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

[LeCard]

The reason they won't have a new starter city:
you can complete everything in this game and see the entire game from 1 character. That's right, 1 character is all you /NEED/ to see everything in this game. They even made the initial story for each starting city only slightly different(maybe play 3 character to 15 pick your favorite and go). To add another starting city that would require an clearly unique story would mean that they would expect battle hardened vets to make a new character so they can see this new content.

Not enough?
the level 15-20 first 3 party instance dungeons is all about the city states and they would need to create a whole new set of starter dungeons or some crazy explanation for how you got dragged into these problems.

The rest of 2.0 story is just more of the smash this new starting city into lore so we can have it be a starting city.

Odds are they will lock players out until x level or x mission in story is complete.

[Morningstar1337]

I woder thought. Would Heavensward focus exclusively on Ishgard? I see Sharlyalan as a possibility (the devs did say they were including more content then 2.0, and that has 3 city states. There's also the matter of the disappearing scholars)

On the other hand you could argue that the citystates mechanical purpose is for the Grand Companies and that the houses would fulfill a similar role

[Numenor1379]

I think the bigger question is where will new players start on the storyline? Will they have to go through all of 2.0's story quests before being able to start anything in Ishgard?

If they DO have to go through all the MSQ missions we've already done it's going to take a LONG time before someone who bought the game for 3.0 gets to what they wanted to play. Add to that, all the lv50 quests you get after Praetorium are going to have to give EXP as the levelcap won't be 50 any longer.

If they DON'T have to going through the MSQ missions, then how are they going to gain access to current content as the majority of that is walled behind the 2.0 MSQ progression.

[EdwinLi]

Ishgard will be the 4th city-state but....

We don't know how many new Jobs will be in 3.0 since they only said there will be new Jobs but they never mentioned specific amount of new Jobs there will be.

Dark Knight is a new Job but it is a Stand Alone Jobs which is a new set of Jobs designed to function without a Class. Players can unlock Stand Alone Jobs, like Dark knight, any time they want but these Stand Alone Jobs will not be starter Jobs and will require players to go out and find the location of these Stand Alone Job Trainers.

[Nutz]

I think the bigger question is where will new players start on the storyline? Will they have to go through all of 2.0's story quests before being able to start anything in Ishgard?

It's kind of odd and not the way MMO story lines usually work, but I think it will be the case that any new story quests in 3.0 will directly follow and require the completion of the MSQs from 2.5. Ishgard opening its borders seems like it will be part of the story and it might be the case with access to other areas as well. That is interesting though about the multitude of level 50 quests we've completed since we hit 50. If they all grant experience points once the level cap has been increased then those alone should take you a very long way. However, I could see them unlocking the level cap via the first main scenario quest in 3.0 or something, such that you actually are stuck at 50 until you complete all of the quests through 2.5.

[Ditto]

Would it though? One of the chief hurdles faced by the game's leveling is a lack of quests and a reliance on leves/fates/dungeons. Would a fresh influx of leveling zones not be well-received?

It would certainly make a lot of zones go unused.

There only needs to be so many zones that have the purpose of guiding you to the exact same place. End game.

[HumsterMKX]

But will they have to tell people not to listen to the Holy See's lies?

Yeah... you probably have to rat out those who said not to believe in the Holy See.

Then you need to burn those ppl on stakes to proof your worth to the Reglious order.

Then get 200gil and 5000exp.

[Sylve]

The new playable race is thought to be Yugiri's race, nip.

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.

My wish for the new race is these:


If it Yugiri's race that we get, she has a somewhat scaled tail, what appear to be horns, and makes comment that she would prefer not to reveal her features because people find her appearance 'disturbing'

It wouldn't be hard to extrapolate that into people fearing a winged/horned humanoid as a Demon.
Also, having Flight as a feature in Heavensward feeds my wishes and hopes for a winged race.

[Sylve]

how are they going to gain access to current content as the majority of that is walled behind the 2.0 MSQ progression.

The easiest way is to give the MSQs i80 rewards, enough that you can Duty Find the Trials and Dungeons to get through.
Something tells me that the "low Level DR" will expand into "low Level Trials" as well, this would allow level capped players to assist in the story progression of new 3.0 players rather seamlessly, in much the way they do right now for new people leveling.

[Duelle]

I still want my snow-covered/scottish highlands housing area from doing enough nice things for Ishgard...