SE, please add "No Story Mode" into the game

[Valence]

There has been no change from the story being required to unlock features from Day 1 of ARR, aside from them later selling a story skip for those who want it.

I have no skin in the game if SE wants to develop a patch-story skip they can sell to people who can't be bothered to skip through the story manually.

As far as "research vs. playing" there is a free trial that covers 2 expansions and the base game. If you don't understand that story unlocks dungeons/trials/raids after that much playtime, then I don't know what to tell such people.

Ultimately it's up to SE whether or not they want to see players that would have possibly become avid regular subscribers of their game just quit because they just can't stand the story. Quite a shame in a way.

[Kaurhz]

There has been no change from the story being required to unlock features from Day 1 of ARR, aside from them later selling a story skip for those who want it.

I have no skin in the game if SE wants to develop a patch-story skip they can sell to people who can't be bothered to skip through the story manually.

As far as "research vs. playing" there is a free trial that covers 2 expansions and the base game. If you don't understand that story unlocks dungeons/trials/raids after that much playtime, then I don't know what to tell such people.

and people make these requests so that Square Enix can determine whether there is or is not a demand for change to happen. Just because it operated this way from a decade ago, it does not mean that it should be something persistent across the entire lifecycle of the game.

There are honestly several issues associated with their current design IMO... It makes the overall pacing of the story very predictable, whilst also simultaneously having a messy pacing because we need to commit wholly to a dungeon every over level, and a trial at 3, 9 and capstone.

I'm personally a fan of letting people play how they wish to do so, and turning it into an actual adventure of sorts.. Something that this game doesn't really do too well.

[Aidorouge]

Ultimately it's up to SE whether or not they want to see players that would have possibly become avid regular subscribers of their game just quit because they just can't stand the story. Quite a shame in a way.

I'm not sure how rushing new players to endgame is going to make them stay either though when they've "seen everything" in just their first month and have no prior investment in the world or characters because they quite literally blasted past all of it/have zero reason to go back and find out.

It's one thing to allow existing players to skip however much of the story or leveling process they want on their alts, but letting new players do it just turns FF14 into temporary and disposal entertainment where they leave until the next expansion and then skip it all again just to do endgame before departing once more.

[Alicie]

OP, I'm afraid you're asking for a completely different game.

I think a more realistic wish is allowing alts to have everything you main character unlocked regarding MSQ and blue icon quests, but on a business side, I find that hard for them to get by, as they'd lose profit on selling story skips.

They don't even offer story skips for current expansion, what profit?

Also no, I'm good with FFXIV, I like gameplay, raids, trials, crafting, but like, all this mandatory MSQ is just bruh.

[ZephyrMenodora]

and people make these requests so that Square Enix can determine whether there is or is not a demand for change to happen. Just because it operated this way from a decade ago, it does not mean that it should be something persistent across the entire lifecycle of the game.

There are honestly several issues associated with their current design IMO... It makes the overall pacing of the story very predictable, whilst also simultaneously having a messy pacing because we need to commit wholly to a dungeon every over level, and a trial at 3, 9 and capstone.

I'm personally a fan of letting people play how they wish to do so, and turning it into an actual adventure of sorts.. Something that this game doesn't really do too well.

I honestly don't care if people make requests, it's in their right to do so and why the forums are here. I honestly don't care if people want to pay for a storyless option as opposed to manually spamming through the story they don't care about anyway. They already added story skips as a paid feature as a catch-up mechanic for old expansions, so maybe they'd do this too.

I more had a concern that someone suggested that not having this option meant someone was not getting what they paid for, or that it's somehow misleading that this game unlocks features behind the story when that's always been the case.

[Valence]

I'm not sure how rushing new players to endgame is going to make them stay either though when they've "seen everything" in just their first month and have no prior investment in the world or characters because they quite literally blasted past all of it/have zero reason to go back and find out.

It's one thing to allow existing players to skip however much of the story or leveling process they want on their alts, but letting new players do it just turns FF14 into temporary and disposal entertainment where they leave until the next expansion and then skip it all again just to do endgame before departing once more.

If you read what I wrote, I never said anything about rushing new players to endgame. They'd still have to level up.

The very fact that you consider that the msq progression is "seeing everything" that the game has to offer is a little unhinged, sorry. Unless this was meant sarcastically of course, which I doubt it was.

[Garruss]

If you are not happy going through the story of this game, maybe this game is not for you anymore

[Aidorouge]

If you read what I wrote, I never said anything about rushing new players to endgame. They'd still have to level up.

The very fact that you consider that the msq progression is "seeing everything" that the game has to offer is a little unhinged, sorry. Unless this was meant sarcastically of course, which I doubt it was.

By "seen everything" I mean if they've been auto-jumped to level 100 and they're just doing endgame fights for weeks before they get what they wanted/get bored and then leave because again, no prior investment in anything. The game just becomes a temporary raid simulator for them, or for whatever piece of side content they got dragged into by their friends (said friends being the ones I assume has convinced them "nothing matters until endgame" which is why they want them sped through to join them as soon as possible).

But if you're still expecting them to level up, then why bother auto-skipping the MSQ at all? The ESC key is right there if they really find the whole thing so unbearable, and having to mash the skip cutscene button isn't anywhere near as egregious as forcing them through MSQ trials or Crystal Tower because at least they have control over solo duties or dungeons via NPCs, but MSQ trials and Crystal Tower can stop a sprout dead in their tracks for days, or even weeks with low population data centers.

[Sunhwapark]

If you are not happy going through the story of this game, maybe this game is not for you anymore

I love Fishing and PvP, and I don't enjoy going through the story as of late. Should I just quit ???
Not sure how rushing to endgame to do a repeated task (raiding) will make things worse when there is already a large chunk of people that already drop the game for a few months after simply doing the latest msq and those are the ones that aren't pressing ESC through cutscenes lol.