When are we as player going to demand from SE a better MSQ experience

[Kailea_Nagisa]

First off, I am not referring to the story. I am talking about the gameplay. We are now on the 5th expansion and the MSQ formula remains the same; talk to a couple of npcs, do some fetch quest, talk to more npcs, kill one or two mobs every couple of hours, rinse and repeat. It's feels extremely outdated. I think in the span of an expansions MSQ (excluding trails and dungeons) we probably don't get to kill more than 30 mobs.

We were able to overlook this in the past two expansions because the story being told was so good. In my opinion no matter how hard SE tried, they were never going to be able to to capture the magic in storytelling that we've had for the past several years with one single expansion. Just because these type of stories take time to build and it takes time to create an in depth world and complex characters. And I am ok with that, I went into dawntrail fully expecting the story to be average. But I did not expect to be so bored playing through it.

Part of me is actually happy that a lot of people are not liking the story, so we can finally realize that outside of the story, how boring and monotonous the MSQ content actually is. The other part of me is a little upset that SE actually thinks that 6+ hours of boring fetch quest is acceptable content.

When it comes to the MSQ, SE has been riding on the back of their brilliant writers and amazing storytelling. I am hoping that this less well received start to a new story serves as a wake up call for them to finally modernize the gameplay aspects of the MSQ.

the new story is great, and its the start of a new adventure
If you dont like the new story, all I have to say is, you have missed what Yoshi has been saying this whole time...
Dawntrail is the BEGINNING of a NEW STORY

[Roda]

the new story is great, and its the start of a new adventure
If you dont like the new story, all I have to say is, you have missed what Yoshi has been saying this whole time...
Dawntrail is the BEGINNING of a NEW STORY

i want to push buttons and be tested on my participation while experiencing a new story.

[caffe_macchiato]

I mean, this is the Final Fantasy brand published by Square Enix. What makes you think they listen to fans?

the new story is great, and its the start of a new adventure
If you dont like the new story, all I have to say is, you have missed what Yoshi has been saying this whole time...
Dawntrail is the BEGINNING of a NEW STORY

Great cope! I love seeing this from nearly every single person who tries defending this game without actually saying anything positive. I dare you, say something good about the story. You won't, because you can't. You have a dozen posts lambasting critics without actually saying why they're wrong. Should fans really be expected to spend $40 for the chance to spend another $40 in three years to play the real expansion? And I thought that WoW's expansion plan was insane!

As OP said, this isn't about the story but the gameplay of the MSQ. But you conflate the two because there is no gameplay for the most part. The only thing that's here is the story. Shadowbringers and Endwalker worked as visual novels because the story was good. But without a good story, you need gameplay. That's why ARR was a success: despite being derided as having the "worst plot", it had far more gameplay content than any other expansion including 16 dungeons, 7 trials and 5 raids on release day. You cannot sell a visual novel without a decent plot or an MMO without gameplay, and yet that's what Dawntrail is on launch. Square Enix failed, and yet again, it has to pick up the pieces after the fact. I fully expect plenty of groveling from Yoshida unless he's learned from his Square Enix mentors, in which case he'll say nothing as the company continues to flounder.

[Eyrilona]

Great cope! I love seeing this from nearly every single person who tries defending this game without actually saying anything positive. I dare you, say something good about the story. You won't, because you can't. You have a dozen posts lambasting critics without actually saying why they're wrong. Should fans really be expected to spend $40 for the chance to spend another $40 in three years to play the real expansion?

I agree. The whole 'it is the beginning of a new story' argument is done to a tedium by now. It is like if I were to go to dine and people tell me not to complain about the appetizer because I shouldn't expect it to be as impressive as a main course -- except, I am not complaining that the appetizer is not a main course, I am complaining that the charcuterie smells off and the sauce was served curdled. There are basic standards of quality for all things, whether that is in cooking or in game design, and if something fails at those basic standards then you can't defend the product against claims it is bad just by saying it isn't supposed to be the highlight yet. Being only the first part to greater things to come is irrelevant, an appetizer that fails basic standards that we could reasonably expect from an appetizer is a bad appetizer and can be called that.

[Valkret]

the new story is great, and its the start of a new adventure
If you dont like the new story, all I have to say is, you have missed what Yoshi has been saying this whole time...
Dawntrail is the BEGINNING of a NEW STORY

My very first sentence was "First off, I am not referring to the story." You clearly did not read past the title and your brain decided to shut off the moment you perceived something as negative about the game.