Main Scenario Restriction Bloodstorm - Very Very Bad idea.

[Bourne_Endeavor]

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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.