So Long, Thanks for all the Fish

[WhiteArchmage]

So, the main complaint is "WHY can't SE let me do the content that other players did over a year in just a day, tops?!" well, sorry those of us that played since 2.0 needed quests to keep us subscribed and occupied? That content is already nerfed to hell and back as is anyway. If it helps any the devs already said you won't need to do HW to do 4.0 unlike with 3.0 but if you wanted to jump straight into Heavensward (that is, 50+ MSQ) with no knowledge of 2.x... well, sorry, just don't ask "who's this? who's that? why do I care about this thing happening in Ul'dah?"

[Masekase_Hurricane]

Look I'm all for the Story, it's a huge selling point for me, I wish there wasn't a character limit so I could explain and be explained to.

Just edit your post and put edit incoming in the original post, this way you can bypass the character limit.

[Genaxx]

So, the main complaint is "WHY can't SE let me do the content that other players did over a year in just a day, tops?!" well, sorry those of us that played since 2.0 needed quests to keep us subscribed and occupied? That content is already nerfed to hell and back as is anyway. If it helps any the devs already said you won't need to do HW to do 4.0 unlike with 3.0 but if you wanted to jump straight into Heavensward (that is, 50+ MSQ) with no knowledge of 2.x... well, sorry, just don't ask "who's this? who's that? why do I care about this thing happening in Ul'dah?"

OP was complaining about the mass of pointless fetch quests in the main story.

[Mimilu]

I think I get what the OP is saying: They're saying they don't like all the fluff in the MSQ. Like Minfilia asking you to inlay her dagger with materia or carrying dead bodies, individually, to their unmarked grave. It seems like they added this stuff for a mixture of length and RPing.

I do think that if SE is going to continue gating their expansions, they need to cut some of this fluff out.

[Mysteltain]

OP was complaining about the mass of pointless fetch quests in the main story.

The majority of which they removed following the MSQ of 3.0. By removing them, they essentially turned the 10-12 hour long 2.x patches into 5 hours long for 3.x patches. Sorry to the TC if he didn't see that SE was listening to the players over time.

[StormDisciple]

OP was complaining about the mass of pointless fetch quests in the main story.

This! Exactly this! I liked the Trials! The Dungeons! The duty finder is freaking amazing way to keep that content alive, and to have vets drop little nuggets of wisdom for newbies like me.

What is utterly asinine, are the 100 quests of filler fetch, go here and talk to this dude type of quests. The straw that broke the back as it were for me, was the requirement of doing some hard mode trials for Ifrit, Titan and Garuda, to continue on the story of the new astral era.

Things pile up and make a meh situation worse.

That kinda set up utterly kills momentum for new people JUST getting started. It's a literal fatal flaw, a chink in the armor that is the MQ.

[Bourne_Endeavor]

The majority of which they removed following the MSQ of 3.0. By removing them, they essentially turned the 10-12 hour long 2.x patches into 5 hours long for 3.x patches. Sorry to the TC if he didn't see that SE was listening to the players over time.

To be fair, you still have to complete all those mindless fetch quests in ARR to get to HW. A significant complaint from newer players or those looking to try FFXIV is the grind to HW. This is the whole reason a jump potion has been discussed.

[Bdyer]

I have to agree with the OP. It was the "first" thing that broke the immersion for me. Because after Titan you are this great warrior so saved the realm from a possible primal rampage! Why do I have to go an get this "item" from another city when the scions are already employing all these helpers?

[Seig345]

Personally, I find the tidbits of character interaction a fun way of keeping in mind that Eorzea isn't a world of nothing but one daring-do adventure after another. The NPCs aren't just signposts to the next beat-em-up, they're the inhabitants of a world that goes on with what an adventurer might consider to be "the mundane", their daily lives, needs, etc. Every once in awhile I like to stop and read the little chat bubbles the NPCs have from time to time, or enjoy the graphic design of the environments in the game.

But, I can understand that this game was literally designed with the "Theme Park" approach in mind, that some people play this game specifically for that theme park, and what might be stopping to smell the flowers to me could be someone else's insufferably long line for that awesome new roller coaster.

[Berethos]

Example. Why the heck do I have to run all the way to Limsa Limosia to pick up a sledgehammer for Tatarou? That quest has ZERO impact on the story.

It was character development for one of the Scions, plus a bit of pacing to keep the story from being heroic dragon slaying style moments one right after the other, because if all you do is fight big threats or deal with things that have major impacts, those start to lose their weight in the story.

A good story will have down time. Working with Tataru is down time.