Just want to walk around

[Iscah]

There's no reason to subscribe for six months at a time unless you want to have a large number of characters. The reduced price per month is just the same price you pay month-to-month on an entry level sub, which gives you the full experience with a limit of 8 characters instead of 40. Alts don't share quest progress, so if you find a single pass through the MSQ daunting then you're unlikely to be creating that many extras.

If you're enjoying the story and want to continue, do it. There's good stuff ahead, and your friends can join you at your own level to complete dungeons or side content. They may even have their own need to play the content you're on, like collecting glamour or filling out the weekly "duty bingo" card.

If you just want to be at endgame and explore, then buying a skip will let you do that, while abandoning the game completely will not.

It's entirely up to you, but I wouldn't base my opinions on what some internet people think over my own taste and that of friends who like similar games to me. Don't fret about the exact number of quests, just play it and keep going for as long as you enjoy playing it. (Stormblood is a bit of a low point though.)

[EtherialOne]

There's no reason to subscribe for six months at a time unless you want to have a large number of characters.

I was going to pay up for the six months because I was super impressed by the game. Of course, at the time I also thought I was pretty much done with MSQ grinding. I didn't know I had months worth to go and how much simple ability to walk around was blocked behind it.

It's entirely up to you, but I wouldn't base my opinions on what some internet people think over my own taste and that of friends who like similar games to me.

This is totally good advice. And it's advice I've been given several times. And . . . it supports the opposite conclusion that people seem to think it does. ARR was atrocious. But people told me the conclusion was worth it so keep going. Treat it as an introduction to how to play the game. So I took their word for it. I spent a month working diligently to get past it to the good part. And it did start getting a little bit interesting around the end of 2.5. But ARR and post-ARR overall taught my own independent judgment that this was far from being worth the slog.

I have people telling me that it's just that my experience was soured by ARR and I'll really like it if I keep going. Of course I won't find out about that unless I hand over more money to the same people who created the lousy start. The 30 days were barely enough to get past the ARR stuff. And I discover that instead of being just about done with the MSQ stuff, I've actually got an enormous mountain to climb before I can even just walk around freely.

Every single person telling me how great it is so far has been playing the game for years. The MSQ was much shorter when they started. What they had to deal with was slowly added additional content. And, if I were dealing with that, I imagine I would be okay with it too.

But I'm getting greeted by this massive thing that the people telling me it's worth it have never experienced. I have not enjoyed it so far. And it's a blockade what I do enjoy--exploring a large world and meeting and interacting with people. In FFXIV, walking around and admiring the decor while talking to people seems to be endgame content.

So I decided I'd buy a story skip. I hate that idea. I actually do like stories in games, provided I can play through them at my own pace or at least they aren't so massive and mandatory. My problem here is not the story--it's the fact that the story is used to block so much basic stuff. But I learned about New World+. I can go back and experience it all again at my own pace. Perfect. The ability to do it at my own pace without the content locks. That's exactly what I want. In fact it's more than I want because it's a lot more than just walking around and saying hi.

(continued)

[EtherialOne]

But then I discover that you don't level up at all by story skipping. And the MSQ is the main way of leveling up. In fact, it looks like I wouldn't even be able to skip all the way to the latest expansion because I'm not at level 80. So it looks like I'm going to have to buy a level skip too. So I decide I'll buy both.

And then, people who know me point out I'm going to regret it because I won't know what's going on. They're right. That's the kind of player that I am. At one time in my distant past, I was the lore master for an ancient game. You don't get that role if you dislike stories and lore. Without it, all the other stuff at the end is likely to feel hollow and unenjoyable. That's why I've never used a skip in any game before.

So now I've got no way forward. Both the skip and playing through are bad options. So I come here hoping somebody will have an idea to let me move forward. They don't.

I've already uninstalled the game, unregistered my payment info, and dropped all of the few FFXIV Discord servers I had joined. I guess I should probably just quit reading, go feel disappointed, and stop reading my topic. But I keep hoping some surprise solution will appear or someone will post saying that something is in the works. Or maybe even somebody sending me a DM with a ton of spoilers. Even if they spoiled every story and subplot in the game, at least I'd know if there is a payoff coming.

One thing I will say though is that the people who say that the problem is my seeing the MSQ as a job or a slog or a chore are absolutely right. If I had come for the story or because I was a hard core FFXIV fan, I'd probably still be as happy as I was a week ago. If I had experienced some incredible story that was artfully told and kept me at the edge of my seat, I'd probably like that too. But none of that has happened.

So what I'm left with is that I came over here most of all to play with old friends from another game. I came to meet other people and play with them. Asking my friends to bore themselves by syncing down to my level all the time is no solution to that. It only affects their gameplay for the negative. And asking me to not go where people are actually at because I have to slog through the (mostly) single player MSQ defeats the point of being in MMORPG at all.

I'm happy that other folks enjoy it. A lot of people must enjoy it or there wouldn't be the constant queues. But I don't. I just feel like the whole thing is a shame because FFXIV seemed so incredible. And I feel like I've gone from that to my hopes getting crushed. The stuff I came here to do is largely blocked behind Mount MSQ and I'm not up for mountain climbing.

[Jeeqbit]

Every single person telling me how great it is so far has been playing the game for years. The MSQ was much shorter when they started. What they had to deal with was slowly added additional content. And, if I were dealing with that, I imagine I would be okay with it too.

You're right. Personally, I tell any new players that the story is great but there is a lot of it now compared to when I started it. I tell them that it blocks content and that sidequests will be a bit much to handle now for most people going through the MSQ.

Everyone who plays the game knows this is a problem (and expresses it to the developers), but there isn't an easy solution because each expansion's story strongly benefits from building on the characters in the previous ones. But we expect something will have to happen eventually.

As I explained as well, being in the story areas could spoil future story events by giving you an impression of why they might exist.

But then I discover that you don't level up at all by story skipping. And the MSQ is the main way of leveling up. In fact, it looks like I wouldn't even be able to skip all the way to the latest expansion because I'm not at level 80. So it looks like I'm going to have to buy a level skip too. So I decide I'll buy both.

Sorry, I forgot to mention that. It is annoying, but because there are multiple classes they probably don't want to decide which one to level for you. Although you can level up quite well farming dungeons and roulettes. You can skip cutscenes instead of buying a story skip, but it gets boring without the cutscenes to make it fun.

One thing I will say though is that the people who say that the problem is my seeing the MSQ as a job or a slog or a chore are absolutely right.

That is a common problem. If you see the story as an obstacle to get to the "real game" then it's difficult to enjoy the story. If you skip dialogue that isn't voiced then it reduces your immersion and your connection to the characters and the story. The story has become very long and that is a problem, but it doesn't change that seeing it as an obstacle makes it difficult to soak it in and enjoy it at a normal pace instead of rushing.