Somebody mentioned before that they like to play this game to be a crafter or gatherer... and that up until Heavensward, they could effectively do so with very minimal combat required... forcing them through MSQ (in doing so, forcing them to play a combat class deep into lvl. 50 content)... I highly dislike that direction.

As well, not everybody plays this game for the story. It's great that you want to push the story SE, but this being a themepark MMO & offering many avenues of play... I think you should offer an alternative way into Ishgard for 50's.

I know there are story-ties to getting into Ishgard... but other ways can be made... example:

A gatherer in search of legendary Ishgardian spoils is sent on an epic voyage to Ishgard through alternate means, etc.

Please give us a minor sidequest arc to get into Ishgard from 50 w/o MSQ entirety fulfillment.

This will only benefit the game, newcomers, & recent players. Win-win-win.