The new jobs / Ishgard city access - yes, again.

[BroodingFicus]

I have seen a lot of discussion about alts etc due to the way the HW jobs are being handled and my take is that square has sent a mixed message about that for a long time. I don't craft so I can't speak for that but as someone who has several characters at least to lvl 50 (even if MSQ is not done) I can say that there are valid reasons given by FFXIV to have alts.

A. Tome cap. If you have a WHM and a NIN on the same character you max tomes for the week but you pretty much have to grind one at a time seeing as you don't get higher caps for having multiple classes. Someone with two separate characters can cap one and then cap the other and so they will actually gear faster.

B. Gear lockout. Though WoD etc all eventually lose the 'one item a week' rule you still have to chose which class you are going to roll for gear on. Someone with both classes, again, can do one and then go move to the other character.

C. If you level all classes on one character you start getting tight for inventory space. I know people who specifically made alts just because they got tired of trying to juggle mats and gear sets on one person.

D. They released a new race: Au Ra. None of us had the chance to make them when we first created characters so even someone who is fixed on having all their eggs in one basket so to speak is now faced with a dilemma. Do you fantasia a character you may have had since launch to become an Au Ra? Making a new race inherently encourages alts.

Also a lot of us do pay for 8 slots. So...yeah. Most MMO's have gear lockouts as well as caps to meet each week. I'm not saying FFXIV is wrong for keeping those staples. However no other MMO I have seen has been this unfriendly to alts /and/ used these devices. They get noticed more because the reasons to make an alt are the same as they have always been and yet its been made painfully difficult by an MSQ that (personally) has really amazing tidbits surrounded by lots of running back and forth because someone actually took the time to call you and tell you to come back to talk instead of talking or someone else needs you to stop saving the world to pass out tea.

I know they are making the MSQ give more exp and story trials/dungeons will be given priority but even if completing the MSQ will now get you to 50 it could still take several days of playing non stop just to reach the the original ending let alone all the patch content. That's if you don't, you know, work or have other things you need to be doing. In which case you are looking at much much longer. So at launch people who want Au Ra of the new jobs but don't want to fantasia existing characters are going to be forced to spend time leveling from scratch as a class they never wanted to even get a shot at it. When they could be actually enjoying the content they paid for. *deep breath*

In short it benefits no one. New players who were pulled in by the classes advertised in HW won't be happy. Players who returned due to those classes won't be happy and going by forums and other discussion, many existing players are not happy.

[GenJoe]

no other MMO I have seen has been this unfriendly to alts /and/ used these devices

What's funny is that you have much more interaction and intimacy with a random stranger you meet in-game than your own alts on the same account.
Unless they're on the same FC, there's absolutely no way for one to even see the other's name.. So close, yet so far away is what my alts feel like. Of course, I've found a work around using the fc chest and doing what limited interaction I can get between the two but still, having a crafter and being unable to meld my own gear for alts does get annoying at times.

In short it benefits no one. New players who were pulled in by the classes advertised in HW won't be happy. Players who returned due to those classes won't be happy and going by forums and other discussion, many existing players are not happy.

Exactly, the only opposition to the idea comes from people who say "But FF14 is a lore-centric MMO and it's the way the lore is.." while a valid point, most of these people don't really feel that strongly one way or the other.. Like I said before, none of these lore enthusiasts would quit the game over such an issue if SE decided to unlock Ishgard before 2.55 MSQ.. because SE dictates what the lore is they can always make it work. Plenty of people have quit or will not be buying the expansion over not getting access however.



Can you imagine if you're a returning player? You heard about Ishgard this Ishgard that so you come back wanting to see for yourself.. then BOOM! got MSQ to catch up on.. I can't help but feel many of these returners won't even get to see Ishgard before quitting.