(03-15-2015, 12:59 AM)Sylas Wrote:Bolded because that's exactly how I feel.Â(03-15-2015, 12:55 AM)Warren Castille Wrote:I do think there's a difference between buying the expac and immediately having access to the new content, be it in the form of stupidly hard fights, even if I look back on Promyvion's fondly for how cool they were, in some way as opposed to buying the expac and having access to literally nothing until you clear what is basically all of the content from the base game.(03-15-2015, 12:39 AM)Sylas Wrote:(03-15-2015, 12:39 AM)Warren Castille Wrote: FFXI's Chains of Promathia. That is all.I don't remember if CoP required you to clear RotZ first. All I really remember are shitty level caps that required you to keep ALL OF YOUR GEAR FOREVER.
Buying CoP didn't give you access to anything except the balls-hard fights required to access the new zones, the new city, the new story and everything that wasn't jobs. Zilart required you to complete everything to unlock Sky. Aht Urghan was different in that regard, opening a lot from the door, but there is a precedent for buying an SE MMO and having it be an empty box save for a pile of IOU: Patch Content notes.
You didn't have to be level 75, finish a Nation's missions, beat Rise of the Zilart and be partially geared through Dynamis and other HNMs in order to start Chains of Promathia. All you needed to be was level 30 and have some luck to get through the Promyvions. It was possible to have Tavnazia access before you got your AF armor, got your airship pass, and beat the Shadow Lord. There were also zones that were released with CoP and you only needed to have the expansion installed to access -- Bibiki Bay and Carpenter's Landing to name two that I specifically remember bouncing off the zone-line because I didn't have CoP installed, and after installing I could access months before I even attempted my first Promyvion.
The ONLY things that were affected by completing RotZ before starting in on CoP? Some minor changes in dialogue, the realization to why Esha'ntarl wouldn't let Nag'molada speak to Kam'lanaut, and the ability to participate in the optional Apocalypse Nigh fight.Â
And even if you finished CoP before RotZ, you STILL went back and finished RotZ because epic cutscenes and that silly earring that's STILL viable gear in some circumstances.
(03-15-2015, 01:42 AM)Berrod Armstrong Wrote: You've got three and a half months, if you get started now, you'll be done in time.
(03-15-2015, 02:30 AM)Kismet Wrote: We have a little over three and a half months until the expansion hits... Is that not enough time to get the MSQ done for most people?These... are actually sentiment that I've been sort of dreading >_>
Getting to level 50 is easy for just about anyone. I've got my main who's got -most- jobs to 50, and currently four alts that all have at least one job to 50.
But when you have a job that requires you to give up such comforts like in-home plumbing, a proper stove, and stable internet access, doing the group content that requires coordination and strict adherence to stratagy... you can end up sitting on something for months. I personally sat on story-mode Garuda's doorstep for three months. The Castrums and all that stuff in that final 2.0 story stretch took me another four months. Then I sat on King Moogle Mog's doorstep for another three months. I got lucky last week and was able to plow through King Moogle Mog and all the way through Shiva before I ran out of both steam and time to go further... but if I'm understanding what's coming up ahead for me IRL, it can be another six months before I get another chance like that again.. and I -still- have to do HM Ifrit, Titan, and Garuda before I can even pick up the next questline.
I may be unique in my specific situation, but I doubt I'm the ONLY player in the whole game who's 50 right now and while they on the surface have access to a lot of playtime, they'll be unable to just walk across a bridge and look around a brand new city because their real-world obligations don't give them enough actual leeway to do the progression fights.
I'm not saying I want to have access to the personal airships, or new dungeons, or armor/weapon upgrades before finishing 2.55. Hell, I don't even care if I'm not allowed to attune to the aetheryte, NPCs will not respond to me clicking on them, and I'm unable to view the market board or call retainers in Ishgard until I complete 2.55. I just want to be able to go lean up against a wall in the new city and watch people run around.
Right now, the feeling I get from the details of this expansion are "Unless you really want to play the new race (and of course granted that SE didn't gate THAT behind 2.55, too /pessimist), don't bother buying the expansion until you clear 2.55". And I really won't be surprised if that's the sentiment that's picked up by the review sites.
