(10-31-2013, 06:05 PM)Kismet Wrote: It's also really sad because Coerthas is, in my opinion, a GORGEOUS zone. It's so absolutely beautiful to me. But the quests that happen there. God, the quests... They make me hate that place so, soooo, sooooooo very much.

(10-31-2013, 11:54 AM)S Wrote:

(10-31-2013, 09:22 AM)K Wrote: "F**K ISHGARD AND I HOPE BAHAMUT COMES BACK AND LEVELS THIS WHOLE MOUNTAIN".

This is a sentiment I can wholeheartedly get behind.

Personally, I've been enjoying the story, and the content gating hasn't really hit me too bad since I've generally tended to only be a level to three levels beyond required, so while (especially) the first dungeons found me getting a bunch of gear that would have been great several levels prior, as a whole story/gameplay dealie has been fine for me.

Note the bold, please.

On the other hand, I finally persuaded my friend to try the game. I'd had an extra copy (since I'd had 1.0 and played it like, twice, and hated it, but thought I had to rebuy the game for 2.0- which I hadn't, leaving me holding a second copy). So I got him to install it and give it a go, thankfully well after the main slew of 1017 and 90k and all that rot was done with for the most part. He's playing, he's having a good time- mainly grinding through mobs and fates even from the start. He's an old-school EQ1 player and that's his preferred playstyle. Finally, he asks me, 'when do I get to a dungeon?' I told him 15, and he was excited because he was already getting close. So I had to burst his bubble... "Well, you know all those quests you didn't feel like doing? You have to do them."

I haven't seen him in game since, and every time I ask if he wants to play, he says 'yeah, maybe later, but first let's <insert something not FFXIV here>'. I'm pretty sure he's not coming back. I... truly don't see why a lot of this stuff has to be gated, especially the 'MMO' bits. I don't see why the game can't have an option for you (for instance) to hit 15 and grab a quest similar to the other optional unlocks, where you get to run out and talk to a guy by the dungeon and hey, you can do the dungeon. Or why (as is the case with many/most MMOs) you can't hit the right level, and join a grand company to work for your mount (yes, I know that's part of the quest, but it ought to be easy enough to include a flag, and Storm Sergeant Recruiter Wedge says, "Back off, guys, we've already nabbed Storm Corporal Biggs, you can't have him" and move along.

Short version? Forcing everyone to follow a single gameplay paradigm is bad, since people play MMOs for a variety of reasons. What works for one person (like me, who has loved everything but the number-soup errors and gilspammers) does not work for another.

(10-31-2013, 06:50 PM)LiadansWhisper Wrote: If I remember correctly, during Beta 3, most of the "attunements" just required you to walk up and talk to someone, and whammo, bammo, you had access.

(10-31-2013, 07:33 PM)Naunet Wrote:

(10-31-2013, 06:50 PM)LiadansWhisper Wrote: If I remember correctly, during Beta 3, most of the "attunements" just required you to walk up and talk to someone, and whammo, bammo, you had access.

That's because none of the quests past level 15 had been implemented yet, but they still wanted folk to test the dungeons.

(11-01-2013, 02:14 AM)Theodric Ironheart Wrote: I'm a big fan of any system in MMO's that involves gradually unlocking content as any given character advances in level. It encourages investment and gives a genuine sense of progression. Is it a pain to have to do everything all over again on a fresh character? Definitely, though that's the consequence of investing in multiple characters. As far as I'm concerned the journey should matter just as much as the destination.

(11-01-2013, 02:14 AM)Theodric Ironheart Wrote: I'm a big fan of any system in MMO's that involves gradually unlocking content as any given character advances in level. It encourages investment and gives a genuine sense of progression. Is it a pain to have to do everything all over again on a fresh character? Definitely, though that's the consequence of investing in multiple characters. As far as I'm concerned the journey should matter just as much as the destination.

(11-01-2013, 11:33 AM)Ildur Wrote: I think that's pretty much the thing that would fix any complains about the 'very meaningful' unlocks: make them account-wide unlocks. People who are levelling alts are seeing the exact same storyline anyway, so they won't get the same feeling of achievement they did when first unlocking chocobos or whatever.

Personally, though, I wouldn't say that some of these unlocks make the journey more meaningful. You wouldn't need to unlock airships if the game wasn't designed to have the players level up in every area of the world. Dyes aren't a reward for your hard work as much as they are a fetch quest placed on an arbitrary level. It feels less like the game is saying "Now that you are level 15, you have unlocked the right to not look like a clown all the time!" They could have very well put a version of that same quest on every starting city at level 1 and it would be just as meaningful/meaningless.

Then again, if the unlocks were account wide, nobody in their right mind would complain.

(11-01-2013, 01:10 PM)LeCard Wrote: as far as the dyeing quest is concerned, lvl 1-15 has so much gear changing that dyeing your gear before then is kind of pointless.

(11-01-2013, 02:06 PM)Theodric Ironheart Wrote: If everything is account bound for characters created after someone's initial character reaches the end game point then there isn't much motivation for the player to do the stuff required to unlock things ever again. The current system at least ensures that there's a steady flow of players looking to do the story dungeons and low level primal fights. It also rewards investment by granting the player access to various services and rewards as their character advances in level.