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

[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.

[Lium]

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.

No, not at all. That was not my intent, irrespective of the direction the thread took, or how people interpreted it. What you're talking about is where everyone took it. Basically arguing over what constitutes a raid and its difficulty level. I never once mentioned that in the OP, but somehow people equated that to, "Well, CT is faceroll easy so it doesn't count. Savage is the only raiding that really counts." And I was sitting there like...um, okay. That wasn't the point.

I can tell you exactly what that thread was about because I know what was in my head when I authored it. It was about optional things becoming less optional, such as raiding. And I used the CT raids and Ivalice as examples of optional content - meaning content not required to progress through the MSQ - that was becoming mandatory. (To be fair, getting your relic weapon is not part of the MSQ, so you can skip it entirely if you want to.) It was simply an observation meant as a point of discussion that triggered everyone.

And then this article comes out making the exact same points.

[Iscah]

No, not at all. That was not my intent, irrespective of the direction the thread took, or how people interpreted it. What you're talking about is where everyone took it. Basically arguing over what constitutes a raid and its difficulty level. I never once mentioned that in the OP, but somehow people equated that to, "Well, CT is faceroll easy so it doesn't count. Savage is the only raiding that really counts." And I was sitting there like...um, okay. That wasn't the point.

You were insisting that because CT is a "raid" that somehow instantly puts it on a separate level.

The running theme of the thread was that somehow the name set it apart rather than the gameplay. Put the same content in an MSQ dungeon or trial? No problem. Put the label "raid" on it? Suddenly "oh no I hate raiding and they're forcing me to raid!"

That makes no sense to the rest of us. There's nothing that you do in an alliance raid, in terms of difficulty, that makes it any different to the rest of the game. Coming in with no expectations of MMOs, I've never seen them as anything different - they were just another format of dungeon.

What is the point of arguing that you dislike them because of the name rather than the substance, when the name doesn't even have a consistent meaning? It could mean the 24-man raids, normal eight-man raids indistinguishable from trials, savage raids for high-end play...

There's also the matter that you're not required to repeat them. It's a one-time roadblock with content of equivalent-to-MSQ difficulty, so why is it objectionable if it's (now nominally) optional?