One to Fifty, One Zone - Long OP

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Originally Posted by Mimmo

make the regions fuller too. Each region in XI had something special in it like a beastmen camp or a crag or a cave etc

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THIS!

There is absolutely no point in adding few waterfalls and new rock shapes to vary the landscape. Put SOMETHING INTERESTING in there. Plains and deserts are not interesting they are not FF-imagination quality and definitely don't compel you to explore them.

I actually thought the "random" placement of mobs within areas was kinda interesting. I mean the OP says you don't have to explore the different regions and can stay in one if you wish to go from 1-50 but I think you are neglecting the fact that different mobs drop different materials to make different pieces of gear which is a reason as to why you would go elsewhere.

It wouldn't really make sense to condense and cut down zones, it would almost be like taking out the zones of RoTZ and CoP because we don't use them, as of now. They prolly would've been better off creating the zones and closing off the ones that served no purpose until later on but instead they decided to allow access to nearly every area in each region which in the end seemed like a bad idea. I think if anything what the devs should attempt to do is just list each region and each zone in the region and give us an idea of which places are developed and which ones are being saved for later. I think if nothing had to be changed with the game we would find those other zones having more life to them but since a lot had to be changed with the game those areas still lost a sense of life.

As to the last post made about how deserts and plains aren't interesting, I think the true issue is that each region is just lacking life however with the addition of settlements and the added addition next VU I think that will slowly change. If I'm not mistaken they plan on adding beastmen forts which would be interesting however as for crags I don't think they would serve in this lore. As for caves there are "caves" but for the most part they are just one level zones or feel like that, there are no caves like ordelle's but there is mistbeard cove, Copperbell Mines, Nanawa Mines, Mun-Tuy Cellars, The TamTara Deepcroft, and Cassiopeia Hollow. We do have caves of sorts but they aren't fully developed. What we need to remember is that the devs originally in charge of this game setup a near bare bones game in which they had a majority of quest and missions done for the classes only but introduced all the zones at once so players could explore it if they wanted to. However is some cases some of the other regions are used and previously the crafters did have to go to long winded areas to turn in items which has slightly changed,

However as an example right now for my Botanist 36 quest,I have to go to the flower bed south of Crimsons Bark, however I doubt I"ll make it since I do recall they added some higher level mobs there but I"ll find out soon. Anyways instead of saying things need to be revamped and changed completely I think it's better to say that areas just need to be given more life to them and developed further. For the caverns they can add more depth to them and make them as interesting as their XI counterparts by adding secret passages and such. It's not impossible to do since they did just alter LL to add stairs to make the fisherman and Marauder guild easier to get to lol. So yea, instead of condensing the world around us it's much more logical just to add more life to those areas, based on the latest mob placements it's almost as if they are saying all these region are developed for 1-99 in mind, rather then having to go through the pain of reorganizing mobs later on they already have it developed with that in mind.

Just give them time, we were already given more quest, the dungeon concept and soon enough the materia concept. Based on their record I would say they are doing a good job focusing on the major major issues with the game and will be able to throw more life into the game once the core of it is done. You can't really begin to make the whole world interesting if you are still making sure the core is well defined or else you'll neglect the most important thing about the game and that's the ability to fight and slay foes. Once that major adjustment has been deemed complete they'll have a lot more resources at hand to bring more life to the game. However they have been doing that to since they introduced settlements. In the end I think it's just safe to say wait for the next expansion of settlements and if I"m not mistaken the introduction of beastmen forts which will make things a lot more interesting if they have the same amount of depth as the yagudo castle.

Copy/Paste from my translations

From new game magazine that came out on 7/30 in Japan.

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Gonna post some more in this post with info within that site I linked earlier.

*** Just remember this is from the site, I don't have the magazine so no confirmation if all this stuff posted on their is actual stuff from magazine.

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改良マップのひな型もできてるらしいぞ
神ゲーはじまったな
Draft for the remodeled map is made
God game gonna start (Kami-ge Godly/Good/Awesome game)

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一マップに2つ3つのランドマークを置くらしいぜ
One map will have 2-3 land marks

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──マップを大規模改修中とのことですが、具体的にはどのような変更が行われるのでしょうか？
You said the map is having major remodeling changes, basically what kind of changes will be made?

吉田　すでに仕様は決まり、サンプルもできあがっているので、
後はレベルデザインを煮詰め、その後物量をこなすという状態です。
コンセプトとしては一度足を踏み入れると忘れられない印象が残るように、
それぞれのエリアやゾーンにテーマを3つくらい入れていこうかと。目安ですが。
YoshiP: Specifications are already decided and sample is already made. Next need to get into level design and (...dunno how to translate this part basically making adjustments to them.)
From concept, it's type of area once you step in you wont forget. In each area/zone want to put around 3 themes

岩尾　ランドマークとして機能するようになります。
Iwao: It will act as a landmark

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Rest is already mentioned in the other translation. Might see more info posted later on, we'll see.

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Originally Posted by Achilles

I think most of those areas you mentioning came in later expansions, I could be wrong but pre-zilart there wasn't much to explore. I'm assuming you started the game a year or so later and got those fond memories.

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Kazham access came with the Rise of the Zilart expansion, which included Temple of Uggalepih and Ifrit's Cauldron. I'm not sure if The Sanctuary of Zi'tah was an original region or not, but all the others listed in the first 6 posts of this thread are areas of basic FFXI. Yes, there are issues with the 'one large map' not having enough variation, but there are still underground campsite areas (Mun-Tuy Cellars, Cassiopeia Hollow, Nanawa Mines) which give a new flavor to the area, and there are new kinds of mobs that you find as you increase your campsite ranks, which don't exist at lower camps (antelope, anglerfish, crabs, wolves, mites, slugs, gnats, etc). The biggest problem is that the low rank mobs still exist at those higher camps, and there are sometimes no identifiable boundaries between areas (I've wandered into an auto-abort of a leve because I walked out of the leve's 'boundaries' while looking at a new area as I was near leve targets, so don't go wandering across any bridges in gridania while doing a leve, unless your target is marked on the other side of it). I've even seen r39 aggressive mobs next to an r2 non-aggressive mob near Ul'dah, where the only separation was a hill slope

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Originally Posted by Reinheart

Copy/Paste from my translations

From new game magazine that came out on 7/30 in Japan.

===============
Gonna post some more in this post with info within that site I linked earlier.

*** Just remember this is from the site, I don't have the magazine so no confirmation if all this stuff posted on their is actual stuff from magazine.

Rest is already mentioned in the other translation. Might see more info posted later on, we'll see.

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Hehe I was just about to post something saying that they already came up with drafts for the zones and how they want them to be memorable with 2-3 themes (land marks) per zone as per a interview but you beat me to it ;)

Good job and thanks a lot for your work on translating those bits of info.

I completely agree

A major redesign of the world(1/3 the size of each zone, 3 times the zones, more variety) and an auction house(sorry retainers just aren't working) are the 2 biggest changes the game needs by far. Imo, of course.

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Draft for the remodeled map is made

One map will have 2-3 land marks


吉田　すでに仕様は決まり、サンプルもできあがっているので、
後はレベルデザインを煮詰め、その後物量をこなすという状態です。
コンセプトとしては一度足を踏み入れると忘れられない印象が残るように、
それぞれのエリアやゾーンにテーマを3つくらい入れていこうかと。目安ですが。
YoshiP: ...

From concept, it's type of area once you step in you wont forget. In each area/zone want to put around 3 themes

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Hi Reinheart,

Thanks for the translation. :)

Yah this is great news! I'm really happy to hear that they still "get it" and are busy progressing forward with this.

Our own distinct versions of unique sub-areas / thematic areas within each region sounds so good! :) I can't wait to see our versions of unique areas like a "Rolanberry Fields" or "Qufim Island" or "Sky" etc.

*bump* and /cheer to Yoshi P and dev team progress.

/pose

Ok so I replied to a member complaining about the level designs basically I said they are bland.

Let's face it Square Enix you "failed" to create a Final Fantasy esque world that is alive and vibrant
with ROLE PlAYING qualities....other MMO's that I've played(I won't mention any because I just know
you guys will find faults with any games I put on here) have succeeded where you have failed.

Part of the emersion of Role Playing games is the environments. The environment is suppose to whisk you
away to a Fantasy land that is unique and never the same. In Final Fantasy you can run for ever and be
in the same looking area it is very BORING.

Even after a year and countless threads about this issue Square Enix has failed to address this serious issue.
It has kept me from logging on, yes just the bland environments has kept me from logging on. The gameplay
also keeps me from playing and PAYING for this game (when it comes to that).

It is years after games like Final Fantasy 7,8,9,10,11,12 you would think that Square Enix would get this right
after SO much experience of cranking out great RPG's, but somewhere along the way Square Enix has lost it's
way and some of it's magic.

Square you have become too comfortable with your Video Game business model and FFXIV has cost you many
fans. By now you should be talking about a new expansion that replaces some of the terrain and adds new "towns"
not cities because you already have some of those. We need Towns with NPC's that talk to you and interact with you
with taverns, stables, Inns, etc etc etc.....

Look Square....check out these AAA titles coming out....

Guild Wars 2 =will destroy you
SWTOR=will compete with you
Tera=will compete with you
Secret World=will compete with you

Just be glad that GUild Wars 2 is F2P because if it was
Monthly pay if would Completely Annihilate you.

How long do you plan to have this F2P version of FFXIV out Square?? I for one am sick and
tired of being your Beta tester. I will not pay a monthly fee for this game until you have added
unique land structure, more towns, more dungeons (are there any?), and engaging areas.

And that's just the battle environments, I don't even want to get into characters and gameplay
because that's also severely broken.

/rant off

I totally disagree w/ OP. I loved XI, played it for 5 yrs and did all endgame that came with it until I left for the XIV beta. There is ALOT I'd love to see from XI here in XIV, but the linear flow of level progression from XI is not one of them. Perhaps the OP only leveled one job in XI, or perhaps you just adore doing the same things and going the same places over and over and over again, but we all don't feel that way. Veteran players of XI had to repeat that same path of zones to level too many times to count. I was only semi-hardcore ( 5 75's, and all subjobs ), but imagine how many times we go from Saruta > Dunes > Qufim > Kaz > Crawlers > Altepa/Kuftal > Mt. Z > Nyzul. Over and over and over, same places, same camps, same thing. It only got better when they added those zones where you could grind with an alliance for hours, but even then you had to already be pretty high lvl.

At least XIV allows you to level up everywhere. Can go from 1-50 all in Black Shroud if you wanted. Next time you could go level in Thanalan, or mix it up. You at least have the option to level differently than you did the last time, without losing any efficiency. As the OP said, in the starting and low level zones for XI, you'd occasionally see higher level ppl blur by you on a choco.. and that's cause they are just passing thru otw to their actual destination. For XIV, both min and max lvl players need to utilize the same zones, which to me makes for a more dynamic environment to be apart of (since theres no PVP).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Silvyaniss

Ok so I replied to a member complaining about the level designs basically I said they are bland.

Let's face it Square Enix you "failed" to create a Final Fantasy esque world that is alive and vibrant
with ROLE PlAYING qualities....other MMO's that I've played(I won't mention any because I just know
you guys will find faults with any games I put on here) have succeeded where you have failed.

Part of the emersion of Role Playing games is the environments. The environment is suppose to whisk you
away to a Fantasy land that is unique and never the same. In Final Fantasy you can run for ever and be
in the same looking area it is very BORING.

Even after a year and countless threads about this issue Square Enix has failed to address this serious issue.
It has kept me from logging on, yes just the bland environments has kept me from logging on. The gameplay
also keeps me from playing and PAYING for this game (when it comes to that).

It is years after games like Final Fantasy 7,8,9,10,11,12 you would think that Square Enix would get this right
after SO much experience of cranking out great RPG's, but somewhere along the way Square Enix has lost it's
way and some of it's magic.

Square you have become too comfortable with your Video Game business model and FFXIV has cost you many
fans. By now you should be talking about a new expansion that replaces some of the terrain and adds new "towns"
not cities because you already have some of those. We need Towns with NPC's that talk to you and interact with you
with taverns, stables, Inns, etc etc etc.....

Look Square....check out these AAA titles coming out....

Guild Wars 2 =will destroy you
SWTOR=will compete with you
Tera=will compete with you
Secret World=will compete with you

Just be glad that GUild Wars 2 is F2P because if it was
Monthly pay if would Completely Annihilate you.

How long do you plan to have this F2P version of FFXIV out Square?? I for one am sick and
tired of being your Beta tester. I will not pay a monthly fee for this game until you have added
unique land structure, more towns, more dungeons (are there any?), and engaging areas.

And that's just the battle environments, I don't even want to get into characters and gameplay
because that's also severely broken.

/rant off

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Did you...even try to find the dev posts in here? I believe they're posted on the OP now as well.

They're obviously "addressing" the issue, it just takes time to completely rebuild an entire world, especially after they had to fix the mess that Tanaka left behind.

Mostly everyone knows about Guild Wars 2. Hell, I've been keeping tabs on that game for 3 years now, and I'll be one of the first to admit I'm incredibly excited to play it. However, I'm STILL going to keep playing FFXIV, because it's a DIFFERENT experience from your common-place fantasy-esque MMOs. Honestly, I like how FFXIV feels, and each new patch is a step in the right direction. Granted, it'll never be what it SHOULD have been (sales wise), simply because SE failed to take a lesson from FFXI, but it will have it's undying fans that will stick around even with other games.

I'm not trying to be an SE "White Knight" or anything, but I just don't see the point in making this rant when it's already been done a million times and they already said they're going to change it for the better. And after the goodness of 1.18 and the golden patch that 1.19 seems to be, I'll say I trust Yoshi-P to deliver the best XIV experience for me.

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Originally Posted by Exni

I totally disagree w/ OP. I loved XI, played it for 5 yrs and did all endgame that came with it until I left for the XIV beta. There is ALOT I'd love to see from XI here in XIV, but the linear flow of level progression from XI is not one of them. Perhaps the OP only leveled one job in XI, or perhaps you just adore doing the same things and going the same places over and over and over again, but we all don't feel that way. Veteran players of XI had to repeat that same path of zones to level too many times to count. I was only semi-hardcore ( 5 75's, and all subjobs ), but imagine how many times we go from Saruta > Dunes > Qufim > Kaz > Crawlers > Altepa/Kuftal > Mt. Z > Nyzul. Over and over and over, same places, same camps, same thing. It only got better when they added those zones where you could grind with an alliance for hours, but even then you had to already be pretty high lvl.

At least XIV allows you to level up everywhere. Can go from 1-50 all in Black Shroud if you wanted. Next time you could go level in Thanalan, or mix it up. You at least have the option to level differently than you did the last time, without losing any efficiency. As the OP said, in the starting and low level zones for XI, you'd occasionally see higher level ppl blur by you on a choco.. and that's cause they are just passing thru otw to their actual destination. For XIV, both min and max lvl players need to utilize the same zones, which to me makes for a more dynamic environment to be apart of (since theres no PVP).

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You complain that in XI you had a linear experience because you had to do the same zones over and over..yet with the limited variety of zones in this game, how is that any different? How is 1-50 in Black Shroud any more fun than going from Valkurm to Qufim to Kazham and onward? At least on your way to 75 the first time you're experiencing new places instead of being in the same landscape for 50 levels.

Just wanted clarification before I make an opinion. Does the OP want different zones like in XI, where you zone in and out of different areas? Or does the OP want a greater variety of areas, but still maintain one continuous "zone"-free world?

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Originally Posted by Exni

I totally disagree w/ OP. I loved XI, played it for 5 yrs and did all endgame that came with it until I left for the XIV beta. There is ALOT I'd love to see from XI here in XIV, but the linear flow of level progression from XI is not one of them. Perhaps the OP only leveled one job in XI, or perhaps you just adore doing the same things and going the same places over and over and over again, but we all don't feel that way. Veteran players of XI had to repeat that same path of zones to level too many times to count. I was only semi-hardcore ( 5 75's, and all subjobs ), but imagine how many times we go from Saruta > Dunes > Qufim > Kaz > Crawlers > Altepa/Kuftal > Mt. Z > Nyzul. Over and over and over, same places, same camps, same thing. It only got better when they added those zones where you could grind with an alliance for hours, but even then you had to already be pretty high lvl.

At least XIV allows you to level up everywhere. Can go from 1-50 all in Black Shroud if you wanted. Next time you could go level in Thanalan, or mix it up. You at least have the option to level differently than you did the last time, without losing any efficiency. As the OP said, in the starting and low level zones for XI, you'd occasionally see higher level ppl blur by you on a choco.. and that's cause they are just passing thru otw to their actual destination. For XIV, both min and max lvl players need to utilize the same zones, which to me makes for a more dynamic environment to be apart of (since theres no PVP).

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So wait...

You complain of the repetition of going through the same zones for each job in FFXI.

Actually I need to make an aside about that bit in particular. You didn't *have* to level in the same zones on every single job. There were always multiple alternative spots to level in at any given level range... People chose to stick to the same areas due to convenience and familiarity with the locations, the mobs, etc. You/They were never forced to. You could have taken the initiative to find other areas to xp in at any given level range. There's even a site dedicated to different camping spots in XI (Campsitarus or something like that). So, if you're looking for someone to blame for your highly repetitious xp experience in XI, look to the community for "enforcing" those areas like dogma, and then look to yourself for going along with it.

That said, going back to the repetitious thing...

So, you complain about the "repetition of going through the same several areas over and over again and getting sick of them" in XI. Yet you are happy with XIV having a total of 5 zones in which you can level up, where each zone is the same exact landscape with very little variety, at all; where you can level up to cap - and beyond, once they raise it - without ever having to leave the zone you started in.

I hope you can see how incredibly counter-intuitive your logic is.

FFXIV right now gives you *less* variety and *fewer* options of places to level than XI... Not more.

They're revamping the areas because it is a problem. It has been acknowledged as a problem almost unanimously, by players and SE alike.

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Originally Posted by Kailok

You complain that in XI you had a linear experience because you had to do the same zones over and over..yet with the limited variety of zones in this game, how is that any different? How is 1-50 in Black Shroud any more fun than going from Valkurm to Qufim to Kazham and onward? At least on your way to 75 the first time you're experiencing new places instead of being in the same landscape for 50 levels.

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It's no different. In fact, given their complaints about FFXI, they should find FFXIV to be even *worse*, not better.

I don't think they thought their argument through very well before posting.

/facepalm

Read a few pages and it explains more what the OP wants and check the rep response hidden somewhere in the thread... wish they really have Rep post search feature within a thread...

wait OP did put rep responses links in the OP post forgot about that :)

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Originally Posted by Stockapotapoulos

Just wanted clarification before I make an opinion. Does the OP want different zones like in XI, where you zone in and out of different areas? Or does the OP want a greater variety of areas, but still maintain one continuous "zone"-free world?

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OP wants the feeling of progression to come back. He wants a greater variety of zones, but he also wants them to be less copy+paste, and have specific level ranges for specific areas. He wants zones for low level players to go around killing their marmots, and then see a big high level passing through and experience the wonder of "OH MAN, I WANT ALL OF THOSE THINGS." But when level 1's and level 45's are all in the same zone leveling together, the wonder is kind of killed.

Essentially wants:

1-10 Ronfaure, 10-20 Valkurm, 20-25 Qufim, 25-27 Yuhtunga, 28-30 Yhoatr Jungle, etc etc.

Instead of:

1-10 Rank 10 leves at Camp Whatever, then 10-20 doing 3 10 rank leves and 5 20 rank leves at Camp Whichever and Wherever, and then all the way up doing the same crap up to 50.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kailok

OP wants the feeling of progression to come back. He wants a greater variety of zones, but he also wants them to be less copy+paste, and have specific level ranges for specific areas. He wants zones for low level players to go around killing their marmots, and then see a big high level passing through and experience the wonder of "OH MAN, I WANT ALL OF THOSE THINGS." But when level 1's and level 45's are all in the same zone leveling together, the wonder is kind of killed.

Essentially wants:

1-10 Ronfaure, 10-20 Valkurm, 20-25 Qufim, 25-27 Yuhtunga, 28-30 Yhoatr Jungle, etc etc.

Instead of:

1-10 Rank 10 leves at Camp Whatever, then 10-20 doing 3 10 rank leves and 5 20 rank leves at Camp Whichever, and then all the way up doing the same crap up to 50.

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I see. I actually thought he meant he wanted to zone in and out of different places. One of my gripes about XI was that it didn't feel like one world to me, but instead, a bunch of different little land pieces pieced together. Because of this, I found it difficult to be immersed into Vana'Diel.

That being said, I agree with OP. However, this would mean I probably would never have seen the R70 Goblin Mugger until months (or years) later, which would have made me sad, but in the long run, I, too, enjoy seeing progression as I move from zone to zone.

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Originally Posted by Stockapotapoulos

I see. I actually thought he meant he wanted to zone in and out of different places. One of my gripes about XI was that it didn't feel like one world to me, but instead, a bunch of different little land pieces pieced together. Because of this, I found it difficult to be immersed into Vana'Diel.

That being said, I agree with OP. However, this would mean I probably would never have seen the R70 Goblin Mugger until months (or years) later, which would have made me sad, but in the long run, I, too, enjoy seeing progression as I move from zone to zone.

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I think the only reason people want actually zone lines is because it would put less stress on the SE servers which would allow for more variety of zones in the end. When it's such a big, open world, it tends to put stress on the server which I think is why they initially went with such a copy+paste design.

I dont think that fishing its all that bad...

To Kailok:

Where exactly did I complain about anything...? I even said I loved XI.. and clearly I like XIV. Just because someone views something differently than you, doesn't make it a 'complaint'. All I said was that's not what I want to see come to XIV. It's fine for XI.. we moved on now. To answer you question on how its different tho.. it would prolly help if you reread the original post from the OP. If it were the same, then this entire thread would have no point.. If your to lazy to reread, realize that the original topic was about how zones in XI were level based, whereas the zones in XIV cover the whole level spectrum. My point was that I enjoy sharing zones with min lvl players to max lvl players.

To Preypacer:

See the first few sentences above first... After that, I'm sorry I had a little trouble trying to understand what exactly your point was (if there was one). I see that you talked about trying other camps.. so I guess you were trying to say that you could go elsewhere to level in XI other than the usual spots? Apparently you missed when I said "[FOR XIV]You at least have the option to level differently than you did the last time, without losing any efficiency." We've all tried other spots in XI for the shyts and giggles of being someplace different.. but if you wanted to level fast and about as efficiently as you could, there was no other option (Did you play XI?). After that you started talking about how many zones there are in XIV vs XI.. in which case I'ma just have to stop you there. XIV's been out a year, and a rough one at that.. XI has been running for how many years now... yeah, so save that arguement for someone else.

I just came across this post and i had to reply.

I hate the fact there is no real milestones in XIV, I like most played FFXI and loved the difficultly.
Having to be careful so mobs wouldn't aggro you was to me awesome! Having to supply before leaving to goto any area by yourself gave a great sense of adventure.

XIV doesn't seem to give the sense of adventure i was looking for. For instance walking my taru to Jueno from Bastok for the first time and finally realizing how to get chocos was such a sense of accomplishment! Now i understand the devs didn't want XIV to be so time comsuming but with the dumbing down of tasks to do really ruined some of the aspects that made FF great.

Every spell learned, Every new piece of gear was a step forward and it really made you feel as if you did something great in this fantasy world to push towards something bigger. in FFXIV i feel all im doing is getting XP (granted there are many more ways to do this which is nice.) but for really no reason.

I do hope xpacs will come out and bring back the sense of danger, accomplishment, and adventure.

One thing that's easily forgotten but is still very impressive is seeing the towns looming in the distance, knowing you can actually walk over and see it in detail (well, except Ishgard). If this effect were used more often in more in the "regular" areas, such as with Mor Dhona's fallen airship, along with a little more variety in the terrain, such as with Blue Fog's mysterious peaks, I think exploring will become a much more rewarding experience, even at low levels.

I think it's great it means the zones will stay more populated.

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Originally Posted by Stockapotapoulos

Just wanted clarification before I make an opinion. Does the OP want different zones like in XI, where you zone in and out of different areas? Or does the OP want a greater variety of areas, but still maintain one continuous "zone"-free world?

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You can see some of the drawing concepts on the OP. It's about progression but also that not everywhere within the same zone looks the same. As in everywhere in BS looks the same from your 1st level up until you get 50.

This is being addressed as was mentionned and posted by Yoshi himself, they will redesign the zones to make it that each zone has 2-3 obvious themes depending where you are in the zone.

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Originally Posted by Exni

To Kailok:
To Preypacer:

See the first few sentences above first... After that, I'm sorry I had a little trouble trying to understand what exactly your point was (if there was one). I see that you talked about trying other camps.. so I guess you were trying to say that you could go elsewhere to level in XI other than the usual spots? Apparently you missed when I said "[FOR XIV]You at least have the option to level differently than you did the last time, without losing any efficiency." We've all tried other spots in XI for the shyts and giggles of being someplace different.. but if you wanted to level fast and about as efficiently as you could, there was no other option (Did you play XI?). After that you started talking about how many zones there are in XIV vs XI.. in which case I'ma just have to stop you there. XIV's been out a year, and a rough one at that.. XI has been running for how many years now... yeah, so save that arguement for someone else.

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Wow. Talk about complete and utter willful ignorance in action.

It's one thing to miss the point. It's another thing to completely ignore it. You clearly did the latter in this case.

I'm sure you understood exactly the point I was making. However, instead of addressing the larger point I made, you chose to cherry-pick certain bits, deliberately take them out of context and then try to "tear them down" in a failed attempt at being clever.

However... Giving you the benefit of the doubt, and assuming that maybe you really did completely miss the point, I'll put it more simply here for you:

You argue that you don't want FFXIV to go the same route as XI by adding more different zones to level through because "you got tired of the repetition of going through the same zones on different jobs in XI". Considering there are *far* fewer zones in XIV, and that you can level up to cap without ever having to leave the one you started in, it makes your complaint about "too much repetition in XI" seem kind of backwards.

Get it now?

As for your statement about how FFXI's been out for years and FFXIV only for one year. Well, to illustrate just how irrelevant your statement is, let's go back to FFXI's first year. Heck, let's go back to its first 3 months. Either way, your argument fails. Please check out the post linked here. That's a list of all zones FFXI *launched* with. At its Japanese release, FFXI had 55 zones, including towns, cities, overworld areas and dungeons, with the majority of them being completely unique areas. What did XIV launch with, by comparison? A whopping 14, where most of them are vast expanses of repetitive copy-and-pasted terrain tiles.

So, nice try on the "XI's been out longer!" meme.. However, it's completely irrelevant.

As for your snarky retorts about why people leveled in the same spots. This goes back to what I said. Whatever their reason (more efficient xp, etc), the fact remains that people *chose* to stick to those same spots. They weren't forced to and had plenty of other options.

If you were sick of leveling in the same areas, you had the option to change it up and go somewhere else. However, because "xp efficiency" was apparently more important to you, you chose to go with the masses and, so, ended up leveling in the same areas.

You had the option to mix things up. You chose not to. Your fault. Not the game's. Thank you for affirming and illustrating my point.

I don't understand where people are saying the zone feel "copy+pasted", visually I find them pretty dynamic. Being able to see cities off in the distance is majorly gorgeous and the night skies in all of the zones are so beautiful. I also enjoy the bits and pieces that I have seen within XIV from XI. There are already a lot of strong comparisons:

• Parts of Coerthus look like Konstant Highlands and Jugner.. other parts look and feel like Bata Downs, snowy winds included!
• Mun Tuy and the Tam Tara look a lot like Temple of Uggalepih and KRT.
• The beaches of La Noscea (like near South Bloodshore) remind me of Valkrum and of course La Noiscea in general reminds me of La Theine.
• Aleport reminds me of Bibiki Bay, you can even grab a quest where you go collect clams, lol (remember that event!? :D)
• Gridania screams Windurst with its red awnings and long pathways carved out of the mountains.
• Parts of the Shroud remind me Kazham with its random docks and other parts remind me Grauberg with the cool water falls and walking through the screams and climbing next to rapids. When you get to walk through the huge rotted out trees that have fallen over, that reminds me of Zitah!
• Thanalan has got to be a reincarnate of Tahrongi Canayon with its gorgeous orange and red hues. Other parts remind me of Dangruf Wadi, Gustaberg, Meriph, and Fort K-N.
• Mor Dhona..ahh, Mount Zhayolm, anyone? :p

In concern with the OP... The mob placement works for me, it seems lower ranked mobs are closer to the more traveled paths while higher ranked ones you have to go poking around to see. Besides, it exciting to cross a bridge in Gridania and see a rank 70 Waterdog staring you down (nom nom nom!)! More of a challenge too, when reaching the Sea of Spires or Longroot or Dragon's Peak or wherever has tons of aggressive mobs, it feels like a great accomplishment dodging those those crazy beasts and grabbing the aetheryte points.

Honestly I find it pretty funny to see a R99 Goblin.. I really don't care that I cannot fight it now or even in the near future. Just makes sense that there is still something in the world of Eorzea (no matter if I am max rank or not) that can still kick my butt if I try to mess with it!

I really hope this is not a pressing matter for the Dev Team. Asking for a redesign is so greedy and will take away from other more important matters that really need addressing. The sense of adventure is there, I suggest maybe not being too scared to take a death or two? Or maybe just have some patience and be excited for when they release the new zones and expansions. :D

All you have to do is look at the map to see how much was copy pasted. Before the 1.18 patch there were 0 points of interest other than the camps. Even after 1.18 the beastmen camps and towns are randomly scattered across the map. There's no sense of handcrafted to it at all.

What I find extremely odd is all the interesting places are closed off. There's quite a few areas that don't have this feeling but are not populated and can only be accessed by outside the box means.

Preypacer, your ignorance on what your attempting to speak on is just a little too high for me. I can't believe you just tried to make the same arguement again. This thread is about the level of mobs in the zones of XI vs XIV. In order to level, you need level appropriate mobs. In XI, that basically required you to travel to the same zones, following the same path to level each time. In XIV, since zones are not pigeon holed into a small level range of mobs each (not to mention zones in XIV are much larger than in XI), you could level from 1 - 50 in the different areas of the Shroud, OR in Thanalan, OR in another zone, OR mix it up, and you wouldn't hindering yourself by doing this (as you would in XI if you chose to not level at the optimal camps/zones). If you decide to waste your time by attempting to find your own less efficient leveling places in XI, thats your deal. Even still, its not like you could go level in high level zones as a low level anyway (like you can in XIV because there is no 'high level zones' vs 'low level zones').. Do you see how your completely missing the point?? Most of prefer to play other aspects of the game, grinding xp wasn't all that XI was.. but I guess for you maybe it was.. since you enjoyed dragging the process out. Again you attempt to make some point about XI having more zones than XIV.. what that point was?.. noone knows.. Your just rambling at this point. You have no arguement, because your not even arguing against the point I made. I can't make it anymore simple than that.. If you'd like to attempt to discuss another topic w/ me we can give it a shot, but I just can't stand debating against ignorance.. nobody wins. ==> /ignore

There was no drama for 1100 posts, please read the OP + links. This issue was discussed, commented by the reps and even Yoshi-P agrees with this issue of bland copy/pasted zones with no sense of progression.

It's not just about monster placement, its how within one zone that looks exactly the same everywhere you can level to max. Sure you can choose to go to another zone since there is no specific place to go but the issue remains.

Yoshi knows about this and this is why he confirmed that zones will be redesigned to have 2-3 themes per zones.

So instead of having Central Shroud, Western Shroud, Eastern Shroud that looks all the same, you'll have 3 different looking sub-zones. Sure you'll be able to level from 1-50 in the black shroud if you want, but the sub-zones will make it so you don't feel like you've been in the same exact place forever.

This is in short what it is. Please cut the drama, this thread was doing fine without it.

Edit: Plus there is nothing more to discuss really since Yoshi-P agrees and the drawings for the redesigned maps are done and they are currently modeling them according to an interview in Famitsu magazine.

Here is a bit of it in case you don't want to look for it, translated by Reinheart:

Quote:

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改良マップのひな型もできてるらしいぞ
神ゲーはじまったな
Draft for the remodeled map is made
God game gonna start (Kami-ge Godly/Good/Awesome game)
一マップに2つ3つのランドマークを置くらしいぜ
One map will have 2-3 land marks
──マップを大規模改修中とのことですが、具体的にはどのような変更が行われるのでしょうか？
You said the map is having major remodeling changes, basically what kind of changes will be made?

吉田　すでに仕様は決まり、サンプルもできあがっているので、
後はレベルデザインを煮詰め、その後物量をこなすという状態です。
コンセプトとしては一度足を踏み入れると忘れられない印象が残るように、
それぞれのエリアやゾーンにテーマを3つくらい入れていこうかと。目安ですが。
YoshiP: Specifications are already decided and sample is already made. Next need to get into level design and (...dunno how to translate this part basically making adjustments to them.)
From concept, it's type of area once you step in you wont forget. In each area/zone want to put around 3 themes

岩尾　ランドマークとして機能するようになります。
Iwao: It will act as a landmark

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Case closed, now move on.

new looking zones is a must and Im happy about that but what about progression? If i can goto any of the new zones and lvl 1-50 it doesn;t solve the problem sure it makes things look better which I am happy about

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Perrin_Aybarra

So instead of having Central Shroud, Western Shroud, Eastern Shroud that looks all the same, you'll have 3 different looking sub-zones. Sure you'll be able to level from 1-50 in the black shroud if you want, but the sub-zones will make it so you don't feel like you've been in the same exact place forever.

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^^ This. That change is all thats really needed regarding this. It'll be greeeaaaatt.. hopefully.

Drama is sometimes unavoidable with some of the ppl in these threads.. I stated my view on the OP's topic, then ppl want to create drama out of points that weren't even being discussed. Meh, can't do anything but move on like I said and /ignore the rabble if/when it continues.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by stardrifter

new looking zones is a must and Im happy about that but what about progression? If i can goto any of the new zones and lvl 1-50 it doesn;t solve the problem sure it makes things look better which I am happy about

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Well isn't moving from sub-zones to sub-zones when you level up a sense of progression? It's just that you'll have a choice of 2-3 sub-zones to level (Thanalan, Shroud, La Nosca). Since each sub-zones within the big zone will have different themes associated to it, you'll feel like you are progression rather than being in the same place forever.

With adjustments to monster distributions, quests, leves and more story missions + grand company, I am sure we will have a feeling of progression when we level up.

100% agree with OP. FFXIV Zones = Bland. Lots of dirt and grass and not a lot else glad to hear they are adding the themes soon.

I completely agree with this post 100%. XIV underwhelmed me every step of the way. Each time I knew I was going to to a new camp I expected some grand change in the landscape only to be disappointed. Even moving to new areas gave me only marginal satisfaction. Mor Dhona is OKAY but it's basically Thanalan copy-pasted, dark, and with crystals jutting out of the ground. Coerthas is charming and about the most different geography I've seen. But even there I was underwhelmed at my discovery of the new land.

XIV provided NOTHING in the way of level progression like XI did. Moving from ronfaure to valkurm dunes to jugner forest, over to Jeuno and batalla downs, yhoator jungle, and beyond gave us an amazingly unique experience. Through all of it's numerous flaws FFXI was and still is a fantastic MMO and Square has alot of work to make ARR provide that same level of satisfaction.

The level of work they put into after launch will depend on how much player support they receive. So I am willing to rally the troops and have everyone I can give it a try. But Square better deliver or this one is going to fall, and fall hard.

Oh cool, more necrobumping!

http://i48.tinypic.com/2dwi6ix.jpg