2.55 Main Scenario Requirement.

[Ryel]

Personally, I'm looking forward to approximately one week after 3.0 when the forums will get flooded with brand new players who've just hit 50 and are all hyped to finally get into the expansion they just bought the game on the basis of, only to find out they've got a hundred-odd quests of pointless busywork and redundant old dungeons to slog through first.

I mean i don't think anyone in any thread is denying the forums will be filled with players that will complain about this (some already are) just whether or not those complaints are justified.

It's a horrible design decision that the ravening fanboys on the forums will defend to the end and shout down anyone who dares to suggest that the game should be anything other than completely unwelcoming and inaccessible for brand new players. It's bad enough that the new jobs (which, again, are a major selling point of the expansion) are gated behind 2.55 completion, but gating the new zones behind it as well is certain to make for a horrible new player experience.

Even IF a new player was able to access the new areas without a MSQ gate those areas (which are likely 50+) would still require you to level to 50 anyway to do anything meaningful in.

These players would very soon come to the realization that a large portion of the game's content is gated behind the main scenario in some way or form anyway. Large pieces of content from airships, to grand company access, to chocobo licenses and primals, even the abilities of certain jobs (See: Summoner) require you to have made progress through the main scenario in order to unlock parts of the game.

It's a far cry from fanboyism to expect people who buy and pay a subscription for a game to actually have to PLAY the game to experience the content...

Also the expansion and the base game are still sold separately it's not like a new player to the game is FORCED to buy the expansion out of the gate to play, however the game is making it very clear that IF they wish to play through the new content / jobs / areas that a certain level of progression from the original game is required.

[Rendecrow]

just whether or not those complaints are justified.

I think it is justified. No one is arguing that 2.0 is bad because it ties in well with leveling. I think some people (myself included) are arguing that 2.55 is bad since before you can go to level 51 zones you have to do 100+ level 50 quests. It seems like a pretty steep gate/chore for new players to do.

[Ryel]

Except to someone completely new to the game it will simply feel as if they're continuing their progression as normal (assuming those quests will give exp when 3.0 hits) most people complaining about this are coming at this from the perspective of players looking BACKWARDS, but to someone brand new and fresh they wouldn't have ANY of these concerns because it wont FEEL like a problem for them, it's not a gate/chore it's just leveling and questing as usual until they unlock something shiny and new.

[Alberel]

I think it is justified. No one is arguing that 2.0 is bad because it ties in well with leveling. I think some people (myself included) are arguing that 2.55 is bad since before you can go to level 51 zones you have to do 100+ level 50 quests. It seems like a pretty steep gate/chore for new players to do.

Even if you could go there without doing the MSQ you would have nothing to actually DO in those new zones since the 3.0 story is a direct continuation of the 2.55 story and those story quests will be what lead players through the content. The dungeons will likely all be tied into the MSQ just as many of the previous ones were. It's also already confirmed that your first flying mount will be unlocked via the MSQ... meaning even if a player could access Ishgard and some of the new zones they wouldn't be able to traverse them anyway.

Almost all content and features in this game are unlocked via the MSQ in some form. If a player could access Ishgard without completing the 2.55 MSQ they would just as quickly end up complaining that they can't fly or do any dungeons or unlock Alexander or any number of other locked features gated behind MSQ progression.

To put it quite simply: there's no point making an exception in allowing them access without progressing the story when they won't be able to DO anything in there without progressing it anyway.

[Rendecrow]

Except to someone completely new to the game it will simply feel as if they're continuing their progression as normal (assuming those quests will give exp when 3.0 hits) most people complaining about this are coming at this from the perspective of players looking BACKWARDS, but to someone brand new and fresh they wouldn't have ANY of these concerns because it wont FEEL like a problem for them, it's not a gate/chore it's just leveling and questing as usual until they unlock something shiny and new.

That is not true. New players will be aware of the level 51 plus zones, and they will be aware of the fact that they can't enter them because they have to do a bunch of quests at level 50. Yes, the quests are "new" but most new players would rather do quests in level 51 zones rather than "new" quests in level 50 zones.

How do I know this? Because I have 10+ years and 7 or 8 MMOs under my belt. I know that people are going to get frustrated at this because they are going to feel held back in the "low level 50" zones.

[Ryel]

That is not true. New players will be aware of the level 51 plus zones, and they will be aware of the fact that they can't enter them because they have to do a bunch of quests at level 50. Yes, the quests are "new" but most new players would rather do quests in level 51 zones rather than "new" quests in level 50 zones.

How do I know this? Because I have 10+ years and 7 or 8 MMOs under my belt. I know that people are going to get frustrated at this because they are going to feel held back in the "low level 50" zones.

Actually it is true, as the poster above you just plainly spelled out.

If a new player could enter the level 50+ zones they would be more disappointed with the lack of ability to actually DO anything in those zones because so much of the game relies on MSQ unlocks.

And if you're going to claim a history of 10+ years and 7 - 8 subscription MMO's WITH paid expansions into this then you should be fully aware that this is far from the first MMO to do this and the players that have an issue with it will get over it when they realize that they spent more time complaining about it on the forums instead of getting the quests over to begin with.

[Wobi]

No one has started to bring up an alternative for what they expect SE to change? Shall they retool the entire storyline to flow to Ishgard at 51 bypassing the entire story and just tossing it out? So they can toss amazingly undergeared players into zones they are not ready to challenge? They'd have to pare down the difficulty of everything greatly in order to let fresh 50s get things done. This is a loss for everyone that's been playing since the beginning, a short sighted plea with little thought to how it would effect the vast majority of paying customers all for the benefit of some new player who may not even stick around all that long.

If you do have a plan that doesn't damage the game experience for those that have been playing all this time I'd love to hear it.

[Rendecrow]

Actually it is true, as the poster above you just plainly spelled out.

If a new player could enter the level 50+ zones they would be more disappointed with the lack of capability to actually DO anything in those zones because so much of the game relies on MSQ unlocks.

And if you're going to claim a history of 10+ years and 7 - 8 subscription MMO's WITH paid expansions into this then you should be fully aware that this is far from the first MMO to do this and the players that have an issue with it will get over it when they realize that they spent more time complaining about it on the forums instead of getting the quests over it to begin with.

We will have to agree to disagree then. And yes, I do have 7 to 8 MMOs under my belt. I know there are gates as I have seen them, but this is different from other MMO gates.

[Rendecrow]

No one has started to bring up an alternative for what they expect SE to change? Shall they retool the entire storyline to flow to Ishgard at 51 bypassing the entire story and just tossing it out?

If you do have a plan that doesn't damage the game experience for those that have been playing all this time I'd love to hear it.

Its simple. Let the 51+ zones be accessible to everyone. This hardly "damages" the game experiance for veteran players as the new players will still have to go back and do the quests to unlock the dungeons and raids.

[Ryel]

We will have to agree to disagree then. And yes, I do have 7 to 8 MMOs under my belt. I know there are gates as I have seen them, but this is different from other MMO gates.

Different from other MMO gates?

You mean like FFXI having multiple zones locked behind scenario content?

Or did you mean like when WoW had a 50+ level requirement before you were able to make a Death Knight on a new character?