5.0 and MSQ Skip: Free Skip Potion?

[kikix12]

The Witcher 3 is a single-player game.

Technicalities don't change from single player to multiplayer, or even from games to other stuff. An expansion is an expansion no matter what it applies to. An expansion to game or an expansion to your PC have the same effect. It is adding something on top of what you already have, not a replacement of it.

If we'd go your way, every expansion should have been a stand-alone game. WHY build upon an existing game if all you want is that expansion? Why not make that expansion a standalone game then? You should make a thread about FFXIV being abandoned and having Shadowbringers and future expansions be stand-alone games then. No need for skip potions.

FFXIV is an MMORPG with lots of content outside of the story/MSQ. However due to design choices, even many of the usual MMO elements are locked behind MSQ.

Yes, I agree that the amount of content locked behind main story is a bit too much, but then again, a lot of it is locked reasonably due to how it ties into the story. It is a "necessary evil" for an artistic vision given. Cuss at it as much as you want, stomp as you want. This game belongs to Square Enix, not players. As the creators they decided for it to be a story-driven MMO so stuff being tied to main story is only reasonable.

This is something you have no right to complain about, plain and simple. Variety is necessary. There are plenty games for you if all you're interested in is whacking a random mob for no reason but to whack it. Go to one of them. Don't try to turn a game that chose a different path into one of those whack-a-mole games just cause you prefer em.

Nope, that's just players defending SE double dipping, when they could provide the skip option for free.

It's not double dipping if you don't pay for anything twice. When you buy expansion you buy the ability to utilize what is in that expansion when you reach it. NOT instant access to that expansion. Thinking otherwise is ridiculous.

Also, they can provide the game for free too. They can provide the server code for people to make private servers. They can provide instant savage gear to everyone. That is a completely nonsensical argument. They made a product. You either like the product and use it or not like it and not use it, looking for something that you would. Simple as that.

You are entitled to your opinion and you're free to give suggestions. However you are accusing Square Enix for something that is, fundamentally, nothing to be accuse-worthy. It is neither a crime nor even shady. It's not gray area and it's not even unusual. It is simply not trying to break the mold, that's all.

Is the MSQ really the "majority of the game" though in an MMORPG?

MMORPG stands for "Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game". It is not "Massive Multiplayer Only Role Playing Game". The difference between "online" and "only" is a huge one, because the first one means that many players are logged on at the same time whether or not they interact with each other, while the latter means that many multiplayer are online at the same time INTERACTING with each other. Some of the Battle Royale games nowadays are multiplayer-only. Solo content in MMO games is nothing weird. Lack of multiplayer content would be weird, but it's here and doing well. This game absolutely does meet the needs of being an MMO game.

The MSQ as it is currently, is mostly a solo experience.

The story is a solo experience. Yes, it is a pain that it's impossible for most story content to be done with another player. It irked me from the beginning. Then again, that's because the quests are not about "kill a 100 mobs and hope that it will be enough to get 10 copies of a rare drop". The drops are virtually always guaranteed here and the amount of mobs that need to be killed is usually 1-3.

That being said, most of the content is multiplayer experience, with or without solo options. You cannot solo dungeon (only unsynced when you overlevel it, and then you don't get normal drops). There are MMO's where you can solo EVERYTHING on level because the mobs scale to the number of people or the dungeon have a "solo" and "party" versions. Here you are forced to run it in party (though that WILL change with trust system for Shadowbringers, if that system will be done well). There are dungeons, trials, alliance, raids, ultimates, PvP, hunts, treasure maps, Eureka, Diadem, FATE's, deep dungeons. All of these can (and are suggested to be) played with multiple people. SOME of them can be soloed, but even if possible, it's usually very inefficient or excessively difficult. Or requires you to significantly overlevel the content (even then, some content is not feasibly soloable due to instant-kill mechanics). Even crafting can be done "multiplayer style". Several people can work towards gathering and crafting an item by providing various materials. Or one player can level multiple classes and do it solo.

So yes, multiplayer in this game doesn't suffer. It won't suffer either, no matter how many of these things will become "soloable" with Trust or similar mechanics. Because if someone does not want to do multiplayer, they won't do it or will not readily cooperate, making playing with them a pain. Those that do want to socialize will still do.

[Mansion]

I agree that MSQ teaches you more than MSQ by gradualling pushing difficulty to players, and I'm happy to see that Stormblood pushed a bit further with content like Shinryu/Tsukuyomi normal that requested a bit of player involvement.
Although 2.0 has somehow "aged" badly and could do with a lifting for new players (similar to how they removed that awful crystal quest for the Crystal Tower unlock), they could streamline some fetch quests and simply buff the amount of XP you get from the MSQ up until 50. That does not solve everything, but it would make it a bit more appealing for newcomers, or enjoyable for alt characters (or that New Game + mode they announced)

[Hyperia]

As stated, the Devs would love to go and fix the MSQ but that essentially requires them to rewrite an entire expansion worth of quests. They simply don't have the resources to undertake such an endeavor. We would have to give up something major like 24-player raids or delay an expansion for a year in order for them to get things worked out. I'm not a fan of either option, so at this point, the new players will need to grind through the quests like we did or pop a potion for a few bucks to catch up with everybody else. Their choice, if they really want to play with their friends, they will need to put in either the time or the money.

Best thing the devs can do is have a sale on the jump potions during their free play campaigns.

[SenorPatty]

Just gonna argue here specifically on the "free" part.


Why does it need to be free? I don't see a low pop game to warrant it in an attempt to be used as a promo to get more people in. The game's not aged enough either to say the old player pop is getting stale so it needs fresh blood and a free skip pop is once again used as an incentive.

So really, I'd like to know why it needs to be free?

[Vespar]

Who plays a final fantasy game just to skip the story?

[Keridwyn]

So reading the title you're only asking for a free MSQ skip? What a terrible idea. The MSQ is a huge pile of experience for a new players first job and without it you're only lengthening the time they're going to spend grinding with the admittedly terrible pre-50 job/class kits. If you're asking for a free MSQ + Job skip then I also think that's a poor idea without somehow putting in place some catch up mechanics that they'd be funneled through first to give them more than the flat basics hall of the novice does. But I believe that WoW tried something like that years ago and found it actually didn't help, it didn't replace the experience of having leveled to that point yourself.

I'd rather that they do something about streamlining the old MSQ (maybe leave the longer version for New Game+ when people go back to look it over?) so that it's not quite so boring in spots. If it's time you're worried about then perhaps a permanent 'Road to X' buff could come into play. Doesn't have to be identical to the Road to 60 we have now but something to help people move along at a good clip and remove those few grindy gaps that currently exist in the MSQ might do the job without having people just wholesale skip.

[Ranetsu-Akagane]

I started with ARR and I absolutely hated the story there (especially the titan part) along with all the filler quest (again my personal opinion) . I loved heavensward and stormblood so far is good too. I honestly don't see how people skipping is going to make them a bad players, since we are encouraged to use guides before entering a dungeon for the first time or guides for rotations.

[bass9020]

I started with ARR and I absolutely hated the story there (especially the titan part) along with all the filler quest (again my personal opinion) . I loved heavensward and stormblood so far is good too. I honestly don't see how people skipping is going to make them a bad players, since we are encouraged to use guides before entering a dungeon for the first time or guides for rotations.

Its really not that logic is kinda flawed tbh. Its more about why should this type of item be free? If someone wants to purposely skip content then they should have a fee tacked on. We can see from 4.0 launch though that nothing really changed with having them on the mog station and people still opted to not use them. A new player already gets a bunch of little goodies to play the game and sometimes even more. Thought should go to the actual members who play and sub regularly.

[Ranetsu-Akagane]

Its really not that logic is kinda flawed tbh. Its more about why should this type of item be free? If someone wants to purposely skip content then they should have a fee tacked on. We can see from 4.0 launch though that nothing really changed with having them on the mog station and people still opted to not use them. A new player doesnt need all these little goodies to maybe play a game, thought should go to the actual members who play and sub regularly.

I don't agree with the item being free. I don't think it ever will be either, because they want you to try the story,the option to skip should be just that optional. I just don't think that everyone who skips is a bad player.

[bass9020]

I don't agree with the item being free. I don't think it ever will be either, because they want you to try the story,the option to skip should be just that optional. I just don't think that everyone who skips is a bad player.

Yea I agree, I dont like when that is thrown around as a reason. I mean I still dont know how to play half the jobs I just level them because I enjoy the leveling and story for every job.