Heavensward content

I have been playing about a month now, have leveled to lvl 50, completed storyline series, done some crafting and I am enjoying the game, now I am ready to move on to newer content, Heavensward, and I find out I have to complete a 100 quest astral line to gain access.
Isn't HW lvl 60 content? isn't HW zone's for going from 50-60 with its own storyline?
I am confused as to why I am required to complete weeks of playing to gain access to the content I should be playing, it just doesn't make sense,
the content is there to be run if you desire I just have a problem with FF14, 3.0 being gated by completing FF14, 2.0 when 2.0 isn't necessarily required
the only positive I see in this is that you weed out the wanabee's this way, what young adolescent (or dare I say WoW player) is going to have the patience to be forced into lower tier content for weeks before being able to play the content they purchased.
I am not very happy, I would rather be doing HW stuff than astral line
unless I am missing something, is there an abiding reason you need to complete the astral series before HW?

I'm not sure what you mean by 'astral series'. The HW content is locked off by the completion of the Main Scenario Quest "Before the Dawn" from the patch 2.55 main story quests. HW is not it's own separate story, it continues from the ARR story.

main storyline, lvl 1-50 (184 quests) ending with "the ultimate weapon"
then once you are lvl 50, the new quest line is from release 2.0 and is called the "7th astral era" quest line, 100 quests all lvl 50 from when lvl 50 was cap before HW release.
3rd set is HW main scenario, ( 94 quests) from lvl 50-60 and finally you have the dragonsong series, which is current lvl 60 endgame series.
my problem is forcing someone to play the entire release for lvl 50 when current game is lvl 60, it would be akin to playing WoW and being forced to do the entire quest series for burning crusade before you could do lich king, then do lich king series before you can do panda land, etc etc, it doesn't make much sense to force players to do previous expansion content to gate current content, at least if its not relevant. why would I spend weeks doing a lvl 50 quest line so that I could access the lvl50-60 content I bought and am expecting to play. I am not saying don't make it to lvl 50, I am saying once I am at lvl 50 why can I not go to HW and continue from there? is there any relevant content to HW and 50-60 that I need to gain before I can do HW? I am doing the series (like I have a choice?) but am I going to get anything out of this? and by the time I am done with it, wont I be well into my 50's and now when I do go into HW I am over lvl of the content I am supposed to be doing from 50-60. seems like someone dropped the ball.
Also when Stormblood comes out in 2 months how are they going to deal with this type of issue then?
typically anytime you sell content expansion that's includes a lvl increase, most games will allow you to create a char at the current content lvl, IE of stormblood increases from 60-70,. then if you buy stormblood you can created 1 time, 1 char at lvl 60 and jump right in. the purpose being bringing in new blood
anyway, my point was that I find it time consuming and frustrating that the lil bit o time I get to play I don't get to play as I wish. I work full time and play casually

You forget that before HW was released we all had to play through those patches. Once we finished we just waited for the Heavensward release (just like we just finished all the patches before Stormblood is released). Not sure what you are complaining about? You can't just skip main story quests and jump right into the HW content. It is a lot of catching up but I like that players can't just jump ahead into the current content.

Heres the thing, ffxiv 2.x series doesnt end with ultima, this is the end of 2.0, heavensward is the continuation of the 2.x series, ending in Before the dawn, patch 2.55, then you go to ishgard, as the series 3.x ended now, in 3.56 not with thordan.
But then, i think the problem is a) youre not enjoying the history or b) youre not a ff fan, wich its a big problem with this community, people dont understand this is not wow ; (in every ff) history is a big part of the game, even this being a mmo.
I would sugest to enjoy, dont need to rush, its a great game, you are not missing too much, the endgame isnt the best thing.
And pls, this is not, wont be, and never was wow, if it were more like it people would complain its a copy, so if u like wow more, you should play wow, honestly, this wont be a good game for you.

well, few things,
I do like the game, the feel etc. etc., kind of quirky as an MMO, its almost like a single player MMO, no global chat, not much of a sense of MMO in the game at all, not that its a bad thing, some of the things I don't like about other games are that they are overwhelming in that sense.
considering that, I have to agree that as I play the game, 90 pct. of the game is questing and the storylines, and again, you could make movies out of the cut scenes (I think they even have ) but that's part of the feel of the game, so in a sense what you are saying is that to get all out of the game, you need to do it all. That's your opinion, personally I don't care for them not giving me a choice, I would prefer to be able to move on to heavensward and forgo the 100 lvl 50 quests, heck maybe I will go back on an alt and experience them, but I should have the choice.
and "when it came out we all had to play thru it" doesn't really defend or address why we still have to now, when it is no longer relevant to the current release of the game.
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.

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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.

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It's not as bad as you think I left the game at 2.25 and came back with the 100 quests to do. It took me a total of 37 hours on BRD(5-6 weeks at 1hour a day) to do, as I did it in one straight run as I was on holiday from work. This would be achieved a lot faster if you are a tank or healer. Now bare in mind I skipped half of the cutscenes and just watched them in the Inn. So you do have the option of skipping the story and watching it when you want to. I think 3 months to get to 50 for a casual is exaggerated. I suppose if they are just standing around waiting for a dungeon to pop then I could see that.

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Originally Posted by hawkemoon

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Well, what i can say to you is, you liking or not this is not wow or others mmos where the focus is the endgame, i started in 3.0, did everything at least once , while having 1-2 hours for gaming in weekdays (including 2.x stuff and savage) and i can guarantee to you that if you want to play ffxiv for endgame , you're going to be disapointed, but its you choice, the game is more casual friendly.
Now, i havent said that you should do BECAUSE i did, but you should do (THAT'S a opinion).
Anyway, they probably will launch a jump potion in Stormblood (theres a topic quite interesting, argument wise) to jump to the begining of the exp, even if you dont know what your lvl 52 skill does (as a brd, yours changes quite a bit the gameplay ), so you and others wow fans will feel more at home, so look forward to it.

What exactly is endgame content to you? I mean, I'm not there myself, but far as I've seen, either you're doing more quests (what you're complaining about), or you're just running the same dungeons over and over trying to get bigger numbers.

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Originally Posted by hawkemoon

and "when it came out we all had to play thru it" doesn't really defend or address why we still have to now, when it is no longer relevant to the current release of the game.

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How is the content not relevant? It's story content (and this game is all about the main scenario story and following that) that introduces you to many dungeons and primals people are still actively running. It's also content you haven't done, just like Heavensward content, so I don't see why ARR would be less relevant to you than HW?

What is the "current content" you're hoping to focus on and why are you in such a hurry to get there?

I think you're actually in a pretty good situation progression wise, being able to go through both ARR and HW story lines now and then be ready for Stormblood when it's released, just like everyone else.

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.

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Originally Posted by hawkemoon

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.

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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.

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.

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Originally Posted by hawkemoon

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

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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.)

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.

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

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Originally Posted by 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.

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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.