New Player Experience Sucks! - Impending Expansion Problems

[Rilifane]

Would be nice if some main scenario quests that are unnecessary and irrelevant in ARR were cut out. Like random fetch quests that are just filler. Just turn those quests into side quests for people that want to do them.

"Sniff the Chocobo"
"Watch the bubbling cauldron"


MSQ sure had some gems ... but it's mostly a pre-HW problem, so I believe they'll filter the quests a bit in the coming expansion(s).

[KadaRemnant]

Why any new players would want to skip and miss amazing stuff? I understand about playing with friends but they can play with you as you go through the game. I'll never understand that. When i played ffxiv for thr first time, i never thought about going to end game, i had fun and did all the stuff before. But because some want to go to end game right away, doesn't mean everyone think the same. It wasn't boring to me at all.

[LaylaTsarra]

There will most likely be 70 level skip potions soon so he/she can buy one and skip to the current expansion. Sorry but skipping to 70 without effort isn't the way it is. There is lots to do in this game and its not all end game content. I would suggest he wait unless he or she wants to do Stormblood content before xpac.

[Seraphor]

I’m not usually one to suggest skipping content, I feel the story is a major part of the game and content you’ve paid for.
But at this point in the game, I really would suggest getting the ARR story skip.
This is the worst slog in the game, especially the post-game content in the run up to HW. I remember that being quite demoralising even on my first time when it was all new to me. And with most of the game not opening up until you hit level 50, that’s even more reason to do it.
Even without the New Game+ feature coming soon, I would still say it’s worth consideration, so with the option to go back and replay it, It’s certainly a good decision if you’ve not made it to say level 20 quests just yet and you’re already getting bored.

I wouldn’t skip HW. It’s the best story in the game as far as I’m concerned.
Shadowbringers might be less than two months away, but if you really go for it you could still get through HW and SB in that time.

If you’ve completed HW by the time Shadowbringers hits and can’t stomach Stormblood. I’d maybe suggest skipping Stormblood. Maybe.
If New Game+ allows you to choose where you can restart the story from, and you can restart at the start of Stormblood, then certainly.

[SturmChurro]

I’m not usually one to suggest skipping content, I feel the story is a major part of the game and content you’ve paid for.
But at this point in the game, I really would suggest getting the ARR story skip.
This is the worst slog in the game, especially the post-game content in the run up to HW. I remember that being quite demoralising even on my first time when it was all new to me. And with most of the game not opening up until you hit level 50, that’s even more reason to do it.
Even without the New Game+ feature coming soon, I would still say it’s worth consideration, so with the option to go back and replay it, It’s certainly a good decision if you’ve not made it to say level 20 quests just yet and you’re already getting bored.

I wouldn’t skip HW. It’s the best story in the game as far as I’m concerned.
Shadowbringers might be less than two months away, but if you really go for it you could still get through HW and SB in that time.

If you’ve completed HW by the time Shadowbringers hits and can’t stomach Stormblood. I’d maybe suggest skipping Stormblood. Maybe.
If New Game+ allows you to choose where you can restart the story from, and you can restart at the start of Stormblood, then certainly.

Yes! Every new player is subject to all of ARR without ever getting to the good stuff that would actually get a new player hooked!

[Anzaman]

Am I only one, who actually enjoyed playing from level 1 to current point - exploring world, doing story content and all that completely new things?

Sure I started shortly before Heavensward dropped, but I didn't have any "gotta rush now" -feeling.

[Jeeqbit]

If cut scenes and sidequests are being skipped and you are playing on a tank, ARR takes a long time (I didn't measure but felt like around 2 weeks breaking to stop burnouts) while you can do HW and SB each in a day or less. Since your friend is a returner from ARR content they should already be through the bulk of the ARR content.

Completing Stormblood with the cut scenes and sidequests, soaking everything up for the first time and getting into decent gear took me 2-4 weeks. Since there are two months left, they have one month for each of the two expansions HW and SB. They can speed it up further by skipping sidequests and being a tank so that the queues are fast.

I have a feeling he never will actually reach the content that he has paid for

They can still reach it even if it's not by release day. Is reaching it by release day really that vitally important? There is a month's delay before savage raids get released so if this is the motivating factor then there's not a huge rush because that's three months.

players cannot go back and do the story any longer, I would assume (I have never actually used one).

In WoW a new player has a boost, but can reach the relevant (expansion) content, and can go back and do older content at their own leisure.

The expansion is releasing a new feature called New Game+, which will allow you to go back and replay any quests you wish. You can buy a skip and then go back and do the quests you really want to do. The quests you're redoing are presumbly in a separate data table to your real quest progression.

[Bonbori]

Yes! Every new player is subject to all of ARR without ever getting to the good stuff that would actually get a new player hooked!

I got hooked during my first playthrough while still going through AAR. It's the reason I'm still here now, as are quite a lot of people from what I see every day.

Who is this "new player" you speak of? You claim be talking about a general issue affecting all new players, but you've made it clear that you aren't one, and the friend you used as an example doesn't seem to appreciate the vast majority of content the game offers. At this point, I'm not convinced that you have the best interests of the game's target audience at heart.

[SturmChurro]

I got hooked during my first playthrough while still going through AAR.

Who is this "new player" you speak of? You claim be talking about a general issue affecting all new players, but you've made it clear that you aren't one, and the friend you used as an example doesn't seem to appreciate the vast majority of content the game offers.

I'm just talking about myself, actually. I don't think I'll make it to the end of Stormblood, or get a character to 70 unless I buy a boost, and that's way oit of my price range!

[KadaRemnant]

You're not the only one. I had fun from level 1 to endgame.