I'm Having Trouble Staying Invested. Asking For Guidance.

Hello!

So, this is my first post on the forums. I made a roughly 30 minute video (Audio only) going into detail my 3 biggest challenges with FFXIV right now, that are making it hard for me to stay invested. I understand that some may not have the time to listen to that, so I'll try my best to explain it here too. However, please know that the video describes everything as best as I can on a personal level, that may help avoid misunderstanding.

I'm specifically looking for help from the FFXIV community who's put more time into the game than I. Right now, I have just under 200 hours of total play time (According to Steam), and have not finished ARR's story.

Link to that video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lepNofrsBvo

Here are the issues in text form, to the best of my abilities. I don't want to put this game away. I want to keep playing and love it. But here's my personal challenges:
(I had to use a screenshot of my text, since it exceeded the character limit, please see the image included)

https://imgur.com/a/6VcmLnk

Thank you very much for any responses, advice, tips, information, etc. that you can give. I appreciate it.

Regarding completing dungeons to advance the story, you indicated that you have friends in the game so probably completing them with friends the first tine would be fun and less stressful.

Otherwise, remember that you will probably never see the random players you meet in DF unless you want to (you can send them a friend request).

Personally I like the auto-translate "this is my first time here" and I enjoy experiencing things for the first time even when they often go south.

In shadowbringers they also added the trust system so you can clear dungeons with an NPC party.

You can also make a PF with a comment like "help me clear X for the first time." I like joining PFs like that.

1.) Whoever told you ARR's story will blow your mind was either lying to you, or were saying you would be floored when MSQ has you doing chores on your 3rd farm (fortunately most of those quests were removed).
ARR is generic FF writing at it's shallowest.

2.) Do... your friends not run content with you?

3.) EXP is rolled to you in ARR.
It's like that so people can level a lotta different jobs and figure out what they wanna do.
You can go from 1 to 80 in a week if you know what you're doing, but why does that scare you?
Either way, yes, there is more to this game than delivery quests that shower you in EXP.

Hello! All of your points are very common, and others seek the same help and information as you. Do not feel alone!

1. The ARR story is considered pretty sloggish. It picks up big time in the expansions. I think the big positive is that there is a main story with persistent characters. I remember playing other MMOs years ago that I could never stay in for more than a couple months, because nothing felt connected or interesting. Here in XIV, it's different.

You have to keep in mind that ARR was the original game. When you hit those level 50 quests, you have to think, "Woah, that was where it all ended for early players." So to keep people subscribed they had to stretch it waaaay out. Plus, they were new to making an MMO. All that shows in ARR.

2. This is very understandable. People come here every day seeking advice on this. People refuse to heal, tank, or even participate in group content. My advice to you is to just queue, and run. Treat the other players like NPCs, because 99% of the time player interaction is nothing more than "Hi" and "GG." You can even hide party chat if you must.

I have ran hundreds of dungeons at this point. Maybe 1 in 10 runs involves some poorly skilled players. These are healers that only spam heals, tanks that can't hold aggro, people that hang out in damage areas, and DPS that use the wrong attack skills at the wrong time. Does this ruin my day? Do I get super angry? No and no. I honestly find it amusing. If it's a super early dungeon I might offer advice with a smile but otherwise I laugh and move on. So if this is you, then don't worry about it! At the end of the day it's okay.

Trolls, babies, and griefers? Three runs. Out of hundreds. It's very rare to have a truly terrible experience with a player that is trying to make things bad for others.

3. Leveling can be a bit extreme at the beginning, especially with Road to 70. Just split it out to different classes, and don't run your duty roulettes. Do people level to 80 ultra fast? Yes. Do people just zip through MSQ? Yes. You can play at your own pace though. It's not a race. If it was, you and everyone else around lost to all those that have been playing for years.

To give a difderent perspective leveling, I have been playing since December 2019 and I do not have a single 80. My highest is a 76. I am in Stormblood pre-patches. I like to take my time and explore. Hang out with the FC. Go to the Gold Saucere every day. Decorate my housing room. So always remember to play at your leisure.

1: This is kinda you problem, as well as the game, a tandem. I cannot force you to like something and you cannot force people who appreciate or like it to dislike it.
Personally? I never cared about the story during 2.0. I skipped a lot I laughed at it a lot heck if you want to have fun take it in silly way. Swap that voice to Japanese or GERMAN. Skip every 2 cutscenes and try to make sense of it.
I am the ultimate something. "I do not why I am here or why you want me to do stuff but I be" HW was interesting. SB is interesting in world rather than actual story, in my opinion, though excellent especially with the Japanese voices enabled. People who understand as little as I do of Japanese voices get kick out of the Edo/other historical speech style characters from Doma express. The story is not important to you if it is not important to you.

2: You are too afraid. Arses are that and your status is marked with a sprout and every new run tells players that there is a first timer, and everyone's getting A PROMOTION... ... Just a bonus for completing it.
Arses; are the ones that ignore this, and do not let you adjust, they exist. Usual players let you play how you want though, this is my experience in Europe. I remember US Coeurl / Balmung being about on par in past as I feel the community is in present, but I do not have my feet in that ground anymore and I cannot go promising this.
You are right that tanks, if such players are around, get most bullied by prissypants - that is the sole reason my GLA is 41 to this day because MAN were some players absolute prissies over a leveling tank.
Still, it always helps to communicate... And really... if you are so against playing with people then why are you playing this game? Dealing with people is just about half of the game, the soul, the fun, the anguish. Final Fantasy VII Remake is definitely a much more engaging experience than XIV if you factor out playing with other people.

You are blaming the game, in my mind, out of factors you are putting on yourself. You got pressured by people who absolutely were there to not pressure you, even, and this is not WoW in pandaria at least, people will usually type back and tell stuff if you ask and communicate well enough. Unlike with my time in Pandaria where it was a competition to speedrun, skip everything, type nothing to chat and explain nothing. Tell that you are new and one guy will type "oh my god" and maybe vote kick you. In XIV, even the meanies usually mean well. It's internet, and it is people you will likely meet very rarely, and in game. There is safe anonymity and cushion that even if you fall back socially, you are likely to have a long while before meeting those players again. If you improved by then, you'll impress them, nothing more to it.

I do not tell you to "well lol just cure your social anxiety" but I am saying an MMO game is an excellent training ground.

3:
The MSQ makes EXP very easy to get, especially after newer patches. The game tries to make your first class get up fast as... as these days low level classes are really darn barebones compared how 1-50 classes used to be. 1-50 these days is what 1-35 was before, if not bit "worse" - so currently there is nothing wrong with it. Your alternative classes and crafters are slower to level as MSQ is not there to help you for 2nd, 3rd and 14th round of classes up to 80. It tries to avoid being like XI in past, maybe too hard but it is earnest too. Lot of the boosted EXP bonuses encourage daily, but short sessions, and you get rested EXP much like in WoW for time you are away. Also, your friends may been getting up in levels just because they are more engaged with the game than you, play it more, play it harder (Your MSQ not going forward does not help).

There is something else than just delivery quests. But I cannot ask you to ignore them and stop having them be so majorly negative in your mind, cannot fix the negativity. I can say "attention to surroundings etc, to the world, maybe to the text that... you already dislike oh darn"





Loosen up. Would be my tip. Take it easy take it silly take it crazy go spook some people as a ghost or something you can do some things and there is side things and some pretty darn cool dungeons and some excellent music... But also, to quote YoshiP after my recently acquired appreciation for this director and his attitude:
"There is a lot of games, and Final Fantasy XIV is just one of them. There is lots of great games around and out! You should not feel forced to play XIV in my mind and if you start feeling like it, I would with slight sadness recommend you to not play. It is OK to leave an MMO in my mind and I want you to come back later if you feel like it, but forcing players to play is not in my design book." - I made up the wording, but the general idea is there, that YoshiP has said many times, and I appreciate the attitude. Especially as 2.0 player coming back to 5.3.


One thing is... Do ask yourself why did you start playing the game? What did you wish to experience from it or want in it? Are you willing to fight just bit harder against your own mind and attitudes of some arses to get there possibly? Or leave it be, as a fight that cannot be overcome.

I cannot give you definitive answers. I am me, you are you. I know a lot of these feelings you have as I eventually quit playing in 2.X days and have not really played the game like I did in 2.X ever since. Now... I think I am willing to give it a moment and try. I could stand crippling loneliness and extreme animosity from the novice network long enough to find a FC and groups that I now am ever so slightly connected to, and it is fun. Games rarely are 100% fun. Good games just usually have the unfun parts in way, that overcoming them makes it extra delicious, as that salt seasons the joy. That is my perspective at least.

What's keeping me going is that hearing how amazing the other expansion packs. ARR is fine, but it's clearly table setting for other stories. So it feels like a lot. It helps that I do legitimately like the world building, and I do like the combat. Which is good because there are things that I wish the game would do to make it more accessible to get into.

Mate, I am on Jenova as well so feel free to add me to your friends list and we can organise a time to get together and I am more than happy to go through the points you make in your video and address any other concerns/questions that you might have.