Quote Originally Posted by Kira619 View Post
I don't know how people say Heavensward has a better story than ARR. The worst part about ARR was the fetch quest and that duty where you kill enslaved individuals.

Heavensward I'm stuck doing work in a city who's history is built on the back of lies.
Well firstly, you are missing the point if you think the story is about that work you're doing. If SE makes you do work, it is usually to help you learn about the life and culture there and set up the foundation or lead-in for the expansion's arc.

Secondly, if you actually do the story you discover that we (the player) literally fight against said city that is lying. Because obviously we won't side with the ones lying since we're the righteous hero.

Thirdly, at the start they typically split you between two areas to split congestion on an expansion release. They also don't rush you into battle duties or dungeons because this increases congestion that famously created "Raubahn Savage" in Stormblood. But again, this helps you learn about the story arc and setup the foundation of the expansion.
Only a portion of the city wants to deal with the truth, and even worse they hate dealing with "outsiders."
Personally, I like how that reflects real life. Not liking outsiders is a common thing in real life and living in a bubble (different world to their citizens) is also common among nation leaders. Ishgard mostly reflects the UK as it is right now.
there's barely any quests of Isungard itself doing work to gain favor towards the dragons.
Did you do all the sidequests? I mean, over time a lot of things happen such as the Dravanian Forelands sidequests, moogle sidequests that involve rebuilding things for dragons, moogle beast tribe quests that involve rebuilding trust with the dragons and Ishgard Restoration side content that involves a custom delivery story where you integrate dragons into Ishgard to live and work there.