[spoilers]3.2 MSQ Discussion/Reaction thread

[Fenral]

Really though, a Last Verse style quest fixes everything.

I'd like to see that at the end of 3.0. Since 4.0 won't have a continuity lockout, the end of 3.X can be a special reward for people who have stuck it out for all these years through all these various threads. (As long as they don't make the Beast Tribe stuff a stealth requirement that people won't be able to get through in time.)

I think the only raid we have that actually has no connection to the MSQ is Shadow of Mhach. More like that would be great: actually self-contained and exploring parts of the Lore the MSQ has never touched on, not just something potentially important that Cid will forget next time he drinks himself blind. And no more pretending members of Allagan royalty can be disposable in an ongoing story involving the MF-ing Garlean Empire.

[Nalien]

I wonder if Beast Tribes are the reason they're reluctant to give us anything like that, actually... We got a Last Verse style quest with them, and it was amazing(ly hilarious), but I wonder how many people have completed it... If that is their justification though, I'm even more annoyed... "Well not many people did the quest before, so we'd rather spend development time on stuff like Lords of Verminion instead"

[Fenral]

They don't even need to roll together every quest, just the ones with obvious relevance to MSQ characters and plot points (which right now means Binding Coil, CT, Alexander, and the various HM/EX primals including the Triad, none of which are real-time sensitive). As a writer myself, I just can't understand why they try so hard to make it seem like they don't want all these lines to end up connecting back together later. Even if they're making it up as they go, Chris Carter-style, that's not how you write a Myth Arc.

[CyrilLucifer]

The Triad questline is so odd. SE has so much potential with it that I will be immensely disappointed if they squander it and don't at least require it for the MSQ in 3.5.

It's directly a side effect of the MSQ, since we're dealing with fallout of Lahabrea and Thordan's attempt at awakening the Triad and Elidibus fixing that mess. Why would such an important plotline that it was the entirety the focus of our final dungeon and battle in 3.0 be tossed to the side and relegated as worthless come 4.0? You don't just leave your climax and a primary story point to a set of side quests that are never mentioned again. Especially if Regula and the Garleans become more involved.

Even ignoring my bias for Unukalhai, Regula is a voiced character. If he is killed off in the side plot, what will the people who only did the MSQ think? He would have randomly just disappeared off the side of Eorzea. And those Garleans that killed Ysayle? What are they still doing there? People who ignore it will never know.

In 3.0, the Dragon questline in the MSQ was cleaned up a lot more nicely than this plotlines was. At least it had something of a conclusion.

I just cannot fathom tying up loose ends in such a manner. The contents of the quest are not something you can put in a box and throw away. That is, as Fenral says, terrible storytelling.

[Fenral]

It's still a little early for unbridled rage, but past precedents have not been stellar. Unless, of course, it turns out that Nero's last scene was about him deciding to use G'raha's seal on the Tower to prove his superiority over Allag, and he's going to return with my favorite Allagan in tow sometime in 4.0.

But I stopped holding my breath for that a long time ago.

[Theodric]

I think it's just in the nature of MMO's for intriguing plot points to be built up and then...forgotten. Granted, FFXIV handles storytelling better than most MMO's out there but it's pretty jarring when the likes of Hildibrand get so much time and attention whilst other more important characters essentially just vanish without a trace.

[CyrilLucifer]

I didn't see the reply, I apologize.

No, I'm not really intending to attack SE with that comment. You're right, after all, there's still time and it may yet be integrated into the MSQ - it certainly deserves to be. Maybe even we'll get to keep our pet Ascian.

That being said, Theodric, when XI returned us to the Phoenix plot point in Rhapsodies. . .well, let's just say that it was probably better when it didn't. A lot of the time lore in games and literature is more interesting when you do know less about them, so sometimes keeping things forgotten, so to speak, is for the better. In XIV, this actually happened with Ishgard for me.

[MilesSaintboroguh]

I think it's just in the nature of MMO's for intriguing plot points to be built up and then...forgotten. Granted, FFXIV handles storytelling better than most MMO's out there but it's pretty jarring when the likes of Hildibrand get so much time and attention whilst other more important characters essentially just vanish without a trace.

Funny you say that. 3,2 barely has Hildibrand as a footnote; it only gives him TWO quests, which amount to nothing more than "HEY KIDS! REMEMBER HIM!?"

[Nalien]

Wait, Hildibrand was in 3.2? All I remember is a teaser for Vivi (sorry, Gigi), and Ser Chariberts (?) student not getting nearly enough comedy out of that fact...

[Khalithar]

Not going to read through the entire thread but I will share my thoughts on 3.2 and what happened and my thoughts.


Dragonsong War: I appreciated the second fortemps son (I can never remember his name) finally being forced to grow up and the display of the other citizens of Ishgard that aren't willing to let the differences with the dragon's slide either. Nid/Esti was pretty awesome to with the eyes growing out of his arms but I was surprised that Vidofnir survived until I realized that she's a part of the Vath storyline and as such she needs to survive as they wrote her in to the quests and she was protected by plot armor.

The grand melee was interesting and I enjoyed the fight against Raubhan, it also showed an interesting aspect of the growth of the WoL, they showed him to be a badass warrior even with only one arm, he casually swat Aymeric aside after all and then we beat him down. I didn't exactly appreciate having to fight my GC from my character's perspective but the whole GC affiliation I feel has been underutilized in most cases, it's rather disappointing tbh.

The Sephirot storyline was interesting but I don't think it should have been relegated to a side story, it's the Warring Triad, portrayed as like... some of the most powerful beings in history and fighting them is strictly optional in this patch. Though I guess it's possible it could end up as a required quest to complete the main story later on kind of like the killing the three primals at level 50 in an 8man.

Hildibrand, I only have one word for it: MOAR.

As far as the masked man with Papalymo and Yda, I think it's Ilberd and I really hope I get a chance to smack him around soon. I feel like the WoL owes him a firm beating followed by a few healing spells so we can beat him in to the dirt a second time.