Playing an expansion as current content has been a lacklustre MMO experience

[R041]

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Filler to the arc itself, like nation plots or team building exercises with Alphinaugh for 10 hours. I'm not advocating for removing them, please read carefully (Even if I bold this stuff people still don't read)

They should be multiple threads, and we shouldn't have to explain to people that they need to run through hundreds of hours of an MSQ that provides very little in terms of actual gameplay and the threads are usually pretty weak. It's 95% Visual Novel.

And let's be honest, mechanically.. MSQ doesn't meet requirements anymore, I'd have a better experience if you gave this to me in VN form to click through, rewind, etc.

People act like this story is easier to keep track of and digest than WoW, and I just.. Disagree. It FORCE FEEDS you, that doesn't mean they want to read and watch everything, so they could still be lost.

Why is the thought of splitting the story up so foreign to people, as if we don't already have 16 numbered Final Fantasy games and countless other offshoots where even they do a better job of splitting themselves up, including XI.

I understand we're too deep at this point. There's just not much else we can do about it now. I feel like the writers all blacked out for 10 years and forgot that people need to be able to actually jump in at some point. I understand media like Naruto and One Piece are popular, but I doubt they're really grabbing new audiences in NA. Maybe in Japan? So I think because of that, we might actually start to lose the global audience if we continue this way. (Spare me your anecdotes, I want numbers)

What they need to do is actually pay attention to how they thread everything out, start putting some of that stuff into more 'side-content' and leisure play instead of the fully linear experience. Half of each expansion could have easily been cut up, it's the writers' that are to fault for threading everything the way they are to rely on each other thread. (Or maybe Yoshi threatened them)

If they need wiggle room, do Major Arcs within 2 expacs. So you get the wind-up, then release.

This could also help lessen the feeling of our world being so empty, if we're given the choice instead of almost forced to speedrun this stuff once every 2 years. I'd have more time to review things. And when I'm in the right mood to learn and enjoy the Loporrits then maybe I'd be more receptive to stuff like that instead of feel like they're an MSQ wall. If they forced Hildibrand into MSQ it would be less liked I'm sure.

[Iscah]

They should be multiple threads

Not they should not.

If they were separate threads, you wouldn't have a sequential story that flows from event A to B to C. You'd have to find it all jumbled out of order and piece it back together, and try to keep track of what state the world is according to this story fragment. Is Ala Mhigo supposed to be a free state here? Is Garlemald still intact? Have we met XYZ before or is this earlier in the story for them?

There are stories that could take place as individual threads, but the segments of the existing MSQ cannot be converted into such a state without losing the flow of the narrative that is enjoyed by current fans of the game.

If that puts off other people from playing.... so what? No game caters to everyone. The people who like this format will play it, and the people who don't will find something else.

[R041]

Not they should not.

If they were separate threads, you wouldn't have a sequential story that flows from event A to B to C. You'd have to find it all jumbled out of order and piece it back together, and try to keep track of what state the world is according to this story fragment. Is Ala Mhigo supposed to be a free state here? Is Garlemald still intact? Have we met XYZ before or is this earlier in the story for them?

There are stories that could take place as individual threads, but the segments of the existing MSQ cannot be converted into such a state without losing the flow of the narrative that is enjoyed by current fans of the game.

If that puts off other people from playing.... so what? No game caters to everyone. The people who like this format will play it, and the people who don't will find something else.

Again, you're putting this in the context of the story AS IT'S WRITTEN CURRENTLY. Please have a little imagination and understand what I'm actually talking about here. I've given examples, and no you don't need all 200-300 hours of text to understand the nuances of the story and it's world conflicts. No it's not necessary to be in perfect A B C order, considering we have thousands of years of MEDIA to understand that it's not necessary. People can still enjoy the story without going through Eureka, Bozja, raids.

I bet you've accidentally skipped some dialog/story and you're not hemorrhaging from the brain are you?

[Iscah]

You say that, yet things like Hildibrand, Postmoogle, Variant, Tataru.. Are all separated and are still a part of the world lore. It can be done, I'm just advocating for more of it instead of pushing it all directly into linear MSQ. How is this idea so difficult to comprehend?

You're not comprehending things either – specifically, the difference between a sidequest that affects nothing but its immediate environment and doesn't substantially alter the state of any participants who will appear in later plots, and an MSQ chapter that drives the larger story forward by altering people or politics, or possibly something that won't make sense after the plot changes something big later. The sidequest can be left by the wayside until you feel like doing it, and the main plot doesn't suffer for its absence, but some things just need to happen where they do.

I'm not fond of the Loporrits arc either – there seems to be some contractual requirement for "annoying tribe of cute tricksters who delay the protagonists around the level X3 mark" – but as written you can't just cut it out and make people come back to it later, because the whole point is that they were trying to delay you at that point in the story, and then it ultimately shifts the state of your trust in them, which affects the rest of their presence in the plot. Coming back to it later would make no sense.

Again, you're putting this in the context of the story AS IT'S WRITTEN CURRENTLY. Please have a little imagination and understand what I'm actually talking about here. I've given examples, and no you don't need all 200-300 hours of text to understand the nuances of the story and it's world conflicts. No it's not necessary to be in perfect A B C order, considering we have thousands of years of MEDIA to understand that it's not necessary. People can still enjoy the story without going through Eureka, Bozja, raids.

Yes I am talking about the story as written currently, because you're talking about taking that story and cutting it into chunks.

And I'm not sure why you've swung into Bozja while complaining about being forced to do the MSQ in linear sequence. That does sit outside of the A B C order, which is why it's fine that you're not forced to do it.

[R041]

Yes I am talking about the story as written currently, because you're talking about taking that story and cutting it into chunks.

And I'm not sure why you've swung into Bozja while complaining about being forced to do the MSQ in linear sequence. That does sit outside of the A B C order, which is why it's fine that you're not forced to do it.

How.. How do these not click? These were hypotheticals, and I was talking about how it's threaded and should have been threaded to begin with. The side-content were examples of story portions that are separated out and that they work, and it shows the writers are capable of doing it.

Even the Class Quests had great world and event lore, I want THAT - But just.. More of it? and less direct MSQ.

They have both done what I'm asking on a technical and storyboard level, but also continue to railroad hard for 30 hours each expac. I'm just asking to reduce the railroading and add more things like the side-stories they do, but keep them out of the FORCED MSQ.

We're incapable of complex thought here apparently. I can't even.