MSQ

[Erendis]

If anything I'm kinda regretful they cut that one quest where we go to pray at Azeyma's stone. (It was indeed pointless at that time, unfortunately).

[TheMightyMollusk]

They also cut one required dungeon run out of the MSQ. When the Scions move to Revenant's Toll, there used to be a quest to get a magic stone from the Sunken Temple of Qarn to help shore up the Toll's defenses. That's been dropped entirely.

Of course, they also now require players to complete the Crystal Tower quests, so it's a trade-off.

[Iscah]

If anything I'm kinda regretful they cut that one quest where we go to pray at Azeyma's stone. (It was indeed pointless at that time, unfortunately).

Oh, they removed that? It was a nice quiet moment, though "hike across the map for a single objective" does put it in the firing line.

It could have been converted to a sidequest from the Azyeman priest guy.

Of course, they also now require players to complete the Crystal Tower quests, so it's a trade-off.

Definitely a worthwhile trade, though.

[VelKallor]

Of course, they also now require players to complete the Crystal Tower quests, so it's a trade-off.

Tower relates directly to later content, so thats not "filler". When that became mandatory, I understood the reasoning.

[Arkevorkhat]

Tower relates directly to later content, so thats not "filler". When that became mandatory, I understood the reasoning.

Does it now? I know there's a crystal tower on the first, and that catboy jesus is associated with it in some way, but I glossed over that entire part of the story, just wasn't at all compelling.

[wereotter]

Does it now? I know there's a crystal tower on the first, and that catboy jesus is associated with it in some way, but I glossed over that entire part of the story, just wasn't at all compelling.

It's not just "a" Crystal Tower, it's literally the same Crystal Tower as we're seeing in Mor Dhona, transported across worlds and time. You see some of this on the screens and in the data logs in The Twinning. So the story about who is Graha Tia and what is the Crystal Tower is set up to a large part of the story for the expansion.

[Arkevorkhat]

It's not just "a" Crystal Tower, it's literally the same Crystal Tower as we're seeing in Mor Dhona, transported across worlds and time. You see some of this on the screens and in the data logs in The Twinning. So the story about who is Graha Tia and what is the Crystal Tower is set up to a large part of the story for the expansion.

The story of G'raha Tia was related to the main story, but the MSQ of shadowbringers can almost entirely stand on its own feet without any real understanding of the relation of the Exarch to the crystal tower on the source. The post-Shadowbringers MSQ is a slightly different matter, but even that could be explained away with a few lines of expositional dialogue, instead of wasting hours of each player's time going through the crystal tower raids.

The tower basically serves as a mcguffin that links the source to the first, but it's not integral to the actual storyline, except as far as it was shoehorned in.

[Jojoya]

Tower relates directly to later content, so thats not "filler". When that became mandatory, I understood the reasoning.

When Crystal Tower was originally added to the game, it was very much just optional filler content. I ignored it as it didn't impact the rest of the game for me.

It was only when SE later decided to make it part of the main story that it became mandatory and I was finally forced to do it. If it had been intended to be part of the main story all along (which it wasn't, YoshiP has said as much), it would have been mandatory from its introduction.

[MistakeNot]

When Crystal Tower was originally added to the game, it was very much just optional filler content.

Just like all other endgame dungeons, trials, and raids, you mean? The so-called endgame is the true filler content.

[TheMightyMollusk]

In terms of relevance to the plot? Sure. In terms of time spent? Ehh. At least having Alliance Roulette unlocked is useful for leveling alt jobs.