Option to unlock content without mandatory MSQ

[Zanarkand-Ronso]

No. This is a Story Driven MMO.
Many of those Instances you do and go into are Tied to the Story.
If you wanna unlock content in this game, you need to invest the time and effort to do it.

As unpopular as it may be to some groups of people.....if FFXIV isn't your type of game. Or your type or speed of MMO, then play something else.

[AnimaAnimus]

No, because it is still Final Fantasy. Those of us who are fans of the series play it for the story. Thats one of it’s biggest selling points along with music.

I have seen this over and over as an answer. But let's not forget XI didn't lock everything behind the base game and all expacs and it was still a FF game, with a very good story to boot.

The problem here is that linking every single expansion has created way to much fodder to get through to get to what you want to do. Just because you prefer the story does not mean everyone on earth or even every FF fan does, as you claim. Yes FF is known for story, but "I prefer the story and its a FF game so this idea is stupid" is completely irrelevant and saying "every ff fan plays it for the story" is just plain ill informed.

Locking content behind a base game plus 3 expansions worth of story and fetch quests does not bode well for the game's longevity. How many people start and quit due to the massive quest log they need to trudge through because paying for the game plus a story booster plus a sub plus a possible level booster is a lot to ask of someone who may or may not like what it has to offer. Our community could be much larger if they did away with the burden or story telling, and yes for many new players the story is a burden more than anything and its getting to be moreso with each passing expansion. Especially since old content is rendered irrelevant the moment the next patch comes out, much less the next expansion.

Fan boying and white knighting is always, always more detrimental than helpful. You need to look at this realistically. If you LOVE this game as much as you claim, you will want it to live on for a long long time. And the direction this game is headed, its going to be harder and harder to keep the population at a reasonable level. Things need to change if we want another 10 years of FFXIV.

[BloodRubyXII]

Can't think of an MMO I've played where a large portion of end-game dungeons aren't locked behind MSQ progression apart from games that aren't in the traditional tab target/action combat style ie runescape (and even that has a large portion of it's endgame bosses locked behind individual questlines - and then that has some of it's top bosses locked behind questlines that are like 15 years old.

[dangadget]

I have seen this over and over as an answer. But let's not forget XI didn't lock everything behind the base game and all expacs and it was still a FF game, with a very good story to boot.

The problem here is that linking every single expansion has created way to much fodder to get through to get to what you want to do. Just because you prefer the story does not mean everyone on earth or even every FF fan does, as you claim. Yes FF is known for story, but "I prefer the story and its a FF game so this idea is stupid" is completely irrelevant and saying "every ff fan plays it for the story" is just plain ill informed.

Locking content behind a base game plus 3 expansions worth of story and fetch quests does not bode well for the game's longevity. How many people start and quit due to the massive quest log they need to trudge through because paying for the game plus a story booster plus a sub plus a possible level booster is a lot to ask of someone who may or may not like what it has to offer. Our community could be much larger if they did away with the burden or story telling, and yes for many new players the story is a burden more than anything and its getting to be moreso with each passing expansion. Especially since old content is rendered irrelevant the moment the next patch comes out, much less the next expansion.

Fan boying and white knighting is always, always more detrimental than helpful. You need to look at this realistically. If you LOVE this game as much as you claim, you will want it to live on for a long long time. And the direction this game is headed, its going to be harder and harder to keep the population at a reasonable level. Things need to change if we want another 10 years of FFXIV.

And yet this statement and this sentiment is not actually supported by any existing facts.
The game is healthy, in fact, it's the most successful it's ever been, and this with the MSQ "locked" away, which by the way, ad nauseum, it is not.
You can absolutely skip most of it if you choose to do so, but when you do, you pay a price, both literally and figuratively.
There is nothing that indicates that this approach is hurting the game in any way.

[Saefinn]

There are all kinds of MMO's out there with different objectives and approaches to suit different needs and tastes. Final Fantasy XIV is very story driven and as such it makes sense to lock content behind story for that sense of progress as it's all a part of the experience of playing this kind of MMO, so it accommodates to that taste. Making it optional just cheapens that. Heck my view of jump potions is that they are for people who have already done it before. The endgame is only a part of the game's content and the story and levelling is not just a means to that end.

I'd say if that experience is not for you then it might not be the right kind of game for you? WoW's approach didn't grip me and did not engage me as a player to enjoy and care about the world and the dungeons all felt like there was no meaning or purpose. Hence one reason it was not an MMO that worked for me, despite being a similar kinda of MMO to FFXIV, but it works for a lot of other people. One reason I'm here and not there, because I love how they've gone with it here. I also liked how SW:TOR did it too, hence I got a lot more involved with that.

If the game is right for you in every other aspect, I realise it might be a slog, but I guess at least you can skip cutscenes? But a game is designed with an experience in mind, hence so many games out there don't give you the option to skip loads of stuff.

[ElazulHP]

NO. This is a Final Fantasy game first, MMO second. Story > everything else.

EDIT:

Now that we're talking about WoW, there's probably a good reason why WoW offers free level boost with purchase of an expansion.

And there we go. OP just wants free skip potions. That is the whole point to this thread lulz...

[Reap00]

So like, while it can be enjoyable the first few times, the gameplay(dungeons, raids, trials, ect) is pretty lackluster in this game. The only thing that keeps me playing is the story. And I'm sure it is the same with most people that play this game.

Thanks for your opinion. I don't agree and I am sure most people that play the game feel the same way.

[VarkingRunesong]

Thanks for your opinion. I don't agree and I am sure most people that play the game feel the same way.

Yeah these opinions are going to be super split. Some people are here to do their mmo routine. Others enjoy the story. This game has some for everyone. I, personally, wish my EXP wasn't locked at level 50 until I finish the next two quests or so but it is what is it.

[Enla]

And yet this statement and this sentiment is not actually supported by any existing facts.
The game is healthy, in fact, it's the most successful it's ever been, and this with the MSQ "locked" away, which by the way, ad nauseum, it is not.
You can absolutely skip most of it if you choose to do so, but when you do, you pay a price, both literally and figuratively.
There is nothing that indicates that this approach is hurting the game in any way.

And the only part that /is/ hurting the game, ARR's superfluous quests that were designed more to get you through every area rather than provide meaningful story progression, are all being edited down in three months time. So soon even that won't be a proper barrier to entry.

[SannaR]

I have seen this over and over as an answer. But let's not forget XI didn't lock everything behind the base game and all expacs and it was still a FF game, with a very good story to boot.

Did you have to do any of the expansions to do most of what XI allowed you to do? No, but if you want to upgrade like any of the JSE you had to go and do at least CoP. Heck you want to do anything in Rhapsody it makes you go through all the other story lines. Even the three mini dlc make you have to have access to certain zones that you can only access if you've gotten to certain points in those expansions. So while XI doesn't do as much gating that XIV does you can't tell me it doesn't or at least didn't do any form of gating specially if you want some bis parts for certain sets.