New player experience ( Changes needed asap, Feedback )

[Kirutsuki]

I'm currently leveling another new char, and this here was one of the first things that came to my mind when I read your post
When I first ran into this quest I was like "seriously WTF?". The only thing missing was an additional action button "breath" that you had to press every 10 seconds to not die from suffocation...
This got shortened later on, but my personal opinion is that they could throw away 30% of the ARR MSQ quest steps (and 80% of DT MSQ) without losing anything of value.

Haha, yeah I know it's been even worse in the past. Even I started right before the big MSQ cuts so I experienced a lot of them.
I keep reminding my friend that things used to be so much worse, but that's not an excuse when they themselves are still experiencing that same issue, just on a smaller scale.

For example I don't understand the need for the player to open their key items menu just to give an item to an NPC they already posses manually, at all.
Why can't I just click the NPC and that's the "give item". But everything is probably coded in spaghetti and use the same trade window that if it doesn't do that everything breaks.

[VeyaAkemi]

For example I don't understand the need for the player to open their key items menu just to give an item to an NPC they already posses manually, at all.

Minor thing, but you don't need to do this, quests that require the use of a key items will usually display said key item on the quest list, clicking the small item icon will let you use them without opening any further menus. I don't know if this will help much, you will still need to target the NPC in question first, but I grown used to it and it's how I do those things in the game now.

[0blivion]

Since you posted this in the FC Discord, I’ll give you my honest opinion.
I know the game has its flaws, but if someone is getting this frustrated while being helped by a “veteran player” with over 7,000 hours in the game, it feels like something isn’t adding up.
From playing with you and interacting with you in-game, this honestly feels more like a you-problem than a game-problem. You’re describing issues your friend is having that I’ve either never encountered or that usually have very simple solutions.
Maybe the problem is how things are being explained, or maybe they’re being explained the wrong way — or, to be blunt, maybe your friend just has a serious skill issue.
That said, please keep in mind that there are plenty of people in the FC who are always willing to help and might have different approaches or ideas for solving these problems.

this is the most hilarious response ever. like, i agree with you, Maddy, but I can't get over the fact that even OP's FC mates are exhausted, lol. i support you, you're good

[Kirutsuki]

Minor thing, but you don't need to do this, quests that require the use of a key items will usually display said key item on the quest list, clicking the small item icon will let you use them without opening any further menus. I don't know if this will help much, you will still need to target the NPC in question first, but I grown used to it and it's how I do those things in the game now.

I keep forgetting that's actually a feature they added. I probably have used it in DT alot.
Thanks for reminding me, will see if it becomes useful in ARR portion.

[Valence]

I don't agree with everything in the OP although I can understand how some simplifications could help remove blockers for new players.

However, if there is one thing I'll always agree on, it's how medieval the game's UI/UX is. It's crazy bad. You're a new player and think you put all the worst behind you once you got through the mogstation store and bought and activated your game? Haha, sweet summer child.


Edit: Also I want to point out that it's never a good idea to dismiss feedback of players being turned off by something. Even if it involves the back and forth or inability to find quest objectives. There is of course a fine line to walk between "just port them to the objectives all the time" and "don't show anything", but even if we don't want the game to go for the former, it's important to keep in mind that the more tools and fail safes one adds to the game, the sturdier it will be for onboarding new players.

[Kirutsuki]

I don't agree with everything in the OP although I can understand how some simplifications could help remove blockers for new players.

However, if there is one thing I'll always agree on, it's how medieval the game's UI/UX is. It's crazy bad. You're a new player and think you put all the worst behind you once you got through the mogstation store and bought and activated your game? Haha, sweet summer child.

Surprisingly we actually had zero issues with registration, but maybe it was so easy cause I was there to guide the process. :'D

[Gwenkatsu]

Another personal pet peeve of mine is the following:

• Quest giver stands at one end of the world
• He sends you to the other end of the world
• When you're finished, the quest giver stands already there, but all they got to say is "Well done, hero. Now please get back to me at the other side of the world so I can tell you again how well you did, and we can finish this sodden quest."

I imagine there are some underlying issues in the gaming engine (quests have to end where they start, or somesuch limitation). Then again, the DRK quests send you from Ishgard out in the world, and you can turn them in at Fray whereever he sent you, not in Ishgard.
So I still clench my teeth every time this happens.

[Kirutsuki]

Another personal pet peeve of mine is the following:

• Quest giver stands at one end of the world
• He sends you to the other end of the world
• When you're finished, the quest giver stands already there, but all they got to say is "Well done, hero. Now please get back to me at the other side of the world so I can tell you again how well you did, and we can finish this sodden quest."

I imagine there are some underlying issues in the gaming engine (quests have to end where they start, or somesuch limitation). Then again, the DRK quests send you from Ishgard out in the world, and you can turn them in at Fray whereever he sent you, not in Ishgard.
So I still clench my teeth every time this happens.

Well yea this is something where just the limitation of how quests were done back then comes into play and it's probably an impossible task to fix in any meaningful way.
Thank god money isn't an issue and we can keep fast traveling like the delivery people we are.

[Kaurhz]

Yeah, this game has an abysmal new player experience.. It's really something they need to look at.

Also think a lot of veteran players forget that fact, or just simply ignore it under the pretense of "Well I did it" -- We aren't in 2013-2017 anymore

[Aidorouge]

It's hard to say if my friend would enjoy skipping into the end game. On one hand they are exited on the prospect because of all the glamour and mounts & minions, but on the other hand they would be even more confused trying to learn ~36 buttons all in one go.
and they've even said that they don't want to do that cause it would mean they don't understand anything about the story or characters there-in.

This is the thing that always makes me reluctant to let new players just skip the entire MSQ and go straight into endgame already auto-leveled and geared at 100 like so many other people insist new players should be able to do (alts are a different story, everyone should be able auto-skip whatever parts they want on alts for free). How exactly do they expect to retain a player who is confused as hell about how anything works and has zero context or attachment to anything in the world? That kind of player isn't likely to turn into a subscriber who stays on for years and years, instead they'll have "seen everything" in their free month and then leave right after until the next expansion (which of course people will again insist their friend be able to auto-skip it all and join them at endgame once more).

It's enough to make me wonder that when people say they tried to bring a friend into the game that "got bored and quit in ARR" that maybe their friend just isn't suited for playing MMOs, least of all a heavily story-driven one, and that there's better options out there for "pick up and play" co-op games they could be playing together instead. Alternately, they're not really trying to bring "friends" into the game so much as warm bodies for whatever piece of content they're trying to do, but that becomes hard to do when said warm bodies have to go through the process of unlocking said content instead of having instant-access to it upon logging in for the first time.

While there's certainly an argument to be made for letting certain pieces of side content be unlocked sooner so people can find that one thing they like or have alternate paths to leveling, it shouldn't come at the expense of reducing the rest of the game to little more than background noise, because at that point why even bother to include chaff content like the MSQ if everyone is just going to rush to skip it so they can hurry and get to endgame where everyone else is?