New player | How do I endure Main Story Quests?

Hi, I've started recently as a Pugilist in a desert starting zone and while the story there was semi interesting at times while being boring at others...

Regardless I've reached lv24, got to go to Gridania and... It's just boring.
I've leveled Arcanist to the current level by doing FATE's and Levequest & dungeons and it was so much more fun to just grind those.

Is a Main Story Questing essential or can I just disregard it and just level up more entertaining way?
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I'm stuck in Gridania part of MSQ for a week now, and I've only done 3 of those in that time. If it'll continue my sub will gonna run out and so far I don't see a charm in continuing.

Is MSQ so bad or is it just FFXIV not a title for me?
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Also I've heard in some YT video about MSQ overhaul incoming? Where can I find info of when it's going to be live?

PS: A WoW Refugee.

The MSQ is the meat of the game and absolutely essential if you want to understand anything moving forward. You're also nearing one of the worst parts of the MSQ. Push through, and forget those leves. I got invested around level 38 to which you reach Coerthas. Which had a different scenario writer. Do daily roulettes and you'll never have to grind otherwise, because if you're over leveled, you'll just be synced down anyway.

(Also there's a ring you get from completing the Hall of Novice that boosts exp if you're under lv30 which is useful for leveling alt jobs)

The overhaul will cover post 2.0 which is a loooong quest chain on the road to Heavensward.

If you get to level 40 (which will come sooner than you think if you just keep playing) and don't care, that's understandable. But ARR is notably bland in comparison to content in its evolved state.

Welcome to Eorzea!

To answer both your questions, sadly most of the game's content are locked behind main scenario quests (the idea was to guide the player gradually into everything the game has to offer). Unfortunately this meant there is a lot of filler quests during the main scenario which things do indeed drag a lot.

Unfortunately the only way to skip all that at the moment is to purchase a 'story skip potion' from the Mogstation which changes all main scenario quests as complete and thus unlocks everything to the end of the main scenario for the relevant expansion the story skip is for. This does also unfortunately mean you miss a lot of the story development that takes place early on which helps set up things much later in the game and which make better sense in context as Gula mentioned above, so if you are interested in the actual story, I don't reccomended this option.

The development team are in the process of cutting out the filler quests in the ARR main scenario which you're on meaning the main story will be streamlined considerably, but unfortunately the patch that will be adding that won't be added for at least another month due to the current pandemic forcing the development team to adapt to working from home which has delayed the next content patch. So have patience, things will improve!

And the main story quest isn't bad at all, it does just have a lot of filler in it where there is just a lot of busywork with little happening narrative wise, but if you stick at it things do eventually improve (and SE did learn from their mistake, the main scenario in the later expansions doesn't have anywhere near such filler and things are much more enjoyable, so it's just the beginning really that things are like that). So keep at it! You'll soon get to heaven after going through all that hell! :D

The next patch, 5.3, is when there doing a story overhaul for a realm reborn story only, patch should be out in July or August but the date is not set yet.

You can always get u a story skip potion on the mogstation if you're not interested in story, towards the lvl 38 part of story and towards the end of a realm reborn it gets interesting, from heavensward and in it's amazing but if story isn't your thing buy a skip potion on the mogstation.

Plus if u like grinding then unlock palace of the Dead in new gridania by taking a quest called the house that death built, palace of the dead is a good way to lvl grind or try out other jobs as well.

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Originally Posted by VictorTheed

Plus if u like grinding then unlock palace of the Dead in new gridania by taking a quest called the house that death built, palace of the dead is a good way to lvl grind or try out other jobs as well.

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You've picked my interest. Thank you good sir.

You're welcome sir, plus the more dungeons you unlock the more roullets u can do which gives exp, you probably already have lvl'n roulette unlocked.

Plus if you end up making it to stormblood there is more content like palace of the dead called heaven on high, plus another grindy thing you can do is your weekly challenge log, it rewards exp and gil I think, there is lots of grindy stuff to do in this game, stay in there and you'll see it all.

Note that grinding in Palace of the Dead will raise your character level but will do nothing for progressing you through the game, besides gaining access to a handful of Lv20-50 side dungeons (and maybe some additional jobs if you own the expansions).

Everything else is dependent on MSQ progress: new dungeons, access to expansion areas, game features.

But yeah, if you enjoy running FATEs and Palace then you could spend a lot of time on those without having to progress elsewhere.

If we count Palace of the Dead as a dungeon(its... special), there are 6 dungeons you can unlock without progressing the story*. The MSQ for the base game(not counting expansions) will take you to(and thus unlock) 11 dungeons. Additionally, it gates access to 15 more optional dungeons behind completing a specific quest(the one that ended the original 2.0 release of the game). The MSQ will also send you through 3 mini-trials and 10 actual trials(big boss fights without an attached dungeon) - all optional trials are also gated by completing the base game(as are both sets of raids). All of this is my way of saying, if youve been enjoying the dungeons(and similar content) you get access to a lot more of them through the MSQ then without it.

As for the MSQ itself, it starts slow. The MSQ tells the story of how your character went from a wandering adventurer no one knew to the savior of the world. How does that happen? You start helping out with small problems, eventually get noticed by some big fish, asked to tackle larger problems, and so on until the fate of the world(literally it turns out) depends on your actions. Which is to say, the story gets better. There are peaks, there are lulls, but basically everyone agrees it gets better. And yes, it has been announced that the next patch(currently shooting for mid-late july) will include some changes to the MSQ. Dont think of this as a magic bullet. Theyre making some trims and adjustments, but we've been told itll amount to something like a 13% reduction.

*Unlocking Palace of the Dead itself requires you to go a little into the story. I believe it becomes an option once the MSQ has unlocked its 3rd dungeon.

Right - I give up.
42h total playtime up to this moment, can't force myself anymore.
I feel burned out already, I just give up.

I'd like to say game was fun but it really wasn't so far.
I'd most likely give it one more try after Patch 5.3 revamp - but yeah.
I don't know how you all managed through it ('^_^)

The only nice thing about the game I can say is community, that part I enjoyed a bit.
Thank you for your reply's and I wish you wonderfull time in whatever it is you're doing.

Best regards,
Peath.

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Originally Posted by Peath_Saine

I'd like to say game was fun but it really wasn't so far.
I'd most likely give it one more try after Patch 5.3 revamp - but yeah.
I don't know how you all managed through it ('^_^)

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How we managed? Very simple - most of us thought it was fun.
If you dislike the story so much then this is clearly not a game for you.

If you happen to see this, im semi curious. You say 42 hours, but how far did you actually get? Do you remember what quest you were on(or at least what you were supposed to be doing)? Because your first post left me unsure if you even got through the first two hours of story.

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Originally Posted by Peath_Saine

Right - I give up.
42h total playtime up to this moment, can't force myself anymore.
I feel burned out already, I just give up.

I'd like to say game was fun but it really wasn't so far.
I'd most likely give it one more try after Patch 5.3 revamp - but yeah.
I don't know how you all managed through it ('^_^)

The only nice thing about the game I can say is community, that part I enjoyed a bit.
Thank you for your reply's and I wish you wonderfull time in whatever it is you're doing.

Best regards,
Peath.

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I'm sorry, I don't know which quest you were last on. I can only give you the tip, keep playing the story. In the beginning, the story runs like chewing gum. From level 50, the story starts "right". Just before Heavensward at the latest. Are you playing in a free company? If you don't, go find one. Usually then comes the desire for it:)

TBH you are not alone many people left before lv 50 due boring errand boy story.. My suggestion check back later at next update if you don't find another enjoyable game. SE promised they will make something about boring quest line.

Regards!

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Originally Posted by Peath_Saine

Right - I give up.
42h total playtime up to this moment, can't force myself anymore.
I feel burned out already, I just give up.

I'd like to say game was fun but it really wasn't so far.
I'd most likely give it one more try after Patch 5.3 revamp - but yeah.
I don't know how you all managed through it ('^_^)

The only nice thing about the game I can say is community, that part I enjoyed a bit.
Thank you for your reply's and I wish you wonderfull time in whatever it is you're doing.

Best regards,
Peath.

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I would highly suggest not giving up. ARR can be a slog (though I’m actually doing it again on another alt), but Heavensward is excellent. Stormblood is fairly good. And Shadowbringers is the best expansion to date in terms of story, in my opinion.

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How we managed? Very simple - most of us thought it was fun.
If you dislike the story so much then this is clearly not a game for you.

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I find your way of reacting very defensive.

It's a very valid criticism, the story is just incredibly lenghty and low quality...as in... almost no voice over, the animations are mostly stock animations,there is almost never anything specially animated for a given cutscene. Also,we are not talking about occasionally having to compelte a MSQ....even the basic mount is locked behind quests...nay...everything is locked behind the main story quest, which by itself is a design flaw because it renders much of the stuff found in maps worthless(you dont get to touch alot of the low lvl mobs,the sidequests are rendered useless, etc)

A much better approach would be a decently chunky quest every 10 levels, rather than 20 delivery boy errand quests every 5 levels.

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Originally Posted by DominicCacharadon

I find your way of reacting very defensive.

It's a very valid criticism, the story is just incredibly lenghty and low quality...as in... almost no voice over, the animations are mostly stock animations,there is almost never anything specially animated for a given cutscene. Also,we are not talking about occasionally having to compelte a MSQ....even the basic mount is locked behind quests...nay...everything is locked behind the main story quest, which by itself is a design flaw because it renders much of the stuff found in maps worthless(you dont get to touch alot of the low lvl mobs,the sidequests are rendered useless, etc)

A much better approach would be a decently chunky quest every 10 levels, rather than 20 delivery boy errand quests every 5 levels.

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It's not a design flaw. It's a Final Fantasy game. It's focused around the journey to experience the story, not around a rush to end game. YoshiP has made it clear that as a Final Fantasy game, the story is always going to be a core part of the experience. The quest design is not going to change.

Nothing on the maps ends up useless. There's story to learn and XP to be gained as you level additional jobs on your character.

It's okay if you're not into story yourself but then you need to decide if this is the right game for you to be playing.

If you prefer games that are designed around the rush to end game, there are plenty of other games to choose from.

Quite honestly, a "decently chunky quest every 10 levels" sounds extremely boring. If I wanted that, I would have gone back to playing WoW where the story is an afterthought so you might as well just mob grind.

I'm curious, what changes to ARR were promised? And wasn't the MSQ already altered? Looking of you, Company of Heroes.

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Originally Posted by Payadopa

I'm curious, what changes to ARR were promised? And wasn't the MSQ already altered? Looking of you, Company of Heroes.

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This is a necro post from 2020.

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Originally Posted by Peath_Saine

How do I endure Main Story Quests?]

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New or Old Player... ARR MSQ suck...

It's boring as hell, interesting combat mechanics don't appear until the first dungeon of Heavensward and the real gameplay not until lvl 60.

I must have 5 rerols for various reasons and well, every time, replaying ARR is a pain, between the fed-ex quests reminding you that you're a minion who has to deserve to fight a Primals while they're threatened LOL... and the total lack of interest of the dungeons going from point A to point B, for a boring boss.

I could use the lvl 60 or 70 pass, but... I'd rather be a whale in glamour than pay not to play.

PS: And yeah, F2P until level 60, it's not that they are completely generous at Square Enix, it's that they understood that many players stop before level 60.
They must have thought that they might as well let them know the real gameplay... They could have done a redesign of the low level like WoW - Cataclysm, but no. It's probably cheaper to offer a F2P until the end of the Heavensward MSQ.

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Originally Posted by DominicCacharadon

I find your way of reacting very defensive.

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They have a point though. A lot of us were having fun the whole time. I can say that I was never bored. I was frustrated a couple times, but it rarely lasted more then 10 mins of playtime(and i happen to know those parts that frustrated me were among those cut in the trimming). Seeing the full 100 quests to get from 2.0 to 3.0 was daunting for like a day, but they actually went much faster then i thought they would even with DPS ques. I could take a break to craft/gather/gold saucer whenever i felt like it. I was mixing in some Hildy steps to change the mood. I had a metric ton of optional dungeons i could clear. And i was very curious where some of the story beats were headed.

And their second point is even more valid. Not every game needs to be for everyone. I hate PvP. You could make the best PvP game ever and it would rate a 0/10 for me. But i still want that game to be out there. I want the people who LOVE PvP to have a game that feels tailor made for them. It being "clearly not a game for (me)" doesnt invalidate their game or my opinion.

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Originally Posted by DominicCacharadon

I find your way of reacting very defensive.

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I find your way of necroposting a year dead thread trollish

Well since this thread is necroed anyways and this is what I wanted to comment about. For me there can be a lot of filler even with the rework, but really what got to me was the get quest at npc A, go to area/npc B, head back to A, only to go to B again, back to A, etc etc etc. Those quests really killed it for me. And since this was my first time playing I had to do a lot of those filler quests to gear up.

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Originally Posted by ekiander

Well since this thread is necroed anyways and this is what I wanted to comment about. For me there can be a lot of filler even with the rework, but really what got to me was the get quest at npc A, go to area/npc B, head back to A, only to go to B again, back to A, etc etc etc. Those quests really killed it for me. And since this was my first time playing I had to do a lot of those filler quests to gear up.

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MSQ isn't about gearing up. It's about progressing the main story for the game and unlocking new content. Gear will be an occasional reward to help you keep up with what your character needs to do the next piece of instanced content in the MSQ but that's all.

The fetch quests do gradually disappear over time as your character progresses from being a common adventurer into the Champion of Eorzea and Warrior of Light. When taken in context as a way to develop your character's role in the story, all those early fetch quests make far more sense even if they're still annoying. If you're not interested in story and character development, then the MSQ will end up feeling tedious.

Gear progression has a role in the game but it's not a major focus unlike some other MMORPGs. If your main interest is gear progression, you're going to want to look outside of the MSQ.

Gotta Agree. It's not even MSQ with the ridiculously stupid quest designs.

I've been leveling up crafters and the sheer amount of talking to the guild leader, running to another part of the town to meet someone and "confirm the job", go back to the guild leader to verify crafted item, and then go to that said someone and deliver the item, before finally reporting back to guild leader for exp and reward.

That's literally point A to B to A to B to A for a single crafted item, and it's not like there're interesting things between the destinations either.

Very frustrating, and dont even get me started on the MSQ. The amount of fetching in the quests are sooo bad. Please fix them after working on the expansions or I'm out of the game.