Well, I do have to say that after spending the last few days in No Man's Sky, it also reached a point where I needed a break from it.

So I came back to FF14, which is pretty typical for me. Kind of a detox/attitude adjustment/reset period.

And waited in the queue for the level 70 Castrum Fluminis for well over an hour. The story that followed was well worth the wait.

I still don't think the 80 level 50 quests you have to do in ARR is worth it though, although admittedly, I barely remember them. My memory is very selective. I remember stuff that is interesting. I forget stuff that isn't. All I remember is the Scion/reincarnation of Scion drama.

But yeah, once you get past those 80 MSQs in ARR after you reach level 50, the story does become more interesting.

But as a practical matter, I know for a fact that the game loses level 50 players who get bored with having to do 80 more MSQs before they can progress to Heavensward. It's happened to me several times before once my friends reach level 50, and I'm currently playing with another friend who I fear won't make it to Heavensward, not because they are incompetent, but because he's also been playing MMO's for well over two decades, and so knows to stop playing an MMO when it's no longer fun.