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

[Priddy]

Even as someone who liked Dawntrail's MSQ, I agree with the OP of this thread.

MSQ gameplay has improved over the years, with more voiced cutscenes, more solo duties, and new quest design elements (first person segments, escort quests, stealth quests, memory challenges, etc) but it really is not enough.

We need effectively triple the solo duties, double the voiced cutscenes (and trials/raids with dialogue ALL need to be voiced, it's ridiculous that they're not tbh, these are supposed to be climactic moments), and a few more questing variances like they introduced in EW for MSQ gameplay to be at an acceptable level.

And part of this work needs to be retrofitted to existing MSQ content, ARR ESPECIALLY to help break down that massive new player filter.

I understand there is a cost associated with these requests, but this really needs to be a priority. If it's truly not cost-possible while maintaining current content standards elsewhere, then resources need to be divested from other parts of the game to make this happen. The real question is, would players really accept a better MSQ experience if it means only one ultimate per expansion? Or maybe only 5 zones per expansion? Or a longer release cycle?

To be honest, I kinda doubt it.

[KornKob]

And part of this work needs to be retrofitted to existing MSQ content, ARR ESPECIALLY to help break down that massive new player filter.

I understand there is a cost associated with these requests, but this really needs to be a priority. If it's truly not cost-possible while maintaining current content standards elsewhere, then resources need to be divested from other parts of the game to make this happen. The real question is, would players really accept a better MSQ experience if it means only one ultimate per expansion? Or maybe only 5 zones per expansion? Or a longer release cycle?

To be honest, I kinda doubt it.

I personally would be very much in support of some more time being spent to uplift the early game MSQ experience. As well as time to include more instanced (combat or otherwise) content in newer MSQ... It's one of the only real complaints I have with current content, and has 100% been a thorn in the side of friends who I have tried to introduce the game to. Now that SE is making more use of modern hardware (as indicated by the graphics overhaul), I think it would behoove them to really dig in and rework older content and introduce some new templates for instanced quests so we don't feel as though we are simply reading a visual novel.

I LOVE FFXIV and pretty much everything the game has had to offer me over the years, but I really want to see these aspects improve the most.

No matter what, we will always get folks who would complain if the dev team took extra time to address pain points, but it'd be worth it in the long haul. Especially considering that they will need to do something in the coming years if they hope to maintain their seat as one of the top MMOs as tech only gets better, and the gameplay experiences other titles may offer will get more difficult to compete with.

[Valkret]

And part of this work needs to be retrofitted to existing MSQ content, ARR ESPECIALLY to help break down that massive new player filter.

I understand there is a cost associated with these requests, but this really needs to be a priority. If it's truly not cost-possible while maintaining current content standards elsewhere, then resources need to be divested from other parts of the game to make this happen. The real question is, would players really accept a better MSQ experience if it means only one ultimate per expansion? Or maybe only 5 zones per expansion? Or a longer release cycle?

To be honest, I kinda doubt it.

100% agree with this. This is probably one of the main barriers that stops most people from continuing to play the game. A lot of new players, especially people that are new to Final Fantasy, are not going to sit through hundreds of hours of cutscenes and walls of text. And is not a problem only to ARR. As good as HW story is the gameplay in the MSQ is lacking. I hear FFXIV players tell new players that "it gets better after you reach HW". Does it really get better? I mean the story does but the MSQ gameplay remains the same.

After Shadowrbringers it got a little better, but I think that was mainly because they introduced the bicolor gemstones to fates and it kind of broke the monotony a little bit. Regardless, I don't think they will ever spend resources on overhauling the MSQ from previous expansions, but on ARR since is technically the new player experience they definitely should.

And I don't think we should sacrifice current content so they can work on ARR. The player count has grown significantly and so has their revenue, so they should be able to manage both. Besides is not a pressing need to it can be done slowly over the course of the next couple of years.