My problem with leveling up in FFXIV.

[hiedra]

This is a thread asking for people's opinion. Silencing opposing viewpoint is the opposite of productive.

Everyone should be open to criticism, that includes the OP. But do you really expect that a complaint about traveling and reading is meaningful? This game is filled with reading and traveling all throughout the MSQ for all expansions, not just ARR/early leveling experience, and the OP acknowledged that it's still true with Heavensward. And it's true for side quests as well, not just the MSQ.

It's not that the MSQ is the only thing this game has to offer. It's that the MSQ is the gateway to many of the other things this game has to offer. So the OP simply has to manage their time and go through the MSQ at the pace they want.

Keyword: "[...] people fighting OP"

This is a public forum so of course you're free to disagree with OP, debates are healthy. That statement was directed towards the people that are derailing the thread with arguments unrelated to the topic at hand.

Anyway, OP has already stated multiple times that they don't dislike the story. They just want to get more involved. It's a valid critique. So valid, in fact, that it's been discussed in a previous live letter. It's why they're trimming down ARR for 5.3

I've already given my advice to OP so there really isn't anything else left for me to say. Hopefully it'll be of some help, if not then I hope someone else suggests something better.

[linay]

Keyword: "[...] people fighting OP"

This is a public forum so of course you're free to disagree with OP, debates are healthy. That statement was directed towards the people that are derailing the thread with arguments unrelated to the topic at hand.

It takes two sides to derail a topic. That said, the chicken comment aside, is there any other unrelated argument?

Anyway, OP has already stated multiple times that they don't dislike the story. They just want to get more involved. It's a valid critique. So valid, in fact, that it's been discussed in a previous live letter. It's why they're trimming down ARR for 5.3

I've already given my advice to OP so there really isn't anything else left for me to say. Hopefully it'll be of some help, if not then I hope someone else suggests something better.

Except I never said anything about story. Also, as I've said, the planned change for 5.3 won't affect the nature of the MSQ (and side quests) that the OP admits they don't like even in Heavensward. Even in Shadowbringers, the OP will still be doing a lot of reading and traveling and the solution will still be the same then: the OP will simply have to manage their time and do other things they like while still making sure to progress through whatever quests they need to.

So really, the OP already gets what they want out of this thread. They know some people feel the same way they do while some others don't, and they know it's up to them how they manage their time because the planned change in 5.3 is a very specific change that might not even apply to them by the time it's released.

[OhnoozeMyToes]

This is a thread asking for people's opinion. Silencing opposing viewpoint is the opposite of productive.

Everyone should be open to criticism, that includes the OP. But do you really expect that a complaint about traveling and reading is meaningful? This game is filled with reading and traveling all throughout the MSQ for all expansions, not just ARR/early leveling experience, and the OP acknowledged that it's still true with Heavensward. And it's true for side quests as well, not just the MSQ.

It's not that the MSQ is the only thing this game has to offer. It's that the MSQ is the gateway to many of the other things this game has to offer. So the OP simply has to manage their time and go through the MSQ at the pace they want.

I was just saying after working all day and only having a short amount of time it didn't feel like I was actively engaged enough. All my time spent playing was reading and traveling around to talk to people. I know it's part of an MMO but I didn't feel engaged. I was simply curious if everyone else felt the same way or if it was just me.

Whats amazing to me is that this topic has gone on for so long and that people are so attached to this game that they feel the need to defend it the way they do. It's odd to me and I would have never expected this topic to go the direction it did.

[linay]

I was just saying after working all day and only having a short amount of time it didn't feel like I was actively engaged enough. All my time spent playing was reading and traveling around to talk to people. I know it's part of an MMO but I didn't feel engaged. I was simply curious if everyone else felt the same way or if it was just me.

Sure, I understand that and you have your answer.

Whats amazing to me is that this topic has gone on for so long and that people are so attached to this game that they feel the need to defend it the way they do. It's odd to me and I would have never expected this topic to go the direction it did.

The MSQ can be a touchy subject and your thread is probably similar to past threads about it.

[ForteNightshade]

I’m a pretty new player so take this from my point of view but I have had some issues with leveling in the game.

Until you get to the final expansion there seems to be no reason at all to do any questing other than the msq. And yeah FFXIV seems to do a great job for story but the problem for me has been that you do very little gameplay or experiencing the world and spend most your time traveling and reading all the story text. So when I get home at night and have an hour or two to play, the last thing I want to do is read and travel around a map so I end up just playing a low lvl job and doing levees so that I can relax and get some game action.

Am I alone here?

While I can somewhat appreciate your complaint, this is more or less the nature of all MMOs. Only the current expansion is generally relevant when it comes to gameplay since all the content prior has been done to death by the playerbase. On the one hand, sure, the dev team could give us more incentives to do Alexander or Deltascape—which would be great for new players. I, myself, never got to experience Coil at its peak until Ultimate. In doing so, however, it forces a good portion of people to redo content they're likely tired of. For example, I'm done with Stormblood and have no real pressing desire to revisit it. Heavensward is a bit different, but that may be bias on my part because I adore Heavensward and the Ishgard setting as a whole.

Your best option is to level other jobs when you just feel like playing the game and return to the story when you have more time.

[Squigley]

Shadowbringers? Nice expac, but I wish I'd have been playing it instead of watching & reading.

[Rasikko]

Dont know what you were doing then... last couple of questa were read a bit, fly everwhere, kill a lot, fly everywhere back, get reward, read a tiny bit.

But thats how it is. Starts off with iconic blasting off with reading and dungeons, and then starts tapering off.

[Nedkel]

Tbh story and quest lines could have been written in a much shorter and dynamic factor than they are now.
Less trash talking, more substance significant for story please.

[Vespar]

My problem with leveling up past level 15 is .... other people. Lately Ive been praying to hear SE will add trusts to ARR because sometimes I just want to relax and enjoy the dungeon rather than blaze through it it all in 5 minutes, ignoring mobs, mechanics, and rarely seeing the details of the areas around me or the colorful and unique mobs within them...

Maybe its just me, but Ive fallen in love w/ trusts because I get the chance to see the beautiful work SE has done w/ each dungeon/boss/monster/music ...

everyone is just so in a rush these days to get to the next thing.... it saddens me.

[Skogli]

Man I love Ffxiv and all, but the GD community is so defensive it borders on toxic.

You're right OP. Nowadays the New player experience is severely lacking. ARR and shadowbringers are like two separate games