Coming at this from a player perspective, there's also one slight flaw in your argument here. Most of the current Plot-related Missions don't have a 10k requirement. Most of them are 1000F/100XP (such as M35 and M36) or 2500F/250XP (M27). One of them doesn't have any follower requirements at all (M32), just requests that you have engaged in the plot in some capacity so far, whether it be interacting with the events or an NPC there or in one of the many prayers that offer access to them.
Looking at the last tag count sheet, as of right now, all but 3 gods and 1 shinki in game have access to the 1000F/100XP and all but 9 gods and 3 shinki have yet to reach the 2500F/250XP. These all seem to be newer character who are still settling into the game. Participating in an event that would have started your character ON a plot chain or doing some of the prayers that lead into plot (many of which don't require a god-shinki pairing and could be done with anyone in your CR circle) also reward anywhere from 100-500F/10-50XP each, so combined with what you're already tagging already, it wouldn't take as long as you're assuming if your character is IC following some breadcrumbs you as a player are picking out for them to pursue, or that they might get dragged along for the ride with their CR on.
The SOL Missions, on the other hand, DO have some of the higher Follower and XP requirements, but that's because many of them have to do with "a god of standing" being requested to do something to help out or further establish the Heavens or their own temples or their holy day or whatnot. These seem to be meant more to be goals to be work *towards* as personal character arcs to flesh out your character's role as a god - they aren't blocking you from interacting with the plot, they are additional bells and whistles similar to the regains and rewards you can earn as you play.
Considering this whole system is about to be overhauled, tweaked and refined as listed above to take out some of the older missions no longer relevant, some of this may end up being moot, since it's not yet known what's going to be kept going forward. But I just wanted to compare that to engage with the plot in a meaningful way requires a lot less footwork than you might think and the overwhelming majority of the game already qualifies for a foot in the door.
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Looking at the last tag count sheet, as of right now, all but 3 gods and 1 shinki in game have access to the 1000F/100XP and all but 9 gods and 3 shinki have yet to reach the 2500F/250XP. These all seem to be newer character who are still settling into the game. Participating in an event that would have started your character ON a plot chain or doing some of the prayers that lead into plot (many of which don't require a god-shinki pairing and could be done with anyone in your CR circle) also reward anywhere from 100-500F/10-50XP each, so combined with what you're already tagging already, it wouldn't take as long as you're assuming if your character is IC following some breadcrumbs you as a player are picking out for them to pursue, or that they might get dragged along for the ride with their CR on.
The SOL Missions, on the other hand, DO have some of the higher Follower and XP requirements, but that's because many of them have to do with "a god of standing" being requested to do something to help out or further establish the Heavens or their own temples or their holy day or whatnot. These seem to be meant more to be goals to be work *towards* as personal character arcs to flesh out your character's role as a god - they aren't blocking you from interacting with the plot, they are additional bells and whistles similar to the regains and rewards you can earn as you play.
Considering this whole system is about to be overhauled, tweaked and refined as listed above to take out some of the older missions no longer relevant, some of this may end up being moot, since it's not yet known what's going to be kept going forward. But I just wanted to compare that to engage with the plot in a meaningful way requires a lot less footwork than you might think and the overwhelming majority of the game already qualifies for a foot in the door.