Quote Originally Posted by Merrigan View Post
The importance of MSQ goes far beyond being a film, which some extreme fanboys/fangirls would defend at all costs.

1° It keeps some players away from the game. The fact that the FF community is relatively pleasant (not perfect; pleasant) doesn't come from nowhere. Among various things that impact this aspect, MSQ plays a non-negligible role because it discourages wannabe pro-players (< this is not an insult to the HL community. I'm talking about nervous players, ultra-competitive even in lambda content... And who have medium skills, in general).

2° The length of MSQ staggers players because of its duration. An MMORPG isn't just endgame, contrary to what you seem to imply with your last sentence. That's a focus inherited from a more contemporary vision of MMORPGs (... a greedier vision, too), but the fact that everyone concentrates on the last few levels is a huge problem: it causes the loss of potentially endless content; forces the accelerated release of patches that are half-finished because of the pressure of a playerbase chomping at the bit after months of polishing endgame content; and generates a false sense of urgency for new players who rush to the endgame dead end which, if we're honest, is nothing more than a hamster wheel. Interesting when tackling the extreme, sadistic and ultimate; but a hamster wheel nonetheless.

Instead, we should focus on the old content, bring it up to date, and fix the synchronization problem that allows you to drive on CT as if the mobs were straight out of Adibu (the game, for youngsters ).
Totally agree. I don't understand getting to Endgame being.... well, the endgame.

Whether some like it or not, the game is - first and foremost - the MSQ.