New Sidequests (3/3/11 Update)

[Draylo]

I just cannot believe the sense of entitlement among the players when patches come out. For every patch, all I read is negative comments about how FAIL everything is. Why can't we just enjoy the small improvements for what they are, and praise the producer for actually moving things in the proper direction?

For me, this is moving steadily in the direction that we all want to go. I'll continue to stand behind the progress.

I think its because a lot of people, myself included, spent 70+ dollars for a piece of fucking shit. Complaints, about stupidly small patches that added things that should have been in from the beginning, are to be expected.

[Alkar]

I think its because a lot of people, myself included, spent 70+ dollars for a piece of fucking shit. Complaints, about stupidly small patches that added things that should have been in from the beginning, are to be expected.

This argument is 6 months old. It's time to find a new excuse. Yes, you paid for the game but you haven't paid to play ever since... and your character ranks won't be reset either. Nor your inventory,money, quests, etc. unlike every other beta out there.
Instead of whining all the time when a patch hits how about sending suggestions to the developers so they can fix this mess?
At this rate you guys will never be pleased because everything was supposed to be in the game at release. It's the same attitude most kids have regarding DLC:
"Omg the developers are releasing this episode 1 year after the game's release and said it was cut at first. It must've been because (insert random made up reason here) so I'm not going to pay! Should've been there all along!".
Yoshi P is doing a great job in improving this game unlike Tanaka. This patch was really good and these quests, even if generic, add lore to the world of Eorzea and something to do.
Not sure why people are expecting groundbreaking changes when he clearly said those were not happening yet. Next patch will probably have a much bigger effect if that's the Spring patch he's been hying for a while.
But I'm 100% sure you guys will find complaints there as well.

[Dense]

I think its because a lot of people, myself included, spent 70+ dollars for a piece of fucking shit. Complaints, about stupidly small patches that added things that should have been in from the beginning, are to be expected.

No, that's just your excuse. You are complaining because your dreams of a perfect game from launch were ruined, and you're upset and butthurt about it. Instead of having patience for a company who is not only listening to your requests and making (imo) fast-paced changes to accommodate you, you (as a whole) would rather take the easiest of routes and complain. Why not just play and have fun? Or, if it really is true that you can't stand the product and you're upset at playing 70 dollars, stop playing, come back when monthly fees are added, and then assess your 70 dollars for the game then?

[Sephiroth]

No I was expecting atleast lvl range and class appropriate gear like in every other MMO that makes sense. Also, since there is no fame or any faction favor by completing the quests it makes them furthermore useless. AND would be nice to atleast get appropriate exp for the mobs you kill while farming the quest items not get completely fucked.

All the gear in these quests is rank appropriate. The quests don't seem any worse than those in FFXI and I doubt anyone would complain about them if they were in the game from the start. It is stupid that you don't get SP and loot for quest mobs, but at the end of the day if you're doing a lore quest for anything other than learning about the game world then you're doing it wrong.

If you want SP, go kill efts or raptors for 25-30k per hour or do some leves, if you want gear go buy some it's not like gil is hard to come by.

I just cannot believe the sense of entitlement among the players when patches come out. For every patch, all I read is negative comments about how FAIL everything is. Why can't we just enjoy the small improvements for what they are, and praise the producer for actually moving things in the proper direction?

For me, this is moving steadily in the direction that we all want to go. I'll continue to stand behind the progress.

I'm convinced some people on FFXIV fan forums have no intention of ever playing the game and just troll in every way they can.

18 is a lot of quests to add at once if that's what the figure is, especially when we'll probably see 18 more every month until SE feel there's enough.

[Kayos]

Not sure how anyone can defend these quests, they are pretty abysmal. I really hope they don't introduce 18 more each month if they will be similar. I would much rather have 4 really good quests with story, cutscenes, and substance.

[Sephiroth]

But then all the bitching would be about how there's only four quests getting added. A variety of short and long/complicated quests wouldn't do any harm however. Definitely agree quality over quantity is better, but there's nothing "wrong" with the basic ones they've given to start with. They will listen if everyone talks about this shit on their new forums.

[Hyan]

It is stupid that you don't get SP and loot for quest mobs, but at the end of the day if you're doing a lore quest for anything other than learning about the game world then you're doing it wrong.

I'm convinced some people on FFXIV fan forums have no intention of ever playing the game and just troll in every way they can.

The problem here is that for a lore quest, the lore is lacking. Either cutscene or a sufficient amount of text will do, but if you want to attempt to make this a side-activity instead of another means to progress, the quality has to reflect that. Right now the quests are good for neither purpose.

I think we'll see some improvements in the coming months though (even if it means less quests over-all, if their quality is sufficient then that's the best direction to take. They clearly can't afford to develop both content and mechanics at once and we simply need to deal with it and take the best possible alternative until they can focus on it exclusively). Then again, they could just forget the content, let the players bitch (they'll do it anyway) and polish the game first, and after that add the content.

[Kayos]

But then all the bitching would be about how there's only four quests getting added. A variety of short and long/complicated quests wouldn't do any harm however. Definitely agree quality over quantity is better, but there's nothing "wrong" with the basic ones they've given to start with. They will listen if everyone talks about this shit on their new forums.

I don't disagree with you at all. Bitchy people are bitchy. I would have liked to see them implement some progressive quests that you need to complete to open up new ones with more substance. Maybe even 1-2 at the end that had actual cutscenes/music/substance when you finish all the others.

[Kayos]

They clearly can't afford to develop both content and mechanics at once.

So my question would be: The people who worked on content for the last 5 years, what are they doing now? I am an accountant. If our company is in turmoil and the boss says to me I need to start helping clients with tech support, I would be clueless. The people who write content can stop what they are doing and fix mechanics now? Aren't these functions mutually exclusive in the development process?

[Reapz]

Only gripe I have about the quests are that the ones involving killing mobs don't yield any EXP/SP at all, they should atleast give some appropriate to their level, but its not a major thing really. Other than that I think the quests are nice additions, it's something to do and adds personality to some NPCs. If you are comparing to some of FFXI's quests, the reward/time ratio is pretty good. People just need to be a bit more patient, yes XIV was a failure at launch, and still has some way to go, but they are going in the right direction with things and we aren't paying subscription fees yet. These quests may not be what everyone was expecting/hoping for, but they are something, i'm sure quests like these will be appreciated more by new players when the game is back on track rather than all the current angry players.

[Hyan]

So my question would be: The people who worked on content for the last 5 years, what are they doing now? I am an accountant. If our company is in turmoil and the boss says to me I need to start helping clients with tech support, I would be clueless. The people who write content can stop what they are doing and fix mechanics now? Aren't these functions mutually exclusive in the development process?

Well, as you can see from the producers letters they have quite few things to develop right now. I don't know how they operate but I would guess that they have put resources towards rehauling the game mechanics instead of content because the work load is massive and the content needs proper game mechanics to support it. I also don't know what exactly the people who work on content can or can't do, but I'd imagine they're capable of working on more things than just 'the content'. I could see there being another team to work on the main scenario/class quests as well.

It's not just about fixing mechanics, for example I could see how they could use the people that create content to increase the size of the monsters, help in creating whatever needs to be created for the new classes to be implemented and removing invisible walls from the existing and areas yet to be seen and stuff like that.

It may not even be the lack of "writers" and designers that is holding them down but the lack of programmers. Not that I know the specifics but this is how I would imagine it to be.

[solracht]

The problem here is that for a lore quest, the lore is lacking. Either cutscene or a sufficient amount of text will do, but if you want to attempt to make this a side-activity instead of another means to progress, the quality has to reflect that. Right now the quests are good for neither purpose.

Ding ding ding. Holy crap, Hyan gets it.

They also need more varied rewards. At least make the rewards be one out of 3 things: gear, book that awards skillups/exp, or money. Getting three different belts from three out of six quests in Gridania was awesome.

Also I hated how they added quests mobs especially for the quest (this part was ok) but then just clumped them up together in a small area/room.

If you want SP, go kill efts or raptors for 25-30k per hour or do some leves, if you want gear go buy some it's not like gil is hard to come by.

I'd like to point out that one of the biggest reasons I do quests (in this game or any game) is to learn about the world or story. However, if you think this is enough for most MMO players in 2011 (or even a few years ago), you're wrong.

The backslash they're going to get on the official forums from sidequests not rewarding exp/sp is going to be big enough to make sure these are added, so there's no point in crusading like this every time someone mentions it.

[SilverBreeze]

Complaints about the quests, as long as they are about the quests, are fine.

Take the crying about everything else to the bitchin' thread.

[Cureslime]

Quest: The Ultimate Prank
Client: Nicoliaux (5, 5) [Near Carpenters Guild]
Requires: DoW/DoM, Rank 35
Reward: Canvas Trousers

This is the follow-up to The Penultimate Prank as people have said. I have to say that I really enjoyed those two quests a lot more simply because they were part of a chain. I had enough time to care about the quest other than "marmots...kill...free item...got it!"

If anybody notices any quests that randomly pop up after a certain amount of time has gone by please post them. The list in OP is complete with The Ultimate Prank and nothing new popped for me after completing all of them. There ARE quest mobs that are not being used at the moment so there is at least the potential for more being triggered somehow.

[Cichy]

All the gear in these quests is rank appropriate. The quests don't seem any worse than those in FFXI and I doubt anyone would complain about them if they were in the game from the start. It is stupid that you don't get SP and loot for quest mobs, but at the end of the day if you're doing a lore quest for anything other than learning about the game world then you're doing it wrong.

If you want SP, go kill efts or raptors for 25-30k per hour or do some leves, if you want gear go buy some it's not like gil is hard to come by.

I completely disagree. Every quality MMO offers small exp incentive and useful rewards. This adds to the whole quest significance, you go and get a little bit of exp while you farm the items for your quest making you a bit stronger as a consequence. Not go and fuckin waste 30 min or w/e. I've done like 5 quests yesterday and they are almost exactly like Aion or Rift quests that you would get at an outpost outside of town to help you level. Only thing is that they are inside of town at some random stupid npc, dont let you get exp for mobs you kill, and offer gear almost no one wears. The whole deal is completely unintuitive.

[Hyan]

Ding ding ding. Holy crap, Hyan gets it.

Hey, fuck you too...

I completely disagree. Every quality MMO offers small exp incentive and useful rewards.

Most quality MMO's don't give a shit and just toss a good reward as a carrot for people to do these things. These sidequests are worse in the sense that they are crap and don't offer a substantial carrot but I don't think increasing the reward is what should be done at all. The quests should be made better than what most of these 'quality MMOs' offer instead. We should do them because they are fun to do and the background is interesting, not because there's a carrot involved. IMO anyway.

In the end I would take 30 well done quests in each town instead of 300 poorly done ones with an exp reward as the only reason to do them.

[solracht]

I meant it in a "this guy" way, not in a "even Hyan" way.

Also the answer is probably no, but has anyone checked the hamlets to see if they have any quests there?

[Sephiroth]

For a new player the rewards are good incentives, when you have tens of millions of gil there's no equipment they could realistically add that we'd care about.

Quest mobs need SP, maybe a bit bonus over standard mobs their rank but I don't see much need for SP rewards just for doing the quest. But it wouldn't hurt I suppose. Still the only incentive for me to ever do them is the lore and I'm still waiting to hear whether it's good enough before I go do them.

[Siatdiat]

new player

Wut?

Also, everyone doesn't care about lore. I'm reading the newest WoT novel, thats lore, this is a video game. A game that makes you mindlessly grind on mobs for hours, then go do quests totally seperately, and is ultimately silly.

The quests suck apparently and I was considering logging on if there was even a hint that they would be interesting. Oh well.

[Croy]

The quests need some tweaking to at least allow us to get SP/EXP off them but outside of that they are fine. They are clearly there for players that are just starting out and need gear but may not have enough gil to actually get any gear to upgrade. In the future with how much gil is in the game expect inflation to occur, especially when a large influx of new people come in for the PS3 release, the newbs then are going to likely have a hard time getting lower rank gear unless they learn fast how to become part of the economy. These small quests that give simple rewards like armor (and maybe in the future tools) are a boon to the people who are truly new to the game. For those that aren't like us though... they really don't mean much outside of 'lore' (and what's here so far is pretty pathetic on that front) but they are small additions that will help the game in the long term for growth. Also this is just the first batch, i'm sure we are going to see more varied rewards as more quests are added and we really should look at these quests as the sum of the parts at the end of the road. This is the first step; I'm not planning to ultimately judge the quests till probably May when hopefully we will have closer to 100+ of them spread throughout multiple ranks and multiple cities.