One to Fifty, One Zone - Long OP

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Richard

We've all probably seen the leaked dungeon photos/vids floating around by now and it brings up an interesting thought. All of the dungeons (thus far) have just been re textured instances of prior areas of the game. SE has made minor cosmetic touch ups like adding large Coral trees to the La Noscea instances, lots of background overgrowth and misc. wooden structures in the Black Shroud instances, large broken eggs, pools of bright glowing liquid and ancient architecture in the Coerthas instances and glowing aether, flowing water and webs to the Thanalan Ant Lairs.

---

Richard, would you be so kind as to tell me where I can see those leaked photos/vids?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Perrin_Aybarra

Richard, would you be so kind as to tell me where I can see those leaked photos/vids?

---

I wont post direct information on the forums as it's against their ToS but I can tell you just search around on FFXIVPRO for a few minutes. Or youtube for that matter.

I absolutely agree with the OP and many of the points made here. And like Richard said, you can't just slap on some new textures or add a few trees/glowing puddles of dragon piss and call it new. I totally miss the exploration, the challenge, and the diversity of the new areas. That was part of your character skill progression, to earn that skill to survive the new areas. I recall the amazement and satisfaction to finally see what other people talked about in the new area, and this diversity brought new challenges. Each area had a group of mobs with different abilities and behavior. Not only did you have to make it to your camp or NM spawn point and fight your mob, you had to deal with the inherent risks of the area with all of the other mobs. You had to learn how and when other mobs aggro'd, you had to learn to use the layout of the area to your advantage. You had to work together as a group to get through, like the mazes of Castle Zvahl, all the pitfalls and deadends of Garlaige, the blocked doors and secret passages Temple of Uggalepih, and Sneaking/Invis around Yhoatar Jungle. This diversity of zone and mob was definitely rewarding and exciting to see, and it forced you to continue learn and improve.

In the Letter To The Producer IX, Yoshida outlined in the Monster/Field section that they would:

Quote:

---

- Add Diversification of monster types in existing species
- Examine free-ranging enemy distribution
- Change defined territories and secure travel routes

---

It would be nice if we could have Bayohne or another Dev give us a little more specified information as to what they are working on. I would be happy if they were tied closely to what we're discussing here in this thread.

I totally agree with OP that this game does not have nearly the same sense of exploration as FF11 did. In 14 you can basically stay in Uldah or whatever home city you are in and level up to 50 without ever leaving the zone. You can visit coerithas or mor dohna (probably spelled wrong) but there is no point other than killing a few NM's. I liked having to go to several different camps as you leveled up in 11.

@ Rich

Yeah, I should have a back up to that but I can't find it. I might be crazy but there's some half confession somewhere

Seems to me though that its possible for this to be accomplished but I do believe there are some big limitations otherwise they probably wouldn't have copy/pasted in the first place so much.

Most of all though the community here is painful to watch. So many huge expectations, above and beyond what SE tells its players, followed by the inevitable disappointment and unfortunate, unreasonable backlash to SE for not living up to their self-inflated expectations. It's a formula for more bad reputation than the game already has.

Point from me is, I want to hear more about HOW to make the game better and less complaints about how unworthy XIV is as the successor to XI. It took them YEARS to fix that game to be a more acceptable MMO, worth playing by more than just hardcore, dedicated FF/Squaresoft Fans. And I never ONCE heard anyone in game or on the forums people complaining about the lack of transition from zone to zone. (example again, Rolanberry Fields to Sauromugue Champaign) Complaints like that fill the minds of easily agitated people and create more expections that SE may never live up to. And ultimately, the whole things brings a more negative air in players minds to a game that is currently suffering already from a massive negative outlook and reputation.

The OP seems to be talking about progression through a variety of zone types and concern about 1-50 available in just one zone. Followed by people talking about changing the design of the zones dramatically which at that point I think is above what SE is capable of doing up to their expectations.

I still think the existing zones themselves will remain virtually the same(or atleast will for a long~ time) They may spread ranking content to the existing zones, but there aren't that many of them either. It wouldn't be long before people are calling again for more zones and more variety so I say forget zone redesigns, better to wait for more areas.

I agree with everything the OP has stated, but fixing the existing areas is just not going to happen. SE focus for the rest of the summer has already been outlined. They are first going to fix the battle system and other UI things. Once they have that done, I'm sure they will work on new areas like Ishgard etc.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bigglesworth

I agree with everything the OP has stated, but fixing the existing areas is just not going to happen. SE focus for the rest of the summer has already been outlined. They are first going to fix the battle system and other UI things. Once they have that done, I'm sure they will work on new areas like Ishgard etc.

---

Why is the possibility completely thrown off the table at this time? Yohshida already said he doesn't like how The Black Shroud was designed and hinted to a possible revamp in the future. WoW did it 9 years after it released with Cataclysm. No one is expecting it to happen RIGHT NOW. What we do want and what we do expect is for SE to *eventually* fix what they messed up.

Ishgard has been in the works for a long time and to be perfectly honest its probably already finished. The shell of the city is done, all they need to do is add the coding for the inside. I know SE has a lot on their plates but its not completely impossible or out of the question.

Remember trying to get through the Yuhtunga and Yhoator jungles for the first time? Even with a map it was a challange. Finally memorizing the path through was cool. In ff14 we get minimaps and outlined yellow roads to navigate us. A little too easy imo. Not saying get rid of mini maps but we need more zones that you actually need to explore to find the way through.

In regards to separating each area of the zone into different level ranges. Isnt that how it is already?

Central Than 1-10
Easter Than 10-20
Western Than 20-30
Western Than(nophica) 30-40
Southern Than 40-50
Eastern Than(halatali) 40-50

They have the right idea, but having different level ranges like this isnt enough to make players feel like they are making any progress. Issue is that you see the same type of monsters over and over, as well as the same textures over and over. If each 'zone' of the large maps had more unique flavor to them as well as unique mobs it would definitely help.

However, I still dont think that will be enough. I think the best solution is to add more dungeons that are UNIQUE, not just reskins of other ones. Completely redoing the existing zone would be quite the task. I'm sure they can do it, but at the same time I'd rather see them add new zones completely.

Quote:

---

Point from me is, I want to hear more about HOW to make the game better and less complaints about how unworthy XIV is as the successor to XI. It took them YEARS to fix that game to be a more acceptable MMO, worth playing by more than just hardcore, dedicated FF/Squaresoft Fans. And I never ONCE heard anyone in game or on the forums people complaining about the lack of transition from zone to zone. (example again, Rolanberry Fields to Sauromugue Champaign) Complaints like that fill the minds of easily agitated people and create more expections that SE may never live up to. And ultimately, the whole things brings a more negative air in players minds to a game that is currently suffering already from a massive negative outlook and reputation.

---

You're answering almost all of your questions by yourself...I don't really understand why you're still posting the same thing over and over again. XI had a rough start in Japan. RoZ/CoP were it's golden years and ever since WoTG it has made the slow downward trend towards the casual gamers. Is this a problem? No it's not. For a marketing standpoint it was giving SE a broader market.

No one complained about transitioning in XI because the zones were so well orchestrated that there were no problems! That has been said here at least 10 times. The Exploration in XI was 100x better and they need to go back to their roots in that sense. At least 5 or 6 people on this thread have posted IDEAS and constructive points about how we can make this happen. No one is blindly complaining about XIV in this thread which is why I hope this thread explodes outside the norm of this community. In regards to people always want want want wanting zones to be fixed: If SE does it right the first time (like XI) people won't beg for new stuff.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Richard

You're answering almost all of your questions by yourself...I don't really understand why you're still posting the same thing over and over again. XI had a rough start in Japan. RoZ/CoP were it's golden years and ever since WoTG it has made the slow downward trend towards the casual gamers. Is this a problem? No it's not. For a marketing standpoint it was giving SE a broader market.

No one complained about transitioning in XI because the zones were so well orchestrated that there were no problems! That has been said here at least 10 times. The Exploration in XI was 100x better and they need to go back to their roots in that sense. At least 5 or 6 people on this thread have posted IDEAS and constructive points about how we can make this happen. No one is blindly complaining about XIV in this thread which is why I hope this thread explodes outside the norm of this community. In regards to people always want want want wanting zones to be fixed: If SE does it right the first time (like XI) people won't beg for new stuff.

---

I know some people may disagree, but having the maps already 100% revealed really ruins some of the exploration. I miss hunting down maps :/

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Sigmakan

In regards to separating each area of the zone into different level ranges. Isnt that how it is already?

Central Than 1-10
Easter Than 10-20
Western Than 20-30
Western Than(nophica) 30-40
Southern Than 40-50
Eastern Than(halatali) 40-50

They have the right idea, but having different level ranges like this isnt enough to make players feel like they are making any progress. Issue is that you see the same type of monsters over and over, as well as the same textures over and over. If each 'zone' of the large maps had more unique flavor to them as well as unique mobs it would definitely help.

However, I still dont think that will be enough. I think the best solution is to add more dungeons that are UNIQUE, not just reskins of other ones. Completely redoing the existing zone would be quite the task. I'm sure they can do it, but at the same time I'd rather see them add new zones completely.

---

There are R55-59 mobs right outside of the city walls and R70-99 mobs where all of the R50-60 mobs should be populating. You can literally choose 1 area in the game and find a 30-40 level range of mobs for no real reason. Do they serve a purpose and help you in your progression? No.

Outside of NMs, which should range from mid-high level anyways, each of these zones/subzones needs to be fixed to focus on moving from the new adventurer to the world saving hero.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Sigmakan

I know some people may disagree, but having the maps already 100% revealed really ruins some of the exploration. I miss hunting down maps :/

---

100% agree with this even though it was a PITA lol! I loved this about XI.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Richard

There are R55-59 mobs right outside of the city walls and R70-99 mobs where all of the R50-60 mobs should be populating. You can literally choose 1 area in the game and find a 30-40 level range of mobs for no real reason. Do they serve a purpose and help you in your progression? No.

Outside of NMs, which should range from mid-high level anyways, each of these zones/subzones needs to be fixed to focus on moving from the new adventurer to the world saving hero.

---

What else are they going to put there instead of the high level mobs? More low level mobs. Seems like they made the maps TOO big and just trying to fill up parts of the maps with filler mobs.

I definitely think SE is aware of how these large maps are creating all sorts of game design issues, and in the future I suspect we'll see smaller maps.

Here's a question for discussion. Since Mor Dhona and Coerthas are so unique, why dont we see more players in those zone if we all love the 'sense of progression' so much?

They just need to change the overall appearance of the different areas already in game; technically, each and every area around a certain aether is supposed to be a "zone". You can say that around Bloodshore is the rank 20 "zone" while Cactus Basin is the 60 zone.

Yes, bloodshore is in the same "hub" area as Cedarwood (La Noscea) despite they being of dif levels, but they are still, technically, dif zones. There's even the 'server tunnel' someone else mentioned between them.

The problem here is that they both look exactly the same, when even the lore and npcs say they do not. In fact, each and every area has a few defining features that make them 'unique' (Ex: Treespeak has those sparkling trees, Camp Iron Lake has...well, the lake, etc).

What SE has to do, however, is to make this uniqueness stand out and not be a simply ("Hey, look! Sparkling trees! [but everything else looks exactly the same as everywhere else in the Black Shroud, ooopsie]"). Change around the overal look around each camp, and it won't matter that much that the R60s are killing stuff right east of Uldah and very close to the rank 1 area, if each of those areas actually looks different from the rest of Thanalan.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Sigmakan

What else are they going to put there instead of the high level mobs? More low level mobs. Seems like they made the maps TOO big and just trying to fill up parts of the maps with filler mobs.

I definitely think SE is aware of how these large maps are creating all sorts of game design issues, and in the future I suspect we'll see smaller maps.

Here's a question for discussion. Since Mor Dhona and Coerthas are so unique, why dont we see more players in those zone if we all love the 'sense of progression' so much?

---

First off you don't add more low level mobs you redo the entire mob placement throughout the zone. Completely change it. SE has done this in patches before and moved around mob densities and spawn locations. Put mobs where mobs make sense.

Secondly no one goes to mor dhona or coerthas because a) there are a limited amount of quests/sidequests for those areas b) no leves for these areas and c) you can level 1-50 in Thanalan. At the moment they might as well just call Eorzea "Thanalan".

I wish the devs would look into this matter, seriously, with all due respect, in XI I could stand anywhere and it would be a beautiful scene where I would take a picture of, in thanalan you wouldn't even want to look up to the sky, there are barely any stars, scene or whatever. It's all copy, paste, copy paste. In XI you could spend almost 2 hours running into every single home and jail cell in SandOria with all the NPC's crowding everywhere it felt lively.

Everytime in XI when I traveled, I had something to look forward to, such as seeing new bestiaries, environment and just the simple dedication SE put into the game. In XIV I can't even recognize anything or remember where I am. Simply, there are a lot of flaws. If this game starts charging monthly fees, I'm definitely out unless something is done about it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Sigmakan

I know some people may disagree, but having the maps already 100% revealed really ruins some of the exploration. I miss hunting down maps :/

---

Yeah, I would have liked to have seen the maps unveil as you explore the area.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Richard

First off you don't add more low level mobs you redo the entire mob placement throughout the zone. Completely change it. SE has done this in patches before and moved around mob densities and spawn locations. Put mobs where mobs make sense.

Secondly no one goes to mor dhona or coerthas because a) there are a limited amount of quests/sidequests for those areas b) no leves for these areas and c) you can level 1-50 in Thanalan. At the moment they might as well just call Eorzea "Thanalan".

---

Agree with your second point, and this issue is just as important as the on brought up by the OP. No one is going to go to these new diverse areas if its easier to level up in the bland areas. This really needs to be addressed. Both Mor Dhona and Coerthas are great zones, but there really is no reason to go there.

I think ideally the starting areas would eventually 'cap' at R40 instead of going all the way to 90. But then you have this huge area with a ton of the same level mobs. This may actually be ok, especially if normal sp-parties (non behest) become more ppoular.

I honestly think the OP is a little bit silly. Zoning was not some exciting, grand experience. It was just "fade to loading screen, fade to new area." But it's not clear what his position is. Does he want more zone lines? does he want the whole world to be one area?

The former sucks, the latter is impractical.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Alhanelem

I honestly think the OP is a little bit silly. Zoning was not some exciting, grand experience. It was just "fade to loading screen, fade to new area." But it's not clear what his position is. Does he want more zone lines? does he want the whole world to be one area?

The former sucks, the latter is impractical.

---

you're probably looking at this whole thing differently then what the OP has meant.
What FFXIV misses over FFXI is a feel of adventure.
honestly, what would you rather have.
one huge zone that mostly looks the same, or multiple smaller zones, that all look differently.
i miss the adveture feeling.
i wish FFXIV would have adopted to FFXIs zones, like going from ronfaure to ghelsba outpost, and not from one camp to another >_<

I for one miss the zones. Seamless zones, while making the world feel 'bigger', actually does the opposite as we have three large zones that look the same. Not to mention the annoying 'invisible zone lines' that will screw the person that has you on AF, or simply kick you if you're trying to look at your ls list as you run through it. While I don't think they can do anything with it now, hopefully with expansions they'll add 'smaller' more diverse zones. I enjoyed my first few months in XI as I crossed from gustaberg to the high lands and saw more green and tall mountains with sheep and that huge ass ram roaming around. Then getting my first party and entering into the dunes and went "Holy beach!". Just seemed way more diverse than what we have now and that's only counting the zones from each city to jeuno, not even taking into thought the 'dungeons' like CN, gustav, etc.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Alhanelem

I honestly think the OP is a little bit silly. Zoning was not some exciting, grand experience. It was just "fade to loading screen, fade to new area." But it's not clear what his position is. Does he want more zone lines? does he want the whole world to be one area?

The former sucks, the latter is impractical.

---

This thread isn't about 'zoning'.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Alhanelem

I honestly think the OP is a little bit silly. Zoning was not some exciting, grand experience. It was just "fade to loading screen, fade to new area." But it's not clear what his position is. Does he want more zone lines? does he want the whole world to be one area?

The former sucks, the latter is impractical.

---

If more actual zone lines means each "zone" can have distinct visuals, then I'll gladly accept them and I think most people would agree with me. If they're really unable to add more textures and unique terrain to each zone as it is because of actual memory constraints, then this is the approach I would be asking them to take. Variety is the spice of life.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Alhanelem

I honestly think the OP is a little bit silly. Zoning was not some exciting, grand experience. It was just "fade to loading screen, fade to new area." But it's not clear what his position is. Does he want more zone lines? does he want the whole world to be one area?

The former sucks, the latter is impractical.

---

Yes you are missing the point. It's not about zoning. It's about diversity and different experiences and environments in each area. The zoning aspect just emphasized the fact that you were going somewhere new. I'd take diversity and variety over seamlessness any day of the week.

I currently see the existing zones more as regions in XI, however with the current zones they are just massive. The real zone when looking back at XI are the camps, Black Brush, Dry bone, Horizon, Broken Water, etc... But those zones all look the same. What I would have liked to see, or would like to see is having horizon exist as a marsh (or any camp for that matter) have some waterfalls and caves behind those water falls. Have areas that are seen, but out of reach that will make us want to explore...

I remember in XI, a bridge over a canyon, below I could see a cave, and a river but I had no idea how to get to that cave and it wasn't until years later that I found that connection, and was thrilled.

It would be excellent to see locations (a cave on top of a mountain) and have to find a way to get up to that cave, even if the path isn't obvious.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ogun_Riastradh

Yes you are missing the point. It's not about zoning. It's about diversity and different experiences and environments in each area. The zoning aspect just emphasized the fact that you were going somewhere new. I'd take diversity and variety over seamlessness any day of the week.

---

Exactly. Some people are arguing that future exploration is the 50+ zones with no camps and rank 60-90 mobs.

I will be EXTREMELY displeased if the trend of gigantic, single-themed copy-pastad zones with 1,000 of the same mob per grid space and no variety continues.

The starting zones all need an overhaul, and as it seems we're starting with the black shroud, the others could follow suit, one at a time if need be.


(and just to note, I've been here since the starting week and I see the potential ahead --- constructive criticism :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Delmontyb

I remember in XI, a bridge over a canyon, below I could see a cave, and a river but I had no idea how to get to that cave and it wasn't until years later that I found that connection, and was thrilled.

---

Exactly, like in La Theine Plateau. You had to explore and find all these cool little tunnels and paths to find the way to get into a canyon down below, or find a way through Ordelle. And there was quite the variety in mobs and scenery.

I gave several "Thumbs Up" in this thread. A Dev Tag would help but the Reps do pay attention to posts with alot of "LIkes". The "Hot Topics" section helps too so add this to the ever growing list of "SE, Please fix this".

Their attempt at "seamless transitions" was half-baked at best anyway because there are many, many times when we get "fade to black load screens" anyway. They are mostly due to Story Quests and instance loading but seeing as how our "immersion" is broken when we are halted in our tracks and a menu pops up asking if we want to continue, what is the point of "seamless zones"?

I also would gladly sacrifice "Seamless & Boring" for "Loadscreens & Variety".

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Davorok

Their attempt at "seamless transitions" was half-baked at best anyway because there are many, many times when we get "fade to black load screens" anyway. They are mostly due to Story Quests and instance loading but seeing as how our "immersion" is broken when we are halted in our tracks and a menu pops up asking if we want to continue, what is the point of "seamless zones"?

I also would gladly sacrifice "Seamless & Boring" for "Loadscreens & Variety".

---

Good points.
The only thing I liked about open world was seeing the cities in the distance or the ocean, and even that be done with a pretty wallpaper. :p

It's just not a sacrifice, it's a complete necessity to change.

Oh, and like for you. ^^

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Rowyne

Actually, Xarcabard did come with the original game (the vanilla pre-Rise of the Zilart version first released in Japan). It was the home of the Shadow Lord, the end boss of the game when the level cap was 50.

In fact, here are all of FFXI's original pre-Zilart areas (Source):

Cities/Towns (6):

* Bastok
* Jeuno
* Mhaura
* San d'Oria
* Selbina
* Windurst

Zones (21):

* Batallia Downs
* Beaucedine Glacier
* Behemoth's Dominion
* Buburimu Peninsula
* East Ronfaure
* East Sarutabaruta
* Jugner Forest
* Konschtat Highlands
* La Theine Plateau
* Meriphataud Mountains
* North Gustaberg
* Pashhow Marshlands
* Qufim Island
* Rolanberry
* Sauromugue Champaign
* South Gustaberg
* Tahrongi Canyon
* Valkurm Dunes
* West Ronfaure
* West Sarutabaruta
* Xarcabard

Dungeons (28):

* Altar Room
* Beadeaux
* Castle Oztroja
* Castle Zvahl Baileys
* Castle Zvahl Keep
* Crawlers' Nest
* Davoi
* The Eldieme Necropolis
* Inner Horutoto Ruins
* Fei'Yin
* Fort Ghelsba
* Garlaige Citadel
* Ghelsba Outpost
* Giddeus
* Gusgen Mines
* Horlais Peak
* King Ranperre's Tomb
* Lower Delkfutt's Tower
* Middle Delkfutt's Tower
* Monastic Cavern
* Ordelle's Caves
* Outer Horutoto Ruins
* Palborough Mines
* Qulun Dome
* Ranguemont Pass
* Upper Delkfutt's Tower
* Yughott Grotto
* Zeruhn Mines

What do we have in FFXIV?

Cities/Towns (3):

* Limsa Lominsa
* Ul'dah
* Gridania

(I guess you could technically also count the hamlets, but they're pretty much empty atm)

Zones (5):

* La Noscea
* Thanalan
* The Black Shroud
* Coerthas
* Mor Dhona

Dungeons (6):

* Copperbell Mines
* Nanawa Mines
* The MunTuy Cellars
* The TamTara Deepcroft
* Mistbeard Cove
* Cassiopeia Hollow

Pre-Zilart was still miles better than what we've got in FFXIV. It's a pretty sad comparison, honestly.

---

No competition at all between these 2.

What's worse it's hard to find area's in XI that are as boring as the biggest maps in XIV.

We really do move on to different places as we progress in level, via the leve/camp system. The real problem is that it is all too similar. A 40 camp isn't much different than a 20 camp. There are a few differences here and there but, when it is all said and done, Broken water and Horizon don't stand apart from one another. I think that is why we don't have a sense of progression.

They say the reason the world is so uniform because of the size of the textures. I'm not a game maker. I can't argue with that because I don't know anything about it to question the validity of that statement. I have no real reason to not believe that is the truth of it. But the superior question we should be bringing to the table is if SE knew that they had to create these boring, repetitive landscapes due to how highly detailed and large their textures were, why then did they opt to go with these giant zones at all? They should have just gone back to smaller, but more numerous, zones in order to capitalize on the power and beauty of their game engine by creating a strikingly gorgeous, diverse, living world. Why settle for mediocre and bland?

To be fair, I think they are aware of how homogenized everything is, along with the general discontent felt by the player base, and are taking steps to make the different areas stand out a bit more.

In the following producer letter we see designs for more unique camps designed to be quest hubs and that is a start:

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/threads/9220

If they can just somehow make each camp "zone" stand out from the rest then that will provide that sense of new and exciting places. At least somewhat.

I do hope that in the future we will see more varied terrains. Snowy mountains. Maybe a jungle. But there sure is a lot of unused camps in the current regions now. I fear we may be destined to more of the same if things don't change.

Farcry 2 had a a huge seamless 50km squared map, with much higher graphic quality and diversity than any of FFXIV's zones. So what's their excuse?

Thanks so much for all of your continued ideas and opinions!

I'd like to touch upon some things. I apologize for using FF11 so much as a dramatic example. Also, I don't mean to put FF14 down as a whole. but I believe that the world is something that FF14 didn't do right at all. I'm sorry, especially if its a world some of you have grown to love. I don't mean to put any one down. I just felt that using examples would be more clear for readers to understand my points. :)

As for zones and lines, I already see the game as being divided into zones. When I run from the Shroud to Thanalan, I am leaving a zone as indicated by the loading screen. It's all there already, the system. Because of this loading screen, one unifying name for the entire area ("The Black Shroud"), one theme/design, I do see the areas as one zone. One zone, with monsters from 1 to 50 to monsters we can never touch.

Say Gustaberg (Or Durotar, or...) had a North, South, West, East, Northwest, Southwest. All connected to each other seamlessly, and all seamlessly connected to Bastok's open doors, while looking very similar.. Each partition combined contains foes from one to fifty. We do not need the Highlands. We do not need the Barrens.

But when we leave Gustaberg to visit Ronfaure, we receive a loading screen. Was the rest of our world sacrificed for the sake of multiple instances of Gustaberg? I do not know, but I do know that we don't need Valkurm Dunes.

Just as well, we don't 'need' anything outside of FF14's world as we play today. And this worries me. What does the future hold for us all?

These large zones/areas we have currently, I feel, are only massive in order to make up for the lack of progression otherwise. There needed to be a way to take us to 50, and so the camps were added to the map. While I absolutely understand what some of you are saying in regards to each camp serving its own purpose, I hope you might be able to understand how I see that they are still connected to each other on one map, ONE zone.

In Azeroth, a seamless world, when you enter a new land to explore and to level, you have a new map. New range of foes. A countdown. You cannot stay in Durotar forever. It forces you to leave. The Barrens forces you to leave.

In Vana'diel, if we imagine it was a seamless world all along, you are forced to leave Ronfaure. You cannot level from 1 to 50 in Ronfaure. It is built exactly as Azeroth and other worlds in this regard.

You LEAVE things behind you as you move forward. You leave the level range. We never have to leave behind Thanalan.

In Eorzea, when you reach your next stepping stone, and you open the map, you are still there. You are still in the Black Shroud. You are still in La Noscea. Thanalan. Whether you are in Camp Tranquil or Bentbranch. Horizon or Drybone. Skull Valley or Bloodshore. The map, the scenery, the mob diversity tells us that we have not left. And we'd never have to leave.

Something is wrong.

It should be made clear to us when we reach the milestone. We should be forced to go to new places. We should be given a NEW map. The area itself should not serve to keep us there for too long. We should have to leave. We are adventurers, after all.

I would wish for a solution where we can all get what we want. I do not mind if the areas are large. I love to travel!

But, will we ever receive a new 'areas'? I'm not sure, because right now, we do not need them. La Noscea can take us to the end.

We don't need a world. But I want one.

(Edit: By a 'new map', I meant to refer to pressing 'M' and a paper map appears.)

Again, the issue here is progression and exploration. You should never feel like you spent 1-50 in the same zone. I guarantee that many of the people who are sick of doing the same old leves don't realize that it ties into this issue. They're not only doing the same old leves, but how many camps do you teleport to that look exactly the same? This contributes to the feeling of the mindless same old grind, and no feeling of progressing forward and exploring new places.

In an earlier post, I said this could be addressed in one of two ways:
*A complete redesign of the world map
*Breaking up the world map into subzones based on aetheryte locations with new monster families

Personally, I'd rather see option one. But being realistic, option two would probably be easier and would most likely the be the route the dev team would take. Especially since the zones are actually already broken up into subzones, believe it or not. We just don't see a difference because of all the copy/paste and bad design. They could have made each subzone very different (to use The Black Shroud for an example, sparse forest with 1-10 lvl monsters, dense forest with 10-20 lvl monsters, deep ominous forest with 20-30 lvl monsters), and help give us that feeling of exploration within a vast world. It still wouldn't be the vastly different zones that most MMOs use in their maps, but it would at least give us the sense that we're progressing outward into the world into more dangerous territory, and that we're exploring new places.

A key piece in all of this is that we need the game to force us to leave the starting areas. Thats just not happening right now. A lot of things need to be reworked in order to accomplish this.

I believe this is why SE is introducing Quest Hubs. I'm assuming these hubs will be located in the more remote areas of Eorzea. Hopefully this quest hubs will then give us motivation to play/level in the surrounding areas.

One can hope.

I love all of your ideas, Rowyne. Any and all of those options I would support wholeheartedly.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Sigmakan

In regards to separating each area of the zone into different level ranges. Isnt that how it is already?

Central Than 1-10
Easter Than 10-20
Western Than 20-30
Western Than(nophica) 30-40
Southern Than 40-50
Eastern Than(halatali) 40-50

They have the right idea, but having different level ranges like this isnt enough to make players feel like they are making any progress. Issue is that you see the same type of monsters over and over, as well as the same textures over and over. If each 'zone' of the large maps had more unique flavor to them as well as unique mobs it would definitely help.

---

Exactly, and I think this is probably the way the dev team would handle it. The sub-zones need to be much more unique, both visually, and with different monster families, so that they feel like mini-zones.

Imagine if the Quon continent or Kalimdor (for our WoW players) all had the same landscape. That's basically what they've done here. Our three starting places feel more like giant zones that all look the same, instead of regions with zones inside them. This seriously needs to change.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Rowyne

Exactly, and I think this is probably the way the dev team would handle it. The sub-zones need to be much more unique, both visually, and with different monster families, so that they feel like mini-zones.

---

Western Than could be more desert like (like Dunes). Eastern Than could start to show some vegetation as it transforms into Black Shroud.

Funny thing is that Northern Than has the most 'flavor' yet there is nothing to do there. I like how Northern Than feels like you are going up a mountain a bit, eventually entering Mor Dhona. It could use a bit more texture flavor though.