I tried but its not the game for me

[Kolsykol]

I actually quit back in ARR, then I came back and it became one of my favorite games.
The WoW mindset of rushing had damaged me a lot and the game felt weird in terms of gameplay I remember.

The story towards the end in ARR gets way better too and then it stays good, most of ARR really is world building and it does matter in the end but some will find it dull.

[Jeeqbit]

People keep saying how amazing the story is, just so many people keep saying that. I wish I could see why they say that, are they just parroting what other people say or do they really believe the story is great?

They do really believe that and they are right.

It's a story-driven game. The story gives you a reason to care about fighting the bosses and it inspires the music and mechanics.

The skips cost to make the decision to skip hard, because Square Enix do want you to experience the story. It's expected that most people who use them are doing it for alt characters.

[KizuyaKatogami]

Enjoyment of a story is all entirely subjective. For example i actually really enjoyed ARR and HW, but i found SB and ShB to be lacking. I hope you find what you’re looking for. I’ll most likely be looking for another mmo as well in due time.

[Theodric]

As far as MMO's go, the story is decent - but that isn't exactly a high bar given the competition at the moment.

I think that a lot of the characters and plot threads are woefully underutilised in favour of melodrama, low stakes and a bloated cast consisting of many characters who are not allowed to think, feel or express any opinion that is different to each other - which is a common problem in the fantasy genre of late.

It remains to be seen if Endwalker can live up to the lofty expectations that have been set given that it now needs to be written in a way to be satisfying to fans of both the protagonists and the antagonists - with the latter, regrettably, having been given a pretty raw deal so far.

[Breakbeat]

People keep saying how amazing the story is, just so many people keep saying that. I wish I could see why they say that, are they just parroting what other people say or do they really believe the story is great? To me its just suckfest of crap.

I feel exactly the same way about superhero comic-book based summer blockbusters. Everyone goes on and on and blah blah blah about how great they are, Batman this and Ironman that and OMG there's a new MCU movie! They are all lame. All of them, save Nolan's Dark Knight, because that actually had a history-book-worthy performance from Ledger. The stories are, indeed, "suckfests of crap." I saw CG reach its peak many, many years ago, so the effects are nothing new to me. The main superhero character brooding about how sad and depressed they really are, despite the fact that they put on the suit / mask / cape and fight for good - yeah, seen that a million times too. The secret hide-out. We saved the world. Here, check out my cool utility suit / belt / mask. It's been done and done to death.

So, I just don't watch those movies anymore. I don't care if "everyone else" says they are great; I don't like them.

I also don't like coffee or alcohol at all (I don't mind the effects of alcohol but I cannot stand the taste), so that puts me far outside of the "what most people enjoy" group.

Sometimes you need to do you, and whatever "most other people" are doing be damned.

Good luck in your future gaming!

[Jin-]

I don't think the ARR is anything special but after it gets indeed better, well Gyr Abania part of the Stormblood is boring, Titan questline level of boring.
Main problem is the weak and shallow quest design which has stayed same from ARR to late Shadowbringers. Main meat of the game is the cutscenes, i shiver every time quest tells me to click this purple spot on the ground or talk with npc who then slowly walks away while you are animation locked.

They really need to up their game in quest gameplay. I would rate it one of the worst on the market right now out of the big worthwhile MMORPGs out there.
I take it as this clunkiness is due to game engine they are using, everything is clunky and works the same here basically but it really shows when you are questing.
Like lets take some ambush mechanic, while in other games some mob group can appear from the sides suddenly which is triggered when you enter certain spot, just like here, but the spot is invincible and for us its that purple ring. Then the mobs appear, takes few seconds before they even react to anything and then attack you. I really hope this is only due to the game engine they have and not that the designer actually finds this engaging.

Some time ago i was moving in the jungle with my mount in Guild Wars 2. Enemy patrol ambushed me, their sniper shot my mount and i was dismounted and the melee mobs swarmed me. Why can't we have anything like this? It feels dynamic and just random. All we have in FFXIV is just static triggers for things to happen and even they are boring

[Kolsykol]

I feel exactly the same way about superhero comic-book based summer blockbusters. Everyone goes on and on and blah blah blah about how great they are, Batman this and Ironman that and OMG there's a new MCU movie! They are all lame. All of them. The stories are, indeed, "suckfests of crap." I saw CG reach its peak many, many years ago, so the effects are nothing new to me. The main superhero character brooding about how sad and depressed they really are, despite the fact that they put on the suit / mask / cape and fight for good - yeah, seen that a million times too. The secret hide-out. We saved the world. Here, check out my cool utility suit / belt / mask. It's been done and done to death.

So, I just don't watch those movies anymore. I don't care if "everyone else" says they are great; I don't like them.

I also don't like coffee or alcohol at all (I don't mind the effects of alcohol but I cannot stand the taste), so that puts me far outside of the "what most people enjoy" group.

Sometimes you need to do you, and whatever "most other people" are doing be damned.

Good luck in your future gaming!

Preach, I feel like Western entertainment ( which essentially means US entertainment since it's so localized there ) is so extremely stale and boring.
Japanese games and entertainment tho still feels exciting and diverse, Western entertainment feels like it was made in a board room ( probably because it often was ).

With that said, the usual yearly releases are still top sellers and people go out and watch the same movies over and over again.
I might be really tired of the same sad dad story and burly muscle man and remakes but it appeals to a ton of people.
For me tho it's just dull.

I really do wish tho that the West expanded more... Because holy crap...
Anime and Manga is a good example of this, it's so insanely more expansive and diverse than Western comics and animations are.
Not saying there is no variety but it's nowhere even remotely on the same level.
Both for good and bad, if you can think of it there's probably a ton of Manga or Anime of it.
Can't really say the same about comics and Western animation.

[Theodric]

The skips cost to make the decision to skip hard, because Square Enix do want you to experience the story. It's expected that most people who use them are doing it for alt characters.

I reckon that if they really didn't want people skipping the story they simply wouldn't sell them in the first place. It's not like the development team haven't doubled down and refused to compromise on elements that they see as strictly being their intended vision - as we have seen from the way in which player housing and BLU were implemented.

They're also something standard in the industry right now. Some people don't care about the story, or they do but are happy to focus on it later on after they've caught up with friends.

[SpanishInkwehsitor]

Came here from WoW, bought the basic game, my 30 days is up today and I am taking a break.

I really love the professions, in ARR anyways, people say they changed things a lot in the future expansions. I could do nothing but the professions they are so perfect. Had every gathering and crafting profession to 50 and a million gil. It was fun.

But I just cant stand the main story quest. People keep saying how amazing the story is, just so many people keep saying that. I wish I could see why they say that, are they just parroting what other people say or do they really believe the story is great? To me its just suckfest of crap.

Gave up half way through ARR and bought the story skip from the store then just ground out the levels in Fates. Started next expansion story quest and just more of the same. Port to this place talk to a guy port another place talk to a guy, enough already.
Its very difficult to believe they are not making the story frustrating on purpose to get you to buy a skip.

Well I really like the game better than WoW otherwise. So maybe I will just take a break and come back once in awhile and try to get through the story quest. I know I have the option to buy more story skips but that feels like I am just paying a company for crap product.

Sorry for the rant. I know this is going to trigger some people, and I am sorry, because I really do love the game aside from that.

Good luck in your travels.

I quit twice hammering through the entire MSQ. A page-turner the story is not. I pushed to get to Shadowbringers which was the only story I even had an interest in following.

My advice: Skip, Skip Skip Skip!

90% of the story is irrelevant cuz they either abandon it or retcon it. If you’re into dungeons and raids the endgame has them in spades and held my attention much better than the MSQ, but if you don’t dig it you’ll gVe to eat your veggies before you can have the dessert.

[Lauront]

I feel exactly the same way about superhero comic-book based summer blockbusters. Everyone goes on and on and blah blah blah about how great they are, Batman this and Ironman that and OMG there's a new MCU movie! They are all lame. All of them, save Nolan's Dark Knight, because that actually had a history-book-worthy performance from Ledger. The stories are, indeed, "suckfests of crap." I saw CG reach its peak many, many years ago, so the effects are nothing new to me. The main superhero character brooding about how sad and depressed they really are, despite the fact that they put on the suit / mask / cape and fight for good - yeah, seen that a million times too. The secret hide-out. We saved the world. Here, check out my cool utility suit / belt / mask. It's been done and done to death.

So, I just don't watch those movies anymore. I don't care if "everyone else" says they are great; I don't like them.

I also don't like coffee or alcohol at all (I don't mind the effects of alcohol but I cannot stand the taste), so that puts me far outside of the "what most people enjoy" group.

Sometimes you need to do you, and whatever "most other people" are doing be damned.

Good luck in your future gaming!

I suspect I'm in a similar category in that I simply disagree with what a lot of people think made SHB great and find different aspects of it I liked (and similarly, disliked in the base MSQ but especially the later patches), and more or less switch off when people begin bringing up certain "themes" as something that's meant to persuade me to like particular story directions. It is down to personal taste in storytelling, and what I am drawn to, no doubt. Hence I'm very much treating 6.0 as a test of how much I'm likely to enjoy their future storytelling, following the conclusion of the current arc.

Although I am a rather avid caffeine fiend.