A thought on solving the content gating issue. Long read, pls bare with me.

[TessaJalloh]

snip

Rediculous, Yoshi-p's team adds new quests all the time for both new and veteran players to enjoy. If you aren't interested in the quests, this is the wrong mmo for you.

You may be offended by this statement, but it's paramount that you understand that this game isn't about the end of it. It's about the journey, the WHOLE game. Veteran players still have to do the beginner dungeons for example, going back to older content and joining the newer players which then shows off new gear to those players to entice them for what's to come.

If you rush through, you miss 90% of the experience. But, this said, even not rushing, you can now clear the main scenario of 2.0 in about 30 hours. If you read quickly, this can be reduced. The patch storylines of 2.1 to 2.55 will then take you perhaps another 15 hours if you play slowly. break this up and yes... it may take you a couple of months overall of playing a couple of hours a day. But it's hardly unreasonable to expect players to /play/ for the game they paid for.

You can't have both ways, you can't damn games that only offer 5 hours of content, and then complain when you're given more to play with.

As we get more and more, the 2.x storyline will no doubt be streamlined, but this will not happen yet. We simply don't have enough of this game to warrant it yet. Once it's been out another three years and we have another expansion or two, perhaps then the steps necessary for the 2.x story will be reduced. But then players will complain that it's nothing but cutscene to cutscene to cutscene with else between it aside from dungeons.

[OccamX]

It's paramount that you understand that this game isn't about the end of it. It's about the journey, the WHOLE game.
...
If you rush through, you miss 90% of the experience.
...But then players will complain that it's nothing but cutscene to cutscene to cutscene with else between it aside from dungeons.

I like what you said. Yes, perhaps I am rushing through the game. I just don't know what else to do other than the story. To me, clicking through dialog boxes does not feel like a game, at all. So when that's 90% of the game, it just gets tiring for me.

Perhaps I do not see all of my options. The only options I see myself having are:
(1) story story story, so I can play with my friends eventually
(2) level other classes
(3) crafting