The relic weapon quest is OBSCENELY boring...

[Tiggy]

2. Since when was "Giving casual players something to do" an excuse for no storyline?

It did have a story line. I've been watching it each step of the way over the last 2.5 months that it took me to complete it. Not only did it have main characters but it had supporting roles that developed some lore in their own right. Just because you aren't happy with what it had doesn't mean you can go around lying saying it didn't have a story line. It most certainly did. I personally rather enjoyed the process of creating the most epic weapon in the realm. Hero's don't make weapons. Craftsman do. The quest clearly was very tightly tied to the craftsman. I don't know what you really expected otherwise. Defeat some epic monster or something? That's what you DO with epic weapons. Not how you make them. Even most of the quest line was gathering materials to perform a process on the weapon.

Also what do people expect in grindy content? A cut scene every so often telling you you're good at grinding? At some point you need to walk away from the NPCs and just do work. What kind of story would even be "epic" in the context of forging a weapon for you? Instead of just saying it's bad why not suggest what you would consider good. That would be more productive.

Even if that isn't what you expect what was so wrong with the Zodiac phase? 1 big quest with 4 small quests each with their own characters, cut scenes, and lore. Lot's more cutscenes. More NPC engagement. What's so wrong with that approach?