Personally not enjoying the story currently but everyone keeps saying it gets better

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Originally Posted by Oizen

When people say FFXIV has a good story, they mean in comparison to other MMOs, where the bar is so low you basically have to pick it up off the ground.

Compared to other games, or other mediums at all really, the story told in FFXIV is nothing special. Very anime trope-y, lots of padding/filler, ect.

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Completely disagree on this one. Even single players FF fans agree to say it has one of the best story in the serie. Especially compared to entries in the last 10 years.

When some of these people say FFXIV have a great story, they definitely don't reference others MMO. At least I know i don't, because the only reason i play this MMO is because it's a Final Fantasy game, and for the story. Couldn't care less about other MMO.

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Originally Posted by Striker44

Please don't claim to speak for other people, because then you go into the realm of just saying things that are flat-out false.

Take me. I've loved the FFXIV story. And that's not just "in comparison to other MMOs." That's compared to anything. I've thoroughly enjoyed the story, and I get confused when I see the whole "ARR is bad and it gets better in HW," because frankly I felt ARR was great. I've been invested in it from the beginning. Perhaps it's because I'm a long-time fan of the FF series in general (and particularly the earlier games). Maybe it's because FF6 is my favorites game of the series and I saw a huge connection between the Garlean Empire and Gestahl's Empire from FF6. I don't know - what I do know is that I've been hooked from the start.

The biggest thing is just being aware that we're all offering opinions, and nothing more. That I really enjoyed ARR doesn't make it objectively "good"; it just means it appealed to me personally. Likewise, if the next person to post here found ARR wasn't appealing - that's perfectly fine...it just doesn't mean that ARR was objectively "bad" - it's their own personal opinion, nothing more.

The issue is too many people - and on this forum, it's predominantly the naysayers - trying to masquerade their opinions as if they're facts. Which they're not. At all. Such as your own comment about the story being "nothing special." Why claim it as if it's a fact? It's not. It's your personal thought, and nothing more. You can go to one single YT video and find hundreds of people on that one video alone talking about how meaningful and special the FFXIV story was for them. That doesn't make it objectively "special", either - it's their own opinions, nothing more. The difference I've found is that the people who have enjoyed the story tend to be more willing in their commentary to express their thoughts as opinions, while the detractors have a greater tendency to act as if they are some sort of majestic arbiters of what is "good" or "bad." Just give your opinion. That's all we have.

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I didn't say it was bad.

I just said it wasn't anything special.

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Originally Posted by twenty2

So i just finished stormblood and personally im not enjoying the story currently. a lot of people say that Shadow Bringers is where it get really good but they said that with the other expansions as well. im just wondering if it does get any better or at least the pacing will be a little faster because im only now realizing how slow everything is going.

I am very thoroughly enjoying the gameplay though with the raids and dungeons and the sorts. doing that is really fun and is part of the game that makes me keep going.

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Depends on whether or not you like Kingdom Heart's stories about light vs darkness and feel good fluffly wuffy stuff. If you do then you might enjoy Shadowbringers and Endwalker. If you don't then you won't enjoy the story going forward. Also if you liked the grounded geopolitical conflicts of the early FFXIV story, prepare to be disappointed because that era is over.

It never gets better, dungeons get harder trials more tedious and its a slog all the way through.

No other game I know has a story that's 600 ish hours long, Witcher 3 is considered long at 70 to 80 ish hours and has no queues to put it into perspective.

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Originally Posted by Sigma5

It never gets better, dungeons get harder trials more tedious and its a slog all the way through.

No other game I know has a story that's 600 ish hours long, Witcher 3 is considered long at 70 to 80 ish hours and has no queues to put it into perspective.

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Comparing an MMO to a standalone SRPG is disingenuous.

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Originally Posted by RobynDaBank

Comparing an MMO to a standalone SRPG is disingenuous.

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Flippy-floppy wishy-washy.

XIV is a Single Player RPG when it suits us.
XIV is an MMO when it suits us

XIV's MSQ directly competes with Single Player RPGs, this is objectively true with how we play it and how we're getting Duty Support with everything. People often try and directly compare it to the Single Player franchise.

It's why everyone tries to call it an 'RPGMMO'.. lol

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Originally Posted by caffe_macchiato

No, actually I think I will. I'm going to speak out on behalf of the vast majority of gamers and the majority of MMO players who don't care to play this game. Here's some facts: Final Fantasy XIV is a video game. It's not among the most popular online video games.

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Alright, but just so you know, over 27,731,859 characters have been made. Tens of millions of people have played this game at some point in the last 10 years.

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In fact, it's not even the most played MMO.

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MMO Population is a discredited website that automatically scrapes data from stupid places like reddit that most players are not registered on. SE does not release their population data and the most credible sources (Lucky Bancho and XIVCensus) are not used by them as far as I know.

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Originally Posted by R041

Flippy-floppy wishy-washy.

XIV is a Single Player RPG when it suits us.
XIV is an MMO when it suits us

XIV's MSQ directly competes with Single Player RPGs, this is objectively true with how we play it and how we're getting Duty Support with everything. People often try and directly compare it to the Single Player franchise.

It's why everyone tries to call it an 'RPGMMO'.. lol

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FF XIV has solo aspects, but it is still an MMORPG since a lot of content is meant for group play. Comparing FF XIV to Witcher 3 (as someone did above) is like comparing apples to oranges. There is no MMO or multiplayer aspect to it. It is strictly a solo player game. An amazing game to be sure, but a solo game nonetheless. By your logic, WoW could also be considered a single player RPG, except it is not. As far as this game's story competing with solo RPGs....yeah, no. I don't think so. Not overall, at least.

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Originally Posted by Jeeqbit

Alright, but just so you know, over 27,731,859 characters have been made. Tens of millions of people have played this game at some point in the last 10 years.

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Until SE gets rid of the major bot problem, knowing they're banned and re-created every week - We shouldn't be flaunting the Character count. lol

https://i.imgur.com/TesgR2v.png

https://i.imgur.com/wSeD3qP.png

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Originally Posted by Vahlnir

FF XIV has solo aspects, but it is still an MMORPG since a lot of content is meant for group play. Comparing FF XIV to Witcher 3 (as someone did above) is like comparing apples to oranges. There is no MMO or multiplayer aspect to it. It is strictly a solo player game. An amazing game to be sure, but a solo game nonetheless. By your logic, WoW could also be considered a single player RPG, except it is not. As far as this game's story competing with solo RPGs....yeah, no. I don't think so. Not overall, at least.

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Sure, it has more MMO than Witcher 3. But it also has more Single Player than Witcher 3. lol

It is widely considered more of a Single Player RPG than an MMO by at least 2/3rds by this community. I'm not saying it's NOT an MMO. But the 'gameplay' is widely the MSQ - And repeating the MSQ dungeons for a tank achievement doesn't really equal content.

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Originally Posted by R041

It is widely considered more of a Single Player RPG than an MMO by at least 2/3rds by this community.

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Got a source on that?

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Originally Posted by Vahlnir

Got a source on that?

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The.. Game that's 400 hours of pure Single Player experience, and this community that consistently tell everyone to quit playing because we're always in a content lull after the first month of Expac release?

All Dungeons are getting Duty Support? Trials will be getting Duty Support?

All of the Streamers that only play MSQ and create hundreds of hours of content out of it, largely ignoring the rest of the 'MMO'?

The thread we're in? (Where most people say if you don't like MSQ, you should quit)

The complete fall off after a month after each expac?

https://i.imgur.com/1klQnOB.png

This video? https://youtu.be/5T-mcLYBnKc

This thread? https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/...y-in-Endwalker

The fact that if all players left XIV, it'd still play nearly exactly the same?

Variant
POTD, HOH
Eureka
Custom Deliveries
Island Sanctuary
Golden Saucer

Again, I didn't say it's NOT an MMO. But it's widely considered more of a Single Player experience more than the MMO portion of itself. It is largely a Live Service Single Player Experience.

You give reasons for why you have this opinion. But your "statistic" showing what more then 66.6% of players think in that regard, what is your source for that? "Trust me bro"?

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Originally Posted by CheshCa7

You give reasons for why you have this opinion. But your "statistic" showing what more then 66.6% of players think in that regard, what is your source for that? "Trust me bro"?

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Sure, check the Census or Lucky Bancho. Most players only do the Single Player content over the MMO content. Majority of players don't raid, and that's basically the only 'MMO' content that can't be Single Player. And if you tell me you queue for dungeon and actually talk with people, yeah I don't believe that one bit. The only reason I don't Duty Support is because it's slower, otherwise the experience is largely the same now.

Also the Steam % drop off shows majority of the playerbase stop playing as soon as they finish MSQ.

Not gonna get into the nightclub scene, because if you're gonna tell me that's the MMO then lool.

Anyway, XIV can't have it's cake and eat it too. Most of the content it has can be played Single Player, and the MSQ itself REQUIRES you play it Single Player. If you want to contest that then go for it.

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Originally Posted by R041

Flippy-floppy wishy-washy.

XIV is a Single Player RPG when it suits us.
XIV is an MMO when it suits us

XIV's MSQ directly competes with Single Player RPGs, this is objectively true with how we play it and how we're getting Duty Support with everything. People often try and directly compare it to the Single Player franchise.

It's why everyone tries to call it an 'RPGMMO'.. lol

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Just because Duty Support is an option for MSQ dungeons doesn't automatically make it "single player" mode. Not to mention MSQ is pretty much needed to unlock many things in the game. FFXIV is not comparable to an SRPG in the simple sense that XIV has been going on since 2010s, and the Witcher 3 released once, had a couple of purchaseable expansions to the story, and that's about it.

I really don't care about your opinions on how much of XIV you can play solo. The thread was discussing how long the story is, so please get your "lols" and statistics away from the discussion.

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Originally Posted by RobynDaBank

Just because Duty Support is an option for MSQ dungeons doesn't automatically make it "single player" mode. Not to mention MSQ is pretty much needed to unlock many things in the game. FFXIV is not comparable to an SRPG in the simple sense that XIV has been going on since 2010s, and the Witcher 3 released once, had a couple of purchaseable expansions to the story, and that's about it.

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Okay, and each expac released every 2 years has about as much Single Player content as a normal Single Player RPG does.

Most RPGs are what, 30-40 hours? Yeah. Each XIV Expac is 30-40 hours of just base MSQ. Endwalker is roughly 40-50 hours and that's not even with the update content. They're comparable.

FFXIV is mostly a Live Service Single Player Experience. We all agree to it, and that's okay. This doesn't have to be an argument.

lol

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Originally Posted by R041

Sure, check the Census or Lucky Bancho. Most players only do the Single Player content over the MMO content. Majority of players don't raid, and that's basically the only 'MMO' content that can't be Single Player. And if you tell me you queue for dungeon and actually talk with people, yeah I don't believe that one bit. The only reason I don't Duty Support is because it's slower, otherwise the experience is largely the same now.

Also the Steam % drop off shows majority of the playerbase stop playing as soon as they finish MSQ.

Not gonna get into the nightclub scene, because if you're gonna tell me that's the MMO then lool.

Anyway, XIV can't have it's cake and eat it too. Most of the content it has can be played Single Player, and the MSQ itself REQUIRES you play it Single Player. If you want to contest that then go for it.

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You can believe whatever you like. I, personally, do talk to others in dungeons and me and my best friend do all trials/dungeons and MSQ parts together and talk about it after. But I agree that the game is focusing more and more on the single player aspect, less interaction in battle content, main character syndrom and life sim. I wouldn't say it's bad per say but I hate how they erode what little MMO there is more and more with boring jobs that have no interplay with each other and DPS above all else.

thanks for everyone lending me your opinions, ill see to it if i may or may not enjoy the next dlcs coming (story wise) and i know its not the only thing in the game that matters, quite frankly i quite enjoyed some of the blue quests stories, tho short quite sweet at times.

ill also refrain from trying to say that the story is bad and that my opinion is the only one that matters. im not too sure if that is what i did because i certainly didnt mean to, i was just looking for honest opinions and wondering if there was a way around my current opinion. i absolutely love srpgs and have always wanted to play an mmo like this one and so i was really hoping to like this, so ill give it another shot. especailly when u guys are saying that the political businesses are over. i shouldve been more clear on why i dont like it currently. i dont like it currently because of one the politicalness but also because it was very... idk cliche to me personally. there were some scenes i skipped but even then i would know exactly what was going on for the most part as long as i watched the next one. but maybe in the end it might not be for me.


oh and if anyones going to ask its not like im completely forcing myself, i am still going at a pace where i can enjoy the game at my OWN pace.

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Originally Posted by Payadopa

You can believe whatever you like. I, personally, do talk to others in dungeons and me and my best friend do all trials/dungeons and MSQ parts together and talk about it after. But I agree that the game is focusing more and more on the single player aspect, less interaction in battle content, main character syndrom and life sim. I wouldn't say it's bad per say but I hate how they erode what little MMO there is more and more with boring jobs that have no interplay with each other and DPS above all else.

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Personally I'm of the mind that Duty Support/Trusts wouldn't be a thing at all if Square wasn't trying to push a more solo based experience. Plus it's pretty common knowledge by now that many are paranoid to be social in the game due to report abuse by others (i.e. offering kind advice only to have the other person freak out and report)

If we start seeing all of the trials become doable by DS/Trusts then I would start to worry more about their intentions. At that point you'd only need to be around other people during CT.

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Originally Posted by twenty2

thanks for everyone lending me your opinions, ill see to it if i may or may not enjoy the next dlcs coming (story wise) and i know its not the only thing in the game that matters, quite frankly i quite enjoyed some of the blue quests stories, tho short quite sweet at times.

ill also refrain from trying to say that the story is bad and that my opinion is the only one that matters. im not too sure if that is what i did because i certainly didnt mean to, i was just looking for honest opinions and wondering if there was a way around my current opinion. i absolutely love srpgs and have always wanted to play an mmo like this one and so i was really hoping to like this, so ill give it another shot. especailly when u guys are saying that the political businesses are over. i shouldve been more clear on why i dont like it currently. i dont like it currently because of one the politicalness but also because it was very... idk cliche to me personally. there were some scenes i skipped but even then i would know exactly what was going on for the most part as long as i watched the next one. but maybe in the end it might not be for me.


oh and if anyones going to ask its not like im completely forcing myself, i am still going at a pace where i can enjoy the game at my OWN pace.

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Ahh yeah Stormblood had a lot of politics in it. There is some political stuff in Shadowbringers and Endwalker, but it's not as heavy or in your face as Stormblood is. And yes, please enjoy it at your own pace. Many new comers tend to feel that the game doesn't start until you reach the current patch. Not understanding that this game tends to be more like a vacation that's a trip across country with fun activities scattered on the side of the road to be enjoyed while traveling down said road. Also don't be shy in asking questions about things that might not make sense. This community tends to do a good job of not spoiling things or at least not trying to do so. This forum has a lore section if you choose to have a smaller audience to give questions to as not everyone visits that section.

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Originally Posted by twenty2

thanks for everyone lending me your opinions, ill see to it if i may or may not enjoy the next dlcs coming (story wise) and i know its not the only thing in the game that matters, quite frankly i quite enjoyed some of the blue quests stories, tho short quite sweet at times.

ill also refrain from trying to say that the story is bad and that my opinion is the only one that matters. im not too sure if that is what i did because i certainly didnt mean to, i was just looking for honest opinions and wondering if there was a way around my current opinion. i absolutely love srpgs and have always wanted to play an mmo like this one and so i was really hoping to like this, so ill give it another shot. especailly when u guys are saying that the political businesses are over. i shouldve been more clear on why i dont like it currently. i dont like it currently because of one the politicalness but also because it was very... idk cliche to me personally. there were some scenes i skipped but even then i would know exactly what was going on for the most part as long as i watched the next one. but maybe in the end it might not be for me.


oh and if anyones going to ask its not like im completely forcing myself, i am still going at a pace where i can enjoy the game at my OWN pace.

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The story is a major part of the game, but not everyone plays it for the story, for sure. If you find other things to keep you playing, then that is great. You don't have to be invested in the game solely because of the story. Most content is locked behind it though, so you'll need to power through it every once in a while. There was period of time when I was playing mostly for the gameplay and shiny rewards and not the story, but I still kept myself caught up so I wasn't lost. This was, funnily enough, during Stormblood. Was I enjoying it? Not really, but I don't like being left unaware and confused later on. :p

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Originally Posted by twenty2

So i just finished stormblood and personally im not enjoying the story currently. a lot of people say that Shadow Bringers is where it get really good but they said that with the other expansions as well. im just wondering if it does get any better or at least the pacing will be a little faster because im only now realizing how slow everything is going.

I am very thoroughly enjoying the gameplay though with the raids and dungeons and the sorts. doing that is really fun and is part of the game that makes me keep going.

edit: this is a personal opinion and i genuinely curious. i dont/didnt intend to offend anyone in anyway. and also i replied back on this thread

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It's very basic/generic. Don't have high expectations!

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Originally Posted by Renalt

I'm a big fan of anyone who likes to solve things with punching it. So I really liked Lyse. I just hated what they did with her though.

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I like solving stuff by punching it too (like the tv remote :3) but all those politics really got me sleepy

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Originally Posted by SassyAssassin

I like solving stuff by punching it too (like the tv remote :3) but all those politics really got me sleepy

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NO TIME FOR POLITICS! TIME FOR PUNCHING!

Honestly I really enjoyed the story, from ARR all the way to Endwalker I don't think there's a single story here that I haven't enjoyed in some way or form, but then again, I am a big Final Fantasy and JRPG fan.
If you really aren't enjoying Heavensward as much as I'd like to say just wait till Shadowbringers, you might not enjoy it also. (Also I kinda agree with you on Stormblood, then again I think most people would lmao)
You can always just skip through the story if you really just want to get to end-game, no shame in that.

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Originally Posted by Renalt

NO TIME FOR POLITICS! TIME FOR PUNCHING!

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YES! Punch those who disagree!

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Originally Posted by SassyAssassin

YES! Punch those who disagree!

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PUNCH THEM EVEN IF THEY AGREE! THEY WILL UNDERSTAND!

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Originally Posted by R041

Sure, check the Census or Lucky Bancho. Most players only do the Single Player content over the MMO content. Majority of players don't raid, and that's basically the only 'MMO' content that can't be Single Player. And if you tell me you queue for dungeon and actually talk with people, yeah I don't believe that one bit. The only reason I don't Duty Support is because it's slower, otherwise the experience is largely the same now.

Also the Steam % drop off shows majority of the playerbase stop playing as soon as they finish MSQ.

Not gonna get into the nightclub scene, because if you're gonna tell me that's the MMO then lool.

Anyway, XIV can't have it's cake and eat it too. Most of the content it has can be played Single Player, and the MSQ itself REQUIRES you play it Single Player. If you want to contest that then go for it.

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I'd agree FFXIV focuses more on the RPG half and less on the MMO half of the "MMORPG" genre, but for the love of Moses, please stop posting Steam numbers as if they mean anything. It's such a small portion of the playerbase that actually uses Steam to play the game (most use the SE launcher), and even that small % by their nature is more likely to "shop around" with various games (people who tend to play primarily MMO and RPG games are more likely to use the SE launcher...Steam players are more likely to be primarily fans of FPS, MOBA, etc. games).

Also, anything that involves doing things with other players - including purely social, sandbox-style content - is part of the MMO portion of the game. Just because you don't find it your thing doesn't make it any less a facet of an MMO (and laughing about it just comes off as condescending).

Personally, I queue for dungeons and actually talk with people regularly. Again, just because you don't do it isn't a valid excuse for trying to generalize or just disregard reality.

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Plus it's pretty common knowledge by now that many are paranoid to be social in the game due to report abuse by others (i.e. offering kind advice only to have the other person freak out and report)

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I find plenty of people who are social in the game. I find them in dungeon queues, I find them in hunts, I find them in random FATE groups we make. What's common knowledge is that being a jerk to someone is likely to get you in trouble. Those of us who aren't jerks are doing just fine (I've found "kind advice" is an attempt to whitewash "unsolicited" commentary).

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Originally Posted by Striker44

Also, anything that involves doing things with other players - including purely social, sandbox-style content - is part of the MMO portion of the game. Just because you don't find it your thing doesn't make it any less a facet of an MMO (and laughing about it just comes off as condescending).

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It's definitely my thing - I talk TOO much, you know that from this forum.. I'm an extremely social person, and dungeons and most content outside of Limsa or Night Clubs are very quiet regardless. I'm just saying that in this day and design of XIV, there's no reason to ever talk or even collaborate in most content even when given the opportunity to play with other people (Which is why most don't). XIV today is consistently more of a Single Player RPG than ARR-HW ever were. Yoshi and the team are very hard at work making this a SRPG experience. It's at this point almost no different than joining the Final Fantasy Discord and chatting with friends while you play FF IX. (Coop IX would be sick)

I don't think there's any disagreeing there, FF fans wanted this. We got it. That's all.

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Originally Posted by R041

It's definitely my thing - I talk TOO much, you know that from this forum.. I'm an extremely social person, and dungeons and most content outside of Limsa or Night Clubs are very quiet regardless. I'm just saying that in this day and design of XIV, there's no reason to ever talk or even collaborate in most content even when given the opportunity to play with other people (Which is why most don't). XIV today is consistently more of a Single Player RPG than ARR-HW ever were. Yoshi and the team are very hard at work making this a SRPG experience. It's at this point almost no different than joining the Final Fantasy Discord and chatting with friends while you play FF IX. (Coop IX would be sick)

I don't think there's any disagreeing there, FF fans wanted this. We got it. That's all.

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I don't think they get what you are saying but I'm pretty sure I know what you are saying.

Yes. The game is an MMO. However they are implementing so many ways to make it so you never have to interact with anyone. Between Trusts/Duty Support and how they are going to start using them on Trials as well makes it you don't HAVE to interact with people if you don't want to...much like a single player game that also has multiplayer modes.

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Originally Posted by Renalt

I don't think they get what you are saying but I'm pretty sure I know what you are saying.

Yes. The game is an MMO. However they are implementing so many ways to make it so you never have to interact with anyone. Between Trusts/Duty Support and how they are going to start using them on Trials as well makes it you don't HAVE to interact with people if you don't want to...much like a single player game that also has multiplayer modes.

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Thank you Renalt - I feel like I was taking crazy pills. I'm not saying the MMO is gone. I'm saying it's now competitive and can be properly marketed as a Single Player RPG like the normal FF mainline. (This would honestly help us)

Each expac has 30-50h (Depending on which) of Single Player RPG JUST with the MSQ. Not even counting the side content that can be Single Player. It is definitely competitive from a Single Player perspective now.

People probably don't even know which direction I'm going with this 'argument' - There really isn't one, it's an observation not an argument.

I liked ARR. I LOVED Heavensward. I utterly hated Stormblood. Have yet to move on in the content from there. Hoping it gets better.

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Originally Posted by Myrany

I liked ARR. I LOVED Heavensward. I utterly hated Stormblood. Have yet to move on in the content from there. Hoping it gets better.

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Shadowbringers is definitely more on the Heavensward end of the storytelling style.