Length MSQ from all the expansions - it is getting insane

[Lunalepsy]

Since I am a veteran MMO player, played them since 2001.
I hate this hand-holding that this game has.
Also, the number of hours you have to spend to play through the ALL msq is just insane.
I am the type of player who likes to have tons of alts and does not like the idea of having all classes on one character.
I like playing every class on different characters like in all other games out there.
It feels like SE is forcing me to pay story skip since it takes me more than 30 days to complete msq on single character. Mostly because I hate it, and I hate it because it is not voiced and there are too many fetch quests. The old republic has all quests voiced, maybe because the number of them is so much smaller than FFXIV.

They learned from WoW. This game is babyproof. If you want something more challenging, play Ragnarok Online or FFXI.

[Kathleen612]

I buy skips as well on my alt. Just bought the ARR on my main because I did it several time by myself and just want to enjoy the rest of the story with a friend playing with me and discovering the story! I know ARR is very long, especially once you have finished the main story, so sorry I skip.
For my alts, I buy the entire skip.

[Raven2014]

To the people who keep asking for full VO, you should realize it's a double edge sword. Since you all love to cite KOTOR as an example, I will also use it as an example:

Full VO was the reason why the majority of the launch companions just become souless battlebots after the launch story. With the game tanking, Bioware couldn't justify the budget to continue the crew's story, even for features as popular as the romance questline. It was laughable that after years, in the 4-5th expansion they finally acknowledge the original romance by ... having that character sending you a mail ('cause that need no VO). It was jarring the games continues for years, through 2-3 expansions with the old companion getting almost zero development. When every single interaction requires VO, you're faced with the choice of creating expensive content, or just don't do it at all. Basically, if it wasn't because of the VO requirement, KOTOR could have continue the companions story line through out every expansion.

At that point, the full VO requirement become a bane of creativity. That's why I think the semi VO in games like FF14 is the preferred choice. You have VO for the main MSQ segment which arguably the most important bit in term of conveying the atmosphere of the game. But not having a hard requirement for VO allow people on the team some creative freedom, more side contents to be proposed and approved interally .etc. Rememebr out of everything that's needed, VO is one thing that can not be done in-house. It means every single piece of content must be part of the official pipeline, and the development structure just gonna become very rigid because of that.


And none of the above was my own conjecture. I was a founder of KOTOR, and was the last player who signed off on a server that was shut down and merge. Those was the Bioware's response and reason after years of us asking why companions were basically abandoned after launch, and it was because their VO's expensive was to continue. It wasn't a boon, but a bane on content.

[Avoidy]

It's funny because they simplify so much fun stuff with the goal of accessibility. When certain jobs have a learning curve, instead of telling players to just deal with it, they streamline the job until it's a shell of its former self, for example. But when it comes to letting new players who -do not care about MMO stories- just skip to the end, they don't. In this one strange instance, you're told to just suck it up and deal with it. Which is kind of weird, because ARR is such a hurdle for most people that literally every friend I've recruited to play this game has quit during A Realm Reborn, citing its slow pace and general lack of voice acting as the reason. Most people don't like buying a game and then having "the fun parts" gatekept behind a really dry, boring story that "gets better" after like 50 hours.

But it's weird because even though we can all acknowledge this is true for many people, where's the inclusivity here? You guys neutered AST and ruined BRD and dumbed down SMN and deleted Kaiten and ruined healing and dumbed down tanking to make it all feel better for people who were too lazy to just deal with it and learn the systems. Where's that approach for the MSQ? Why haven't you streamlined that, too? Oh, right. You make money selling story skips. Yes, of course.

[Boblawblah]

Why haven't you streamlined that, too? Oh, right.

Narrator: "They had, in fact, streamlined the MSQ."

[Rolder50]

Narrator: "They had, in fact, streamlined the MSQ."

They kind of streamlined ARR, but really they just brought it more in line with the other expansions. You are still looking at over 100 hours from the cutscenes alone, not even counting back and forth quests or talking with npcs (to catch up to current)

[MsMisato]

well youre in luck all sskips are on Sale XD

[Stormpeaks]

well youre in luck all sskips are on Sale XD

Woosh the point over your head

[Asari5]

whats the point in current content though? its new great, but so is everything else to the new player

[PyurBlue]

whats the point in current content though? its new great, but so is everything else to the new player

It's not so much about current content being better, it's about the MSQ restricting your play options. If all your friends are at the end, catching up to them is a long road. If you don't like how simple jobs have become at low level you need to progress through the MSQ to get them to a point where they are more enjoyable. Leveling isn't enough because you'll get synced for a lot of things and some job skills are locked behind expansions.