[Main Story Quests] "Role-playing" duties-- can they be optional, please?

[kikix12]

No one forces me to like it, but I am forced to do it. Would you like a duty that forced you to be a certain class in order to proceed?

Yes, actually. Too bad for you, but I did come to this game exactly because of the multi-class system and I hoped it would have actual support, beyond just saving me making alt characters.

I am only asking them to be optional, you can tell me or show me what happens to Alphinaud or Y'shtola without having to make me play through the scenario myself.

That is a lot of extra work for little to no extra gain. You are in the minority. Just how everyone needs to do the fetch quests which I don't think many like, just like everyone needs to do the trials which I know some don't like (there are people with social anxiety for which eight-man trials are horror itself), just like everyone needs to do the solo instances which I can assure you many people don't like (wanting to do em with friends)...This is just another thing like that. One that was actually indirectly asked for by players and one that was actually a rather successful experiment...rare for FXIV.

Not everything in any game will match everyone's tastes. The developers cannot possibly hope to accommodate everyone. When they do try, they are just making matters worse anyway.

[Alleo]

I find them to be okay if they are staying rare because in the end I am playing this game for my character and hope that this wont turn into something that is done too often. (It would also lose its appeal quite fast imo)

The one thing I just find annoying is either barely any skills which makes the fight a bit boring, or wondering where the NPCs learned their special ones that they somehow not use outside of it.

[XykeVayaris]

If it’s just once every patch I don’t think it’s too overbearing. Maybe it’s even a good place to throw in a couple teaser skills of a new job? Really, we’ve been playing our own character for 99% of the game and when Square-Enix tries to do something for the 1% there’s always that one party pooper.

[MicahZerrshia]

If ppl are forced to play thru 1,795 fetch quests, which are much more often complained about, I think 2 rp quests are tolerable. They are different, not difficult and short. I thought it was neat when I took control of Alph, even though I loathe that character. I honestly would like to see more of this sort of thing.

It would be interesting, for instance, to take control of Thancred when he's infiltrating a Garlean stronghold. Or someone who is in the middle of an invasion. You would get to see bits you wouldn't otherwise. It's much better from a story telling standpoint than the previously mentioned fetch quests, and if there is one thing SE does well its story (unless they split the story into 2, but don't even get me started on the absolute mess of Stormblood's story)

[SturmChurro]

If it’s just once every patch I don’t think it’s too overbearing. Maybe it’s even a good place to throw in a couple teaser skills of a new job? Really, we’ve been playing our own character for 99% of the game and when Square-Enix tries to do something for the 1% there’s always that one party pooper.

I liked it, but I don't know about once every patch. The actual game play is super boring (like 3 skills), it would lose it's gimmick quick.

[KDSilver]

Yea if we had to do this a lot I'd understand op's issue...but we have had to do it for a handful of minutes out the literal hours of other solo duties in the game. And unless you play alts you only have to do each battle once.

Also calling the npc battles playing "a class I don't like" is quite a stretch considering they have what, four buttons? That's not a class at all. You don't even need to press them in a specific order to do a correct rotation. A lvl 20 player character is significantly more complex.

Personally I thoroughly enjoyed these duties. Cut-scenes can be great but I really loved getting an actual taste as to the capability of these npcs and their unique abilities the WoL doesn't have. While their skill pool is very small, man they are powerful.

That's not even a matter or liking it or not. Sure people have the right to have their opinion.
But they kinda know their community more that what we think they do, that's why upon implementing those kind of "new" type of gameplay, that's only small touch to see how it's received and they won't go really further with it. We all have some things we dislike winthin the most basic content of this game (main scenario). Doesn't mean it shouldn't exist at all. They'll never please everyone and well, you know, some diversity and all.
But yes, having 4 buttons can't really be called "playing a job". They also made it easy to handle with because we have to play it for one instance only. The feeling is more on "play a character you might like in the main scenario" than "play a different job".

[SenorPatty]

I hope it stays.

It's one of those new things that SE managed to do right imo. It's short and doesn't interfere in msq repetitively enough to get fed up. I honestly hope in some future they can do this as prolonged side content for various npcs like Merlwyb or Raubhan as an example.

[Rosentretter]

The time between patches is so long that putting one of these short, different duties is an excellent idea that I enjoyed very much. Can't wait to see which character they will make me play as in 4.5. Seriously people, it's like you're digging for reasons to complain. If you don't like the game for these less than 1% kind of battles, then get out of here and go play something else.

[SannaR]

It's kind of funny there people who for years use the if I didn't see the scions or whomever fight in a cut scene then it equated to for them as never happening. Now we've gotten two fights that have made us see what happened while we were fighting someone or something else and people complain. I guess since the op did say they didn't want to watch things that didn't happen to or with their character that they wouldn't have wanted to see the scene with the archbishop before HW came out or the scene on the moon or any scene that's like that either.

For the next one I'd like to see a non caster but I'm not sure how you'd make a melee or a tank work with just 4 buttons.

[ExKage]

Nah. Keep them in and sparse, less than one per patch especially with the patches driven with separating your "main NPCs".

I find them a refreshing change of pace from fetch quests and just plain text to show me what's going on. I love cutscenes but being able to 'battle' as Alphinaud was far better than a short cutscene of what happened. So long as Raubahn Savage doesn't occur with it, it doesn't hinder my progress through the main story that I enjoy a lot. These battles enhanced my enjoyment so I'm quite happy with them staying so long as it doesn't get too long or repetitive.

I had more issues during the battle in Azim Steppe cause it was battle after battle after cutscene instance that if the servers had a hiccup I'd be doing the entire. set. of instances. all. over again.