Main Scenario Restriction Bloodstorm - Very Very Bad idea.

[Bourne_Endeavor]

But isn't it? You're asking for a potion that would skip not just old content, but also any relevant content to date. Sure, they would have to gear up, but that's the content they want, right? They want to skip to those end-game gearing-up raids? Well, what if I only wanted to craft end-game gear? I shouldn't have to craft my own gear to do that. That's a lot of effort. And if someone skipping to 50 gets ironworks, I would like to skip to 60 and have ironworks crafting gear. Also, any gil I "would've made" having crafted other lower recipes. *wink wink*

Also, what happens when they skip to 60? Do they get enough gil to buy new gear in Stormblood areas? Do they get awarded scripture gear? What special "reward" do they get for buying that potion from the shop? I mean, after all, they are entitled to it right?

Sigh. For the last time, no. They skip to Stormblood not endgame content. The potion implemented in the Chinese/Korean version puts you nowhere near ready for Alexander. You also still have to do Heavensward. It merely skips you through A Realm Reborn because none of that content is relevant anymore. You can attempt to spin this will false equivalents all you fancy. That doesn't make it so. The intent of the potion is so you aren't gated by the MSQ, hence only gifting you the bare minimum at level 50. What you're saying is it'll gift you actual relevant gear with your crafter example. That doesn't happen even in the Chinese version.

Whatever the near equivalent to Ironworks (battle) gear is. In essence, it'll be junk gear you replace almost immediately. And this has nothing to do with entitlement. It's simply business. The larger the content bloat you put in front of new players, the less likely they are to keep playing or start to begin with. This will inevitably lead to a sub decline as less new players means no one will replace veterans who unsub. That lack of revenue isn't something Square Enix will just eat. They'll pass it back onto us by adding more cash shop exclusive content. A jump potion will happen. It's simply a matter of when.

[TarynH]

Sighs.

My crafter example may seem delusional at first glance, but in retrospect it's really not that far off. When you start inviting cash-bought elements into a game to skip ahead, it starts a trend. You can try to claim that it doesn't, but look at other games that implemented the same. Some games are even destroyed by it.

I personally don't want this game to turn into something where you can run and get your CC to skip content. Despite how "irrelevant" you determine that content to be. (By the way, all content is relevant, if there is a purpose for it being there. Story is relevant to a story-driven game. The content required is relevant to the story.)

But there are compromises. Instead of a cash shop item, or a pay-to-win item, you could resolve it in-game. They could, as others suggested, take most of the fetch quest bloat out of the MSQ. Anything that doesn't drive the main story. They could also give the player a choice once they reach a certain part in the MSQ. They could be asked to continue, or to skip ahead.

But honestly, what does the token "new player" have to look forward to with a new expansion? It's just more MSQ in new zones, with a couple of new jobs. No matter what they would do to try to resolve the issues, it would not please everyone. People would still get bored and quit. People will always get bored and quit, especially if they find something more entertaining.

The story really does drive this game, regardless if someone likes it or not. It opens new areas. It opens new privileges (chocobos, buying property, etc.) It opens new content. Even Alexander has a story. FFXIV is a story-driven game.

You accuse me of painting a doom and gloom picture with the RMT, but aren't you doing the exact same? You talk of sealing wax, and ships, filled to the brim with cabbages and kings abandoning FFXIV. If anything, subscriptions went up with the release of HW. I imagine they'll do the same with SB. The players that leave will more likely be the ones that get bored of repeated content. Or friends of those who complain how awful the MSQ is, while they're trying to get through it.

[Bourne_Endeavor]

snip

No, it's still silly. You are comparing junk gear that is almost instantly replaced within a few levels at best to the best crafted gear available in Heavensward. The equivalent would be if a jump potion existed now, it gifted people lore gear. It doesn't in the Chinese version and it wouldn't this side of the ocean either. At least not when lore gear had any relevancy. There is no trend to start because it serves a singular purpose: skip ahead to the current expansion. It may not even do that-- capping off at level 50. A Realm Reborn has the added issue of showcasing some of the game's worst aspects. Classes are a terrible system even the developers have acknowledged due to how dull the leveling process is. Early dungeons are generally considered extremely boring and the story itself doesn't have the best pacing until we join the scions. Basically, when people talk about how fun FFXIV is. They aren't talking about early ARR. There's a good reason people usually claim "it gets so much better at level 50."

You know what game did implement it with runaway success? The most popular and profitable MMO to have ever existed.

A compromise which costs money. I originally suggested this very same alternative, however people pointed out condensing various bits of the MSQ would require script rewrites, new cutscenes and animations all to accommodate those chances since they now have to connect say, the beginning of Titan's questline to fighting him without the whole pointless company of heroes nonsense. Those resources will be pulled from Stormblood's budget, thus all of us may lose out on new content so the devs can tweak scenes we'll never see unless we choose to level an alt.

And? If they do, it's essentially free money for Square. What they find fun, frankly, isn't your concern. Some people only care about the raids, yet will run those same fights weekly. Some do nothing but craft. Others roleplay. The story drives this game for you. Not everyone feels the same. If they're skipping every cutscene, the story drives nothing. It's a chore they click through to get onto the content which interests them. Some of these players are among the most active. They merely do not share your subjective opinion on the story or its impact.

Not at all. Subs did go up at Heavensward's release, but they gradually declined. A primary complaint on various forums/reddit has largely been the sheer quest grind leading up to Heavensward. If it becomes mandatory to complete two full base games and all their associated patches, people will be deterred away. This will only get worse with future expansions. Like I've said previously. How many people would have picked up Legion if they were forced to play through fifteen years of old content? I guarantee it wouldn't be 3+ million. Companies like BioWare even specified cited this as reasons for why all their sequels are standalone stories that new players can jump into at any point. People will also leave if they're bored of content yet forced to slog through it anyway just to unlock "the fun part."

[TarynH]

The story drives this game for you. Not everyone feels the same. If they're skipping every cutscene, the story drives nothing.

Whether someone decides to skip the story or not, is a choice. It does not negate the fact that FFXIV is a story-driven game. Your character, despite your friend wanting to roleplay otherwise, is the central focus of a story; an on-going story. It is their journey, and you are asked to fill that role. Regardless of you ignoring it, or skipping it, or sticking your fingers in your ears when someone mentions it; there will continue to be a story to drive that character onward. That is the simple definition of a story-driven game. Now whether or not that motivates you to continue playing, is irrelevant. It will never supersede the game itself being story-driven.