MSQ as a new player

[Enla]

Funny thing is before ARR's original launch, when we were still in the early access stage and I was tearing through content fast since I had a bunch of 50s already from v1, I made the comment on here that they should streamline the msq because it was simply too long and there were too many garbage fetch quests (think I pointed out the titan storyline specifically) and I was torn apart by the masses. I don't think I had ever been comment bombed, screamed at or ragged on like that ever on a forum. It was a level of bad online behavior that would make trump blush.

But nowadays...

ARR has always been that weird, unedited first draft of a decent story that somehow got published even though it really needed to be taken to the editing desk for corrections. It just took people actually having to level alts, help their friends level, and even having the skip-cutscene fix for the MSQ roulette implemented for people to see it. The MSQ dungeons are basically the perfect analogy for the rest of the story. Slow, plodding, and with a lot of fluff and unnecessary dialogue that could be cut without consequence. There's only so many times you can listen to Gaius chew the scenery before you realize 'you know, you could have said all this in half the time' and then make the next leap and realize that applies to the rest of ARR.

[Evanoel]

Try leveling one of the healer classes so that you could finish the DF quests. Healers almost get insta queue on DF these days.

[Iscah]

I'd wager they'd streamline the 2.1-2.55 quests to be half as long, but keep the requirement to beat Qarn (normal), Ifrit (Hard), Garuda (Hard), Titan (Hard), and the rest of the story Hard mode primals for newer players and alts.

I'm not sure about Qarn, but definitely the hard-mode primals have to stay in the MSQ at that point because the Scions need to give you those quests before those NPCs can leave the Waking Sands - which is why the MSQ stops you from progressing when those characters should be in Mor Dhona by now.

[MrThinker]

I'm not sure about Qarn, but definitely the hard-mode primals have to stay in the MSQ at that point because the Scions need to give you those quests before those NPCs can leave the Waking Sands - which is why the MSQ stops you from progressing when those characters should be in Mor Dhona by now.

Adding on top of this that you have to at least have titan hard unlocked by the patch 3.4 quests, i think it unlikely for them to relax the arr hm primals. Why make the player do them later rather than earlier?

[Mahoukenshi]

Story-wise, Ifrit, Garuda and Titan (Hard) felt absolutely pointless outside of an earlier comment about the need to re-evaluate previous encounters, but after unlocking and clearing said Trial(s), there's no follow-up at all to make it feel "relevant" for the - at that point - ongoing plot point. If they want to keep it, they could push the quests to unlock the hard version when it's actually required and add some short "I received the data from X after your rebattle with Y" to the Scion who gives you the quest for the next Hard version. Or let the game recognize you have already done the trials with the current version, instead of needing to to do them a second time (outside of intrinsical motivation or roulette purpose).

As for Quarn: It would have helped if the system had acknowledged retrospectively that you already cleared the dungeon; so that the NPC in front of the entrance could simply hand you the item over for some reason.

[Iscah]

Story-wise, Ifrit, Garuda and Titan (Hard) felt absolutely pointless outside of an earlier comment about the need to re-evaluate previous encounters, but after unlocking and clearing said Trial(s), there's no follow-up at all to make it feel "relevant" for the - at that point - ongoing plot point.

My understanding is that if you were playing the game at release, the hard primals were available immediately or soon after clearing the MSQ - the equivalent of what endgame content we currently have for Shadowbringers while we wait for patch X.1 to continue the story.

Now it's just a sidequest you can pick up alongside the first 2.1 quest, but back then it would have been the only quest that Minfilia had for you after completing 2.0. There were no ongoing plot points to account for at the time you were intended to do them - but that's not the same as the point where you're forced to do then.

I actually think the best move could be to convert the unlock quests into MSQ - you have to do them sooner or later, and it takes away the confusing business of Minfilia having two different quests that you probably pick up one after the other (and she's in quite different moods between the two cutscenes, which is a bit jarring).

[Hysterior]

While the story was amazing to go through at the time, when broken into patches, I must agree that going through it in one go is a very painful experience. I really feel for new players.
Good thing is, as few mentioned, SE realized it and the main quests will be streamlined in the near future.

[ADarklore]

Having just started a new character and going through MSQ again... I can say that there are FAR TOO MANY 'fetch quests' that send you over there, then back, go back over there, come back here, go back there... AGAIN... which gets extremely annoying very quickly. "Hey go tell her this, then come back and tell me what she says, then go back and tell her this..." even though the said person is only a few feet away. Those type of annoying and pointless quests need to be completely snipped or could even be turned into another side-quest. It's not so bad if you're high enough level where enemies don't attack you... but if you are at level and had to fight through those same enemies over and over again because you have to go back and forth... that's even worse.

[Ronduwil]

ARR has always been that weird, unedited first draft of a decent story that somehow got published even though it really needed to be taken to the editing desk for corrections.

I don't know that I would even call it a decent story. Aside from the final 45-minute cut scene, I didn't find it particularly compelling. One quest that stands out as an example of what made it so frustrating for me was where I had to go help Thancred with his investigation. When I arrived, Thancred said that he had already finished up and wanted to meet me back at the Rising Stones, where I had just come from. Why? Seriously, why? Also, I don't know how many times I had to sit through the Sultana whining about the stress of ruling and lengthy diatribes about her intent to abdicate the throne. I lost count after three. Then there are the extended cut scenes of characters emoting at each other. The quest line is already long enough without having to watch each Scion emote for ten seconds each. I just finished ARR yesterday, so the irritation is still fresh in my mind. I remember thinking I was done after repelling the Garleans and seeing what I thought were end credits rolling. Little did I know I was still tens (hundreds?) of quests away from being done done! I'm glad to hear they're streamlining it. There's certainly plenty of filler to cut!

[Enla]

I don't know that I would even call it a decent story. Aside from the final 45-minute cut scene, I didn't find it particularly compelling. One quest that stands out as an example of what made it so frustrating for me was where I had to go help Thancred with his investigation. When I arrived, Thancred said that he had already finished up and wanted to meet me back at the Rising Stones, where I had just come from. Why? Seriously, why? Also, I don't know how many times I had to sit through the Sultana whining about the stress of ruling and lengthy diatribes about her intent to abdicate the throne. I lost count after three. Then there are the extended cut scenes of characters emoting at each other. The quest line is already long enough without having to watch each Scion emote for ten seconds each. I just finished ARR yesterday, so the irritation is still fresh in my mind. I remember thinking I was done after repelling the Garleans and seeing what I thought were end credits rolling. Little did I know I was still tens (hundreds?) of quests away from being done done! I'm glad to hear they're streamlining it. There's certainly plenty of filler to cut!

A friend said it best in my mind, ARR's story was built primarily around slowly getting you through every single zone in the game like a tram ride at a theme park. Unlike later expansions where it felt like the zones were made for the story, not the other way around. Cut out those unnecessary fluff pieces and the story isn't bad by any means and would be a lot more cohesive. The issue is that it's trying to do too much (tell a story, get you to visit every zone, try and pad out the leveling experience, etc) and is basically the equivalent of a rough, first draft - where the author doesn't think, they just word vomit out what they want to write before shelving the script for a few months so they can go back and rewrite the story into something that flows much better.

But yeah it /desperately/ needs to be parred down. It was okay back in 2.0 but now it's such a huge barrier to entry.