Quote Originally Posted by Lium View Post
MMOs in the West are having a tough time. Mostly because it's all about ilvls and/or PvP ratings. FFXIV is about the story. And that's rare these days.

Hope you guys recognize that in between your constant complaining.
If someone comes to a game, and hates some core aspect of it (eg the story, the gameplay or the art style, the fact that it requires multiplayer interaction, all of which I've seen on this forum) What exactly is the point of playing it?

If Square-Enix had designed the entire storyline like Castrum Meridianum, where the cutscenes interrupt the pacing of the gameplay, I'm sure people would complain endlessly of being subjected to cutscenes they've already seen. That's a perfectly legitimate complaint, because people also skip cutscenes in single player games when they play them again, or fail parts of the game. That's why the solo instances exist in the job storylines, because otherwise people who are not on that job, would be spoiled. That's also why the solution for MSQ Castrum Meridianum and The Praetorium, to force the cutscenes was not the right permanent solution. The right permanent solution would require breaking those dungeons up in the way Coil/Alexander/Omega is done, and letting the players skip the cutscenes they've already seen.

The fact that SE started putting more single-player+AI player cutscene sequences in, is recognizing the fact that it's impossible to herd cats to do content like Castrum Meridianum and The Praetorium without players being jerks to people who want to see the cutscenes and enjoy the story the first time.

If all SE did was release content updates in the form of 24-man alliances, I would not object, because I actually like how the storylines were presented with them. But that doesn't mean I want to keep seeing them over and over again each time there is a new player.