MSQ

[Stepjam]

Source: me

If they had the resources to make stuff like fêtes or fellowships for patches, I'm sure they could figure out a way to make MSQ optional for a new expac.

They don't WANT to make it optional though. This is the key point.

MSQ is integral to the FFXIV experience. They could make it optional, but they don't want to because it's half the point. So saying "If you don't care about story, play a different MMO" is fair.

It would be like playing Last of Us and wishing that it could be more like Gears of War, more focused on gameplay over story.
The solution then is don't ask a game to change it's identity, just go play something more in line with what you care about. There are tons of MMOs that are story lite out there.

[Stepjam]

Besides, if they made MSQ optional, people would complain that they spent 40 bucks for the opportunity to sit around for a month or so doing nothing. At expac launch MSQ is all there really is to do aside from 2 ex trials as far as serious content goes.

[ZedxKayn]

Besides, if they made MSQ optional, people would complain that they spent 40 bucks for the opportunity to sit around for a month or so doing nothing. At expac launch MSQ is all there really is to do aside from 2 ex trials as far as serious content goes.

Idk what's that supposed to mean. People who don't care about the MSQ already get done with it within a couple days. It's not content to us it's a chore.

[Stepjam]

That's what I'm saying. If such a big part of the game is nothing but a chore, play another game. They aren't going to reduce MSQ's importance because it's a large part of the game's identity.

[VelKallor]

MSQ is integral to the FFXIV experience

This, i believe is the key element.

Ive done it two or three times, and in all truth even though I have, there are still tiny gems or nuggets or instances or events I havent done fully, or see new things on the way.

No spoilers, but there have been tiny tweaks all over the place, i tripped over one at the start to Heavensward and was "wait, what, that wasnt there before"......the devs are making small changes, I wont call them easter eggs because that doesnt fit the concept, but small quality of life and nuances have been added and we havent been told...they want us to find them.

The one I saw had me laughing in sheer delight, the smaller details make all the difference.

I DO understand and accept that for many, a skip is a good idea for their own needs..but to be honest, in my estimation, by doing so you miss those tiny changes in the process.

Each has to make their own decision, I wont ever dispute that, just to me, its sad as you actually DO miss out on things you may never have seen before, or have been added along the way. One of the reasons I LOVE FF 14, that these tiny surprises are scattered all over and it makes a world of difference, its a labour of love in so many ways.

Each of us plays as we wish, with all due respect to my FF 14 colleagues, the skip does make it easier to get into latest content..at the same time ( and this is just my feeling ) people miss out on the work the artists and devs and writers have taken such pains to create..all for us to enjoy.

[ZedxKayn]

This, i believe is the key element.

Ive done it two or three times, and in all truth even though I have, there are still tiny gems or nuggets or instances or events I havent done fully, or see new things on the way.

No spoilers, but there have been tiny tweaks all over the place, i tripped over one at the start to Heavensward and was "wait, what, that wasnt there before"......the devs are making small changes, I wont call them easter eggs because that doesnt fit the concept, but small quality of life and nuances have been added and we havent been told...they want us to find them.

The one I saw had me laughing in sheer delight, the smaller details make all the difference.

I DO understand and accept that for many, a skip is a good idea for their own needs..but to be honest, in my estimation, by doing so you miss those tiny changes in the process.

Each has to make their own decision, I wont ever dispute that, just to me, its sad as you actually DO miss out on things you may never have seen before, or have been added along the way. One of the reasons I LOVE FF 14, that these tiny surprises are scattered all over and it makes a world of difference, its a labour of love in so many ways.

Each of us plays as we wish, with all due respect to my FF 14 colleagues, the skip does make it easier to get into latest content..at the same time ( and this is just my feeling ) people miss out on the work the artists and devs and writers have taken such pains to create..all for us to enjoy.

People who don't want to do the story already skip these details in the first place by skipping cutscenes and rushing through dialogue

Tbh that argument of people missing out can be made for literally any content the game has to offer, I'm pretty sure Savage/Ultimate fights take more work than the MSQ to program yet they aren't and shouldn't be mandatory.

[Alleo]

People who don't want to do the story already skip these details in the first place by skipping cutscenes and rushing through dialogue

Tbh that argument of people missing out can be made for literally any content the game has to offer, I'm pretty sure Savage/Ultimate fights take more work than the MSQ to program yet they aren't and shouldn't be mandatory.

So basically the solution is alreay in game. Either skip the cutscenes or buy a skip potion. Also Savage and Ultimate arent mandatory because they are not the main part of the game. Which is exactly what others said: MSQ is one of the if not the biggest point of this MMO. The team cares so much about story telling that every part of it, even things like Eureka have a story to it. Ultimate and savage are just there for the people that enjoy it. Just like gathering or crafting. None of those things are really mandatory either.

And its not as easy as to just make the story optional. Nearly every dungeon and trial is connected to the story. Do you just want to be able to unlock them without having any clue on whats going on? No reason to be there? Just so that you can run through a dungeon or do a trial? Or is this about reaching the endgame faster?

I actually have most fun crafting and gathering, but the latter can't get into zones until my highest level adventurer toon can. A huge step backwards from Everquest2 and other MMO's I've played. And is why I have been spending time in No Man's Sky instead, and Ark before that.

As someone that also is more into the crafting and gathering part of the game I do understand your frustration. But the zones are also deeply connected to the story itself. It wont make sense to gather at Azys Lla if you had not found it first in the story. Maybe Everquest2 simply had it not that way and that is fine.

Also NMS and Ark (games I also quite like) are no MMO. They are bascially sandbox games.

[ReynTime]

A perfect speedrun from Lv1 sprout to 2.55 in a single session, as a healer, in a preferred server, takes a little over 16 hours. And that's just before Heavensward.

That's way more than most offline story driven game speedruns. The ability to individually skip cutscenes and not read dialogue really isn't a very good solution for someone who's only interested in unlocking the content asap and not in the fetch quests.

That's at least 2~3 months of "skipping story" for a non-speedrunner to make it to 5.5. With possibility of it being a month or two longer because there will be points during which they might have to grind higher item level.

[Kozh]

Tbh there isn't much left to be said.

Keep in mind though, if everything related to the MSQ was as perfect as yall want to believe, they wouldn't have trimmed ARR a couple patch ago, and that was just a tiny band-aid on an ever-expanding gaping wound. The more patches the game gets, the worse the issue will be.

1) no one said it was perfect

2) they trimmed it because of y'all whiners who can't stop complaining how long it was. Now every patch is so short you can complete them under 4 hours. Maybe 6 if you reaaaaly stretch it out.

You keep saying it's hurting player retention, but I also have seen people skipping to endgame content, only to be bored by it because there's not new savage raid every month, and left the game.

Not saying this problem doesn't happen, but maybe it feels much more prominent since you are the one who has this problem. Most players, especially Japanese players, are satisfied with how ffxiv works, so I doubt they'll change the system. So either pay the skip potion, or play another games that's to your liking.

And to the other dude: "the game barred you from having mmo interaction before spending 20ish hours"

Are you sure about that? Because satasha, the first dungeon which you need to party with other players, is fairly close to the start of the game. And nothing really prevents you from interacting with people in limsa/quicksand/etc.

[Tommara]

1) no one said it was perfect

2) they trimmed it because of y'all whiners who can't stop complaining how long it was. Now every patch is so short you can complete them under 4 hours. Maybe 6 if you reaaaaly stretch it out.

You keep saying it's hurting player retention, but I also have seen people skipping to endgame content, only to be bored by it because there's not new savage raid every month, and left the game.

Not saying this problem doesn't happen, but maybe it feels much more prominent since you are the one who has this problem. Most players, especially Japanese players, are satisfied with how ffxiv works, so I doubt they'll change the system. So either pay the skip potion, or play another games that's to your liking.

And to the other dude: "the game barred you from having mmo interaction before spending 20ish hours"

Are you sure about that? Because satasha, the first dungeon which you need to party with other players, is fairly close to the start of the game. And nothing really prevents you from interacting with people in limsa/quicksand/etc.

It's really perplexing why so many people fail to understand that I'm not suggesting that any content be removed at all. I'm only suggesting that the MSQ, particularly the 80 or so ARR, level 50 MSQ, be pared down, not by removing those quests from the game, but rather be moved to side quests. I personally, completed all of them the last time I played, about a year ago. I vividly remembering them being a drudge, and friends that I've played MMO's for a long time, losing interest in the game.

Fast forward a year or so, and it's happening again.

I doubt if you have any real data on what "most players" want. I don't think you really have any idea of how many people quit once they reach the ARR MSQ.

I'm not sure why Japanese players are singled-out, as if their opinion should carry more weight than the rest of us. Lest you think I'm being racist, I was born in Japan, but raised in the US. My mother is Japanese, my father American. The last time I checked, I could be considered a Japanese citizen.