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).

[Fayt1203]

The "banquet" questline leading to unlocking Titan and the Garuda fetch quest could most definitely be trimmed down without compromising the storyline.

they are trimmed down, it was a lot more back and forth back and forth it is not like that anymore

[Penthea]

Out of curiosity (I hope this doesn't sidetrack us) which mechanic was this?

The time keeping. Having limited time to do things and needing to plan how time is spent. I'm the sort of person who wants to be able to take their time to do as little or as much as they want whenever they want to. After some googling I found that mechanic is present throughout the game so it became clear that Persona is just not for me. I was disappointed because I was enjoying the story and I really like the aesthetic. I can deal with mechanics like that if they're temporary but if they're a core feature of the game I just end up getting frustrated.

I know the Persona series is widely loved and highly praised so I know there isn't something wrong with the game. But there isn't something wrong with me either. We're just not a good match. And that's it. Instead of spending time complaining about Persona I went to play Xenoblade Chronicles 1 which I thoroughly enjoyed.

It's a waste of time to push for a change in a central mechanic if the majority of the playerbase don't mind it or enjoy it. No game company with any sense is going to risk alienating their large fanbase just to please those who are not part of that group. Which is why OP needs to accept that the msq's role in this game will never change no matter how much they complain about it. They're wasting time that could be spent doing something they enjoy. Especially given they already said there are better options out there. Why complain that a strawberry milkshake doesn't taste like chocolate instead of just getting a chocolate milkshake? I don't understand why someone would choose to feel constantly disappointed instead of do something that makes them happy.

[WhiteArchmage]

The time keeping. Having limited time to do things and needing to plan how time is spent. I'm the sort of person who wants to be able to take their time to do as little or as much as they want whenever they want to. After some googling I found that mechanic is present throughout the game so it became clear that Persona is just not for me. I was disappointed because I was enjoying the story and I really like the aesthetic. I can deal with mechanics like that if they're temporary but if they're a core feature of the game I just end up getting frustrated.

I know the Persona series is widely loved and highly praised so I know there isn't something wrong with the game. But there isn't something wrong with me either. We're just not a good match. And that's it. Instead of spending time complaining about Persona I went to play Xenoblade Chronicles 1 which I thoroughly enjoyed.

If I may derail this a bit, if the time keeping mechanic is what's keeping you off, I would suggest Persona 1 and 2; as the first in the series they were still finding their gameplay: 1 is a 1st person dungeon crawler with 3rd person exploration outside dungeons; while 2 is divided in "2: Innocent Sin" and "2: Eternal Punishment", both 3rd person dungeon crawlers. The story is... mostly ok, but they ARE sequential, with characters from the previous game appearing in the next one, so I suggest you play them 1, 2:IS, 2:EP. They're a little hard to get a hold of, though. Comes from being PS1 games with PSP ports.

[ItMe]

The time keeping.

Huh...
That's interesting.
Typically I can't stand games with internal clocks (they stress me out), but Persona 5 having one that advances under your control worked for me.
I understand why it didnt work for you though.

Also, I totally agree with your larger on topic comments about milkshakes~

[Bright-Flower]

The "banquet" questline leading to unlocking Titan and the Garuda fetch quest could most definitely be trimmed down without compromising the storyline.

Also that time we several times over obtain the wrong elemental crystal, not sure if that got trimmed down or not etc. Not all of the tedium in ARR was essential worldbuilding.

[Arkevorkhat]

SE already offers us to skip MSQ to current expansion with a price.
I don't see any reason not to pay it if MSQ is pointless. You'd be wasting your game time otherwise.

This is the real answer here, and the reason that most of the suggestions in this thread will never be implemented.

Square-enix has a financial incentive to make story skip books as appealing as possible, and so every change to the MSQ that makes it faster or easier is a potential skip book that they've potentially shot themselves in the foot on.

I'd bet money that the reason behind the ARR changes in 5.3 was that SE's management decided that the potential lost revenue from not having as many people skip ARR would be balanced out by an increase in people moving from free trial to paid accounts. There's little reason to devote development time to trimming ARR while simultaneously expanding the trial, outside of calculated financial incentive.

[Bright-Flower]

This is the real answer here, and the reason that most of the suggestions in this thread will never be implemented.

Square-enix has a financial incentive to make story skip books as appealing as possible, and so every change to the MSQ that makes it faster or easier is a potential skip book that they've potentially shot themselves in the foot on.

I'd bet money that the reason behind the ARR changes in 5.3 was that SE's management decided that the potential lost revenue from not having as many people skip ARR would be balanced out by an increase in people moving from free trial to paid accounts. There's little reason to devote development time to trimming ARR while simultaneously expanding the trial, outside of calculated financial incentive.

The reason to trim ARR, and the reason they DID trim ARR, was to increase new player retention of people going through that. New players are probably less likely to buy skips anyway compared to people with alts who don't want to bother with it anymore.

Whether ARR 'needs' any further trimming after what they did, I don't know. I haven't gone back to replay it.

But if you get a player to buy a boost, okay that's a one time purchase. If ARR makes someone quit however, and making changes would have gotten them to stick around, you keep getting money from them longer term.

[Arkevorkhat]

The reason to trim ARR, and the reason they DID trim ARR, was to increase new player retention of people going through that. New players are probably less likely to buy skips anyway compared to people with alts who don't want to bother with it anymore.

Whether ARR 'needs' any further trimming after what they did, I don't know. I haven't gone back to replay it.

But if you get a player to buy a boost, okay that's a one time purchase. If ARR makes someone quit however, and making changes would have gotten them to stick around, you keep getting money from them longer term.

Exactly.

In the end, as far as SE is concerned (though the dev team may well feel differently), whether people are having fun is basically irrelevant as long as they're paying sub and/or buying items off of the mog station.

[TheMightyMollusk]

Also that time we several times over obtain the wrong elemental crystal, not sure if that got trimmed down or not etc. Not all of the tedium in ARR was essential worldbuilding.

A lot of that got trimmed, too. You do still go through two crystals before finding the right one, but a bunch of the in-between steps are gone. Professor Whatsisname doesn't send you off to find a clay pot, then materials to ward it, he just hands you a warded pot that he conveniently has on hand; the section on the Isle of Umbra goes right to the fight with Siren; and the final crystal skips the entire chain of events and goes straight to fighting the spriggan.