Game needs to be more newcomer friendly, but NOT with level-boosts

[Terin]

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Problem is, many other MMO's have implemented level-boosts and all have shown sharp declines in subscriptions. People don't want to trudge through an artificially long quest chain, but players also don't want their time and effort completely devalued.

There has to be something in the middle.

[Whocareswhatmynameis]

Why do i get the feeling by the end of 4.0, FF14's cash shop will have more stuff in it than most free2play MMOs?

[Morningstar1337]

Why do i get the feeling by the end of 4.0, FF14's cash shop will have more stuff in it than most free2play MMOs?

Prolly because its original purpose was "we missed the holiday event and we still want the items", I don't think any other cash shop has expired holiday event items.

[bass9020]

Why do i get the feeling by the end of 4.0, FF14's cash shop will have more stuff in it than most free2play MMOs?

They are trying to please too many people and its not working.

[Ryuzakira]

Problem is, many other MMO's have implemented level-boosts and all have shown sharp declines in subscriptions. People don't want to trudge through an artificially long quest chain, but players also don't want their time and effort completely devalued.

There has to be something in the middle.

It's probably a silly idea, but what about instead of using a levelling potion newbies can get a stack of a certain item that can be used to instantly fulfill the requirements of a 2.x mainquest (barring dungeons)? I'm not sure how that would work exactly, but it would help with the fetch quests and such.

That said, I've only very recently hit 60 and still have a long way to go before I unlock everything, but I very much enjoyed the main story even in 2.x. Some of the fetch quests were a little mundane, but I've never truly been bothered with them. The thing I, as a still somewhat newbie, would like to see though is some more guidance once I hit lvl 50. I still haven't unlocked all the level 50 dungeons, primals etc because I had no clue where to start and just decided to continue the MSQ. I did look up some sort of checklist of all things you can unlock, but the sheer amount of stuff to unlock made me dizzy lol. But yeah, I digress.

[Millen1]

Most common reason I lose new players in my FC is that after a month or two they aren't at end game area or even close. Most get stuck in the mid 2.XX patch area and just give up overwhelmed. While I would not have been for this before, they should consider a single level 50 char with their level 15 cross class unlocked also to not get stuck in the game and give up. Yes they miss out on story and skill building in dungeons but honestly it feels like so many do fates only to level up and have no clue how their job works at lvl 60. Might as well just get them there and we can teach them instead of them quitting.

[Riardon]

There is no need for huge "lvling nerfs" and lvling boosts. Just Adjust the the MSQ and the fetch quests. There are tons of useless quests that requires the player to walk back and forth long distances at low lvls. Example the Lower La Loscea Qs. Remove some MSQ quests from the main series and add them as Optional Side Quests. Mount should be obtainable at lower lvl. Remove MSQ requirements for Expansions and let players choose their jobs from the beginning. Some people buy the game to begin as newer job straight away. There can be adjustments and changes without severely nerf the whole thing and destroying in the process. That lvling poition and jumping of lvls is a NO GO for me. It's straight pay to win method and money milking tactic.
The job/class system is horrible and doesn't make any sense. It was created solely to force lvl up all classes just like what crafting does. This needs to be changed. There is no need to force people to lvl up something they never intended to.
Impatient people will quit the game either way. Not everyone plans to stick with this game no matter how you change it. If you hugely nerf it you will end up losing people not attract more. Implementing such boosters and lvl jumping items is like giving the middle finger to all those who are playing the game for so long and lvled up their jobs/classes and even their alts the "normal" way.

[Braden]

Having the gotta have it now mentality, you shouldn't be playing an mmo. It's bad for games and players both.

[bass9020]

Most common reason I lose new players in my FC is that after a month or two they aren't at end game area or even close. Most get stuck in the mid 2.XX patch area and just give up overwhelmed. While I would not have been for this before, they should consider a single level 50 char with their level 15 cross class unlocked also to not get stuck in the game and give up. Yes they miss out on story and skill building in dungeons but honestly it feels like so many do fates only to level up and have no clue how their job works at lvl 60. Might as well just get them there and we can teach them instead of them quitting.

They aren't overwhelmed they are lazy. They don't want to do the story or level because they see everyone else at cap. It takes literally no time at all to get to cap.

[Zadocfish]

The story is absolutely one of the strongest points of the game

Yeah, no. I'm pretty sure if story was a "strong point" for this game, nobody would ever play it; the story is tedious, boring, flat, and cliched. As is every single character appearing therein. If the story in this game was its selling point, what would the rest of it have to be like...? The game's "strong points" are art design, sound design, class/job dynamics, and a great community. The story is mediocre at its very best. I am speaking, of course, up to Rock the Castrum; maybe it improves after that? The 1-50 story is a joke, though.

As for new players... You get to lvl 50 in one class just going through the story, so that's nice I guess. It's leveling any class beyond the first that makes shock therapy look appealing by comparison. Doing your daily roulettes will earn you one, maaaaybe two levels per day, and slogging through dungeons over and over and over and over again is an incredibly uninteresting chore when leveling; FATEs are even worse when it comes to mind-numbing tedium.

And you have to go through this process, which can take weeks if you have limited free time, of doing the same thing what feels like ten bazillion times for EVERY SINGLE CLASS you want to level. It's just... the worst thing about the game, easily.

I suggest a form of leveling potion available only for one class at a time, and only after you've gotten to lvl 50 in one class at least. And instead of instant level ups, it just accelerates your EXP gain. Like, times 5 or more, preferably. That way, you'd still get the experience of using the class as you level up, it just wouldn't take so gut-wrenching a cycle of repetition. The skill you cultivate using the class at low levels is worthless anyways, since your rotation won't be set in stone until you're at lvl 50-60; having players pay to waste dramatically less of their time seems like a good idea to me.