My problem with leveling up in FFXIV.

[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.

[Shurrikhan]

There’s no point trying to voice opinions that oppose most people on this forum. Most of them will just go along with anything that’s added into the game and defend it no matter what, lol. You’re new to FFXIV so I’ll let you know now, that this is a highly defensive and report-happy community. Much different than any mmo community you’ve been in.

To the point even of sending death threats to a certain Youtube content creator for even suggesting that our raids could maybe afford a bit funding or whatever it takes to be that bit more epic across any given tier (say, in terms of interconnecting the four trials or giving the normal modes just a bit more pizzazz)... Yes, we are definitely a happy and not-at-all overly defensive community.

Now, that particular extreme example is an outlier, of course, but I've yet to see any other MMO's community -- or at least its online presence or average random match-made party member -- so often meet a desire to play well with such open loathing or accusations of superiority complexes or the like, or for all but the highest levels of that mysterious "casual-ness" metric to claim each other into a single, bimodal group (against the "elitist" boogieman) despite that "metric"'s many and broad spectrums. On the whole, it's like any other MMO, except where many feel they must actively vindicate their failings by any means other than learning from them and those they interact with then find the need to argue for such commonly valued goals as competence.

A lot of that could just have to do with it being a pretty vocal MMO community and what of the more modern ones at that, especially of any strong franchise base. Who knows? In many other cases it's been one of more interactive and participatory communities, in terms of social connections and the like. And of course, my sample sizes, despite quite a lot of play time until mid-SB, is very, very limited compared to all that might be seen. It's just come off to me as very distinct from the several others I delved into.

[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

[Machi_Machiavelli]

That's the core part of Role Playing Games. That's like going into a restaurant and telling the staff the last thing you want is food or drink. Your playing Final Fantasy and complaining about chocobos. Are you sure FFXIV is actually appealing to you?

In their defense, most games nowadays are all voiced, including RPGs. Even some of the other ff games are voiced for most of the content. Not much text in 13 or 15.

[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.

[ForctyusGold]

you can switch to other job and do with it these msq or other quest o/ after ARR its better, trust me and of course, this game is really about story so thats why so many msq o/ nobody is saying you cant do any gameplay besides reading bubbles

[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.

[Verlyn]

I'd say for all the story itself can be engaging, the actual questing process really isn't and doesn't start to get engaging until Shadowbringers gets into gear. They do a lot lot lot of empty yammering and pointless side trips and forced teleportation and very little actual gameplay outside of the occasional scripted duty, which forces you to disband your party because they don't want their MMO story to be a multiplayer experience. While the flow absolutely does get better as the game goes on (and I especially appreciate that SHB no longer makes you teleport back and forth all of the time), it's something the game can still improve.

[Harmonea]

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.

Many people have responded that they agree with you. Many others have responded that they don't agree with you. You've received advice going both ways, from "it gets better" to "mix things up" to "maybe not the game for you."

Are you really so "amazed" that you received posts that say things other than "yes, I agree"....? On a public discussion forum, you expected people to stick within your narrow boundaries of acceptable responses?

We get it; you work. Most of us do, you know that right? And different people enjoy different things to unwind after a day of work. I'm the sort who wouldn't mind curling up with a book, and I'm in love with the carefully crafted world of FFXIV. I look forward to a day of "traveling and reading" (aka new MSQ) more than anything else in this game. You don't, and that's fine; you might like endgame more if you can get yourself there, with all content open to you and two worlds full of action packed choices of activities for your meager free time.

Though based on your responses in this thread to people who dare suggest you might better enjoy your time if you don't bother... I hope not to bump in to you if that time ever comes.