Question for the Devs; will Heavensward include a new STARTER City-State?

[Brightshadow]

The new races and jobs will probably come into existence in the former storyline as if they have always existed there. Aka the rogue guild.

[Teryaani]

The new races and jobs will probably come into existence in the former storyline as if they have always existed there. Aka the rogue guild.

There will have to be some serious story work to squeeze in whatever race Yugiri ends up being (instanced starting zone! That's my bet). I can see your point on some of the classes though. Musketeer? Already in Limsa. Dark Knight? uh...hiding...like the rogues were. That or it requires a higher level to unlock it.

Edit: Actually, I'd like to see an instanced starting zone for the new race. It would give us a chance to see some of Doma and see the story behind the flight from it.

[Intaki]

Keep in mind that each of our characters, regardless of starting city, is considered an adventurer that has just traveled to Eorzea from Parts Unknown.

[Rbstr]

Keep in mind that each of our characters, regardless of starting city, is considered an adventurer that has just traveled to Eorzea from Parts Unknown.

Yeah, the only thing you really have to worry about is how a little bit of Yuguri text goes, if you're already whatever her race is. It's not really retconing anything. Maybe people make note that you're a rare race, maybe not.
The Rouges' guild isn't a retcon either. It has really been there all along. Just as if you had never noticed the Lancer guild had existed, you wouldn't have been a lancer, you didn't know the rouges guild until now. You just had a little help maintaining your ignorance for so long.

I imagine you'll have to start from one of the original city states. Perhaps there'll be new base classes you can pick, maybe not.
But I can also see them pulling a kind of 2.0 transition. Since it's 3.0 and they have a continuous story to tell, new characters from new starter-villes might just start on the new story! Old ones can easily be transitioned in.

[Korilynn]

Keep in mind that each of our characters, regardless of starting city, is considered an adventurer that has just traveled to Eorzea from Parts Unknown.

This was my first thought as well. Though Yugri's reason for keeping herself hidden would seem to make little sense to to another Au Ra.

As to other comments in the thread. I started playing when ARR came out and played for about a week or two. Came back only recently and it really didn't take much time to get to 50 or complete all the Main Story Quests (I didn't even run them every day, not with some 12 hour work days thrown in). So, I don't think it'd be to hard for a new player to get caught up. Took me less than a month (and I did leveling of a Lancer to 15 when I hit level 29 on Pugilist, and then to level 34 and Maruader to 26 before continuing the Main Storyline).

I think the secret will be in the new players learning a faster way to level their first character. I googled to figure out, since I wanted to catch up to my FC. Also, since I googled every guide for every dungeon before actually running them Leveling is pretty quick for the first 50 imo.

[Zfz]

Keep in mind that each of our characters, regardless of starting city, is considered an adventurer that has just traveled to Eorzea from Parts Unknown.

This. Our "starting city" is more like an "entry city" than our birth place. It just means where we started our adventure, so it is not odd at all for new races to start in one of the three cities. The "story" of our adventures started there. That's all it really means.

[WellFooled]

I doubt ishgard will function like the current city states do, because if we add a forth grand company into the mix than all the work done on front lines will need to be thrown out the window and redesigned with four competing teams in mind.

During the Heavensward announcement the different ruling houses of Ishgard were emphasized, leading me to think that we may pick one of those houses to ally ourselves with in addition to our grand company and not instead of.

I got off topic a little, but I don't think ishgard will be a city that a character can start in or join like we do the other eorzean cities.

[odintius]

I just would like it to be where you can chose what citizenship you wanted to be in tired of the nation you're in change it at an embassy in whatever city Istgard included and add a fee or something to it,but add more options you can do it already with grand companies why not actual city states.

[Terin]

See, I was also personally kind of hoping to see a new GC, as well. I'm kind of "behind the curve" in a lot of respects, so I suppose my thinking -- or at least hope -- is that with Heavensward, it will give us kind of a clean-slate. New Class/Job, new City-State to start in, new Grand Company to swear to; kind of an entirely new experience, you know?

Maybe I just like being immersed in the game a bit more, though. I love the idea of a Dark Knight from Ishgard, presumably of whatever the new Race winds up being, different Grand Company and all. Heck, I'd even dig a totally new trade-skill Job!

[Felis]

A Grand Company in Ishgard I can see. The city was already part of the Alliance and the tradition of the Grand Company is much older than the battle at Silvertear Lake. I think the GC started at the beginning of the 6th astral era and get refounded everytime Eorzea is in big trouble.

But Ishgard as a starter city, I doubt it.
Just think about it. A player start in Ishgard, left the city as a lv1 or lv4 character to kill his first enemies, and all what he see are lv 35-40 enemies. He have to travel to the north shroud to find enemies at his level.

Also, it seem that the war against the dragons go out of control in 3.0, that the dragons start a large offensive against Ishgard and every starter player here would be dragon food ^^