Suggestion [remove Aether Currents as a catch up mechanic]

Aren't they already changing the location of the currents over time to make them easier to reach?

I really don't understand people's issues with the aether currents. The ones you have to find in the zone yourself take like 30 minutes (10-20 minutes might be more accurate) to find if that, like that's the easy part, always the first thing I do when I enter a new zone. Sure, I guess they could put all the quest ones in the MSQ like some people have suggested here but I don't really see any other way to make them easier than they are now.

Most of the time, you are already going in the direction of the current and they are not difficult regardless.

No thanks.

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Originally Posted by van_arn

They absolutely do get tedious if you're doing the unlock quest chains as you try to do the MSQ. The Ruby Sea, for example, has an *awful* quest chain for one aether current that stalls the MSQ for a good hour and a half, and it's not even an entertaining or plot relevant diversion.

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You never need to do the entire quest chain for a current, just the first step.

Though I dislike that approach too because then if you do it for the current and come back later for the rest, you might have forgotten what happened at the start.

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Originally Posted by Seera1024

I haven't found any huge reason to have flying on the maps once the MSQ takes you away from them.

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That's a good point, it depends if you plan to do content from previous expansions, such as going back to do old side quests, grinds or hunts. A lot of people choose to just focus on the new content and nothing else.

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Originally Posted by Jeeqbit

Aether Currents don't take much effort at all. Press the aether compass while on the way to each quest task and it will tell you if one is nearby. Pickup all blue quests that you see and do them when the main story takes you near to their objective. Once you finish the story events in that area, you will then be able to fly.

It's only tedious if you decide to be lazy and not pick them up while questing, because then you have to go back and get the aether currents for 18 areas and of course it's tedious doing it all in one go.

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What there is an Aether compass? How do you get one? Ive been searching them all using online guides...

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Originally Posted by Juun

What there is an Aether compass? How do you get one? Ive been searching them all using online guides...

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You would have been given one in the course of the MSQ. It's in your key items.

I think the world Aether Currents could probably be reduced (or removed) from older content (HW and SB, maybe ShB when Endwalker comes around)... Sure it's good exploration and all that, but I do suppose it could be rather annoying for new players to have to run around the zone to gather them.

They did a great job with Lakeland for aether currents, so I hope they do that way but either way Shadowbringers wasn't bad at all and you'd be finding those during MSQ or side quests even, only annoyance is having half area not accessible later on so the compass would pick up the closest there, talking to you Kholusia and others.

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Originally Posted by Juun

What there is an Aether compass? How do you get one? Ive been searching them all using online guides...

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Open your inventory, click the button on the far right to see your key items, drag the compass onto your hotbar and then click it while navigating to each quest objective and it will tell you how far away the nearest Aether Current is. If it's close you can go and get it.