Quote Originally Posted by Snorky View Post
Change the game play of MSQ will destroy the magic this MMORPG holds and the community. WoW is that way if you want the gameplay----} Honestly why would they change the main attraction? Does that make any sense? If you want to skip it you can but you are the one losing many enjoyable moments in the game. Instead of trying to change this game into WoW it's not WoW
So we try to find a compromise. There's nothing says that we need to turn this game into WoW (which SE thankfully will not do) but it doesn't mean there can't be a way to allow players with no interest in the story to get access to the content they want to do with friends.

Proposal: in addition to the Main Scenario mode, a "Drifter" mode (or whatever term) is set up. When the player first speaks to Miounne, Mimodi or Baderon to register with the Adventurer's Guild, they're given a choice between the two.

Those who choose Main Scenario mode experience the game as it currently is. It is a choice of no return, once picked you must stick with it.

Those who choose Drifter mode are excluded from any content related to the MSQ (the Crystal Tower raids being an exception). They're free to level through any of the other side content (and there's plenty of it). The player would get a quest at level 20 to choose their Grand Company since that's required for PvP. Unlock quests for side content would appear at the appropriate level even if completion of part of the MSQ is normally required first (such as the ARR beast tribe quests requiring completion of level 41 MSQ or doing normal trials in MSQ before you can unlock EX trials).

Duty Finder works mostly as normal, displaying any duties that have been unlocked. Any duty related to MSQ will not have been unlocked so won't appear. Available Roulettes would be affected depending on whether the roulette would normally match the player to a MSQ duty (so Normal Raid, Frontline, etc would be available while Leveling, MSQ and Trial would be locked just as they are locked if on a very low level job).


If the player later changes their mind and wants to do the Main Scenario, they can return to Miounne, Mimodi or Baderon to start it. Once again, it is a choice of no return. Players won't be able to switch between Drifter and Main Scenario modes at will. Doing so would also reset their Grand Company choice (though they would be able to pick it again once they reach the appropriate part of the MSQ and resume at their old rank).

This gives players who are only interested in doing end game content with friends the chance to do so without disrupting the journey for those interested in experiencing the story. They lose access to some content that's primarily used in the MSQ for leveling but still have access to the majority. It gives them the ability to change their minds and start the story later.