Please don't harass people for ignoring/disliking the story

[Avoidy]

I agree with all of your post except for this bit, I see this sentiment repeated a lot but I believe it'd be the wrong move to do this.
Regardless of how you feel about the voice acting quality it'd just be disrespectful considering the hours of work those original actors put in, especially when the experience wasn't exactly the most accommodating if their accounts are to be believed.
Is it ideal? Obviously no, but it's a part of the game and one that took a considerable amount of effort to create, so it should remain as is.

I can see where you're coming from. However, if it made the early game's storytelling experience more compelling, I'd still be all for it. Perhaps they could preserve the old cutscenes in the inn book as like, "legacy cutscenes" or something like that.
FWIW, a lot of this game took considerable effort to create, but tedious parts of it were still removed to create a better player experience. This is one such moment imo.

[SannaR]

Sorry, I can't resist low hanging fruit, lol. Though I do agree that some MMOs can have their cake and eat it as well but there is a difference between a contained, well written story, and a soap opera that XIV is more or less emulating now. You can even make the argument that this has been an issue since 3.0 and it doesn't help that the new writers would rather write a long story that never ends. That might be why ShB was so popular. It felt like the Treasures of Aht Urhgan as far as it being it's own self contained story. While there was some overlap with the main story the events on the first felt like a new side story with a proper ending (doubly so if you finish all the role quests!). EW just reminded us that we are still stuck on the same ride since 2013 except the old maintaince guys left and the new ones took over.

But that's how XIV always has been. It's story has always been like a Soap Opera or getting to read the next weekly comic strip in the newspaper. The devs are fully aware of what kind of game they're writing for. That trying to give you the equivalent of an offline single player game isn't going to work. That they need to approach it as though they were a comic book writer that puts out work once a week. Obviously it's more than a week for the next patch for those of us who are all caught up. With each .0 segment needing to behave more akin to the 1st episode of a new show or new season. You shouldn't be expecting to get all of something like House of M or Blackest Night. Or even a full fiction novel that's just a one and done.

[SannaR]

Prior to FFX, Final Fantasy games weren’t afraid to loosen the leash after a story sequence. For example, all prior to X had an overworld that left you responsible for finding the next town and fending off random encounters which could be very dangerous. The game would stop guiding you for hours at a time. A typical JRPG flow that kept the genre challenging for many years.

But the quest system in XIV means that each NPC has a giant marker on their heads and they constantly guide you to the next objective. The overworld is relatively safe, you can easily use your mount to avoid random encounters, and your objective is always just a few minutes away. You have segments of challenge, like a dungeon, but the hours spent in those are far less than in the guided MSQ.

The FFXIV story is easy and linear and most of your time is spent clicking through text boxes and moving to the next NPC for more text.

I don't know even some before X were fairly narrow laned in how much they allowed you to go off an explore. It's why when the devs for X-2 were asked why they give you the airship right at the start they comment that players of X and the series tended to comment that each game's world felt too restrained until they give you an airship. It's just they did a better job at hiding the optical illusion of having a choice and the freedom of exploration.

[Iscah]

But that's how XIV always has been. It's story has always been like a Soap Opera or getting to read the next weekly comic strip in the newspaper. The devs are fully aware of what kind of game they're writing for. That trying to give you the equivalent of an offline single player game isn't going to work. That they need to approach it as though they were a comic book writer that puts out work once a week. Obviously it's more than a week for the next patch for those of us who are all caught up. With each .0 segment needing to behave more akin to the 1st episode of a new show or new season. You shouldn't be expecting to get all of something like House of M or Blackest Night. Or even a full fiction novel that's just a one and done.

Prettymuch. The big expansions can be a bit more intricate within themselves, but beyond that, they're building the story block-by-block and at best, they can pick up some old plot threads and weave them in.

They can plan ahead to some degree, but at the end of the day they're trying to build the train track only slightly ahead of the train that's already travelling along it.

[Ameela]

Prior to FFX, Final Fantasy games weren’t afraid to loosen the leash after a story sequence. For example, all prior to X had an overworld that left you responsible for finding the next town and fending off random encounters which could be very dangerous. The game would stop guiding you for hours at a time. A typical JRPG flow that kept the genre challenging for many years.

But the quest system in XIV means that each NPC has a giant marker on their heads and they constantly guide you to the next objective. The overworld is relatively safe, you can easily use your mount to avoid random encounters, and your objective is always just a few minutes away. You have segments of challenge, like a dungeon, but the hours spent in those are far less than in the guided MSQ.

The FFXIV story is easy and linear and most of your time is spent clicking through text boxes and moving to the next NPC for more text.

To be fair it's not like XIV doesn't loosen up.
I guess it depends on if you look at each XIV expansion as a new game or you look at the whole thing in its entirety up to Endwalker.
If it's the former then each XIV expansion has a far more expansive post-game than any FF game before or since, so it could be argued that's the trade off for the story itself being so rigid.
On the other hand, if it's the latter then each expansion level cap could be looked at as the equivalent to the airship segments in the older games, where suddenly the world opens up a lot more and you have a ton of substantial optional activities to do before moving on to the next part of the story.

[Iscah]

Prior to FFX, Final Fantasy games weren’t afraid to loosen the leash after a story sequence. For example, all prior to X had an overworld that left you responsible for finding the next town and fending off random encounters which could be very dangerous.

In theory you have to "find" the next town but in practice, more often than not, it will be a fairly linear path around the continent that guides you to the next objective. The lack of guide markers just makes it feel more spontaneous.

[kpxmanifesto]

Original post

This is the main reason why I won't mention my dissatisfaction of the Endwalker story on websites like the FFXIV subreddit or even a subreddit with a large presence of FF players. I made that mistake before. At least here on the FFXIV official forums the forum mods will eventually remove toxic posts and suspend/ban disruptive members.

[Artemiz]

I think what a lot of people here fail to understand is that the MSQ backbone of this game and it's mandatory completion actually put a lot of people off from playing it. I have friends who just won't even entertain this game after I warned them they have to complete the MSQ. I myself have stalled on this game having originally played back in 2.0, I now find myself really struggling to finish the MSQ. I even pre-ordered Endwalker and I have still yet to finish it (just beaten the 2nd trial). If I had the option to buy a story skip I would have taken it months ago and would have been enjoying the level 90 content for months, as it stands now though I just can't be bothered to do MSQ after work and choose something else I enjoy more with my free time.

I just don't enjoy the MSQ, I know others do so I'm not knocking it, it's just not for me, or my friends. This is an issue that is only going to get worse as well unless they change things up a bit, as it stands now you either have to slog through 500 hours of game just to catch up, or drop cash on a Shadowbringers skip then spend 100 hours or so to catch up. Convincing friends to do that, on a game they might not even like, is a very hard sell. Imagine in 10 years when it's more like 1000 hours, it just won't happen.

I know for some people the story is sacrosanct, and good for you, just ease up on the lecturing of those who don't really gel with it. Nothing is for everyone, and for many people the idea of slogging through so much story before they can play with all the other kids is a complete non-starter.

[Mirhd]

Criticizing bizarre takes isn't "harassing" anyone, OP. If one tosses out critique of any kind (and this goes for everything in life), one should expect critique in turn. The number of times I've seen people yelling about so called "plot holes" on this forum only for someone else to point out why those things weren't plot holes ("y no kill Hermes/Meteion in Elpis?!?!!?111) is hilarious. I have my own issues here and there with Endwalker (more Garlemald, dammit! JP player base wanted less apparently, so rip Garleans), but jfc, the hyperbole on this forum...

Anyway:

I think what a lot of people here fail to understand is that the MSQ backbone of this game and it's mandatory completion actually put a lot of people off from playing it.

No, people understand that just fine, though I'd wager it's a lot less than certain people make it out to be. That said, what those insisting that the game should focus less on story refuse to accept is that not everything has to cater to everyone, and that attempting to do so often makes things worse. "I left this other MMO for X reason(s), but THIS one should be more like ABC MMO!" is a more condensed (slightly exaggerated) argument, among others, that I've seen.

It's honestly baffling that saying "it's ok if it doesn't appeal to you, and it's ok to move on" is so contentious... people act as if it's a personal attack for goodness sake. You know what I do if something just isn't jiving with me? I do something else, and that's okay. I did that with WoW (mid BFA, before the controversy hit... played since vanilla) and ESO.

It's the height of arrogance to insist that an MMO that has been a certain way for years (and has grown consistently because of it, NOT in spite of it... let's not pretend that the influx at the start of Endwalker was anything new; it was just a bit larger) should be changed to cater to them. I won't argue against QoL updates and the devs trying new things at times (Island Sanc), but making the game less story focused wouldn't be a QoL update... it'd be tearing out the heart and tossing it to the wayside, making it like any other MMO. Great idea, considering few, if any, do what FFXIV does. /s

It sounds like you just weren't the demographic the devs aimed for, and that's fine. If you keep playing despite that because you find other things in the game you enjoy, that's fine too, but insisting the game should change at a fundamental level because you (or anyone else, for that matter) don't care for the MSQ is inane.

I realise I might sound hostile to you, but that isn't my intent; I'm just tired of the same, old-as-dirt "game should cater to me" posts, and my blunt wording reflects that. These "arguments" come off as incredibly childish and demanding, and I just have no patience for it.

Nothing is for everyone

... Do I really need to point out the hypocrisy here...?

One last thing... if you forgot, fair enough, but your friends can try FFXIV without spending a single cent. FFXIV trial accounts allow you to complete Heavensward(might even be SB too now, not sure), which is more than enough time for them to decide if they enjoy it or not, so your "wasting money" argument doesn't even hold water.

[Arazehl]

Sorry, I can't resist low hanging fruit, lol. Though I do agree that some MMOs can have their cake and eat it as well but there is a difference between a contained, well written story, and a soap opera that XIV is more or less emulating now.

Hmm,you haven't watched many soap operas have you? Soap operas are full of scandals and back stabbing. I find your comparison funny because you missed the mark on that one. What EW tried to do was to bring together the loose threads of saga that started back in 2010 and fit it into the current expansion. I'm sure they left out lots of things they just couldn't tie up into a nice neat package. To expect each expansion to be a masterful story from first to the current, is unrealistic for any MMOrpg. This arch of the story is done and all we can do is wait and see what 's in store for the fans in 7.0.