1. Fetch Quests
And yet, nothing bores me quite as much as a good 'ol fashioned fetch quest. It normally occurs in an RPG; you'll usually be instructed to talk to someone who can help you, but they'll want you to locate an item for them first. While in the confines of a short quest in say, Ni No Kuni, this can be relatively painless - even if it occurs far too frequently - it proves challenging in games such as Mass Effect which feature lengthy portions of the game as essentially one giant, dull fetch quest. It is, for my money, the most lazy and contemptible plot device there is; nothing bores me quicker in a game that being distracted from the meat of the story to have to collect some trinkets for the local bread lady, when all I want to do is
get on with the damn story. Why it occurs so often in RPGs is anyone's guess, given that those games are usually long enough already... Which lazy plot devices irritate you the most? Let us know in the comments below.