Has SE mentioned anything about giving us a reason to explore in ARR?

I feel that zones at the moment are just a place you go to according to your level to grind FATEs, do quests, or gather. I've played other MMOs that gave you a reason to fully explore each and every zone. Whether it's to uncover an artifact in RIFT, a Datacron in SWTOR, or to uncover a jump puzzle in Guild Wars 2.

I'm not trying to hate on the game or anything. I actually really like ARR. I just feel as somebody who enjoys the exploration aspect of games - offline and online - ARR has very little to offer in that aspect. The zones are absolutely beautiful in ARR and it would be a shame to see them go to waste if players have no reason to ever return to them. In fact, I'd rather SE add more to the current zones rather than completely new ones. Open world dungeons should totally make a return :cool:

I agree. They haven't really said anything about it, but there's a treasure map feature coming in 2.1 that I'm hoping will help at least a little

Give us a reason to explore? Sounds like a fetch quest in the making. Listen... if u want to explore or anyone for the that matter don't need any lofty goal or mission to do so. Go explore or dont. Nothing SE does prevents anyone from doing that now.

Achievement Log shows that you gain experience points for uncovering all locations on a map.

I saved all of them for level 48 and I practically hit 50 while doing this. it was also really rewarding to go see everything.

Sometimes you have to make a reason for yourself to go explore out of the way areas. The main story and some sidequests make a point of having you explore a lot of the world but I'm sure there's some places previously unused that they have plans for future story.

For me the crafting and gathering system has been cause for tons of exploration. You see almost every nook and cranny of Eorzea if you complete gathering logs, and I did this while leveling pertinent crafts and sell off mats. It's not everyone's cup of tea though, I guess. About to level Fisher to see even more.

There's no exploration in this game. You are on a sightseeing tour. There is nothing to discover as the main questline leads you by the nose from one pretty set-piece to the next. Everything you could hope to see is readily mapped out for your convenience.

Isn't exploring something you just do of your own accord? If they're giving you a reason, you're not really exploring, you're just going because you're told to.

Like the first time I went deep into the U'Ghamoro mines for the Titan Aetheryte. Was it exploring? Or was it because I had to go there for my Relic Reborn quest? I think the fun of exploring or finding a nice scenic spot is when you just do it yourself, not because it's next to a waypoint you've been sent to.

I wish they would do this as well. I can't remember why but I know I was going through one of the lv 1-10 zones the other day and was like wow this is a really cool zone.. too bad I haven't been here in 2 months.

There are small regions to explore in this game that have nothing to do with hunting logs, quests, or FATEs. They just don't give you a prize for doing so.