Why do I have to complete *all* vanilla story quests to get to HW content?

[Yasuhiro]

Switch to Japanese voice overs and done.

I switched to Japanese since I know the language (kinda been learning for over a year ^^) but the games crappy localization is really jarring in subtitles when you look at what's being said. Japanese voices sound "normal" English dub/localization [Succor intensifies]

snip

I'd go on a rant again but I'd rather not, last post about this is before this so read that but tl;dr

Mainline Final Fantasy games MMO or not have stories. I do agree that some of the ARR quests are garbage and minfillia can go screw herself, you gave me a link pearl for a reason, goddamn you and your glorious ass window.

Please, Yoshida, don't even pander to WoW players they're not your target audience.

[AnaviAnael]

As the above poster pointed out AST and DRK are locked behind arriving at Ishgard. As much as I love this game I can't really defend that decision.

The only reason why I can somewhat defend this decision is because they start at level 30 and not level 1. It's a good idea to play a counterpart to each job before you start playing DRK, AST, and MCH. Granted, if they ever do something similar I'd rather have it be gated behind "have a job at level XX" or something. I have a friend who just returned and wanted to play MCH. He too was complaining of filler.

Fortunately, they did state that they wouldn't have 2.0 and 3.0 necessary to jump into 4.0. There would be some sort of recap. I do wonder how questing will work since the MSQ is the best way to get your first job to cap.

[MistakeNot]

As the above poster pointed out AST and DRK are locked behind arriving at Ishgard. As much as I love this game I can't really defend that decision.

True - having the new jobs gated behind lots of quests is annoying. Especially since the jobs start at level 30, so you will have to do a whole bunch of playing in the "old world" anyway to level them up.
The rest of HW content though - quests, trials, dungeons, etc. - that they are gated is no different from everything else in the game being gated behind the MSQ one way or another.

[FeliAiko]

As the above poster pointed out AST and DRK are locked behind arriving at Ishgard. As much as I love this game I can't really defend that decision.

I feel they could've done a compromise here. Have the 30-50 stage locked behind advancing the MSQ up to a Level 30 point in the story (as well as having a Job at 30), then the 50-60 stage behind completing the 2.x story and entering Ishgard. Considering how the 30-50 Job quests take place within ARR zones anyway, I can't see why they didn't attempt this method in the first place.

[Niwashi]

I don't mind a great story but why not change it so you can at least play the new jobs without those requirements?

When it comes to other content (the new zones, quests, dungeons, etc) I completely agree with SE's decision. Those need to be gated as they are. People shouldn't be able to enter Ishgard without the full story behind it. But when it comes to the new jobs, it does seem like they should have been unlockable in the old zones (by anyone who's purchased the expansion, obviously).

The jobs start at 30 and would have been better if they were unlockable at 30 (with perhaps some additional requirements like having another job unlocked or whatever). Then players interested in them could be playing as those jobs while they go through the rest of the 2.0 story and all the 2.x patches.

Of course, this would move the early part of the job storylines into the old regions. As a result, the job stories would be a bit different than the current ones that start in Ishgard. But I don't doubt SE's ability to come up with stories for each of the new jobs that would work with a starting point (and the 30-50 level range) being in the older regions. (The level 52-60 job quests could still move to Ishgard if they need it to.)

[FallenArisen0990]

Ugh, I really am tired of people debating what dub is better... Both ENG and JP have there pros and cons. While I don't mind JP audio only games, but if there's an option for ENG voices, I will pick it. Sure the voices aren't great but they aren't "ear-ripping" bad. They should go back to the old days where it's just sub. That way no one can complain about what dub is better than the other. People nowadays are just spoiled with all these graphics and voices and etc...

As for gated content, idk why want to rush to where everyone is. You're not missing much in all honestly, current content will just become obsolete just like every other content before it. Hell, you don't even have to gear up with tome gear right away. The game just throws gear at you when you level up and proceed through the MSQ.

[Andevom]

*True Story* I hate broccoli. Like a lot.

Call me a broccoli white knight, but it is clearly one of the best vegetables out there. Huge amount of Vitamin C content, and not nearly as much sodium as some of those other veggies out there.

[Lexia]

There people out there that don't like the MSQs but you still can complete at pretty much at your own speed on your own (via DF for instances) or with the social option still there. Lets be thankful it not like XI where a person couldn't do anything in the game without needing help from other people. Story Quest you going to need help with that, leveling you going to need help with that as group pretty much required, level cap going to need help with that, going from one of the 3 main cities to Jeuno (usually only one time) but yup you going to need help there also considering how death and travel worked. So XIV is way more casual friendly even with HW being locked by MSQ.

[Crysten]

Just a reminder, I'm OP. I've played many MMO's (FFXI included) and none of them require you to finish all story quests to get at the new stuff. Imagine having to finish base-game FFXI to get to Rise of the Zilart and Dragoon etc...
I understand people talking about 'how are you going to know about XYZ happening in Ishgard etc... and that's fair, but its minimal work for a writer to edit it to make it more new-user friendly and to not require huge amounts of play experience. Every game series does it, Dragon Age I doesn't require DA:O or DA2, FFXI: CoP didn't require RoZ, WoW Legion doesn't require you to go through every single expansion to get to the game, it dumps you in the action and assumes you'll catch up to the story on your own. It would be forgivable if the story were amazing and gripping but ... :s

It's just poor game design.

Beating one part of the game to get to another part of the game is called progression, not bad game design.

Don't pretend that FFXI didn't have story gated content. Dynamis and RotZ were gated behind Rank 5 missions. Sky was gated behind RotZ missions. Sea was gated behind CoP missions. Hell, you had to beat the bosses in Visions of Abyssea to get to Scars content and so on.

While I agree that content such as jobs should be accessible from the start, gating the rest of the content off isn't necessarily a bad thing, considering the game is actively encouraging you to do content such as Coil, additional primals, dungeons and other level 50 content before you even get to Ishgard.

Why people are so upset on doing content the game has to offer is beyond me. Endgame is shit - there's no reason to rush to get there.

[LineageRazor]

Of course, this would move the early part of the job storylines into the old regions. As a result, the job stories would be a bit different than the current ones that start in Ishgard. But I don't doubt SE's ability to come up with stories for each of the new jobs that would work with a starting point (and the 30-50 level range) being in the older regions. (The level 52-60 job quests could still move to Ishgard if they need it to.)

Actually, and rather hilariously, the 30-50 job quests for all three of the Heavensward jobs DO take place in the old areas. You meet with the quest-starter in Ishgard, but almost everything you do during those quests happens in ARR areas.

The job quests are so disconnected from Ishgard that it would take very few adjustments to make them available outside of Ishgard right now if they chose to. Jannequinard could easily be encountered on sabbatical at the Observatorium. Your encounter with Fray would make as much sense at Dragonhead or Whitebrim. Stephanivien's workshop may be in Ishgard, but there's plenty of room for him to meet you in Coerthas, as well. Once you reach level 50, the job quests can pick up once again in Ishgard; it's what most of the ARR jobs do, after all - and DRK sorta works that way already, since you trade Fray out as a trainer for Sidurgu.

In fact, the way the quests are modeled, it seems almost as though SE originally planned to start these jobs outside of Ishgard, but decided at the last minute to lock them behind the gates by placing the quest starters in Ishgard. And thereby removing pretty much any incentive for a new player to buy the expansion, until they've played the crap out of ARR. That's just bad business - you want to give the player incentive to buy the game AND the expansion up front, so if they bail on the game later, you'll at least have that money in the bank.

Hopefully, they've learned something from all this. Making an expansion with nothing to offer new players is a big mistake. Include content that can be enjoyed by long-term and new players alike. The new players will be more likely to stick with the game longer, and even if they don't that's money in hand.

Don't pretend that FFXI didn't have story gated content. Dynamis and RotZ were gated behind Rank 5 missions. Sky was gated behind RotZ missions. Sea was gated behind CoP missions. Hell, you had to beat the bosses in Visions of Abyssea to get to Scars content and so on.

Don't forget that for nearly every expansion from FFXI, while there was content gated behind storyline progress, each expansion ALSO offered plenty for newer players. RotZ and CoP offered numerous new zones for low-to-mid-level players that required ZERO storyline progression to access. You could walk right in (though you might well be quickly killed if not sufficiently leveled). Heck, CoP offered zones arguably specifically designed for FISHERS, which was nothing more than a side-hobby in that game (Carpenter's Landing and Bibiki Bay). You could play as any of the new jobs offered in any expansion, as long as you could reach level 30 (which, incidentally, was also the requirement for the advanced jobs offered with the vanilla game).

What did Heavensward offer new players that the vanilla game did not? You can play as Au Ra. That's it.