A serious discussion about abridging the story quest 1-50 (discouraging new players)

[Zabuza]

Making MSQ optional, starting over with each expansion... this is a large reason why no other MMOs match HW in story. It's a breath of fresh air to actually play an MMO that cares about their story. No matter how much you plead for it, SE is not going to make the entire MSQ optional for you.

The way I see it, if they cave to this demand this begins a downward spiral. I've played MMOs for over a decade and I can tell you, in MMOs, the customer is not always right. Sometimes always listening to the customer causes your game to bleed subs. If you don't listen enough the same result can happen, a balance is required.

Doing away with the pointless fetch quests in MSQ is fine. Making it optional is not fine, as most of these dungeons and trials are directly tied to the story in some form or another, giving meaning for the players who actually read the story. Getting into Ishgard would make absolutely no sense without this MSQ requirement, and would destroy the lore for all of the people who liked the story. Either way one side will be unhappy, you can never please everyone.