Thread: PLEASE do NOT allow level skipping in 4.0

I saw in an EU Fan Fest interview the following:

JP Outlet: There’s been talk about introducing a quick leveling potion (jumping potion) and i’d like more details about that.

Yoshida: This is something we’re still debating in the team. We can’t say anything now but we hope to have an announcement soon during a live letter.

If this refers to an instant "0-50" (or even worse a "0-60") jump, don't do this. Please.

Level skipping does not force people to learn their classes, and then dilutes the pool of experienced players in endgame and near-endgame content. People need to learn their rotations and how to play in easier content.

Instead, continue to provide incentive for high-level players to run older content. Wonderous Tails, Roulettes, item and supply drops from older dungeons and raids all are perfectly fine.

In addition, you could provide gear that gives a generous XP boost under level 50 or so.

FWIW If I got this news all wrong, please say so.

I'm very excited for level skipping. I'm going to use it on my last class/job (MAR/WAR). I will learn the rotation in about 30 min then do a dungeon with it. It won't be my main. I have other jobs I levelled up the "old fashioned way" (MCH, BRD, NIN) that I haven't played in so long it doesn't even matter that it took me weeks to level them. I'd have to relearn their rotations. The amount of time I spent building those jobs up isn't synonymous with how well I play them. This jump potion will do nothing except save some ppl some time. Good players will learn how to play the job quickly. Bad players will play the job poorly regardless of how they level it. I certainly don't assume ppl playing in dungeons levelled their jobs in PoTD if they are playing poorly. Lot's of ppl played poorly before PoTD came along.

There's an existing 179-page thread about this here, which addresses the issue.

Some of the common counter-arguments to your concerns would be:

1. If/when these are added, they will increase your level to a maximum of ten levels under the existing cap. Players would have those remaining ten levels in order to learn their job, and the later levels are far more reflective of how the job actually plays than lower levels, when you're still missing the majority of your job's abilities.
2. Players can currently level entirely through FATEs, which can very easily allow them to get all the way to the cap (rather than 10 levels below it) without ever learning correct rotations, how to play, etc.
3. Players who care about their performance are going to do the necessary research to learn how to play their jobs at the level cap regardless of how they leveled. Conversely, players who do not are not going to do the necessary research, regardless of how they leveled.
4. Players can currently jump into Palace of the Dead an immediately play a job at 60. Should this also be prevented, on the basis that they may not know how to play the job correctly? Conversely, can this be taken as evidence that players need not have leveled a job all the way to the cap (regardless of method) to be capable of playing it at an acceptable level?

Originally Posted by Ibi

Some of the common counter-arguments to your concerns would be:

1. If/when these are added, they will increase your level to a maximum of ten levels under the existing cap. Players would have those remaining ten levels in order to learn their job, and the later levels are far more reflective of how the job actually plays than lower levels, when you're still missing the majority of your job's abilities.
2. Players can currently level entirely through FATEs, which can very easily allow them to get all the way to the cap (rather than 10 levels below it) without ever learning correct rotations, how to play, etc.
3. Players who care about their performance are going to do the necessary research to learn how to play their jobs at the level cap regardless of how they leveled. Conversely, players who do not are not going to do the necessary research, regardless of how they leveled.
4. Players can currently jump into Palace of the Dead an immediately play a job at 60. Should this also be prevented, on the basis that they may not know how to play the job correctly? Conversely, can this be taken as evidence that players need not have leveled a job all the way to the cap (regardless of method) to be capable of playing it at an acceptable level?

Those are some really good points that make me feel a lot better about level jump potions being added. My only remaining concern is the Achievements. I don't want to see people with 1 hour of playtime running around with the Grandmaster of War title, or the like.

Originally Posted by Ibi

the later levels are far more reflective of how the job actually plays than lower levels, when you're still missing the majority of your job's abilities.

For anyone who doesn't fully comprehend this line, please play BLM, BLM at 59 and at 60 are two completely different beasts.

Originally Posted by alimdia

For anyone who doesn't fully comprehend this line, please play BLM, BLM at 59 and at 60 are two completely different beasts.

sry but I just can't resist. You're correct, at level 59 players still try to avoid aoe's and don't make it hard on the healers, they actually read their job description and try to push some dps, even in awful quest gear. At level 60 every blm stands in their ley lines and god forbid they need to move. They rather die 5 times instead of moving for 2 seconds, frustrating the healer and than complain, while everybody else need to pick up their slack since dead blm's do no dmg. I am pretty sure that players that pay for the jump potion can do that too, without having to level all the way to 60 on their own, just to find out that a lvl 60 blm gives a flying f..... about their surroundings :d