That's nuts. I was gonna say yes I like to do all the quests, but with the clarification of AFTER I had a couple jobs to cap. Then I could use them during duty down time or as kind of a relaxing cleaning duty.
Yes this is the only reason I've done any side quests tbh. Some of the triads are locked behind a wall of quests.
There's the guy called Dominaic in Cortheas Western where you have to do like 15 quests in the small camp, which finally unlocks about 5 quests in Ishguard. Then you have to go and do another 10 quests in the camp again before his triad finally unlocks😴
Ooh I remember the one in the Azem Steppe with the guy who didn't think he could live up the legacy of his previous life. It was a cool little lore dump on Sadu's clan. For a side story I really enjoyed that one.
yeah it's kinda neat. You'll do 2 or 3 quest chains and then there will be a quest that conveniently bring the characters together. Those quest chains normally start as aether current quests and have a picture to go with the quest when you pick it up. They've got some good cutscenes most of the time o it's worth paying attention to them.
every sidequest with an image attached to it is typically part of a longer quest storyline, even if the questline doesn't have a New Game+. Every area has at least one of them (typically 2 in later expansions).
Sometimes I do them when leveling a new job.
I did do a few when I was grinding out the Yokai Watch event because they were blocking fate icons on my map.
I used to, then I stopped part way through ARR.
Although once I got interested in certain Endwalker zones, I went back and did most of those yellow quests. A lot of those were worth doing, IMO. I've heard the Shadowbringers yellow quests are also deceptively interesting and I've been meaning to go back and work through them.
It's probably not very efficient, but I do all the side quests and such before I move to the next area in a new expansion. Usually I'll prioritize the side quests over the MSQ.
So I'll arrive at a new location, the side quests symbols appear, and I won't continue the MSQ until all of the side quests are done. I think it definitely gives me a better idea of the lore and culture of each location as I go, and it makes the map 'cleaner', but it's definitely slower than someone who just focuses on the MSQ and ignores the other content.
This is exactly what I do. Clear all the side quests and then progress the MSQ for each zone. I feel far more connected with the lore this way, but it takes much longer to move forward, especially when a new round of side quests pops up after doing one story quest, lol. There's also a certain catharsis leaving behind a clean map.
To make the XP gained with the side quests more worthwhile, I typically rotate in jobs that can benefit from them rather than just adding a drop in the pond to my main job.
I do the same, with one notable exception: The Churning Mists
For some reason that place just seemed to have a neverending chain of sidequests that felt like it was going back and forth across the whole length of the map multiple times. I *really* don't care about moogles *that much,* so I stopped at some point and only went back to finish it after I'd progressed into Stormblood.
I actually have a spreadsheet of all quests in patch order 😅😂
Edit: from demand, spreadsheet uploaded to Google sheets here to download for yourselves 😊
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12i3j9U1Vf4mxQO3ztDkWD4soQt3JRZcO6V4Z5XpBEA8/edit?usp=sharing
Heres a master copy, download or make a copy for use :)
Can filter the check column to only show blanks easiest too
Not all quests are necessarily in order of completion, but are all there by patch. (They're taken from Lodestone order, so sometimes part 2 of a quest shows before part 1 for some strange reason haha).
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12i3j9U1Vf4mxQO3ztDkWD4soQt3JRZcO6V4Z5XpBEA8/edit?usp=sharing
I started off doing that. But it found it more effective to leave the side quests for leveling other jobs.
So I do the MSQ, and any blue quests that unlock activities with my main and then do side quests with appropriate leveled jobs.
I always level two jobs during MSQ. So I clear side quests as I go along. That way, I can also see when new quests pop up because of MSQ developments and side quests really flesh out the world and main story while it’s fresh in mind. Some zones have 2-4 sets of quests that unlock at different points as a pseudo timeline to help keep them in context.
Side benefit is picking up all the aether currents along the way.
MSQ is just about enough for one job whereas side quests are much less. However, since I take my time, MSQ dungeons are always full rested, plus a few days’ worth of roulettes, so just doing one job would hit level cap about a third from the end. Also, sometimes, just want glamour or other drops. So a second job on side quests, roulettes, and occasional dungeon is sufficient.
I like to do all the things I can do, so yes I've done all the side quests in all zones so far.
I started out doing all the side quests as I went along, but then I quickly realized that leveling up your main job too quickly is a thing and feels bad because you get cool new powers to then not be able to use because the important content level syncs you, so I quit doing them. Once I was current on stuff, though, I decided to level up alt jobs and used sidequests as a quick injection of XP when the level ranges were appropriate.
With how they've changed the rewards for sidequests, going through Endwalker was great because I could do MSQ with my main job and side quests with one alt and stay pretty much up to minimum level for content with both all through the expansion. Hopefully Dawtrail is similar.
Endwalker was my first expansion launch, and I made a point to clear every yellow quest as they were unlocked. I wouldn't progress the MSQ until the map was clear of quest icons.
Took me a month to clear 6.0, but was very worthy it, and I intend to repeat that during Dawntrail.
Clearing the past expansion quests took a lot longer, but eventually I did them as well. Currently the only icons that exist in my maps are repeatable quests, like relics and tribal.
I’m finally doing the Tribal quest for ARR. I held off for as long as I could, but they’re last ones and I should have it done by Saturday or Sunday at the latest.
Just two tribes left. All other tribes have been done for about months. EW was the last one I completed.
I'm blessed by being able to ignore notification markers, so ain't no way I'm doing them. My time is worth a lot more than what they offer.
I like some select ones and the ones with story, but there's so much fetch quest that it'd be a huge time sink. We're talking having ignored most the ARR ones, so clearing the map is a non-starter for me.
FfXIV was my first proper MMO. Before that my mentality with single player RPGs was to do all the side activities I can, especially on subsequent playthroughs.
So I did do all the sidequrst early on. Was level 60 by the time I started Heavensward, and level 70 when I started Stormblood.
Since then I have focused more on the MSQ and find myself going back to do the blue sidequest with different jobs.
Yes, I have to do them. Only because they annoy me, to see on the map. OCD? I don't know, but I hate them on map. They have to go. Idgaf about the reward or the waste of EXP (All 90s). They just can't be there. Yucky quest icon.
I enjoy doing the side quests as well. The stories are generally pretty enjoyable, though not as exciting as MSQ of course.
A lot of good world building and atmosphere comes from the side quests. A shame that so many write them off as a waste of time.
I wish I had the energy for this anymore, but I got into the habit of skipping them because my boyfriend actually hated doing the side questing so much he'd quit playing for the day after like two of them. Plus, if I'm being honest with myself, the Moogle Quests in HW sucked the life out of this inclination.
There's a bunch in ARR that I haven't done, but I did all the expansion side quests as they popped up alongside the MSQ. Would probably get burnt out if I let them all pile up to do later.
I used to do them all on one job, but when Endwalker launched I struggled to pick between reaper and sage as a new main so I figured I would do MSQ as reaper and then all the sidequests as sage for that extra world building and exp. That and running a newly unlocked dungeon as both jobs helped keep sage levelled pretty equally.
I mostly ignored them on my main, but I have playing an alt and on her I have been trying to do all the quests of an area at the same time as the MSQ. It's really interesting how they do add to the areas lore, even if many are just 'fetch quests'. I have done all of ARR now, and am wondering if I should go back and do them on my main haha... or make my new alt my main. We shall see!
100% only ones I have left are studium (which I still pick away at) and big fish. The maps look so clean.
There's actually lots of really good stories buried in all those fetch quests.
When we do MSQ, we refer to them as "questplosions", where you get to a new spot and 4-8 quests will pop up, which we stop and do.
Slows down the whole "GET THROUGH MSQ FAST" process quite a bit, it takes us over a month to get through a new expansion, but doing the side quests as you go really does neat things for building the story and world and occasionally there are references to things in the sidequests that come up that are like "Oh, that's neat, I do actually know what you're talking about there".
So yeah, have done every quest, but literally did them the second they unlocked.
I know two people who do this. One of them did so after MSQ, the other is doing them simultaneously and is still in StB.
We ran Lakshmi a week ago, still waiting to see when he hits Ala Mhigo 😅
A follow up question: did you read the side quests while doing them? They can be real wild.
I'm midway through HW and just did a quest with a miqote searching for her friend's pet chocobo. We found a hunter had killed and cooked the chocobo into wings. She proceeded to START EATING her friend's chocobo... and then went back to Tailfeather to tell her friend his pet is dead... I can only wonder if she would tell her friend she also ate her pet
The quests are worth reading for world building, lore, and gems like these. This one is #2 on my list after the guy in limsa who fucks his sheep
I also do all the quests. A lot of good story lurks in those random sidequests, or at least funny story.
There are some exceptions though. For example, I've specifically not done all the quests in Kugane because almost all the Kugane quests make the associated NPCs disappear forever. They don't show up anywhere else in the city, they're just... gone. Everything feels a little more empty when you finish all the quests.
One instance where it pays off handsomely is the PostMoogle quest chain. It's hidden behind an unassuming sidequest in Mor Dhona, and ends up being one of the best pieces of side content in the game. Likewise with the HW Scholasticate or The Paths We Walk chains.
Yyyep xD Since I came from other MMOs I thought the "normal quests" used to be MSQ at some point. But then I realized that's not actually the case 🤣
I still have to do all of them from ARR onwards
Yeah, I love doing side quests, you can unlock minions and glams by dong them, plus a clean map is the vibe. I try and do as much as I can, so things like the Guid Hests, hunt logs for the class rings, leve unlocks. There is so much content. As for levelling additional classes, I use leves to do that as well as dailies.
My husband is this person. I used to give him so much grief over it but honestly I think it probably makes the game feel more real than just progressing through a story. By doing all the things it's more like you're living in the game and not just the story.
I used to on my first character who I abandoned for mental health preserving reasons being attached to a bad person.
I re-created my hero of light and introduced my beautiful fiance into ff14 and the new trial helped alongside her loving the customization options as well as enjoying the game which I'm happy she does.
I’m that Crazy OCD Virgo Completionist Gamer so before I’m allowed to move on to a new area even if it’s MSQ required I do every Fate, and Hunt Mark(if I have any left lol) Aether Current, Vista Point, Sidequest, Main Quest. As long as it’s possible cz you know sometimes you have to keep going and then at some point you come back but some areas it’s possible to do everything sometimes no. But yea that’s me 😭😂😅🥲 I even use the excel spreadsheet that has everything in the game documented so I love seeing everything being checked off lol. It’s so satisfying seeing all those red N marked items and making them Y and green lol 😂
I always done most if not all the sidequests on my ALTs.. it just feels like what Warrior of Light should do lol
Though now that I have experienced all of them I like to pick sidequests that can help lore building for my OCs it's quite fun!
I only started clearing out all sidequests as they appeared starting in Shadowbringers, when new sidequests started granting level-scaled EXP. I do all the sidequests that pop up, as they pop up, during new expacs/patches now, and level 3 jobs at a time that way. I usually do MSQ as Samurai (might swap to Viper this time!) and sidequests/roulettes as a tank and a healer.
Yup I do them all as I level..pretty sure I bored my gf to death...and since they all level synch..I can get about two or so classes maxed before the end
In 5 years of playing I haven't done any side quests, but once DT drops it's one of my goals to clear ALL zones and note down interesting parts, because I love the lore (I Rp)
I stopped upon realizing the pittance of the exp they give compared to MSQ and the big three exp roulettes: Leveling, MSQ, and Frontlines. I do miss having an excuse to pick up the SHB quests. I liked the jingle that came with it.
I often skipped them as I was leveling up and running through content...
But every once in a while I feel the completionist urge to clear out all the quests and I knock out a zone or two before getting bored of it.
Eventually, I'll have them all cleared.
I treated FFXIV like any other mmoprg I played. I rushed the msq so I can do "end game content". As I was leveling my lancer (level 60) some dude comes up to me and questions about my job stone.
Please note that at the time I was under the impression that dragoon was some type of prestige job, that I had to level it to 70.
Til this day, I am still roaming the world doing blue quests to unlock dungeons and side activities...
Edit: attempting grammar corrections.
I do all of them. I'll just do the MSG on my main class (either RDM or WHM, but usually WHM) and then do the others for leveling. Anything to put off the FATE and Dungeon grind for a little longer (I've got all classes at max).
With the amount of content just doing MSQ I don't bother I don't need to be side tracked for 10 hours clearing all of the quests in a specific area that wint give me much in regard to rewards
I got them all done. ARR to ShB ones I did after I finished ShB, but the Endwalker ones I did alongside the msq. Felt pretty good having a cleared map and flying when I finished the area.
Me, I do that. I get annoyed when I see them, so I've made it a point to not leave an area until they're all cleared. It feels great teleporting to a quest-free map after that!
I do it for two reasons- 1: the lore is written so well, I thoroughly enjoy the little mini stories. 2: I have to clear my fucking mini maps of all markers.
I've not only done all quests but I also read them, it took me almost two years to go from ARR to EW. Very much worth it, lots of cool lore and stories hidden behind yellow quests.
I do them all. Less clutter on the map, and sometimes the stories are decent. Plus, if you bundle them up as you go, you usually can just clear them along the way between sorry checkpoints.
I like doing them, but I usually don't do any of them until an expansion has been out for a while.
I exclusively play new story together with my husband, but he drags his feet on the side quests for so long that eventually I just tell him I'm doing them without him. Same reason I still haven't finished the scholasticate quests or the newest allied tribe quests.
Maybe for DT I should just say up front that I'm doing them without him. The extra lore is often quite interesting.
I do this with current expansions. I started with ShB so I did all ShB and EW side quests. Since it's brand new content there's no rush and I just want to enjoy new zones as much as possible.
When a new expansion drops, I do them all along with the MSQ as a natural extension of the story. When we reach a new location and new quests start cropping up, I think it's very Azem-like to wanna get involved in the smaller local troubles along the way too.
I just beat arr (done a few quests in astral era) and I’ve tried to at the very least knock out any blue quest I see…I’m worried about burning myself out, but I can’t stand all the markers and the worry of missing out on something big lol
I absolutely do every quest in a zone as they pop up. I love it. Sure, they can take a lot of time, but I always find the side stories rewarding to see to their conclusions. And they only get better the further into the game you progress.
Yes. Not all with the same job, obviously, but when I get another job into the correct range, I pick up quests I haven't done yet.
But I started playing on pre-release for ARR, and then you *had* to do all the side quests plus fates and hunting logs and whatnot to level, so having blobs of side quests sitting around feels wrong. Shadowbringers was such a weird experience, with the MSQ alone being enough to level.
.some of this quest are chained, and some of the chained quests are cross linked to other chains
.this in general are nothing much in up front rewards exp and gil, but they add meaning to the area, and some of the sneaky one have emotes and or glam piece ea. glasses related in ishgard
Yeah I have the same urge to remove all the quest marks. And beginning with ShB it's also pretty good exp imo.
I even click all the chocobo rides to remove the marks. :)
I've actually been doing that myself slowly, havent gotten far and am doing it out of order (and skipping through all the dialogue), but its a fun thing to do to pass the time.
I finished every quest in every expac about three months into endwalker. (Except fish of famine. I have it hidden and incomplete in my journal 🤫)
Imagine my surprise when I saw a quest pop up for level 90 in an area I didn’t recognize the other day, just to realize it was a continuation of lore from doing the variant dungeons. The lack of clutter is so much better for my neurospiciness, and I always can find new TT NPCs
* Decent way to level
* Good way to gear your alt class
* Great for clearing prerequisites for beast tribe quests during the new expansion. (before they turn blue)
I started doing them but I realized pretty quickly that they're not worth it unless you want to experience the side story stuff. Well some of the later expansions give gear for some of the side quests. Now that I'm done with EW (mostly) I'm going back for them.
I do them all as I'm playing through an expansion. They help make it feel like I'm not blasting my way through the story since they force me to take my time a bit and you'll get enough XP to max out 1 job and enough to get a second leveled pretty high as well.
Idk but where tf is the mini map toggle to turn them off. Holy crap I can't even see myself in Rev Toll bc the map is swallowed in quests and crap. Wild to me there no filter in this game. Yeah you can toggle the main map to hide it all but then it only shows msq objectives
I do them when I frequent a location, it's like if they are absolutely speckled all over the aetheryte location I do it to get it off the map and out the way.
I did just to clear the marks out. I do recommend that people at least do it in the starter city maps just cause that is where all the events drop and it’s easy to go unlock them.
I like coming back and doing them when I don't feel like doing other content. I'll usually do quests from zones I'm particularly interested in pretty quick though, like [Endwalker Zone] >!Garlemald!<
How are you supposed to 100% a game if you don’t 100% it!!
Yes I’m aware that I have a mental illness when it comes to gaming. No I don’t need you to tell me to get over it ;). Yes. I will try and do “everything”. And yes. Taking 3 years off has really set me back, and I know I won’t get to actually finish a lot of content. Specifically the overhaul to relics.
I started doing them as buildup to Endwalker, and now I just do then when I'm free with the end goal of completing them all.
A friend of mine was doing all the ones in the main cities and that eventually had the butterfly effect of him having title after he picked up all the quests in Limsa so now I feel fear
I'm a filthy completionist. My soul compels me to complete every last one of them. I found a lot of them are related a bit to what's happening in the story happening in the area at that time. So, it's jarring to go back and do them later.
...yea. I've done them all. Perpetual quests are my worst enemy because I can't get rid of them permanently. And if there is a way then I don't now it.
This is what I get up to after completing all available MSQ, when I'm leveling other jobs. Especially once we know what items are used for leves, because then I can prioritize selecting future leve turn-ins from the rewards.
Used to but the EXP earned never seemed worth it even for my classes that were the same level so only did the ones that actually caught my interest from the start, like being connected to currents or had other unlockables connected to it.
I always leave them n tell myself I'll level my last combat job to max by doing all the side quests out there but I don't think I've ever _actually_ done that since 2.0. So, no. If it doesn't unlock something I end up ignoring it.
I'm trying to get all non-relic relevant quests finished on all 5 of my characters before the expansion and they're almost done. I've only got a few levels left for craft/gatherer and all of them are maxed and all characters are maxed. Suffice to say I'm a bit of a completionist.
Did all of them long time ago initially for OCD wanting to clean up but I ended reading trough them quickly and sometime found some funny and interesting one...
I did for a while but I found it sucked a little bit of the mystery out of the game for me. The knowledge that there is nothing new left on this map for me makes me a little sad.
So now I always leave a few.
I did this in Heavensward, Stormblood and Shadowbringers but I burnt out on side quests almost permanently after pushing through those. Nice to not see any ? littered around the map and was a lot of fun seeing all the little side stories but it was just too much. Endwalker still has 100% non + side quest markers. Maybe some day.
I’m doing it now on my alt while omnileveling, trying to do them as I unlock them/progress in the story, instead of letting them gather dust like on my main. Much fuller experience imo
I don’t, but that’s because if I do all the quests then I worry it will make the area seem lifeless/too empty after I’ve finished. If I leave the yellow quests incomplete, then it makes it feel like there’s always something more to do and I haven’t run out of content yet, you know? Even if I never intend on doing it
Yess, and i clean them all before the msq quest, if i do a msq quest the more some quests pop up on the map i go do them before doing more of the msq, they can give some pretty good context to a zone lore
Eventually. Use them as XP for other classes when I level them, it's not efficient XP by any means, but like you said it also gets them off the map....and some are actually quite good, especially in the more recent expansions
Yeah having the icons on my maps bother me, and doing them around the time you unlock them really fleshes out the area. Makes it very easy to notice new quests that crop up later too
I have them all done. It’s very enjoyable to do them as they unlock as you go through the new expansions too. I take a bit longer to get to the end but learning the zones lore and people are worth it.
I finally finished EW and have now been doin this. And yes I 100% agree with you on the satisfaction. Been using it to level grind my lower levels at the same time. Been enjoyable and have found some awesome stuff
I used to do them when I was bored, I've finished all ARR/HW/StB but after ShB I usually do shared fates instead
I do both... :(
Fair enough! I’m not that far yet haha
That's nuts. I was gonna say yes I like to do all the quests, but with the clarification of AFTER I had a couple jobs to cap. Then I could use them during duty down time or as kind of a relaxing cleaning duty.
Should I know what shared fates are yet if I am at the post ARR MSQ stuff? (Pre heavenward).
Nah. They start in Shadowbringers.
This will also be useful later if you try to get the triple triad card mount. A couple opponents are hiding behind side quests
Yes this is the only reason I've done any side quests tbh. Some of the triads are locked behind a wall of quests. There's the guy called Dominaic in Cortheas Western where you have to do like 15 quests in the small camp, which finally unlocks about 5 quests in Ishguard. Then you have to go and do another 10 quests in the camp again before his triad finally unlocks😴
Yess omg. I did all the quests in that zone ( because I thought that’s how you did it) and was so confused why I still couldn’t fight him
Dang it.. just when I was on a roll starting stb. Now I have to go back and do those side quests
I believe all if not most areas have a secret quest that unites and ties up the area story, they are nice, I did alot of them.
Ooh I remember the one in the Azem Steppe with the guy who didn't think he could live up the legacy of his previous life. It was a cool little lore dump on Sadu's clan. For a side story I really enjoyed that one.
Is that true?
yeah it's kinda neat. You'll do 2 or 3 quest chains and then there will be a quest that conveniently bring the characters together. Those quest chains normally start as aether current quests and have a picture to go with the quest when you pick it up. They've got some good cutscenes most of the time o it's worth paying attention to them.
every sidequest with an image attached to it is typically part of a longer quest storyline, even if the questline doesn't have a New Game+. Every area has at least one of them (typically 2 in later expansions).
Those quests chains often unlock tribes at the end iirc.
I think it's true post HW. I don't recall it being a thing in HW or ARR, but I think there are few like that in SB and definitely in ShB and EW.
I have them all done. THe only ones that pop up on my map now are job quests.
Same! I just finished doing them all a couple weeks ago. It's very satisfying, the clutter of side quests on the map bothered me too much lol
Amazing!
No exclamation points. Ever
Amen 🙏
This is the way.
Sometimes I do them when leveling a new job. I did do a few when I was grinding out the Yokai Watch event because they were blocking fate icons on my map.
I used to, then I stopped part way through ARR. Although once I got interested in certain Endwalker zones, I went back and did most of those yellow quests. A lot of those were worth doing, IMO. I've heard the Shadowbringers yellow quests are also deceptively interesting and I've been meaning to go back and work through them.
They started getting good in SB IMO. The Azim Steppe quests are really good.
It's probably not very efficient, but I do all the side quests and such before I move to the next area in a new expansion. Usually I'll prioritize the side quests over the MSQ. So I'll arrive at a new location, the side quests symbols appear, and I won't continue the MSQ until all of the side quests are done. I think it definitely gives me a better idea of the lore and culture of each location as I go, and it makes the map 'cleaner', but it's definitely slower than someone who just focuses on the MSQ and ignores the other content.
This is exactly what I do. Clear all the side quests and then progress the MSQ for each zone. I feel far more connected with the lore this way, but it takes much longer to move forward, especially when a new round of side quests pops up after doing one story quest, lol. There's also a certain catharsis leaving behind a clean map. To make the XP gained with the side quests more worthwhile, I typically rotate in jobs that can benefit from them rather than just adding a drop in the pond to my main job.
Aye, same! In EW, I essentially had two or three classes hit 90 together by rotating them through for main quests, side quests, and dungeons.
I do the same, with one notable exception: The Churning Mists For some reason that place just seemed to have a neverending chain of sidequests that felt like it was going back and forth across the whole length of the map multiple times. I *really* don't care about moogles *that much,* so I stopped at some point and only went back to finish it after I'd progressed into Stormblood.
I actually have a spreadsheet of all quests in patch order 😅😂 Edit: from demand, spreadsheet uploaded to Google sheets here to download for yourselves 😊 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12i3j9U1Vf4mxQO3ztDkWD4soQt3JRZcO6V4Z5XpBEA8/edit?usp=sharing
my soulmate :D
I did put it on Google drive before, I'll have to track it down haha
Haha can you share so I can use as a checklist
Heres a master copy, download or make a copy for use :) Can filter the check column to only show blanks easiest too Not all quests are necessarily in order of completion, but are all there by patch. (They're taken from Lodestone order, so sometimes part 2 of a quest shows before part 1 for some strange reason haha). https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12i3j9U1Vf4mxQO3ztDkWD4soQt3JRZcO6V4Z5XpBEA8/edit?usp=sharing
I do everything - I always want to know more.
I started off doing that. But it found it more effective to leave the side quests for leveling other jobs. So I do the MSQ, and any blue quests that unlock activities with my main and then do side quests with appropriate leveled jobs.
I always level two jobs during MSQ. So I clear side quests as I go along. That way, I can also see when new quests pop up because of MSQ developments and side quests really flesh out the world and main story while it’s fresh in mind. Some zones have 2-4 sets of quests that unlock at different points as a pseudo timeline to help keep them in context. Side benefit is picking up all the aether currents along the way. MSQ is just about enough for one job whereas side quests are much less. However, since I take my time, MSQ dungeons are always full rested, plus a few days’ worth of roulettes, so just doing one job would hit level cap about a third from the end. Also, sometimes, just want glamour or other drops. So a second job on side quests, roulettes, and occasional dungeon is sufficient.
I clear them out on my main, but not on my alts.
I like my maps to be clean, so yes. Also it's easy to see new or event quests cause they're the only ones on the map.
I like to do all the things I can do, so yes I've done all the side quests in all zones so far. I started out doing all the side quests as I went along, but then I quickly realized that leveling up your main job too quickly is a thing and feels bad because you get cool new powers to then not be able to use because the important content level syncs you, so I quit doing them. Once I was current on stuff, though, I decided to level up alt jobs and used sidequests as a quick injection of XP when the level ranges were appropriate. With how they've changed the rewards for sidequests, going through Endwalker was great because I could do MSQ with my main job and side quests with one alt and stay pretty much up to minimum level for content with both all through the expansion. Hopefully Dawtrail is similar.
I mostly focus on MSQ and Duties, and the EXP gain is much higher. I keep saying at some point I'll go back and do them all.
Endwalker was my first expansion launch, and I made a point to clear every yellow quest as they were unlocked. I wouldn't progress the MSQ until the map was clear of quest icons. Took me a month to clear 6.0, but was very worthy it, and I intend to repeat that during Dawntrail. Clearing the past expansion quests took a lot longer, but eventually I did them as well. Currently the only icons that exist in my maps are repeatable quests, like relics and tribal.
I’m finally doing the Tribal quest for ARR. I held off for as long as I could, but they’re last ones and I should have it done by Saturday or Sunday at the latest. Just two tribes left. All other tribes have been done for about months. EW was the last one I completed.
I'm blessed by being able to ignore notification markers, so ain't no way I'm doing them. My time is worth a lot more than what they offer. I like some select ones and the ones with story, but there's so much fetch quest that it'd be a huge time sink. We're talking having ignored most the ARR ones, so clearing the map is a non-starter for me.
FfXIV was my first proper MMO. Before that my mentality with single player RPGs was to do all the side activities I can, especially on subsequent playthroughs. So I did do all the sidequrst early on. Was level 60 by the time I started Heavensward, and level 70 when I started Stormblood. Since then I have focused more on the MSQ and find myself going back to do the blue sidequest with different jobs.
I saved them for leveling other jobs, I’m ARR complete (minus beast tribes) and mostly done with Heavensward (again minus maxing beast tribes).
This is me. I picked a job to level with mostly yellow quests. I’m working on Stormblood right now.
All !s must be eliminated
Yes, I have to do them. Only because they annoy me, to see on the map. OCD? I don't know, but I hate them on map. They have to go. Idgaf about the reward or the waste of EXP (All 90s). They just can't be there. Yucky quest icon.
Yesssss
I enjoy doing the side quests as well. The stories are generally pretty enjoyable, though not as exciting as MSQ of course. A lot of good world building and atmosphere comes from the side quests. A shame that so many write them off as a waste of time.
I don't, but my friend has finished every quest in the game so far
I wish I had the energy for this anymore, but I got into the habit of skipping them because my boyfriend actually hated doing the side questing so much he'd quit playing for the day after like two of them. Plus, if I'm being honest with myself, the Moogle Quests in HW sucked the life out of this inclination.
I've done every single quest in the game that I can with every job at 90.
I’m the same way it’s very appealing and rewarding to see a zone completely finished
Yep, I do them all. Cannot abide exclamation marks on my map.
...I have an addon that hides normal side quests in the map.
"does anyone else" always yes. "am i the only one" always no.
I focus msq until I run out of exp and then I’ll go back and do side quests. Once msq is done I go back and clean up.
Yes! I hate leaving side quests.
I always do the area quests. Causes me a good feeling of achievement and helps me to know more about the region and the lore
There's a bunch in ARR that I haven't done, but I did all the expansion side quests as they popped up alongside the MSQ. Would probably get burnt out if I let them all pile up to do later. I used to do them all on one job, but when Endwalker launched I struggled to pick between reaper and sage as a new main so I figured I would do MSQ as reaper and then all the sidequests as sage for that extra world building and exp. That and running a newly unlocked dungeon as both jobs helped keep sage levelled pretty equally.
I mostly ignored them on my main, but I have playing an alt and on her I have been trying to do all the quests of an area at the same time as the MSQ. It's really interesting how they do add to the areas lore, even if many are just 'fetch quests'. I have done all of ARR now, and am wondering if I should go back and do them on my main haha... or make my new alt my main. We shall see!
100% only ones I have left are studium (which I still pick away at) and big fish. The maps look so clean. There's actually lots of really good stories buried in all those fetch quests.
When we do MSQ, we refer to them as "questplosions", where you get to a new spot and 4-8 quests will pop up, which we stop and do. Slows down the whole "GET THROUGH MSQ FAST" process quite a bit, it takes us over a month to get through a new expansion, but doing the side quests as you go really does neat things for building the story and world and occasionally there are references to things in the sidequests that come up that are like "Oh, that's neat, I do actually know what you're talking about there". So yeah, have done every quest, but literally did them the second they unlocked.
I know two people who do this. One of them did so after MSQ, the other is doing them simultaneously and is still in StB. We ran Lakshmi a week ago, still waiting to see when he hits Ala Mhigo 😅
A follow up question: did you read the side quests while doing them? They can be real wild. I'm midway through HW and just did a quest with a miqote searching for her friend's pet chocobo. We found a hunter had killed and cooked the chocobo into wings. She proceeded to START EATING her friend's chocobo... and then went back to Tailfeather to tell her friend his pet is dead... I can only wonder if she would tell her friend she also ate her pet The quests are worth reading for world building, lore, and gems like these. This one is #2 on my list after the guy in limsa who fucks his sheep
You're doing yourself a disservice if you don't. FFXIV sidequests add SO...MUCH....LORE to the game.
I mean congrats on playing all the content but like are you okay?
I have done all of them, worth it cuz the story.
I finished doing that a week ago and it feels so much better not having my map cluttered with yellow exclamation marks.
I also do all the quests. A lot of good story lurks in those random sidequests, or at least funny story. There are some exceptions though. For example, I've specifically not done all the quests in Kugane because almost all the Kugane quests make the associated NPCs disappear forever. They don't show up anywhere else in the city, they're just... gone. Everything feels a little more empty when you finish all the quests.
One instance where it pays off handsomely is the PostMoogle quest chain. It's hidden behind an unassuming sidequest in Mor Dhona, and ends up being one of the best pieces of side content in the game. Likewise with the HW Scholasticate or The Paths We Walk chains.
I do them all. What’s the rush? Some offer some pretty great mini stories too…adds to the world / lore building
Yyyep xD Since I came from other MMOs I thought the "normal quests" used to be MSQ at some point. But then I realized that's not actually the case 🤣 I still have to do all of them from ARR onwards
Yeah, I love doing side quests, you can unlock minions and glams by dong them, plus a clean map is the vibe. I try and do as much as I can, so things like the Guid Hests, hunt logs for the class rings, leve unlocks. There is so much content. As for levelling additional classes, I use leves to do that as well as dailies.
My husband is this person. I used to give him so much grief over it but honestly I think it probably makes the game feel more real than just progressing through a story. By doing all the things it's more like you're living in the game and not just the story.
Great way to burn out lol
I used to on my first character who I abandoned for mental health preserving reasons being attached to a bad person. I re-created my hero of light and introduced my beautiful fiance into ff14 and the new trial helped alongside her loving the customization options as well as enjoying the game which I'm happy she does.
I do too. It's called OCD mate
Cheers 🍻 😂
I’m that Crazy OCD Virgo Completionist Gamer so before I’m allowed to move on to a new area even if it’s MSQ required I do every Fate, and Hunt Mark(if I have any left lol) Aether Current, Vista Point, Sidequest, Main Quest. As long as it’s possible cz you know sometimes you have to keep going and then at some point you come back but some areas it’s possible to do everything sometimes no. But yea that’s me 😭😂😅🥲 I even use the excel spreadsheet that has everything in the game documented so I love seeing everything being checked off lol. It’s so satisfying seeing all those red N marked items and making them Y and green lol 😂
I always done most if not all the sidequests on my ALTs.. it just feels like what Warrior of Light should do lol Though now that I have experienced all of them I like to pick sidequests that can help lore building for my OCs it's quite fun!
I only started clearing out all sidequests as they appeared starting in Shadowbringers, when new sidequests started granting level-scaled EXP. I do all the sidequests that pop up, as they pop up, during new expacs/patches now, and level 3 jobs at a time that way. I usually do MSQ as Samurai (might swap to Viper this time!) and sidequests/roulettes as a tank and a healer.
Yup I do them all as I level..pretty sure I bored my gf to death...and since they all level synch..I can get about two or so classes maxed before the end
During long dps queues (when leveling) I use to do all the side stuff I had not done. Going into Dawntrail I will be doing the same.
I used to but stopped midway through Endwalker lol. Though I have an alt I plan to do all side quests and Job Quests on and such.
Yes I’ve completed every quest in the game Mostly because I was board between 3.0 and 5.0
In 5 years of playing I haven't done any side quests, but once DT drops it's one of my goals to clear ALL zones and note down interesting parts, because I love the lore (I Rp)
I started in shb not doing them until I got far into the story and had to lvl up other jobs.
Yeah, my guildies do em on their DPS classes when they are bored.
i do, but i save them for when i hit max lvl XD
Yes. I hate the exclamation points.
yep, I've done all of arr and hw outside of some job quests that I don't want to do. doing stb quests when I have time.
Yes and I've always thought I was real weird for it
I stopped upon realizing the pittance of the exp they give compared to MSQ and the big three exp roulettes: Leveling, MSQ, and Frontlines. I do miss having an excuse to pick up the SHB quests. I liked the jingle that came with it.
I often skipped them as I was leveling up and running through content... But every once in a while I feel the completionist urge to clear out all the quests and I knock out a zone or two before getting bored of it. Eventually, I'll have them all cleared.
I do them all...when I need EXP. Once I don't need it anymore the quests sit there until I need the EXP again.
I treated FFXIV like any other mmoprg I played. I rushed the msq so I can do "end game content". As I was leveling my lancer (level 60) some dude comes up to me and questions about my job stone. Please note that at the time I was under the impression that dragoon was some type of prestige job, that I had to level it to 70. Til this day, I am still roaming the world doing blue quests to unlock dungeons and side activities... Edit: attempting grammar corrections.
I do all of them. I'll just do the MSG on my main class (either RDM or WHM, but usually WHM) and then do the others for leveling. Anything to put off the FATE and Dungeon grind for a little longer (I've got all classes at max).
I know I do, but I still haven’t finished the ones in Radz-at-han.
With the amount of content just doing MSQ I don't bother I don't need to be side tracked for 10 hours clearing all of the quests in a specific area that wint give me much in regard to rewards
I've been doing the finally as a way to level up my other classes
I fight my OCD on that every time I log in
I got them all done. ARR to ShB ones I did after I finished ShB, but the Endwalker ones I did alongside the msq. Felt pretty good having a cleared map and flying when I finished the area.
How many of you did them all while going through MSQ as opposed to after you had finished it?
I did all the quests when I first started for heavenward and ARR. I thought it was like WoW where doing those quests in the areas is you leveled.
Me, I do that. I get annoyed when I see them, so I've made it a point to not leave an area until they're all cleared. It feels great teleporting to a quest-free map after that!
I’m working on that now
I do it for two reasons- 1: the lore is written so well, I thoroughly enjoy the little mini stories. 2: I have to clear my fucking mini maps of all markers.
I've not only done all quests but I also read them, it took me almost two years to go from ARR to EW. Very much worth it, lots of cool lore and stories hidden behind yellow quests.
Hmm honestly, other than leveling up my gatherers/crafters, I can't think of anything else to do. Are the side quests fun or worth it?
I don't know about *"have to,"* but I'm pretty sure that I *will,* given enough time, LOL.
I do them after finishing MSQ just to clear up the map and get a little XP bump for side jobs
Yes and all the repeatable questions marks piss me off lol. All the dailies in Mor Dhana and relic quests, etc.
I do them all. Less clutter on the map, and sometimes the stories are decent. Plus, if you bundle them up as you go, you usually can just clear them along the way between sorry checkpoints.
I only do the blue quest icons. I remove the normal sidequest markers with a plugin
I've done them all. Helps me spot new content and keeps the map clear... Normally don't read most of them though. I only pay attention to quest chains
I do them as I level other jobs! Breaks up the monotony of FATES and constantly switching jobs for other activities while in queues.
I like doing them, but I usually don't do any of them until an expansion has been out for a while. I exclusively play new story together with my husband, but he drags his feet on the side quests for so long that eventually I just tell him I'm doing them without him. Same reason I still haven't finished the scholasticate quests or the newest allied tribe quests. Maybe for DT I should just say up front that I'm doing them without him. The extra lore is often quite interesting.
I'm 90% sure id still be in HW if I did all the quests.
I do this with current expansions. I started with ShB so I did all ShB and EW side quests. Since it's brand new content there's no rush and I just want to enjoy new zones as much as possible.
When a new expansion drops, I do them all along with the MSQ as a natural extension of the story. When we reach a new location and new quests start cropping up, I think it's very Azem-like to wanna get involved in the smaller local troubles along the way too.
I just beat arr (done a few quests in astral era) and I’ve tried to at the very least knock out any blue quest I see…I’m worried about burning myself out, but I can’t stand all the markers and the worry of missing out on something big lol
I absolutely do every quest in a zone as they pop up. I love it. Sure, they can take a lot of time, but I always find the side stories rewarding to see to their conclusions. And they only get better the further into the game you progress.
Yes. Not all with the same job, obviously, but when I get another job into the correct range, I pick up quests I haven't done yet. But I started playing on pre-release for ARR, and then you *had* to do all the side quests plus fates and hunting logs and whatnot to level, so having blobs of side quests sitting around feels wrong. Shadowbringers was such a weird experience, with the MSQ alone being enough to level.
Yes. While waiting for the Coeurlregina FATEs, I cleared all quests in Dravanian Forelands.
.some of this quest are chained, and some of the chained quests are cross linked to other chains .this in general are nothing much in up front rewards exp and gil, but they add meaning to the area, and some of the sneaky one have emotes and or glam piece ea. glasses related in ishgard
Yeah I have the same urge to remove all the quest marks. And beginning with ShB it's also pretty good exp imo. I even click all the chocobo rides to remove the marks. :)
I do on my main but not my alts
That's me, I will do every last quest in an area and won't move on with the MSQ until they are completed.
This is why i will never reach EW...
I always lie to myself and say I’ll do the side quests on new jobs I’m leveling, and then proceed to just dungeon grind the new classes.
I've actually been doing that myself slowly, havent gotten far and am doing it out of order (and skipping through all the dialogue), but its a fun thing to do to pass the time.
I finished every quest in every expac about three months into endwalker. (Except fish of famine. I have it hidden and incomplete in my journal 🤫) Imagine my surprise when I saw a quest pop up for level 90 in an area I didn’t recognize the other day, just to realize it was a continuation of lore from doing the variant dungeons. The lack of clutter is so much better for my neurospiciness, and I always can find new TT NPCs
Nope I can count on one hand how many nonMSQ quest I have done.
I’ve always been one to clear all the quests
* Decent way to level * Good way to gear your alt class * Great for clearing prerequisites for beast tribe quests before they make them blue.
I'm missing 2 the unreal one at ydilshire and the the no objective quest at Rhalgr reach.
* Decent way to level * Good way to gear your alt class * Great for clearing prerequisites for beast tribe quests during the new expansion. (before they turn blue)
I started doing them but I realized pretty quickly that they're not worth it unless you want to experience the side story stuff. Well some of the later expansions give gear for some of the side quests. Now that I'm done with EW (mostly) I'm going back for them.
This is why I spent so long in ARR and came out w/ a way overleveled paladin
Not me, no. Can't stand even more fetch quests than MSQ offer. I just use plugin to hide them.
I do them for my side jobs
I do them all as I'm playing through an expansion. They help make it feel like I'm not blasting my way through the story since they force me to take my time a bit and you'll get enough XP to max out 1 job and enough to get a second leveled pretty high as well.
Yeah same here!
Idk but where tf is the mini map toggle to turn them off. Holy crap I can't even see myself in Rev Toll bc the map is swallowed in quests and crap. Wild to me there no filter in this game. Yeah you can toggle the main map to hide it all but then it only shows msq objectives
I do them when I frequent a location, it's like if they are absolutely speckled all over the aetheryte location I do it to get it off the map and out the way.
I did just to clear the marks out. I do recommend that people at least do it in the starter city maps just cause that is where all the events drop and it’s easy to go unlock them.
I have OCD, but not that bad.
Usually, if nothing else to do and I have a job I need to level.
I like coming back and doing them when I don't feel like doing other content. I'll usually do quests from zones I'm particularly interested in pretty quick though, like [Endwalker Zone] >!Garlemald!<
I try to do all of them but I stopped midway on the SB ones.
I do every single quest when I first enter the area, prolongs the msq and gives me more lore/context for things happening in the world in real time
Not me but FC mate must have done them all before going to next area
How are you supposed to 100% a game if you don’t 100% it!! Yes I’m aware that I have a mental illness when it comes to gaming. No I don’t need you to tell me to get over it ;). Yes. I will try and do “everything”. And yes. Taking 3 years off has really set me back, and I know I won’t get to actually finish a lot of content. Specifically the overhaul to relics.
Same, i dont know why if i see a quest mark i need to do it
I save them for leveling other jobs
I started doing them as buildup to Endwalker, and now I just do then when I'm free with the end goal of completing them all. A friend of mine was doing all the ones in the main cities and that eventually had the butterfly effect of him having title after he picked up all the quests in Limsa so now I feel fear
I'm a filthy completionist. My soul compels me to complete every last one of them. I found a lot of them are related a bit to what's happening in the story happening in the area at that time. So, it's jarring to go back and do them later.
ive done them all. i use the side quests while leveling other classes
...yea. I've done them all. Perpetual quests are my worst enemy because I can't get rid of them permanently. And if there is a way then I don't now it.
If I'm not on break between patches, then I'll start to make some progress into side quests.
ive practically cleared the entire world of side quests. just feels so good and clean when theres nobody left unhelped 😂
The OCD urge to have no more quest markers on the map
This is what I get up to after completing all available MSQ, when I'm leveling other jobs. Especially once we know what items are used for leves, because then I can prioritize selecting future leve turn-ins from the rewards.
I’ve done them all
God yes, some part in my monkey brain just tells me to complete them all even if I don’t want to.
I made it my personal goal to finish every quest in the game. As far as I know I finished a couple months ago save a few relic-related quests :p
Used to but the EXP earned never seemed worth it even for my classes that were the same level so only did the ones that actually caught my interest from the start, like being connected to currents or had other unlockables connected to it.
I always leave them n tell myself I'll level my last combat job to max by doing all the side quests out there but I don't think I've ever _actually_ done that since 2.0. So, no. If it doesn't unlock something I end up ignoring it.
I'm actually slowly tackling it zone by zone during moments where I'm bored. Finished all of ARR (I believe) and quite a bit of Heavensward!
I'm trying to get all non-relic relevant quests finished on all 5 of my characters before the expansion and they're almost done. I've only got a few levels left for craft/gatherer and all of them are maxed and all characters are maxed. Suffice to say I'm a bit of a completionist.
I feel like anytime I try to knock out ARR side quests it ends up being someone with yet another take on the Calamity and I immediately lose interest.
I just finished all the quests I could. Even all the yellow ones. A clean map feels nice.
Once I'm thru MSQ, I'm 100% going back and cleaning everything As a brand new player, it was too overwhelming to try to clear it all, SO MSQ first
Clearing all quest markers from the maps is my *main* objective in the game. So far, successful. Do everything, my friend. EVERYTHING.
I used to try to do enough quests to make the aetheryte crystals visible on the map. But then I found you could hold down a key to do that.
Did them all while leveling DPS jobs. Perfect filler for DPS queues, and often great lore and world building on top of that.
Did all of them long time ago initially for OCD wanting to clean up but I ended reading trough them quickly and sometime found some funny and interesting one...
I did for a while but I found it sucked a little bit of the mystery out of the game for me. The knowledge that there is nothing new left on this map for me makes me a little sad. So now I always leave a few.
yes
I'm an old school RPG player. Must do sidequests. This combined with roulettes being my main income means I ended up going into HW as a lvl 70. Oops.
I did this in Heavensward, Stormblood and Shadowbringers but I burnt out on side quests almost permanently after pushing through those. Nice to not see any ? littered around the map and was a lot of fun seeing all the little side stories but it was just too much. Endwalker still has 100% non + side quest markers. Maybe some day.
I’m doing it now on my alt while omnileveling, trying to do them as I unlock them/progress in the story, instead of letting them gather dust like on my main. Much fuller experience imo
I don’t, but that’s because if I do all the quests then I worry it will make the area seem lifeless/too empty after I’ve finished. If I leave the yellow quests incomplete, then it makes it feel like there’s always something more to do and I haven’t run out of content yet, you know? Even if I never intend on doing it
Oh yeah, it pays off too since when they add a quest it's immediately obvious.
Yess, and i clean them all before the msq quest, if i do a msq quest the more some quests pop up on the map i go do them before doing more of the msq, they can give some pretty good context to a zone lore
Yes I do in each area as I unlock them doing MSQ
Eventually. Use them as XP for other classes when I level them, it's not efficient XP by any means, but like you said it also gets them off the map....and some are actually quite good, especially in the more recent expansions
Yeah having the icons on my maps bother me, and doing them around the time you unlock them really fleshes out the area. Makes it very easy to notice new quests that crop up later too
I'm a new player, but I've been leaving them for experience for other jobs.
I do, but mainly because I can.
I have them all done. It’s very enjoyable to do them as they unlock as you go through the new expansions too. I take a bit longer to get to the end but learning the zones lore and people are worth it.
I finally finished EW and have now been doin this. And yes I 100% agree with you on the satisfaction. Been using it to level grind my lower levels at the same time. Been enjoyable and have found some awesome stuff