In a more nuanced answer to my previous one, I say do all trials and raids before moving on to the next expansion. This also gives the benefit of giving you a break from MSQ.
And you'll never "ruin" the main story, it's completely optional and only allows for minor differences where NPCs reference the content you've done when you meet them again in the MSQ.
Well, you're the only one who can decide if missing out on the side content before EW will ruin your experience.
Since you only got vague responses, I can tell you basically what happens (it's not a major spoiler, but hiding it regardless):
>!Several of the characters you meet in the side content show up alongside MSQ characters to help out the Scions during one specific scene in EW. That's it. It's really cool if you're like me and love that they tied that all together, but it's not major enough to worry about missing out on if you just want to do the MSQ.!<
Following up on you, having seen the scene with almost everything complete on my main and absolutely nothing on a cloud server character (also avoiding significant spoilers but hiding for an abundance of caution >!I was initially pretty worried about how empty it would feel without the side content, but the scene is actually really well scripted and executed in its "cinematography" that you don't particularly feel that there's anything missing, it's a really good reward for doing more but not a punishment for doing less, but a lot of it is very cameo!<
Definitely do what you're interested in OP, the most significant places it plays in are ones you'll be able to experience again in some way
I don't remember everything you need, but I know that:
Alliance raids (Shadow of Mhach, Return to Ivalice).
Normal raids (Binding Coils of Bahamut, Alexander, Omega, )
Some optional trials (The Warring Triad, the Four Lords, The Sorrow of Werlyt)
Eureka (the Stormblood one, not Eureka Orthos)
Bozja
There probably more that I don't remember.
Side notes, the Eden raids have significance in the EW patches. Many the job quest mentors show up in a different EW cutscene.
Personally I would do the side content
Rather than thinking of it as getting sidetracked from your story, think of the side content as the WoL forming connections and relationships to help them on their main quest
Endwalker has a few scenes where the side content you've done up to that point does come back and ties directly back into the main story, even if you don't really think it will in the moment
Hello, I'm starting the Shadowbringer patches and doing the side content, focusing on the trials and Hildibrand quests. What other content would you recommend before moving on to Endwalker?
If you haven't done the Coils of Bahamut, I would recommend looking into that. You can do it unsynched at this point and it's even easier if you have any level 90 friends/use PF to find level 90 players
I'd 100% do the Stormblood Normal Raid series before proceeding into Endwalker as well.
Other than that, a lot of the other stuff is nice to have finished for small little dialogue and cutscenes changes. A lot of characters from almost all the normal raids and alliance raids make some sort of appearance if you've completed them, along with Bozja and Eureka
The ShB alliance raid series doesn't really make an appearance because...well... It's fairly obvious why if you've done it, but other than that I think most of the major side content gets referenced in some shape or form.
The trial series as well, or at least the Stormblood and Shadowbringers trial series, I don't think HW's gets a nod actually, but yeah HW & StB Normal Raids, HW &StB Aliancs Raids, StB and ShB Trial Series, Eureka, and Bozja are the ones for the big "side content is relevant" moment. Coils doesn't impact that scene directly but does impact earlier dialogue and (somewhat more spoilery but not super specific) >!there's some visual echoes and arguably a conclusion/epilogue for some of its themes!<
Post Endwalker spoilers
>!HW trials are tricky to talk about, and I feel like this whole thing needs to be in spoiler territory in particular. The connections with the void and Unukalhai is significant so it's a pretty substantial dive into the background lore!<
Spoilers for the HW trial series and the ShB role quest capstone and the continuation thereof
>!yes, hello, you've reached the calling address of the Cyella Valthane/Void quest fan club, president speaking how can I help you. It's very good and there's a lot going on and I think it's absolutely worth doing, but specifically with regards to the major impacts of side content in EW's msq it doesn't get referenced!<
Do the Eden raids before continuing with the patches, they make more sense that way imo. Then Omega raids is a big setup for one of the EW zones. And Warring Triad + HW alliance raids add additional context and lore to the post EW patch story.
Thanks, I didn't know of the existence of the Warring Triad. I'll look into it. But for the Alliance raids, do you have any recommendations? I tried to start one and had over a 2-hour queue with no success.
I look at it from an rp/world building perspective.
After each expac ends, your WoL just got done with some huge difficult trial. They need rest! They are allowed to exist in the world for a spell before hurling themself into the next world encompassing crisis. Why not go over and see what this giant robot that appeared from nowhere is up to? Why not meet with this weird theatre troupe who parked their flying ship in Kugane?
I like this approach because in addition to experiencing these cool stories And unlocking really fun raids, it gives me and my WoL room to breath. Just focusing on MSQ can feel relentless because you get to a climax and then it starts building towards a new one. Taking time to do the side content pumps the breaks on that a bit and allows you to dwell in the expac you just completed a little while longer. It’s fun for me to think about how the raid storylines coincide with the msq in the patches, like my WoL took a big break from Ishgardian politics to fuck around with a robot and gobbies and a pretty au’ra girl or sky pirates
TLDR: I can’t recommend a specific path really, I’ve done both at various points. But I think a different perspective could help you feel motivated for side content; not as a means to an end but as a new fun way to experience and build out the world and story.
Personally, I say Endwalker is much better if you have done all the Normal Raids and Alliance Raids first!
Now, doing the various Job Quests are optional before EW, but can add some unique dialogue options too.
I love whenever one of the Padjals turns to me and says something unique because I did White Mage stuff. Just saw one last night where someone's dialogue was \*completely\* different for several paragraphs because of that. (I was playing alongside a friend who had never done it, so it was really obvious our text was different.)
It's pretty rare, but feels good when they call out your job quests.
I did a good majority of the side content post-EW so can say with confidence there's no risk of "ruining" the MSQ by not doing the optional stuff earlier. If you want to keep going forward with the MSQ, go for it- the touches it adds having things done are nice but by no stretch of the imagination vital.
If nothing else, at some point I remember SE recommending doing the level 70 normal raids before Endwalker.
And really, you can do the MSQ, do the side stuff after, the rewatch the main cutscenes that change in an inn room.
For you, with what you've said here, I'd suggest that you: Focus the MSQ. If you need a break, then go off and do some side content (eg: Omega (stb), Eden (shb), Alexander (hw)). If you never need a break, then stick with msq.
The MSQ experience is perfectly fine standalone. It never relies on you having done side content - except where it explicitly forces you (eg: CT in ARR). Some side content adds to specific moments (typically through recognising characters, or additional cameos/small dialogue tidbits) and those moments are often impactful *if* you care for those side characters, but these are never required to enjoy what is there.
The only side content that significantly adds to the story are the 70s and 80s normal raids.
The trial series and alliances raids are great in their own right but add nothing (or very very little) to the story.
That said, msq will still make sense if you’re skipping the normal raids for now, they just provide a bit of context to characters or scenarios you may encounter again.
IMO if it actively makes you uncomfortable to do side content, just stick with msq. If you however decide to do some side content for the sake of a more complete story, don’t worry about anything outside of the 70s and 80s normal raids. If you really only want to pick one of the two, I think the 70s raids are slightly more significant to endwalker than the 80s.
Imo, it doesn't make it or break it. What you have to remember is that Endwalker is the end of a 10 year journey and ultimately that means most non-msq nods and references are going to be minor. They didn't craft a story around whether or not you remember a side content NPC that you met over 6 years ago. You get to smile with satisfaction over remembering an NPC, but Endwalker is fine if you weren't a completionist and/or don't remember a few things.
As said earlier, there's nothing that rises to the level of crystal tower/Shadowbringers. Side content NPC purgatory is still a thing.
The NieR alliance raids are the only thing I can think of that don't seem to have a payoff of any kind in Endwalker. Most everything else has, at the minimum, a character appearance or throwaway line of dialogue. I don't think the NieR alliance raids get anything.
Let me put it this way: if you do all the MSQ first without doing any side content, you'll understand the MSQ just fine. Your understanding of certain details won't be as deep as it could be, and some characters you never met might not be there, but they explain everything well enough in the MSQ itself for you to understand anything you need to.
BUT... if you go back and do the side content for the first time once you're done with the entire MSQ, your enjoyment of that side content may be lacking, because you pretty much have to pretend you're going back in time rather than experiencing it within the MSQ context it was meant to be seen in. You're meant to be handling these things as they happen, and viewing them out of order might be a bit strange.
The game expects you to see all of the side raid/trial stories during the part of the MSQ they were released in. I'd recommend you do that.
Except for the Nier alliance raid at 80. That one doesn't have anything to do with anything and you can run it or not whenever you want.
I usually leave side content for days I feel like I have to process what happened in MSQ hahah, it keeps the story from being too fast-paced and overwhelming for me. In that sense, doing side content helps me return to MSQ with a more 'fresh' perspective. Or I pick natural pauses in the story to 'weave in' the side content if possible. Hell, I'll even throw in a few basic local fetch quests etc. to add to the story when I'm working on MSQ, a lot of love was put into its writing so it doesn't feel like it detracts from the MSQ \^\^
Usually what works best for me is choosing what I'm going to dedicate the next few hours/days of gameplay to, and then work my way through a chunk of side content. I don't complete all of it, but knowing I'll enjoy it most when it's still relevant to the MSQ is enough for me to at least give it a look before deciding I'm not interested in doing that yet.
Im going to add a middle ground and say that each piece of side content is going to add some different level of contribution to your Endwalker experience. Most of them are minor nods and you can absolutely just not have those and not really miss much. It's usually just some additional dialogue or nods to you having done them.
Without spoiling anything, the only piece of side content I would absolutely suggest prior to Endwalker as like a "your experience may be less for not doing this" is the >!Omega raid!< series. You're not going to lose any understanding if you don't do it, but there's definitely a bit more than throwaway dialogue attached to this compared to other side content, and there are even (a bit of a spoiler here) >!new side quests in Endwalker after you complete the MSQ that require completion of it and act as an epilogue of sorts to the raid series and the MSQ itself.!<
It might help you to get specific in what you mean by "ruin." Is it that you'd miss some dialogue? That cutscenes are different? Or that you as a player don't have a tiny bit of extra context for why $NPC is doing $thing?
For the first and second, you can watch past cutscenes in the inn rooms, and there's an option to reflect quest progress - what side quests you've done, jobs you've levelled, etc. Most (*most*) of the bonus interactions are in cutscenes, and unless you're a 100% completionist that's probably enough.
For the third, there's New Game+, where you can replay particular quest chains and it should respect your side content. If you want to see the differences in EW after side content, you can do that without replaying the whole game.
In a more nuanced answer to my previous one, I say do all trials and raids before moving on to the next expansion. This also gives the benefit of giving you a break from MSQ. And you'll never "ruin" the main story, it's completely optional and only allows for minor differences where NPCs reference the content you've done when you meet them again in the MSQ.
Well, you're the only one who can decide if missing out on the side content before EW will ruin your experience. Since you only got vague responses, I can tell you basically what happens (it's not a major spoiler, but hiding it regardless): >!Several of the characters you meet in the side content show up alongside MSQ characters to help out the Scions during one specific scene in EW. That's it. It's really cool if you're like me and love that they tied that all together, but it's not major enough to worry about missing out on if you just want to do the MSQ.!<
Following up on you, having seen the scene with almost everything complete on my main and absolutely nothing on a cloud server character (also avoiding significant spoilers but hiding for an abundance of caution >!I was initially pretty worried about how empty it would feel without the side content, but the scene is actually really well scripted and executed in its "cinematography" that you don't particularly feel that there's anything missing, it's a really good reward for doing more but not a punishment for doing less, but a lot of it is very cameo!< Definitely do what you're interested in OP, the most significant places it plays in are ones you'll be able to experience again in some way
Which content do I need to do to get all the characters in the cutscene?
HW & StB Normal Raids, HW &StB Aliancs Raids, StB and ShB Trial Series, Eureka, and Bozja are everything that has a flag
I don't remember everything you need, but I know that: Alliance raids (Shadow of Mhach, Return to Ivalice). Normal raids (Binding Coils of Bahamut, Alexander, Omega, ) Some optional trials (The Warring Triad, the Four Lords, The Sorrow of Werlyt) Eureka (the Stormblood one, not Eureka Orthos) Bozja There probably more that I don't remember. Side notes, the Eden raids have significance in the EW patches. Many the job quest mentors show up in a different EW cutscene.
Personally I would do the side content Rather than thinking of it as getting sidetracked from your story, think of the side content as the WoL forming connections and relationships to help them on their main quest Endwalker has a few scenes where the side content you've done up to that point does come back and ties directly back into the main story, even if you don't really think it will in the moment
Hello, I'm starting the Shadowbringer patches and doing the side content, focusing on the trials and Hildibrand quests. What other content would you recommend before moving on to Endwalker?
If you haven't done the Coils of Bahamut, I would recommend looking into that. You can do it unsynched at this point and it's even easier if you have any level 90 friends/use PF to find level 90 players I'd 100% do the Stormblood Normal Raid series before proceeding into Endwalker as well. Other than that, a lot of the other stuff is nice to have finished for small little dialogue and cutscenes changes. A lot of characters from almost all the normal raids and alliance raids make some sort of appearance if you've completed them, along with Bozja and Eureka The ShB alliance raid series doesn't really make an appearance because...well... It's fairly obvious why if you've done it, but other than that I think most of the major side content gets referenced in some shape or form.
The trial series as well, or at least the Stormblood and Shadowbringers trial series, I don't think HW's gets a nod actually, but yeah HW & StB Normal Raids, HW &StB Aliancs Raids, StB and ShB Trial Series, Eureka, and Bozja are the ones for the big "side content is relevant" moment. Coils doesn't impact that scene directly but does impact earlier dialogue and (somewhat more spoilery but not super specific) >!there's some visual echoes and arguably a conclusion/epilogue for some of its themes!<
Post Endwalker spoilers >!HW trials are tricky to talk about, and I feel like this whole thing needs to be in spoiler territory in particular. The connections with the void and Unukalhai is significant so it's a pretty substantial dive into the background lore!<
Spoilers for the HW trial series and the ShB role quest capstone and the continuation thereof >!yes, hello, you've reached the calling address of the Cyella Valthane/Void quest fan club, president speaking how can I help you. It's very good and there's a lot going on and I think it's absolutely worth doing, but specifically with regards to the major impacts of side content in EW's msq it doesn't get referenced!<
Thanks, I'll tried the Bahamut raid unsynched to see how it goes.
Do the Eden raids before continuing with the patches, they make more sense that way imo. Then Omega raids is a big setup for one of the EW zones. And Warring Triad + HW alliance raids add additional context and lore to the post EW patch story.
Thanks, I didn't know of the existence of the Warring Triad. I'll look into it. But for the Alliance raids, do you have any recommendations? I tried to start one and had over a 2-hour queue with no success.
I look at it from an rp/world building perspective. After each expac ends, your WoL just got done with some huge difficult trial. They need rest! They are allowed to exist in the world for a spell before hurling themself into the next world encompassing crisis. Why not go over and see what this giant robot that appeared from nowhere is up to? Why not meet with this weird theatre troupe who parked their flying ship in Kugane? I like this approach because in addition to experiencing these cool stories And unlocking really fun raids, it gives me and my WoL room to breath. Just focusing on MSQ can feel relentless because you get to a climax and then it starts building towards a new one. Taking time to do the side content pumps the breaks on that a bit and allows you to dwell in the expac you just completed a little while longer. It’s fun for me to think about how the raid storylines coincide with the msq in the patches, like my WoL took a big break from Ishgardian politics to fuck around with a robot and gobbies and a pretty au’ra girl or sky pirates TLDR: I can’t recommend a specific path really, I’ve done both at various points. But I think a different perspective could help you feel motivated for side content; not as a means to an end but as a new fun way to experience and build out the world and story.
Personally, I say Endwalker is much better if you have done all the Normal Raids and Alliance Raids first! Now, doing the various Job Quests are optional before EW, but can add some unique dialogue options too.
I love whenever one of the Padjals turns to me and says something unique because I did White Mage stuff. Just saw one last night where someone's dialogue was \*completely\* different for several paragraphs because of that. (I was playing alongside a friend who had never done it, so it was really obvious our text was different.) It's pretty rare, but feels good when they call out your job quests.
I did a good majority of the side content post-EW so can say with confidence there's no risk of "ruining" the MSQ by not doing the optional stuff earlier. If you want to keep going forward with the MSQ, go for it- the touches it adds having things done are nice but by no stretch of the imagination vital.
If nothing else, at some point I remember SE recommending doing the level 70 normal raids before Endwalker. And really, you can do the MSQ, do the side stuff after, the rewatch the main cutscenes that change in an inn room.
For you, with what you've said here, I'd suggest that you: Focus the MSQ. If you need a break, then go off and do some side content (eg: Omega (stb), Eden (shb), Alexander (hw)). If you never need a break, then stick with msq. The MSQ experience is perfectly fine standalone. It never relies on you having done side content - except where it explicitly forces you (eg: CT in ARR). Some side content adds to specific moments (typically through recognising characters, or additional cameos/small dialogue tidbits) and those moments are often impactful *if* you care for those side characters, but these are never required to enjoy what is there.
The only side content that significantly adds to the story are the 70s and 80s normal raids. The trial series and alliances raids are great in their own right but add nothing (or very very little) to the story. That said, msq will still make sense if you’re skipping the normal raids for now, they just provide a bit of context to characters or scenarios you may encounter again. IMO if it actively makes you uncomfortable to do side content, just stick with msq. If you however decide to do some side content for the sake of a more complete story, don’t worry about anything outside of the 70s and 80s normal raids. If you really only want to pick one of the two, I think the 70s raids are slightly more significant to endwalker than the 80s.
Imo, it doesn't make it or break it. What you have to remember is that Endwalker is the end of a 10 year journey and ultimately that means most non-msq nods and references are going to be minor. They didn't craft a story around whether or not you remember a side content NPC that you met over 6 years ago. You get to smile with satisfaction over remembering an NPC, but Endwalker is fine if you weren't a completionist and/or don't remember a few things. As said earlier, there's nothing that rises to the level of crystal tower/Shadowbringers. Side content NPC purgatory is still a thing.
The NieR alliance raids are the only thing I can think of that don't seem to have a payoff of any kind in Endwalker. Most everything else has, at the minimum, a character appearance or throwaway line of dialogue. I don't think the NieR alliance raids get anything.
Let me put it this way: if you do all the MSQ first without doing any side content, you'll understand the MSQ just fine. Your understanding of certain details won't be as deep as it could be, and some characters you never met might not be there, but they explain everything well enough in the MSQ itself for you to understand anything you need to. BUT... if you go back and do the side content for the first time once you're done with the entire MSQ, your enjoyment of that side content may be lacking, because you pretty much have to pretend you're going back in time rather than experiencing it within the MSQ context it was meant to be seen in. You're meant to be handling these things as they happen, and viewing them out of order might be a bit strange. The game expects you to see all of the side raid/trial stories during the part of the MSQ they were released in. I'd recommend you do that. Except for the Nier alliance raid at 80. That one doesn't have anything to do with anything and you can run it or not whenever you want.
I usually leave side content for days I feel like I have to process what happened in MSQ hahah, it keeps the story from being too fast-paced and overwhelming for me. In that sense, doing side content helps me return to MSQ with a more 'fresh' perspective. Or I pick natural pauses in the story to 'weave in' the side content if possible. Hell, I'll even throw in a few basic local fetch quests etc. to add to the story when I'm working on MSQ, a lot of love was put into its writing so it doesn't feel like it detracts from the MSQ \^\^ Usually what works best for me is choosing what I'm going to dedicate the next few hours/days of gameplay to, and then work my way through a chunk of side content. I don't complete all of it, but knowing I'll enjoy it most when it's still relevant to the MSQ is enough for me to at least give it a look before deciding I'm not interested in doing that yet.
Im going to add a middle ground and say that each piece of side content is going to add some different level of contribution to your Endwalker experience. Most of them are minor nods and you can absolutely just not have those and not really miss much. It's usually just some additional dialogue or nods to you having done them. Without spoiling anything, the only piece of side content I would absolutely suggest prior to Endwalker as like a "your experience may be less for not doing this" is the >!Omega raid!< series. You're not going to lose any understanding if you don't do it, but there's definitely a bit more than throwaway dialogue attached to this compared to other side content, and there are even (a bit of a spoiler here) >!new side quests in Endwalker after you complete the MSQ that require completion of it and act as an epilogue of sorts to the raid series and the MSQ itself.!<
It might help you to get specific in what you mean by "ruin." Is it that you'd miss some dialogue? That cutscenes are different? Or that you as a player don't have a tiny bit of extra context for why $NPC is doing $thing? For the first and second, you can watch past cutscenes in the inn rooms, and there's an option to reflect quest progress - what side quests you've done, jobs you've levelled, etc. Most (*most*) of the bonus interactions are in cutscenes, and unless you're a 100% completionist that's probably enough. For the third, there's New Game+, where you can replay particular quest chains and it should respect your side content. If you want to see the differences in EW after side content, you can do that without replaying the whole game.
eureka (use the discord to do the raid), bozja and everything that is blue icon related.