New Jobs Gated Behind Completion of 2.0 Story?

[LineageRazor]

I actually think it's really cool that SE decided to cater to their pre-existing playerbase than create content specifically for potential players who might only be interested in what HW has to offer than the game as a whole. As a paying subscriber, I think it's reassuring that they were looking at us when they made this new content. Because we're the ones who will get most out of this expansion.

You shouldn't think that it's cool. Anyone who seriously cares about this game and wants it to succeed should be in favor of decisions that ENCOURAGE new players to join, not turn them away. A successful MMO is one that brings in a consistent supply of new players, not at the EXPENSE of existing players, but in addition to supporting existing players.

An expansion should have a mixture of things that appeal to old players AND new. The new jobs are probably the biggest "shiny" the expansion has to offer, the most important attactor for new players. They do not yet know anything about the story, so adverts like "Continue the story into Ishgard with the Dragonsong War!" aren't going to mean much to them. When deciding whether or not to buy the expansion, they're going to react to things like, "Play as the new Au Ra race!" ("Dragon people? Awesome, I'm SO picking this game up!") or "Choose from three exciting new jobs!" ("Dark Knight? I'm totally going to play like I'm Batman with a greatsword, this is so cool!")

Right now, the ability to play as an Au Ra is the only attractor left to the expansion, and I'm not convinced that THAT might not end up gated as well. This is not a good plan, if SE wants to sell the expansion to new players - and if they don't want to sell the expansion to new players, what on earth is wrong with them? Do they hate making money hand over fist, or something?

As a player invested in this game that wants to see it continue to flourish, I very much disagree with the decision to gate the "shiny" bits along with the storyline bits. There are many, MANY ways that they could have made the shinies accessable (Astrologian guild based in the Observatorium is a good example) while still gating a lot of the rest of the content. "Come for the Dark Knight, stay for the story!"

I am BY NO MEANS suggesting that players should be allowed to "bypass" the main scenario and still enjoy everything that Heavensward has to offer. Heavensward continues the storyline, and it makes no sense to start a book in the middle. I get that and respect that. There's no reason, though, that getting to the middle of the book should be necessary before you can do ANYTHING AT ALL in the new expansion. New players should be encouraged to explore the new content, but for new players who bought the expansion because, hey, it'd be SO AWESOME to play the game through as a gun-slingin' machinist, the current situation is a kick in the teeth, one that may discourage them from buying the game, or cause them to unsubscribe once they understand how daunting the main scenario is.

And the main scenario IS daunting. For all the players insisting, "Oh, you can play all the way though in four days, tops," I call bull. Perhaps if you devoted every waking moment to the game, and clicked through every cutscene without reading, you might be able to pull something like that off, but most are only able to play a few hours per day, and not everyone is going to want to power through the story when they can, you know, appreciate it and enjoy it. On top of that, they might want to explore the world, try out crafting, so on and so forth. There's more to the game than main scenario - but if they want to enjoy the game as the shiny job they saw on the box, that's what they're stuck with.

Heavensward, as it stands, is decidedly newbie-unfriendly. It could have been made newbie-friendly with SO little effort, that it boggles the mind that SE has decided on the path that it has.

Heck, they could even have thrown open the gates to Ishgard with only a token effort, all while STILL protecting the lore of the game! Take as an example, Altepa Desert in Final Fantasy XI. This was a zone introduced by the Rise of the Zilart expansion. Initially, the only way to access it is through a gate in the starter town of Bastok. If you don't have the expansion, the guard at that gate tells you, "It's too dangerous to go beyond this gate." If you DO have the expansion, the guard instead says, "It's dangerous beyond this gate, but adventurers are being given special dispensation. Would you like to go through?" The same COULD have been done for Heavensward: "Outsiders are forbidden to enter Ishgard!" upon purchose of the expansion changes to, "Until recently, outsiders were forbidden from entering Ishgard, but in these dire times the decision has been made to allow adventurers to assist in the war with the dragons. You may pass, and godspeed!"

You, the Adventurer, are special, after all - many rules and customs in the game don't apply to you! There might not be much you can DO in Ishgard as a lowbie, and there'll be a paucity of quests until you get through the Main Scenario, but you'll be able to see the areas, unlock the jobs, possibly unlock a few of the new dungeons - maybe even unlock Alexander, as there's no real reason that has to be tied to the Main Scenario. This COULD have been - but no. Everything is gated behind 30+ hours of work. This may have been the decision made, but just as was the case with Death Knight in WoW, I believe the developers will come to realize that it was a mistake, and one they won't repeat in the future.