Option to unlock content without mandatory MSQ

[Darkpaw]

Good point, but they could perhaps make even more profit by broadening their market.

They could become a true WoW competitor for example. There are right now a lot of dissatisfied WoW players who have nowhere to go because MMO market is very underwhelming right now when it comes to non niche (WoW like) MMOs. They could create some new Final Fantasy fans by welcoming those players, who will perhaps after having a good time and having experienced the combat and beautiful instances become interested to do the MSQ and see what's the backstory and context for everything. The average WoW player will not have the patience to go through the whole MSQ while being stuck with very slow combat (because combat only gets interesting and faster at higher levels).

Now that we're talking about WoW, there's probably a good reason why WoW offers free level boost with purchase of an expansion. They want to keep the newest content populated and make the game more appealing to players who get interested in the game after seeing an ad for their newest expansion for example. All that would lead to more profit in the long term because they decided to offer free level boost instead of charging players. They comply to the demand so they can get more expansion sales and thus make more profit.

A true WoW competitor? There’s a bad faith argument if I ever heard one. This game is a WoW competitor and one of the three top games in the mmo market. With ever growing numbers since Shadowbringers released.

And how did it get to be a WoW competitor? By being yet another WoW clone? No. It got to where it is because it decided to do something different. To show that MMOs could be more than just a rush to end game content and constant grind.

To put a story and a fantastic story in the spotlight, to give fans of JRPGs for generations a dream come true. The ability to play a real JRPG game with your friends and with fans from all over the world together without sharing a controller. A game that is first and foremost a true Final Fantasy experience and a MMO second. By challenging the status quo and doing things differently from other MMOs on the market.

You know I believed you when you said you weren’t trolling up until that last post. I thought you wanted actual discussion, but to outright ignore evidence that this game is a top tier mmo by all metrics and a direct competitor with WoW is asinine.

WoW is a legendary game and always will be but it is not some infallible thing. And to discount that there are legitimate competitors for the top mmo spot is not only a disservice to those competitors but also. To WoW and all it has accomplished since it’s inception.

[SamRF]

A true WoW competitor? There’s a bad faith argument if I ever heard one. This game is a WoW competitor and one of the three top games in the mmo market. With ever growing numbers since Shadowbringers released.

And how did it get to be a WoW competitor? By being yet another WoW clone? No. It got to where it is because it decided to do something different. To show that MMOs could be more than just a rush to end game content and constant grind.

To put a story and a fantastic story in the spotlight, to give fans of JRPGs for generations a dream come true. The ability to play a real JRPG game with your friends and with fans from all over the world together without sharing a controller. A game that is first and foremost a true Final Fantasy experience and a MMO second. By challenging the status quo and doing things differently from other MMOs on the market.

You know I believed you when you said you weren’t trolling up until that last post. I thought you wanted actual discussion, but to outright ignore evidence that this game is a top tier mmo by all metrics and a direct competitor with WoW is asinine.

WoW is a legendary game and always will be but it is not some infallible thing. And to discount that there are legitimate competitors for the top mmo spot is not only a disservice to those competitors but also. To WoW and all it has accomplished since it’s inception.

Well you misunderstood what I meant with "true WoW competitor" and I also didn't clarify enough what I meant with it so my bad on that one. Elder Scrolls Online is also considered top 3 but it's not really a WoW competitor how I see it because it attracts a different playerbase than WoW. Players who like WoW won't be attracted to ESO combat and class system I think.

FFXIV seems to me almost a "true WoW competitor" because it's pretty similar in terms of combat. Still quite different but I'm sure players from each game will recognize enough and enjoy combat in both games. The only big difference that doesn't allow FFXIV being an easy and welcome alternative for WoW players is the fact that content is locked behind MSQ barrier.

For that reason I doubt FFXIV will ever surpass WoW in amount of players. Having such dedication towards MSQ however does probably provide much more stable community for FFXIV because of the Final Fantasy fans, so it's for sure a good thing for the game, but I wondered if there could be a compromise that would please both the Final Fantasy fans as well as players like WoW refugees.

Edit: also you should allow me to acknowledge your point and clarify myself before calling me a troll, a matter of respect.

[dangadget]

There is a compromise, and it has been pointed out multiple times.
If a prospective player doesn't really care about the story and just wants to get to endgame, there are methods to do that.
The fact that they are not free is by design