What problems do you have with Final Fantasy 14?

[Leyre]

I cant install the game

[Katchii]

I cant install the game

Is this a serious complaint?

Why can't you install the game? Do you WANT to install the game? Because if you do, we can help, or at least point you to a resource online that can.

[Martymark]

Gameplay is mediocre and slow. Good thing the story is absolutely fantastic.

[Clbull]

Main Scenario Quests, without question.

Imagine if you had to complete all the major story quest lines throughout Classic, Burning Crusade, Wrath of the Lich King, Cataclysm, Mists of Pandaria, Warlords of Draenor, Legion and Battle for Azeroth in chronological order before you could even step foot into The Maw and rescue all the kidnapped leaders. WoW players would probably unsubscribe instantly if Blizzard thrust such requirements upon the players.

That is unfortunately what Final Fantasy XIV's MSQs were like when I last played. You could purchase a quest skip but unfortunately these were priced even higher than max level character boosts are in WoW. They also aren't bundled with the latest expansion pack.

Now imagine that all of these MSQs are part of a dungeon attunement requirement where they're periodically unlocked based on your progress through tonnes of tedious fetch, escort and "kill X of these monsters" quests.

Do you see where I'm going with this?

Final Fantasy XIV suffers from content obsolescence. Forcing players to run through quest lines and even group duty content which other players hardly touch anymore is a serious deterrent that stops players from experiencing the endgame. The main reason I stopped at level 46 was because finding a group for Titan (one of the mandatory instanced trials you have to complete as part of the ARR MSQ) took way too long.

[Delever]

Main Scenario Quests, without question.

Imagine if you had to complete all the major story quest lines throughout Classic, Burning Crusade, Wrath of the Lich King, Cataclysm, Mists of Pandaria, Warlords of Draenor, Legion and Battle for Azeroth in chronological order before you could even step foot into The Maw and rescue all the kidnapped leaders. WoW players would probably unsubscribe instantly if Blizzard thrust such requirements upon the players.

That is unfortunately what Final Fantasy XIV's MSQs were like when I last played. You could purchase a quest skip but unfortunately these were priced even higher than max level character boosts are in WoW. They also aren't bundled with the latest expansion pack.

Now imagine that all of these MSQs are part of a dungeon attunement requirement where they're periodically unlocked based on your progress through tonnes of tedious fetch, escort and "kill X of these monsters" quests.

Do you see where I'm going with this?

Final Fantasy XIV suffers from content obsolescence. Forcing players to run through quest lines and even group duty content which other players hardly touch anymore is a serious deterrent that stops players from experiencing the endgame. The main reason I stopped at level 46 was because finding a group for Titan (one of the mandatory instanced trials you have to complete as part of the ARR MSQ) took way too long.

Which is why endgame roulettes are designed in a way that makes it worth for max level players to run old content so that newer players never run out of people to queue with. Perhaps you were queuing as a dps? Then the queue times are like WoW (10-15 mins).

[Katchii]

Main Scenario Quests, without question.

Imagine if you had to complete all the major story quest lines throughout Classic, Burning Crusade, Wrath of the Lich King, Cataclysm, Mists of Pandaria, Warlords of Draenor, Legion and Battle for Azeroth in chronological order before you could even step foot into The Maw and rescue all the kidnapped leaders. WoW players would probably unsubscribe instantly if Blizzard thrust such requirements upon the players.

Valid complaint, I really do hope they do something about this in the future.

That is unfortunately what Final Fantasy XIV's MSQs were like when I last played. You could purchase a quest skip but unfortunately these were priced even higher than max level character boosts are in WoW. They also aren't bundled with the latest expansion pack.

Which prices are you comparing?

Because the quest skips are $11 for ARR skip, $18 for ARR and Heavensward skip and $25 for ARR, Heavensward and Stormblood skip (meaning you can skip direcly to Shadowbringers for $25.

A level boost in WoW is $60.

So what you're saying here is absolutely incorrect.

Now imagine that all of these MSQs are part of a dungeon attunement requirement where they're periodically unlocked based on your progress through tonnes of tedious fetch, escort and "kill X of these monsters" quests.

Do you see where I'm going with this?

Again, a valid complaint.

Final Fantasy XIV suffers from content obsolescence. Forcing players to run through quest lines and even group duty content which other players hardly touch anymore is a serious deterrent that stops players from experiencing the endgame. The main reason I stopped at level 46 was because finding a group for Titan (one of the mandatory instanced trials you have to complete as part of the ARR MSQ) took way too long.

This is also incorrect.

Any content directly tied to the story is not obsolete, ever, due to the leveling roulette, which puts players of all levels into a queue together. This includes the trials required for MSQ such as Ifrit, Titan, Garuda, etc...

How long is "way too long" and at what time of day were you playing? As with any automated duty finder, if you're playing during off-peak hours and playing a DPS your queue times will be longer.

During peak times, DPS queues on my realm are anywhere from 15-20 minutes, with Heals and Tanks being significantly shorter (less than 5 minutes or even instant in some cases). How long did you wait in queue and at what time of day were you playing?

Your complaints are valid, and I do sincerely hope they fix/ address the mandatory MSQ progression, but your complaint about the cost of the boosts is simply incorrect and about the obsolescence of leveling content is severely overstated.

[TidalConflux]

I think the battle systems from Stormblood to Shadowbringers has taken a noticeable dip (especially for healing and tanking) with the homogenization and simplification of jobs impacting too much -- combine that into some lessened content in terms of battle content; I feel like the game could heavily improve.

It first needs to start by having more than four people on the battle systems team.

[Shakzor]

Is this a serious complaint?

Why can't you install the game? Do you WANT to install the game? Because if you do, we can help, or at least point you to a resource online that can.

Maybe that you either need a trial account or pay for your sub in order to even be able to download

[Leyre]

Is this a serious complaint?

Why can't you install the game? Do you WANT to install the game? Because if you do, we can help, or at least point you to a resource online that can.

Yes lol, i tried the game when it went free to play, but the launcher kept crashing everytime i tried to install, tried to search what was the cause but didnt find anything

[DeltrusDisc]

I love the game but it runs kinda finnicky. The camera doesn't let you look straight up at the sky, so that's weird. Mounts are much less controlled in comparison to WoW. Inventory is a joke. There's too many things that assume you know what they mean instead of offering to explain it to you. Like, UI elements that are symbols only FF diehards may understand.

I still want to return to the game, but am way too busy lately to even be able to make it worth it. Idk, might just have to do what I can. Never finished Stormblood.

[Katchii]

Yes lol, i tried the game when it went free to play, but the launcher kept crashing everytime i tried to install, tried to search what was the cause but didnt find anything

Can you be more specific about the crash?

Did you do it through Steam or from the main SE site?

Were you able to install the launcher? If so, were the crashes while the launcher was trying to download and install the game?

Something else?

[Leyre]

Can you be more specific about the crash?

Did you do it through Steam or from the main SE site?

Were you able to install the launcher? If so, were the crashes while the launcher was trying to download and install the game?

Something else?

Used the client from the main site, no, not even the launcher, as soon as i clicked the installer it only gave me the option to choose my language, then crashed, i think it was an issue with windows 10

[Deneios]

Used the client from the main site, no, not even the launcher, as soon as i clicked the installer it only gave me the option to choose my language, then crashed, i think it was an issue with windows 10

Try messing with the boot.cfg

Had same problem year ago. Try doing the last option from the article
https://gameinpost.com/ffxiv-launcher-error/

[Maljinwo]

Final Fantasy XIV suffers from content obsolescence. Forcing players to run through quest lines and even group duty content which other players hardly touch anymore is a serious deterrent that stops players from experiencing the endgame. The main reason I stopped at level 46 was because finding a group for Titan (one of the mandatory instanced trials you have to complete as part of the ARR MSQ) took way too long.

The Daily Roulette almost always leads me to Titan and Garuda even as max level

[Byrogan]

I got told the ARR story is without a doubt the worst part of the game and it gets much, much better after that but how true is that and are any of the story's, mainly class, worth really paying attention to or am I going to be fine sort of speeding towards the expansions.

[Katchii]

I got told the ARR story is without a doubt the worst part of the game and it gets much, much better after that but how true is that and are any of the story's, mainly class, worth really paying attention to or am I going to be fine sort of speeding towards the expansions.

It's really true. With that said though, I still enjoyed it. There are some parts that really drag on, but overall it's fine. YMMV though, as everyone's experience and enjoyment differ. It's free to play up through Heavensward though.

Class stories are all pretty good. They're a minor thing compared to the MSQ though, but do add flavor to the world.

[ippollite]

I got told the ARR story is without a doubt the worst part of the game and it gets much, much better after that but how true is that and are any of the story's, mainly class, worth really paying attention to or am I going to be fine sort of speeding towards the expansions.

My experience (with an explorer playstyle) running through to heavensward (so far).

MSQ is fine. Its not the actual storytelling thats annoying, its the gameplay systems behind it.
I'd put the breakdown around: 50% fetch/delivery. 30% dungeons and trials. 20% action/kill quests.
The original intention (im assuming) is to mix it up a bit with the other content (like trying out new jobs, grand company quests, job quests, sidequests, beast tribes, crafting, challenge log, job hunts, exploring, leves, etc etc). If you only do the MSQ its going to feel a bit... empty.
Thus, if you rush only through the msq, you'll probably have an unsatisfying experience.
Unfortunately thats what most people precisely want to do.

To skip or not to skip?

Pros: You're in current content with the largest playerbase. You can use duty finder or roulettes to go back and do anything you like in game. You can, if you want to, newgame+ and play through all the content you like at your own pace (whilst still being able to switch back to actually relevant endgame content. Dancer and red mage are pretty easy to pick up from the start. Samurai is also fairly simple (though i havent really done more than a few leves on it). Havent touched gunbreaker, but again, given the trend... Those classes seem tailor designed to not overwhelm new players and let them start with a decent kit. So no need to spend 30 or so levels spamming 2-3 buttons.
Whilst typing my big con, i suddenly remembered the counter to it: The trust system. You can just learn your class and complete the msq in dungeons with your npc mates.

Cons: This game has an incredible and well crafted difficulty curve. I never feel like the dungeons and trials are getting easier. I always feel stretched at every new msq step. It feels fair. They are legit teaching me how to play as i go. And because its mandatory, i cant just say 'ah, i'll come back when im ready' like i always do on my resto shammy (and never come back because im never ready). If you skip that, things could get hairy. (eta: Trust system). Still, its really satisfying to know that everyone who didnt skip had to do the same stuff i did. And everyone leveling in ARR right now has to go through the same challenges i went through. It makes for a higher average skill ceiling.
Second: though you CAN just go back and do all the content with NG+, you probably wont. And you're gonna miss so many threads of the story and maybe feel a bit confused. I dont know if thats completely true, but i was watching Kevin Jordan play through SBs and saw a character i know the name of looking completely different... talking about Thancred... and how he... and now im really confused for reasons that anyone who has played through the MSQ are not. They know stuff about this character i am currently not privy to. But now i know something is 'somethinging'. Sorry, for vagueness. Point is, youre obviously gonna miss a LOT of story, and if you want to go catch up on it, you're gonna have to try and force yourself to stick with the ride. Which can be a bit tricky since, as i say, theres a lot of boring running around in arr. Still, you'll have flying and can also unsync your dungeon level which should make it less painful and much more efficient.

So, in summary, completely up to you. The one playstyle i probably wouldnt recommend is just exclusively focusing on the MSQ to the detriment of everything else. Though quicker (and its almost always recommended this is the correct way to play for new players) you'll really feel the fetch quests and running around/teleporting everywhere. By the time you hit the 2.1 quests, you'll be burned out! And keep in mind, the 2.1-2.55 quest chain is JUST AS LONG as the ARR MSQ. And you aint going to heavensward until you finish it. So perhaps mix it up with some other stuff (66% MSQ, 33% other stuff), and you'll have a more fun time.

Me personally, im more 30% msq/70% everything else and ive never once felt bored.

[TheRevenantHero]

I got told the ARR story is without a doubt the worst part of the game and it gets much, much better after that but how true is that and are any of the story's, mainly class, worth really paying attention to or am I going to be fine sort of speeding towards the expansions.

ARR's plot is boring but still more compelling than the majority of WoW's storytelling. But it takes off like a fucking rocketship in Heavensward and on.

[Val the Moofia Boss]

I got told the ARR story is without a doubt the worst part of the game and it gets much, much better after that but how true is that and are any of the story's, mainly class, worth really paying attention to or am I going to be fine sort of speeding towards the expansions.

I personally think that the ARR 2.0 story is better than HW's 3.0 story (though HW beats it in the voice acting department). I also quite liked the ARR post patch story content, even if it had a lot of padding.

- - - Updated - - -

I would advise against skipping ARR, as it establishes the characters, the setting, and the metaphysics (the latter of which is plot important throughout the FFXIV story).

[Merie]

I wish I liked ARR as much as you. I found the Ascians to be laughable villains. ShB worked miracles to retcon them into something with compelling depth, right before they wiped them all out. But they were saturday morning cartoon villains with gaudy masks and vague and poorly articulated motives in ARR. Elidibus was one of the longest standing villains of the series, but while he's always present, it never felt like he was doing much to make his character compelling. At least if they did a slow drip that left me craving to know more, that would be something. But it was always that he's just "there". I wish they had ShB more mapped out while they were making ARR so they could have laid the foundation of crumbs sooner, articulated with their current writer. But I get that ARR was basically just thrown together in hardly any time at all without any regard to where the game would be three expansions later. They were probably wondering if the game would even live to see an expansion pack while they were cobbling the story together.