MSQ

[Iscah]

My only quarrel with that is making all that content MSQ, so that new/returning players have to slog through every bit of it before being able to move on to the next expansion. Maybe created a new category of side quests such as "story recommended" or something? By all means, players who haven't completed group content should not be allowed to use the roulette to complete them.

Stop thinking of it like "an obstacle at the end of the MSQ", because it is part of the MSQ. There is pre-credits MSQ and there is post-credits MSQ. It's a serialised story and if you arrive late, you need to catch up.

And from the perspective of someone who enjoys the story, adding that many fluffy optional quests that can't drive the main plot forward and can't be referenced later (except in further side stories) would not be a benefit.

Additionally, if they can't tell this story across the post-credits phase, they're just going to have to stuff it into the pre-credits phase and make that even longer.