I should like the MSQ but Wuk Lamat and the extreme padding really sour me

I don't wanna spoil myself for the back end so I'll just put my current feedback here as that's what we're told to do.

Just IMHO and no offense to those who feel differently:

I feel like this character and the extreme amount of padding and has harmed an otherwise interesting MSQ. I keep thinking how much better everything could be if their screen time simply went to Krile/Erenville and more WoL agency. I feel like Krile in particular has been robbed blind thus far.

In the rare occasion Wuk Lamat isn't present the entire game flows so much better. Scenes can be taken seriously, conversations and concerns play night and day better. The moment they meander onto the screen the tone just plummets to frame her ignorance and infantilism as charming. There really was no exaggeration when people claim this character comes across like a toddler at times, at least in English with the vernacular and direction chosen.

I feel like there is a good MSQ here where you go on a real pilgrimage and do real trials with real rivalries and likable characters. Lowered stakes doesn't mean no tension or tedious.

Either way, here's hoping the back half is more satisfying and that the patch content is more satisfying overall. Positive points, because I feel like I'm being grumpy right now:

Great new visuals.
Great new jobs.
Great new music.
Great new dungeons... but lease more gameplay, especially in the field! Adventure!

6 Months late and still a quality expansion, through and through.

https://i.gyazo.com/fdf2bdd53dcaf2bc...fbc2e66901.jpg
https://i.gyazo.com/0b4ddb1f2ac157c4...d3b6af8e04.jpg

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Originally Posted by Mapleine

but lease more gameplay, especially in the field! Adventure!

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Disagree.
I'm actually happy that XIV doesn't force us to smack benign open world trash for hours on end like World of Warcraft does.

Dealing with overworld mobs was always the least attractive part of MMO gaming for me.

I do agree that the MSQ occasionally drags it's feet a little.

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Originally Posted by Granyala

Disagree.
I'm actually happy that XIV doesn't force us to smack benign open world trash for hours on end like World of Warcraft does.

Dealing with overworld mobs was always the least attractive part of MMO gaming for me.

I do agree that the MSQ occasionally drags it's feet a little.

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Eh, it doesn't even have to be kill mobs quests, like there's parts of the game that would make sense if they were turned into those story instanced encounters, like

When Zoraal Ja's army invaded Tulliyolal, or when you were fighting on top of the train in Shaaloani

Just feels like we don't have many chances to actually play as our character considering the story has minimal interference or emphasis on us being there, so getting more actual gameplay to compensate would make sense

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Granyala

Disagree.
I'm actually happy that XIV doesn't force us to smack benign open world trash for hours on end like World of Warcraft does.

Dealing with overworld mobs was always the least attractive part of MMO gaming for me.

I do agree that the MSQ occasionally drags it's feet a little.

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there's a middle ground between grind mobs in the world and watching a visual novel for 98% of the story

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Granyala

Disagree.
I'm actually happy that XIV doesn't force us to smack benign open world trash for hours on end like World of Warcraft does.

Dealing with overworld mobs was always the least attractive part of MMO gaming for me.

I do agree that the MSQ occasionally drags it's feet a little.

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So you would rather do fetch quest for 6 hours straight. What happens when the story is uninteresting like is in this case? The game becomes a boring chore. This is a video game after all, so a little more gameplay through the msq would be nice. Whether it's kill mob quests, scenarios, explorations, puzzles, whatever really. I'll even jump in the same place 10 times, because that is better than what we have now. I think at one point I went through the MSQ for 3 hours without pressing one single of my abilities! Its just bad design and lazy developers.

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Originally Posted by Dogempire

Eh, it doesn't even have to be kill mobs quests, like there's parts of the game that would make sense if they were turned into those story instanced encounters, like

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Agreed, I was wondering why they didn't leverage the system a bit more.

Totally agree lack of battle quest pissed me off. They should have thrown at us some mid bosses for us to try out our new job changes. We shouldn't have to rely and wait until we get to do a dungeon to even remotely experience battle content.

The quest design for this game is so archaic. The fact that the story this time can't carry it just makes it all the more obvious. I don't want to have to clear 10 of every mob in each area, but throw us a friggin bone.

Give us some mini-games to immerse ourselves in these feats. Make these battle cutscenes instances we actually get to play. Throw in a few more "kill x" quests. Have us trek through areas that require us to navigate a bit more. Boobytraps? Corridors with monsters? Some light puzzle solving? Anything?

I thought this was supposed to be a new adventure through an exotic land, not a laundry list of fetch quests through an empty open field.

going back to the opening topic of msq...i just finished and i felt the
first two zones were a little slow but i guess world building is acceptable.
third zone did hit me in the feels. well done
fourth zone is odd...i'm not sure if it's fun but you're always on the edge of your seat expecting fun
fifth zone is interesting and sad and good

everything after the 2nd trial is ruined by the presence and dialogue of a character that should go home and get back to work. i'm on vacation...you're out of PTO, go home

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Originally Posted by Rookie1

third zone did hit me in the feels. well done

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Aye, did not see that turnaround with this particular character coming and it hit way harder than expected.

EW kinda had this problem too, I think part of it boils down to not enough solo duties at key moments. Granted I get how the trusts are kind of meant to be the new solo duties, but that means dungeons are doing double duty and there isn't necessarily enough of them to fill the gaps. There is also, I think, a difference in gameplay dynamic between solo duties and dungeons, trust or not, and I think the lack of the former does kind of cut down on the fighting that helps break up the plot points in a way that isn't speed bumping the plot by "kill X random things".

I finished, so I want to update my own MSQ feedback, just my own takes sorry if i offend anyone, I def don't consider my thoughts special I just wanna air them:

I very much enjoyed the back half of the story as well as most [of the themes & plot points. In the end, I may have actually enjoyed it more than Endwalker's back half as it felt more... genuine, when push came to shove. The better dungeons and trials helped, as well.

But my core complaints remain: the first half was poor. We spent half of the expansion doing a world tour of palette swapped Beast Tribe quests, with antics not unlike Hildibrand to prop them up.

Wuk Lamat is also going to go down as one of the more obnoxious characters I've experienced in awhile. They do try and zap her with a very unearned Quick-Onset-Maturity JRPG trope but it doesn't excuse the first half or the fact that she is still a one dimensional cut-out anime hero who is ignorant of everything around her but still manages to routinely hog the spotlight while other characters are trying to have moments.

Also, a note, this may just be me, I won't speak broadly but I very much did not care for the North American dubbing in Dawntrail. The move from 2.0 voice work to 3.0 made a huge difference in casting legitimacy onto the game, where it could sound like a classical PC RPG and not a cheap anime dub.

TLDR overall:
-First half nice idea but dull, tedious execution.
-Second half very good, somewhat awkward but very genuine
-Some of the most scattershot padding/pacing and theme work I've ever seen, for good and for ill.
-Low rent anime cat drags down deeper/dramatic/meaningful moments with empty nonsense until the very end.
-NA voice work really doesn't measure up to UK
-At this point XIV is screaming for more overworld battles/gameplay and quest types/puzzles.