Let's Talk About the Low Quality of Side Stories in this Game

[AwesomeJr44]

There is a quality standard set by the MSQ

I mean, you could argue that after EW's MSQ, that the bar isn't set very high considering how garbage the EW MSQ was for pacing, respecting previous concepts, and storytelling. The EW MSQ eviscerated any standard of quality set up by SHB by disrespecting everything that came before it. Oh that dude Zodiark that's been built up to be the most powerful primal? Yeah, he got completely trashed by the lv x3 quests. The final days that destroyed the ancients? Yeah, those happened because some depressed guy decided to chuck a twitter birb into space. The sundering that destroyed the unsundered world? Yeah, the person who did it decided to sunder everyone because they weren't suffering hard enough for her liking. Not to mention, the final days that previously destroyed an entire world succeeded in killing a total of... oh right, ZERO main characters. Literally everyone of value survived the literal apocalypse.

EW's storytelling has been pretty awful overall, not just in the side stories. So let's not pretend like the current MSQ is some shining bastion of quality writing. You might have been able to say that during SHB, but that's nowhere near the case since 6.0.

[AngelCheese77]

I find nor found anything wrong with the sidequests in EW.

[Striker44]

I mean, you could argue that after EW's MSQ, that the bar isn't set very high considering how garbage the EW MSQ was for pacing, respecting previous concepts, and storytelling. The EW MSQ eviscerated any standard of quality set up by SHB by disrespecting everything that came before it. Oh that dude Zodiark that's been built up to be the most powerful primal? Yeah, he got completely trashed by the lv x3 quests. The final days that destroyed the ancients? Yeah, those happened because some depressed guy decided to chuck a twitter birb into space. The sundering that destroyed the unsundered world? Yeah, the person who did it decided to sunder everyone because they weren't suffering hard enough for her liking. Not to mention, the final days that previously destroyed an entire world succeeded in killing a total of... oh right, ZERO main characters. Literally everyone of value survived the literal apocalypse.

EW's storytelling has been pretty awful overall, not just in the side stories. So let's not pretend like the current MSQ is some shining bastion of quality writing. You might have been able to say that during SHB, but that's nowhere near the case since 6.0.

Actually, the overwhelming majority of the playerbase considers EW to be a great story. YMMV, but please stop trying to act as if you are somehow an arbiter on all things and hundreds of thousands of other people must be "wrong" because...well...you say so? EW's storytelling has been amazing, and the huge positive reception to it practically anywhere outside of the trollish echo chamber here is a testament to that.

It's totally obvious the quests were NOT written as role quests, but just got the role assigned to them after the fact.

Actually, it's "totally obvious" that they were written as role quests. There is a common theme for the role that carries throughout each questline. Healer role? You act as a healer in cutscenes in ways that only make sense as a healer quest, and main fights are specifically designed based on you being a healer. Ditto for tanks, dps, etc..

[Raven2014]

Actually, it's "totally obvious" that they were written as role quests. There is a common theme for the role that carries throughout each questline. Healer role?

That's the "tacked on" part. Nothing about the quests line specifically require the specific role. Patching up a minor wound for Fordola is hardly something that "requires" a healer of the WoL's caliber. It's hardly a healer role quest when the healing could be probably done by a anyone, in the past the job/quest tie specicially scenario where it "has" to be you.

You act as a healer in cutscenes in ways that only make sense as a healer quest, and main fights are specifically designed based on you being a healer. Ditto for tanks, dps, etc..

If anything, the "token" mentioned for role just make it more obvious how they were trying to shoehorn the role into the questline after the fact. I don't recall any situation in any questline where you have to be a tank or DPS either. The worst one is probably the physical range. I mean ... out of the nations, Hien probably has the most competent range army with the entire Au'ra tribes united under him who are born hunter. Not to mention they are also partially airbone with that big birds a lot of them ride on (which they even battles imperial airship with), so there is like ... no reason at all to specifically call for the range version of WoL.

[Deveryn]

You not caring or something not suiting your tastes also doesn't make something low quality.

Echoing this sentiment. Nothing more needs to be said

[Jeeqbit]

You even did The Greatest Story Never Told quest...?

Yes, I did.

[GrizzlyTank]

It irks me that the hildibrand quests have a much higher quality in animation and flair than any of the msq cutscenes do. I've said previously, but when people are doing crazy combo flips into the air, and then in msq my character might as well be a cardboard cutout who nods every 15 minutes, it's a real shame and ultimately feels unnecessary. I understand they limit personality in WoL for RP/headcanon reasons, but everyone I know was so excited to see their WoL do a slightly different unsheath amimation, it's actually sad. Like, if that's the thing to get excited about then idk what to say... it's like a man who's been living on rotten food his whole life. Well, when someone gives him a fresh pizza crust, he'll be over the moon and probably won't be able to stop thanking you. I'm not the best at analogies, but that's kinda the vibe it gives me.

The reason Hildibrand has that animation budget is probably because it was initially and still is largely the one part of the game where they are free to do almost whatever they want and to push the expressions and movements to the max. While the "main" game tends to be a lot more grounded and thus more simpler animations.

The latest Hildibrand quest is probably the most movement out player character have ever done in a cutscene.

[Raskbuck]

The reason Hildibrand has that animation budget is probably because it was initially and still is largely the one part of the game where they are free to do almost whatever they want and to push the expressions and movements to the max. While the "main" game tends to be a lot more grounded and thus more simpler animations.

The latest Hildibrand quest is probably the most movement out player character have ever done in a cutscene.

I think I remember reading something about that in an interview, a long time ago. Something about them wanting the MSQ stay grounded and more serious, as opposed to Hildibrand's shenanigans. I think they also mentioned the Y'shtola scene in the current patch is likely as far as they were willing to go in terms of goofiness (although goofiness is not necessarily tied to animation quality).

[AwesomeJr44]

Actually, the overwhelming majority of the playerbase considers EW to be a great story. YMMV, but please stop trying to act as if you are somehow an arbiter on all things and hundreds of thousands of other people must be "wrong" because...well...you say so?

And you're right because other people say so? Have you considered the outlandish possibility that they might be... wrong?

You can subjectively like EW if you want, but it's filled with objectively bad writing points, and if you want to say it isn't, you're wrong on an objective level. Again, like what you want to like, but your opinion on EW doesn't make the writing any good.

EW made time travel and space travel a joke by removing the immense amount of effort that it used to take to do it. Now we can just teleport to the moon cause... nethergate thing?
EW made the final days a joke by failing to set stakes for any legacy characters or locations, only having it impact side characters introduced in this expansion. Please name a main character from a previous expansion that has been killed by the apocalypse that nearly destroyed the ancients.
EW made the sundering a morally unsupportable act by failing to create a justifiable reason for it, then bends over backwards to convince you they did and that Venat isn't a villain. We're lucky we got that once choice in the Omega sidequest that let's us actually not be a Venat loving sheep for one time.
EW had a final villain that is far too disconnected from the rest of the story arc that EW was supposedly trying to wrap up, causing her to be tacked on and her character to have come out of nowhere. No, previous Final Fantasy games doing this doesn't make it ok here. If FF4 has a bad writing point, and FFXIV adopts that bad writing point, I can absolutely fault FFXIV for that. And yes, Meteion is the main villain. Not some vague concept of despair. If Meteion wasn't supposed to be the main villain then she shouldn't have been a thing, but we need a big monster to slap at the end so she exists.

I'm not the world's best writer but at least I'm not trying to excuse objectively bad writing by saying 'well, people like it'. Yes, people can like things that aren't good. That's why Disney Star Wars still makes bank even when it's trash tier fanfic writing.

EW's storytelling has been amazing, and the huge positive reception to it practically anywhere outside of the trollish echo chamber here is a testament to that.

Sorry if I don't accept that EW's storytelling is amazing because the community says it's good. Especially when this is the community that will literally eat crap if Yoshi P told them to, and they'd like it. Your assumption that anyone who doesn't like it is a troll is also very telling. There are plenty of people who don't like the obvious glaring and quite frankly objective flaws in this story, but I'd bet you've written them off as trolls.

[Mimilu]

For me, I actually kind of liked EW's Melee Role Quest; We got to take charge of a group vs being told what to do and acting like the almighty janitor. Plus, the Company of Heroes didn't annoy me. >w>
As for the rest:
-The Physical Range was okay but I found it kind of weird that we were called in to deal with a flying Blasphemy but fight them in a cave/enclosed place and there was never really a point during the fight where our ability to hit a faraway was never needed. I did like that Gosetsu could find another way of fighting by healing.
-The Caster quest was okay but I honestly had to look up the questline because it was so forgettable for me. >x>()
-Didn't care for the Tank quest. I seriously think we need to deal the the Elementals at some point...
-Hated the Healer quest. In a world with magic and magitek, how could they do Arenvald so dirty with the whole career-ending injury bit? They couldn't even be bothered to animate his wheelchair; he moved around via scene transition.
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