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

[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.