Exploration Mode for Dungeons/Raids

The game has so many beautiful environments throughout the many instances it has. However, there's not usually much of a chance to really appreciate the work put into these environments unless you stay after the run is finished or make a group for that purpose, or something of that sort.

I was thinking that some kind of Exploration Mode would be nice to see added, putting players into a version of the dungeon/raid without any enemies or loot, allowing them to really stop and look at the work that was put in making all these instances and their various features. Having them accessible to parties would be awesome as well, and would make for wonderful screenshot/roleplaying opportunities.

I fully expect the number of people who want a feature like this to be relatively small, but I figured I would put the idea out there!

Well, after the final battle for that dungeon/raid is completed you do have 5 minutes before you're automatically removed from it, so that is at least a little bit of time to run around and explore without any enemies (assuming you cleared out the dungeon completely beforehand).

Maybe SE could increase the auto-exit timer to 10 or even 15 minutes, but I presume it's for technical reasons - only a certain amount of players can be in dungeons or trials on the Duty Server at any one time and not actually being in a duty to participate kind of creates unnecessary (in their eyes) congestion. So sadly I do not SE allowing this I'm afraid (as good as it would be to have though). :(

Although it's not for all dungeons, you could always just reenter an old dungeon undersynced/undermanned and run around to your heart's content (and once you get to the final boss, don't proceed to it but wander around and explore). Again this is only for pre-SHB dungeons (and it would be quite difficult for SB ones I imagine) and the only raids to my knowledge this is available are the Binding Coils of Bahamut, but it's still an option.

There is also Command Missions with the Grand Company squadron that you can take into certain dungeons as well and just run around with them without proceeding to the final boss in the same way, but again this is very limited with the dungeons that it can work with.

Like you said, you can already always just stay in there after you cleared it - or just do the newer ones with the trust system and the older ones unsync for your own enjoyment - so I don't think there is any need for it.

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Originally Posted by Enkidoh

There is also Command Missions with the Grand Company squadron that you can take into certain dungeons as well and just run around with them without proceeding to the final boss in the same way, but again this is very limited with the dungeons that it can work with.

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There is also the trust-system for the ShB-Dungeons.

Didn't they recently remove the 5 minute timer, such that when duty is completed now, you have the remaining time left on the dungeon? Coulda sworn I read that in a patch update.

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Originally Posted by Vyrerus

Didn't they recently remove the 5 minute timer, such that when duty is completed now, you have the remaining time left on the dungeon? Coulda sworn I read that in a patch update.

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Yes, that is indeed correct.

Adding on to this, I'd love to see the return of "lore props" scattered in the dungeons, like the folios you find in Tam-Tara Deepcroft (Hard). Sure, it's impossible to look at them with a standard party, but it's really fun to go through unsynced/undermanned just to look at them. It's a great way to build the story world without having to sit through a cutscene. (Like the "Love Letter' in the Great Gubal Library (Hard) that raises far more questions than it answers.) They seem to have stopped adding those after Heavensward, likely because no one was stopping to look at them.