective of how you view busy work that may be true, though in my view of how I define busy work it fits well. Though this is why normally I tend to ask how one defines a subjective topic before hand, cause if how we view it does not have a baseline it becomes a moot discussion sadly.

I think the real answer here is that the dev team doesn't care about User Experience as long as they can turn their failures into plot points.

The vast majority of the story of Shadowbringers was driven by the lack of flying mounts prior to story completion. The Mt. Gulg / Talos Repair and construction arc, the second half of Amh Araeng, early Il Mheg, almost the entirety of the Amaurot arc, and most of Rak'Tika. Lakeland was the only zone that didn't have some plot point driven by you being unable to fly without Eulmoran airships / Amaros.

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Originally Posted by Arkevorkhat

I think the real answer here is that the dev team doesn't care about User Experience as long as they can turn their failures into plot points.

The vast majority of the story of Shadowbringers was driven by the lack of flying mounts prior to story completion. The Mt. Gulg / Talos Repair and construction arc, the second half of Amh Araeng, early Il Mheg, almost the entirety of the Amaurot arc, and most of Rak'Tika. Lakeland was the only zone that didn't have some plot point driven by you being unable to fly without Eulmoran airships / Amaros.

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That's really true of the entire story since ARR. From ARR it doesn't even acknowledge that you can ride a mount or teleport much.

For example, your companions will "walk" up ahead and as far as they are concerned, you walked with them and killed mobs occasionally along the way. Of course you didn't. You hopped on your ground mount and got there really quickly. They act like you will go to the airship dock to travel to another city and say they will see you later when you finally arrive, but then you just cast teleport and it's done and you are already meeting them again.

I'm fine with this and it assists my roleplaying because I don't want to acknowledge teleporting and always having mounts in the story. We shouldn't pretend it's a new thing in ShB though.

We only get the ground experience once. Once we fly we will never see the area the same way as we experienced it on foot and I think that's why it's important to give us the ground experience in the story.