Stop it with the forced stealth

[Local_Custard]

Least it's some attempt at spicing up the quests.

Still, more solo instances would have been better. Should have had one during the 96 cutscene, rather than having the cutscene where we just stand and stare.

me, a bard at the time: oh I can shoot arrows! Let's do it >:3
the game: [unable to act at this time]

[Frida]

I believe stealth scenes could potentially be done right. Remember that duty with thancred infiltrating Garlean base in Endwalker? That was fun.

[hynaku]

They just need to add an option if want to skip them or do them. Just give an exp. bonus if you decide to do them.

[ovIm]

TBH, I was yearning for more stealth instances, or even the damned Spyglass, in each of the 6 hours of semi-mandatory cutscenes between gameplay...

[PaleYonder]

Agreed, it's always a relief to me on an Endwalker replay to be through with the last stealth sequence, like "That's done, now I can relax", and then Dawntrail brings them back. They were a little less finicky here, so that was nice, but I'd prefer just no mandatory stealth at all, as said above, keep them out of the MSQ and the quasi-mandatory aether current quests (because there's no way we'll just not care about flying).
Stealth in games not built as stealth games basically never works. And for the few times it might be fun, maybe offer an optional stealth-based side quest. Like a Metal Gear Thancred quest line specifically for fun and for stealth enthusiasts without blocking main progression because you didn't stand behind the right tree again.

[Sani2341]

There was a grand total of like one of these stealth follow quests this Expansion that felt like it made sense.

Every other time I was like 'just let me beat the evil npc up for the info instead of following them.'

[Ranaku]

Now i want another "In from the cold" quest in Dawntrail just to see people cry here over it.

[KisaiTenshi]

I don't know if this has been already said before but stop it with the stealth already, it was bad in endwalker and is bad in Dawntrail, this is not a stealth game, nobody plays this game for the stealth and it doesn't matter how much you improve it is never going to be good, the quests are annoying and tedious. If you are going to keep those quests then stop forcing them on us in the MSQ and the aether current quests.

IMO, the problem is it doesn't feel like a "stealth" event, it feels like a "follow behind" as opposed to "lead a NPC around like a lost puppy", while I don't really care for either of these, I think the implementation just isn't very good for both.

For "X NPC is now following you", please, no more instructions about how to find them if you lose them. Put that in the journal log, cause it's making me click several times while I roll my eyes at seeing the instructions for the nth time. For the Stealth, actually make it more fun please. Like carry a box or a shrub or something to hide in. Most of these sequences feel like "follow behind just outside the white glow" now, and seem to serve no actual purpose but to make you slowly walk to the next area.

I am a believer in the "don't mix genres" . I want to play a MMORPG that has a good story. I don't want to have to suddenly play a no-stakes minigame that suddenly slows the pace down.

[BakoolJaJa]

For "X NPC is now following you", please, no more instructions about how to find them if you lose them. Put that in the journal log, cause it's making me click several times while I roll my eyes at seeing the instructions for the nth time. For the Stealth, actually make it more fun please. Like carry a box or a shrub or something to hide in. Most of these sequences feel like "follow behind just outside the white glow" now, and seem to serve no actual purpose but to make you slowly walk to the next area.

Square Enix, or maybe specifically CBU3, do not understand what accessibility is or how it works. So they just put check marks on an arbitrary accessibility features checklist. People who struggle with figuring out the following quests will NOT be helped by a wall of text detailing how to find an NPC again. The reason why people messed up on stealth quests is NOT because the NPCs weren't surrounded by flashing, blinking, blinking spinning things. It was because the stealth logic, detection distance, etc, do not intuitively make sense. Because the devs also don't know how stealth works. But in the end they just throw random changes at the wall and hope they stick. Meanwhile we have to suffer these ridiculous, eye cancer innovations.

I wonder, does the dev team ever think about how come other games never have these issues? Why Elden Ring does not need to put an orange "danger zone" circle around the bosses? Why games like Last of Us that received a million awards for accessibility features do NOT have any of this nonsense, and instead have actual accessibility features developed by actual experts, who did actual user testing to ensure their solutions SOLVE problems instead of add more?

Probably not. And until the devs properly sit down and think about what is actually wrong with their "stealth" quest implementation, nothing will change.

[arstoka]

As a person who is awful at stealth games I had to ask a friend to help me complete one of them because the first time was so upsetting. If I fail at LEAST send me back to the start instead of making me do the walk of shame. It nearly made me quit.