why i quit before reaching endgame (feedback from a new player)

[Lemuel81]

If FFXIV didn't have much of a story and cutscenes, I would probably lose interest very quickly. It can be a little overwhelming for new players, but the game was meant to be done over time. There is an option to skip it but you do it at a cost. Whenever a friend has an interest in this game, I make it clear that this is a story driven game that unlike most mmos, it is harder to plow through it. If that is what someone desires, FFXIV is not the game for them.

[TarynH]

If FFXIV didn't have much of a story and cutscenes, I would probably lose interest very quickly. It can be a little overwhelming for new players, but there is an option to skip it but you do it at a cost. Whenever a friend has an interest in this game, I make it clear that this is a story driven game that unlike most mmos, it is harder to plow through it. If that is what someone desires, FFXIV is not the game for them.

The thing is, is that the story in XIV is basically the game. Like, it is the content. Other than repeated dungeons and raids, there is very little to do at the "end." The content side of the game is rather shallow and doesn't require a large investment in time. Mainly because the gear can be replaced in a matter of months by simply waiting for the next patch. The biggest time investment is relic weapons, and even that is optional and replaceable. People joke about glamour being the true endgame, and they're not far off.

This is why I don't understand why anyone new would want to skip the story. I get it for someone doing alt characters, but I don't understand new players wanting to skip it all. It's like buying a game where you can just click "skip to end" at the start menu, and fight the final boss to see the credits. No context. No journey. No story. Just skip to the last/latest fight, and repeat it.

That said, I can agree to the OP's complaint to some degree. There are a lot of unnecessary CSs in the game. For instance, I tend to skip the dungeon flyover CSs. I'd rather just see the dungeons as I'm going through them. Almost everything can be skipped though, so it's not a huge deal. And there is an option to never see them again after the initial first time. I don't get wanting to skip them all, but to each their own.