Quote Originally Posted by DJMau View Post
True, but that "winning the hearts of the people" stuff was relegated to sidequests. In 2.0 to like 2.3 that type of stuff was put smack dab in the main scenario. As in you HAVE to do it if you want to progress in the story. What exactly does gathering ingredients for a lazy chef in Costa Del Sol have to do with taking out titan?
It happens in the main quest here as well.
When you get to Ala Ghiri, Namai, etc. you have to go do quests for the individual villagers before you can move on.
I get that it's for trying to flesh out the world, and I'm not actually opposed to these quests, but the way they're just shoved straight in like that feels hamfisted at best.

That said, another change I'd like them to make (to old content and new) would be to ensure MSQs give enough EXP so that there are 0 gaps where you have to grind levels to continue.
Side-quests can be saved for Alt XP.