Quote Originally Posted by Skivvy View Post
I'm totally with you OP. Also, fair warning, the playerbase rarely responds well to this topic. XIV is the only MMO I've played where it forces you to do a full completion of the story. Even XI didn't go this route (SE's other MMO, for you folks who may be unfamiliar).

Sure, FF as a whole may be known for long stories, but this is also an MMO where it draws in all sorts of people - not just FF fans. I've never completed any other FF title myself, only ever played XI and dabbled in 1.0. I'm glad the story exists for those who enjoy it, but I absolutely think it was a poor decision to force people to complete it just to unlock new content.

And to the argument of "If you don't like the story, this isn't the game for you" - what on earth do you people do once you finish the few hours of story content each patch? For a new player, sure, there is a ton of MSQ to complete (whether or not you want to), but for the large amount of people who are already caught-up, we'd all be stuck twiddling our thumbs if we were only here for the story. Stop hanging onto "THE STORY" as the only reason to play this game.
Counterpoint.
Being invested in the story is the only reason the endgame holds any interest for me whatsoever.
I could care less about the Ruby Weapon gear, but I'm very interested in whatever connection Shadowhunter has to it.
Likewise, I don't care about the Edengrace gear in and of itself, but I'm very interested in the continuing story of Rynne and now Gaia.
It works both ways