Xelphatol is a dungeon

I guess this means it's not going to be a full region in the next expansion at all....

How so....there no way of knowing that yet. Even if you have all the lore background atm.

Im torn. For one, they did the same with Mhach region surrounding the city itself, so those regions are discarded. On the other hand, maybe it means we are not going to Gyr Abania and Ala Mhigo next expansion.

So yeah, we lost a lore-rich potentially full region with this dungeon for the most probably place the expansion is going, but i guess maybe still there is a chance to head to Meracydia instead.

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Originally Posted by Alexander_Dragonfang

Im torn. For one, they did the same with Mhach region surrounding the city itself, so those regions are discarded. On the other hand, maybe it means we are not going to Gyr Abania and Ala Mhigo next expansion.

So yeah, we lost a lore-rich potentially full region with this dungeon for the most probably place the expansion is going, but i guess maybe still there is a chance to head to Meracydia instead.

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actually it's point into ala miggho directly, remember the dungeon for reach the trial of shiva, it can work like this. make the area of xelphatol soo much dangerous that is not different than a dungeon for cross it.

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Originally Posted by Alexander_Dragonfang

Im torn. For one, they did the same with Mhach region surrounding the city itself, so those regions are discarded. On the other hand, maybe it means we are not going to Gyr Abania and Ala Mhigo next expansion.

So yeah, we lost a lore-rich potentially full region with this dungeon for the most probably place the expansion is going, but i guess maybe still there is a chance to head to Meracydia instead.

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That still not true, we can still go to Ala Mhigo, we have to at some point. It is a town and one we will have to help save at some point too. All this tell us is that we "maybe" get too push in to the next region and see what t "can" look like befor we even get to go there, in the EXP. Yes it a big maybe.. But it not that far off all the same.

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Originally Posted by silentwindfr

actually it's point into ala miggho directly, remember the dungeon for reach the trial of shiva, it can work like this. make the area of xelphatol soo much dangerous that is not different than a dungeon for cross it.

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I have a feeling its similar to Snowcloak which is a shame. I hate how so many regions are turning into instance condensed dungeons/raids. Even turing Coerthas Eastern Lowlands into a PVP zone was a lame idea.

well i think you overestimate how many area we have access
so far (from yoshida) we do have maybe 70% of eorzea who is the smallest continent in the world of ff14 :x
then i can understand that they want to deliver more area and finish eorzea for finally move away from it and really start to explore the world

I'm also dissapointed an entire area being scrapped and made into a small dungeon to get rid of it. Maybe we are not going Ala Mhigo after all in 4.0. Or maybe we do just without Xelphatol as a zone we can explore.

So in the future when we inevitably get expansions to the Xelphatol dungeon like Xelphatol HM and "the Lost City" of Xelphatol, Xelphatol Keep, and "the Weeping City" of Xelphatol, are we still going to complain about the lack of size and lore?

This just seems like some very short sighted knee jerking.

Idk, I'm excited the next dungeon is Xelph. Means we're very likely getting Ala Mhigo and surrounding region in 4.0 and most likely pushing into the empire in 5.0.

The big issue here is that despite is a big hint of what could come on 4.0 true, we still have that issue with the name.

The new dungeon at 2.4 did not had one of the region names like, western cortheas or Dravania.

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Originally Posted by Riardon

I'm also dissapointed an entire area being scrapped and made into a small dungeon to get rid of it. Maybe we are not going Ala Mhigo after all in 4.0. Or maybe we do just without Xelphatol as a zone we can explore.

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I kind of expect only two or three new areas at most in the expansion. A fairly vocal complaints from the JP forums were regions being too largely, thus going mostly unused. People on both sides have also pointed to poor textures. Frankly, I wouldn't mind the idea if done right. It would be nice seeing more people around while doing quests and etc.

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Originally Posted by Frederick22

The big issue here is that despite is a big hint of what could come on 4.0 true, we still have that issue with the name.

The new dungeon at 2.4 did not had one of the region names like, western cortheas or Dravania.

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"Little is known of Xelphatol. The Ixal hail from the canyons and mountains of this remote region. There is no city-state shown on the map, making it appear to be largely wilderness." - From the FF wiki

If this description is accurate, then I would much rather it be explored through instances, as I feel that making it an open zone would be a more boring approach (there is nothing there). The expansion is limited in how many zones it can have in it, and I would rather they focus on interesting and POPULATED zones with brand new stuff (not a wasteland full of ixal). I remember that 1.0 was a huge map with lots of different areas, but the drawback was that they were all empty, Xelphatol seems empty by design.

"Xelphatol (ゼルファトル, Zerufatoru?) is an inaccessible region of Eorzea in Final Fantasy XIV. It is marked on the map in Eorzean northeast of Coerthas, north of the Black Shroud, and northwest of Gyr Abania.

Little is known of Xelphatol. The Ixal hail from the canyons and mountains of this remote region. There is no city-state shown on the map, making it appear to be largely wilderness." -From the wiki

There have been hints that the next expansion will be in Ala Mhigo, I think its precisely because this is being made into a dungeon that proves we are going to Ala Mhigo. So what if we may not explore Xelphatol, considering that's all of Eorzea we have left to explore, that would be a pretty small expansion if it was limited to just that. Maybe we may just push into Garlemald and take the fight to them? The naysaying and complaining on these forums are just getting ridiculous now xD

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Originally Posted by Frederick22

The big issue here is that despite is a big hint of what could come on 4.0 true, we still have that issue with the name.

The new dungeon at 2.4 did not had one of the region names like, western cortheas or Dravania.

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Yes but it did show hints. Landmark names have nothing to do with it. For two patches they were foreshadowing the conflict with dragons in ishgard. This time they're foreshadowing ala mhigo

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Originally Posted by Arcsol93

Yes but it did show hints. Landmark names have nothing to do with it. For two patches they were foreshadowing the conflict with dragons in ishgard. This time they're foreshadowing ala mhigo

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well who knows... not that the dungeon have the same name as the region couldnt be something easy to change for latter.

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Originally Posted by Frederick22

The big issue here is that despite is a big hint of what could come on 4.0 true, we still have that issue with the name.

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What is that issue? You didn't actually say what the problem is.

I'm so glad Xelphatol is a dungeon, the place is useless. We need to accelerate the story. The 4.0 MSQ should start with the liberation of Ala Mhigo and end with us inside Garlemald.

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Originally Posted by SendohJin

What is that issue? You didn't actually say what the problem is.

I'm so glad Xelphatol is a dungeon, the place is useless. We need to accelerate the story. The 4.0 MSQ should start with the liberation of Ala Mhigo and end with us inside Garlemald.

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Ala Mhigo confirmed: Trial
Garlemald confirmed: Instanced room for two quests.

Please look forward to it.

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Originally Posted by Jynx

Ala Mhigo confirmed: Trial
Garlemald confirmed: Instanced room for two quests.

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Difference between those and Xelphatol is that Xelphatol is both empty, and irrelevant to the story. This is a smart way to utilise the space better (like lost city of amdapor and snowcloak) rather than a precedent for instancing the whole of eorzea.

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Originally Posted by Jynx

Ala Mhigo confirmed: Trial
Garlemald confirmed: Instanced room for two quests.

Please look forward to it.

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We had a Trial to get into Ishgard, I wouldn't care if there was a trial and Ala Mhigo gets nuked and there's nothing left as a result of the resistance.

If that's how the story ends and at least we get to Garlemald in 4.0, I'm fine with that too. The worse thing would be to spend an entire expansion liberating Ala Mhigo, even if they do what you say there will be an interesting city in between and some kind of hub area to rebuild.

It amazes me that people are ok with not having actual open world zones in a MMO

I highly doubt that Ala Mhigo will be the only place that we'll visit in 4.0 anyway. Look at 3.0, we had Ishgard and another big chunk of Coerthas, Dravania, and Abalathia's spine. I think that the events of the 3.4-3.5 main scenario will lead us to Ala Mhigo, and we'll start up 4.0 right there just like we started 3.0 in Ishgard. Then we'll visit the region and go somewhere else. Maybe we'll go to Doma by sea and have 1 or 2 aquatic zones on the way, making Doma the last levelling area and maybe the new Mor Dhona/Idyllshire will be there ? When they announced Heavensward, they said that they had the choice of either exploring the sky or the sea for 3.0, and they chose the sky. So having the sea theme for 4.0 wouldn't seem too unrealistic. Also, Othard (where Doma is located) is occupied by Garlemald atm so maybe we'll start fighting the empire from there after freeing Ala Mhigo, getting more and more allies in order to directly attack Garlemald later (5.0 ?).

Just a theory tho

It makes me concerned as to what Regions will be added in 4.0 besides possibly Gyr Abania. If Xelphatol is not going to have open-world areas in 4.x, will Paglth'an and O'ghomoro regions get the same treatment?

All will be answered at fanfest

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Originally Posted by bass9020

It amazes me that people are ok with not having actual open world zones in a MMO

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did anyone actually say that?

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Originally Posted by SendohJin

We had a Trial to get into Ishgard, I wouldn't care if there was a trial and Ala Mhigo gets nuked and there's nothing left as a result of the resistance.

If that's how the story ends and at least we get to Garlemald in 4.0, I'm fine with that too. The worse thing would be to spend an entire expansion liberating Ala Mhigo, even if they do what you say there will be an interesting city in between and some kind of hub area to rebuild.

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Aannnd that's why you're not the one calling the shots for the story.

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Originally Posted by SendohJin

did anyone actually say that?

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With the many topics of open world and some opinions on this new dungeon it seems that way.

My prediction

3.4 Getting a path cleared into Ala Mhigo
3.5 Us starting to save Ala Mhigo
3.55 Us saving Ala Mhigo and prepping for advancement into the Garlean Empire

Looking at it Ala Mhigo map wise just doesnt seem to have enough there to warrant a full expansion outside of maybe the opening set piece especially if they are carving up pieces of it already for dungeons. Is the entire expansion going to be the size of 1/4 of the Black Shroud? I am fine with getting into the empires territory and using Ala Mhigo as a staging base for these operations.

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Originally Posted by bass9020

With the many topics of open world and some opinions on this new dungeon it seems that way.

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From what I've read, the reverse is true. People seem to be disappointed if not upset that Xelphatol won't be an open world area and will instead be a dungeon.

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Originally Posted by HakuroDK

From what I've read, the reverse is true. People seem to be disappointed if not upset that Xelphatol won't be an open world area and will instead be a dungeon.

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Oh for sure but I see some from various places that are happy but Im glad a majority are against it(just making it a forgotten dungeon). I mean its possible we will still get it as a proper zone but only time will tell :)

I really don't care, I'm disappointed for a different reason.
Story has been hinting on Ala Mhigo for a while now, but I still believed in Yoshi's words when he said people really want flying and swimming for the next expansion, and then we got flying for 3.0 so I naturally assumed 4.0 would be swimming.
Instead this dungeons confirms we are definitely going north/northeast, and the only thing that's there are mountains and another continent aka huge landmass with no reason for swimming >.>

I'm guessing swimming won't come for another 4 years

We are still going to Meracydia, you just wait and see. For us to go into Ala Mhigo the whole Ul'dah story line has to first come to and end, and the Sultana vs Monetarist thingy is far from over, without the support of Ul'dah and for that the rest of the whole Alliance there is no chance we ever go into Ala Mhigo which is now fully fledged Imperial City and Military Base, it puts the Castrums in Eorzea itself to shame, its probably commanded by another Legatus ala Baelsar or Hydrus if it isn`t where the Emperor itself left after leaving Hydrus to continue his journey into Azys Lla (asuming he left since he hasn`t appeared again).

No, even if we now go North, Ala Mhigo still far from our reach, too many thing have to happen in the next 2 or 3 patches (if 3.6 happens) for us to have a logical and realistic chance to head that way. My bet is that we going north just to find Yda and Papalymo and get their support, but they gonna tell us they are alright and that we have more pressing matters (Stoping the whole Azys Lla imperial experiments, Hydrus, Discovering the truth of the Allamigans vs Dragon thingy and facing the warrior of darkness, which happens this patch but i don`t see ending soon) and then send us back south while they stay up there playing the guerrilla wars against the empire while we go south to finally settle things with the Warriors of Darkness.

Omega still an important thing we all have forgotten, Sharlayan needs to be rebuilt too. If we hope to take onto Ala Mhigo we need to tie all the loose ends first.

Now, story can always go "sultana mode" and do all im saying which could perfectly be in 2 patches + new expansion long events in just 2 patches. And september we beat the Warriors of Darkness we barely even crossed ways and in December we suddenly fix the whole Ul'dah thing while we stop Hydrus and suddenly all 4 states say "that was fast, ok, to Ala Mhigo then".

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Originally Posted by Atoli

I really don't care, I'm disappointed for a different reason.
Story has been hinting on Ala Mhigo for a while now, but I still believed in Yoshi's words when he said people really want flying and swimming for the next expansion, and then we got flying for 3.0 so I naturally assumed 4.0 would be swimming.
Instead this dungeons confirms we are definitely going north/northeast, and the only thing that's there are mountains and another continent aka huge landmass with no reason for swimming >.>

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Seeing how inconsequential flying turned out to be, I doubt they both with swimming, at least not in any meaningful way. If it ever does get implemented, I see it just being something we do but not a major feature nor one that will remotely impact where the expansion goes.

Just because they said it came down to either Flying or Swimming with 3.0 doesn't mean that the latter would become 4.0's theme by default. Unless they outright said it would come with 4.0, then it's only players fault for getting ahead of themselves.

As a pretty big lorehead, I'm excited that we're journeying east. And the big question is why? Xelphatol is simply the mountain region that makes up most of Coerthas Eastern Highlands (also what kept Garlemald away from Ishgard), and the Eastern Lowlands are a region north of Ala Mhigo. . . which is a costal area btw. So swimming and/or sea travel is still a possiblity (albeit not without some danger due to Garlean occupation). So travelling through Xelphatol (this is purely speculation) would be the less dangerous means to reach AM. That is, if that's our reason for journeying east. . .

I kind of expected this since Ala Mhigo areas are in control of the Garlean Empire's Forces. It is basically a means to create a path into the Ala Mhigo zone before the Expansion so we have a means to reach the Expansion area.

I still find myself heading out into the Shroud to see if anything was done around the Imperial Fort there. Unless it was involved in beast tribe quests and I just don't know about it.

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Originally Posted by Creltis

I still find myself heading out into the Shroud to see if anything was done around the Imperial Fort there. Unless it was involved in beast tribe quests and I just don't know about it.

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One of the Sylph quests did involve a FATE in that general area

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Originally Posted by Atoli

I really don't care, I'm disappointed for a different reason.

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Just saying, we getting to Gyr Abania means nothing about whether the expansion will be water focused or not, Gyr Abania likely will not be the only region we'll get to access, and Gyr Abania has a coast and many islands to the south, hell, they could use 4.0 as an introduction to Othard and let us access Thavnair earlier.

Besides, the wandering minstrel in the anniversary event dropped a hint saying "thy argent blade cleaves oceans deep.", whether this means anything about a water-themed future development it's up to you to believe.