Possible story-based areas for end-game

[GatoGrotto]

So I've been playing a lot of FFXI while waiting for ARR beta to start and I had a sudden thought, "How amazing would it be to see an area like sky or sea with ARR's graphics engine?" Now, I was a die-hard FFXI fan for about 4 years, and even though abyssea and GoV parties really ruined the game for me I still find Sea to be one of the most incredible areas in any video game, even with XI's 10 year old graphics.

What I would love to see are areas similar to sky and sea, unlocked after progressing so far into the story missions, and have them be dedicated to end-game. FFXI pulled this off really well because you only had to do the missions and unlock the areas if you were interested in end-game. And I don't know about any of you but I like working for my end-game content, not just slapping a party together, going to the dungeon/primal fight, finishing or wiping, and then disbanding like is seen in so many modern MMOs. You miss out on that sense of community that playing in an MMO should give you. Besides not only does it add end-game content but it also adds to the feel of the storyline, especially in 11, being able to actually go to the places that are mentioned throughout the story was pretty badass.

The sad part about it though is I kinda don't think ARR will have stuff like this, mainly due the fact that they're focusing more on instanced end-game, and I think that's a big mistake. It's way too linear with instanced content, for example, you have the choice to run dungeons A, B, or C, you go finish the dungeon, and that's that. It's the same everytime you run it. With end-game zones though, like sky for example, it's more like, ok we can go farm these NMs and finish a genbu or byakko pop, or try and get both items for a seiryu/suzaku pop. Sea was the same way, but it even had an additional end-game zone inside of it. Both areas offer much more variety in how you want to progress over the course of several days, and you don't get burned out nearly as fast as you would grinding the same dungeons I think. These are just my opinions on the matter, but what do you guys think? Would you like to see unlocked areas as part of the storyline? And Yoshi-P, I trust you with ARR and think you're doing a great job, but if you see this post please, PLEASE, consider what I've said

[Earendur]

I would love to see something like Tavnazian Safehold, Lufaise Meadows, Sealion's Den, Al'Taieu and Grand Palace of Hu'Xzoi. Was my favorite places to hang out.

[Hulan]

I tend to agree with your sentiments. I did feel that FFXIV always lacked a concrete, long-term goal to accomplish with non-gear rewards. People will call it elitism and claim exclusivity is not a virtue, but the feeling you get when you first stepped out onto Sea after months of hard work was exhilarating. The vista alone was beautiful, but even that would not have been the same without the feeling of accomplishment that "I have achieved this view through my own struggles and hard work".

[Enma]

I'd like to see new concepts for these "End-Game Areas", but the idea behind them is awsome. It would be great having open areas accessible only when you reach a desired GC Rank, or complete a particulare mission.

[Quesse]

I definitely think there should be a balance of instanced and non-instanced endgame areas and dungeons.

Unfortunately I think 2.0 will be heavily weighted towards instances for all levels. *sadface*

The thing I hate most about instances is the entry requirement. If I just want to try and run around, solo, farm, maybe with beastmaster eventually, I can't. I need 4 people. So annoying.

[Seraphe]

I definitely think there should be a balance of instanced and non-instanced endgame areas and dungeons.

Unfortunately I think 2.0 will be heavily weighted towards instances for all levels. *sadface*

The thing I hate most about instances is the entry requirement. If I just want to try and run around, solo, farm, maybe with beastmaster eventually, I can't. I need 4 people. So annoying.

I too would like some non-instanced dungeons like sky. The thing what I really liked about sky is the nights where I was in Teamspeak while farming items for countless hours. Sure the farming can be boring sometimes but I LOVED the moment a NM popped and the whole LS gets psyched because you claimed it, and not the other PT. I miss the competition over these things.

[Allesasi]

Have faith in SE they will deliver in grand scale this time around. Great things are coming our way just be patient.

[Hulan]

Have faith in SE they will deliver in grand scale this time around. Great things are coming our way just be patient.

Hmmm, in this case, I don't know about that. As I said above, I would love to see this. But it doesn't really mesh with their stated vision. Accessibility is the hot word of the year for FFXIV:ARR, so restricted content like this is something I don't think they would agree with. Yoshi-P - admittedly over-quoted - said that they want this to be a themepark game. Themeparks rarely have a You-Must-Be-This-Tall... wait, bad analogy. Themeparks rarely have gated communities.

[MicahZerrshia]

Just remember XI didnt have areas like these either at release. They came with expansions.

Will we see a sky or sea or anything of that sort? Likely since FF titles almost always include areas in the sky and under the water. So optimism is your friend here ^^ the big question is whether or not they will be instanced. I'm hoping they will do a mix of instanced and non-instanced. The mistake I hope they do not repeat is putting non-instanced, highly sought after nm in a far away spot with a 24-48+ hr respawn. Bad enough you had to camp a nm for 4 days non-stop just to loose it to another ls, but it made it all the more rage inducing when you lost it to the armies of bots that always sat there. So instances have there merits.

The only thing I had with sky in xi was that it was very disappointing graphically to me, where sea was wonderous when you first entered. Sky basically was a floating delkfutts with a tree here and there. I was so excited and when I got there I was kindda let down. I have high hopes for anything this dev team does tho, esp since after the cut and paste nightmare of v1 I am sure they are going to try to make areas more unique in 2.0

[finiteHP]

I'm not really into the whole end game thing (I only did Dynamis once, only went through Nyzul to get to floor 100, went to Sky and Sea only for the story fights/look around/farm Kindred Crests for the later Limit Breaks, etc. in XI and only did what dungeons I had to for my AF in XIV) but I would love areas unlocked by stroyline progress especially if they are amazing and/or unique looking. I agree that the feeeling of accomplishment when I finally got those areas was one of my favourite experiences in XI.