quest design

[Jojoya]

I don't think there are easy answers to this because there are a variety of factors involved.

Technology (not everyone has access to the latest in hardware and fastest internet connection speeds), player skill, roleplay immersion (once past 3.0, the WoL's rather unique skill set has been identified and best saved for the situations that demand it, not common combat), the player's own concept of who their WoL is. Quests might feel simple in design but there's still many things underlying them that have to be considered.

Could SE have taken the game in a more combat focused direction? Yes, but that's not the main story they chose to create. The quests in the MSQ need to reflect the story they want to tell.

I still think there's room for SE to create an optional leveling path to the MSQ for those with no interest in story but they want this to remain close to what SE envisions the Final Fantasy experience to be and a large part of that is story. It's up to the player to decide if the game gives them the experience they're personally looking for, or if they're better off playing other games.

I would like to have them add more quests that actually has you participate with other players, even if they are glorified Fates, it would be nice to occasionally interact with others aside from dungeons and trials. Also having more NPCs in some quests so they are less barren and lonely. I think just having some that are visual set pieces and "help" you with stuff occasionally would feel nice.

I've had alts that I leveled side by side with alts of friends. We'd stay somewhat in character as we chatted during cutscenes or talked about quest dialog.

The option is there to be participating with other players except in the solo duties. That's another thing I wish SE would do - we should be able to stay in party together for the solo duties even if we're still forced to complete the duty alone. It would help make it feel like we're still doing them together.

[Rekh]

Stormblood had some of the best ones imo; they were highly thematic to the expansion itself and very situational like the whole thing in Ruby Sea. Good quests are those that are not generic and that are tied to the specific purpose of the overarching story. Like if dawntrail's about collecting gold, then make a lot of quests related to finding gold nodes on the map; finding treasure chests as you do fates, etc. But we know square enix "doesn't have time" to make an interesting overworld; they'll just copy paste the fate system and add nothing new to it.

[AnimaAnimus]

They are still just reskinning the same 5 or 6 FATEs we have had since ARR. But now with a currency to get ppl to do them so they can say they are still popular.

I would be highly surprised, happy but surprised, if they did anything really new and different. I mean the things they added in EW were really questionable. Escort quests? Sneaky sneaky follow the npc quests? Strip player of all power and force them to sneak through a field of enemies? These are things that are almost universally hated by gamers, yet they added them and acted like it was a new big thing. Which, funnily enough, is exactly what they did when they added jumping in 2.0. 1.x had no jumping, neither does XI, and they acted like they just invented a never before seen element to movement. So, even if they do branch out, I doubt it will be anything too inspired.

[Roda]

They are still just reskinning the same 5 or 6 FATEs we have had since ARR. But now with a currency to get ppl to do them so they can say they are still popular. Sneaky sneaky follow the npc quests? Strip player of all power and force them to sneak through a field of enemies?

Hey now, these were pretty good when used sparingly!

Escort quests?

These were actively unfun though. They weren't even escort quests (which I am genuinely ok with), they were little more than chaperoning an NPC's field trip... Essentially a cutscene that you had to hold W to progress. x_x

They are still just reskinning the same 5 or 6 FATEs we have had since ARR. But now with a currency to get ppl to do them so they can say they are still popular.

Honestly every time I see "exploration zones" being developed I get a bit sad. Not because I don't like that kind of content (though I do have opinions on their progression systems...) but because that kind of danger and world interaction should be happening in the regular open world at all times!!! Forget Eureka/bozja/wherever! Put Notorious Monsters, Skirmishes, Critical Engagements, Castrum Sieges, and whatever new mechanics In The Open World!! Queuing up for "field operations" feels absolutely ridiculous in an MMO! XIV is STARVING for activities you can just get sucked into.. I wanna be doing my dailies and get side tracked because some random cool thing is happening in the zone I'm in. Knowing exactly what I'm going to be doing at every second I'm logged in gets boring :T

[AnimaAnimus]

but because that kind of danger and world interaction should be happening in the regular open world at all times!!! Forget Eureka/bozja/wherever! Put Notorious Monsters, Skirmishes, Critical Engagements, Castrum Sieges, and whatever new mechanics In The Open World!!

Agreed, the world basically just being a backdrop for the MSQ is criminal. So many of us want to go out into the world to explore, fight and just do something exciting. But we are sequestered to sitting around LL or, if you're lucky enough. our houses waiting on a queue to pop or going to that 1 special zone. So much wasted potential in such a beautiful world. I would kill for something even as simple as Campaign from XI being added into XIV, or have Hamlet Defense from 1.x brought back. FATEs are a giant continually wasted opportunity.

[OgruMogru]

The quest system is completely adequate. I've enjoyed the devs attempts to make questing more varied - escorts, stealth, playing as other charas, the target/search stuff, the THREE GCDS of mecha rhythm game [Would love to have more of that in particular!!! 3 measly gcds is not enouuuuuugh!] The chat and investigate/question dialogue minigames- all very cute! I love chatting to the npcs after every dungeon or quest update. I've done almost every sidequest in the game. My problems lie in the execution and integration of them and how they bump up against ffxivs pernickety systems. too much confirming and reconfirming and menu faffing. I hate how npcs just fade out of existence when they move onto the next quest point. I want them to be in the world with my character if there's going to be such a focus on them as my in universe party members. Personal wants for future questing would be for each overworld map zone to function like a trust dungeon while you have msq active. I feel like overworld mobs are simple enough for the trust AI to not struggle and it would mean they could implement story beats that require combat as fates so they're actually integrated into the world more. I'm sure that would have it's own issues but just...something more tactile and engaging than just clicking a sparkly portal. Where's the romance in that???

Edit: If I had my wish every overworld zone would be like day 1 Eureka. Nowhere is safe, mobs are a threat - I wanna recreate my level 1 experience of being 1 shot by a cactuar s rank.

[1313]

I don't know what the better quest design is, but the way it is, and has been for so long is very dated and boring. It's so obviously designed to waste time, with a lack of creativity to make it fun or engaging/exciting... that it's actually pretty disrespectful. There are some enjoyable tidbits on rare occasion, but that's nowhere near enough.

[Kaurhz]

I think capitalizing more on quests that involve solo duties/instances would help tremendously, even if the goal isn't necessarily to kill, but to stealth, e.g., In From the Cold.

I don't think they need to get too egregious with the quests, honestly, just need to look at the frequency of certain things. We need more solo duties, and less of the "Hide and go Seek" nature... The quests that had NPCs following you or you following them like they started in Endwalker was a little interesting. Would be nice to capitalize on that a lot more.

[Sjol]

Oh, I dread quests in this game, especially side quests. The MSQ is slightly better due to somewhat better writing and, presumably, stakes. But side quests often involve menial tasks, listening to the life stories of some of the more boring people on Eorzea. Don't get me wrong if they were real people, it would be a different story, but they're so clearly artificial and the writing doesn't land, it's clear I'm just randomly clicking on shiny points for no benefit. This NPC's life isn't going to change because I've found them a buyer for their wheat. Though, when the writing is good, and the quests are interesting it can land and be effective. I've just seen way too much bad writing in FFXIV side quests for my taste. Though it's on par with most other MMOs.

I think the other two categories of quest I've come to despise is where you train someone by just doing a thing -- "If I can see you do something once, I'll get it" is so not how learning works -- and I'll do a thing for 5 minutes and then tell the professional how to do their job -- "Oh, sell things people want to buy and you'll succeed." The latter would be incredibly insulting to a real person. We're pretending to do their job for 5 minutes and then explaining it back to them.

[HappyHubris]

On the other hand, I do think that they'd sincerely benefit from stopping relying on excessive cinematics that slow down the pace of the game. Endwalker took this trend to the extreme

My personal low point was when my character needed to active some devices for a MSQ and instead of giving me agency to flip the switches I got to watch myself do it in a cutscene.

The cutscenes wouldn't be nearly as bad if there weren't so many exaggerated reaction shots in everything.