Am I playing the game wrong?

[MiaShino]

A challenge and an adventure. (ya, was too vague lol) I'm about the journey, side trips you take along the way and less about the destination when gaming.

This lala over here would strongly strongly suggest sticking through ARR until you finally unlock Heavensward. It is almost meme here "In Heavensward it gets better!" but it kinda really does. Will take between one through three days if you charge through ARR and post ARR. The story improves vastly from, "What the heck am I even doing and why?" to journey across lands near and far to bridge the divide betwixt dragon and man.

Class progression feels much of the better as you begin to unlock all the stuffs that define how your job plays. You finally begin unlocking content that cannot always be unga bunga'ed to victory. Once further progression occurs into post Heavensward you are treated to Alex (Eight man twelve part raid series, much of the fun!) annnd the Void series (more 24 man raids that are vast improvement over Crystal Tower). Heck even the CT series may be most fun for you if only for something different. World Of Darkness still gives groups trouble some of the time! This unlocks at 50.

Because this game is old, it seems the destination is where the challenge is. Because of how the jobs develop, they too are nearer to the destination. The 80/20 rule kicks in for me...is the 20% near the end worth putting up with the 80% less desirable content you have to go through to get there? It's a good thing both the music and artistry are really good!

ARR and post ARR are.. rough. There is no sugar coating this I say with much sadness. Taking from friends, many of them finally began enjoying themselves once leaving ARR into post ARR.

Be certain you do Blue+ quests once those unlock. There are mountains of side content I feel you will likely enjoy. Many dungeons, entire raids, silly quest lines like Hildibrand which do unlock trials. Plenty all not requiring you to be at end game to enjoy.

I am in no way trying to flame the game, I'm just trying to reset expectations if possible. This game has some really good qualities. One of those is the community. There were plenty of thoughtful comments that were constructive and helpful. I very much appreciate the input.

Much understanding here! If there are friends and family you can play through with that may improve the ARR - Post ARR grind too. Know this helped my friends and family continue playing when they may have quit. If you can persevere once you unlock "Keeper of the Lake" that is when real fun begins! Best of the luck out there fellow adventurer! If you ever require assistance feel free to boop one of us as it seems you are on my datacenter.