Gating the whole expansion

[REPROBEAN_CHILD]

Not sure of for others, but if you are leveling an alt, many people save up i110 and i120 gear for their alt jobs, and as soon as they hit 50 can go from i45 to i110+ instantly. This makes the farming for ilvl that first 50s have to do not needed. In addition, you can then take that i110+ geared job and do all the trials/dungeons which are open from your main. With a FC to help some with queues, I can see it taking 3 hours or so from where the OP is. At least, that is how I've geared my jobs [I don't do the alt thing]. ^^

But where and how do they get that gear? I can't by any of that on the market-board for the prices they ask

[RogueDarkus]

Don't mind about the story being gated. Just disappointed that I can't access the new jobs until I do the storyline. Not complaining, just left a bit disappointed. But I guess that's what I get for leveling to 50 at the game release and then stop playing until like a week ago, lol. At least I get to learn my class again. :P

[LineageRazor]

Chains of Promathia was the same in FFXI you coudn't progress to the new area's without doing the quests,

Chains of Promathia was not the same. Yes, there was content locked behind mission quests - but that content was locked behind Chains of Promathia mission quests, NOT main scenario mission quests.

Additionally, there was a TON of content available from the start, without any mission progression required. Bibiki Bay, Attohwa Chasm, etc, etc.

FFXI did it right. Plenty of content for players both new and old. FFXIV, sadly, did it wrong. Plenty of content, ONLY after you've played the game for a month or so. A new player gets nothing but Au'ra.

The worst part is, they didn't HAVE to do it this way. They could have made some zones accessible from the get-go. They could have put the new jobs outside of Ishgard. None of that would have conflicted with the story.

To me, it was baffling why they did it this way, from a business perspective. The ONLY customers who could possibly be happy with these decisions are the ones already playing the game.

I'm not comfortable, knowing that the folks in charge of a game I love are in the habit of making terrible business decisions...

[Shai]

I'm not trying to be insensitive because I understand how frustrating this must be. New threads regarding this pop up every hour, so its obviously affecting a good number of people. However, we (the players) have known for at least 3 months that Ishgard and everything beyond it would be gated by the final "Before the Fall" story quest. It was widely available information and as you say "Who would want to pay for an expansion they can't play?" Well, hopefully no one would do that. If you bought the expansion thinking you'd be able to play in the new areas, then you are suffering from not gaining a bit of information about the product before you purchased it. Because the information is out there, and because you've had 3 months (or more) to get ready for this "gated" content, the fault solely lies on you.

You're very welcome to think this is a bad design. You are completely correct to think that people should NOT buy this expansion if they are NOT ready to play it. However, no matter how many of these threads appear, the game is designed the way its designed and it's not some closely guarded secret. Please do research before you purchase products, rather than blame the developers for your failure to do so.

Again, I'm not trying to be rude. I get it's distressing, but please take some personal responsibility here.

[Alexia89]

The point here is that this is a big problem. How can someone be OK with paying for an expansion and being the required level only to find out that they have to run through tons of stupid Pre-expansion bullcrap quests in order to access the main content that they paid for? The answer to me is it is NOT ok and a total stupid move on SE's part. I paid for the expansion and am the required level. Yet I am STUCK doing pre-expansion bullcrap.

No offence, but the information has been around for ages that this was what is happening.
As for you jumping straight into expansion content? You are still wearing base artifact gear. If you wandered into the new zones in your current gear, the first mob you see would probably bend you over and end you.

You may be the required "level", but you are not the required item level nor experience level.

This whole raging about 'gating' the expac needs to come to an end. If you preordered the expansion and didn't get through the story prior to EA it really is nobodies problem but your own. The information was readily available, you made a poor decision, deal with it.

Honestly though, people like you are probably just never happy. If SqEnix HAD released the expansion without gating it behind finishing the story- you'd have a different thread entitled "I paid for this expansion I shouldn't be dying to level 50 rabbits SqEnix wth"

Gating an entire area AND new jobs behind the main story is not something that is a good thing nor is it something that I will accept.

Leave then? This is not WoW, this is not another MMO- saying "but THIS game let me do THIS" is just brain dead. That's like sitting there and whinging that you can't use your Yu-Gi-Oh trap card whilst playing the Pokemon TCG.

Shut up. This isn't soulless garbage like WoW where the "story" consists of boring text dumps in quests that you don't read. if you don't care about story, play a different game. People are so entitled it's disgusting. And besides, the lockout serves more reasons than just story ones. Forcing you to play through the main story also ensures that Heavensward players don't get stuck playing with clueless people who can't even play their job.

You. I like you.

[MirielleLavandre]

But where and how do they get that gear? I can't by any of that on the market-board for the prices they ask

Many have a main that is fully geared in i130, so all of the poetic tomes they get can go towards buying other poetic gear for alts. Same with soldiery, which many people use to get a set of i110 gear to use until they can get the rest of the i120 pieces for their alt. It is just from doing expert roulette dungeons, etc. Again, this is merely how I gear alt jobs, and I'm sure others have better ways ^^ Of course, this only works if you already have a job @50 and can farm those tomes and do the Crystal Tower raid (and weekly). CT, ST, and WoD also drop pretty good non-tome gear that also can be used to gear up alts ^^ [especially World of Darkness since it drops i120 gear and has no loot lockout].

[SpiritMuse]

FFXI did it right. Plenty of content for players both new and old. FFXIV, sadly, did it wrong. Plenty of content, ONLY after you've played the game for a month or so. A new player gets nothing but Au'ra.

When did the 2.x content stop being content?

[Takfloyd]

There is absolutely no valid reason for the complaint made by this thread and others.

Do you people expect to be able to jump straight to the final dungeon in single-player FF games if you want to, and get pissy when you have to actually play the story to get there?

"b...but wow did it"

Shut up. This isn't soulless garbage like WoW where the "story" consists of boring text dumps in quests that you don't read. if you don't care about story, play a different game. People are so entitled it's disgusting. And besides, the lockout serves more reasons than just story ones. Forcing you to play through the main story also ensures that Heavensward players don't get stuck playing with clueless people who can't even play their job.

[Eye_Gore]

Wait, so what everyone is saying is that there is a story to the game?

[Arixtotle]

Ehhhh, I don't play this game for the story. I've skipped almost all story, and hey, I still like the game. It is a pretty lame decision to lock all new things behind the MSQ. I would say the main content of this expansion is the new race, new fights, new zones, and some new story. People play MMOs for many different reasons.

This game is not made to suit your play style then. Personally, the biggest draw for me for the expansion is the story. Which is the direction the devs go. This game is made for people who care about sorry and that makes it unique. I'd rather it not end up like all the others thank you very much. There are many games that suit your play style. Let us have a game that suits ours.