Island Sanctuaries - End Game Only

[P0sitr0nic]

well this is disappointing.

[Shibi]

Maybe they're just trying to keep free trial bots from farming it until the instance servers choke. Of course, that only matters if there's something from the island worth selling. I dunno, pure speculation.

Looking at the vendor list in Japanese, nothing there seems to be tradable. It's the mandragora mount, nekomimi-san's (Mr. Cat Ears) minion and untradable dyes, one being ruby red.

"make it EW so free players can't have the content" seems like a weak argument. It should be simple enough to lock it behind being a subscriber, as it is forming a party or sending /tells. Or just put it behind owning the EW expansion like SGE or RPR is.

None of the arguments given (from 'but it's thavnair' to 'it's a reward for saving the star') come over as really valid apart from "this is the way it's always been done, each expansion since HW gets one time-wasting activity". And while I don't agree with the rationale behind that for non-combat, end of expansion, timewasting - I can accept it's SE's right to do it.

Still think it's weird though. They've made a point that this content has no impact on the normal game. And as far as time wasting there are criterion and variable dungeons - so two other time-wasting end-of-game contents.

[Iplewhelmed]

It's a well-established trope in many, MANY stories that after saving the world, the hero retires to live a peaceful agricultural life far away from war and conflict.

Therefore, it makes sense that it would be endgame content considering we just saved the entire universe. Can't get much more accomplished than that.

[Skivvy]

Not everything needs to be linked to lore. This would have been a really cool feature to simply give to players (after reasonable reqs are met), especially given how poorly they've handled housing in this game.

[Nyxs]

It shouldn’t be so gated. I like the ideas that it could be made to be a level 61 quest (so you cant do it without buying the game) or have to own sb.

[Amenara]

I'm never a fan of gating content behind the MSQ, but this is taking it to the next level. By the time you hit level 50 you are already the savior of Eorzea. Pretty sure if they needed it to be lore-locked, there is a great lore point to say, thanks for saving everyone and defeating the Garleans. That being said, I'd rather it just be a level 15 quest akin to the Gold Saucer as hey, here's a cool side thing for you to do, have fun.

[Jaquan]

I'm never a fan of gating content behind the MSQ, but this is taking it to the next level. By the time you hit level 50 you are already the savior of Eorzea. Pretty sure if they needed it to be lore-locked, there is a great lore point to say, thanks for saving everyone and defeating the Garleans. That being said, I'd rather it just be a level 15 quest akin to the Gold Saucer as hey, here's a cool side thing for you to do, have fun.

Why? It's basically the same as any other content. Want to do Firmament? Sorry level 60 combat job and progression past 3.3 MSQ. Heaven on High? That would be level 63-64 and sufficient MSQ progress. Eureka? Bozja? Every single one of those requires player to reach certain point (most commonly the end of expansion where said content is released).

[Amenara]

Why? It's basically the same as any other content. Want to do Firmament? Sorry level 60 combat job and progression past 3.3 MSQ. Heaven on High? That would be level 63-64 and sufficient MSQ progress. Eureka? Bozja? Every single one of those requires player to reach certain point (most commonly the end of expansion where said content is released).

The difference in my mind is that Island Sanctuaries are about as relevant as the Gold Saucer when it comes to your characters development. It is non-combat side content that has no interaction outside of itself. The Firmament is side content used to level crafters and gatherers, HoH is there for leveling combat classes etc. The content has very different goals and I just don't see why you would restrict it to level 90.

[Deveryn]

The difference in my mind is that Island Sanctuaries are about as relevant as the Gold Saucer when it comes to your characters development. It is non-combat side content that has no interaction outside of itself. The Firmament is side content used to level crafters and gatherers, HoH is there for leveling combat classes etc. The content has very different goals and I just don't see why you would restrict it to level 90.

Everything you mention has its place in the story and we have yet to even see where IS falls into place. Aside from that, there's nothing of actual importance IN Island Sanctuary, so what difference does it make if you have to wait a bit? What's wrong with having something more to look forward to at the end of the whole Hydaelyn / Zodiark saga?

[Shibi]

I find the gatekeeping on this rather weird. It's not like you will be able to flood the MB with anything from it, and it's not like your having one stops any other player having one too. They are not in limited supply and there is no ladder of achievement.

So, I want to ask people who say "Nope, nu uh" how it changes their experience or lessens their gameplay?

Why? It's basically the same as any other content. Want to do Firmament? Sorry level 60 combat job and progression past 3.3 MSQ. Heaven on High? That would be level 63-64 and sufficient MSQ progress. Eureka? Bozja? Every single one of those requires player to reach certain point (most commonly the end of expansion where said content is released).

Diadem is a huge money earners for people who farm it. Plus of course levelling your crafters trivially can impact the MB and other players. I think that's fair.
Eureka has it's bot ground bunny fates as a huge gil earner. Bozja - I believe - also has things that can be sold. It also needs a certain gearing that you won't have at level 10.

I.S. is selfcontained content with no combat, no group play, and no impact on other players or the MB. It's more akin to the Golden Saucer than anything else in the game.