MSQ

[Theodric]

A lot of the 'filler' is important world building. If you speak to nearby NPC's in between quest steps there's usually fresh dialogue that adds a lot of important context. Sure, some people will skip through it or ignore it entirely...but it does wonders at making the in-game world feel 'deep'.

I'd be in favour of a new point of entry for players to enter the game, maybe after 6.0 is done with. The Echo could be used as a method of allowing players who take the new route to experience the original route if they so pleased.

[linayar]

I'd be in favour of a new point of entry for players to enter the game, maybe after 6.0 is done with. The Echo could be used as a method of allowing players who take the new route to experience the original route if they so pleased.

I want a new starting experience that starts with 6.1's story, but Yoshida's comment about comparing it to a TV season, and the fact they're using ARR and HW (and maybe more in the future) as a free trial feature makes me think they'll keep it as is.

[Shougun]

A lot of the 'filler' is important world building. If you speak to nearby NPC's in between quest steps there's usually fresh dialogue that adds a lot of important context. Sure, some people will skip through it or ignore it entirely...but it does wonders at making the in-game world feel 'deep'.

I'd be in favour of a new point of entry for players to enter the game, maybe after 6.0 is done with. The Echo could be used as a method of allowing players who take the new route to experience the original route if they so pleased.

I think we'd be operating on different ideas of what filler itself means, but yes I agree with your example. For example someone was mentioning WoW and the travel quests as filler, and some where- I can't remember the name of it but it had something to do with getting a book. That quest took you allllll ovvverrr for this useless unimportant book with a back story that wasn't very good (very generic kill 10 rats lore). Unenthusiastic turn in.. 'yay'.... Meanwhile another quest I can remember was the secret Zelda one, and that took you all over and imo was more fun. Then you'd have that first time you journey to Jueno or something in FFXI, which I'd call absolutely not filler. The journey being very important to the world building.

Filler to me is like injecting your eggs with cement or using sewer goody bits to make cooking oil lol. It's just.. pfft. "Why?" *hands thrown in air*

Quality world building != filler (imo, lol - if it stands a purpose of value then it's not there to inflate the product). Which is why I dislike some of the 'delivery me x' quests in early ARR (which appear to have been made less painful so I hear from Otter), but there is a later dinner party that I thought was quite cute. Like using the Ghibli example when they give you a 20 second scene of just watching travel and art, it has a purpose and is not simply filler to 'extend the scene / inflate the product'.

Also why I've been sort of suggesting the alternate start though because to me it would be backwards in progression if SE responds to all this by disconnecting the story to content. Rather I'd like to see more required content or at least more intertwined content, which would normally ruin someone who wants to jet past the story to the content itself. The way, imo, to help that is by allowing a player to not have to 200+ hours of that, but rather jump in much faster at a sooner inlet. Like taking the scenic route vs the highway lol, and the destination (city or what have you) is something everyone will still be expected to explore (so you don't have things like SE disconnecting the story).

In a round about way I think we agree , I just don't see the word usage of 'filler' in any good light, but what you mentioned was good (so not filler imo). Fraying hairs XD.. Also hi mate :-3