Here are some quick examples of what SE could do that would make the areas stand out more:
* The Black Shroud *
- Rank 1 - 10: Camp Bentbranch region (キャンプ・ベントプランチ) (same as it is now, but with less tunnels :P)
- Rank 11 - 20: Five Hangs region / Mirror Lake (鹿落五橋). Open it up more, but have a whole region be in and around a giant LAKE with Harbors, etc.
- Rank 21 - 30: Sorrel Haven (スカンボの安息所): It's a gorgeous area, with flowing Rivers and a GIANT MANA TREE! :) This is already in the game.
- Rank 21 - 30 (Alternate): The Tam Tara Deepcroft / Mun-Tuy Cellars (タムタラの墓所) (Dungeons). They're fine as is.
If they just directed us to these distinct areas and removed the Copy & Paste Clutter, that'd make for a far better experience than what we have now (with some beautifying, but overall it could work).
Again, just some quick examples, but with changes like the above (and removing the extra Copy & Pasted generic areas in between), we'd HAVE UNIQUE, INTERESTING AREAS TO LEVEL UP IN.
Instead it was as if someone on the old team decided, "Let's save those unique areas for later patches / level cap raise. We can get away with Copy & Pasting the same starter textures and geometry all over the 3 regions and it'll be fine." :(