Having to slog through lvl 50 quests is tedious

[SannaR]

Will say, this is another thing that XIV's predecessor handles nicely. XI never forced you to complete the full MSQ before being able to partake in the latest content. ._.

Unless you do Raphsody. Then you have to do them. After all you can't do Raphsody's Sky stuff if you don't have access to sky. You also couldn't do fun things in Sky when it was a busy thing unless you progressed far enough to again gain access Sky. Same with Sea or to be able to get to fight some of SoA's more fun bosses. Also had to unlock limbus just so you can up grade some of the best gear so you could do/enjoy the latest content. XI had just as many lockouts. Sure you didnt have to finish all or any of CoP to enter into ToA stuff because they treated each expansion as it's own thing until you run into roadblocks that make some people go how is that unlock needed for this? Then you had to go and backtrack.

[Skivvy]

Unless you do Raphsody. Then you have to do them. After all you can't do Raphsody's Sky stuff if you don't have access to sky. You also couldn't do fun things in Sky when it was a busy thing unless you progressed far enough to again gain access Sky. Same with Sea or to be able to get to fight some of SoA's more fun bosses. Also had to unlock limbus just so you can up grade some of the best gear so you could do/enjoy the latest content. XI had just as many lockouts. Sure you didnt have to finish all or any of CoP to enter into ToA stuff because they treated each expansion as it's own thing until you run into roadblocks that make some people go how is that unlock needed for this? Then you had to go and backtrack.

Of course there are requirements, and some items were linked to other zones/content being unlocked. However, XI gives you the choice to unlock things as you want. If you wanted to do focus on Sky, you could go straight to those missions and unlock it while mostly ignoring the other expansions. Usually the zones/content were unlocked pretty early on in the storyline. I think Limbus required you to be on the final chapter of CoP, but this was far more rare. Rhapsodies doesn't require full completion of any story line - but yes, you have to have access to a couple of areas. This is vastly different than forcing hundreds of quests to get into relevant end-game content.

XIV does not let you pick and choose your path. If you only want to do SB content, you must complete ARR and Heavensward and then you can finally begin your journey. That is off-putting to a lot of people :X

[KaivaC]

snip

ARR is incredibly tedious and boring when it came to a huge chunk of their patches. However, 2.5-2.55, the cutscenes there are totally worth it because of how it sets up HW. Just be forewarned, the cutscenes can last up to an hour, but at that point, it's purely story, and like I said, it sets up HW and why exactly you are in a particularly rough start in 3.0. I'd have to say that when you go through 2.5, that is when the story gets more serious than usual.

[MistakeNot]

ARR is incredibly tedious and boring when it came to a huge chunk of their patches. However, 2.5-2.55, the cutscenes there are totally worth it because of how it sets up HW. Just be forewarned, the cutscenes can last up to an hour, but at that point, it's purely story, and like I said, it sets up HW and why exactly you are in a particularly rough start in 3.0. I'd have to say that when you go through 2.5, that is when the story gets more serious than usual.

The HW story actually starts as early as in 2.3 - when we start looking for "Lady Iceheart"
The 2.5-2.55 happenings you refer to really has surprisingly little impact on the story itself - though the emotional impact can be quite heavy.

[Shouko]

Did this twice and working on a 3rd character (if friends ever come back into the game that is) so i know the pain all too well, but as others have said once you do it once, if you only have the 1 character, you won't have to do any of them again. My suggestion is to seriously put up with it, it's far more rewarding to get through it without skipping via jump pot. 2nd time around if you get that far then yes by all means jump forward if you can justify the price. I know people that have like 6-7 alts total and all of them pre jump pots, that to me is insanity.

[Frizze]

Honestly, i think it feels more like a slog if you know that its 100 quests from the death of Ultima to walking through the gates of Ishgard. Sure, the first few patches worth really drag(which is probly where you look up this fact), but Iceheart is about where id say the turning point is too. It starts to pick up steam, and the things that seemed pointless start to come to a much sharper point. And the 3.x patch series from HW only added about half as many quests before SB actually kicks in, so they seem to agree that there was a bit too much filler in that first set.

[ChocoFeru]

Standard business practice; create a problem (ARR slog), sell the solution (jump potions)

I'd post my nine no-jump potion alts but I'm at work. With a tenth on the way.

Sounds more like a personal choice, than being a victim of a business practice.

I have only 1 character since 1.0, and whenever I did an alt it was for some funny event, then deleted it. (I have not a single alter right now).

[Yuiipuru]

Ah I was here a couple days ago rofl.
It helps to have friends who are willing to help you run through it!
I think only the last 10-something quests are relevant to the story leading up to HW ;;
I was tempted to jump skip it but the finale was pretty amazing to watch!

[Frizze]

I think only the last 10-something quests are relevant to the story leading up to HW ;;
I was tempted to jump skip it but the finale was pretty amazing to watch!

I would say youre wrong about the 10 quest estimate. I put the number closer to 40. To cut down on unintentional spoilers, ill S-block the explanation. Within there will be spoilers(ill try to be a bit vague) about the end of the pre-HW quests.

Looking back, the story starts hinting more at an Ishgardian direction after the Ramuh fight. The patch after that(2.4) has you fighting on Ishgards behalf several times. You strike out against heretics, you track them to their lair, you clear a dungeon to find a hidden aetheryte, and you fight the heretics primal Shiva. Along the way you also deal with some Crystal Braves stuff, notably a spy. The next patch(2.5) has you investigate another dungeon because the Ishgardians are worried about what's inside. Along the way you deal with more Crystal Braves stuff and an unexpected offensive from the ascians. And the final patch pre-HW(2.55) has you do a ton of Ishgard stuff, then fight a dragon at their doorstep to keep the city safe. Along the way you go to an eventful dinner party. The last 10 quests would literally be everything after that dragon fight, half of which are more related to dinner.

So counting the quests from those patches, its 43. If you discount the quests from those 3 patches along the way dealing with "side matters", thats still like 27ish. And... possible minor HW spoiler...

some of the people you think that you're done dealing with will pop up again during the HW story.

As for Minfilia, yeah she's annoying. But there are certainly 2 scions i like less then her. I cant imagine anyone here would stick up for Alphinaud or Lyse too strenuously.

[alimdia]

It's sad that they are willing to lose so many players over this. Sometimes I wonder if they are aware of the big player dropout in that part of the story.