agree with this
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Yeah it was said in an interview that aside from very minor changes that the 3 main cities will virtually be the same. Also, we're getting a "Jeuno" like place in 2.0. That's already a guarantee. Aaaaaaannnd, what's the point of this thread again? The Boyahda Tree? Oh, um. Speculation is nice, but the OP sounds like he hasn't read a single thing about 2.0. Just saying.
If it seems like the OP read nothing about 2.0, seems like you never played XI :p. There's pretty much nothing coming with 2.0 that we know of so far that will resemble such an atmospheric (and functional) place like the Boyahda Tree.
It's highly unlikely that Crystal Tower for example will be open world which alone already removes any atmosphere it could have had.
Considering we are getting diversified zones in 2.0 I feel like we will have those magical places in this game as well. Heck honestly there are a few places in the current game that have a magical feel for me, but to get to them you gotta traverse around those level 80 mobs that one shot you. Though I would agree to say that the magical feeling isn't as big as it was in some places in XI.
Also didn't they say they wasn't redesigning the cities? I could have swore they said that was the one thing that wasn't changing but perhaps I am mistaken. I personally want brand new cities of the Ivalice nature. Though I do love the current Limsa Lominsa, it just lacks some liveliness.
I really liked the level/city/overworld design in XI. Each place had a function and rarely felt oversized and barren. It had cool places to see and many of which where involved with quests and lore. Characters moved a little slow though.
Music and lighting. I prefer Lufaise Meadows over La Noscea even though I wish it had forest such as Ronfaure, whos music is probably the most pleasing to me in any final fantasy online zone
Some of my favorite areas from FFXI include the Horutoto Ruins, Ro'Maeve (+Hall of the gods), Pso'xja, Caedarva Mire, and of course... The Boyahda tree.
I really like to see ruins of previous civilizations, as you can note from some of the zones I like the most. I really find the lore of video games to be fascinating, and being able to explore areas of... historical significance(?) in games such as FFXI were really enjoyable. I think Pso'xja takes the cake for me as far as that goes.
With all of the lore we have gotten recently in FFXIV, thanks in large part to the Monk quest giver, it would really be cool to see some ruins of these long-gone civilizations, particularly the Allagan Empire.