Dat Ninja stuff, again.

[Radacci]

The world is pretty much locked in 2.0 when you think about why Imperials are still around. After 2.0 we've crushed their headquarters and killed their leadership, yet all the Castrums remain as they were before that. Was Nero keeping everything running? Based on what he said in recent cutscenes, not likely, and now he is disposed of anyway. According to Yugiri the Empire is in a war of succession, so I really doubt the Castrums are getting anything in the way of support from their homeland, if anything they should be falling back - But they're not, because the world is locked in 2.0 because new players need those Castrums remaining for story and other content (Hunting Log).

Had the game moved on from 2.0, we'd have removed all Imperials from Eorzea by now. The Grand Companies aren't fighting each other, Frontlines made the point very clear that they're having us fight instead so they don't have to. So yeah, the Imperials should have been removed by now, and there hasn't really been much of an explanation as to why they're still here. Perhaps 3.0 will drop the 2.0 storyline and how new players starting with a different series of quests, and the world/hunting log/etc will all be updated to reflect the changed world, and Yugiri could technically have been here for a while and Ninja can be unlocked right away. If we eventually get to an expansion where we take on the Imperials in their homeland, and Castrum Centri is still standing, that would be fairly odd.

they cant just remove half of the game content, cause they are adding new
they need to keep the old content, so new ppl can do it, and re-do it. Ultima HM for example, is just an exaggerated fight, that the Minstrel made up; so there's the option to *relive* old content.
story-wise, there hasn't been anything new about imperials, in a while.
It's far more likely that they will make Yugiri available to new ppl, than trashing all castrums.
Yugiri also said that the the empire wasn't exactly slacking off, because of the succession; it's not like they are sitting by idly, doing nothing, and letting their castrums rot. Yugiris fleet didn't come to Eorzea, for fun.
They obviously haven't dropped their plans to conquer Eorzea. It's just on hold for now. We'll see what happens about it in the future.

If you took Arcanist to 50 before fighting Ifrit in the story, you could not do the quest for Summon III, or Summoner in general.

If you take Rogue to 30 before doing 2.2, you likewise probably wont be able to do the quest for Ninja. At least in my opinion.

well, lv doesn't have anything to do with the story, so whatever lv you are, has no relevance, as i said in my post. So i wouldn't use that as an argument to lock Nin. Purpusly NOT going through story, and being locked out, is kinda different
If you got rogue as main, you'll be lv 50 before you get to that part anyway, and it would be....really dumb, to go through all of that as rogue, and not being able to become Ninja; just seems like unnecessary restriction.
As others said, yah, some NPCs arent visable, and such, but you can *fix the paradox* as i described. You don't need to disregard the concept, because it's inappropriate in some cases, such as Scions being situated in both West Thanalan, and Mor Dhona.
It would be rather confusing to new ppl, if both of them were open, so for that sake, they are locking the doors in Dhona. But it needn't apply in case of Yugiri, there's a reason for her to appear, and considering 2.4 progression, she's in Eorzea, so there's no reason to lock her away because new ppl haven't gone through the story yet.
So i'm thinking they are kinda doing one or the other, where appropriate. And in case of Nin, i feel it's appropriate to have her there for new ppl.

[Nalien]

They obviously haven't dropped their plans to conquer Eorzea.

Actually, they have. They dropped their plans for Eorzea after the Calamity; Gaius was working alone, which makes it an even bigger plot hole. In one of the cutscenes I believe he even out right states that they're not getting support from the homeland.

[Radacci]

Actually, they have. They dropped their plans for Eorzea after the Calamity; Gaius was working alone, which makes it an even bigger plot hole. In one of the cutscenes I believe he even out right states that they're not getting support from the homeland.

Hm, i guess you're right
They should leave some gunblades before they dump the castrums.