ARR, by today's standards in 2020, isn't all that great of a game in itself. It's story is hampered by it's pacing, and the quest structure pads out the story in an annoying way. That being said, this game wouldn't have the fanbase that it does if ARR was the meat and potatoes of the experience. Characters that you meet grow and change over the course of the rest of the game. Your character, in fact, is not merely a 1 to 1 expy of yourself, and has a persona that shows through as the game progresses. And there are no retcons, convenient breaks of character to suit narrative, or general writing...tendencies (save for a couple of points, which you are free to complain about in the OT, because most of us agree) that serve to destroy suspension of disbelief or otherwise contradict your understanding of things unnecessarily. For all it's warts, ARR builds the lore and sets the context for what's to come consistently.
Heavensward, Stormblood, and Shadowbringers, in contrast to ARR:
-are less reliant on filler quests
-have meatier campaigns
-have more cutscenes and cinematics
-have much better characterization
-have much larger maps
-don't make you run back and forth incessantly
-don't make you specifically return to the waking anything ad nauseum
-are better paced
-have much more convincing and engaging casts
-grow the characters in believable and relatable ways
-have much improved character designs, monster designs, and weapon designs
-have much more atmosphere and mood to their settings and locations
-substantially grow the lore that ARR establishes
-have much improved music
In short, starting with Heavensward, you see the results of a team of developers that literally grew in skill and presentation, and found their footing, alongside the game's characters, story, and the game proper. That doesn't make ARR better, so much as it shows how much they have improved since. I don't fault anyone for not wanting to give the rest of the game a try if ARR is so untenable for them. You have to have found -something- enjoyable about the story, characters, setting, or gameplay for the expansions to grab you. Nor am I saying you should play the game expecting a masterpiece to unfold before your very eyes once Heavensward begins. Forget the massive hype that people like myself give the game about it being the best FF in the past 20 years or other hyperbole. If you find anything at all engaging about where the story and characters lead to in ARR, I implore you to try the rest of the game's expansions.
We can discuss the finer points of the game's design and decisions. But considering how many people enjoy this game, and the story - I'm convinced the story is worth experiencing. And ARR, while not the best part of it by far, does still set the stage and establish the cast, and has a good finale and final act after a meandering first half and a bit. And that first part of the narrative is setting the world and it's situation. This isn't about playing until it gets to the good parts. If you hate the setting, characters, hate the expositions and world building, and play it only because everyone else seems to like it, so you're looking for that special something to pinpoint, you're gonna have a bad time. Heavensward and beyond work so well because ARR sets the stage for them to take advantage of the world, lore, and characters that it builds.
I should also note that you don't have to play most of the side content, or do much of anything besides the core story quests if you just want to experience the narrative. In fact, you could probably finish the whole story from ARR to Shadowbringers in several months at an hour or two a night, or some day-long Sundays. If you're subbed that whole time, that's maybe $120 or so including the base game, Shadowbringers (which includes all prior expansions), and a six-month sub, for 400 hours or more of narrative, not including the side stories and other content.
A lot of people put hundreds, or thousands, of hours into a game of their choice. I know that time is the most precious commodity, but IMO, this game is worth the investment, and worth the time spent on ARR to experience the rest of the game.
