Will we ever revisit other "destroyed"/inaccessible areas from 1.0?

(I supposed there are potential (minor?) spoilers here for folks who, for example, haven't done any of the Hildibrand quests. Just a heads up.)

(Also, this site has some decent 1.0 maps if you're interested/nostalgic:

http://ffxivmaps.com/old.html)

It's nice that we're finally heading back out to Coerthas Western Highlands, but what about some of the other areas from 1.0 that we can no longer enter? (Though, I'm sad we may never have Gargoyle Crossing again, since I imagine we will bridge Coerthas Western Highlands and Coerthas Central Highlands with a tunnel through/past Snowcloak instead of the previous, well, bridge. Or fly there from the Sea of Clouds.)

Nanawa Mines

The connection between Central Thanalan and Northern Thanalan changed drastically in 2.0. What happened to Nanawa Mines? Is Nanawa Mines what the mine/train tracks lead into? Or is Nanawa Mines completely caved in, and the pass leading from Central Thanalan to Northern Thanalan is all that Ul'dah dug up of Nanawa Mines in order to pass through? The map seems to refer to the entire construction area as "Nanawa Mines", rather than indicating any entrance (though the zone line is quite close, and in 1.0 Bluefog was just a bit north of where Nanawa Mines would have been).

Copperbell Mines

But, wait, you already can access this area... right? Don't open the spoiler tag unless you have finished the main scenario quest up to 2.55's story!

At the end of the MSQ, it shows the Sil'dih Aqueducts. Copperbell Mines in 1.0 was actually adjacent to the Sil'dih Aqueducts, an unusable entrance to them being included in the area. Also, the Copperbell Mines were much larger in 1.0. We are only able to access part of them. Will we ever be able to explore the Sil'dih Aqueducts, or the missing sections of Copperbell Mines? The former being much more interesting, of course. I was actually thinking about how in FFXI some of the cities had underground areas accessible directly from the city (leading into a dungeon and/or making a passageway to a distant area), and was wondering if we'd ever see something similar in FFXIV, and then the MSQ shows us the Sil'dih Aqueducts under Ul'dah! I've been wondering for a while if we will ever visit the ruins of Sil'dih...

Mun-Tuy Cellars

How did the Cellars move from North Shroud in 1.0 to being the bridge between East Shroud and South Shroud in 2.0!? I understand some areas being moved around slightly (Snakemolt being east of where it was originally... it's not too crazy to think the people would just use names they were familiar with and apply them to "new" areas instead of making up new names, after the landscape changed), but an entire underground section moved clear across the forest? Mun-Tuy Cellars clearing bridging two zones does lend some weight that Nanawa Mines will never be used as more than a zone line connection, though.

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Originally Posted by Fernehalwes

Greetings Hiruke!

The fermenting of Mun-Tuy beans into sauces, tonics, pastes, and even the tasty brew that helps Wood Wailers wind down after a long day of wailing is a task that requires strict temperature and humidity control. In an age devoid of heating/cooling systems, the best place to achieve perfect temperatures/humidity was in caves (no matter how hot/cold it is outside, a cave's interior usually remains unchanged). It also helps that on the walls of certain caves found only in the Twelveswood grows a special type of yeast that helps transform the Mun-Tuy juice into something more...exciting. When the Calamity wreaked its havoc on the Twelveswood, many of the caves used for Mun-Tuy processing were either buried under rubble, or new openings were created, changing the internal environment and making them no longer suitable for the task at hand. This is pretty much what happened with the pre-Calamity cellars. However, Gridania is a thirsty city-state, and the Mun-Tuy brewers were not ready to let their craft fade into oblivion, so they searched long and hard for a new series of caves that met the conditions of their old cellars...and finally found some on the border of the new East and South Shrouds--the location of the new cellars.

I know that doesn't answer all of your questions, but hope it sheds some light on one.

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Taking another look at the maps, the (new) Mun-Tuy Cellars are HUGE, because there's is a LONG distance between East Shroud and South Shroud according to the 1.0 layout. Now I definitely wonder if we'll ever explore this area (though I guess there isn't much need to).

Some other areas I missed in the initial post, now added to the OP:

Cassiopeia Hollow

A dungeon area near 1.0's Camp Bloodshore, presumably this would be somewhere near Costa del Sol now, but it's not really hinted at anywhere. I would imagine there would be little interest in reviving this area as Sastasha already covers what it might offer thematically? Still would be interesting to know what happened to it.

Shposhae

A dungeon area near 1.0's Moraby Bay aetherial gate, presumably this would be around where "Moraby Bay" (the bay itself rather than the drydocks) is marked on the map, but it's not really hinted at anywhere. I would imagine there would be little interest in reviving this area as Sastasha already covers what it might offer thematically? Still would be interesting to know what happened to it.

Coerthas Central Lowlands

Probably the most perplexing inaccessible 1.0 area is the Coerthas Central Lowlands. In 1.0, Mor Dhona zoned north into Coerthas Central Lowlands. Now when we zone north from Mor Dhona, it skips the Coerthas Central Lowlands entirely and goes straight to Coerthas Central Highlands. The northern part of Mor Dhona and more or less the entirety of Coerthas Central Highlands are mostly similar to their 1.0 counterparts, so skipping this entire area is quite odd.

It's also a little odd that North Shroud used to zone into Coerthas Eastern Lowlands, but now somehow winds all the way up into Coerthas Central Highlands.

Coerthas Eastern Lowlands

Griffin Crossing is currently down for repairs (despite seeming not that bad off when used as the site of the first battle with Gilgamesh), so it's understandable why you can no longer zone in to there from Coerthas Central Highlands. It's kind of odd that the connection between North Shroud and Coerthas Eastern Lowlands has been replaced with one between North Shroud and Coerthas Central Highlands. Is that ever explained anywhere?

I imagine the poor Ishgardians stuck here around Owl's Nest could use some visitors!

Coerthas Eastern Highlands

Sure, we're now going to the west, but how about the east? This is probably one of the most understandable areas to get blocked off, since the only way in was a tunnel from Coerthas Central Highlands. Surely, similar to attempting to repair Griffin Crossing, there is some effort to reopen the tunnel here as well?

Mor Dhona (southern section?)

Mor Dhona is probably one of the more oddly reworked areas in 2.0. Singing Shards now to the east of Revenant's Toll instead of southeast of Silvertear Lake. Somehow, Silvertear Lake is called Silvertear Falls on the map!? How does that even work? Northern Thanalan used to zone into the southern part of Mor Dhona, but now tracks around to the northern part of Mor Dhona instead.

Basically, you can no longer visit the southern end of Silvertear Lake. This is probably one of the most "losable" areas of the game, though it would be interesting if Revenant's Toll eventually expanded into a full-blown city and they decided to explore the rest of Mor Dhona, uncovering the ruins of (well, I assume it's ruined?) Castrum Novum from 1.0 and whatever happened to Camp Brittlebark, etc.

West Shroud

I believe it was said this part of the forest was basically completely destroyed. You can see what's in its place over the rise west of Spriggan's Dig in Central Shroud, and some speculate that you actually bypass this area when moving between Central Shroud and North Shroud. Even if nothing (natural?) lives there, it would be interesting to explore a more "destroyed" zone at some point in the future.

Summary

For the most part, I think the team did a fantastic job reimagining all of the areas. If you compare the old 1.0 maps to the new 2.0 maps, you can see that more often than not, things are around where they ought to be, except the zones have a much better design overall.

However, from a lore perspective, missing a lot of the zones called out in bold above... irks me... Especially Coerthas Central Lowlands. Seriously, what happened to Coerthas Central Lowlands!?

Edit: Added Nanawa Mines and Mun-Tuy Cellars (and ninja'd in Fern's response).
Edit 2: Added Cassiopeia Hollow and Shposhae.
Edit 3: Added Copperbell Mines.

I remember Coertas being one of the most expansive and beautiful areas in the game, and I can't remember the particular area but I remember there being some trees and level 99 Goblins (I believe it was on the Eastern side) which was my favourite.
On another note, there was an area in 1.0 which had 'walkable' land in the Ashpool, called the Dreaming dragon. I never figured out how to get there, but for it to be named it seems a shame that it was seemingly inaccessible. Would be nice to finally go there, unless of course they're not opening up the Twinpools area, and only the Riversmeet areas.
Worth noting is that Dragon's Aerie was in this area - one of the many unfinished and unreleased dungeons from 1.0.
I think Wyrmking's Perch will be back, since, well, everything's been pretty 'dragon-y' of late. Along with that we should see the Dusk Vigil. Weather or not we'll see that as a dungeon as well, I have no idea. And wouldn't it still be encased in ice a la snowcloak?

Really hoping they add all those in with Heavensward.

They said we will be seeing settlements from 1.0 in Heavensward.

Pretty sure West Shroud still exists at least in part, because I recall an NPC mentioning something about a patrol or something that had been sent there.

Someone speculated Alexander seemed to be around Ewe Lake. From the looks of Heavens Ward we might be going around that mountain that is on the map with Ishgard. So West Highlands may be the access point to those other areas. Another theory to consider is other areas around Lower Coerthas, may have been renamed as part of a lager plot or with addition of entirely new areas outside the old zones. I think they did say the expansion's plot wasn't as big as ARR or others in development. So it might be a good way to add more new zones. I doubt Alex was in Ewe lake as in the video clip with the black Chocobo. It was flying by part of a large bubble with some suspended rocks on it. That area looks like it might be where that raid is. However Western Highlands was the only area old players seemed to recognize by name. I'd like to know if it was frozen in 1.0 as well. That will give the best idea of what they might be doing with the old areas that are missing.

West Shroud is MIA along with the central Low Lands. With Shiva freezing everything the Ixali there could be trying to relocate into the shroud. There's a good chance that in the future expansions we would get all the zones reworked and added back in some form or another. Until then we go to wait and see how the maps for the new areas fit in together.

In Famitsu interviews Yoshida essentially dodged the question that could've revealed if Eastern Coerthas are also being added into the expansion (the question concerned Falcon's Nest and Owl's Nest).
Usually when developers don't deny something it means they're trying to hide it.

The only thing I really missed about V1.0 was the large scale maps. The V2.0 maps feel kinda cramped by comparison (I especially hate how Ul'dah, Gridania and Limsa are broken into two maps each. Limsa I could understand because it was a confusing mess in V1.0, but Ul'dah feels like it lost a lot of scale by comparison.) I spent a the first week of the game just trying to see how far I can get without leveling significantly, and I'm pretty sure I got to one of the Garlean fortresses front doors, but there was no indication of how to get in at the time. That's also when I said "This bears a striking resemblance to FF6" ... sure enough, not a coincidence.

What I really hated about V1.0 was the camera color blooms that made indoors look a blurry red, and outdoors a blurry blue. Everywhere. Like they might have been trying to make it look "realistic" in a sense, but the effect was awful.


I remember there was these underground-ish areas between Uldah and I don't know, I think maybe it was Limsa, that I had a hard time figuring out how to get out, which was when I used the teleport for the first time.

Which brings up another thing I didn't miss about the V1.0 maps. The V1.0 maps had these "airship" docks in a bunch of places, and Crystals all over the maps... but they were all identical. The copy-pastaness of V1.0 was awful. Like every "camp" outside Uldah, Gridania and Limsa were just two tents and a Crystal.

Will you be bringing back old places from Coerthas in 1.0 such as Owl's Nest and Falcon's Nest?
Y: Falcon's Nest will appear. In addition to being a village, there's quite a bit going on there.

http://www.bluegartr.com/threads/125...29-Translation

seems like something is coming at least.

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Originally Posted by LunaHoshino

Pretty sure West Shroud still exists at least in part, because I recall an NPC mentioning something about a patrol or something that had been sent there.

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But with Sorrel Havens (West part of Central) changed from a long, misty river into a dry well and Treespeak (East part of Northern) no longer having its second level of rope bridges and tree-clefts, I wonder just how much they can really do with it... Maybe we can at least see the SW parts like Turning Leaf returned in some (hopefully entertaining) style? (I really miss that base-camp of AF-questers just past the initial lvl 99 treents.)

I saw a panel where they said that the West Shroud still exists but its a mess, twisted and devastated by the damage the Calamity caused.

I'll admit I choked up a bit when I saw the Western Highlands were covered in snow. Riversmeet was and still is my favourite place in the game. I had a tiny speck of hope that my stone path over the waterfall survived the calamity and deep-freeze, so seeing it confirmed as gone was a bit heartbreaking.

RIP Riversmeet. You were the prettiest fishing spot a cat could ask for.

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Originally Posted by Kirol

On another note, there was an area in 1.0 which had 'walkable' land in the Ashpool, called the Dreaming dragon. I never figured out how to get there, but for it to be named it seems a shame that it was seemingly inaccessible. Would be nice to finally go there, unless of course they're not opening up the Twinpools area, and only the Riversmeet areas.

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I assume you probably couldn't go there, since it's in the middle of water. I kind of wish I'd made video of the entire game back in 1.0. I think we'll see all of Coerthas Western Highlands, such as it is. I wonder if The Dreaming Dragon will be that dragon from the field walkthrough that is chained up.

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Originally Posted by LunaHoshino

Pretty sure West Shroud still exists at least in part, because I recall an NPC mentioning something about a patrol or something that had been sent there.

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Does anyone happen to know which NPC talks about this?

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Originally Posted by Kotemon

However Western Highlands was the only area old players seemed to recognize by name. I'd like to know if it was frozen in 1.0 as well. That will give the best idea of what they might be doing with the old areas that are missing. [...] With Shiva freezing everything the Ixali there could be trying to relocate into the shroud.

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So far it's the only one revealed that was also in 1.0. If you look at the 1.0 maps and the new 2.0 redesigns, you'll see there are far more faithful at keeping names than you might think, and making sure things are still around where you would think they ought to be, while still drastically changing the maps. You wouldn't see "Coerthas Central Lowlands" become "Dravanian Lowlands" or something.

Coerthas was NOT frozen in 1.0. It was green, expansive, verdant. Also, Coerthas being frozen has nothing to do with Shiva. Most all changes to the weather/landscape is due directly/indirectly to the Calamity. Also, the Ixali were always a threat to Gridania, even before the Calamity. I'm not sure how everyone feels about all the snow, though.

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Originally Posted by Karen_Cerfrumos

In Famitsu interviews Yoshida essentially dodged the question that could've revealed if Eastern Coerthas are also being added into the expansion (the question concerned Falcon's Nest and Owl's Nest).
Usually when developers don't deny something it means they're trying to hide it.

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I noticed that, too. I sure hope so. That said, I don't presently see a huge reason for them to go into the eastern Coerthas areas with this expansion. How much would those zones really serve the story?

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Originally Posted by Shurrikhan

But with Sorrel Havens (West part of Central) changed from a long, misty river into a dry well and Treespeak (East part of Northern) no longer having its second level of rope bridges and tree-clefts, I wonder just how much they can really do with it... Maybe we can at least see the SW parts like Turning Leaf returned in some (hopefully entertaining) style? (I really miss that base-camp of AF-questers just past the initial lvl 99 treents.)

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Belhi

I saw a panel where they said that the West Shroud still exists but its a mess, twisted and devastated by the damage the Calamity caused.

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Honestly I think the fact that it's devastated makes it an even more interesting candidate for being returned as a zone. We already have a lot of forest in the Shroud, obviously. How about some ruined land?

I said before that they were usually good about keep area names the same/relatively close to where they were before, but I neglected to mention that Mun-Tuy is way, way off. That said, I added a couple more to the original post:

Nanawa Mines

The connection between Central Thanalan and Northern Thanalan changed drastically in 2.0. What happened to Nanawa Mines? Is Nanawa Mines what the mine/train tracks lead into? Or is Nanawa Mines completely caved in, and the pass leading from Central Thanalan to Northern Thanalan is all that Ul'dah dug up of Nanawa Mines in order to pass through? The map seems to refer to the entire construction area as "Nanawa Mines", rather than indicating any entrance (though the zone line is quite close, and in 1.0 Bluefog was just a bit north of where Nanawa Mines would have been).

Mun-Tuy Cellars

How did the Cellars move from North Shroud in 1.0 to being the bridge between East Shroud and South Shroud in 2.0!? I understand some areas being moved around slightly (Snakemolt being east of where it was originally... it's not too crazy to think the people would just use names they were familiar with and apply them to "new" areas instead of making up new names, after the landscape changed), but an entire underground section moved clear across the forest? Mun-Tuy Cellars clearing bridging two zones does lend some weight that Nanawa Mines will never be used as more than a zone line connection, though. Taking another look at the maps, the (new) Mun-Tuy Cellars are HUGE, because there's is a LONG distance between East Shroud and South Shroud according to the 1.0 layout.

Edit: Corrections.

Actually, the Mun-Tay Cellars are now used as the zoneline between South Shroud and East Shroud.

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Originally Posted by Hiruke

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LunaHoshino

Pretty sure West Shroud still exists at least in part, because I recall an NPC mentioning something about a patrol or something that had been sent there.

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Does anyone happen to know which NPC talks about this?

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I posted the quote in question in another thread (specifically here), but it was Galfrid at the Bannock in the Central Shroud during the early Gridania storyline (specifically the main scenario quest 'Spirithold Broken') where the West Shroud is specifically mentioned:

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Originally Posted by ARR Gridanian Main Scenario Quest 'Spirithold Broken'

Galfrid: "On any other day, I would dispatch my best Quivermen to provide support, but I sent them to repel an Ixali incursion into the West Shroud nary a bell ago."

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So yeah, that's pretty conclusive that at least part of the West Shroud still exists in some form or another.

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Originally Posted by Hiruke

Mun-Tuy Cellars

How did the Cellars move from North Shroud in 1.0 to being the bridge between Central Shroud and South Shroud in 2.0!? I understand some areas being moved around slightly (Snakemolt being east of where it was originally... it's not too crazy to think the people would just use names they were familiar with and apply them to "new" areas instead of making up new names, after the landscape changed), but an entire underground section moved clear across the forest?

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Greetings Hiruke!

The fermenting of Mun-Tuy beans into sauces, tonics, pastes, and even the tasty brew that helps Wood Wailers wind down after a long day of wailing is a task that requires strict temperature and humidity control. In an age devoid of heating/cooling systems, the best place to achieve perfect temperatures/humidity was in caves (no matter how hot/cold it is outside, a cave's interior usually remains unchanged). It also helps that on the walls of certain caves found only in the Twelveswood grows a special type of yeast that helps transform the Mun-Tuy juice into something more...exciting. When the Calamity wreaked its havoc on the Twelveswood, many of the caves used for Mun-Tuy processing were either buried under rubble, or new openings were created, changing the internal environment and making them no longer suitable for the task at hand. This is pretty much what happened with the pre-Calamity cellars. However, Gridania is a thirsty city-state, and the Mun-Tuy brewers were not ready to let their craft fade into oblivion, so they searched long and hard for a new series of caves that met the conditions of their old cellars...and finally found some on the border of the new East and South Shrouds--the location of the new cellars.

I know that doesn't answer all of your questions, but hope it sheds some light on one.

I never played Final Fantasy XIV during 1.0 but have seen gameplay. Some if those areas would be awesome to visit and it would be cool to see what happened to them after the calamity :D

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Originally Posted by Shadow1xd

I never played Final Fantasy XIV during 1.0 but have seen gameplay. Some if those areas would be awesome to visit and it would be cool to see what happened to them after the calamity :D

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If I recall correctly, the Mun-Tuy cellars in 1.0 had doormice that could eat your face off if you got too close :P

Regarding Coerthas I recall a great deal of it was deep crevices in varying parts of the zone. So it could be that these particular areas may have caved in from the aftermath of the Calamity making the entire area inaccessible. The other thought is that we have no idea how far the wall of ice goes. They mention that there are countless caverns running through all of Coerthas so it may be that the entire half of the Lowlands are a huge chunk of ice and snow. The dungeon in Snowcloak may even be parts of the Lowlands still encased in a dome of ice.

btw, I do remember Owl's Nest, seeing as how several quest need to visit that place several times. I don't really remember Falcon's Nest though. Anyone could point that out?

And man..... Are there any hope that I could see the old greenier Coerthas? I just hate snow literally, and seeing as I do play 1.0 quite alot, I grew fond of the old place. I just literally hate current Coerthas. Literally, super hate it. I'd rather SE created an entirely new zone for snowy area than changing the old one from beauty to sheer snow-ugliness.

As a fun fact, if you pay close attention to the surroundings for the Garuda trial and related cutscenes you can see a portion of Coerthas that appears to be untouched by the perpetual snowfall. It could be said that Garuda's presence may have something to do with that, but I would hope that it's a sign that the Lowlands (both central and eastern) are not covered in snow.

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Originally Posted by Fernehalwes

Greetings Hiruke!

I know that doesn't answer all of your questions, but hope it sheds some light on one.

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Actually, I really appreciate that answer. Thank you! I hope the implication is that we will eventually be able to learn the answers to the rest. I'll be playing this game for a long time to come, so I definitely look forward to it, and exploring the other areas we do know we're getting.

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Originally Posted by Reinhart

Actually, the Mun-Tay Cellars are now used as the zoneline between South Shroud and East Shroud.

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Ahhh. Sorry for the error. Not sure how I screwed up. Thanks for the correction. Actually, taking another look at the maps, the (new) Mun-Tuy Cellars are HUGE, because there's is a LONG distance between East Shroud and South Shroud according to the 1.0 layout.

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Originally Posted by BobbinT

btw, I do remember Owl's Nest, seeing as how several quest need to visit that place several times. I don't really remember Falcon's Nest though. Anyone could point that out?

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Falcon's Nest was in the southeast corner of Coerthas Western Highlands. I believe you passed through a little cave similar to how you got to Owl's Nest, since the connection between Falcon's Nest and the rest of Coerthas is off map, just like Owl's Nest. Same as you, I don't remember Falcon's Nest as well since I didn't go there as often. You can YouTube videos of it, though.

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Originally Posted by Blueyes

As a fun fact, if you pay close attention to the surroundings for the Garuda trial and related cutscenes you can see a portion of Coerthas that appears to be untouched by the perpetual snowfall. It could be said that Garuda's presence may have something to do with that, but I would hope that it's a sign that the Lowlands (both central and eastern) are not covered in snow.

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I think that would be really cool, if parts of Coerthas were still green while the parts we've seen in 2.0 (and have previewed for 3.0) are snowy.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Blueyes

As a fun fact, if you pay close attention to the surroundings for the Garuda trial and related cutscenes you can see a portion of Coerthas that appears to be untouched by the perpetual snowfall. It could be said that Garuda's presence may have something to do with that, but I would hope that it's a sign that the Lowlands (both central and eastern) are not covered in snow.

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it may do to the fact that her whirlwind defense has blown all the snow away. the trial's name is Howling eye...

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Originally Posted by Fernehalwes

I know that doesn't answer all of your questions, but hope it sheds some light on one.

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Well, it at least explains why the brewers decided to set-up shop in the middle of a public highway?

Hopefully all that Chocobo dung helps that yeast do its thing.

Here's hoping the "Shepherd's Guild" in Owl's (Falcon's?) Nest is still there!

Also, what happened to:
Cassiopeia Hollows? Collapsed?
Bearded Rock? Decomissioned?
Shposhae? Collapsed? No longer used by pirates?

How was Thornmarch moved from Crimson Bark (?) to Bramble Patch?
Where is Humblehearth? Used to be in Central Shroud!

Were many of the guardians' stones moved after the calamity? The Lover's monument used to be in Gwyr-Aen, which is in Coerthas Eastern Highlands.
The Fury's used to be near Twinpools I believe. (I think this was the one that was really high up and difficult to find?)
...and many more!

I need answers!!

All these old names/places bring back memories of 1.0. I remember how deliciously dangerous my first trip to Blue Fog felt. Trying to find my way by that crappy map, fearful that the Dodos past that gap were agro, lol.

I find Mor Dhona to be especially interesting, in that the areas that are currently accessible fall almost entirely in the same places on the zone map as they did in 1.0. The southern half of the 2.0 map is completely empty, and it makes it seem like it might be a very specific decision to keep our current Mor Dhona where it was in 1.0, rather than just centralize it on the map.

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Originally Posted by radhaz

All these old names/places bring back memories of 1.0. I remember how deliciously dangerous my first trip to Blue Fog felt. Trying to find my way by that crappy map, fearful that the Dodos past that gap were agro, lol.

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I never played 1.0, but this is something I missed from FFXI. As strange as it sounds to miss getting utterly destroyed trying to get somewhere or complete an objective, it's things like that that will make a zone thrilling or interesting.

Hopefully Heavensward delivers in the regard (and keeps it even when peoples levels and ilvls increase). I believe I read an interview where Yoshi explained the reason for ARR's world being docile was that they expected a lot of players new to mmos, but they will be adding more danger in the expansion since these players should now be more experienced.

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Originally Posted by HeavensSword

I believe I read an interview where Yoshi explained the reason for ARR's world being docile was that they expected a lot of players new to mmos, but they will be adding more danger in the expansion since these players should now be more experienced.

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That kinda doesn't make any sense. I, for one, start 1.0 as my 1st MMO. So you can imagine how fresh I was to the MMO world back then, like an MMO infant. And yet, here I am, already succeeded complete tagging every aether and sub-aethers, and got myself that nice "Wanderer's Shadow" title under my Legacy achievements.

However, I can understand the reason of it being performance issue, as this current version were also made available for consoles, unlike 1.0 which is impossible to made a PS3 port back then. ^^;

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Originally Posted by Ibi

I find Mor Dhona to be especially interesting, in that the areas that are currently accessible fall almost entirely in the same places on the zone map as they did in 1.0.

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That said, the imperial base used to be within one small valley SW of Silvertear, with two sub-zones around it that could be used instead to pass from the north end to the south, rather than being the whole of the connection between the two ends. That said, they could simply make the upper bluffs above (west) of it part of a much larger southern region, etc., as long as the train no longer leads directly to N. Than., goes through a tunnel, or whatever.

::I think what I liked most about Mor Dhona was that a lot of the areas, especially to the East and Northeast, looked fairly real, like rain-shadowed mountain valleys (albeit with some added crystals). The whole feel of it reminded me of some of my favorite wilderness hikes.

Also really miss the old Bluefog... I would have really liked to see that canyon run type of setting remastered--more verticality, access, etc. Partial flight there, come Heavensward revamps, would be really cool too.

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Originally Posted by BobbinT

That kinda doesn't make any sense. I, for one, start 1.0 as my 1st MMO. So you can imagine how fresh I was to the MMO world back then, like an MMO infant. And yet, here I am, already succeeded complete tagging every aether and sub-aethers, and got myself that nice "Wanderer's Shadow" title under my Legacy achievements.

However, I can understand the reason of it being performance issue, as this current version were also made available for consoles, unlike 1.0 which is impossible to made a PS3 port back then. ^^;

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Starting from 1.0 is different then starting from ARR. That's like a 2-3 year head start?

Yourself and I may not agree with their decision of making the world less threatening for newbies, but that is the reason they gave.

Reference from a 2014 FanFest interview: http://www.reddit.com/r/ffxiv/commen...naoki_yoshida/

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Reddit: Now we'll leave dungeons and go out into the open world of Eorzea. In Final Fantasy XI and 1.0 the world wasn't exactly a safe place to travel by yourself. There was a lot of high level monsters that posed a risk to you. We don't see that in A Realm Reborn. It's very, very safe to go anywhere in the world by yourself. Is there any plans in the expansion to bring back danger into the world?

Yoshida: When we first were doing the design for ARR we wanted to bring in people who had not played MMOs before. So for someone that knows the thrill of running and getting something on you and having to walk and run around and try and get away from them or knowing that you could be killed at any second; that's great for them. But for someone that had never played an MMO before that can be a lot of stress. A lot of those people that first entering ARR think, "I bought an RPG why do I have to do this? I didn't buy a stealth game.". And so we didn't want to have that kind of stress on the new players. You're the Warrior of Light you should be able to feel like you're the Warrior of Light and not be killed by a squirrel. However, in 3.0 people are level 50. The level cap is going up to level 60. People are experienced. We want to bring back a little bit of that dangerous feel in the expansion. I mean you're going to be going into areas controlled by the Dragons. So now there's chances that you might get on your Chocobo and auto run, look around, go to get yourself a... "Oh I'm dead". We want to bring back some of that thrill and we're adding that to our concept for 3.0. But we're not going to make it anything as thrilling as the original Final Fantasy XI. We know that there's people out there who love that though.

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Originally Posted by HeavensSword

Starting from 1.0 is different then starting from ARR. That's like a 2-3 year head start?

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Not really. I started 1.0 quite late actually, around Feb 2012 I think. That's only like 7-8 months before 1.0 final save. But for a game that ppl deemed difficult, I still enjoyed it and I did try making the best out of it. Still... I really wish I have more time back then, or started that game way earlier perhaps. And pointing out again that 1.0 is really my 1st MMO, as in never tried any MMO before. So I guess that's one of reason I don't really felt so thrilling with 2.0. I still decide to continue though, hoping the memory of old enjoyment would be returning some how... ^^;

And yes, I do aware of that FanFest interview. I still think it as strange. And it's kinda a bummer on that last sentence where Yoshi won't go near the level of FF11, which I do start after 1.0, and love the world of Vana'diel so much.

I guess in the end, we kinda have different view after all. MMO does evolved too I guess, dunno to what direction though... ^^;

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Originally Posted by Gwaeron

Also, what happened to:
Cassiopeia Hollows? Collapsed?

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Good point. I'll add this one to the list.

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Originally Posted by Gwaeron

Bearded Rock? Decomissioned?

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I don't tend to worry about the 1.0 camps too much. There's quite a few that no longer exist as aetheryte camps, often where the name of the camp is used for a location - just it's not where an aetheryte resides. It's interesting that there doesn't seem to be anything on the map called Bearded Rock. Summerford Farms is the closest aetheryte to where it would be. It looks like we lost an entire section of land to the southeast of Red Rooster Stead.

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Originally Posted by Gwaeron

Shposhae? Collapsed? No longer used by pirates?

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I'll add this one to the list, as well. Thematically, however, I think Sastasha covers both of these zones nicely.

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Originally Posted by Gwaeron

How was Thornmarch moved from Crimson Bark (?) to Bramble Patch?

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I think this one would just be chalked up to coincidence/necessity. West Shroud is ruined, so now Moggle Mog is summoned into a similar area found elsewhere.

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Originally Posted by Gwaeron

Where is Humblehearth? Used to be in Central Shroud!

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I imagine they weren't too worried about putting the names of all of the aetherial gates everywhere, even though they did keep many/most. Some names from the 1.0 maps are clearly missing, not just this one. I just chalk this one up to changes in the landscape in general. I'm more bothered by larger areas up and disappearing.

Some other areas I missed in the initial post, now added to the OP:

Cassiopeia Hollow

A dungeon area near 1.0's Camp Bloodshore, presumably this would be somewhere near Costa del Sol now, but it's not really hinted at anywhere. I would imagine there would be little interest in reviving this area as Sastasha already covers what it might offer thematically? Still would be interesting to know what happened to it.

Shposhae

A dungeon area near 1.0's Moraby Bay, presumably this would be around where "Moraby Bay" (the bay itself rather than the drydocks) is marked on the map, but it's not really hinted at anywhere. I would imagine there would be little interest in reviving this area as Sastasha already covers what it might offer thematically? Still would be interesting to know what happened to it.

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Originally Posted by BobbinT

And yes, I do aware of that FanFest interview. I still think it as strange. And it's kinda a bummer on that last sentence where Yoshi won't go near the level of FF11, which I do start after 1.0, and love the world of Vana'diel so much.

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The biggest thing that makes XIV different from XI is that if you run far enough away from something that's attacking you in XIV, it'll eventually get tired of chasing you.

Very few things (usually confined to those that tracked by scent in zones where water was common) would ever stop chasing you in XI, which made the prospect of catching something's attention much more serious.

The biggest thing that made 1.0 different is that you could go around a corner or up a ramp from level 5 mobs and find aggressive level 70+ mobs. It was certainly exciting, but also very arbitrary most of the time, and the only way you realized you weren't supposed to have gone somewhere was when you were already dead.

Talking of 1.0 areas, that was the

Sil'dih Aqueducts

in 2.55, right?

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Originally Posted by Chewy2nd

Talking of 1.0 areas, that was the

Sil'dih Aqueducts

in 2.55, right?

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Aye, 'twas.

Good point. I'll add that to the OP in a spoiler tag.