Need more incentives to do side quests

Side quests, especially 51+, are in a terrible spot of being generally useless.

The only ones that are worth doing are:
Plus quests - they unlock something
Beast tribes - they give massive experience

A lot of the 50 quests don't give experience but they are either Plus quests, or they at least have some kind of achievement somewhere along the line. So they still have some worth because there is no other way to get those achievements (and any of the reward they gives out).

The regular 51+ side quests however are almost useless. They don't really go towards any achievements, as even the ones that are part of a massive quest chain don't seem to have a unique achievement for finishing said quest chain. The only achievement they could possibly go for is the one to do unique quests, but since it only requires 100 of them, anyone who does MSQ will complete it long before they reach the HW/SB areas (ARR alone has well over 100 MSQ to finish that achievement with).

This would be ok if they gave really good exp, but they do not. I just did a level 55 side quest on a level appropriate secondary job (55 BLM), and it gave me 33,600 experience (out of 2,217,600). That's 1.5%. There are only 34 level 55 side quests (one of which is a DOH quest), so that's only half a level if I did ALL of them, which would still take a few hours because a lot of them just make you fly back and forth across the map.

Considering that regular side quests are once-and-done content (you can never repeat them, not via allowance, not via daily, not via queuing) there should be SOME incentive that makes them worth doing other than just completing for the sake of completing. Bad exp is not enough because it means I could spend that time doing something else and not have any trade offs at all.

I could do leves, fates, potd, dungeons, pvp, pretty much anything except for pure monster grinding and in that time get more item/currency rewards, more exp, and probably getting some credit towards other achievements.

Even expanding the Storyteller achievements to go to 500, 750 and 1000 with some titles/rewards (and then gradually increase them as new patches/expansions come out), essentially keeping the storyteller achievement to be all MSQ + at least 80% of all existing side quests, would still give some reason to do them other than just "because they're there so why not".

IMHO concept of "standard" side quests is outdated mechanic. They are kept in MMOs since players somehow expect them and to help get little extra XP to cross into new level(so you can join equal level dungeon) but ye.. outdated.

The only game where I REALLY enjoyed most of side quests was Secret World, where they often have very high storytelling values.
The only side-questchain that come close to that in FFXIV is Hildibrand series.

PS: Achievements suck, worst thing that ever infested MMOs.
Used to be "achievement" was to beat hard boss. Now: DING - achievement, killed 10 chickens - achievement, scratched your but 20 times - achievement.

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Originally Posted by Squintina

Side quests, especially 51+, are in a terrible spot of being generally useless.

The only ones that are worth doing are:
Plus quests - they unlock something
Beast tribes - they give massive experience

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If the rewards (gear/exp) from the quests are the only reason you do them, then they are indeed near-useless.

But that is not the only thing you get from them. Each and every one of them gives you more information about the world and most of them tell some small story.
If that kind of thing does not interest you, then I'd say you are playing the wrong game.

Personally I do not do them mainly for the rewards, but because I find them fun and/or interesting. If you do not enjoy them, then don't do them - they aren't meant for you in that case.

I do side quests to somewhat level my DPS classes when I am very bored of POTD.

I also try to do all of them because I am a completionist....

I do them because I just can not bother to queue for the alliance roulette on some days.

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Originally Posted by MistakeNot

If the rewards (gear/exp) from the quests are the only reason you do them, then they are indeed near-useless.If that kind of thing does not interest you, then I'd say you are playing the wrong game.

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I wish people would quit saying "you're playing the wrong game" anytime someone has a suggestion they disagree with. Is it really that hard to accept that there are multiple reasons to enjoy a game? Is it also that hard to think a person might enjoy a game MORE (they already enjoy it, but they could enjoy it more) if X was done? Or is the only thing people like you are able to do is to just invalidate someone else's opinion by going "just leave"? That's not constructive.

At least your follow-up of 'If you do not enjoy them, then don't do them - they aren't meant for you in that case." is more reasonable.

Also at no point did I say I didn't enjoy the story or other parts of it. I do enjoy the side story quests (the moogle postmaster sidequests gave me quite a chuckle and I enjoyed them despite that they gave no exp whatsoever), and learning about the world, but we also get to learn about the world from other content so once again compared to other content it doesn't offer much. If we get rewarded for doing other things in this game, why can't we be rewarded for doing the side story quests? What would be SO wrong with expanding the achievements to make completionists be able to have a visual for how many side quests they've gone through? If we can have an achievement for killing thousands of S ranks, for doing thousands of front line runs, RW runs, Feast runs (each separate), for various steps of the MSQ, for every dungeon, for all the maps, for doing thousands and thousands of leves, but yet none for doing a thousand sidequest? What's so wrong with wanting that?

I think I've done more SB side quests than HW and ARR combined. One of these decades I will get around to doing all the side quests, just to get them done. Not because I need the EXP, but because I want to clear all those quest markers off my map.

I just don't see the need of doing them when the EXP gained from the MSQ and dungeons is more than enough to push you forward into the next steps 99.9999~% of the time.

A bunch of this is relative to when you started playing this game. If you were playing on DPS role and doing the quests when they first come out. You definitely wanted the XP and gear they provided at the time.
A newer player / alt character has almost 0 reason to do side quests because of catchup XP implemented on the MSQ. Working through just the ARR MSQ story, a character will lv54+ before reaching HW and then almost lv70 before reaching SB. The XP from side quests provided is pitiful when compared to other XP levelling methods. As OP previously showed.

What could be done to improve this? Make all side quests operate like Beast tribe quests and provide level scaled XP rewards.

a lot of the sidequests explore lore and insight into eorzea and its citizens. plus many of the sidequests give gear. MSQ's will provide HQ left side gear but your side quests are the one that will reward HQ accessories.

Storyline is motivation enough for me but also the exps and often items.

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Originally Posted by RylaBee

scratched your but 20 times - achievement.

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Slap a title on it and make it happen, Square.

Biggest issue I have with the sidequests is they offer too little experience. Capped out on three jobs already and I haven't even unlocked Doma Castle (hooray for alliance raids becoming accessible), so trying to get caught up with another to enter dungeons, but the EXP is so low. If I need 5.8 million EXP to level up, 86,000 from a sidequest isn't going to do beans. The little over 100k from MSQ isn't much better, but it is better in comparison.

I think all the quests that unlocked flying in SB started mini quest chains and they actually have pretty neat stories that are focused on helping one person that tie back to the MSQ. I've been systematically clearing the zones while levelling up my DoMs and have found them quite entertaining.

What I'd really like is a button to simply hide all of the quest markers that aren't msq /job related or a plus quest that unlocks something. Or repeatable.

I'd use them for free EXP and free gil. Can't go wrong with these two things IMO. And some side story quests are quite interesting too.

Not to be rude but what more of an incentive do you need? Doing then guarantee a level 70 if you stick with the same job. Kind of a what to do doing your downtime.-.-

I usually only do msq with my main class and leave side quests for other jobs to gain xp. I do like them though, games like gw2 which don't have side quests feel boring and grindy to me very quickly, as I lack one of the options to get experience.

Some of the normal side quests reward you with HQ gear. Even if the first quest rewards you with nothing it can be happen that the following quests gives gear :) Sell it for money, if you don't need it.

Side quests are there for solo exp. They are intended to be completed whilst levelling up, for example while waiting for the DF to pop. This is why they also give levelling gear, materia and Gil as rewards, to help you as you level, which is stuff you don't get from FATES, leves and PotD. They also have little tidbits of lore that help flesh out the world.

If you are at 70 and you are not interested in story then yes, I can see why you don't feel incentivised to do them, but there is no point in saying 'give me a reason do them'- there already is a reason, it just doesn't interest you.

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Originally Posted by Griffey

Side quests are there for solo exp. They are intended to be completed whilst levelling up, for example while waiting for the DF to pop. This is why they also give levelling gear, materia and Gil as rewards, to help you as you level, which is stuff you don't get from FATES, leves and PotD. They also have little tidbits of lore that help flesh out the world.

If you are at 70 and you are not interested in story then yes, I can see why you don't feel incentivised to do them, but there is no point in saying 'give me a reason do them'- there already is a reason, it just doesn't interest you.

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Considering that my post specifically mentions and compare experience with actual numbers using actual non-70 levels, I am obviously not referring to someone doing them as 70.

What, did you read the first line only?

Also
1) most sidequests do not go in depth into story at all and

2) I do care about story when it actually is presented (which most sidequests barely have any except for the special ones with cutscenes). For example the mog storyline, a custscene sidequest, had a lot of lore. I enjoyed that.

However the sidequest to go kill something because it's dangerous (and no other reason is provided) has about as much story as a leve or fate -.- Heck some fates even have npc's that talk and have more "story" than such sidequests.

3) I don't see how asking for an achievement or reward for actually doing many side quests would in any way, shape or form hurt anyone's ability to enjoy this content as it is so I don't get the point for rejecting this in the first place.

Then skip them.

When doing most sidequests in HW, I easily met MSQ level reqs. As I was catching-up from a hiatus, I was lvl 62 when starting SB, did NO sidequests aside from blue+s, and didn't have enough exp for the MSQ when I was returning to Doma. Ran into that again before Castrum Abania. A couple roulettes fixed it, but I'd gone from ahead to behind because I'd stopped doing sidequests, and usually no roulettes while leveling (a grind I save for later).

On an alt with the Road to 60, I ignored most sidequests until SB--did a few that gave specific rewards like emotes or minions. Blue+s as needed. Hit 60 before the Vault, alt was 62 when starting SB. I did every SB sidequest in each area. Hit lvl 70 in Castrum Abania. Haven't touched roulettes, only doing story required dungeons/trials.

I do think sidequest exp adds up due to quantity, and some of the rewards are decent (and resellable on the MB). If someone doesn't like doing roulettes, sidequests are a viable way to keep up with MSQ.

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Originally Posted by LynMars

I do think sidequest exp adds up due to quantity, and some of the rewards are decent (and resellable on the MB). If someone doesn't like doing roulettes, sidequests are a viable way to keep up with MSQ.

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True, and throughout the game many of the sidequests supply you with gear as part of the rewards, meaning that you never (up until level cap anyway) have to buy any gear from vendors or MB just to continue with content.

Well im not 70 yet but side questing in FFXIV has kept me self sustainable so far. I can only run so many fates at 3:am in empty zones before i want to pull my hair out. Most of my gear has been from questing too.

That said; i just wanted to add my 2 cents that most side quests i've run across are pretty Meh, not like the gold standard of story telling (secretworld IMHO even if the game is bollocks) or the diversity of WoW ( in content ,lore ,or mechanics). Not bad by any means, but in this day and age of choices i think i may be a bit spoiled/jaded on what makes a well executed quest line.

The one thing in this game that can burn me out faster than anything else is turning in one quest, thinking I'm done, to see 8 gajillion more quests spawn on my minimap around me. People say just to ignore it, but for some reason that's just utterly impossible for me. I would absolutely love fewer quests, each with a more in-depth, quality story.

FF14 = MMORPG

Side-quests give lore and stories that allow people to get involved with the RP part of the game. The gear and rewards are just bonus.

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Originally Posted by Maku

FF14 = MMORPG

Side-quests give lore and stories that allow people to get involved with the RP part of the game. The gear and rewards are just bonus.

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You are 100% right! It's just a shame that the stories in a lot of the sidequests don't delve into the lore too much, and have some of the worst, most repetitive mechanics. I really enjoyed all the Au'Ra sidequests... but some of the others in the other zones are just horrible. I think fewer, higher quality sidequests is the way to go.

I wish the older beast tribe quests would scale with your current level, you have these allowances but depending on what level you are limited to 1-2 DoW/DoM (ARR being the exception) Though would be a bit silly to see a level 70 enemy in S. Thanalan.