I think locking access to new Jobs is a HUGE mistake..

[Terin]

Like I said, I just think they're making a huge mistake by gating that content. Just add simplified "Classes", perhaps more Damage-oriented at low levels, but there are a lot of new players who are going to buy Heavensward EXPECTING to play as one of the new Jobs, and may be frustrated in choosing the core selection. It happened to me with FFXI, and FFXIV is the kind of game that is best savored, instead of having to rush through leveling.

[Lemuria]

Terin, I can see you have a level 50 Pugilist already. You've already beaten an Ascian too, meaning you're not far from actually finishing the story and having access to Ishgard on release. So, none of this really affects you.

New players attracted to Heavensward only will be sorely disappointed on two counts. Firstly, most of the areas are likely to be high level, so they won't last more than five minutes as a newbie. Secondly, the central story revolves around the opening of Ishgard and its new role in the alliance. It would be like fast-forwarding a movie and hitting play half way through. You won't have a clue what's going on.

Rarely do players pick up an MMO for a single class. And to be fair, in the current classes there's really not much flavour between any of them so any assumptions that the new ones are going to be different and unique are groundless until proven otherwise. FFXIV isn't the first job to lock content, and it won't be the last. Why do people assume that this practice is exclusive to the franchise when countless other games do the same thing?

[Terin]

@Lemuria

Right, it doesn't affect me. I just know that being forced to level up to access the new Jobs was a huge reason I never gave FFXI a proper chance, and I would hate to see the same pattern repeat, if it means alienating potential players.

[Lemuria]

@Lemuria

Right, it doesn't affect me. I just know that being forced to level up to access the new Jobs was a huge reason I never gave FFXI a proper chance, and I would hate to see the same pattern repeat, if it means alienating potential players.

Levelling up and completing content in FFXI was a whole different ball game. The grind was real to hit your level caps, and the level-capped fights were often brutal. You needed a solid team to fight through them and couldn't power your way through since you NEEDED gear and players of the right level.

FFXIV doesn't have any of those issues. The story fights are reasonable, the level grind can be done in a few days to a week, and people can equip insanely overpowered gear to storm the later dungeons without breaking a sweat. This is really only an issue for people who are impatient.