Returned to Game, Insane Fast Leveling?

[Elkanah]

So, having played the beta and launch of both 1.0 & 2.0, and recently returning after a several year hiatus, I've noticed that you level up now at an INSANE rate.

As in, way too fast. I'm leveling my character to now 50 just by doing the main story quests and the occasional dungeon pickup group.

Am I the only one that thinks it's TOO fast? Does it slow down after a certain level, or is it just a rocket ship to level cap now?

A lot of the bulk of MSQ was removed (after the complaints about how grindy it was, and also with how many players dropped ARR because it was such a slog to get through). To make up for bulk removal of MSQ story, they added XP in its place. So a character on a normal server (and not an XP bonus server), should be able to level up to 80 by just MSQ alone. XP bonus servers would get you to 80 well before you finish stormblood

[Balbanes]

A lot of the bulk of MSQ was removed (after the complaints about how grindy it was, and also with how many players dropped ARR because it was such a slog to get through). To make up for bulk removal of MSQ story, they added XP in its place. So a character on a normal server (and not an XP bonus server), should be able to level up to 80 by just MSQ alone. XP bonus servers would get you to 80 well before you finish stormblood

But... Why? And my God, there exists a server where leveling is FASTER? Does the pre-endgame content just suck that badly that they want you to ignore it and rush you to the level cap? Where's the fun supposed to be in that?

I'm not saying it should be like old school FFXI level grinding (which I did...for years) but geez, there's got to be some sort of happy medium?

[Elkanah]

But... Why? And my God, there exists a server where leveling is FASTER? Does the pre-endgame content just suck that badly that they want you to ignore it and rush you to the level cap? Where's the fun supposed to be in that?

I'm not saying it should be like old school FFXI level grinding (which I did...for years) but geez, there's got to be some sort of happy medium?

I'm still both subbed to FFXI and FFXIV (and have been since basically NA release on PS2 lol). Just didn't do ambuscade this month cause it wasn't as good.

If you joined a Preferred world, you get a "Road to 70" buff that doubles your quest experience, and causes you to be a much higher level than your quests. If you do anything other than the main quests with a fireball icon, such as daily roulettes, you may overlevel as well.

[Tlamila]

But... Why? And my God, there exists a server where leveling is FASTER? Does the pre-endgame content just suck that badly that they want you to ignore it and rush you to the level cap? Where's the fun supposed to be in that?

I'm not saying it should be like old school FFXI level grinding (which I did...for years) but geez, there's got to be some sort of happy medium?

Consider that all the relevant content in this game is instanced. In instances you'll be level synced. So in a way, the fact that you overlevel doesn't really impact your progress negatively, since you'll still be experiencing stuff the same way. But at the same time, not having to grind xp outside of msq on your first class means you can just enjoy the story rather than having to stop in between to go grind some xp to get your next story chunk.
And as others have said, you can ust level multiple classes at once if you want, after all it's a game that expects you to eventually level all classes.

It's not so much "rushing to cap" as much as "not letting grind take out the enjoyement of story progression" since story is the main focus rather than grind. In any case you won't get to endgame any faster, since everything is locked behind msq and that's very long.

[Hasrat]

A lot of the bulk of MSQ was removed (after the complaints about how grindy it was, and also with how many players dropped ARR because it was such a slog to get through). To make up for bulk removal of MSQ story, they added XP in its place. So a character on a normal server (and not an XP bonus server), should be able to level up to 80 by just MSQ alone. XP bonus servers would get you to 80 well before you finish stormblood

Only a small, and recent, part of the issue here.

Bigger, is the fact that level-cap quests, at the time of their level cap, didn't give exp. All the 2.x level 50 quests, 3.x 60 quests, 4.x 70 quests. Now that they're no longer level cap, they give exp. But it's still a string of quests all at the same level, with several duties besides. It's basically impossible to keep single jobs on par with all that excess exp being dumped at players. Shortly, the level 80 quests will be the same.

But, as pointed out, even if you hit level cap before ever leaving Ishgard, the content you run all keeps you synced and in balance with everything (as much as it can be balanced, anyway).