why i quit before reaching endgame (feedback from a new player)

[Crushnight]

So this topic is back is it well i'll just restate again why i don't think MSQ being optional will happen anytime soon;

It requires a lot of work to:
-unflag everything (sidequests unlock as you progress through MSQ so all these will have to be updated) and add new flags based on level this will also include retainers/gc joining and thus mount unlock
-add new side quests including all translations to any content that was mandatory for MSQ we are talking 15 new dungeon(this is just the leveling ones which means context to the Aery/Vault/Doma Castle are really lost), 3 ARR primals (Mog/Levi/Ramuh), 2 HW primals (Bis/Rav), 2 SB primals (Laksmi/Susano),
-outright change encounters/dungeons/questlines why because Shiva/Nidhogg/Thordan/Shinyru/Omega/Tsukiyomi/Eureka have heavy story significance and well you either get locked out of these so thats 17 fights you cannot do without dong a massive sidequest with all existing cutscenes, fedexing that is still there which also means your locked out from all ponies/birds/dogs and their respective completion questlines their weapons etc etc (and if you think most people would go through MSQ to repeat old content they have done just to do these fights well just XD) or you strip any speech and VA in the fights or you risk spoilering story
-Flying/Diving/inn rooms/levequests/guildhests unlock changed
-Zone access changed you cannot enter the HW and SB zones without MSQ progression after all
-Beast tribes changed specifically HW/SB as they require multiple sidequestlines but also use MSQ with references especially Ananta can't exactly redecorate a bridge if Garleans still holding it XD

Then you have to ask what about all the emotes/outfits/items we get given should they remain in that long sidequest or be given to people because people will complain that they are locked behind the sidequest formally known as MSQ, and if you just lock all that i've listed then you lose a fair chunk of current endgame content

If they were to revamp MSQ to being optional then that WILL come at the cost of another potential feature of a future expansion

TLDR : Ask for the MSQ to be streamlined there are certainly places to do this but i do not think making it optional will be possible, at this stage we are going to a 3rd expansion and only now are they considering how to streamline ARR only, there will always be cutscenes in ffxiv its best to slow down and take your time or you will burn out and if they bother you so much skipping them is an option

[SerLuke]

Yeah.. Except people DO have alts. I myself have 3 and you bet you bippy it is tiresome. Yes I know there are story skip pots, but not everyone can or wants to spend $$ on them. pyur isn't really saying it should be removed just reconfigured. Or as I said Just uncoupling dungeons, trials and raids from the MSQ would go a long way to appease everyone.

That won't please everyone, in fact that might make some of us quit the game, a lot of us LOVE how we unlock the content via doing the story quest, we love going on an adventure and unlocking these places BECAUSE they are relevant to the main story or branched off from it like we go to Xelphtol because the Ixial are about to summon garduda again, and what does the last boss do? Summon Garuda against us, I love this kind of connection to the main story I feel like I'm actually in the middle of the adventure instead of just a participant. There are many, many MMOs that do this differently, there's no need to remove what makes this game unique and the selling point for many of us. Even Omega was rooted back in the 3.55 MSQ and the raid followed up on those events, just having Omega open from the get go would feel really cheap and awkward. So no, separating the MSQ from unlocking dungeons/raids/trials would not please everyone.

I can give you my reasoning for being against skip potions. I believe that things like skip potions are bad for the people that actually care for the game. It's not because it lets players skip ahead but because it gives the devs an incentive to just ask for more money to get around poor game design. You're being asked to pay for the game twice just because the devs added something to the game that isn't enjoyable. There is no way for me to justify paying for such a thing.

Not enjoying the MSQ does not mean the game is poorly designed it just means there's something you don't like about it that is enjoyable to a lot of other people, not every game has to be for everybody, there are many other games out there that people love that I can't get into or enjoy, doesn't mean they are bad games they just aren't my thing. I love the Final Fantasy series and I love how this game handles the main story quest because it makes me feel like I'm playing a traditional Final Fantasy game. Its fine if people don't enjoy that but don't freaking demand a game be changed just because you don't like the way content gets unlocked in the Final Fantasy games. You don't go from Midgard and go fight Emerald Weapon straight off the bat in FF7.

[linay]

You're being asked to pay for the game twice just because the devs added something to the game that isn't enjoyable.

No, you're not. This is a subscription-based game, which means you're paying for access time to play. FFXIV doesn't actually have a skip potion; you're actually paying for auto-complete potion that saves you time from having to manually do them. You're not skipping anything other than most side quests and having to actually do the quests later like in WoW, for example, if you actually want those earlier quests done.

[Physic]

OK. But the complaint was the amount of cutscenes. Not the shuttle runs. Which is why people are talking about cutscenes.

the complaint was that it was almost all fedexing and cutscenes with very little gameplay.

the go to npc, go to npc go to npc cutscene part.

[Krotoan]

the complaint was that it was almost all fedexing and cutscenes with very little gameplay.

the go to npc, go to npc go to npc cutscene part.

"

WTF. from 2 weeks of playing i watched at least 1,5 weeks cutscenes without doing anything than watching. i quit this collection of cutscenes yesterday. i don't want to watch cutscenes for weeks just to be able to play the game i paid for! i love good lore and dont have a problem with some cutscenes, but this is absoluteley ridiculous.

I see nothing negative said about travel, only amount of cutscenes. their example is just outlining the journey, the actual complaint "OMG SO MANY CUTSCENES".


I am not disputing the amount of "Fedexing" in the game. I was replying to someone who mocked everyone for talking about cutscenes.. when that was the problem the OP had.

[Physic]

But the msq only has to be done ONCE. Unlike a lot of other mmos you don't need to make alts to try out new classes. You can do everything on one character.

You don't have to go through the msq over and over again every time you try out a new combat class. If you had to then fine I would see the point in changing it a lot because I can see how it could be tiresome to do it every time you play a new class. But this isn't the case.

All this fuss over something you only need to do once. It really puts into perspective how entitled people are when they demand to change the game in a huge way so that it becomes optional.

its not a huge change, they already have skip potions, they already have new game plus.

it also doesnt make sense to frontload all of the story, being that its only a one time thing. You have 100-200 hours of story versus 1000s of hours of game play, why is so much of it frontloaded?

Not to mention, it wasnt designed to be played this way. all cap material came out in bite sized blocks over the course of years. This was a 6 chapter epic spread out over 6 years of gameplay, not meant to be consumed in the first 150 hours of gameplay.

Completely failing to see my point: that when people are given a way to skip one thing they will keep asking for skips to more things. It will never be enough for some people.



I completely agree that a lot of ARR needs to be addressed, particularly the lvl 50 quests. But I am completely against making the msq into essentially side content. That's turning FFXIV into another game.

Yes, people will always ask for things, that doesnt mean you never consider what they are asking for, and evaluate the benefits. Kids ask for toys all the time, they also ask for food, or attention. Some times what toys they ask for tell you things about what the actually need/should have.

ARR isnt the only problem. HW works better simply because its a better, more engaging story, but stormblood is less so.


Also, the unlock mechanism doesnt have to be nothing at all. Content unlocking can be done by players going out and doing something/going on an adventure. Unlock 15-20 content by killing optional dungeon boss. Unlock 20-30 content by finding a treasure map in a dunfeon. Unlock 30-40 content by beating a dungeon within a time limit. Or just do MSQ.

[Penthea]

its not a huge change, they already have skip potions, they already have new game plus.

I'm not even going to try to explain this to you again. I have lost count as to how many times I have tried. You quite simply don't care to think about how integral the msq is to the whole game because it suits you not to.

Making the msq into side content is not the same thing as having skip potions and new game +.

[SerLuke]

"

I see nothing negative said about travel, only amount of cutscenes. their example is just outlining the journey, the actual complaint "OMG SO MANY CUTSCENES".

yeah its like this is a Final Fantasy game or something

[seraf]

I mean I get that some people aren't interested in video game stories but when you play a Final Fantasy game that's what you're going to get. I've played this game for over 10,000 logged hours and it's because I enjoy the story, the content, playing with friends, etc.

[Physic]

I'm not even going to try to explain this to you again. I have lost count as to how many times I have tried. You quite simply don't care to think about how integral the msq is to the whole game because it suits you not to.

Making the msq into side content is not the same thing as having skip potions and new game +.

MSQ will be the main game for people who want a guide/narrative/story, and access to all the areas in the game. Achieving specific extra adventure/renown/feats can give others access to everything except story.

two paths. Its not side content if it gets you to destination.

players will have to either do these extra tasks. or do msq. Many will prefer msq, some will prefer these gameplay focused goals. Both ways make sense in the context of the world and game. And this can allow them to really focus the story on the story, without worrying how those who arent that interested in it experience it.

I mean I get that some people aren't interested in video game stories but when you play a Final Fantasy game that's what you're going to get. I've played this game for over 10,000 logged hours and it's because I enjoy the story, the content, playing with friends, etc.

the execution of the story, for a new player is a big part of the problem. It becomes endless cutscenes with very little break, and its integrated poorly into the game. Its handled better in HW, which has longer instances where things are happening while you are doing other things, closer to a regular final fantasy.

The delivery method, and the lack of gameplay/story pacing is a problem. And its always going to be weird at the caps, because you have tons of story with no progress/growth, and instances that gimp you. (you will be higher than the capped areas, so your skills will get locked) Its just poorly executed. That doesnt mean no one can like it, just that its not a good gate for gameplay when you are experiencing it all at once.