/r/ffxivdiscussion: The format of the MSQ lacks gameplay and should change

[Nadda]

Questing in general lacks gameplay. Tell me if this type of Quest chain sounds familiar to you:

Talk to npc (a)
Pick up x number of sparkly things on the ground. One of the sparkly things is purple therefore there will be one or two easy to deal with mobs.
Talk to npc (a).
Talk to npc (b).
*text only cutscene*
Talk to npc (c).
Talk to npc (b). again
walk to a destination on the map. use item or emote.
*text only cutscene*
Talk to npc (b). again
Go to place on the other side of the world.
Talk to npc (d)
*text only cutscene plays*
Talk to npc (e)
Talk to npc (f)
Use emote or item on npc (g)
Talk to npc (g)
Talk to npc (f)
Go to location on the map. Pick up x number of things.
Talk to npc (f)
Go back and talk to npc (b)
npc tells you to go to where npc (h) is
Talk to npc (h)
use a camera to take a picture of a certain mob in the background.
Talk to npc (b)
Go back to npc (h) give him a letter.
npc (h) tells you to go back to talk to npc (g)
npc (g) tells you to talk to npc (d)
npc (d) gives you an item to give to npc (c)
npc (c) tells you to talk to npc (b)
and finally you go back and report to npc (a)
*text only cutscene plays*

Personally, at least for me I felt Dawntrail MSQ was paced better around getting you from zone to zone, It didn't have long quest chains making me backtrack two zones over to complete where I was forward and back and then forward and back then one step forward. Honestly, even though I watched every cutscene, talked to every npc post cutscene, did all the side quests and Fates I could... Dawntrail felt like a blur to me. Which is funny because every expansion before in my almost 10 years of playing has had like one bit where I was like "Eh" and it took me forever to motivate myself to get through it. (minus EW, HW)

In Shadowbringers things felt slow for the trolly section of Ahm Arang, Stormblood Yanxia through Azim Steppe was rough. Heavensward I just remember taking breaks during the msq for life reasons I was trying not to rush myself because Post ARR was rough for me only because I was impatient and wanted to get into HW and catch up with my then friends that I played with... So I'd like force myself to progress as much as I could through the then heavy ARR post game content as fast as possible to catch up. I never did succeed. I was almost always perpetually just half an expansion behind back then.