Let players choose their own starting level for a newly unlocked job

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With every new expansion, the starting level of each new job keeps getting raised. The Evercold jobs will start at level 90. This means two things:
  • An entirely new playstyle and toolkit that starts at a high level and has to be learned from scratch
  • Newcomers interested in those jobs have to play through a massive amount of content on other jobs before they can finally unlock the job that drew them in
This comes with its own challenges, like overwhelming players with a big toolkit, or cutting it down to make it manageable, at the potential cost of feeling bare at low level synced content.

Players will eventually learn the new jobs, with plenty resorting to guides to get a general idea. Some of them are quick learners, others may prefer to take their time. Here's my idea that offers something for everyone:
  • Keep the 'intended' starting level as is. That would be level 90 for the Evercold jobs. This is great for players who want to play the new job at the start of the expansion and catch up asap
  • Offer players the option to select a different starting level, say: level 1, 30, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90. Up to the 'intended' starting level
  • Have the starting weapon for the job scale with job level up to the 'intended' starting level. We have the technology as seen in Earrings and Rings. This prevents having to make all new weapon designs for lower level content. For example: Viper starts with a pair of Weathered Twinfangs. That's a static level 80 weapon. By making it a scalable weapon, all of its stats will scale from level 1 to level 80.
  • Armour gear is something that the player themselves can sort, but providing a basic kit per selectable starting level could be a bonus. Upgrading one's gear is part of the journey, so I do not recommend scaling gear for new jobs. The weapon is the sole exception due to new ones having to be designed and created, otherwise.
  • Put a disclaimer when selecting anything other than the intended starting level: "You commit to this choice and cannot change this level after selecting it. Job quests will only start at level <intended level>. New weapon designs will only start appearing after <intended starting level>."
  • When selecting a different starting level and then reaching the 'intended' starting level, a pop-up could appear: "you have reached the intended starting level. Job quests are now available. You can obtain this job's starting gear set from the Calamity Salvager / from the job NPC."
For those who want to play the traditional method: they can. For those who'd love to take their time leveling and learning the new job: they can, as well. For those who've seen the job and want to play through the MSQ with it: they can! It only takes an additional menu to select the desired starting level and the implementation of level-scaling weapons. Unless the game's code is truly cooked, surely that should be possible.

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