Allow MSQ Fast Track To Latest Expansion

[Vhailor]

If you start a new character and skip everything and only focus on MSQ and dungeon unlocks, you can get from 1-60 and even gear in ilvl 230-260 gear within 2 weeks, and that's when playing only 4 or 5 hours every day. Done it with alts lately and it isn't big a deal. With potd even faster if you chose to do that, but then you will have to back track and do MSQ/Job Quests and unlock quests, which will most likely take much longer than just rushing through with skipping.

I don't think it's as trivial as you make it out to be, for a variety of reasons.

(1) Most people won't skip everything and purely focus on MSQ and dungeon unlocks. Not to say they can't, but most won't. Forcing players into a choice between taking reasonable amounts of time and stopping to smell the roses even a little bit isn't appropriate.

(2) Most people returning from lengthy breaks aren't as familiar with the process as you are. That's going to add time.

(3) Even by your (exceedingly conservative) estimate, you're still talking (4.5 hours/day on average) * (14 days) = 63 hours. Many people can't devote 4.5 hours per day to the game, though; if they're playing, say, 10 hours a week, it's over a month and a half JUST to get through the Heavensward story and gear up to i230 / i260. That's ridiculous.

In short, your tossed-off 2 week figure is relevant for people who know exactly what they're doing, aren't spending idle time on other tasks, and have significant amounts of time to devote to FFXIV. If all gamers fell into this category, I'd agree that the storyline setup is rather appropriate. Given this isn't the reality, though, I think jumping potions are needed at this point for SE to combat the grind.

[Lambadelta]

(3) Even by your (exceedingly conservative) estimate, you're still talking (4.5 hours/day on average) * (14 days) = 63 hours. Many people can't devote 4.5 hours per day to the game, though; if they're playing, say, 10 hours a week, it's over a month and a half JUST to get through the Heavensward story and gear up to i230 / i260. That's ridiculous.

It's like MMOs are meant to be a time sink, and the time sink we have these days is nothing like the days of old (in other MMOs) where leveling to max level took months.

Honestly if people don't like the idea of time sinks in an MMO then why play an MMO. Seems pretty counterproductive to me.

[Belhi]

It's like MMOs are meant to be a time sink, and the time sink we have these days is nothing like the days of old (in other MMOs) where leveling to max level took months.

Honestly if people don't like the idea of time sinks in an MMO then why play an MMO. Seems pretty counterproductive to me.

It tends to be more about doing the stuff the people you socialise are doing than having an issue with a time sink. MMOs are fundamentally a social game platform and the levelling process can feel very much like a single player game with a chat function. Doing treasure hunts or running dungeons or raids for loot with friends is always more entertaining than doing it on your own or with a pug of strangers.

[LunaFaye]

I don't think it's as trivial as you make it out to be, for a variety of reasons.

(1) Most people won't skip everything and purely focus on MSQ and dungeon unlocks. Not to say they can't, but most won't. Forcing players into a choice between taking reasonable amounts of time and stopping to smell the roses even a little bit isn't appropriate.

(2) Most people returning from lengthy breaks aren't as familiar with the process as you are. That's going to add time.

(3) Even by your (exceedingly conservative) estimate, you're still talking (4.5 hours/day on average) * (14 days) = 63 hours. Many people can't devote 4.5 hours per day to the game, though; if they're playing, say, 10 hours a week, it's over a month and a half JUST to get through the Heavensward story and gear up to i230 / i260. That's ridiculous.

In short, your tossed-off 2 week figure is relevant for people who know exactly what they're doing, aren't spending idle time on other tasks, and have significant amounts of time to devote to FFXIV. If all gamers fell into this category, I'd agree that the storyline setup is rather appropriate. Given this isn't the reality, though, I think jumping potions are needed at this point for SE to combat the grind.

I based it on the OP's question/suggestion. I don't think that his returning friends are not even falling in the non casual category, that would be the category you're trying to explain here, because if that would be the case the OP probably wouldn't be worried about his/her friends returning and trying to be ready for the expansion, if they would just play 10 hours a week. As well as he/she mentioned returning, meaning that they will know what they are doing, or the OP knows how the game works and can lead his/her friends in the right direction. I wasn't talking about players that just started for the first time and I was also not telling these kind of people that they should be skipping everything.

But to go with your example, even it it then would take a month, that's faster then we have done it. There was no exp bonus and such things, and it actually was a grind compared to today's leveling. And while I mentioned that I am not against the potion (if you would have not quoted half of the sentence), it's still not necessary or as high priority as you are trying to make it sound like. IF his/her friends would return now, they be not only geared, but having multiple characters till stormblood and wouldn't have to hope that this potion gets released way later down the line, if even at all.