Massively OP: What content in Final Fantasy XIV is optional?

[Shougun]

Clearly this person understands there is no spoon.

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As for the OP:

I like things having structure so I don't mind things being connected and mandatory.

My only concern for such a concept is when you get people coming in excited not for the old but only for the new, especially as a lot of their lessons for gameplay will be towards the later end rather than earlier (anyone who is ready for MMO combat, or quick learner, is going to have a chance to be bored with like the first 40 levels of any job), or /just/ want to play with new friends, and they get the message of paying another $20 to do so (and be thrown at 90mph into the future) or are told yeah sure sure but it'll take you 200 hours lol. So I still feel some sort of quick / alternate start would be good, that slaps you into as logical place as possible with as much reference knowledge and gameplay guidance as is possible in like 2-5 hours instead of 200. View it like skipping Mass Effect 1 or 2, straight to 3, or Witcher 1 or 2 straight to 3, perhaps also like WoW's new system coming in Shadowlands where you can pick any expansion to start at and at the end of that you go into the new expansion (of course easier for them since the MSQ isn't really tied as much to you 'you' the player).

Yet much of the story could still make sense in FF if you missed stuff but had a very choice key selection of bits as a primer (like I can easily imagine not being confused all the time in ShB if I skipped the previous expansions, but the depth would be missing which is unfortunate), especially if they give you that 3 hour ish buffer to pad the 90mph splat against the wall (say for example it's not needed to know about white authercite in ShB prior to ShB, when they bring it up again they bring it up with enough context you can rub two chocobo feathers together and know what it does). Of course though you'll miss loads of nuance but if that's how you /want/ to play then I think fine (and with MSQ+ system in place you can always go back once you've decided to do so), just like SE lets people skip important cutscenes because fine if that's what you want. But yeah beyond that mandatory stuff is fine with me.

So in all that mess above I think when too much becomes mandatory (using the word to mean finish MSQ, not like "life is optional" lol) that it takes like 2-5 60 hour games worth of time to be up to speed... I worry a bit.. Especially as the older content wont have as much of their experience (touch of their knowledge of what is fun), and technology (and so it's like mandating you play Witcher 1 to get to Witcher 3, as people should be aware many don't do that and have only played one, ARR to play ShB, sometimes people only want the really shiny stuff even if the older unit can provide some extra quality wrapping to the current content), but in the sense that each unit should be held together in a close knit unit that interlaces story and expects you to do one thing to do another.. I like that. I like that stuff is interwoven into other stuff. The nuance of the story is quite fun so missing that is unfortunate but you can still understand the very core arch at a simpler level, from that level they may dip in, like what they see and then go back or maybe they don't care and so then whatever and they wont look back lol.

Just a thought that it's not really important what someone enjoys in FFXIV so long as they were enjoying it is good enough, yet without removing all the interlocked gooey glue that makes each unit of the game feel complete rather than disjointed pieces lined up next to each other to be taken care of one by one.

[TeraRamis]

Once again, we are reminded of the inherent weaknesses of a) themepark MMOs, and b) Square-Enix.

It is altogether laudable that this company has a vision, and has stuck to it for so long.

It isn't so great that said vision is consistently boring.

[Jojoya]

Once again, we are reminded of the inherent weaknesses of a) themepark MMOs, and b) Square-Enix.

It is altogether laudable that this company has a vision, and has stuck to it for so long.

It isn't so great that said vision is consistently boring.

To you perhaps. Others are having a good time.

If it's really that boring to you, why do you stick around?

[TeraRamis]

To you perhaps. Others are having a good time.

Funny thing, that: my vote is the only one that counts. What universe do you live in where your opinion matters to other people?

[ItMe]

To you perhaps. Others are having a good time.

SAME
This is honestly the first MMO I've stuck with for more than 2 months. I'm enjoying myself considerably.

[Morningstar1337]

I think this could be summed up in 2 factors

1. Canonicty: I think that for all intents and purposes the WoL did do most of the content (I'd even argue they did everything that isn't induced by bardic retellings), that includes content that is inaccessible like Legacy, as well as content that would be unmandatory when introduced like the alliance raids and the relics (Reminder that both Derplander and Ardvert had Bravura).
2. Necessity: As in "does this gate the MSQ?" a more fluid thing as it can be retroactively applied to contest that was older than the thing it was gating, such as Qarn (2.1), HM Primals (2.5 and later in Titan's case, 3.4) and CT (5.3). Applied to storylines outside the MSQ you have the Ivalice Raids being required for Save the Queen. As well as some Beast Tribes (gated by minor questlines) and the "Hard Mode" dungeons.

For now a fair bit of side stories are not directly tied to the MSQ, but that did not mean they didn't happen, just that they aren't required yet. So if the Devs wanted to make Ryne relevant beyond Shadowbringers, they would make Eden mandatory, if the MSQ wants to dive deeper int he methods the Exarch used to got to the First than they would necessitate Omega, Alex and maybe the Twinning as well. Unukalhai and the Void? Warring Triad. Mikoto? Ivalice and maybe STQ. It all depends on whether or not the devs have to make explicit references or introduce charterers that debuted in the optional content. Something that seems to be the case for CT, even if it was belated.

tl;dr, it would be worth it to try everything, you may never know which optional content might not be so optional anymore

[Lium]

tl;dr, it would be worth it to try everything, you may never know which optional content might not be so optional anymore

100% and I couldn't agree more.

I have to say, it's funny to see this sentiment in this thread. When I made a thread a few months ago about how raiding could one day be mandatory - as in tied to MSQ progression - because you never know the direction the devs may go, everyone flipped out. (Forum hivemind.)

Now, the linked article in the OP as well as the consensus in this thread is backing up the points made in that old thread, which others have made as well.

[Iscah]

I have to say, it's funny to see this sentiment in this thread. When I made a thread a few months ago about how raiding could one day be mandatory - as in tied to MSQ progression - because you never know the direction the devs may go, everyone flipped out. (Forum hivemind.)

Now, the linked article in the OP as well as the consensus in this thread is backing up the points made in that old thread, which others have made as well.

The contention in that thread wasn't about optional content being made mandatory, it was about the claim that the specific content (the Crystal Tower alliance raid) was somehow forcing players into harder content simply because it has the word "raid" in its description rather than judging it on the difficulty of the actual content.

[TheRealQuah]

Adding this for clarification, they said in the last live letter that CT story will be made required to be completed to begin the 5.3 story. Prior to that, they will simply pop up friendly 'reminders' to notify the player of such a roadblock if they have not cleared it. So players can still have the alternate dialogues in ShB's original story.



This is exactly what we were told, mandatory only for 5.3 story. Also rather than just once after post-ARR, I believe it was after every set of credits the reminder would pop up if you hadn't completed/started.

I'm not sure if it would be actively required - I read somewhere it would just be a prompt to do it if you reached the end of post-ARR and hadn't got to it yet? Anyway, I could see it being something like the setup for the Four Lords or Sorrow of Werlyt questlines where the MSQ "leads you to the doorstep" of the starting point, highlighting the questgiver and discussing it as something you should do without actually integrating it into the MSQ sequence.

Hmm. So as of August 11th, CT series is a mandatory part of MSQ before you can complete 2.55.

[Iscah]

Hmm. So as of August 11th, CT series is a mandatory part of MSQ before you can complete 2.55.

Have you got a source for that? The most recent thing I heard was still that it's not going to be forced and you can still play up to and through Shadowbringers before being forced to do it. I thought that was coming from the live letter, but I didn't watch it myself so can't confirm.