I tried but its not the game for me

[TaleraRistain]

I don't see how it would do that. It's not like skipping content would get you ahead of the current content curve. It would be that with no MSQ, the people who opted out would reach the end faster than people who sat back and ran with the story.

There is no end to reach without the story we're all following. Dungeons and trials are intimately related to what's going on in the story. They're not randomly thrown in. This isn't a fighting game or a racing game or some hack and slash that may or may not have a thin attempt at a story. This game is every inch a JRPG, just in an MMO skin. You cannot divorce the story from a JRPG without trying to turn it into something completely different and ruining what it originally was.

[Thaciscokidd]

There is no end to reach without the story we're all following. Dungeons and trials are intimately related to what's going on in the story. They're not randomly thrown in. You cannot divorce the story from a JRPG without trying to turn it into something completely different and ruining what it originally was.

It would just be skipping the story. Just cutting out something and creating another path to reach the same place. Basically an any% run vs a Full clear. Nothing is changing. Both will get you to the credits.

Each trail/dungeon/raid has a level attached to them. Instead of making someone who like the style and gameplay but not the story slog through something that they don't like, they could just add thresholds to the content and say you hit 73 it unlocks the Dancing plague, or 77 and it unlocks the well. It would be better than making them run from NPC to scrolling through text that doesn't interest them or a cutscene that they don't want to see.

[Tarryme]

My passions lay with the story and the community. Competitive mmo's are not my style, they are a cold lonely night and tell the story of who has the bigger one. FF14 is built in such a way that the community becomes alive. Sometimes you forget that those characters are not the actual person driving them.

[Floortank]

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 myself did not like the story until Shadowbringers. Shadowbringers is so good it makes me retroactively appreciate the stories of previous expansions, stories that I didn't like as much while I was playing them.

[Snorky]

Change the game play of MSQ will destroy the magic this MMORPG holds and the community. WoW is that way if you want the gameplay----} Honestly why would they change the main attraction? Does that make any sense? If you want to skip it you can but you are the one losing many enjoyable moments in the game. Instead of trying to change this game into WoW it's not WoW

[Lanadra]

This isn't what I meant to imply in my OP, so I would like to answer you with an analogy if you don't mind.

A neon lime green Ford Mustang drives by. (example link)

I see that and think its hideous and nobody is going to buy it. The guy next to me thinks its amazing and wants one. Everyone else is somewhere in-between from 'drive it if I had one' to 'drive it if I had to'.

Now imagine neon lime green is the most popular color option in the world, with 95% of all cars sold are now this color.

I'm sitting here scratching my head thinking WTH? It makes no sense. I recognize its a popular color because everyone has one. But its neon lime green man.... Its neon....lime...green....

As another poster already mentioned, if I don't get it by now I am not going to get it. You can fill this thread with posts until carpal tunnel sets in and I still wont get it.

Its neon lime green.

Fair point then, I can understand that perspective.

[TeraRamis]

Change the game play of MSQ will destroy the magic this MMORPG holds and the community. WoW is that way if you want the gameplay----} Honestly why would they change the main attraction? Does that make any sense? If you want to skip it you can but you are the one losing many enjoyable moments in the game. Instead of trying to change this game into WoW it's not WoW

I don't know that... it is the attraction. A lot of people I talk to seem very disinterested in the story. Not saying they're the majority; not saying this is proof of anything. But, as far as I'm concerned, I'm playing for the glam, the housing, the saucer, and the RP. The story is waaaaaaaaaaay out in left field. Because, as I have said elsewhere, my character is not the WoL. I may "pretend" to be that goody-goody during cutscenes, but that's not who she is, and not who I imagine her aspiring to be.

[Snorky]

I don't know that... it is the attraction. A lot of people I talk to seem very disinterested in the story. Not saying they're the majority; not saying this is proof of anything. But, as far as I'm concerned, I'm playing for the glam, the housing, the saucer, and the RP. The story is waaaaaaaaaaay out in left field. Because, as I have said elsewhere, my character is not the WoL. I may "pretend" to be that goody-goody during cutscenes, but that's not who she is, and not who I imagine her aspiring to be.

That's perfectly fine if you are a heavy RP person. The original post is about someone who doesn't like the story at all. So if they are not into RP or the story they just want the end game. The whole game is tied to the story though. How you look at it is subjective and same for the person who doesn't want the story. I believe the way the game is played is how the developers and writers intended for people to experience it. We as players or even as readers of the story don't get to change their intentions. They gave a option to level skip and as I expressed I feel people who do this are missing the enjoyable parts of this game. How you look at the story and act it out is your thing. How it's played is how they intended it. They have given options as a courtesy they didn't have to do that. I like being a goody goody as you put it (like it's something to be scorned really?!) If your thing is to play a bad girl good on you mine is not.

[Jojoya]

Change the game play of MSQ will destroy the magic this MMORPG holds and the community. WoW is that way if you want the gameplay----} Honestly why would they change the main attraction? Does that make any sense? If you want to skip it you can but you are the one losing many enjoyable moments in the game. Instead of trying to change this game into WoW it's not WoW

So we try to find a compromise. There's nothing says that we need to turn this game into WoW (which SE thankfully will not do) but it doesn't mean there can't be a way to allow players with no interest in the story to get access to the content they want to do with friends.

Proposal: in addition to the Main Scenario mode, a "Drifter" mode (or whatever term) is set up. When the player first speaks to Miounne, Mimodi or Baderon to register with the Adventurer's Guild, they're given a choice between the two.

Those who choose Main Scenario mode experience the game as it currently is. It is a choice of no return, once picked you must stick with it.

Those who choose Drifter mode are excluded from any content related to the MSQ (the Crystal Tower raids being an exception). They're free to level through any of the other side content (and there's plenty of it). The player would get a quest at level 20 to choose their Grand Company since that's required for PvP. Unlock quests for side content would appear at the appropriate level even if completion of part of the MSQ is normally required first (such as the ARR beast tribe quests requiring completion of level 41 MSQ or doing normal trials in MSQ before you can unlock EX trials).

Duty Finder works mostly as normal, displaying any duties that have been unlocked. Any duty related to MSQ will not have been unlocked so won't appear. Available Roulettes would be affected depending on whether the roulette would normally match the player to a MSQ duty (so Normal Raid, Frontline, etc would be available while Leveling, MSQ and Trial would be locked just as they are locked if on a very low level job).


If the player later changes their mind and wants to do the Main Scenario, they can return to Miounne, Mimodi or Baderon to start it. Once again, it is a choice of no return. Players won't be able to switch between Drifter and Main Scenario modes at will. Doing so would also reset their Grand Company choice (though they would be able to pick it again once they reach the appropriate part of the MSQ and resume at their old rank).

This gives players who are only interested in doing end game content with friends the chance to do so without disrupting the journey for those interested in experiencing the story. They lose access to some content that's primarily used in the MSQ for leveling but still have access to the majority. It gives them the ability to change their minds and start the story later.

[Kes13a]

This gives players who are only interested in doing end game content with friends the chance to do so without disrupting the journey for those interested in experiencing the story. They lose access to some content that's primarily used in the MSQ for leveling but still have access to the majority. It gives them the ability to change their minds and start the story later.

So.. basically, you want to complicate things for new players who havent got a clue if they want story or not I would imagine 90% of the time, before they even experience the game to make things better for the % of people who dislike story in an mmo designed with a story.

in all fairness, I think that "compromise" would take up a developments team worth of expansion. since the MSQ is interwoven through much of the leveling process, I think they would end up almost having to disassemble the game and put it back together to do this.