Skill level necessary to clear HW MSQ content

[ItMe]

But saying that you have to to the extra-hard content first so you'll recognise what to do when you see the same mechanic in a normal-difficulty fight later is putting things back-to-front.

As far as I can tell no one is suggesting that.
OP has repeatedly expressed interest in doing the harder trials first and I, for one, am just saying "you really don't need to, but you're right that they would help you grow."

[Iscah]

As far as I can tell no one is suggesting that.

You were the one suggesting that (or at least appearing to suggest it), though. Thus my comment was directed at you.

Hasrat said there was no need to do hard content just to learn specific telegraphs. You responded that there's value in learning the "early fights" before moving onto later ones - which in the context of OP's intent means you're saying there's specific value in learning those "earlier" EX fights so you'll recognise the mechanics before moving onto "later" Heavensward. Which isn't any more logical than learning them at whatever future point you first encounter them because it isn't any easier to learn then in one place or another.

[Eclipse12187]

I realize now that you say this, but ifrit HM and Titan HM (as well as Garuda hm) are optional and were tuned higher than the other hard mode fights of the era, they were strictly required for relic at their onset and the other trials like thornmarch, leviathan, etc are much more in line with difficulty of future hard modes. MSQ trials and dungeons tend to be easier to access for the majority while optional content like coil and EX are for the people pushing themselves and are not a viable gear path while leveling. I wish you luck in your endeavor to find people willing to do any of this content sync’d as the majority prefer to run this at max level to steamroll it quickly.

[Hasrat]

I realize now that you say this, but ifrit HM and Titan HM (as well as Garuda hm) are optional

Was this changed at some point? Or was it just a thing of "required to unlock them, not to clear them"? Cuz they're definitely some degree of required by 2.5.

There is no "normal Coil". It has one unlabelled difficulty, which equates to Savage.

In fairness, second coil does have a savage mode.

OP, at this point, I'd just as soon advise stop fretting over skill or difficulty or anything and just roll. If you find HW dungeons/trials too difficult when you get to them, you can either keep practicing on them when you get there, to learn the mechanics of the fight you're struggling with, or you can roll back to earlier fights to see if you've improved at all.

I kinda get it. If you feel you're struggling in HM fights, you at least want to feel like it's not going to be a struggle the whole way through. Gear ought to help with that. Maybe you'll improve some while practicing. But it can also be said that just progressing and leveling will also provide more skills you may need to practice with to learn where they fit in rotation, or just skills that improve your survivability outright.

Synced EX/Coils is content designed for players trying to approach optimized. Which isn't to say it's a bad goal. Just, walk before you run. And recognize that it's bonus difficulty, beyond comparable story content.

If you're looking for a gauge of next expansion difficulty, you truly need look no further than the required quests and trials leading up to it. As EX/Coils are not required, they're not a good gauge. The HM fights, maybe. You've got a few more trials and a couple dungeons before you even make it to expansion (and the first 3.0 dungeon is optional besides). That's plenty of time to get a feel for where your skill level is at before you hit the next milestone. Trying to tune yourself to EX difficulty is just above and beyond.

Still, if you can get a group together for it, could at least be some fun. Quick way to discover if there's anywhere you can improve your healing/rotation.

[Eclipse12187]

As far as MSQ goes only Titan hard mode was required as it became a part of the SB MSQ patches. The rest were entirely optional until that point.

[MistakeNot]

As far as MSQ goes only Titan hard mode was required as it became a part of the SB MSQ patches. The rest were entirely optional until that point.

Nope. Titan (Hard), Ifrit (hard), and Garuda (hard) were and are required before you can start the quest "Good Intentions" - the first quest of the MSQ in patch 2.5

[Townowi]

And Normal Coils of Bahamut then? How much harder is normal Coil compared to HW MSQ trials? Maybe I am willing to settle for normal Coil if savage was excessive...

(Assume 115-120 i-lvl for normal Coil)

Finally the reason why I didn't mention Garuda HM was that I feel much more consistent about her than Ifrit or Titan, especially once I get my gear in order.

[Iscah]

And Normal Coils of Bahamut then? How much harder is normal Coil compared to HW MSQ trials? Maybe I am willing to settle for normal Coil if savage was excessive...

(Assume 115-120 i-lvl for normal Coil)

There is no "normal Coil". It has one unlabelled difficulty, which equates to Savage.

[Townowi]

For someone new to EX, which one do you recommend to start with, Garuda, Leviathan, Ultima Weapon or Thornmarch?

I won't start any of them until I can both consistently run these story primals and fix my gear problems in full.