So Long, Thanks for all the Fish

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Originally Posted by Zojha

It would help a tremendous lot if all non-essential quests would simply be reduced to optional sidequests. That way, if you need the XP, you can do them, if you don\\\\'t, you can leave them and if at some point your interest sparks, you can do them later.

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I agree, side quests are the best answer. It would and could fill the gaps between those level jumps for the MQ and be done in parallel with the MQ rather than impeding your progress.

Its a good overall situation. One I think hits a nice little middleground between those that want to skip the MQ for whatever reason, and those that dont really want to skip the MQ but are fed up with nonsense.

Is it perfect? Nope nothing is. But I honestly dunno any other way to make it work without compromising something other than stubbornness... and maybe their wallets?

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Originally Posted by Taika

Why though? Why is only the newest content worth seeing and experiencing while you haven't seen or experienced any of the old one? You don't start a single player game from the last battle either just because your friend started before you and is already there.

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This has already been answered elsewhere.

Basically, if you are putting players in an online game, the point is not the same as a single-player. The point is not to experience story content alone for the vast, vast majority of MMO players. Most interaction with others is done at endgame, and you'll have 100+ filler quests between ARR and HW alone before you can even get into the most recent expansion pack of content.

FFXIV is also far too easy in early levels to offer a challenge and everything but the most recent content is now done unsynced. Very few people play video games solely to read quests and look at things.

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Originally Posted by FunkYeahDragons

The point is not to experience story content alone for the vast, vast majority of MMO players. Most interaction with others is done at endgame, and you'll have 100+ filler quests between ARR and HW alone before you can even get into the most recent expansion pack of content.

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No, that explanation doesn't work. Because from lvl 10 onwards, you get all kinds of group content that you need to do. Especially at 50, even.
And people actually complain about that. Yes. They get to play with others and complain about that. So saying "Oh they want to reach HW fast to play with others" is bullsh*t because they CAN play with others before that and want to skip it as well.
So Taika totally has a point. Instead of enjoying the experience (be it story, questing OR group content), they just want to rush to endgame because they sooomehow think it's..better? Great? Special? Whatever.

Also, thanks to level sync being a thing, even their max level friends can join them in any and all content, no matter which level the new player is. So no reason to "rush" for the end either as it is perfectly possible to play together before that.

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Originally Posted by Atoli

Also, thanks to level sync being a thing, even their max level friends can join them in any and all content, no matter which level the new player is. So no reason to "rush" for the end either as it is perfectly possible to play together before that.

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Yes, level sync is a thing but I'm certain that most of us won't do it sync'd if we don't have to. If we could find a maxed out lv 60 or two or three to do a lv 23 dungeon (I'm looking at you, Toto-Rak) and do that unsynch to steamroll through it, we will. I know I did when I leveled alts.

I believe it boils down to feeling left behind. A lot of us are already at end-game and I'm sure there are new players who will want to get there as fast as possible. And believe me, the MSQ between 2.1 and 2.55 is ridiculous.

I'll admit, the 2.0-2.55 MSQ could use some pruning. There are a few points that are bit too much of a slog. The big one for me was the Company of Heroes Banquet...which came right after they mock how NPCs waste your time with Trachtotum (the fake Company of Hero guy). It could have simply been "I'd be happy to help, but first could you aid one of our members? Her home is under attack". You do Brayflox's Longstop, feel like a hero for helping her out, and then move on to Titan. He could then introduce you to the other members, and then have side quests if you want to interact with them more.

I'm all for quests that establish lore of the world, or establish character personalities, but "fix F'lhaminn's earrings and gather tea" didn't really add much. There are times where it was executed well (escorting a random jerk professor got...interesting in 2.5), but much of the time it felt wasteful. While I don't know how easy to it would be from a programming standpoint, it would be best to move a lot of those portions to side quests.

I know that SE is capable of improving this. Heavensward did a much better job of it. They gave far more convincing reasons to travel to the various zones, with the plot naturally progressing between areas. Most of the fetch quests were either moved into side quests, or had clear narrative reasons for doing so, such as establishing the Fortemps brother's personalities, or introducing new beast tribes like the Vath. Even then, side quests actually improved drastically, with many of them following little plotlines, such as the Partner-seeking chocobo hunter in Tailfeather, the Convictory plotlines, or the tragic story of a young thief girl in the brume. These not only established the world better than most of ARRs side quests, they were also completely optional and didn't bog down the main story. I'm fairly confident that the 4.0 plotline will be more like the Heavensward in pace, though that still leaves 2.0-2.55 without much improvement. I think with some pruning here and there we could get it at a better pace...and maybe with a aetheryte teleport directly to the Waking Sands.

It's been said a thousand times already that if you can't deal with the MSQ and just want to rush to endgame, you're playing the wrong game. FF, single player or mmo has ALWAYS been about the story, and not being able to progress until certain requisites are fulfilled.

All of these little errands we are put on serve more purpose than a tedious grind to advance the msq. They are there to familiarize yourself with Eorzea, the lasting effects of the calamity, what's going on in the particular town/region you're in and it's surrounding mobs. We are all Miyagi'd with these quests, becoming true Eorzeans in the process.

I get that not many like to grind, but two FF mmos have shown that's what these games are about. The devs have already made things easier such as being able to run content synced with higher level players and giving these players significant bonuses for doing so. I think it is only fair that when it comes to the story and related quests, new players remain required to do them just like everyone else before them. Too much? Too bad.

Removing those 'filler quests' removes so much of the lore and character background from the game. As several posters have said, if you want to play a game without a major story requirement, you're playing the wrong game. With HW the MSQ is more clearly defined and lore/character is more relegated to side quests, which I think is a shame since so many people will never glance at the lore or background. Then again, those same people already skip through these things without reading them, so perhaps the impact will be limited.

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Originally Posted by Bourne_Endeavor

It doesn't matter what excuse the story attempts to offer. If people find the content boring, they aren't going to be invested.

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Then they should either find something to be invested in, stop complaining or find something more suited to them. Ripping these things out of FFXIV would simply relegate it to being yet another game for people with the attention span of a gnat and the imagination of a flea.

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Originally Posted by Enkidoh

It greatly saddens me that the whole point for the so-called 'fetch quests' in the game is completely lost on most players in this thread - it's part of your job description as an adventurer! Back when you first started the game and signed up at the Adventurer's Guild, the guild proprietor actually tells you right then and there what you are in for - helping people with mundane tasks! And that "rarely will the work be of realm-shaking importance" (paraphrasing how Miounne stated it in Gridania), but that it was still important, as it helps build trust and rapport with the people of Eorzea, a people who have experienced a horrible cataclysm caused by foreign powers.
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Really, if you come into this game expecting nothing but mindless battles and stomping through random environments without a care in the world, you will be disappointed - everything you do in here has a story-reason for doing so, cause and effect and all that. Always there is a reason why you're being sent into that Allagan ruin or Garlean fortress or abandoned mine. It's a FF game after all, and FF games are story-based RPGs, even the MMO titles like FFXI and XIV. How hard is it to understand that?

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Awesome post and I agree completely. Thank you for saying it all so well.