New Jobs Gated Behind Completion of 2.0 Story?

[Lorielle]

The difference being, while you needed to unlock the Kazham Airship in order to access Samurai and Ninja, the only gate to unlocking these jobs was the same gate to unlock ANY job: Be level 30 on any job. If you are level 30 on any job, obtaining a Kazham Airship Pass is easy. Each and every expansion FFXI ever put out, new jobs were always accessable to anyone with a job at level 30. At every stage of the game, newcomers were limited to starting with one of six different jobs: Warrior, Thief, Monk, White Mage, Red Mage, or Black Mage, but after getting any of these to 30 they could unlock any job from the base game or any expansion.

Yes, I'm well aware of that. I was simply pointing out that they had a different form of gating. You couldn't just make a new character and boom. You can go be that job(which is what this big fuss is really all about).

[LineageRazor]

Why should they be given instant gratification? Level up and do the story like the rest of us.

Because "the rest of us" was handed the story in easily digestible chunks over a period of a year and a half. A new player will have the whole thing right in front of them from the start. The entirety of the Main Scenario is a pretty daunting thing.

Yes, I'm well aware of that. I was simply pointing out that they had a different form of gating. You couldn't just make a new character and boom. You can go be that job(which is what this big fuss is really all about).

I am not opposed to gating the new jobs, but those gates should be no sterner than the gates behind our current jobs. Ideally, you should be able to access the new jobs at level 10, the same time we can access new classes. Level 30 would also be an acceptible gate, if we're going to semantically insist that since they're called "jobs" they should be accessible no earlier than existing jobs. Access at level 50... iffy, but not too bad; it's not hard to level a job to 50, but it's difficult to come up with a rationale for this restriction.

But what we're looking at here is much, MUCH beyond that. A new player needs to level a job to 50, then gear up to an ilvl of 90, and then complete pretty much all the story content from nearly two years' worth of updates. THAT is what is going to scare off new players thinking of joining the game - and we need those new players. Older players leave the game constantly for one reason or another. If we don't get fresh blood, SE gets less and less income from the game. Loss of income means we wind up with reduced quality in upkeep of the game. I don't want that; no one should want that.

Therefore, expansions should be tailored to offer juicy tidbits for new players to gnaw on even while they progress through the older content, as well as new content for the folks who've been around a while. Right now, I ain't seein' much juice for anyone who hasn't played the game from release.

[Jandor]

I am not opposed to gating the new jobs, but those gates should be no sterner than the gates behind our current jobs. Ideally, you should be able to access the new jobs at level 10, the same time we can access new classes. Level 30 would also be an acceptible gate, if we're going to semantically insist that since they're called "jobs" they should be accessible no earlier than existing jobs. Access at level 50... iffy, but not too bad; it's not hard to level a job to 50, but it's difficult to come up with a rationale for this restriction.

35 makes sense. I think it's roughly equivalent XP wise to the XP required for the 30/15 split required for traditional jobs and has the benefit of being the level you start adventuring around Coerthas. It wouldn't be hard to slot in a quest where you get a pass to enter from one of the Ishgardians you help out around the area.