How to make the game better for new players?

[Jeeqbit]

I think the main issue as a new player is how classes feel really really really boring at the early levels which can put off people, only once you reach 50, 60 for some do things start getting interesting and more fun and engaging.

I think the best solution for this has already happened, which is making Heavensward free allowing people to play the game at level 60 before deciding to buy it.

Making content harder earlier on or making classes more complicated earlier on would be a problem for people who need to gradually learn the game. The pre-30 dungeons in particular are meant to gradually teach people how to do dungeons. Starting in Sastasha your first boss isn't even a boss.

And also possibly buff the rewards from older synced content like extreme trials, ... synced runs in that case should have a rly high chance of dropping said mats/currency/items etc since the fights are a lot more fun that way.

They should. Currently the only benefit to minimum item level seems to be getting 5 orchestrion rolls drop and it should be better than that.

I truly believe that the MSQ needs to be skimmed
What do we have now? 700+ main quests?

I think it shouldn't be skimmed or cut, but coming up with a crossroads in the story for people who want a summarized version that fast-tracks events may be something to consider if it's getting too long.

[HyoMinPark]

I think Dancer is one job that can fit all its skills comfortably on two cross hotbars. In fact, I wouldn't mind having one less skill so I can fit in Sprint, though I know that I can replace Duty Action II with Sprint for most contents, and I do have Peloton and En Avant. It really is almost perfect for me.

DNC doesn’t even take up two full crossbars. None of the physical ranged do, honestly. The only jobs that I’ve had to really finagle my layouts with are PLD and GNB.

I have Sprint macro’d to Macro #99 and have that bound to R3. So whenever I press my right analog stick, I start sprinting. I don’t experience too many issues with it clipping, so it works for me.

[Recon1o6]

Honestly, what they need to do is make the game better for new players, without making it worse for older players than it already is.

First: an actual, mandatory tutorial that reflects reality on how to play the game. No more going into sastacha not knowing what tank stance is. msq/scenario skips disabled till after tutorial.

Second: return some bumped up job abilities down to the lower levels to make the game more engaging in line with class quests. Add the missing rewards back in (eg: I reached 30 marauder on an alt...what is this butcher's block, where is it? as a veteran i know its deleted but a sprout wouldn't)

Third: lower ilvl limits and capstone based potency boosts. Since every expansion potencies are increased, restoring the old potencies for what they were balanced at would go a long way.

Fourth: lower the exp rate early in the game but have it increased with an invite code item. That way new players on their own won't power level and players invited by friends can catch up

Fifth: make the tank and especially healers less homogenised and with more offensive buttons for healers. Currently you go into the first dungeon with LESS than you had in 2.0, healers especially from level 4 onwards do not get a change in their damage abilities for the whole of the msq- that's a turn off. Imagine if as a blm you onlly got thunder and blizzard for the 80 levels- thats what new players see opening up a healer.

[Dzian]

I think it shouldn't be skimmed or cut, but coming up with a crossroads in the story for people who want a summarized version that fast-tracks events may be something to consider if it's getting too long.

They could cut a lot from the msq and it wouldn't change the story in any real way.

However the cross roads idea could work and allow sections to be skipped. Like those annoying bits where you've just defeated a mighty primal and then Alphinaud says "Hey, want to come run some errands with me?"
Click no skip the next few filler quests and leave Alphinaud to go and pick some crops, deliver a letter, kill some bugs or other such filler that has no real impact on the actual plot..

Where as now Alphinaud asks you, you click NO and Alphinaud just says "Oh how you just" and you end up going any way.
And the point of the choice was???

[AnnRam]

We have a few points of view here.

1) Players who find old content extremely easy, to the point that some dungeons/raid like Crystal Tower bosses die before reaching phase 2 even with everyone synced.
2) Players who wants to experience old content like old days , were you actually need to think before pulling the entire dungeon and killing mobs with big AOE's (which you don't even need the highest item level)

But then when relics weapons appears we have to grind old content as fast we can because let's be honest here, nobody misses the old days in ARR when you had to farm fates for about 3 hours and don't get a single atma drop. Some players stuck in one phase for a month or straight wait a few patches for huge nerfs.

The process of doing MSQ its one in the entire life of your character, once you finish Stormblood for example you don't need to comeback anymore in terms of MSQ. SE gave new players the tools to catch up current content as soon they can.

[Seraphor]

They could cut a lot from the msq and it wouldn't change the story in any real way.

However the cross roads idea could work and allow sections to be skipped. Like those annoying bits where you've just defeated a mighty primal and then Alphinaud says "Hey, want to come run some errands with me?"
Click no skip the next few filler quests and leave Alphinaud to go and pick some crops, deliver a letter, kill some bugs or other such filler that has no real impact on the actual plot..

Where as now Alphinaud asks you, you click NO and Alphinaud just says "Oh how you just" and you end up going any way.
And the point of the choice was???

We already have that, it's called sidequests. You can choose to do them, not not.
This 'optional fetch quest' feature would simply relegate a portion of the MSQ to being sidequests, and in turn, they'd likely make the mandatory MSQ just as long to make up for it, and there would still be portions that people find boring.

[Recon1o6]

We have a few points of view here.

1) Players who find old content extremely easy, to the point that some dungeons/raid like Crystal Tower bosses die before reaching phase 2 even with everyone synced.
2) Players who wants to experience old content like old days , were you actually need to think before pulling the entire dungeon and killing mobs with big AOE's (which you don't even need the highest item level)

But then when relics weapons appears we have to grind old content as fast we can because let's be honest here, nobody misses the old days in ARR when you had to farm fates for about 3 hours and don't get a single atma drop. Some players stuck in one phase for a month or straight wait a few patches for huge nerfs.

The process of doing MSQ its one in the entire life of your character, once you finish Stormblood for example you don't need to comeback anymore in terms of MSQ. SE gave new players the tools to catch up current content as soon they can.

Guess what, we have a thing called "unsynced" for relic grinds

[Limecat]

You've got to think outside the box. How about every time a new account pays the sub for the first time, the currently oldest account is wiped and forced to start over?

[Seraphor]

You've got to think outside the box. How about every time a new account pays the sub for the first time, the currently oldest account is wiped and forced to start over?

Calm down there satan.

[ItMe]

You've got to think outside the box. How about every time a new account pays the sub for the first time, the currently oldest account is wiped and forced to start over?

So... if you have to delete an account to make an account how is the game supposed to grow?
The game couldn't gain subs.