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I would bet almost no effect at all. UNLESS they actively search out social media with pictures of said minion and say "WHO DIS?". But then they're literally asking to be spoiled.
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Most newer players's attention span tends to be short from my experience. Are there going to still be some astute people who catch wind of spoilery minions and figure whats the context early on absolutely! Heck this isnt even in-game related, social media sites and what not constantly show the current expansion and characters all around. So the game itself isnt a total blame but its the result of a community that shares FFXIV related content.
My case is, there are newer players that will be smart enough to not be distracted by online exposure and focus on the game in their playthroughs. What ultimately matters is understanding the context and meaning behind what they see anyway and for the most part that tends to be the thing that sticks around rather than the impression.
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I think glamour has had a bigger spoiler impact on me than the minions and mounts have. Like that robe the ancients give you in the MSQ at Elpis, I saw people wearing it before I even got to that stage in the game. I was in Zodiark and saw people wearing it, and it was a safe bet that something was gonna happen later.
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I suppose one way to combat the in-game spoilers from players and objects and I dont think SE has the tech capable to do it unlike Blizzard but one thing I love about WoW is its dynamic phasing system where you're seamlessly sent to different instances depending on your current state of a zone or quest.
If SE can somehow replicate that by phasing out high level players from the world for new players to experience the msq, that could help solve it. However most likely it'll make the game look dead in many areas besides the 3 major hubs. Probably too extreme of a solution for a problem thats honestly minor-mid.