MSQ

[Tommara]

I think its great that your friends know what they're looking for in a game and that they pick a game that suits there needs! If FFXIV isnt that game for them, thats fair - it suits different needs (or probably "wants" would be a better word...) that different people might have.

Isnt it great that there are so many games out there that we all have a high chance of finding one that really hits the spot for us? For some that might be Everquest, for some - and I would include myself in that category - its FFXIV. And for me the storyfocus, that most dungeons are connected to the story, that I always know why I'm in that dungeon and why I'm fighting that monster there, is a huge part of why FFXIV hits my spot - it doesnt have to hit your spot, it doesnt have to hit the spot of your friends. There are many games out there to chose from... and I'm happy for your friends if they found a game they can enjoy!
Not everyone has to enjoy everything - but if you try to turn something that already exists but that you dont enjoy into something you enjoy, you might just make that into something thats less enjoyable for the people who liked the "original" thing... seems hardly fair to me.

If FFXIV has to much that you - or your friends - dont like or that you cant get your head around, theres nothing wrong with switching to a different game thats more fun to you.

You're absolutely right about! Thank you so much for your generosity of spirit.

I've had too many old school gamer friends quit this game, prolly because they know better.

I've been playing Final Fantasy since it was on the 8-bit Nintendo and absolutely loved them, so really want this game to work.

But at the end of the day, those of us who watched a stump for days in our early days of MMO gaming, can easily recognize it for what it is.


Edited Note: FF14 is still much better than WoW, which is probably the only MMO it can compete with, which isn't saying much. But even WoW at first, was a huge improvement over Everquest.

[ItMe]

But at the end of the day, those of us who watched a stump for days in our early days of MMO gaming, can easily recognize it for what it is.

What does this mean?

[Seraphor]

Story is story, it involves reading a lot of text. If you've played all the old Final Fantasies, then that shouldn't be a problem for you.
I don't see how it's a 'scam' in any sense.

You have to realise that at one point, all of these quests between the end of ARR and the start of HW were patch content. They would come 10-15 quests at a time, and that's all the story you had to hold yourself over for the next three months.
Ultimately you're playing through old content, it's essentially four games in one, and you need to play through them in order before you get to the current story.

If that format isn't for you that's fine, but it's not some kind of 'trick' or anything.
I can't say I understand the mindset of someone who enjoyed old Final Fantasies complaining about the amount of story content, but you do you.

[Infindox]

I'm confused about what you are complaining about with this thread? Is it the ARR bit before HW? If it's really that bad to you, skip everything. They've fixed it recently but I'd argue that it's one of the worst parts of the game.
Do you mean that you consider everything in patches after the main expansion to be filler and unnecessary? All the MSQ dungeons (which are in other Roulettes) relate back to the main story, and it's like going through a dungeon in a single player game, only now you have 3 other players with you. (And if you don't even want that, now in Shadowbringers you can bring 3 NPCs to run with you).
Are you saying story is unnecessary in general and a "scam"? Well, this is a FF game first and foremost, and what makes it different from other MMOs. I know people who skip everything cutscene wise and just hang out everyday; that's their choice, much as it is my choice to enjoy it and do dungeons. Both of us enjoy the game because we play it the way we want to.

[Tommara]

What does this mean?

In Everquest, I had to watch a stump for real life days, to wait for a ground spawn that would improve my abilities. It was contested, as everything was in Everquest, i.e. anyone could grab it.

It was intended as a time waster.

[Tommara]

Story is story, it involves reading a lot of text. If you've played all the old Final Fantasies, then that shouldn't be a problem for you.
I don't see how it's a 'scam' in any sense.

You have to realise that at one point, all of these quests between the end of ARR and the start of HW were patch content. They would come 10-15 quests at a time, and that's all the story you had to hold yourself over for the next three months.
Ultimately you're playing through old content, it's essentially four games in one, and you need to play through them in order before you get to the current story.

If that format isn't for you that's fine, but it's not some kind of 'trick' or anything.
I can't say I understand the mindset of someone who enjoyed old Final Fantasies complaining about the amount of story content, but you do you.

That's just it. I've played enough FF games, and my call is those quests are about time wasters, not story.

[Tommara]

I disagree. When I was a Sprout, I finished the whole MSQ in a month (we were at 5.2 at the time) and I wanted more because I had a lot of fun! So maybe the game is just not for you.

You really have no idea how hard this game was when it was released.

You don't even have a clue that my complaint is about boredom.

Edited Note: but that's my fault, and I'm sorry for not making it clear.

[ItMe]

You really have no idea how hard this game was when it was released.

You don't even have a clue that my complaint is about boredom.

Edited Note: but that's my fault, and I'm sorry for not making it clear.

So is your complaint about the story or the difficulty of the game?

[GeminiReed]

Theres no trap, it used to be worse. They shortened it. I'm sorry it's not to the length you prefer but people like me had to go through 100+ at one point. Whatever was kept has some relevancy to the main story or characters in general.

They tightened it up a hair but potential players still bounce off the 100+ hours of mandatory story before endgame (and that's only if they're skipping cutscenes). I certainly do not recommend XIV to anybody but the most hardcore story fanatics and even then I'm very explicit about the amount of story grind there is.

Story gating instances is just as bad as instance gating story and this game has both in spades.

[LianaThorne]

They tightened it up a hair but potential players still bounce off the 100+ hours of mandatory story before endgame (and that's only if they're skipping cutscenes). I certainly do not recommend XIV to anybody but the most hardcore story fanatics and even then I'm very explicit about the amount of story grind there is.

Story gating instances is just as bad as instance gating story and this game has both in spades.

I don't consider myself a hardcore story fanatic in the slightest and still made it through in a month. Maybe because there's more than just the story to keep me interested in pushing forward to end game. I also struggled with the length of the story at some points but kept going because I had goals in mind. I wanted to hit end game crafting, I wanted to do savage raiding, etc. Like, I'm confused why people are surprised at the length of the story when this is an FF game and they generally are story focused over anything else.

If you look at it as putting things behind a wall, there's also a thing called a story skip that you can use to skip to the start of ShB.

Grind it out or P2W, your choice at the end of the day. And like others said, if neither suit your fancy there are plenty of other games out in the world to enjoy.