Quote Originally Posted by Bonoki View Post
In From the Cold was the peak solo duty design, but because people complained, we now have "Very Easy" mode, and some players use it to skip the challenge in all solo duties entirely. It’s the same with Role-Play quests where you control NPCs—they're a great way to make the story more immersive, but they’re not popular. Even little things like NPC escort missions or interactive zoom-ins get brushed off as tedious.

The broader issue seems to be that quest design in FFXIV is underappreciated. Whenever SE attempts to innovate or break the mold of traditional questing, the feedback tends to lean negative. This resistance stifles creativity and risks making the game a bland, formulaic experience. If we want the game to continue growing and evolving, players must embrace these attempts to make the journey more engaging and immersive rather than dismissing them for convenience.
You've captured my thoughts very well. Well, satisfied people like you and me have some responsibility: I don't see many of us creating posts saying ‘oooh, that was a great quest!" But in practical terms, complaining about a lack of innovation when the slightest attempt is met with pitchforks, stones and jeers... Well.

Another thing that made me roll my eyes about the criticisms levelled at ‘From the Cold’ was that people on this forum often ask for difficulty. ‘From the Cold’ explores an old difficulty mod : removing clear quest objectives. To say that it was not appreciated would be an understatement. It's paradoxical to demand difficulty but only expect difficulty that is comfortable for us.