New Feature - Experience Gain Toggle Option

This game needs an experience gain toggling option. That way we won't massively out-level the non-instanced open world questing content while going through the main story content.

For example, I want to be able to lock my experience once I hit 50/51, so when I unlock the first expansion I'm not way over-leveled compared to people who experienced it when it was first released. The same applies for every following expansion. It's impossible to prevent your character from becoming over-leveled before reaching the open world content intended for that level. Currently, the only people who get the privilege of experiencing the content at the level it was intended to be played at are those who were at the level cap when expansions go live. I was lucky enough to be one of those players. However, I still would like to play through the story on alt characters sometimes.

This problem can easily be fixed by putting an option in the character configuration to toggle experience gain.

Not everyone who plays this game wants to madly rush through the content as fast as humanly possible to get to end game raiding. I'm sure many people would like to experience content at the proper level, as it was experienced by players who were active when each expansion went live.

I'm well aware of level syncing for instanced fights, and I truly appreciate that feature. But that instance level syncing does nothing for open world quests that are not instanced. I know I'm not the only player who would appreciate this feature.

If it is an optional setting, then there is no downside to it. Those who want to level up as fast as humanly possible would still be free to do so. And those who want to experience the open world quests at the proper level will also be free to do so. It's s win-win for everyone. And something like this should be pretty easy to implement.

MSQ from post ARR only give 4800 exp. At 80 quests, that's a total of 384k exp. From 50 to 51 you need 864k. Just don't do roulettes and you shouldn't be overleveled.

I don't think I would ever turn off experience gain, but I definitely get what you mean with regards to over-leveling. With only a tiny bit of extra effort, I had two separate jobs leveled to 50 by the end of ARR MSQ. Now my main is at 54 and I only barely touched a few of the Level 50 dungeons. Am I gonna be almost 60 before I even get to Heavensward??

It also feels super awkward that my WHM now has Afflatus Solace on her skill bar, but I can't use it since it requires the Lily mechanic that doesn't unlock until much later in the story. This probably could have been implemented better.

I'm all for giving people options on how to customize their own experience, but.. I can see this being more trouble than it's worth. Someone toggles it off, forgets, then SE starts getting customer service emails and tickets about "compensating" them for their wasted time.

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Originally Posted by Krotoan

I'm all for giving people options on how to customize their own experience, but.. I can see this being more trouble than it's worth. Someone toggles it off, forgets, then SE starts getting customer service emails and tickets about "compensating" them for their wasted time.

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Wouldn't be any worse than the other junk complaints and requests they already get about the things players do despite have to click 2-3 confirmation windows asking "are you sure you want to do this?".

I also doubt it would happen often. Most players are in a rush to level, not slow down how fast they're leveling. Someone who had deliberately chosen to toggle off XP to slow down would be far more likely to shrug it off if they forget to enable it again because they wanted to be going slower.

I don't think turning off xp gain is in the style of XIV. Maybe a quest sync option that ties to the MSQ. That'll help underscore how your level basically doesn't matter until you complete the MSQ, preventing some sprouts from falling into the "level everything in potd even though I only have brayflox unlocked" trap.

There is nothing to experience in the open world that would feel different if you were at the same level. Everything just takes longer to kill.

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Originally Posted by Shialan

There is nothing to experience in the open world that would feel different if you were at the same level. Everything just takes longer to kill.

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Being wildly overleveled for MSQ feels really bad. Starting on a bonus XP server as a new player is one of the worst mistakes one can make in my opinion, unless you want to level every single job to 50 before Ultima Weapon for whatever reason. Being permanently 10 levels above MSQ during ARR just wasn't fun even with all the level syncs when I made a trial account play through it again some months back. And I even switched jobs halfway through.

I mean, with how many jobs there are, if you're so worried about over leveling, why not just level 2 or 3 jobs at once?

Since Heavansward, I have regularly leveled 1 job using MSQ XP and another with the dailies..almost keeping them even the entire way through. So yeah, at end of expansion I'm good with 2 jobs ready to go.

With the XP boost pre-50, I'd jut level like 3 instead.

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Originally Posted by Waliel

Being wildly overleveled for MSQ feels really bad. Starting on a bonus XP server as a new player is one of the worst mistakes one can make in my opinion, unless you want to level every single job to 50 before Ultima Weapon for whatever reason. Being permanently 10 levels above MSQ during ARR just wasn't fun even with all the level syncs when I made a trial account play through it again some months back. And I even switched jobs halfway through.

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MSQ battle content isn't fun period, especially in ARR where some jobs are barely functional, being overleveled only allows the player to crush OW trash mobs with 0 mechanics and I can't see how that's a bad thing.

Level does not affect much, gear item level does.

In fact, if you keep the same gear for your quest level and don't attempt to get gear for your current level, your stats will be weaker and mean less, because they get more and more diluted as you level up, although you may still gain new actions and traits with higher potencies. Gear is what really matters though.

So you won't find yourself having an easier time with mobs just because you are a higher level unless you also went and tried to get gear for your new level. If you stick just to the gear your quests give you, you will have a much greater challenge in these fights.

You know what'd be easier? If the 'level sync' button that shows up for overworld fates, was just there all the time.

... not that I really see the point. Overworld combat isn't supposed to be difficult in the slightest, even if you're massively UNDERleveled and undergeared.

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Originally Posted by Jennah

You know what'd be easier? If the 'level sync' button that shows up for overworld fates, was just there all the time.

... not that I really see the point. Overworld combat isn't supposed to be difficult in the slightest, even if you're massively UNDERleveled and undergeared.

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It’s not about being difficult. It’s about immersion. There’s nothing immersive about one shotting quest mobs, it takes you right out of the story…

An overworld level sync option would be perfect with minimal development time.

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Originally Posted by Waliel

Being wildly overleveled for MSQ feels really bad.

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Maybe for you but I adore being high enough that the non-story mobs ignore me. I just love getting yoinked back when passing a frog (not). HW's mob density was particularly bad when I did it. Maaaaybe if they were worth killing but they're mostly useless for leveling and only a few drop high demand crafting bits. Their AI's are so dumb that they're not even interesting so essentially they're there to waste time.

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Originally Posted by jamjeeshoul77

There’s nothing immersive about one shotting quest mobs, it takes you right out of the story…

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I'm an international hero and I'm being asked to go fetch sandwiches. Not a blessed thing immersive about that either.

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Originally Posted by GeminiReed

I'm an international hero and I'm being asked to go fetch sandwiches. Not a blessed thing immersive about that either.

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Lol sometimes I think I’m the only person who doesn’t mind simple fetch quests like that. I see sooo many people complain about it but it’s an MMO, those quests are a staple of the genre. They don’t bother my immersion at all and actually make me feel more meshed in the world

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Originally Posted by jamjeeshoul77

I see sooo many people complain about it but it’s an MMO, those quests are a staple of the genre.

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MMO's are a terrible media for telling a story. Rather, they're terrible at hero's journey stories which is all we've been getting for the last 20 some odd years. MMO's cannot tell epic stories that get reflected in the game world, not without backlash. By all accounts GW2's living season 1 was an unmitigated disaster because nobody could keep up. SW:TOR's KotFE/EE experiment almost killed the game and WoW's Cataclysm didn't fare much better.

The 'make me a sandwich' style quests are filler drivel that the experienced MMO player is well aware is pure padding because no team no matter how talented can produce enough story to last expansion to expansion.

Immersive hero's journey stories are best left to single player/small team games. MMO's would do much better with a Mr. Johnson (Shadowrun) presentation. IMO ofc.

I'm not seeing any good arguments for not having this feature. If it is optional, and off by default, then no one should have anything to complain about. It would be valuable to players like me, who actually want to be at the proper level when going through content.

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Originally Posted by Holy_Shenanigans

I'm not seeing any good arguments for not having this feature. If it is optional, and off by default, then no one should have anything to complain about.

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Optional features affect everybody. This isn't worth spending dev time on.

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Originally Posted by Jeeqbit

Level does not affect much, gear item level does.

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This.

There is a huge difference between a level 80 character in ilevel 300 gear and one wearing 520+.

If you want more challenge don't upgrade your gear.

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Originally Posted by ZedxKayn

MSQ battle content isn't fun period, especially in ARR where some jobs are barely functional, being overleveled only allows the player to crush OW trash mobs with 0 mechanics and I can't see how that's a bad thing.

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Originally Posted by GeminiReed

Maybe for you but I adore being high enough that the non-story mobs ignore me. I just love getting yoinked back when passing a frog (not). HW's mob density was particularly bad when I did it. Maaaaybe if they were worth killing but they're mostly useless for leveling and only a few drop high demand crafting bits. Their AI's are so dumb that they're not even interesting so essentially they're there to waste time.

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Overworld mobs are whatever and they should all be non-aggressive if you ask me. It's about the quests that spawn enemies that then die to one or two globals that feels bad. I guess I overall don't like doing stuff overleveled, even if said stuff was never meant to be challenging in the first place. It's actually what's stopping me from using NG+ and I really wish you could tick a box to level sync yourself to the MSQ for that. I guess there's also some of that "Why am I still here when I could be in <zone 10 levels higher>?" of yore.

Unless you're significantly UNDERleveled, nothing but elite marks or FATEs will pose any kind of danger in the overworld.