
Originally Posted by
Melichoir
The option would be turning the MSQ into a glorified side quest. At that point, the only reason you have access to anything is based on level alone. Which brings up the other issue : If your lvl 20 and do this, now you have access to all content, but youre still not high enough level to do most of it (you cant queue for Shinryu as a level 20, for example). So players can now not do the MSQ but woulds till be forced to do it more or less if they want to level efficiently (MSQ is about the most efficient leveling process due to its exp values.) So it doesnt solve anything for a new player. Theyre still stuck in low level content andw ill end up doing the MSQ anyways for practical reasons. The place where this becomes useful is in 2.1.
Also, what about if they only want to skip certain MSQ? So they want to play HW MSQ, but nto ARR. Are they allowed to pick any MSQ? Or do they have to go through the steps? If they can choose what they do, can they just do every single quest in reverse order for funsies? How does this separate FFXIV from WoW, where they built in you can skip content as long as your level is high enough.
Furthermore, while on paper this shouldnt be a problem, what I personally forsee is how itll become standard practice rather than an exception. New players will be told by veterans "use hte MSQ skip so you can do end game." I say this because this trend is pretty much in every MMO where the story isnt core. This then shifts the focus on FFXIV away from MSQ to completing current end game content, and trains new players that if they dont like something, just skip it. The game would explicitly be teaching this, and would in the end be reinforced by the community at large over time. This would lead to, as I see it, many of the issues WoW has such as rampant elitism, entitlement, less player cohesion and greater toxicity, as the focus of purpose in the game moves towards End game content.
Just because people ask for something doesnt mean its healthy for hte game. I personally think making the entire MSQ optional (a glorified side quest) would end up hurting the game as over time this would be the go to option for most players, and not a side option for the few who dont care.