Heavensward Ilevel Requirements. Strange Design Choice?

[Xavieraux Reinardes]

How likely is it that I need to grind ilevel 90 gear in advance to start Heavensward content?

 

It seems silly that new players coming to the game in the future will have to grind gear from tomes and duty finder at level 50 before being able to complete access expansion content.

 

Everyone keeps saying you will NEED to get i-level 90 gear in advance to finish the main story and play expansion content, but couldn't they give out basic i90 gear from newly added level 50 main story quests?

 

I don't know, it seems like a strange design choice, and as someone who came back to the game as a level 47, I hate the idea of buying the expansion, then having to grind for a few weeks to meet the gear requirement to play that content.

[Kellach Woods]

It's silly, but with the way they've set up the story they will require some grinding at 50 in order to access Heavensward, just to finish the MSQ.

[Flickering Ember]

How likely is it that I need to grind ilevel 90 gear in advance to start Heavensward content?

 

It seems silly that new players coming to the game in the future will have to grind gear from tomes and duty finder at level 50 before being able to complete access expansion content.

 

Everyone keeps saying you will NEED to get i-level 90 gear in advance to finish the main story and play expansion content, but couldn't they give out basic i90 gear from newly added level 50 main story quests?

 

I don't know, it seems like a strange design choice, and as someone who came back to the game as a level 47, I hate the idea of buying the expansion, then having to grind for a few weeks to meet the gear requirement to play that content.

It's 100% true. A dungeon and a trial required to complete the msq for Heavensward requires ilevel 90.

 

I find it to be a bad choice but doubt SE will change it.

[Xavieraux Reinardes]

How likely is it that I need to grind ilevel 90 gear in advance to start Heavensward content?

 

It seems silly that new players coming to the game in the future will have to grind gear from tomes and duty finder at level 50 before being able to complete access expansion content.

 

Everyone keeps saying you will NEED to get i-level 90 gear in advance to finish the main story and play expansion content, but couldn't they give out basic i90 gear from newly added level 50 main story quests?

 

I don't know, it seems like a strange design choice, and as someone who came back to the game as a level 47, I hate the idea of buying the expansion, then having to grind for a few weeks to meet the gear requirement to play that content.

It's 100% true. A dungeon and a trial required to complete the msq for Heavensward requires ilevel 90.

 

I find it to be a bad choice but doubt SE will change it.

 

Ok, at least I can take some solace in the fact I'm not the only person who thinks it's kinda bad.

[Steel Wolf]

On the one hand, Yoshi has said that everyone's equipment won't be immediately obsolete at level 51, but on the other hand it's been said that iLevel 130 will take you only as far as level 55.

 

....eh. Such is the hell of the gearscore PvE MMO--power creepin' at its absolute finest.

[Gegenji]

Gotta keep you on that loot treadmill, you know.

[Blue]

Yeah, to me the way Heavensward is not so much as an expansion as an extension, a glorified, bigger, not-free patch, not any different than 2.1-2.55.

 

Why? Because what few games that got expansions that I have played (The Sims 3, Final Fantasy XI) had always stories kept separated between the base game and the expansion. Sure, sometimes the expansions had ties to certain topics that you would learn of in the base game (the Zilarts in RoZ, for example), but more or less you were always free to choose which story you wanted to play first.

 

I would've preferred Heavensward to be slowly released patches that continued the MSQ rather than be an expansion per se, personally. Because with the requirement of completing the base game's storyline in order to access everything of it (exploration, jobs, story, sidequests), you do not quite expand the universe of Eorzea. You extend it. Gold Saucer followed the right definition of "expansion" more than Heavensward did, ironically.

 

 

I'm a little sad for my friend who is going to start playing (maybe, he could change his mind) in June, and who really likes great swords and was hoping to do the 2.0 MSQ with great swords, but oh well. Good for me that I'm already caught up, I guess.

[MostlyAwol]

Well this changes things. Do I even need to buy the expansion to continue playing if you are not close to level 50 less so than ilevel90?

[Zyrusticae]

Nope. There's no point to buying the expansion if you're not close to clearing the Steps of Faith since you won't have access to most (any?) of the content.

[Chris Ganale]

hoping to do the 2.0 MSQ with great sword

 

No less than three of my characters have that exact feels about guns.

[Flickering Ember]

Yeah, to me the way Heavensward is not so much as an expansion as an extension, a glorified, bigger, not-free patch, not any different than 2.1-2.55.

 

Why? Because what few games that got expansions that I have played (The Sims 3, Final Fantasy XI) had always stories kept separated between the base game and the expansion. Sure, sometimes the expansions had ties to certain topics that you would learn of in the base game (the Zilarts in RoZ, for example), but more or less you were always free to choose which story you wanted to play first.

 

I would've preferred Heavensward to be slowly released patches that continued the MSQ rather than be an expansion per se, personally. Because with the requirement of completing the base game's storyline in order to access everything of it (exploration, jobs, story, sidequests), you do not quite expand the universe of Eorzea. You extend it. Gold Saucer followed the right definition of "expansion" more than Heavensward did, ironically.

 

 

I'm a little sad for my friend who is going to start playing (maybe, he could change his mind) in June, and who really likes great swords and was hoping to do the 2.0 MSQ with great swords, but oh well. Good for me that I'm already caught up, I guess.

 

Yeah, that graphic exactly. I predict SE losing a lot of money out of this design decision. 

Accessible content=more money

[ShoggMommy]

Nope. There's no point to buying the expansion if you're not close to clearing the Steps of Faith since you won't have access to most (any?) of the content.

 

Only thing that will be accessible is the new race.

[Martiallais]

There's also a month to go. I know it can be a bit tedious in points but there's still time to both get to 50 and clear all that's left between now and then.

[Mae]

The pessimist in me is still expecting to discover, upon installing the expansion, that even the new race is gated beyond 2.55. "Surprise! Only way to have an Au Ra is to use a Fantasia potion! Guess who has to go to the cash shop and buy one AND a name change~?"

[Mercer]

In the grander FF MMO string of things, this is not unusual. It was common in XI to have some sort of gated quest line before you would be able to do expansion content, refereed to as Limit Breaks. These were not soloable quests either, they required grinding and groups to accomplish. Some even required rare items from hunts and raids.They were also required every 5 levels.

 

Yes, gating the content sucks, especially for alt-o-holics, but XIV has never been an alt friendly game. One of it's claims to fame is the ability to do anything in the game with a single character. It also reinforces playing through the full story, another big selling point for the game.

 

I think it'd be foolish to think that the ilvl requirements won't change with the expansion or shortly after. I recall a SE interview saying that the lvl 50 endgame would change come expansion time, but can't find my source. Perhaps it was a fever dream.

[Jonexe]

It's an odd design choice, and not one I necessarily like... but...

 

It doesn't take weeks to grind out getting through Steps of Faith. 

 

Personal story time:

I resubbed three weeks ago. Most days I don't do any content and just RP. In that time I went from an ilvl 63 WHM to an ilvl105 WHM and cleared the main story content having not played since before 2.1. In total I probably put 6 hours towards the main story in each week. I finished up Steps of Faith at ilvl96 on Saturday.

 

Gearing is pretty easy with a mix of dungeons, crafting, Soldiery Tomes, Labyrinth of the Ancients/Syrcus Tower runs. The last two there are exceptionally nice, since now you can run them endlessly while they're unlocked. Every run gives Soldiery and Poetic Tomes, as well as chances at gear. Additionally, each takes maybe 30~45 minutes since most people significantly out gear it and make it a breeze. 

 

The hardest part, I would say, is if you don't have a level 50 class yet. That's what is going to take the most amount of time. Once you get to 50 (especially if you already have must-have cross class skills) it amounts to just accomplishing a lot of quests; 90% of which are pretty easy "talk to this guy, that guy, that other guy, then come back" quests.

 

The required trials are fairly easy all the way up to Steps of Faith, which was just recently nerfed (and might be again by the time Heavensward releases). Take 3 minutes while waiting in queue to watch a video for each trial and you very likely won't have a problem with any of them.

 

Not everyone will get done quite as quickly as I did (roughly 18 hours), as I got pretty lucky on some drops in ST. Some will get through faster, some slower, etc. But! If you start now and put in an hour or two a day towards it, you can be ready for Heavensward before early access even begins.

[Mae]

In the grander FF MMO string of things, this is not unusual. It was common in XI to have some sort of gated quest line before you would be able to do expansion content, refereed to as Limit Breaks. These were not soloable quests either, they required grinding and groups to accomplish. Some even required rare items from hunts and raids.They were also required every 5 levels.

Limit Breaks were for leveling, only. A level 50 (highest level you can achieve without doing chores for Maat) -could- complete quite far into various expansion storylines with a group of high-leveled friends without breaking a single level cap. There were no items from raids (since XI didn't have raids), none needed from HNMs. There were two Burning Circle fights, any other item needed dropped from regular mobs. Sometimes you needed parties to get items, but you certainly didn't need one for running around towns and handing out items you'd been receiving since level 1 >_>

 

-- Core Game, you could progress quite far through the Nation Missions provided you had friends to carry you. I personally had my airship pass (a rank 4 mission, meaning the recommended level to complete is 40) at level 20 because I had a friend drag me around by the back of my harness. 

-- Rise of the Zilart (first XI expansion) storyline required a Shadow Lord kill (a rank 5 mission from Core), but you had access to various zones provided you could survive running to them. 

-- Chains of Promathia (second expansion), the first mission became available at level 25 regardless of where you are in Core and RotZ. Tavnazia access was gated behind the Promyvions (level 30 content), but other zones were accessible provide you could survive running to them. Some dialouge changed if you had completed RotZ and Core. "Apocalypse Nigh" was the ONLY mission that required you had completed RotZ, and it was technically an optional mission.

-- Treasures of Aht Urghan, your ability to access any of it depended on a short rep grind with a Core faction and farming a couple items to access. Solo, you could get this done as early as level 18. With a high level friend to help, you could get it done at level 1.

-- Wings of the Goddess... lowest level I've personally escorted through the Maws was a level 30, I think. So... at least level 30, and not dependent of the previous expansions.

-- ACP,ASC, and the Moogle add-on mini-expansions, you can flag as early as 30. And doesn't require previous expansion progression.

-- Abyssea... welll..... if you've played XI since Abyssea was released, then you KNOW about Abyssea Leeches.

-- Far West expansion (I am totally drawing a blank on it...), again accessible by at least 30. Independent of all the other expansions.

[Warren Castille]

That's so inaccurate as to the actual game, though. It'd be like me saying "You didn't NEED item level in XIV; if you entered T13 before the enforced ilvl cap you could do it in your AF and white items!"

 

Sure, you could "do" XI content at level 30. No, you wouldn't have actually contributed anything to the fights. You'd get carried.

 

I don't consider being carried through content completing it.

 

Edit: Sure, Dynamis Lord was killable at level 65!

[Blue]

That's so inaccurate as to the actual game, though. It'd be like me saying "You didn't NEED item level in XIV; if you entered T13 before the enforced ilvl cap you could do it in your AF and white items!"

 

Sure, you could "do" XI content at level 30. No, you wouldn't have actually contributed anything to the fights. You'd get carried.

 

I don't consider being carried through content completing it.

 

Edit: Sure, Dynamis Lord was killable at level 65!

 

You are thinking of endgame. FFXI endgame was completely aside from story missions, and it actually had a reasonable level requirement too to be completed. We're talking about access to basic things such as exploration and job quests here.

[Warren Castille]

-- Core Game, you could progress quite far through the Nation Missions provided you had friends to carry you. I personally had my airship pass (a rank 4 mission, meaning the recommended level to complete is 40) at level 20 because I had a friend drag me around by the back of my harness. 

 

Aside from the level cap 50 on Rank 5, everything after required (or suggested) you being as high as you could, only possible with limit breaks.

-- Rise of the Zilart (first XI expansion) storyline required a Shadow Lord kill (a rank 5 mission from Core), but you had access to various zones provided you could survive running to them. 

 

Zilart require you to complete rank 5-2, and the zones they sent you to had enemies from 51-75.

 

-- Chains of Promathia (second expansion), the first mission became available at level 25 regardless of where you are in Core and RotZ. Tavnazia access was gated behind the Promyvions (level 30 content), but other zones were accessible provide you could survive running to them. Some dialouge changed if you had completed RotZ and Core. "Apocalypse Nigh" was the ONLY mission that required you had completed RotZ, and it was technically an optional mission.

 

Infamous for its difficulty, completing CoP without being carried required every member of the party to be a very specific job/subjob, and carry above-average gear for them. That is, if you didn't farm the super-rare crafted items to debuff the boss. It would remain this way for years after release, making completion of CoP an actual stand-out accomplishment for a long, long time. It also required you to be at the proper level to complete it at numerous checkpoints, culminating in a level 75 fight (and a prior, level 60 fight that outright wiped you if you failed the DPS check).

 

-- Treasures of Aht Urghan, your ability to access any of it depended on a short rep grind with a Core faction and farming a couple items to access. Solo, you could get this done as early as level 18. With a high level friend to help, you could get it done at level 1.

 

The first zone ToAU spits you into is abound with enemies beginning at level 57. The ones that aggro went as low as 61, if I remember correctly. You couldn't actually DO anything there, any more than someone who runs to Northern Thanalan at level 1 can do anything in that zone.

 

Also, I can guarantee you weren't farming Cursed Skulls solo at 18.

 

-- Wings of the Goddess... lowest level I've personally escorted through the Maws was a level 30, I think. So... at least level 30, and not dependent of the previous expansions.

 

Even worse, the enemies in the WotG zones were all much higher. There were some low level enemies around you could exploit for BST or BLM exp (and in the case of the W.Ronfaure Colibri camp, EXP on from 37-41) but that again was leveling content, not content content. You couldn't actually lay a mark on anything in campaign if you weren't in your high 50s with generous gear.

 

-- ACP,ASC, and the Moogle add-on mini-expansions, you can flag as early as 30. And doesn't require previous expansion progression.

 

All required level 75 or above to complete.

 

-- Abyssea... welll..... if you've played XI since Abyssea was released, then you KNOW about Abyssea Leeches.

 

Leeching EXP (from level 75+ enemies, which are impossible to kill at lv30) is again not representative of the actual content. The lowest level enemies in Abyssea zones again approaches or exceeds the level cap, required a carry to "do" anything.

 

-- Far West expansion (I am totally drawing a blank on it...), again accessible by at least 30. Independent of all the other expansions.

 

Seekers of Adoulin. Enemies all approach level 100+. Can't do jack at level 30.

 

It's obvious, but I'm a longtime XI player. I dislike it greatly when people gloss over how rip-your-teeth-out-with-a-rusty-pair-of-pliers the actual content was. You're ignoring the content in favor of leveling, which again, required Genkais to complete.

[Warren Castille]

That's so inaccurate as to the actual game, though. It'd be like me saying "You didn't NEED item level in XIV; if you entered T13 before the enforced ilvl cap you could do it in your AF and white items!"

 

Sure, you could "do" XI content at level 30. No, you wouldn't have actually contributed anything to the fights. You'd get carried.

 

I don't consider being carried through content completing it.

 

Edit: Sure, Dynamis Lord was killable at level 65!

 

You are thinking of endgame. FFXI endgame was completely aside from story missions, and it actually had a reasonable level requirement too to be completed. We're talking about access to basic things such as exploration and job quests here.

 

Endgame and content were synonymous, unless you count clearing a one-time fight as content.

 

In that case, SoF is most definitely content.

[Chris Ganale]

XI insanity

 

Good fucking god, I'm glad I got out of that bullshit when I did.

[Warren Castille]

XI insanity

 

Good fucking god, I'm glad I got out of that bullshit when I did.

 

DON'T EVEN START ME ON LAND KINGS

[Chris Ganale]

DON'T EVEN START ME ON LAND KINGS

 

I have no idea what that is but what it's saying to me is "THIS GAME SUCKS, BE GLAD YOU LEFT IT".

[Warren Castille]

I have no idea what that is but what it's saying to me is "THIS GAME SUCKS, BE GLAD YOU LEFT IT".

 

Trufax: XI was probably the most sublimely rewarding, most significant experience of my life.

 

...that sounds really sad, but trust me.