Option to unlock content without mandatory MSQ

[SamRF]

How about if they made going through the MSQ account-wide? Meaning that you only had to do the MSQ once on your account and if you have alts, you didn't need to do them on said alts again?

It would completely invalidate the sale of MSQ jump potions but...

SE is a business though and a business isn't looking to cut their profits.

It's not that simple though. They could perhaps make more profit (long term) by adding an option to make MSQ account wide.

It would lead to better replayability --> (significantly?) more people making alts --> more gametime --> more player satisfaction --> more chance players stay subscribed --> more standard subscription instead of entry subscription (bc multiple chars) --> more profit?

Hard to know but I think they would be better off if they offered an option to make MSQ account-wide.

[Arillyn]

It's not that simple though. They could perhaps make more profit (long term) by adding an option to make MSQ account wide.

It would lead to better replayability --> (significantly?) more people making alts --> more gametime --> more player satisfaction --> more chance players stay subscribed --> more standard subscription instead of entry subscription (bc multiple chars) --> more profit?

Hard to know but I think they would be better off if they offered an option to make MSQ account-wide.

Maybe. I have alts and I've never bought a skip potion. The MSQ isn't that hard to get through when you've already done it once. But I wouldn't necessarily say no to them adding that as an option for alts on the same account.

[Iscah]

[Making MSQ account wide] would lead to better replayability --> (significantly?) more people making alts --> more gametime --> more player satisfaction --> more chance players stay subscribed --> more standard subscription instead of entry subscription (bc multiple chars) --> more profit?

How does giving an option to skip replaying something add "better replayability"?

Also people might make more alts but you've just cut out most of the time they would have to spend playing with those alts to get them through the game.

[SturmChurro]

How does giving an option to skip replaying something add "better replayability"?

Also people might make more alts but you've just cut out most of the time they would have to spend playing with those alts to get them through the game.

That's fine. I can't get through the MSQ on my alt, that's why I don't play it. It's way too much slog for no return. I wouldn't even consider doing the MSQ a bonus, but rather, a massive detriment in alt making.

[SamRF]

How does giving an option to skip replaying something add "better replayability"?

Also people might make more alts but you've just cut out most of the time they would have to spend playing with those alts to get them through the game.

With "better" I mean "more enjoyable" or "more convenient". I'm sure there are people who avoid making alts due to MSQ (me being one of them) which immediately leads to this game having worse replayability for them. All players get what they want if its optional to make MSQ account-wide.

[Iscah]

With "better" I mean "more enjoyable" or "more convenient". I'm sure there are people who avoid making alts due to MSQ (me being one of them) which immediately leads to this game having worse replayability for them. All players get what they want if its optional to make MSQ account-wide.

Define "replayability" then, because I would understand it to mean how enjoyable it is to play the game again from start to finish.

If your alt can immediately jump to the end of the game then, by definition, you are not replaying the game.

It would boost your ability to have multiple characters at endgame, but you wouldn't have to replay anything to get there - except maybe levelling dungeons, but they're a separate element with a question of individual replayability, separate to the game as a whole.

[SamRF]

Define "replayability" then, because I would understand it to mean how enjoyable it is to play the game again from start to finish.

If your alt can immediately jump to the end of the game then, by definition, you are not replaying the game.

It would boost your ability to have multiple characters at endgame, but you wouldn't have to replay anything to get there - except maybe levelling dungeons, but they're a separate element with a question of individual replayability, separate to the game as a whole.

Okay then forget about semantics of "replayability", it doesn't matter. Bottom line is that more people will be making alts. Leveling and playing alts will lead to more gametime, just like how leveling alt jobs on your main leads to more gametime. Having mandatory MSQ for alts will greatly increase amount of time you'd need to progress those chars, but it also probably (greatly) decreases amount of players who will create and play alts, thus resulting in lower overall gametime when taking whole playerbase into account.

With "gametime" I just mean how much time you spend ingame (/playtime). Obviously I'm making assumptions here and even though I'd say they aren't really far fetched, they're still just my assumption and opinion.

[linay]

Okay then forget about semantics of "replayability", it doesn't matter. Bottom line is that more people will be making alts. Leveling and playing alts will lead to more gametime, just like how leveling alt jobs on your main leads to more gametime. Having mandatory MSQ for alts will greatly increase amount of time you'd need to progress those chars, but it also probably (greatly) decreases amount of players who will create and play alts, thus resulting in lower overall gametime when taking whole playerbase into account.

With "gametime" I just mean how much time you spend ingame (/playtime). Obviously I'm making assumptions here and even though I'd say they aren't really far fetched, they're still just my assumption and opinion.

There are plenty of people playing multiple jobs. That's FFXIV's primary means of playing alts. Then there are people who do create alt characters in FFXIV. So I don't see a reason to care about overall "gametime" as a player base, especially when Yoshida himself apparently supports people subscribing only when they want to play.

[Iscah]

Bottom line is that more people will be making alts. Leveling and playing alts will lead to more gametime, just like how leveling alt jobs on your main leads to more gametime.

Except that people do have a finite amount of time to spend on the game. It will only lead to more gametime if it makes someone shift from (say) playing for one hour each day to playing for one hour per character each day. If they already play for two hours and now split that time between two characters instead of focusing on one, there is no increase in game time.

It may drive some people to play for longer, but would it balance out the time lost (on a large scale) because they're not taking alts through the MSQ any more? I don't know, but I do know that personally once I get my alts to endgame, that would be when I feel like I'm "finished" with them (besides maybe levelling roulette and playing with glamours) and it's back to my main or other alts.

[SamRF]

Except that people do have a finite amount of time to spend on the game. It will only lead to more gametime if it makes someone shift from (say) playing for one hour each day to playing for one hour per character each day. If they already play for two hours and now split that time between two characters instead of focusing on one, there is no increase in game time.

It may drive some people to play for longer, but would it balance out the time lost (on a large scale) because they're not taking alts through the MSQ any more? I don't know, but I do know that personally once I get my alts to endgame, that would be when I feel like I'm "finished" with them (besides maybe levelling roulette and playing with glamours) and it's back to my main or other alts.

This goes back to what I said in the more profit reasoning:

more gametime --> more player satisfaction --> more chance players stay subscribed --> more standard subscription instead of entry subscription (bc multiple chars) --> more profit?

You say you consider being done with alt when you finish MSQ, this means that you wouldn't consider buying jump potion in the first place, so it makes no difference for you if this option to make MSQ account-wide would exist or not. SE wouldn't lose or win any profit from you specifically with implementation of this option. I'm sure there are others like you.

However when it comes to people who do consider buying jump potion for their alt, meaning they are not interested in doing MSQ again, many of those I think will avoid making an alt because it's not worth the jump potion --> less player satisfaction --> ....

Even if they do end up buying jump potion, they will have to do a good amount MSQ of latest expansion and with each new patch. Not great player experience if you're not interested in doing MSQ again.

Remember that I'm talking about an option to make MSQ account-wide, doesn't have to be so on default.