Please Allow 50's to Enter Ishgard w/o having completed MSQ

[Gunspec]

Consider for a moment that locking new areas and jobs behind MSQ also means that there will naturally be fewer people crowding up the new areas at launch. There will already be a ton of us there, do you really want hundreds of Lannisters and Targaryens, who fate grinded to 50 without a single dungeon or job quest, crowding up the place trying to unlock their dragon mounts?

I'm sure at some point they will remove the MSQ requirement from the 3.0 zones to aid new players in accessing relevant content. But that's the kind of change that will occur around 4.0 or 5.0. For now the MSQ is in place to benefit US... the players sitting at level 50 who are hungry for more content.

[kyuven]

Well, so far Square's been off-book with XIV. Every one of XI's expansions was a self-contained story though Zilart and Promathia had a little interconnectivity. Heavensward is the first time I've heard of an expansion continuing a story. Further, the version updates have been more than just new content, many have had fixes and system changes too. XI's version updates have largely only been new content and features.

Zilart DID require you to beat the Shadow Lord to start, at which point the MSQ branched into another 5 ranks of your home nation and the Zilart missions.
CoP wasn't directly connected but involved Delkfutt's Tower, which you have to visit several times during the main and RoZ missions.
A LOT of the CoP zones were gated behind the story as well, and about half the RoZ zones were gated behind the Kazham airship pass quest, with the other half bucking the common trend for expansions before and since by tacking on new zones all over the place. It got confusing.

[Hieral]

But seriously, it takes less than a week for a new player to get through the 2.0 main scenario, grind some tomes (900 in a week now), gear up, and tackle the rest.

If that's too much work, go play a non-MMO.

[Lewtskie]

Short term memory, it seems. ZM-1 immediately follows Vanilla XI's mission 5-2

"Must kill Shadow Lord to access Zilart missions, and eventually Sky."

Yeah, could have sworn Zilart was a continuation. Of course it also mainly existed on the already established zones, did it not? I know they brought Kazham and the extra endgame zones, but I forget how much Kazham was actually connected to the story. Every expansion thereafter brought completely new zones with a story encased within them almost entirely.

[Duuude007]

Yeah, could have sworn Zilart was a continuation. Of course it also mainly existed on the already established zones, did it not? I know they brought Kazham and the extra endgame zones, but I forget how much Kazham was actually connected to the story. Every expansion thereafter brought completely new zones with a story encased within them almost entirely.

The only reason you consider the zones established, is because FFXI vanilla was bundled with RotZ on its US release. Vanilla XI was being played (minus zilart zones, with a lvl 50 cap) in Japan for two years before then.

Here is what the expansion added:

Towns
Kazham
Norg
Rabao

Overworld
Eastern Altepa Desert
Western Altepa Desert
Yhoator Jungle
Yuhtunga Jungle

Dungeons
The Boyahda Tree
Cape Teriggan
Dynamis - Bastok
Dynamis - San d'Oria
Dynamis - Windurst
Gustav Tunnel
Ifrit's Cauldron
Korroloka Tunnel
Ru'Aun Gardens
Sea Serpent Grotto
The Shrine of Ru'Avitau
Ve'Lugannon Palace

[Stanelis]

Please do not forget that we didn't reach any conclusion to the 2.X MSQ series, and that heavensward is a continuation of the story of the 2.X series. Therefore it would make no sens for a new player to bypass the 2.X MSQ. Personally I'd rather have had SE conclude the the 2.X MSQ before the expansion, then start from scratch a new story in the xpac.

We re not in WoW where the story is world driven, and tied to the history of a server rather than to the history of any given character (like in FFXIV).

[Spiritreaver1217]

The only reason you consider the zones established, is because FFXI vanilla was bundled with RotZ on its US release. Vanilla XI was being played (minus zilart zones, with a lvl 50 cap) in Japan for two years before then.

Here is what the expansion added:

Exactly, tons of ppl forget FFXI existed for a good amount of time before it was released in NA and other parts west. RotZ added a ton of content and was a direct continuation. CoP was stand alone with some thematic ties to FFXI base and RotZ. Full standalone expantions didn't start for FFXI until ToAU was released, a good 4 years into development.

[Tuathaa]

But seriously, it takes less than a week for a new player to get through the 2.0 main scenario, grind some tomes (900 in a week now), gear up, and tackle the rest.

If that's too much work, go play a non-MMO.

Unless a person lives in their mom's basement and has no rl obligations they are not going to complete the msq in less than a week.

[SkyRobo1]

That would beat the point of us going to Ishargd in the 1st place!! Remember that the gates of Isghard was not open for all, we were only allowed there because of Aymeric's and Haurchefants help. Also we never had any reason to go to Ishgard in the 1st place until we were driven out.

[matt8107t]

There is also the fact that these areas will be more difficult. If they let everyone skip straight to heavenward areas without finishing story and gearing up there would be a ton of crying about how the heavenward areas are too hard.