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

[PyurBlue]

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

That's right, what is or isn't enjoyable is a personal decision. I was not specifically referring to the MSQ. The problem is that asking players to pay more to get around things they don't like just discourages the devs from actually finding a better solution.

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.

Weren't we on the same page just a few days ago?

In that case I'm fine with it as long as the current story structure remains the same format going forward by default, they want to give people an option to bypass that, that's fine as long as not the default and its not something I or someone else can easily enable by talking to the wrong NPC or something.

There are no demands and any player's feedback is as valid as another's.

No, you're not. This is a subscription-based game, which means you're paying for access time to play.

It's not purely subscription based. Buying FF14 costs money as does buying an expansion.

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.

Thus skipping. The devs are charging you to solve a "problem" that they created. I'd rather than they just make progression through the game better.

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.

I don't understand what you're saying. With the MSQ skip you don't have to go back and do the MSQ later. That wouldn't even be possible until Shadowbringers.

[linay]

It's not purely subscription based. Buying FF14 costs money as does buying an expansion.

Buying the game allows you to play it. But it takes time, and buying the subscription allows you to play it over time. Buying the boost allows you to complete the game without taking time to do it.

Thus skipping. The devs are charging you to solve a "problem" that they created. I'd rather than they just make progression through the game better.

I don't understand what you're saying. With the MSQ skip you don't have to go back and do the MSQ later. That wouldn't even be possible until Shadowbringers.

By skipping, I mean you leave them uncompleted and you just move on to other things. That's not the case here. In some other games, it is an actual skip where you reach the minimum level of the current expansion and they take to the start of the current expansion, but your character still have content from the previous expansion that you didn't complete. So you still have to do them if you ever want anything from the previous expansion.

That is not the case with FFXIV. The boost actually completes the MSQ for you so you unlock a lot of content and reward that you would have otherwise needed to do.

Thus, you're not paying twice like you would have in other games for actually skipping. What you're paying for is for the game to complete the content for you. You didn't just skip over it.

[Inosaska]

I'm going to be honest with the topic poster. Go play another game as you won't enjoy this one once you do reach end game and realize you will be running exactly the same dungeons hundreds of times to acquire gear with caps that take weeks to get in the game.

[SerLuke]

Weren't we on the same page just a few days ago?

What I said was I wouldn't object to some sort of skip potion being made free, I still have big issues with suggestions here about the devs changing how the MSQ is being done to make it optional from the get go. I don't disagree to some of the post ARR MSQ quests being shortened but that's as far as I would take it. A lot of people here have advocated to FFXIV having a story structure like WOW or XI which I'm strongly opposed to.

[ElroyDrundan]

Couple other thoughts /questions regarding the MSQ from the perspective of a new player.

The new player experience of leveling a new character is way different than I or anyone else who has been playing the game for while. (I have been playing since launch).

Queues for required dungeons and trials especially the MSQ can be long. When the new player does get in a queue, mostly likely folks will just blast through the content as quick as they can. (granted that was fixed somewhat for the end MSQ parts with full cutscenes) It just isn't the same experience that we had. The ones I have talked with are mostly trying to enjoy the story yet at the same time frustrated about the experience and feeling they will never catch up to their friends.

There is also no wonder or excitement about the story for many new players. They are experiencing the story surrounded by those who have long since moved on. I would definitely vote for streamlining the experience. I would also imagine that many of those new players skip whatever they can because they are of the mind set to get this done so I can do the current content.

The leveling experience of new players doesn't come close to what we experienced, it quite simply can't.


I'm also curious why others are so opposed to this (or fast forwarding through say ARR, and maybe HW). Why do others care that new players didn't experience the story? It doesn't impact them at all. Lest you trot out the "They won't know how to play and will be horrible" Well, I'm not convinced being impatiently sped through the current content is going to help them much as it stands now.

Some one pointed out well if they don't like FF14 well they shouldn't play. I respond with they might not like being forced to slog through dead areas and old content, but they might very well love the game if they could get to the game folks are actively playing.

[Barraind]

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

Why would you need to do most of that?

You can even leave the MSQ in as an over-arcing storyline, just give everyone the flags for everything currently msq-locked on character creation. It is likely less work than the flags granted through story skips.

For dungeons, raids, beast tribes and other combat encounters, you still have to have the level to enter. Beast tribes still require picking up a breadcrumb quest at the GC's as well. For EX modes, you'll still have to do the Hard version, and for hard, the normal version.

Quests are still locked to level (pre-Shadowbringers), so you still have your own set of progression through areas. You would also be able to do sidequests in level-relevant areas if you can go right to Ishgard proper at 50 instead of likely having 10+ levels of the MSQ and the 100 terrible quests of 'oh god make it stop'.

Theres no good reason not to have Chocobos, GC's, class unlocking, squadrons and retainers available at level 1.

You'd still have to do side-quests and getting taxi'd / running around to unlock flying, which means having adequate levels, and theres no reason not to have diving as soon as you have a water zone.

This thread was started by someone going through the story for the first time. Once is enough for the issues to appear

I've been yelled at by 2/3'ds of the people I introduce to this MMO in particular, and no other MMO we have played since vanilla EQ, for not telling them about the existence of a story skip.

Thats good evidence for me that maaaaybe theres a problem with it.

[MsQi]

Mad at Final Fantasy for Final Fantasying.

[Melorie]

Mad at Final Fantasy for Final Fantasying.

I don't get that argument. I played FF9 recently. Interestingly enough, I did not felt that 90% of my time playing was just reading blocks of text and teleporting to one npc to the next. Maybe because even though the history is a trait of the Final Fantasy franchise, telling that history in a way that is tiring is not.

[LilySkye]

hello

i tested this game for 2 weeks now, reached level 60 and quit the game during the dragonsong quests. most annoying game of all time. this is my experience:

go to npc -----> cutscene -----> accept quest -----> cutscene -----> make quest -----> go to npc -----> cutscene ------> accept new quest -----> cutscene -----> go to next npc -----> cutscene
-----> do quest -----> cutscene -----> go to npc -----> cutscene -----> accept dungeon-quest -----> cutscene -----> enter dungeon -----> cutscene -----> arrive first boss -------> cutscene
-----> arive next boss -----> cutscene -----> arrive last boss -----> cutscene -----> defeat last bos -----> cutscene ------> go out of dungeon ------> cutscene-...................


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.

see you in a week o/

[MsQi]

I don't get that argument. I played FF9 recently. Interestingly enough, I did not felt that 90% of my time playing was just reading blocks of text and teleporting to one npc to the next. Maybe because even though the history is a trait of the Final Fantasy franchise, telling that history in a way that is tiring is not.

In FF9 you don't get to teleport. But seriously 90% is and exaggeration for either game. Though both have points where you may have to spend half an hour or more of reading mostly it's is broken up with dungeons and stuff. In either game you can take a break from the main story and go grind something or play a mini game if you like.