MSQ vs Side Stories

Not to open another can of worms but is anyone else enjoying the raid stories more than the MSQ? I'm noticing so much less fluff and the stakes feel so much more realistic to where our WOL is at this point. Like even without much voice acting I'm finding it all much more enjoyable personally.

The solution Nine aesthetic is really pretty, and has a fun cast of new characters. They feel episodic but in a good way, with a semi mysterious bad guy that isn't some random world destroying god.

The FFXI raids were pretty strait to the point and cleverly used an established bad guy and simple to understand plot point that at least for now hasn't been overly complicated. FFXI has years of rich lore, nicely updated parts of zones, beloved characters written by some of SE's best, and sound tracks by three of the greatest composers SE has had, all of which SE seems to be pulling from in a neat way. Nothing crazier than what we'd expect, but I'm genuinely excited to see whats next.

I'm hoping that the exploration zone and relic stories are just as good to offset the MSQ which at this point I think SE knows is a wash.

P.S. as a fellow boomer, this line brought tears to my eyes "A band of adventurers barley met, united in the face of great peril. Just like old times..."

Honestly we need to open as many cans of worms as possible if it helps even a BIT to make them course correct this travesty of writing, lack of pacing and nuking their own worldbuilding they are subjecting us to.

The role quests are leagues better writing than the current MSQ for example, Bozja had a lot of good writing, nuanced writing. Lot of sidequests have better and nuanced writing.

Only thing I'm really worried about FFXI raidstoryline is that it might be going in a "None of this was real, it was all just a dream" to avoid the obvious and probably best solution that Vanadiel is either another world / planet whatever or another shard. And not just some imagination of Jaffar Lizard.

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Originally Posted by Hallarem

The role quests are leagues better writing than the current MSQ

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NGL so far I have not been a fan of the current role quests other than some of the newer animations they have used. That said I have only done the tank and dps ones, so maybe there are better ones.

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Originally Posted by Hallarem

Only thing I'm really worried about FFXI raidstoryline is that it might be going in a "None of this was real, it was all just a dream"

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Maybe a hot take here too but I personally don't want it to be another shard, so i'm okay with it not being real, or a dream. Though, I think they kinda already confirmed that it is a real world just more like in a different dimension, which im totally fine with that too. I just don't want them to butcher it, and I am kinda worried about that rn lol.

Weighing in on role quests: I did only one so far (didn't feel in a hurry to do them all) and it was the melee one. It was pretty unpalatable and cartoony to me. Felt more like I was playing a Hildibrand sidequest. One moment I was being told about how someone got deceived and brutally mutilated, and the next I was being exposed to some Hildibrand-esque goofy faces and other cartoon visuals and noises. Very tonally inconsistent.

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Originally Posted by EliaStormblade

Felt more like I was playing a Hildibrand sidequest.

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Yep, I failed to communicate it but thats exactly how it felt, and personally I am NOT the audience for those questlines lol. Getting caught up for the EW relic was such a snooze fest. Though so was the EW relic lol.

I was actually thinking the same thing the other day, but it's not just limited to DT in general. Overall, I have been enjoying the side stories a lot more than the MSQ, starting with Coils. My favorites out of all have to be Coils, Pandemonium, and Weapons.

Honestly Coils feels more like MSQ even though it's side content. I actually missed it on accident when I first started and going into HW I was so confused onto what was really going on lol.

I haven't even bothered doing the 7.1 story yet. I immediately wanted to unlock the new Alliance Raid to play with my friends on Tuesday. I was pleasantly surprised by the plot. Nothing mind blowing, but the setup has promise and I enjoyed the characters. I also cared far more about Black Cat and her story in the raid series than anything that happened in the MSQ or a single character from it. I've pretty much given up entirely on the MSQ. It went from my #1 favorite part of the game to one of my least favorite parts (if not the #1 least favorite) in the span of a single expansion.

I love this game's setting and its story and lore. And like most who do, I hated everything they did with the DT characters and story and setting and felt actively insulted by it.