Question for the Devs; will Heavensward include a new STARTER City-State?

[Rbstr]

Keep in mind that each of our characters, regardless of starting city, is considered an adventurer that has just traveled to Eorzea from Parts Unknown.

Yeah, the only thing you really have to worry about is how a little bit of Yuguri text goes, if you're already whatever her race is. It's not really retconing anything. Maybe people make note that you're a rare race, maybe not.
The Rouges' guild isn't a retcon either. It has really been there all along. Just as if you had never noticed the Lancer guild had existed, you wouldn't have been a lancer, you didn't know the rouges guild until now. You just had a little help maintaining your ignorance for so long.

I imagine you'll have to start from one of the original city states. Perhaps there'll be new base classes you can pick, maybe not.
But I can also see them pulling a kind of 2.0 transition. Since it's 3.0 and they have a continuous story to tell, new characters from new starter-villes might just start on the new story! Old ones can easily be transitioned in.

[Terin]

See, I was also personally kind of hoping to see a new GC, as well. I'm kind of "behind the curve" in a lot of respects, so I suppose my thinking -- or at least hope -- is that with Heavensward, it will give us kind of a clean-slate. New Class/Job, new City-State to start in, new Grand Company to swear to; kind of an entirely new experience, you know?

Maybe I just like being immersed in the game a bit more, though. I love the idea of a Dark Knight from Ishgard, presumably of whatever the new Race winds up being, different Grand Company and all. Heck, I'd even dig a totally new trade-skill Job!

[Tiggy]

Well, you have to figure the new Race(s) will also be tied to Ishgard, but you'll be able to start one of those fresh, too. Didn't they mention the expansion will include 2 new Classes, too? If so, that would be enough to justify it. I mean, I just can't imagine the Dark Knight fitting in with any of the existing City-States, but hey, who knows!

Each of those things individually tied to the new city wouldn't normally be a big deal if not for the heavy linkage of story and lore to gameplay features. The races technically don't need a starting city since starting city was job based anyway, and in order to make the new jobs pickable by a new character they would have to have guilds in the original 3 cities in order to introduce you to the scions properly. Especially considering a new character would start the game, read all this text about Ishguard being closed off even though they are sitting in Ishguard already. It wouldn't really fit.

[Felis]

A Grand Company in Ishgard I can see. The city was already part of the Alliance and the tradition of the Grand Company is much older than the battle at Silvertear Lake. I think the GC started at the beginning of the 6th astral era and get refounded everytime Eorzea is in big trouble.

But Ishgard as a starter city, I doubt it.
Just think about it. A player start in Ishgard, left the city as a lv1 or lv4 character to kill his first enemies, and all what he see are lv 35-40 enemies. He have to travel to the north shroud to find enemies at his level.

Also, it seem that the war against the dragons go out of control in 3.0, that the dragons start a large offensive against Ishgard and every starter player here would be dragon food ^^

[Morningstar1337]

Well, you have to figure the new Race(s) will also be tied to Ishgard, but you'll be able to start one of those fresh, too. Didn't they mention the expansion will include 2 new Classes, too? If so, that would be enough to justify it. I mean, I just can't imagine the Dark Knight fitting in with any of the existing City-States, but hey, who knows!

ROG is not a starter class. You have to be level 10 to be able to get the class, which means you have to have another class. There is now precedent for the possibility of the new classes NOT being starter classes

[kyuven]

Rogue makes perfect sense to actually be hidden, especially since quite a bit of the story they have involves people not even being sure whether or not they exist. The only reason, canonically, that you know they exist is because of Thancred and the doorman handling a food order.

[WellFooled]

Well, you have to figure the new Race(s) will also be tied to Ishgard, but you'll be able to start one of those fresh, too. Didn't they mention the expansion will include 2 new Classes, too? If so, that would be enough to justify it. I mean, I just can't imagine the Dark Knight fitting in with any of the existing City-States, but hey, who knows!

The new playable race is thought to be Yugiri's race, who are among the Domans, and so far they have no ties to Ishgard but have an increasing friendship with the three Eorzean Alliance States.

Dark Knights are also confirmed not to have a starting class, which suggests that there wont be an associated guild (since up to this point only classes have guilds). So whoever ends up teaching us how to be a Dark Knight could station themselves almost anywhere.

[TheRogueX]

But Ishgard as a starter city, I doubt it.
Just think about it. A player start in Ishgard, left the city as a lv1 or lv4 character to kill his first enemies, and all what he see are lv 35-40 enemies. He have to travel to the north shroud to find enemies at his level.

Uh, you know they're adding new zones in Ishgard, right? Per Yoshi P, 3.0 is going to have as much content as 2.0 did at release. I have every reason to believe that Ishgard will have a Starting City, its own Grand Company (perhaps with 4 distinct 'flavors' a la the Houses), and its own 'starter' zones. I'm not sure how they'd integrate existing story content, but for characters starting in Ishgard, they might not have to.

[Felis]

Uh, you know they're adding new zones in Ishgard, right? Per Yoshi P, 3.0 is going to have as much content as 2.0 did at release. I have every reason to believe that Ishgard will have a Starting City, its own Grand Company (perhaps with 4 distinct 'flavors' a la the Houses), and its own 'starter' zones. I'm not sure how they'd integrate existing story content, but for characters starting in Ishgard, they might not have to.

Do you really think the new zones would be for low lvl while they increase the level cap? The new zones would be lv 50-60

[MilesSaintboroguh]

It won't be a starting city because it clashes with the 2.0 storyline; during that time, Ishgard is already well known for closing its borders to outsiders and it's referenced several times. 2.4 (and maybe beyond) is about Ishgard waking up to the primal threat and possibly working with the other city states to resolve the issues.


You would not have a new character start in Ishgard and then be told they aren't allowed to come back until they reach the 3.0 story.