Please Consider Boosting Side-Quest EXP

Please consider significantly bosting the side quest exp rewards, perhaps particularly when you get a job to 90 or through some sort of armory exp bonus mechanic.

I saved the quests for a second job because I thought it would be a fun way to level, so once I hit level 90 on Paladin, before finishing the MSQ I note, I decided to level SMN to catch up to the MSQ that I have left that still gives exp (88).

Ran back to areas with huge amounts of quests excited to fly in levels and get some story. I suppose some item rewards are nice in a few quests but largely it was not a useful option. I didn't need the quest exp when going through the first time (again noting just by occasionally doing some FATEs I had hit level 90 before even finishing the MSQ), and apparently you don't really need them through the second time either. Since 1 quest gives you about 1/2 or less of a single FATE but can easily take longer to do.

Now there is item rewards sometimes, and the lore can be fun, but technically FATEs also have item rewards... Quickly became do the quests to clear them off the map and maybe learn something fun, but not because it was a rewarding method of leveling as a better choice would have been to do FATEs (Bozja, dungeons, basically anything else- even though quests are a one time deal, which to me means they should be stronger then).

So I sincerely think boosting the side quests would be a good thing. And if there is a worry about launching a first time player way too quickly to cap, which is valid, then perhaps consider bonus exp when you hit cap or better yet when you are benefiting from the armory exp bonus. Particularly I think some sort of armory bonus would be a really smooth solution. As for the amount I don't really like to think too long on numbers since balance is a fine art, but at least it should be comparable to a FATE... though I would want to say more than that.

Another suggestion then is perhaps open some of these quests later via some means that keeps them from inundating new players in the area causing them to get more exp then they need or feel annoyed that they did the quest when it was worth less (before their armory bonus kicked in).

Thank you for reading :)

Not a serious issue, but was / is a bit of a minor annoyance (doing the quests to clear the map and maybe learn something, when at least I feel my brain is trained to do the quests because it's a valid source of exp).

I agree. Side quests really aren't a great way to level and I feel like they should be since they're limited. I think that side quests should be able to get you a second job to cap.

I saved all of the Shadowbringers sidequests for Reaper/Sage and managed to get 74 on one. EW sidequests were a bit better, they helped get about 8 jobs to 81 from 80. I don't feel like the alternate rewards (gil, equipment, food, etc) make up for the lower amount of xp.

I second this. The EXP boost will also incentivize more players to actually complete sidequests. I mostly skip them because there was just so many of them and I would rather just rely on MSQ experience to improve my jobs.

Some sidequests do have good and sometimes hilarious plots that would be a shame to just miss them. Boosted EXP would just sweeten the deal a bit, and I'm all in for it.

I'm all for increasing the EXP from sidequests starting from SH. I did some basic math when looking how much EXP it each quest rewards with how much total exp the level you're on is needed, and it looks like each synced sidequest gives ≈2%, which can definitely feel like a drag. Especially since as solitonmedic said, there are lots of sidequests that have hilarious moments, and some help flesh out the world.

There are so many sidequests everywhere tho, if they increase them too much no one would do any other content. How much experience should a side quest give? 7 or 8% of a level per quest? If you see how stacked some areas are with them, that's a lot of xp.
I haven't really done a lot in this game in terms of side quests tho, I really don't like the go here kill 2 or 3 (or however many) kinds of quests in games, I feel like it's kind of low bar in terms of compelling gameplay ideas.. some of the go hear and wait quests really grind on patience. I liked some of the ones I've done tho. I wish they offered something a little more than a splash of gil and next to nothing xp tho.

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Originally Posted by Sauteed

There are so many sidequests everywhere tho, if they increase them too much no one would do any other content. How much experience should a side quest give? 7 or 8% of a level per quest? If you see how stacked some areas are with them, that's a lot of xp.
I haven't really done a lot in this game in terms of side quests tho, I really don't like the go here kill 2 or 3 (or however many) kinds of quests in games, I feel like it's kind of low bar in terms of compelling gameplay ideas.. some of the go hear and wait quests really grind on patience. I liked some of the ones I've done tho. I wish they offered something a little more than a splash of gil and next to nothing xp tho.

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I get the concern but they are also one time though, so I don't think it is a significant long term concern (ultimately it'll be okay, may cause some ripples in the fabric but I don't think so large it's unacceptable (obviously just my imo lol)).

Also my suggestion related to armory exp bonus as one possible solution, which would mean players would be split along a line to some doing other content (helping soften the impact even further, as well as reduce potential mass acceleration on first time players).

As for a number I think at least double, though I'd think triple would be better. Such that they are better than doing a FATE, one with the exp buff even. Currently they're so small that doing a FATE feels like doing three quests and often in less time, and imo that feels bad.

I think getting a level, at least, would be the minimum goal from doing all the quests in a zone, though that is the minimum I mentally picture. I personally saw it, before trying it and making this post, that I could take 1 job all the way through to 90 from 80 on just side quests alone (if I completed all the side quests on one job I'd get 10 levels, perhaps also assuming it's the armory bonus solution so it doesn't mess with the first time through content). The ideal situation for me is that it can take a single job to cap (on side quests alone, if you saved them for that). That is massively far from the true capability of quests lol.

Edit: a future idea might be as you rank up the shared fate level you could also have very high reward quests unlock (further separating the rate that players branch off from other group content, as well as reducing the immediate screen bloat and potential decision paralysis from loads of quests since they'd be parsed out a little bit more this way).

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Originally Posted by Sauteed

There are so many sidequests everywhere tho, if they increase them too much no one would do any other content. How much experience should a side quest give? 7 or 8% of a level per quest? If you see how stacked some areas are with them, that's a lot of xp.
I haven't really done a lot in this game in terms of side quests tho, I really don't like the go here kill 2 or 3 (or however many) kinds of quests in games, I feel like it's kind of low bar in terms of compelling gameplay ideas.. some of the go hear and wait quests really grind on patience. I liked some of the ones I've done tho. I wish they offered something a little more than a splash of gil and next to nothing xp tho.

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They are 1 time only, it's not going to result in nobody doing anything else. If anything, Bozja is the thing that is causing people to not do any other content, and the side quests would at least be current expansion content.

Right now, Side quests are enough to get 1 job from 80 to 86 in Endwalker. We're not asking for side quests to be able to level all 18 of the other jobs, we're asking for at _least_ allowing side quests to be used to level 1 additional job from 80 to 90. That means, 17 other jobs still need other content to be leveled.


Edit: Honestly, I did all of the side quests just to clear my maps knowing that they were a really inefficient means of leveling. I ended up skipping all of the text because it was so slow, but if they side quests were enough to get another class to 90, I would have been much more likely to sit there and enjoy them rather than just rushing through them to get it over with.

Yeah, I have to agree with this. It's only a one time thing and yet even if you do all of them they don't give you enough XP for a single job. That's definitely rather poor. As it is, it really does feel like you're almost punished for doing side quests when just spamming FATEs in the same zone is more rewarding given that they not only give you more XP but they also give you Gems as well.

Side quests feel very unrewarding, especially when compared to the other options that are unlimited (Bozja, dungeon spam, Fates). I just pretend they don't exist.

Waste of time and lack of gil recoup. Just do away with them if you are gonna be so cheap lol.

What is the big deal with side quest XP? They are only one-off missions. They are useless for sustainable XP going into later levelling.

Side quests are, and have always been, for additional lore and story.

Why not go to FATE's for XP? Or dungeons? Daily hunts?

I don't get this obsession with giving one-off quests more XP. :/

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Originally Posted by Superskull85

What is the big deal with side quest XP? They are only one-off missions. They are useless for sustainable XP going into later levelling.

Side quests are, and have always been, for additional lore and story.

Why not go to FATE's for XP? Or dungeons? Daily hunts?

I don't get this obsession with giving one-off quests more XP. :/

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I mean.. why not? One-off quests can still be interesting and at least give you something slightly engaging instead of circling around a map for fates lol. It'd give people incentive to actually do the quests and be engaged with the additional lore. I mean when's the last time you've done a bunch of side quests for the lore?

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Originally Posted by Padudu

I mean.. why not? One-off quests can still be interesting and at least give you something slightly engaging instead of circling around a map for fates lol. It'd give people incentive to actually do the quests and be engaged with the additional lore. I mean when's the last time you've done a bunch of side quests for the lore?

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This past expansion, in fact.

I mean, the moment you are done with the sidequests you will be doing all of the other sources of XP for the other 18 or so jobs you didn't have side quests for. There is no way side quests will give more xp compared to MSQ's and MSQ's don't even compare to a single FATE. So what exactly are you hoping for? You will still largely do side quests for story and lore. That is their purpose. If you don't like that then ignore them and move on.

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Originally Posted by Superskull85

This past expansion, in fact.

I mean, the moment you are done with the sidequests you will be doing all of the other sources of XP for the other 18 or so jobs you didn't have side quests for. There is no way side quests will give more xp compared to MSQ's and MSQ's don't even compare to a single FATE. So what exactly are you hoping for? You will still largely do side quests for story and lore. That is their purpose. If you don't like that then ignore them and move on.

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You can say that for literally most things though? Most people complete content and then move onto something else to get exp, I don't think that's exactly a terrible thing as it gives more options and variety then.. idk, fates, roulettes, bozja? I don't think MSQ-esque exp is reasonable, maybe meet in the middle? shrug. I just don't get the argument against it, it's not like it'd impact much at this point of the game and just seems rather contrarian

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Originally Posted by Superskull85

This past expansion, in fact.

I mean, the moment you are done with the sidequests you will be doing all of the other sources of XP for the other 18 or so jobs you didn't have side quests for. There is no way side quests will give more xp compared to MSQ's and MSQ's don't even compare to a single FATE. So what exactly are you hoping for? You will still largely do side quests for story and lore. That is their purpose. If you don't like that then ignore them and move on.

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There is no reason they couldn't give more than an msq if it was done right, for example as an armory bonus or if they were associated with systems that were delayed (such that you didn't accidentally get launched forward in pacing inappropriately). Many things give more than an msq, it's not some sacred number that can't be gone above.

Also on the other post about obsession, the OP says it's not some deep dark issue that makes the game horrible- it's just silly feeling and makes them feel relatively unrewarding beyond /maybe/ some interesting lore. Some quests are lore interesting, some are not- the ones that are not and have poor exp feel like a waste of time.. at least in comparison to other opportunities, and this seems like an unnecessary situation given there are ways to amend that.

This change won't ruin balance and will make them feel better to some players (like myself and those chiming in agreement). There is naught much to lose and some extra appreciation to gain. I don't see any issue with asking and receiving if it was listened to feedback (assuming they take measures not to launch people forward in pacing when they shouldn't be).

As myself and a few have said a desire along the lines of taking one job to cap wouldn't require the quests to have absolutely absurd values, just more than they have currently.

This time around I leveled my main doing the msq and side/job quests as I went. Fairly painless with some guild hunts thrown in. Then I tackled my 2nd in command, a healer. I finished up incompleted side quests leftover from EW (about 1x level) and did guild hunts for a couple of weeks to get her from 81 to 90. Now faced with a smn and blm to get from 70 to 90, I ain't doin it. Done and done, they can sit there hehe. It is of note that I stopped doing dungeons after the forced ones in the msq. Got tired of the toxic behavior long ago and trusts usually don't cut it. Just not a dungeon runner for xp anymore.

Just bumping for the sake of the upcoming expansion. Please consider some sort of system:

- armory bonus applied to exp
- perhaps capped exp converted into tomes or some other currency (bicolor, etc)
- side quests count as completing fates in the zone (for shared FATE level)
- etc, some ideas to help. In the last expansion unless the quest rewarded an item it was patently worse than a fate.. hopefully that can be addressed.

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Originally Posted by Shougun

Just bumping for the sake of the upcoming expansion. Please consider some sort of system:

- armory bonus applied to exp
- perhaps capped exp converted into tomes or some other currency (bicolor, etc)
- side quests count as completing fates in the zone (for shared FATE level)
- etc, some ideas to help. In the last expansion unless the quest rewarded an item it was patently worse than a fate.. hopefully that can be addressed.

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Please no. This game throws incredible quantities of XP at you nowadays. Add items that give bonus XP, fc/gc bonuses (gc bonuses can be used on other DCs/servers), food, rested XP, roulette, beast tribes, Wondrous Tails, etc. In EW, by the time I reached the lvl 87 quests, I had all my battle jobs at 90.

I’ve completed every single yellow quest in the game and they do add up in the end bit it’s more to enjoy the lore.

I would really like to see a stacking bonus based on the number of jobs you have at max level. It'd be a nice way to reward people for grinding out multiple jobs.

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Originally Posted by Palladiamors

I would really like to see a stacking bonus based on the number of jobs you have at max level. It'd be a nice way to reward people for grinding out multiple jobs.

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Why should people be rewarded for leveling multiple jobs? Level a job because you want to learn the job, not because you're going to get extra rewards for it.

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Originally Posted by Toutatis

Please no. This game throws incredible quantities of XP at you nowadays. Add items that give bonus XP, fc/gc bonuses (gc bonuses can be used on other DCs/servers), food, rested XP, roulette, beast tribes, Wondrous Tails, etc. In EW, by the time I reached the lvl 87 quests, I had all my battle jobs at 90.

I’ve completed every single yellow quest in the game and they do add up in the end bit it’s more to enjoy the lore.

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I suggested multiple ideas, some don't have anything to do with exp. For example side quests increase Shared FATE progress (technically someone else said it and I liked it, so included it as one of the ideas).

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Originally Posted by Shougun

I suggested multiple ideas, some don't have anything to do with exp. For example side quests increase Shared FATE progress (technically someone else said it and I liked it, so included it as one of the ideas).

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No to that too. Don't want to grind fates? Fine but you don't get the rewards (you can still buy what is tradeable from the MB). The idea is also to get more people to participate in them so people don't have to solo them: it's an MMORPG, not a solo game. It's like some people want all the rewards but don't want to do the content these days. I did all my sides quests (not a single yellow marker left on any map) and my fates. Set small goals like 10 fates a day if that makes them more palatable.

I don't want to PVP so the gear should be available with tomes...I don't want to do savage but want the mount and the gear...I don't want to do beast tribes...I don't want to... blah blah...we hear a lot of this and it never ends. Please, just play the game and do the content. Different quests/objectives net different rewards and that's how they get people to go a variety of content. People need to learn to put the effort or live without having everything and accept it. Personally I don't have time for savage atm: I can't commit to specific times for a static and PF just takes too long but I don't complain about the mount or gear.

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Originally Posted by Toutatis

No to that too. Don't want to grind fates? Fine but you don't get the rewards (you can still buy what is tradeable from the MB). The idea is also to get more people to participate in them so people don't have to solo them: it's an MMORPG, not a solo game. It's like some people want all the rewards but don't want to do the content these days. I did all my sides quests (not a single yellow marker left on any map) and my fates. Set small goals like 10 fates a day if that makes them more palatable.

I don't want to PVP so the gear should be available with tomes...I don't want to do savage but want the mount and the gear...I don't want to do beast tribes...I don't want to... blah blah...we hear a lot of this and it never ends. Please, just play the game and do the content. Different quests/objectives net different rewards and that's how they get people to go a variety of content. People need to learn to put the effort or live without having everything and accept it. Personally I don't have time for savage atm: I can't commit to specific times for a static and PF just takes too long but I don't complain about the mount or gear.

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Unfortunate that there is no common ground. Especially as these suggestions don't reduce the time you spend in the open world, to be frank I can't see your defense against the idea.. just saying no. I can see what you appreciate but it is not clear how it correlates except for a sort of "walked uphill both ways in the snow" sort of vibe. Even if you had a greater reward, with the ideas suggested here you could still do all the content you did before (and would, it's not like finishing the side quests would net you max rank in the zone, nor do the FATEs significantly encourage group play past when the content is hot (released)).

Going to say I will continue to pursue the ideas exactly as is then since you haven't provided anything I feel I can actually consider (all elements don't appear to actually present any actual issue to be considered). As it stands the side quests garishly fill the screen with many time wasting (feeling) quests, something that is entirely unnecessary and addressing would not cause a significant disruption in anything already withstanding. At worst a way to hide quests you don't want to see, because many are really a waste of time (like hundreds of side quests, not via the quest log which takes up your 30 slots). It's not clear which side quests have valuable lore, so you mostly base them off the reward or if they're in a chain and most of them are not in a chain and the rewards are extremely poor. Not just poor because because but using comparative logic you can demonstrate the quest rewards are 'actually' poorly calculated in time value.

If you can provide feedback that can improve their value please do so, however as I said you haven't offered a good reason to continue to make them poor investments on the players end. As these ideas very easily can be designed to not reduce the time you spend in the field, rather you just want them to be low value because because. Like what was examples where excess exp is converted it a token, I'm not going to be magically done with bi-color, or poetics, or whatever- just because I have a one time value boost does not stop me from continuing with the systems.