New Player Experience Sucks! - Impending Expansion Problems

[Voltyblast]

The more expansions and story content, added just make this worse, and worse.

Honestly, I can relate, as someone who has a sister who can't and won't return to the game because of the same reason. It's a shame because there are many ways to fix it - for example making each expansion separate so that you can take your time or, blasphemy, being able to make it optional - but let's be totally honest here: they won't many any changes. They have realized how big of a potential money grab is the story skip and level skip potion and the fanbase will always protect this practice by saying "Oh but it's a final fantasy, it has to have a story, you can't play the new expansion without doing the previous one", so I'm afraid nothing will change: if anything it'll get worse and worse.

I mean all I can say in response is "So you'd be fine if Witcher 3 was locked behind the first two games, because you have to play the first games in order to understand it".
You can replace the Witcher 3 game with anything even movies, but as you might've guessed you can play any sequel game in any order...sure you lose some story parts if you don't play a previous installment but the choice is yours.

PS: Oh and if someone might say that "these are expansions not sequels" then I guess people forgot that SWTOR allows you to skip expansions and directly go to the last ones.

[NanaWiloh]

Honestly, I can relate, as someone who has a sister who can't and won't return to the game because of the same reason. It's a shame because there are many ways to fix it - for example making each expansion separate so that you can take your time or, blasphemy, being able to make it optional - but let's be totally honest here: they won't many any changes. They have realized how big of a potential money grab is the story skip and level skip potion and the fanbase will always protect this practice by saying "Oh but it's a final fantasy, it has to have a story, you can't play the new expansion without doing the previous one", so I'm afraid nothing will change: if anything it'll get worse and worse.

I mean all I can say in response is "So you'd be fine if Witcher 3 was locked behind the first two games, because you have to play the first games in order to understand it".
You can replace the Witcher 3 game with anything even movies, but as you might've guessed you can play any sequel game in any order...sure you lose some story parts if you don't play a previous installment but the choice is yours.

PS: Oh and if someone might say that "these are expansions not sequels" then I guess people forgot that SWTOR allows you to skip expansions and directly go to the last ones.

News flash FF14,WoW,eq, rift all have the same option for reaching current content. 1. Level up the old fashion way 2. Buy some kind of boost or skip draw back they put you at the cap of the previous expansion, EQ brings you with in about 20-30 levels of the current cap.
Note: corrected about where they place you..

[Voltyblast]

News flash FF14,WoW,eq, rift all have the same option for reaching current content. 1. Level up the old fashion way 2. Buy some kind of boost or skip draw back they put you 10 levels below the cap of the previous expansion, EQ brings you with in about 20-30 levels of the current cap.

And all of them locks major gameplay features behind main story quests?

[Xeronia]

And all of them locks major gameplay features behind main story quests?

I guess you missed when WoW locked flying behind reputations and quest completion in Warlords of Draenor and every expansion after that.

EDIT: Oh and new races behind reputations and a quest completion as well!

[Voltyblast]

I guess you missed when WoW locked flying behind reputations and quest completion in Warlords of Draenor and every expansion after that.

EDIT: Oh and new races behind reputations and a quest completion as well!

Hmm not exact here: WoD flying is a combination of exploration and reputation, as well as treasure hunting and questing: I'm just checking my achievements on wow and nothing mentions actual main story...because there's no real main story to begin with, each area has their own plotline. And even then even if we were to count them as MSQ, the flying feature is an achievement which means it's skippable.

Same for Legion too: mostly exploration, questing, reputation etc and once again it's an achievement, not a main story feature.

HOWEVER BFA does lock this achievement behind a war campaign so I could say you're right on this one...too bad that you can do it just once and forget on the other alts. Did I forget to mention that these achievements are account bound?

Same for allied race and again, not story related but they are achievements and completely skippable if you don't want them: no story forces you to unlock them.

Heck I can only think of the gravel thing in Legion which actually requires to follow the plotline of Argus.

TL;DR: almost all of the content in WoW, and most other mmorpgs I played including SWTOR, can be entirely skipped because it's entirely optional.

In ffxiv you cannot do endgame without finishing the main story because it's mandatory.

[van_arn]

Honestly, I can relate, as someone who has a sister who can't and won't return to the game because of the same reason. It's a shame because there are many ways to fix it - for example making each expansion separate so that you can take your time or, blasphemy, being able to make it optional - but let's be totally honest here: they won't many any changes. They have realized how big of a potential money grab is the story skip and level skip potion and the fanbase will always protect this practice by saying "Oh but it's a final fantasy, it has to have a story, you can't play the new expansion without doing the previous one", so I'm afraid nothing will change: if anything it'll get worse and worse.

I mean all I can say in response is "So you'd be fine if Witcher 3 was locked behind the first two games, because you have to play the first games in order to understand it".
You can replace the Witcher 3 game with anything even movies, but as you might've guessed you can play any sequel game in any order...sure you lose some story parts if you don't play a previous installment but the choice is yours.

PS: Oh and if someone might say that "these are expansions not sequels" then I guess people forgot that SWTOR allows you to skip expansions and directly go to the last ones.

It's nothing more than gatekeeping. These people think everyone should be required to suffer through the same 150+ hours of busywork teleporting, skipping cutscenes, and ignoring text because it builds character for some reason, or something equally asinine.

[Xeronia]

It's nothing more than gatekeeping. These people think everyone should be required to suffer through the same 150+ hours of busywork teleporting, skipping cutscenes, and ignoring text because it builds character for some reason, or something equally asinine.

I must have just imagined that story skip in the store on sale then...oh no I didn't it is still there if you wish to skip everything up to Stormblood. Also before someone brings up "WoW gives you a free one" this game is not WoW is it? Yes WoW gave you a free skip but should you not like that class you boosted guess what you are doing, shelling out tons of money to try a new one or slogging through the game on an alt.

[MPK]

What's wrong with story skips potions again?

On a different note, I do not want to play in a level 70 dungeon when SbH comes out with players who don't even know how to use a skill.

[HyoMinPark]

What's wrong with story skips potions again?

On a different note, I do not want to play in a level 70 dungeon when SbH comes out with players who don't even know how to use a skill.

This happens regardless if someone skips/boosts a job or not. Players not knowing what their buttons do was a thing far before jump potions were ever introduced.

[ElazulHP]

This has probably already been said but this game is about the journey not the destination. Game is fine as is.