Quote Originally Posted by Sylve View Post
snip
With the additional good part that the story is cohesive and doesn't require you to have read the freakin' patch notes for that particular expansion to know where to go to get to that expansion's content. Since it's all linked to the MSQ, you're never lost but nor are you barred from exploring the content that's currently relevant to you.
This is a problem in the following games:
WoW ("How do i get to Outland?" "Why do you want to go to Outland?!"), EQ1 (I have to go to WHAT zone to take a boat?! Wait, did I just outlevel 4 years of content in 3 days?), EQ2 (Here's a vague mail telling you that some guy is doing a thing in a place. Oh, and since you're 3 expansions behind, you have like 6 of these and we're not going to be clear on which is which), FFXI (I need a WHAT to get to Whitegate?) and DCUO (Wait, this is expansion content? I thought it was just a normal mission!)
Meanwhile games like SWTOR and STO (both sci-fi MMOs...huh...) gate their content and basically don't let you do it til the previous content is finished. STO even uses the game's quest tracker to not only list the "Episodes" involved, but since someone at the company has a brain, you don't initially have to track down an NPC and can just...y'know...use your space ship's communications to give em a call.