I am so freaking bored of Shadowbringer's story

[Vahlnir]

You've done it now, OP. You actually went public and said something about FFXIV story that isn't positive.
You will now get eaten alive by this community.

I don't really have an issue with someone not liking the story. The issue I have, and that others do as well, is that they skipped the story and then claimed the story was boring. That renders their opinion pretty much null and void. Now if they had presented some actual reasons from actually having played through the story then I think that at least some would respect their opinion even if they don't agree with it. Personally I thought the story was the best in this game so far, but they can't please everyone.

[Rivxkobe]

Honestly it has its moments in the beginning and the lvl 79+ quest are pretty interesting but a majority of it is boring filler that drags on. The Ill Mheg and Greatwood sections are especially bad.

Are they though?

Considering most of the story is actually important, and the Greatwood reveals very crucial and important information about the Ascians, how can any of it actually be considered "boring filler"? I enjoyed Il Mheg a lot myself, it's my favourite area, and there are very important plot points that happen there as well.

It's fine if you didn't like it but you, and many others in this thread, obviously ignored the story but act as if you are correct in your assumptions about how parts are "boring filler" and unimportant.

Anyway, getting sick of people throwing around "filler" as if it's inherently bad or somehow less important for the story. I guess they could just throw the plot at you without character/relationship growth and development because learning to like the characters and getting a better understanding of who they are and how they all interact is somehow a bad thing and pointless.

---

As an example that many people will probably roll their eyes at about how Filler is important:

If one compares the Original Sailor Moon Anime to the new one (Sailor Moon Crystal) many would agree that while Crystal follows the manga more closely, it loses a lot of the heart, impact and fun of the original that was 75% filler "monster of the week" episodes. Why? Because all of these episodes explored some aspect of a character, or characters, and their relation to the other characters. A good example is the episode Venus Minako's Nurse Mayhem, a completely filler episode where Minako (Venus) and Chibiusa (Chibi Moon) play nurse for the other characters as they are all sick. It displays their incompetence but their sheer devotion to ensuring their friends and loved ones get better even if they fail most of the time. It's a hilarious episode that deepens everyone's relationship with Minako and Chibiusa and helps them become stronger characters. But it is, again, a filler episode that has no direct impact on the plot at all.

[Aladire]

The only part of the story that I am upset about is how come not a single 1 of the quests gives you the ability to call your friend even though in many cut scenes, this friend complains about why you never call the friend.

Well, then get SE to implement a new pet!!!!

[Enla]

Anyway, getting sick of people throwing around "filler" as if it's inherently bad or somehow less important for the story. I guess they could just throw the plot at you without character/relationship growth and development because learning to like the characters and getting a better understanding of who they are and how they all interact is somehow a bad thing and pointless.

I think a lot of people also mistakenly associate "filler" with anything that isn't driving the plot directly forward, even if it happens to be character / setting driven and important for the narrative as a whole. There's really not a lot of true filler, padding for the sake of padding like the god awful Titan fetch quest from ARR, in Shadowbringers. If it isn't driving the plot forward it's focusing on developing it's characters. If it isn't developing it's characters it's setting up it's world and the rules associated with it. About the only thing I would have cut down upon would have been the length of portions of the trolley section - but it's themes of grief and inability to move on even as everyone around you tries to make the best of their hopeless situation are in direct parallel to a /very/ major plot point near the end so it can't be cut in it's entirety.

I absolutely understand people not finding this story and it's plot beats to be their cup of tea. Everyone's entitled to their own opinions. However I do scratch my head when the term "filler" is tossed around without much cause and doubly so when people use it but then state they've been skipping cutscenes/dialogue.

[Klb600]

Are they though?

Considering most of the story is actually important, and the Greatwood reveals very crucial and important information about the Ascians, how can any of it actually be considered "boring filler"? I enjoyed Il Mheg a lot myself, it's my favourite area, and there are very important plot points that happen there as well.

It's fine if you didn't like it but you, and many others in this thread, obviously ignored the story but act as if you are correct in your assumptions about how parts are "boring filler" and unimportant.

Anyway, getting sick of people throwing around "filler" as if it's inherently bad or somehow less important for the story. I guess they could just throw the plot at you without character/relationship growth and development because learning to like the characters and getting a better understanding of who they are and how they all interact is somehow a bad thing and pointless.

---

As an example that many people will probably roll their eyes at about how Filler is important:

If one compares the Original Sailor Moon Anime to the new one (Sailor Moon Crystal) many would agree that while Crystal follows the manga more closely, it loses a lot of the heart, impact and fun of the original that was 75% filler "monster of the week" episodes. Why? Because all of these episodes explored some aspect of a character, or characters, and their relation to the other characters. A good example is the episode Venus Minako's Nurse Mayhem, a completely filler episode where Minako (Venus) and Chibiusa (Chibi Moon) play nurse for the other characters as they are all sick. It displays their incompetence but their sheer devotion to ensuring their friends and loved ones get better even if they fail most of the time. It's a hilarious episode that deepens everyone's relationship with Minako and Chibiusa and helps them become stronger characters. But it is, again, a filler episode that has no direct impact on the plot at all.

No I did not ignore the story, gotta love this forums habit of dismissing any dissenting opinion of their magnum opus epic FFXIV. But to be fair I am not necessarily saying filler is bad in and of itself but the fact is that I just did not find it all that engaging. Maybe generic and cliché would be a better way of describing the majority of this story. Its a shame because the story does have the pieces there to be an interesting story(Emat Selch especially being a compelling villain) but unfortunately the fact that it is delivered in an mmo format completely butchers the pacing and dialogue. Compared to many other mmo's yes ffxiv's story is good but is that really a good benchmark to go off?

[Xatsh]

Honestly comparing to other mmos is the benchmark to go off of.

You cannot tell a story like a single player game in a mmo, due to it well being a mmo. MMOS by nature are more drawn out, longer games.

At this point in mmo history though, this expansion is the closest a story in a mmo came to rivaling an offline rpg though.

[lydiah]

Everything in the story was so well written and compelling. Hell I had fun delivering sandwiches to soldiers around the Crystarium just because of what it brings to the table in terms of understand the soldier's plight.

I wish there was a "side story reset" option to be able to replay certain zones on different class to level them up to re-read them as I'm sure I forgot a few side stuff.

It's fine if you don't like it, to each his own, but personally to me, it was incredible.

[Astrus]

Overall I enjoyed the story, it's tied with Heavensward for the expansion story I liked most so far.
But that is my impression now, after finishing the story. When I was in the middle of it, playing through the zones my impressions of some parts were different.

I'll not go into details about the part where dealing with the Fae triggered Moogle PTSD and prompted me to look for ways to kill the lot of them.

The trolley arc in particular felt like one of the low points of the expansion when I was playing through it. I have been rolling my eyes throughout the entirety of that plan.
"Look guys the tracks lead right up to the door, I know this beacuse I've been riding my chocobo along them looking for wind aether.
All I need is a way to get that door open, your trolley is completely and utterly non-essential towards that end but if your ridiculous plan is the only way I'll get hold of something heavy enough to press that plate then fine let's get this over with."

And then they went and tied it all together when we needed a way to get to Mt Gulg. That was unexpected and reconciled me with the trolley arc. In hindsight I see now why the plan was what it was and the arc sits with me a lot better now.

[Enla]

And then they went and tied it all together when we needed a way to get to Mt Gulg. That was unexpected and reconciled me with the trolley arc. In hindsight I see now why the plan was what it was and the arc sits with me a lot better now.

Oh yeah, when I was doing the Trolley arc I was bored too. I didn't see why we needed to be there or why it took so long to wrap up and very well didn't till Mt. Gulg and especially not till the secret area where everything thematically just 'clicked'. Now I absolutely think it's a necessary arc that really only needed a minor portion of fat removed, but that's small potatoes in my mind for the sake of a cohesive story.

[TheLittlestLala]

Overall I enjoyed the story, it's tied with Heavensward for the expansion story I liked most so far.
But that is my impression now, after finishing the story. When I was in the middle of it, playing through the zones my impressions of some parts were different.

I'll not go into details about the part where dealing with the Fae triggered Moogle PTSD and prompted me to look for ways to kill the lot of them.

The trolley arc in particular felt like one of the low points of the expansion when I was playing through it. I have been rolling my eyes throughout the entirety of that plan.
"Look guys the tracks lead right up to the door, I know this beacuse I've been riding my chocobo along them looking for wind aether.
All I need is a way to get that door open, your trolley is completely and utterly non-essential towards that end but if your ridiculous plan is the only way I'll get hold of something heavy enough to press that plate then fine let's get this over with."

And then they went and tied it all together when we needed a way to get to Mt Gulg. That was unexpected and reconciled me with the trolley arc. In hindsight I see now why the plan was what it was and the arc sits with me a lot better now.

It was explained that it was a magic plate that will only depress in the presence of a functional talos.