MSQ Questing in response to Yoshida's interviews

[RyanV]

Recently Yoshida has done some interviews at Gamescom and one particular point of criticism has been brought up; Pacing, or specifically the pacing of quest content during Dawntrail's MSQ.

While there's valid criticism about the pacing of the story and writing itself, this post is specifically about actual gameplay and questing, and how I feel Yoshida may have somewhat misunderstood that particular point of criticism.

I will say, it's entirely possible that Yoshida does actually understand what some players have been saying in their criticisms of this point, and it was simply lost in translation or Yoshida simply was being general.

Personally, I think the issues with Dawntrails questing that have been brought up is less about "Players want to get to the combat/dungeons/trials faster" and more that some players would like there to be more gameplay variety during the MSQ. This is actually something I think has been a bit of an issue throughout 14's lifetime, but the conversation is starting to happen more now in Dawntrail.

What I feel like 14 needs is more mechanical variety/minigames etc. that help break up the "Walk here/Talk to this NPC" that starts to get a bit monotonous during the MSQ. It would be good to find more ways to give players more variety in what it is they're doing during a quest, and these don't even need to be too in depth. Some of these could even be failable and simly give alternative dialogue, if difficulty for more casual players is a concern.

I know the "stealth" tailing quests had a mixed reception, but I at least appreciate the attempt to add some variety to the questing gameplay.

Games Development is difficult and some things need prioritising over others, so I understand why this is an easier ask than it is to address, but I think it's still worth discussing. And I would really enjoy having more types of activities and mechanics to do during my MSQ Questing.

[LilimoLimomo]

It's interesting to hear that some players want more variety, and for those who want it, that's a valid thing to ask for.

Personally, I don't. I like experiencing the story when it's well-written, and I like experiencing boss-style combat encounters. That's the core of what I want from the MSQ. That's what I keep coming back for.

I wouldn't say I'm opposed to mini-games, but activities such as "find the thing through the spyglass" and "wait while they walk slowly, start over if they see you" aren't adding to my experience, and in some cases they are detracting from it by overstaying their welcome and feeling like a chore rather than an enjoyable diversion. If they're going to introduce mini-games, they need to actually make stuff that's enjoyable. And my concern would be that the process of refining a mini-game so that it's truly enjoyable might take more bandwidth than they have to spare.

[ShadowNyx3]

I don't think anyone actually benefits if they put more depth into the questing experience of the MSQ. This game is built upon its instanced battle content and trying to shoe-horn more depth into monster killing, NPC chatting, or fetch-questing is just not going to impact players in the long-term. I would much rather see that effort being applied to the repeatable content that comes in the post-game, not the content that the vast majority of players do one time, if not just outright skipping.

That being said, I think this criticism is actually rooted in players wanting a change to the formulaic structure of the game. While the staleness of the FFXIV formula is not limited to its MSQ progression in each expansion, focusing specifically on that area we have had three straight expansions with mandatory dungeons at each odd level and the final level, and trials at 74/84/94, and 79/89/99. For a majority of this game's current playerbase, which started playing at Shadowbringers or later, it's been enough times through the cycle now that a lot of people are just seeing how formulaic this game is and begging for anything to excite or surprise them as they progress to the new maximum level.

[Tunda]

why response?

I mean he tells us that he reads form.. I know he is a smart dude who can understand the issue but tried his best to avoid it

[Jeeqbit]

I agree that more things like In From The Cold would be welcome (from me at least, there was a massive backlash when they tried something different for once). Finding things, sneaking around enemies while weak and using brains is too much in some people's view.

[Teno]

The interviewer said he used diplomatic terms. I really wonder how he laid it out, because it's not just mixed reception, it's downright disappointment and frustration. I usually hate to mention it but the numbers speak for themselves here for the reviews.

[Rekh]

They'll condense the msq going forward so get the next dungeon after 1 or 2 quests. They won't do overworld content which most people dislike already. Is fighting a wave of enemies in purple circles after every quest really going to improve the experience? No. Xiv has never had varied overworld content, much less during msq. The game that offers that is called Gw2.

[Rueby]

I agree that more things like In From The Cold would be welcome (from me at least, there was a massive backlash when they tried something different for once). Finding things, sneaking around enemies while weak and using brains is too much in some people's view.

I really enjoyed In from the Cold before they nerfed it to the ground. To me it felt immersive enough to be 'lost' without direction surrounded by things that can easily kill you, to me it really showed me the mariana trench that is the difference in power between pepega NPC and us. Also in a way it kinda put us in Zenos' shoes to experience what he went through and what he may have overcame when a certain someone yoinked his body. As someone who loves Zenos alot, I appreciated this duty so much. A pity it got nerfed honestly, but I'm glad I experienced it as it was prior.

I enjoyed Thancred's stealth mission too...

What I hated were the new 'escort' quests they shoved in our faces in EW. I wish there was more combat encounters between this endless talking. It feels almost too much of Go here, pick this item, talk to this guy...or simply talk to this guy > talk to that guy > return to this.

[Johners]

I really enjoyed the solo duties in the Endwalker MSQ, especially those playing at other NPCs to experience a different perspective of the story in a manner that's not just cutscene watching. I was disappointed we had less of these during the Dawntrail MSQ, it could've certainly made things a bit more engaging at times. The minigames are nice as well, if a little predictable, as they make the world more than just go to X and talk to Y. One can only hope we get more solo duties and a greater variety of open world activities as part of the MSQ in 7.x onwards.

[Jeeqbit]

I really enjoyed In from the Cold before they nerfed it to the ground.

I don't believe they actually nerfed it. They just added an easier version which you can select if you fail it the first time. However, old duties usually get a "Warrior of Light" buff generally.

What I hated were the new 'escort' quests they shoved in our faces in EW.

Well I appreciated them in the sense they were commonplace in many games I played growing up. To see something like that in FFXIV or really any MMORPG seemed different than the standard here's an enemy, kill it for quest...

It feels almost too much of Go here, pick this item, talk to this guy...or simply talk to this guy > talk to that guy > return to this.

It doesn't feel like that to me, but I suppose that's because I actually watch the cutscenes and follow the story. I feel like if the story isn't really what you're itching for then it can lead to this desperation for something to break up the go to person and talk.

I know what it feels like to want to do something other than "talk to this guy > talk to that guy > return to this".

...because I've experienced this feeling when skipping on an alt since it gets boring skipping for hours. But the game is not designed with skippers in mind and I don't experience this feeling at all my first time through while watching cutscenes.