Mind_Over_Matter

TL;DR
Yes. Seriously. Because it is a healthy business practice that encourages the longevity of the game.

*You* have personal opinions about the leveling journey in Paragon and the Rogue Isles just as any veteran player may have experienced. However, not everyone has the same playing experience. Some enjoy the earlier story arcs and the early task forces/strike forces. New players should at least be encouraged to try these for themselves. Plus, they would have an incentive to do so.

It makes little sense for a new player just entering Paragon City or the Rogue Isles from another dimension to be immediately given access to Archetypes that are tied directly to storylines in the Primal Earth dimension. Yes, this means new players would "miss out" unless they make a new character (or level that Praetorian-born character to 50 in Primal Earth). But these new players would also not know what/who these archetypes were yet anyway. There should be a learning curve because such archetypes didn't exist in Praetoria. At least allow the game to introduce them to these archetypes before just throwing "unmerited new shiny" at them.

Of course I believe the Devs would still want new players to go through the old content at some point. The content still exists! If the player is new, they haven't played such content before. NBC got away with airing reruns under the banner "If you haven't seen it, it's new to you." This is what makes Praetoria "additional content" and not a mere revamp. It's "more content." If you don't encourage new players to go through content they have yet to experience, you are effectively decreasing their exposure to content.

Also, the first 20 levels shouldn't be a "fast and easy ride" anyway. The *only* people who should be clamoring for a means to a quick route to 20 are the veterans who have already done the 1-20 arcs repeatedly (or bypassed them and yet criticize them anyway). New players will have nothing but Praetoria to compare things to. That's great! They can then offer feedback as to how to improve the earlier story arcs in Paragon. But they can do so from their *own* experiences.

The point to lowering the level to 20 was not just to give access to the V/HEATs away. They would have otherwise just made them available from the start. The point was to get players invested in the story of City of Heroes and then reward these players with archetypes rooted in the lore of the game.

I cringe every time someone suggests throwing out prerequisites simply to ease what they as an individual want, regardless of whether the prerequisites make any sense. This game is filled with Accolades, unlockable contacts, and badges tied to having actually done something at least tangentially related to the reward. I can understand adjusting some of the more laborious requirements like the old Illusionists or Heal badges, but I stand by the idea of having badge requirements.

If all players are encouraged to try all of the story arcs in the game, then all players can have personal experiences from which to make suggestions that can further enhance the game. They can also invest more time in exploring the game so as to avoid burnout from repetition. This can both encourage new players to experience the game for themselves as well as offer newer perspectives as to what the Devs can improve upon.

Why should a new player just crossing over to Paragon/Rogue Isles be able to create an archetype that is deeply embedded in the lore of a place they have only just begun to explore?

If anything, I think the restriction for new Praetorians who have never started a character in Paragon City or the Rogue Isles at least provides a logical restriction. It also encourages players to begin characters in the Rogue Isles and Paragon City at least once in order to gain an opportunity to experience the respective storylines from their genesis.

If players want access to the VEATs/HEATs *without* ever leveling a character from the start in Paragon City/Rogue Isles, I could see a compromise by granting Praetoria-only characters such access at 50. By the time they reach 50, they would have come into contact with story arcs/task forces that offer exposure to the lore behind the Kheldian War/Arachnos Heirarchy.

Yes, this is a lore-based argument for retaining such a restriction. I think lore-based arguments help reinforce the VEATs/HEATs as "Epic" in that they expand upon lore and are deeply invested in the storyline of the game. Keep in mind that this would only be a restriction for people who haven't played through the 1-20 storyline of the city prior to GR.