Hidden gems of stories in sidequests

[Frizze]

Ill agree with the DRK quests from above. Probly the best class quests for any combat class. Best set i havent seen mentioned is the ALC class quests. All 3 sets(1-50, 51-60, 61-70) are good. The weakest set is 51-60, but even that grades out as among the best HW era crafting questlines. And the other two sets are a cut above.

[Shurrikhan]

The one intersection of sidestories and locale that I still remember starkly is the 1.x Falcon Watch or Owl's Nest (I forget which was the one to the East) hamlet's quest lines. The one with the doctor and, separately, with the shepherd, just set an oddly gritty tone that fit so well with the area on the cloudy days I was doing the quests.

After that, the DRK questline. You know which moments.

[Kuroka]

know which moments.

Like the final lv 80 one where we meet "frey" again, like, VERY well picked up loose end.

[Gula]

Traffic control in Lower La Noscea. It's a small thing, but carriages were loaded in to show just how crowded the road to Limsa could be, and I found that very impactful because the world isn't empty and serene. It's like universal Washington D.C. Complete with run down ghettos just outside the pretty parts of the city. Looking at you Thanalan drug den.

I also really like the levequests. Viagra, [censored] piercings, torture tools. Even removing graffiti and getting tea leaves for a Nuhn to appease his bunch of hissy catgirls.

[Yuella]

I like Hullbreaker Isle's story, where the pirate Mistbeard gave up pirating because he believes in Merlwyb's vision of a better life for Limsa Lominsa

[TinkerTech]

So when all the Works are completed for the Firmament in Phase two, there's a small questline that appears around getting people to move in. It wasn't the quest itself but a blink-and-you'll miss it moment at the end where Francel is walking away in a new coat made by a resident. I don't know if it was the cut of the coat or my own imagination, but I couldn't help but think "He's walking a little taller now..."

Cue waterworks. I can't help feel so proud for this boy becoming a man through his own hard work, and getting to watch him grow from the naïve noble who was willing to throw himself to his death to prove his innocence, to the competent and caring overseer of a new district of Ishgard.

[FrightfulNight]

I found the SAM 50-60 quest line to be good with a very emotional ending. While the 60-70 quest line was nothing to write home about, the lvl 80 SAM quest was pretty good though.

[Ramesses]

Apart from the Hildy and Dark Knight quests? Off the top of my head here are just a few that resonated deeply with me...

• The Greatest Story Never Told
• Drest from the Lone Survivor series of quests
• Edda -- one of my personal favourites from AAR.**
• The Crystarium side quests with all six Warriors of Light-- I waited eight years to delve into their story and I was not disappointed.
• The Binding Coils line-- very close to my heart because it gave me closure for Sensei Louisoix and I saw the twins evolve exponentially
• Azim Steppe sidequests--- all of them resonated with me, including the Namazu ones-- My main charcater is an Au Ra from the Raen clan-- enough said.
• The first Nuhn quests from AAR and the second set from Stormblood-- great characters
• Blacksmith, Culinary, Alchemy, Carpenter and Armour quests-- just brilliant.
• The Convictor knight quests in Heavensward -- gives a great insight into lives of Ishgardian knights*
• The quests with escorting the Ala Mhigo citizens back home-- particularly the one you help a lady honour her brother
• Mistbeard quests from Limsa-- There is even more weight to the story if one followed it from 1.0 (Merlwyb and her second in command are truly epic).
• Scholasticate "Harry Potter-like" quests
• Postal moogle*
• The Shishu princess questline

So many more that I cannot remember right now...

[Tracewood]

PostMoogle - one in particular about a female Miqote that ran away with an abusive male miqote and there was no resolution that I was aware of, just "he took her away from her family". Other than that it was like a series of short stories.
Legend of Edda - From Satasha to Palace of the Dead. I'm glad we got to see closure for such a tragic NPC.
ALC quests - Callbacks to 1.0, F'lhaminn is a compelling character dealing with regrets from that cutscene from 1.0. Also there is a bonus quest post Shadowbringers with her you really should do if you haven't.
Gunbreaker quests - This ties in to the new relic questline that just started in 5.2, you learn all about the Bozja incident, the people involved, and it even started what can be argued a redemption arc for Cid.
Ruby Sea questline - There is a series of quests that involves the Confederacy, a fishing village, and I think the turtle people... they all work together to rebuild after being liberated from the empire.
Lakeland questline - This was about a disgraced knight wanting to atone for running away from sin eaters and letting his friends die.
The couple from Ishgard - NPCs you can't interact, but over the course of Heavensward, a noble woman runs away with a lowborn guy and has a child with him. Last I saw she's holding the child in Idlyeshire worried about living on a weed puller's salary. Sort of a downer ending, but the game sprinkles nuggets of reality.