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

[Semirhage]

I don't understand why people bitch and moan about the MSQ. You're not "forced" to do it. You're choosing to do it by playing the game. The only reason you're "forced" to do the MSQ is if you approach FFXIV like World of Warcraft- where the endgame is the only thing that "matters", where all you care about is raiding, where the leveling process is something you need to get out of the way so you can get to the "real" game.

Nobody's forcing you to play FF14.

[R041]

I don't understand why people bitch and moan about the MSQ. You're not "forced" to do it. You're choosing to do it by playing the game. The only reason you're "forced" to do the MSQ is if you approach FFXIV like World of Warcraft- where the endgame is the only thing that "matters", where all you care about is raiding, where the leveling process is something you need to get out of the way so you can get to the "real" game.

Nobody's forcing you to play FF14.

I'd like to stop playing this game alone 90% of the time for once, and Roulette doesn't count anymore because nobody ever has a reason to talk to each other, we all just kinda exist in the same area for 20 minutes and separate.

It gets more difficult year after year to get anyone into XIV with how much of a time investment the basic MSQ has become - The whole WoW exodus hyped people up, but most of them didn't even make it past Stormblood. It's like the only people left here are the RPers and Visual Novel players that supposedly run through the whole MSQ once a year. The only FCs that seem to ever survive now are the ones spamming and have max players.

We all forgot this used to be an MMO, but it's treated like a Visual Novel with housing. Just get rid of combat altogether and we'll finally have ascended into what Yoshi-P really wants. A Visual Novel with DDR.

And like I said in another thread - I believe Yoshi-P has been mostly MIA for 3 years. He's letting the boat steer itself at this point and it explains why everything's following the status queue of Shadowbringers and is falling harder into the streamlining of everything with no conscious thought of what's wrong. He probably pre-planned the 2 expacs back to back and then just dipped.

"Just uh.. Give them 1 more button at the end of their burst, and match everyone's CDs" x2 lol



Edit: For the record, I do like about half of the MSQ - But that's still to me at least 100 hours of pure filler I could have done separately, or not at all. And a lot of content that you unlock at later levels, could have been pushed to much earlier levels. Like I don't even see why Wondrous Tails can't be shifted to ARR+, or Island Sanctuary, Variant Dungeons, Eureka, Deep Dungeons. There's almost 0 reason outside of protecting against bots that these shouldn't just be front and center content.

[Midareyukki]

I don't understand why people bitch and moan about the MSQ. You're not "forced" to do it. You're choosing to do it by playing the game. The only reason you're "forced" to do the MSQ is if you approach FFXIV like World of Warcraft- where the endgame is the only thing that "matters", where all you care about is raiding, where the leveling process is something you need to get out of the way so you can get to the "real" game.

Nobody's forcing you to play FF14.

Ackshuwally!!

A lot of content is locked behind the MSQ and is in no way "hardcore/endgame content". Even stuff at lv 90 isn't endgame content. You can't do Eureka\Bozja, you can't do anima weapons, you can't do the four lords, you can't engage with normal raids, you can't even access half the good cards for Triple Triad without playing through the MSQ.

Hell. You can't do Scholasticate either, or get a certain emote that punches your feels all the way to obtain.

/nerd

[LittleImp]

I don't understand why people bitch and moan about the MSQ. You're not "forced" to do it. You're choosing to do it by playing the game. The only reason you're "forced" to do the MSQ is if you approach FFXIV like World of Warcraft- where the endgame is the only thing that "matters", where all you care about is raiding, where the leveling process is something you need to get out of the way so you can get to the "real" game.

Nobody's forcing you to play FF14.

Welcome to FF14, where for many, nuance simply does not exist. You either love the MSQ, or you hate it and are an endgame loving WoW refugee who shouldn't play the game at all.

The MSQ is just one part of the game, which has plenty of content outside of the MSQ. It's possible to enjoy other parts of the game, while disliking the MSQ. Even more, (brace yourself you may need to be seated for this one): It's possible to like parts of the MSQ while still acknowledging flaws in its design or presentation.

[DPZ2]

I'd like to stop playing this game alone 90% of the time for once, and Roulette doesn't count anymore because nobody ever has a reason to talk to each other, we all just kinda exist in the same area for 20 minutes and separate.

The primary solution to your problem would be to participate an active Free Company? One with an active 'chat' stream or linkshell that is dedicated to those going through current content. One that has a dedicated group of players with a range of interests, from crafting to raiding to PvP to High Fashion. And Role Players.

Unfortunately, all MMORPGs are single player games set in a shared world. Player participation is encouraged, but not demanded. It has been that way since the great grandaddy of commercial MMORPGs (Scepter of Goth) first hit the Minneapolis online community nearly 40 years ago.

It gets more difficult year after year to get anyone into XIV with how much of a time investment the basic MSQ has become

Solution: have them purchase the game with a story and job skip. Encourage them to experience past expansions through the New Game+ feature. Be there for them when they want to run older dungeon instances the first time. Ensure they join an active Free Company that is more than 20 people with different schedules who game mostly on the weekend.

The MSQ does not have to be the stumbling block.

[R041]

The primary solution to your problem would be to participate an active Free Company? One with an active 'chat' stream or linkshell that is dedicated to those going through current content. One that has a dedicated group of players with a range of interests, from crafting to raiding to PvP to High Fashion. And Role Players.

Unfortunately, all MMORPGs are single player games set in a shared world. Player participation is encouraged, but not demanded. It has been that way since the great grandaddy of commercial MMORPGs (Scepter of Goth) first hit the Minneapolis online community nearly 40 years ago.



Solution: have them purchase the game with a story and job skip. Encourage them to experience past expansions through the New Game+ feature. Be there for them when they want to run older dungeon instances the first time. Ensure they join an active Free Company that is more than 20 people with different schedules who game mostly on the weekend.

The MSQ does not have to be the stumbling block.

I agree, and it really has come down to that. I've even started to shift toward offering a more catered experience where we do a skip, but then run them through an Abridged version where we go through all the Trials and Dungeons alongside a youtube series.

I just have my wishlist you know.

Here's to hoping 7.0 comes out a better MMO form factor.

[caffe_macchiato]

Nobody's forcing you to play FF14.

Sadly, many of us were tricked into the promise of a vast multiplayer world where we can make friends and raid with others. But that’s only possible after enduring the onslaught of story content. At around 200 hours, the MSQ is by far the longest JRPG campaign ever released. And there is over 113 hours of cutscenes. If we wanted to play a single-player game, we’d likely play something else.

But you are correct. I have stopped recommending this game to new players. Other games like WoW, GW2, ESO2, BDO, PSO2, New World, and Lost Ark have better experiences for new players.

Solution: have them purchase the game with a story and job skip.

Unfortunately, that will cost a new player $50 in addition to the $60 for the game. That’s $110. Would you tell a friend to spend $110 to be 40 hours away from endgame?

[Atelier-Bagur]

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? It's absolutely insane to me that this is something people would actually turn down. lol

Also no, I'm going to straight up disagree - 'every little thing' isn't required in a linear space to understand the nuances of people's emotion and interaction in the world. Do you as a human need to see absolutely everything around you to understand the nuances of your environment?

Because I gave you the example, that if you put me in a spot that force feeds me story when I'm not actively wanting to be engaged in it, it turns me off and I just won't like it. Instead, they can be pushed to the side for a later time.
So an example like the Loporrits, if it wasn't completely shoved in my face and I just met with them but had the chance to go back at a later time outside of MSQ to do that whole section, I'd be more receptive.

Because the msq dictates how the world slowly opens up for you in terms of progression. You cant do Tataru's Grand adventure from the start because the context of that requires you to have done Endwalker alongside having to do other questlines like Shadow of Mhach. I suppose you can open up ARR Hildibrand early but for the rest you have to force players to do msq for getting access to the other zones where those stories take place.

Youre arbitrarly making the questing system complicated for its own good. MSQ exists because it acts as a means to progress through the zones which allow stories to be created and told following the context of then current events.

[LaylaTsarra]

Unfortunately, that will cost a new player $50 in addition to the $60 for the game. That’s $110. Would you tell a friend to spend $110 to be 40 hours away from endgame?

Yes if you don't really want to play the GAME and just skip it you need to pay. Maybe when 7.0 hits we'll have a completely new beginning that doesn't require previous expansions just don't expect SE to let players just jump to endgame without paying for a skip.

[Raven2014]

Unfortunately, that will cost a new player $50 in addition to the $60 for the game. That’s $110. Would you tell a friend to spend $110 to be 40 hours away from endgame?

No, I advise to tell your friends to spend that money on something that they can actually enjoy. It's a game, one of the many, why do people talk like this game is a necessity of life that they have to play at gun point?

I only gonna pay that much if I enjoy the whole package, not just a tiny bit of it. This is like order a whole pizza but you actually hate the pizza itself and only want the sausage on top.