Why so much filler in the main story?

[Mkilbride]

To fluff it out, I imagine? But still!

"Ok, there is a Primal rising, this entire country could be destroyed....but first, deliver tea."

"Alright! We've got the information to access the big bads layer and save the town! But...let's first cater a party."

"We need you to make contact with this race...but first you'll need to collect some honey. Then you need to dance for them, several times."

"If we don't hurry and get there RIGHT NOW THEY WILL ALL DIE, WE CAN'T SPARE ONE MINUTE! But...let's go give "Piping Hot Tea" to the Desert Guards complaining of the "Desert heat" or deliver pretzels.

Or the lack of ANY EXPLORATION. "The princess is missing, the entire guard is out looking for her, no one can find her, please look!"

"M"

"Oh, here is she is ,on this clearly marked place on my map, about 50 feet away that no one could find." I didn't have to try. It would've been much cooler if I could've talked to the local NPC's / some guards, seen what they had to say, and based off land marks, found her out in Thanalan...instead of having an arrow pointing right to her. I mean, AT LEAST FOR STORY QUESTS...we should've not had stuff like that!

And the inconsistent VA. 1.0 had plenty of VA to go around, however, 2.0 is sorely lacking, and at important story parts. I'd rather it have none then having one scene have it, then the transfer scene(like, fade in and out) have none.

I played FFXI for the amazing story that never managed to get tedious, always kept me interested and wondering. Every mission / quest felt unique and varied. Bring on the FFXI hate, I know everyone here does, they say it in every post. If you liked XI you must've been brain dead, or a masochist, they always say in every thread.

I never have a reason to explore the world of Eorzea. You can get anywhere fast and instantly, for not much Gil. You can run past 98% of monsters. The world itself feels barren, lifeless. The art style is so much better than 1.0. No one can deny that.Graphics are worse, but that's besides the point.

The actually class quests are incredibly fun, at least the ones I've done, besides the 1-10 generic ones. 15-30 class quests are tons of fun.

And I can't believe I was handed my AF for just defeating two enemies basically. It feels cheap, and knowing how the end-game is, it's awful gear, which depresses me. You can get better gear @ 47 for a few thousand gil. And now, the quest to GET Paladin...are you serious! You defeat some spawned enemies at a braizer...incredibly easy enemies. In 1.0, you had multiple cutscenes, unique enemies and a tough fight where you couldn't solo enemies that had NO CHANCE OF KILLING YOU. I was proud to unlock Paladin in FFXI and FFXIV 1.0, felt like an achievement.

Now it's "Well, kill these two spawned enemies, that present no challenge at all." I haven't done any of the other advanced jobs quests yet, but I assume they all share a similar level of challenge.

I really liked 1.23 before it got taken down. When I first played the Alpha for 2.0, I was shocked. I was told we were getting an updated FFXIV. This is an entirely different game, like GW2, Warhammer, and WoW had a baby. It feels like it's supposed to appeal to all these players, and not those who played FFXIV for something different than the norm. However, FFXIV 2.0 has become as generic as you can get almost. Still, like with FFXIV, I give it two years. Much like FFXI on release was plagued with issues, and it wasn't until 2004 where it became a great game, FFXIV 2.0 gets it's two years that I gave 1.0, which became the awesome game that 1.23 was. After that, if it still hasn't improved...I don't know.

*Yes this is a rant thread, sorry, but I had to express my general frustration with lack of any challenge or feeling of reward

[Gramul]

Because people wanted more quests. There where also concerns that the gap between story missions in 1.0 where too far apart.

Would have liked to know where the original 1.0 story was going and how much they used for this one.

I'll save discussing the other points for later. Keep an eye on this post.

[Animation]

You'll miss fillers 46 - 49, trust me.
The mainstory is kinda a mess tbh and it'll need to be reworked overtime, more-so the class quest gear.
Getting everything but the robe at 45 is rather annoying more-so when the level 47 gear is actually better. I died once on my last quest for level 50 only because I couldn't move, I got like jammed in a rock. Lol.

As for the quest you mentioned I was upset by that quest, it could have at least put a red circle around the area and made you search, NPC's could have given subtle hints or you had to track footprints, not just mark her on the map and done. :/

[reaver84]

I noticed the fillers too, especially after level 20. I was just like, "alright, already, get back to the main story". Instead, I was preparing a feast in Costa Del Sol just wanting to get through how pointless it was.

[Zezlar]

In a way the Main Scenario is just as terrible as 1.0. They took a broken storyline that was in extreme intervals and made it as somewhat consistent story in a broken progression fashion. The fluff missions are terrible, and I haven't really come across any person who likes how it's set up now. People who asked for more main scenario quests actually expected more quality missions, not walmart fetch tasks.

The storyline does get better 43 on, but it's absolutely pathetic, and terrible beforehand. Here's hoping the Expansion focuses purely on story rather than earning the trust of every single spec of pixel dirt there is in Eorzea.