(08-23-2015, 06:40 PM)Unnamed Mercenary Wrote: Â but would do quite a disservice to people who might feel tempted to powerlevel and not engage in the story.
(08-23-2015, 06:50 PM)Virella Douront Wrote: I can understand the decision though of SE, especially because gamers these days are not like they use to be. These days we whine about having to catch up after all, and for the newer playerbase it will be dealbreaker whether they get the game or not. That said I'd imagine they will conjurer up a good enough reason for 4.0 not needing 3.0, doubt Ishgard wouldn't have a part in it though, especially with the MQS ending, and if Ala Mhigo is indeed a part of the next expansion!
I visit the official Final Fantasy forums too and I've seen a lot of defense towards needing ARR content finished to get to HW. I have to say, I strongly disagree with having this gated content and do not understand why fans are defending SE's decision on this. Most of the justification I have seen is that FFXIV is a story heavy game.
Here's where my opinion becomes an unpopular one though. Not everyone cares about the story. There's plenty to do and enjoy without any of the story in this game. So I would have to disagree with it being "story-centric." TOR is what I would call a "story-centric" MMO. I really could not stand ANY of the story pre-2.1. I do quite like 2.1-2.55 and 3.0 MSQ but I would not call it 'amazing.' A serious detractor for me personally is that the Scions are the main characters of the story and I find them to be extremely unlikeable. (Here's hoping we get some major development for ALL the scions, much like Alphinaud)
But mostly, I don't see what groaning about people complaining about the gated content accomplishes. (not actually specifically mentioning you two here, but this has been an extremely common sentiment in general ever since HW launched) The important thing is that with the gated content, Heavensward is not accessible. The less something is accessible, the less people will be able to achieve this content.  Bioware is known and beloved for its story-focused RPGs but even its story-centric content is accessible.  Its Mass Effect and Dragon Ages are able to be jumped into at any installment. Even the Dragon Age: Origins expansion can be played as a stand alone campaign.Â
Bioware does this because if they didn't, they would lose money. Similarly, requiring 2.55 for 3.0 content (All content I might add, not just story content) was not a wise move. They without a doubt lost money over this decision. These companies have lots and lots of statistics at their disposal. I believe Bioware did research that showed only a small fraction of the owners of one of their games had actually beaten it. Even though the game had sold well.Â
A lot of players just want to start fresh too. It doesn't mean that they aren't interested in the story but they don't want to have to do old content in order to do that. While it wouldn't stop me from playing the game if I was in their shoes, it can get seriously lonely when all your friends have moved on without you and you're still stuck on the last expansion's content.Â
TL;DR Stop defending gated content. It does not help SE make money; it does the opposite. I know I'd like for them to be more successful so they can make more content.
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