MSQ

[Alaray]

It is now, but not when you make it optional.

Well, I already disagree with that. The moment the players can see other players, they are already experiencing the MMO part. They can socialize with other players, they can start doing FATEs together if they want. They can start running dungeons at level 15. If they don't find value in any of it, that's on them, but I certainly did my first time playing.

Yeah, maybe they shouldn't offer any boost. After all, they can now use the MSQ as part of the free trial.

I think seeing most of the game as a roadblock is a player issue. I certainly didn't, but SE will decide if they think it is. For now, considering they're being very conservative about changing the ARR MSQ, I'm guessing they see it the same way as I do, for now at least.

It's already optional for a fee. So that's a moot point. The fee being attached doesn't really make it any less optional, it just makes it profitable. I just don't think there should be a fee.

Seeing other players, just seeing them, misses the point of the genre pretty hard. Forming communities, finding friends, experiencing things with the friends who brought you along are more integral MMO experiences. AFK-able solo duties, a story someone won't necessarily care about or feel invested in, ultimately get in the way of doing things such as: dungeon grinding, experiencing various trials and bosses, completing normal raids, or doing higher end content if that's the reason why someone wanted to skip the 80+ hours of story. There's a lot of concerns and criticisms I have, in general, but being allowed to skip the story isn't going to suddenly make them stop writing it. Unless everyone skipped it and nobody cared, which isn't the case considering how combative people can be over it.

If anything, it's a massive QOL for a lot of people and SE could, ironically, have more freedom with the MSQ since they wouldn't have to consider the length of it as it stands potentially being a put off for future players. Or having to prune it down later on, like they did with ARR.

MSQ also, isn't, "Most of the game" for a lot of people. Assuming that to be the case is a pretty big misunderstanding of a lot of players in this game to begin with. It might be for you, but it absolutely is not for me. Otherwise I'd only sub briefly to do it and stop right after, like Towelliee.

[linayar]

It's already optional for a fee. So that's a moot point. The fee being attached doesn't really make it any less optional, it just makes it profitable. I just don't think there should be a fee.

Ok, when I think of MSQ being optional, I'm thinking MSQ does not need to be completed in order to do other things. For example, you can go to Crystarium without doing MSQ. You can run Final Steps of Faith without doing MSQ. You can then choose to go back to do the MSQ if you want.

Paying to complete the MSQ does not make it optional in my mind. If you want a free MSQ boost with your game purchase, I have no disagreement on that. That's up to SE's business decision.

[Alaray]

Ok, when I think of MSQ being optional, I'm thinking MSQ does not need to be completed in order to do other things. For example, you can go to Crystarium without doing MSQ. You can run Final Steps of Faith without doing MSQ. You can then choose to go back to do the MSQ if you want.

Paying to complete the MSQ does not make it optional in my mind. If you want a free MSQ boost with your game purchase, I have no disagreement on that. That's up to SE's business decision.

My position is:

When you hit start, and make a new character, you should receive a prompt which could be either: Experience an overview of the story so far (I believe Kingdom Hearts had something like this in one of the remixes), or "Skip" which would function, essentially, as a MSQ Skip from the Mogstation. With, still, the option to play through the game normally (as in, full MSQ). It'd just be up to the preference of the player starting to choose what they would want. And this comes, predominantly, from a place where: not everyone picks up XIV for the story content and, IMO, if you do not care about the story you'll only resent it as you're forced to crawl through it anyway.

I went through the MSQ since the story intrigued me enough since ARR, and I still do it once, and I'll usually suggest doing it at least one time if someone asks about it; but there's still value in providing the option. Especially when there's people who might not care now, but might do content they wanted to do and see the bosses/etc... and become curious and go back and do it of their own volition, where they'd appreciate it more.

[linayar]

When you hit start, and make a new character, you should receive a prompt which could be either: Experience an overview of the story so far (I believe Kingdom Hearts had something like this in one of the remixes), or "Skip" which would function, essentially, as a MSQ Skip from the Mogstation. With, still, the option to play through the game normally (as in, full MSQ).

As long as choosing skip means you cannot do the MSQ unless you use a different character or use New Game+, I have no problem with that.

My concern is to keep all the "strings" attached and not to disconnect them. The boost does not disconnect the strings. It just marked the relevant quests complete and opened up the relevant content with those MSQ completed.

What I want is for the devs to design the MSQ with those attached strings in mind, thus keeping the importance of the story relative to those contents.