Heavensward content

[Sagittarian]

This is why there is a discussion about jump potions.

The comment about "what is current content" is a good point though - most of the lvl 60 HW dungeons aren't even "current content" anymore. They were "current" when when they were released sometime in the past 2 years but now they're only run when required by story content or to unlock roulettes. Just getting to level 60 wouldn't get you to the "current" content - you'd still have to go through all of the 3.x patch content just as you're looking at having to do all of the 2.x patch content now.

[LunaFaye]

how many new players do you think you are going to KEEP if you require them to invest 2 months of gaming BEFORE they can get to the current content? and realistically it is probably closer to 3 months for a casual player to get to lvl 50, then complete the 3 other storyline arc's and be ready for stormblood.

It takes actually for a casual player a week and a half finishing the ARR and another 2 week to finish HW content, if played at a rate of 4 hours a day, I've tested it. If you have more time then that, well you are looking at 4 days of 1-50, 2 days of patch 2.0 - 2.55 (entering ishgard), 5 days to get through the whole HW expansion including the up to date patches.

Will you have to skip most of the game to archive that? Sure but it's possible, therefore most of the wow players as you call them, are joining because their friends are at end level, meaning they have read plenty of guides and are only interested in skipping content. These people also do not fall under the category of casuals.

I think you're throwing some groups all together and putting them in the same stereotypical drawer. Casuals, do take their time but it don't matter to them. They are enjoying the game by itself and are in no rush of reaching end game as quick as possible.

With that out of the way, you could always wait for the new expansion in June, apparently you'll be able to skip the old ARR main story content if you are willing to pay via mog station.

SE has shorten most of the main scenario quests, removed quests that were MSQ prior and put em as side quest that are not mandatory anymore and increased the exp etc. It took us 2+ years to go through the same content, players nowadays be able to skip and reach within days.

While I think we should have added this potion way earlier, especially for people that like their alts, I don't think we need to remove half of the actual base game, just that people can reach HW content within a couple of hours or days. That kinda beats the purpose of a game that's very story driven.

Let me add, even if you are making it too the "end" within a short time, one thing SE didn't do, give out gear. I know people are joking around saying we having free gear etc, and while it's easier to obtain than to old ARR times, it's still hell of a farm. Plan another 3-4 months till you actually have the full set of gear that your class needs, just to find out that with the release of storm blood, that gear becomes meaning less. You will have not only to start leveling your way up too 70, but will spend the next year or two (depending when 5.0 comes out) running after gear that's renewed every 3 - 6 months. A never ending cycle!

If you're not up for that kind of "challenge" might as well not continue with the game because there's no change on the horizon anytime soon lol.

[Reinha]

All content is current content because capped players still run roulettes (random instances) and farm anima weapons and hunts to populate all maps. Anything you haven't done is new to you and if you don't like it at level 50, I'm sorry to say the game doesn't magically become a different game at level 60. There are 24-man raids and hardmode trials to try at level 50, and people do queue up for those. You still have a couple of months to enjoy the story up to the current patch until Stormblood continues that same story. Expansions aren't disconnected like they are in WoW.

Also you mentioned there not being a global chat in this game. Actually there is one, the Novice Network, and it's available to you as long as you have the leaf icon (until the end of level 50 main scenario quests and 7 full days logged in). You need an invite from a mentor (crown icon). You can ask questions and find party members in there.

[Niwashi]

it doesn't make much sense to force players to do previous expansion content to gate current content, at least if its not relevant.

If it weren't relevant, then it wouldn't be required. But that's not the case here. Those quests are relevant.

Admittedly, it's roughly the later half of those patch quests whose relevance is the most obvious. They're the lead up to the Heavensward story, and how our characters get to Ishgard. They're essentially already part of Heavensward except that they don't require purchase of the expansion to do them. It's silly to complain about not being on Heavensward yet when you essentially already are.

(Or if you're talking more specifically about functional relevance, those patch quests have been updated to give out gear that gets you to the stats necessary to continue. You'd be far further behind if you still had to grind out everything a tier at a time the way people did back when it was first being released. Instead you have those quests to jump-start you to the gear levels necessary to do Heavensward content.)


FFXIV is a story focused game. It's weird how many players accept it perfectly well that earlier content is gated on the story, but then are perplexed that level 50 content is still gated on the story. It's still the same game. That basic pattern doesn't change just because an expansion came out. The expansions just give us more of the game, more of the storyline, to go through.

With Stormblood, SE will be changing some of the issues with the Heavensward gating, though. We won't have to complete all the prior storyline to unlock Red Mage and Samurai, like we do with Dark Knight, Astrologian, and Machinist. But the main scenario is still the story, and still continues from the previous story. (It's why purchase of Stormblood includes access to Heavensward, because they're still tied together. One continues from where the other left off.)

[cbTitan]

I think I understand his point, but likely because I'm not yet through the story yet. I was thinking along the same lines and just figured that once I reached level 50 and finished the Ultimate Weapon main story, that I could move on to HW content to start leveling 50-60. It sounds like I will have to complete all story missions and stay at level 50 for a while before I can start HW content and my 50-60 levels. That is a surprise to me, so I get the point. If true, then I'm somewhat disappointed if I cannot start a Dark Knight or Machinist until weeks after I reach level 50. If I have this all wrong, please forgive me since I am new.

I'm not saying it's a terrible thing, just that newer players are likely thinking like us that once I get to 50, I can immediately start HW content.

[Iggyplatinum]

The additional lore, cutscenes, gameplay, music, and, to round it out, storyline, make the quests well worth playing and not skipping or speeding through.

[Frizze]

I think I understand his point, but likely because I'm not yet through the story yet. I was thinking along the same lines and just figured that once I reached level 50 and finished the Ultimate Weapon main story, that I could move on to HW content to start leveling 50-60. It sounds like I will have to complete all story missions and stay at level 50 for a while before I can start HW content and my 50-60 levels. That is a surprise to me, so I get the point. If true, then I'm somewhat disappointed if I cannot start a Dark Knight or Machinist until weeks after I reach level 50. If I have this all wrong, please forgive me since I am new.

I'm not saying it's a terrible thing, just that newer players are likely thinking like us that once I get to 50, I can immediately start HW content.

If you bought the expansion and register it to your account, then this is half true. As long as your account is expansion tagged, you dont "stay" at level 50. True, youve got a lot of level 50 quests to get through, but you keep earning exp the whole way and can start the expansion with a headstart(if you dont have the expansion registered, any exp earned at level 50 is lost and you will get stuck at the final quest in the chain until you do buy HW). An average player gets through those quests in 1-2 weeks. You could hardcore grind it out in like 4 hours by skipping cutscenes and getting good ques, or you could hyper-casual it for over a month by also doing all the side stories before advancing and only playing an hour or two a week. Its only 6 trials(2-10 mins each), 3 dungeons(15-30 mins each), and a lot of running around. For many people, its also during that stretch of quests that the story really starts to get good. And in one sense, you ARE doing the HW content after ultimate weapon. Ishgard is an insular country with a closed border and a heavy suspicion of anyone from outside. Theyre 1000 years into a war that has no end in sight, and every day their enemies look for weaknesses they can exploit to get inside and bring them down. You spend a lot of those quests earning their trust and getting them to let you be the exception that passes the Gates of Judgement. Plus other spoilery things happen. My advice is to not worry about the destination and enjoy the ride.

With that said, SE did realize that this was partly a mistake. So the new classes in the next expansion will have their trainers in zones you can already get to, just incase you dont completely catch up in time.