Future .5 MSQ

[Renato]

Have patience and let the Devs pace the story as they see fit... they already have enough on their hands trying to deliver great cutscenes to warp up Stormblood while also working feverishly to get 5.0 completed. If splitting the patches into two parts is what it takes so as to maintain curiosity and interest until this summer, then so be it.
Have some patience.

It's not about being impatient...The story literally ended during a cutecence. I get that they have a few more patches before the big reveals coming in 5.0 but I feel like they're splitting everything to squeeze out every bit of content to prolong interest in the game which...I also understand. There have been patches where the story leaves off on a cliffhanger like the one where Shadowbringer was introduced which was great. I was hyped for the upcoming patches. Same with the previous patch story ending...But this one just felt so...empty. We had a few interesting converations between the main characters but ultimately, nothing too eventful happened and then it just...ended. The full story should have been released.

The problem with the Devs is that they're not creating fufilling content releasing things that are small and can be finished within a few hours and expect players to be content for the next few months. And this is coming from a casual/mid-core player. I went through the story and completed the dungeon on the first try within about 2 hours and I finished the Ivalice Raid. I haven't done Seiryu bceause I just don't have any interest in it personally. Those things mentioned being the "main attraction for the most part...You can finish that stuff in a few days if you're really playing the game. And then you're left repeating the same content over and over again to gear up.

Point being, if you're splitting content, gating players off and basically telling them how far they can progress...It's not really going to hold their interest like they're expecting.

[Burningskull]

Then they should just start making x.6 patches instead in future.

I would actually be ok with them not releasing the whole story till .55 or .56 patches. The problem tho is the dungeon is normally gated behind the MSQ. Either way tho I would really like the whole story instead of it being split.

[SendohJin]

Then they should just start making x.6 patches instead in future.

they are never going to call it that.

x.2, x.4 increases the iLv and releases new tomes and new raid tiers. x.6 would imply it should do the same and it won't.

[Hamada]

It is just SE trying to splice small amounts of content in little parts in hopes of getting more sub income, been a constant theme for SB.

[Ramesses]

I don't think OP is being impatient. I had the same feeling of "wait, we're stopping here?" going through the MSQ too. It abruptly comes to a screeching halt as if they only released exactly enough to fulfill the dungeon quota for the patch. I don't feel teased or excited, just slightly confused that they didn't even try to make it less noticeable. Like, okay, I guess I'll twiddle my thumbs until March then... got work to do, other games to play, etc. I remember feeling a lot more amped up around this time in HW.

...I see.

Then allow me to juggle your memory.

Almost two months ago during the Fan fest, Yoshi and the Devs clearly let the world know... upfront... that there would be two parts to the 4.5 patch and clearly justified their reasons for proceeding with this direction.

No problem there and most of the player base even cheered to the bloody rooftops.

Fast forward to our present timeline, you have completed part one, reached the obvious cliffhanger... and because you view it as an impasse... you suddenly now have a problem with how the patches have been scheduled into two parts? Sounds awfully like impatience to me.

Your argument would have had much more substance if you had mentioned your dissatisfaction with this schedule and complained back in November.

[Ramesses]

The 4.5 part 1 MSQ is awkward, it's just a fact. The pacing since 4.4 is questionable to say the least, although the story behind is good.

I would actually prefer them to swap whatever is coming later, and have no MSQ on .5 in the first part. Then deliver the whole MSQ later in the patch, so at least the feeble immersion is kept whole. I won't go into too much details cuz I'm idiot and don't know how to use spoiler hide on the forum, but I'm not happy with 4.5.

It's not about being impatient to get the second part, it's more a feeling of "... wait what? all this for that?"

...See my previous post above.

[Hestzhyen]

...I see.

Then allow me to juggle your memory.

Almost two months ago during the Fan fest, Yoshi and the Devs clearly let the world know... upfront... that there would be two parts to the 4.5 patch and clearly justified their reasons for proceeding with this direction.

No problem there and most of the player base even cheered to the bloody rooftops.

Fast forward to our present timeline, you have completed part one, reached the obvious cliffhanger... and because you view it as an impasse... you suddenly now have a problem with how the patches have been scheduled into two parts? Sounds awfully like impatience to me.

Your argument would have had much more substance if you had mentioned your dissatisfaction with this schedule and complained back in November.

Why are you so aggressive about a minor complaint about story pacing? It's natural to be caught off guard by such a quick end to the MSQ; it's not a crime or even heavy criticism. SE saying "we're gonna do it in two parts" does not naturally lead one to think "they're going to take one patch's worth of story and axe it off as soon as possible to give the required dungeon then save the rest for later". I thought there would be long segments leading up to and following the instance, but we only got the scenes before. If the flow of the narrative had gracefully paused instead of cutting off, I would not have felt much dissonance. As it is, I got out of the dungeon ready to see more talking heads and debates but instead got a quick chat and "To Be Continued". It's not a deal-breaker but it's very obvious they cut it off so they could parcel it out later. Which again, fine, I have plenty of other things to do in the meantime. It left me feeling a bit confused and unsatisfied, but I will be back to finish it when the March patch drops.

[Rasler_Heios]

Also, an x.6 patch will be an even numbered patch which means there should be two new dungeons which they probably don’t have...

[Ramesses]

It's not about being impatient...The story literally ended during a cutecence. I get that they have a few more patches before the big reveals coming in 5.0 but I feel like they're splitting everything to squeeze out every bit of content to prolong interest in the game which...I also understand. There have been patches where the story leaves off on a cliffhanger like the one where Shadowbringer was introduced which was great. I was hyped for the upcoming patches. Same with the previous patch story ending...But this one just felt so...empty. We had a few interesting converations between the main characters but ultimately, nothing too eventful happened and then it just...ended. The full story should have been released.

The problem with the Devs is that they're not creating fufilling content releasing things that are small and can be finished within a few hours and expect players to be content for the next few months. And this is coming from a casual/mid-core player. I went through the story and completed the dungeon on the first try within about 2 hours and I finished the Ivalice Raid. I haven't done Seiryu bceause I just don't have any interest in it personally. Those things mentioned being the "main attraction for the most part...You can finish that stuff in a few days if you're really playing the game. And then you're left repeating the same content over and over again to gear up.

Point being, if you're splitting content, gating players off and basically telling them how far they can progress...It's not really going to hold their interest like they're expecting.

Well, at least you have established your side of the argument with some critical points, Renato and I can respect that.

In response, allow me to list some very obvious facts:

• There is absolutely no MMORPG on the global market today that releases quality updates and content as often and as sophisticated as FFXIV. That is a cold hard fact.
• It is a very difficult and painstaking process to actually develop even just mediocre storyboards, dialogue drafts, sounds, theme music, and rendering of cutscenes with 3D software tools. People in the know and in the gaming industry are actually astounded at the FFXIV's team's ability to keep cranking out a very decent body of work within every four months. This is another fact.
• Same as any of your on-going favourite television shows, web series or anime, the FFXIV Devs have similarly employed the current cliffhanger for Stormblood in a manner that leaves us all groaning in irritation because we always want more.
• Yoshi had clearly mentioned at the FanFest, during subsequent interviews and during the Letter From The Producer broadcast right before Christmas that there were elements to the tale and the lore that needed to be shrouded in mystery until the FanFests in both Paris and Tokyo. Hence, to anyone who had been closely following the lore since 1.0, an abrupt cliffhanger was expected.

These guys are working themselves ragged trying to get a lot done... releasing Blue Mage job, the upcoming Fanfests, Eureka Hydratos, and finishing up Shadowbringers. So what if they had to dredge out the Stormblood story a little more?

I reckon these handful of players complaining could quit the impatient whinging and be more appreciative... they should go run Orbonne Monastery some more or have fun seeing how fast their FC can repeatedly down the new Seiryu battle... I personally found both battles amazing.

Or perhaps go try to get all the doggies from the Primals. Even better, start reconnecting with their friends on other servers so they can start scheduling Blue Mage test runs when it drops next week... I dunno... go do something until the next patch is fully baked and ready.

Again... have some patience and let them continue to work furiously to meet expectations.

[SannaR]

Why are you so aggressive about a minor complaint about story pacing? It's natural to be caught off guard by such a quick end to the MSQ; it's not a crime or even heavy criticism. SE saying "we're gonna do it in two parts" does not naturally lead one to think "they're going to take one patch's worth of story and axe it off as soon as possible to give the required dungeon then save the rest for later". I thought there would be long segments leading up to and following the instance, but we only got the scenes before. If the flow of the narrative had gracefully paused instead of cutting off, I would not have felt much dissonance. As it is, I got out of the dungeon ready to see more talking heads and debates but instead got a quick chat and "To Be Continued". It's not a deal-breaker but it's very obvious they cut it off so they could parcel it out later. Which again, fine, I have plenty of other things to do in the meantime. It left me feeling a bit confused and unsatisfied, but I will be back to finish it when the March patch drops.

Yet this isn't like the first msq to have an abrupt halt and even in the story they say that everyone is getting ready for round two and that we should put Alisaie into the huge bed we're stickin everyone else in. Heck it's not even the hardest hitting abrupt end that we've had at least not in my mind.