Gating the whole expansion

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Originally Posted by Madjames

Had they allowed to at least ENTER the new area I would be ok. As it is now, I paid for an expansion I can not see AT ALL which in turn is not right. Can I get a refund until I am allowed to get into the expac then? Because I paid for a product I am not allowed to utilize at all.

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Found out the reason why they forbade entering - the NPCs sell iLvl 115 gear. That, and the storyline is all about the Warrior of Light (you) getting permission to enter because of stuff that happens in patch 2.55.

another 1 of these threads ._.

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Originally Posted by Nektulos-Tuor

Hate to say it, but I told you so. It seems you "veterans" don't know new players after all. ;)

Darn i'm tired!

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<- New player here. I've only been playing for ~3 months. The story quests are seriously not hard to get through if you actually, you know, try to do them. It takes like, a few days at max.

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Originally Posted by Madjames

...it was in World of Warcraft, and every other MMORPG before this one.

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Game is not WoW.
Game is not like every other MMO.
You had months to find this out, it's not like they kept it in secret.

You did not buy the right to enter the new areas just because you are L50, you bought a license to continue your storyline quest and gain eligibility to enter the new worlds. And then there's the gear grind, by the way, you need a certain iLevel, too. Boy are you in for some disappointment...

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Originally Posted by lynn_

<- New player here. I've only been playing for ~3 months. The story quests are seriously not hard to get through if you actually, you know, try to do them. It takes like, a few days at max.

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New too and im playing like...half a month?

They did warn the player like..half a year? Dunno. But its your fault for not keeping up to date.

And you didnt enter Burning Crusade with 50. You were not allowed until 58. Same wit Wrath of the Lichking (68)

Where's the down vote button? I can't find it anywhere.

OP, whether you start the 3.0 stuff now or later, it still adds up the same, you have the content available when you finish the MSQ. At least you weren't like other folks who finished the main storyline only to wait months for the expansion. And you can level your character up while doing the main quests. Stop whining, enjoy what you have now. HW isn't going anywhere.

(Unless there's a second Dalamud...)

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Originally Posted by Hypie

New too and im playing like...half a month?

They did warn the player like..half a year? Dunno. But its your fault for not keeping up to date.

And you didnt enter Burning Crusade with 50. You were not allowed until 58. Same wit Wrath of the Lichking (68)

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I agree with Hypie.

I hate it when some players claim that because they are new players they can't do the main story. I am new, too. I've been playing 3 months and I did not do the main story the whole 3 months (it took me 1 months cuz I was busy with school and work). Some people /individuals are just lazy that don't want to do anything. This i s a game that is true, but any game (video game/beach game/ children plays) demand some type of work/effort to play/continue to play a game.

The xpac clearly says you need to have the msq cleared before being able to play in ishgard

On the bright side since you bought the xpac, you'll get all that xp while doing your level 50 msq, instead of being level capped if you didnt buy it

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Originally Posted by Madjames

The point here is that this is a big problem. How can someone be OK with paying for an expansion and being the required level only to find out that they have to run through tons of stupid Pre-expansion bullcrap quests in order to access the main content that they paid for? The answer to me is it is NOT ok and a total stupid move on SE's part. I paid for the expansion and am the required level. Yet I am STUCK doing pre-expansion bullcrap.

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It's actually perfectly ok in a story-based MMO. All content is unlocked through quests in FFXIV.

If you honestly think pre expansion story is, as you say, 'bullcrap', then you might as well not have paid for an expansion, because it literally 'expands' on what you get before 3.0...

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Originally Posted by Madjames

I paid for an expansion I can not see AT ALL

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What is completely wrong. You can see it, after you have done the other stuff before.


Expansion = Expanding an already existing game

Expansion ≠ Replacing an already existing game

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Originally Posted by Madjames

I pre-ordered the expansion and am currently playing. However, I am sad to find out that there was No point in doing so.

I am on a quest called Into the heart of the Whorl. I was so excited to get in the game game and expac with my friends during this early access but can not due to the whole stupid thing being gated by this boring TOO LONG story quest.

Sad to say SE this is a big issue and one I think you need to address. I am level 50 and should be able to enter the new areas and continue on my way like it was in World of Warcraft, and every other MMORPG before this one. Had I known that this is how it would be, I would have never pre-ordered. I was under the impression that we would be able to get into the new areas at least but saddly that is not the case.

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I feel you and i agree with you. I tried to argue this point but getting sympathy from people in this forum is not going to be easy believe me i know. I knew this was going to happen to people and im sorry it happened to you. The way they released this expansion as i've said before in another thread is a giant middle finger to newer players. Having people buy an expansion and then telling them they can't even access it is asinine and unless you follow this game religiously you would not have been aware of it.

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Having people buy an expansion and then telling them they can't even access it is asinine and unless you follow this game religiously you would not have been aware of it.

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Incorrect. SE warned us well in advance the expansion would be a direct continuation of ARR's story. Hence why they have multiple warnings saying "You must have ARR installed on your computer and be past "Before the Fall" before you can access Heavensward content."

You also didn't have to follow the game religiously. Simply complete the story up to the current patch. After that point, it doesn't matter what you do and you can still access the expansion content.

At the end of the day, the expansion is *NOT* geared towards newer players. It is geared towards those already at end game with nothing else to do other than to master everything.

The expansion happens directly after the events of ARR. No time skip whatsoever. I don't see a problem with what SE did.

It's not like old content and areas have lower graphic settings or anything. The entire FF14 leveling process now just expanded from 1-60 instead of 1-50. No reason for it to be only 50-60.

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Originally Posted by DreameR7g

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People don't understand that this is just an expansion. You are going to be required to be certain level or be in certain part of a story. It's like saying that you want to play in areas that are for level 80 and you are lvl 13, that's like wtf? It's just convenient that you can get level 50 on one class by just doing the main quest.

Players that just joined 1-2 weeks ago that did not do anything, BUT level like players that finished their main story are the one struggling. They are just doing FATE here and FATE there.

Another thing that surprises me is that they said that they got friends /online friends and rl friends/ in game, and they wanted to enjoy the game with their friends. Why didn't they ask their friends to help them. They are already level 50. If they didn't wan to help, then they are not really your friends....I am just saying.

If you honestly can not enjoy a game because you can't get the most "new and improved" content, when you have not finished the old - then you would most likely jump right onto the next MMO that released in a month.

Square-Enix constantly said over and over time and time again , you need to finish 2.XX story to get into Ishgard, and play Heavensward. If people were really interested in this game, as much as EVERYONE claims to be that is pissed about the gate because it was "new news" to them, it wasn't.

If they cared about Heavensward or even remoted cared, they would have seen it and heard about it. If they cared and enjoyed the game, for what it is they would understand the creators of this game, want you to do to the story. It's that simple if that doesn't work for you, then you should most likely look for a new game.

Also, it isn't the 23rd yet, go cancel your pre-order and get your money back.

I don't really understand how it's a waste of money anyway... Even if you only play 30mins to an hour per day, you'll be in Ishgard in a week or so. The quests are supposed to give item level appropriate gear for doing all of the minimum requirements for the dungeons and trials now. You're also getting experience from these quests now when you wouldn't be without the expansion, so you'll jump into Ishgard closer to 51 than you would be normally and closer to getting cool new skills.

I'm probably sounding like a broken record, but it's really not nearly as big of a deal as it's being made out to be. :( Even if you cancel your preorder and buy it after you finish the 2.55 story to enter Heavensward, you're paying the same money and possibly losing preorder items and all of that potential exp. There are tons of return players right now that are trying to catch up on story, so it shouldn't be *that* hard to find a group to do the handful of trials/dungeons. If not through queue, shout around for it or make a party finder.

So, I have to ask the whining newbs, you know you can skip the cutscenes ifyou don't want to watch the right?

honestly it is posts like this that make the new player base look like priviledged players which i know many are not.
All of us had to do the main story, it is part of the game and getting into ishgard is part of it so just do it.
Like others have said SE made it very clear months in advance that you needed the main storyline complete. Pretty sure it may of been on lodestone at some point as well as the screen were you see when first logging in?
It is like buying a car, do you research it or just say i will just buy it?

There's a main story here? All I've been doing is completing MORE menial tasks... I'm in the same boat and I'm not a fan. Not only is this story less than stellar, but all of the padding in it is mind numbingly bad.

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Originally Posted by ArcheDragon

There's a main story here? All I've been doing is completing MORE menial tasks... I'm in the same boat and I'm not a fan. Not only is this story less than stellar, but all of the padding in it is mind numbingly bad.

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If you aren't a fan, that's fair enough. I'd never tell people they had to *LIKE* the story. They merely have to complete it to gain access to the areas. This isn't anything new to the MMO genre. It is only new to you if you're used to WoW, which to be frank, went completely down hill after Wrath of the Lich King because the story simply wasn't as strong as before. It also was only catered to those who rushed to the end without enjoying anything in between.

Eventually, everybody learns the same lesson: "It is all about the journey, not the destination."

This game has always gated content behind the story and the expansion being gated was not a secret in fact sites have been reporting on it for months.

I'm in favor of them keeping it the way it is. If story doesn't matter to you, and you just want to skip it, go play WOW (where the story doesn't matter/doesn't make sense anyway). The story is VERY important to this game and I hope they never change it.

The practical problem that I've encountered is with getting friends to play the game. They see Heavensward is coming out. We talk about the main game, they get excited. We talk about HW, they get excited. Then I tell them that they can't really use most of HW until they've finished the MSQ from the base game and the major patches. They say *meh*.

I've had two friends seriously interested in picking up ARR and HW. Now, they might pick up ARR.

I think that the devs should have added a new area that was available to those who haven't finished the MSQ. A reclaimed area of Thanalan sort of thing. Rough and unsettled.

Because as it stands, that's two copies of HW that won't be sold because of the story ladder.

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Originally Posted by Alekxander

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Purely because they see progression as work, and not as something to have fun with as it should be. If it was an entirely seperate game and/or storyline, I'd be worried about the copies that aren't sold. However, considering its merely a continuation, the main focus is getting people into XIV as a whole, as it should be.

For example: The Wheel of Time book series, in my opinion, picked up rapidly at book 6. However, I wouldn't skip 1 through 5 just because I was more interested in book 6 and beyond. You rob yourself of the entire experience.

It's not that they are adverse to devoting time to the game. It's busy work that they are worried about. Having to do all the MSQ to open up any new areas or any new jobs. I like the storyline, it's one of the points that I emphasize when talking to my friends about the game. But I can't blame them or dismiss their concerns at coming into a mature game and having to climb that ladder. Hopefully, they'll enjoy it enough to continue on and buy HW eventually. But they aren't buying it now and they would have if they could have access to anything from HW.

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Originally Posted by Alekxander

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Well, I wouldn't advise new players to buy Heavensward straight away unless it came bundled w/ ARR in any case, purely because of how the expansion expands the end-game mainly.
You're right in that you shouldn't dismiss their concerns hastily but then, since Heavensward was advertised as an end-game extender, they shouldn't logically have those concerns anyway considering theres much more content in their way before they can even sniff Heavensward.

These people saying SqEnix has screwed newer players with this expac....
Meanwhile there's more new players posting in here saying they're fine with it and OP is just lazy, yet they're getting completely ignored.

"Nope it screws new players."
Pull your head out, the 2.0 contents queue times will balance out once people get to 60 and start running roulettes again. Quit acting like newer players will never see those of us who have been playing for month/years again.

I get why you are upset but then if you think about it, the "pre-xpac bullshit" you resent having to complete before HW is same kind of stuff you will be doing once you catch up. All I've done in Ishgard so far is read quest text, a bit of back and forth etc. It's pretty much the same as what you are doing now. Only you get to do the Primal fights which are arguably the most dynamic, fun content in this game and I have a lot of quests to get through before reaching any kind of fight. If I win the lottery I think I will employ a Lalafell to read the quests to me ^_^

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Originally Posted by Alekxander

It's not that they are adverse to devoting time to the game. It's busy work that they are worried about.

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This is literally every MMO that exists. People who don't like the grind just should not play MMOs. It does not matter what paint job you put on it, a grind is a grind is a grind. Sounds to me this isn't the genre for them.

WoW has it, GW2 has it, ESO has it, Tera and every other F2P has it, they all have this. If you don't join an MMO right from Beta you're going to have to climb a bit to get with everyone else. And compared to most other games, FF14 is the friendliest in terms of promoting vets to go visit old content to help lower players catch up. It's just part of what these games comes with.

For those who don't like the story, just skip the cutscenes. There has to be a barrier of some kind and this is what they picked. Can't change it now, so might as well do it and get the goods along the way.

Let me get this straight, you're too lazy to do the main story is what you're trying to say? Everyone that's doing heavensward content took their time and went through all the quests in order to do it. Why can't you do the same? Spoiled as hell. Imo

So, it took me almost two years to get half way through the 2.0 storyline so far. Yeah, pathetic, I know. At this rate, it will take me another two-to-three years (or longer before I can access Ishgard). Wow. And here I was told that I could at least access Ishgard, pick up the new jobs and go about my merry way. Then, when I've gotten through the story to 2.55, in three years from now, the 3.0 story, quests, dungeons, levels, end game content, gear, etc. would be waiting for me -- at least that was my understanding.

Why did I pre-order? ...I feel like such an idiot:(

Also, thank you SE for not telling me to stay logged off for like two months. It's not like I needed that il120 gear or anything (cuz ..u kno... il53 gear is way better right?...ya it totally is...I didn't need any 120 gear, really:rolleyes:). LOL ... I must be retarded or smth. Derp. :p

It's like it's your b-day, and people are coming over, and you're all excited and stuff ... and then being told it's all for someone else.

「あぁ〜あ」って感じ。。。本当、「あぁ〜あ」。

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Originally Posted by Kyonika

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Who told you that you'd have access to new areas without finishing MSQ? It was announced more than once, and people have been talking about it on these forums for months now.

Also, the level 50 quests supposedly give armor with ilvl high enough to meet the requirements for all of the 2.x trials and dungeons now. Not sure if they really did it or not but they said they would be to help facilitate players getting to Heavensward. If that's the case and if you're really halfway through 2.0 story, you should be able to finish it in a few weeks if you only play a little bit each day. Even if you had access to the new areas right now, you'd get slaughtered in i53 gear anyway.

I don't mean to be rude, but MMOs don't generally target people who play *that* casually... I don't really know how you have spent your time playing the last couple of years, but I have two alts further along than that despite hardly playing them. :/

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Originally Posted by Kyonika

So, it took me almost two years to get half way through the 2.0 storyline so far. Yeah, pathetic, I know. At this rate, it will take me another two-to-three years (or longer before I can access Ishgard). Wow. And here I was told that I could at least access Ishgard, pick up the new jobs and go about my merry way. Then, when I've gotten through the story to 2.55, in three years from now, the 3.0 story, quests, dungeons, levels, end game content, gear, etc. would be waiting for me -- at least that was my understanding.

Why did I pre-order? ...I feel like such an idiot:(

Also, thank you SE for not telling me to stay logged off for like two months. It's not like I needed that il120 gear or anything (cuz ..u kno... il53 gear is way better right?...ya it totally is...I didn't need any 120 gear, really:rolleyes:). LOL ... I must be retarded or smth. Derp. :p

It's like it's your b-day, and people are coming over, and you're all excited and stuff ... and then being told it's all for someone else.

「あぁ〜あ」って感じ。。。本当、「あぁ〜あ」。

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I'm not sure there is a facepalm meme on the internet adequate enough for this....

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Originally Posted by Kyonika

「あぁ〜あ」って感じ。。。本当、「あぁ〜あ」。

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*raises eyebrow* I'm gonna assume this is partially a troll post just because of this line right here XD

If it's not a troll post...note I'm not making fun of you. Just...what's the point of posting that at the end if you're serious? :P

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Originally Posted by Madjames

Sense of entitlement has nothing to do with it. I bought an expansion in world of warcraft, I was level 50, I got right into BC. Same with WOTLK and every other expansion as long as I was the required level. Even if I was not the required level I could still go into the areas and at least explore. Gating the main story stuff is one thing. Gating an entire area AND new jobs behind the main story is not something that is a good thing nor is it something that I will accept.

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1) The information has been available to you for quite some time
2) This is not WoW
3) If Wow is so much better, please go play that.

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Originally Posted by Aethaeryn

I don't mean to be rude, but MMOs don't generally target people who play *that* casually... I don't really know how you have spent your time playing the last couple of years, but I have two alts further along than that despite hardly playing them. :/

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Slowly grinding out levels for every class - mostly. And when I'm not on, there's this place called IRL - where I spend most of my time.

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Originally Posted by DreadRabbit

*raises eyebrow* I'm gonna assume this is partially a troll post just because of this line right here XD

If it's not a troll post...note I'm not making fun of you. Just...what's the point of posting that at the end if you're serious? :P

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I'm sorry, there might be a misunderstanding here. Translation (dejected): It feels like "oh well" ...really, "oh well"

It's in the opening part of a soliloquy from a tragic character in one of my favourite animés.

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Originally Posted by Kyonika

Slowly grinding out levels for every class - mostly. And when I'm not on, there's this place called IRL - where I spend most of my time.

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I have this place called IRL too, but this game doesn't even take lots of time to make progress. My boyfriend works a heck of a lot and still managed to get a couple of zeta weapons and all crafts/most jobs to 50 over the last ~10 months since I dragged him to the game. And he still makes time for me! :P I guess your priorities with how you spend time in game are different, which is completely fine. However, if you pick one class to focus on, you can pretty easily keep up with the more casual content even if you only play a few hours a week. Perfectly fine if you don't want to, but it's really not difficult to get through the story and see the new stuff. Even if they hadn't locked entering Ishgard behind full completion of 2.x story, you wouldn't be able to do anything but run around the town anyway. :(