Friends of mine, new to the game, becoming discouraged by STORY QUESTS

[Jermz]

I was wondering if anyone else felt this way?
I had played at ARR launch for about a year, did a lot of raids, dungeons, unlocks, etc. took a break for a while.
Last March, i talked a few co-workers into joining me in FFXIV. They were brand new, started level 1 characters, and began their journeys.
Now, more than 2 months later, the 3 of them are 50+, doing their story diligently (some are reading it, some are skipping everything to go as fast as possible. Only 1 has reached past Ishgard and gotten into the Heavensward quests (the skipper) but the other 2 are still in the lvl 50 questline. They aren't slackers, its just a WHOLE LOT. At this rate, raiding and stuff isn't going to happen for another month or so. Hell I'm 60 and STILL doing story quests after what I thought was the end of the main Heavensward quest (got rolling credits and everything). full ilvl 200 gear and everything at this point too!

Any hope for a uh... shortcut later on? They are losing patience as they really want to experience some high end content. I want to as well! Just seems very very tedious to have so much rely on unlocking through story

[Alacran]

I have to ask, are they normally people who play MMO's or for that matter the FF series? From my perspective (unimportant I know, only mentioned for relevance) The story was kept me around during the the 1.0 launch. The FF series has always been about great narrative, incredible characters, and enthralling world setting. If your friends are skipping the story, or slogging through perhaps another game maybe more to their liking.

[worldofneil]

Do they realise they are working through what was 3 years worth of updates/story? It is going to take sometime to get caught up...

[bass9020]

Its a story driven game what do you and your friends expect? Its not just about the end its about the journey to get there. No matter how fast you rush it will still take some time.

[CuteWhisper]

Do they realise they are working through what was 3 years worth of updates/story? It is going to take sometime to get caught up...

This and it's a Final Fantasy game which are known for making amazing story (Not here to debate which one was bad or good here). You should tell your friends to stop rushing and actually enjoy the story. I hope they don't add a shortcut.

[_slowpoke_]

It's very unlikely shortcuts within expansions will ever be introduced, but the devs have stated at some point that future expansions will likely not require new players to play through all preceding expansions. That said, one of the major selling points of FFXIV, and what sets it apart from most other MMO(RPG)s, is its extensive and heavily plot-driven narrative. A lot of content is gated and locked behind MSQ progression, and this is unlikely to ever change in a fundamental way.

[Pomelo]

Tbf if they are skipping the story, why are they even playing at all? Do they think that HW isn't about story either? Lol...

[AskaRay]

They'll probably add a way to get to 4.0 quicker, be it reduced quests or an outright shortcut.
However
This is a story-driven game, MMO or not, so even if they get to 4.0 quickly you can bet there'll be tons of story quests then to get through, too.

[CuteWhisper]

Tbf if they are skipping the story, why are they even playing at all? Do they think that HW isn't about story either? Lol...

I actually just thought of that... HW is not different than ARR and they will have to level up between MSQ in order to continue too.

[Naria]

Tbh extremes, gear grinding, crafting, leveling, glamour etc are all things I do while waiting for new story quests. In some cases like leveling or dailies, the new story and lore attached to them is party of the reason I can get through them. Raiding is a very small amount of content in this game. FFXIV is a story driven RPG at its heart and if none of this appeals to you or your friends then I'm not sure what to tell you.