[Megathread] Final Fantasy XIV

[Katchii]

Oh not saying it wasn't fun, didn't expect them to put gilgamesh in them, can't seem to find many groups for that though
So it's basically a way to get geared by not raiding, gotcha thanks

That's not what I meant.

The relics are time intensive grinds. Has nothing directly to do with raiding or not raiding. Many aspects of the grind CAN be optimized if you choose to do that part through raids (light grind, you get more light in some raids than dungeons AND they take less time to complete).

It's simply a task you can spend time on for a tangible reward. All past expansion relics are just glamour fodder (nice ones in many cases) and the current one is really just something to do while playing.

[Acidbaron]

That's not what I meant.

The relics are time intensive grinds. Has nothing directly to do with raiding or not raiding. Many aspects of the grind CAN be optimized if you choose to do that part through raids (light grind, you get more light in some raids than dungeons AND they take less time to complete).

It's simply a task you can spend time on for a tangible reward. All past expansion relics are just glamour fodder (nice ones in many cases) and the current one is really just something to do while playing.

So more comparable to WoW's legendary items to a point, not a complete correct comparison but an item of power obtained/upgraded simply by playing a long amount of time.

[Katchii]

So more comparable to WoW's legendary items to a point, not a complete correct comparison but an item of power obtained/upgraded simply by playing a long amount of time.

That's a more accurate comparison, yes.

[Kallisto]

So in 5.3 the crystal tower quest line is going to be made mandatory to complete when you're going through ARR at 50. While I agree that people should do that due to how it connects with Shadowbringers. I hope it comes with them cutting a lot of level 50 MSQ that are really just bloat right now.

[Val the Moofia Boss]

So in 5.3 the crystal tower quest line is going to be made mandatory to complete when you're going through ARR at 50. While I agree that people should do that due to how it connects with Shadowbringers. I hope it comes with them cutting a lot of level 50 MSQ that are really just bloat right now.

How I'd recut ARR:

ARR 2.0

• 1-10 city state starting experience as usual (except with some of the fat trimmed in the middle, and there is no minimum ilevel requirement that forces you to do sidequesting for an hour to buy gear).

• 1-15 meeting the main characters, joining the Scions.

• 15-30 will be heavily cut. Sylphs will be cut entirely. Ifrit arc remains as is, as those quests carry crucial exposition on aether, primals, and tempering. Lahabrea investigation arc will just be Laurentius and Meffrid.

• 30-35 Company of heroes arc will just be the funny joke with Trachtoum, and the touching short questline with Shamani and Drex.

• 34 - 41 Garuda arc was the best part of ARR and will probably remain untouched, except with the stupid crystal hunting cut out. Otherwise, it was great character development, plot progression, and setup for Heavensward.

• 41-50 Mor Dhona adventuring will be cut. It never made sense to finish the Garuda arc and go "we have to rescue our friends and stop Ultima Weapon!", only to get sidetracked by a ton of quests. You will just arrive in Mor Dhona, go steal the Magitek Armor, rescue the group, and then head into the last two MSQ instances.

2.1-2.55

• The core story is pretty good, but the padding that was implemented to make it so that every patch MSQ had 16 quests will be eliminated. Ie, the part where the Scions are packing up and Tataru sends you out to pick tea leaves in Coerthas. Crap like that will be cut.

• The Scions will directly point you towards the Sons of Saint Coinach. This will make the loss of contact with the Isle of Val actually mean something to the player, as the player will have a better grasp of what Sharlayan is, and by knowing more scholars from there, it will be more alarming.

When I first played through ARR, I pointed out a few ways that would have improved the story (ie, actually making the Ul'dah refugee situation actually feel urgent, by having a cutscene showing a ton of refugees at the gate, or by making the refugee camp more than half a dozen tents).

Redubbing the ARR 2.0-2.55 MSQ with the current voice actors and current voice direction would be very welcome. 2.0-2.55 had really wonky voice direction. Would also be nice to hear Michael McElhatton as Gaius.

[hnlntm]

Posting here because the FFXIV website is a pain in the arse. All I want to know is if you purchase the game off steam will it show via the mog station.

[Val the Moofia Boss]

Posting here because the FFXIV website is a pain in the arse. All I want to know is if you purchase the game off steam will it show via the mog station.

Nope. Two different accounting systems.

If you buy through Steam, it creates a Steam account, and you can only use the Steam account through Steam.

If you buy through Mogstation, you have to use the launcher from there, and your account only works from there.

[Granyala]

Posting here because the FFXIV website is a pain in the arse. All I want to know is if you purchase the game off steam will it show via the mog station.

You have to register it on mog station to set up a subscription but apart from that: yes. You are bound to steam for any further updates and you will have to use the steam client to launch the game or use the command line trick, if you want to bypass the steam launcher.

[Dugna]

they could also just ya know, keep all the flavor quests as side quests and not remove them from the game. So collecting tea leaves and such still there, majority of that stuff builds up over time and makes the overall story better for people who like it. Removing it to remove it because time saving or making lvling faster just makes this game more of the same of every other mmo. The constant shaving of content not being needed to lvl in WoW is what made everything outside the most recent content useless.

[Katchii]

they could also just ya know, keep all the flavor quests as side quests and not remove them from the game. So collecting tea leaves and such still there, majority of that stuff builds up over time and makes the overall story better for people who like it. Removing it to remove it because time saving or making lvling faster just makes this game more of the same of every other mmo. The constant shaving of content not being needed to lvl in WoW is what made everything outside the most recent content useless.

Pretty sure they just mean cut from the MSQ requirement, it would be totally fine if they left them in as side quests, but I'm not sure how some of them would make sense as a side quest you can do any time if you're way past that point of the story where it's appropriate.

Like, working with Tataru in Mor Dhona when you're MSQ is in Shadowbringers. Tataru isn't even in Mor Dhona. Or some of the quests involving the Scions...when in Shadowbringers, the Scions are unavailable for that sort of thing?

I don't want FFXIV to go to the same extreme WoW did, but there is some middle ground here where simply removing superfluous, obviously filler, content is warranted in an effort to get people to the later expansion at a reasonable pace.

[listo95]

So I only need 9 more Thavnairian Scalepowder's and then I'll have enough to get every starting relic weapon when I hit 80 with a job.

[0bsessions]

Not gonna lie, I kind of like the MSQ content *Ducks*

I started playing maybe 2 1/2 months ago and I literally JUST finished the 2.55 content (Though, FWIW, I also got sidetracked with a bunch of BS and leveled both SCH and PAL to 50+ and ran pretty much every dungeon at least once; the only ARR content I haven't finished up is Manderville and Binding Coil cause finding a group in queue's been a nightmare) and, coming from WoW, it feels like the experience of having the pre-patch content (Akin to the zombie invasion and the like).

There's definitely some bloat in there, but I'm also not far enough into the story to say what really doesn't matter. I'll gladly accept the bloat for the massive payoff that was Before the Fall.

[Hyral]

Or some of the quests involving the Scions...when in Shadowbringers, the Scions are unavailable for that sort of thing?

That's already happening. The old primal quests with Urianger and the Alexander quest chain with Y'shtola are optional content you can do after ShB. I think most players are smart enough to know they are optional so stuff will be out of order. I don't feel this is a problem, I rather keep the sidestories than remove them outright.

There's definitely some bloat in there, but I'm also not far enough into the story to say what really doesn't matter. I'll gladly accept the bloat for the massive payoff that was Before the Fall.

That's how I felt when it was all said and done! I loved the ARR ending and I think it is massively underrated for how important of an event it is to the story as a whole.

[Katchii]

That's already happening. The old primal quests with Urianger and the Alexander quest chain with Y'shtola are optional content you can do after ShB. I think most players are smart enough to know they are optional so stuff will be out of order. I don't feel this is a problem, I rather keep the sidestories than remove them outright.

Fair point, but those quests are directly tied to that old content, yes it's optional content at this point, but you HAVE to do those quests in order to unlock those pieces of content and it's very clear in which time period those quests take place in.

I don't necessarily disagree, but I honestly just don't really see a point in some of those quests turning into side quests. Some of them ARE nice, but some of them truly are useless fluff.

That's how I felt when it was all said and done! I loved the ARR ending and I think it is massively underrated for how important of an event it is to the story as a whole.

If the choices were only bloat + massive payoff or no bloat + no payoff, I'd agree, but there is a middle ground. The ending wouldn't be at all diminished if a lot of the truly fluff quests were removed. The one that comes most to my mind is the chocobo carriage smell one in Vesper Bay where you're tasked with smelling the chocobo and finding some perfume to address the odor (quest is called "If Wishes were Horsebirds"). But there are several where you're simply tasked with returning to the Waking Sands, for no reason....considering the existence of linkpearls, and a whole bunch of other quests (or portions of other quests) where you're turned into nothing but some beggars errand boy/girl to do things (like collect boxes that are already clearly shown being loaded into the carts, that don't have any direct impact on the overall story or narrative, and really don't do anything to add depth or flavor to the story.

[Hyral]

If the choices were only bloat + massive payoff or no bloat + no payoff, I'd agree, but there is a middle ground. The ending wouldn't be at all diminished if a lot of the truly fluff quests were removed. The one that comes most to my mind is the chocobo carriage smell one in Vesper Bay where you're tasked with smelling the chocobo and finding some perfume to address the odor (quest is called "If Wishes were Horsebirds"). But there are several where you're simply tasked with returning to the Waking Sands, for no reason....considering the existence of linkpearls, and a whole bunch of other quests (or portions of other quests) where you're turned into nothing but some beggars errand boy/girl to do things (like collect boxes that are already clearly shown being loaded into the carts, that don't have any direct impact on the overall story or narrative, and really don't do anything to add depth or flavor to the story.

I'm still not sold. The chocobo quest, the tataru quests, the doman kids quests, etc, they all felt pointless at the time but when meeting those characters again later for other pointless quests or for parts of the MSQ they felt more, I don't know how to say it.. real. Not every single interaction in your life will be filled with life changing meaning, sometimes you can take a break from saving the world to put perfume on a chocobo for an old man you will one day tell his homeland was liberated and his children can live in peace again. Over time those quests endeared the characters to me by giving me some background to them and some memories to fall back on when they came up again later, like any other person you meet in your life. And that's what made me fall in love with the game and its world, that you don't just go around all over the place saving the world and slaying gods while being called a champion constantly... I mean you do but you also get to slow down and mingle every so often and do what you do best: be an adventurer just helping people out. But yeah they could be consolidated better or maybe even put them as optional side quests but I would be sad if they were just removed.

But the PRAY RETURN TO THE WAKING SANDS meme is a meme for a reason, a really good reason, and those quests need to go and never come back.

[0bsessions]

I'm still not sold. The chocobo quest, the tataru quests, the doman kids quests, etc, they all felt pointless at the time but when meeting those characters again later for other pointless quests or for parts of the MSQ they felt more, I don't know how to say it.. real.(

Yeah, this is big for me. All of the Crystal Brave stuff hit me really hard because of prior interactions with all of these characters.

[Katchii]

I'm still not sold. The chocobo quest, the tataru quests, the doman kids quests, etc, they all felt pointless at the time but when meeting those characters again later for other pointless quests or for parts of the MSQ they felt more, I don't know how to say it.. real. Not every single interaction in your life will be filled with life changing meaning, sometimes you can take a break from saving the world to put perfume on a chocobo for an old man you will one day tell his homeland was liberated and his children can live in peace again. Over time those quests endeared the characters to me by giving me some background to them and some memories to fall back on when they came up again later, like any other person you meet in your life. And that's what made me fall in love with the game and its world, that you don't just go around all over the place saving the world and slaying gods while being called a champion constantly... I mean you do but you also get to slow down and mingle every so often and do what you do best: be an adventurer just helping people out. But yeah they could be consolidated better or maybe even put them as optional side quests but I would be sad if they were just removed.

But the PRAY RETURN TO THE WAKING SANDS meme is a meme for a reason, a really good reason, and those quests need to go and never come back.

I never advocated for all of those quests to be removed, just some of them, because I agree with you in that those seemingly meaningless interactions add up to a world that feels like it's living and breathing along side you.

There are a LOT of those quests, removing a couple here and there wouldn't have a big impact on the overall narrative or the feeling of a living, breathing world. You'd still get to have those mundane interactions that let you see those characters, just not quite so many of them.

Yeah, this is big for me. All of the Crystal Brave stuff hit me really hard because of prior interactions with all of these characters.

Agree with you here. As I said, I'm not advocating for a complete gutting of this experience, just streamlining it a bit to reduce the number of quests each of "every man" type NPC gives you

As an example. The whole Tataru figuring out her role thing, that's an endearing part and should stay, but it could have been done in 1-2 quests instead of the 3-4 it currently is.

[Poppincaps]

I think the worst part of the MSQ is between when you kill Ifrit and when you kill Titan. The "filler" quests in the game I think add a lot of character to the world and the story, but the entirety of 20-35 feels like filler. The Sylphs are kinda important but I feel they could be pruned a bit, then you have Little Ala Mhigo stuff which could be pruned a bit but also there's a character there that shows up later and it's more impactful if you know who he is. The Company of Heroes bit should be greatly pruned. Honestly I'd only leave in the bit with Brayflox and the Shamani Lohmani (but maybe cut that down a bit too).

After Titan things pick up and I don't think too much pruning is necessary from Titan until the Ultima Weapon. You could honestly cut out most of 2.1 especially the quest where you have to go to the Sunken Temple of Qarn which is just weird. I wouldn't really cut anything from 2.2. Maybe like 1 or 2 quests. Has some nice smaller moments like the kids asking you questions and also introduces the Domans and their plight, plus Leviathan. 2.2 is pretty interesting overall.

Can't remember 2.3-2.5 that much it all kinda blends together but I've been playing through the MSQ with my girlfriend and we just finished 2.2 so it's fresh on my mind.

[Wrecktangle]

Honestly they don't even need to clean up the quests that much.

They really just need to add 3 things:

1) Remote quest turn in and conversations/rewards via Linkpearl and Mog delivery. That way mechanically you can just keep questing at a good pace, and you get your reward delivered to you by Mog out in the field. It's both functional and thematic and keeps the player moving without a stupid amount of back and forth.

2) Item turn in. For the fuck sake love of god make it automatic. There's literally no reason to ever not turn a quest item in. If I talk to the NPC don't make me select it to give it to them.

3) Please let us auto dismount by simply pressing any hotkey (i.e. if I am running by my quest mob don't make me manually hit Z to dismount, if I start casting Fire, dismount me and begin casting simultaneously.

Just these three things would speed up the game considerably. Oh and add a fucking aethrye to the waking sands. Not even outside, make it one that just raw ports right inside. Save us one of the loading screens, since the solar apparently needs to be separate...

[Katchii]

Honestly they don't even need to clean up the quests that much.

They really just need to add 3 things:

1) Remote quest turn in and conversations/rewards via Linkpearl and Mog delivery. That way mechanically you can just keep questing at a good pace, and you get your reward delivered to you by Mog out in the field. It's both functional and thematic and keeps the player moving without a stupid amount of back and forth.

2) Item turn in. For the fuck sake love of god make it automatic. There's literally no reason to ever not turn a quest item in. If I talk to the NPC don't make me select it to give it to them.

3) Please let us auto dismount by simply pressing any hotkey (i.e. if I am running by my quest mob don't make me manually hit Z to dismount, if I start casting Fire, dismount me and begin casting simultaneously.

Just these three things would speed up the game considerably. Oh and add a fucking aethrye to the waking sands. Not even outside, make it one that just raw ports right inside. Save us one of the loading screens, since the solar apparently needs to be separate...

100% agreed on all fronts, but especially the dismount part because it affects more than just that stretch of game between 2.0 and 3.0. It's ridiculous that we can't be dismounted automatically when talking to an NPC (why do we even need to be dismounted at all for that?) or when using an ability.