One to Fifty, One Zone - Long OP

[Daedae]

I can agree that there could be more diversity, but I am still getting a sense of adventure. Granted, my highest toon is 30.



Last night, I took a trip north in Thanalan to attempt to get to Mor Dhona. I was amazed at the scenery changes, and the dangers inthe north of the zone. You pass through a cave, and come into a canyon area lined with vegetation and classic mobs like Goblins and vultures. I had to strategically maneuver my way through the area, avoiding Dreamites and some other crazy looking desert creatures. I narrowly escaped death from lvl 71 dragon of some kind, and finally arrived in Mor Dhona.

For the breif time I was there, I was amazed. Now, our LS has our sights set on the next level of progression in Mor Dhona.

So far for me, it's been full of adventure. We have taken the initiative to explore, break away from the guild leve/behest grinding, and make our own adventures.

I think people get stuck in the camp-to-camp grind and don't really explore the game and try out new things. At this point, I'm playing catch up on my storylines and crafting skills - always leaving me with a lot to do when I log on. And then the LS gets together, and we do our SP parties and exploring together. I'm looking forward to leveling other classes in Nanawa, Mun Tuy, and Cassiopea, and eventually gaining enough strength to take them into new areas.

Sure, I'd love prettier maps, but I feel like a lot of players aren't going to any lengths to find and enjoy the "sweet spots" that the game has to offer. When there are more dungeons, zones, and things to do... the game will be utterly amazing. But don't be so quick to write it off. You can adventure into new territory, find sweet camping spots, walk into dangerous situations, and discover new things just as I was hoping.

The crazy thing to me is that we find these awesome spots for parties to get SP, and nobody is there. Nobody has taken the time to go, and it's not because people aren't playing. There are 10-15 people sitting in the camp doing nothing. The eyes were giving us behest-level SP (400+) and so were the Wights. It was waaaay more efficient than standing around waiting for a behest... and nobody seemed to even know about it.

I think it went over your head. Yeah, there are some cool looking places, maybe like, one per zone. But even those are copied. Cassie Hollow looks like Mistbeard which looks like the new dungeon. :O Mun-tuy looks like tam-tara looks like...the new dungeon! If you have low standards for how unique zones should be, and the sense of adventure you want, awesome! But you are in the minority. that sense if adventure you have isn't going to be refreshed when you level your second job, or your third....or your fourth....fifth....

Reliving that adventure is just as important has having it in the first place. Perhaps its because we are seasoned MMO players and we've become disenchanted with MMO's that do not reach a standard expectation, but when you compare zone diversity and adventure in XIV to any other MMO on the market, it falls flat, that includes F2P's. How broke game developers who are hardly making any money at all can develop games to be more interesting than the juggernaut that is SE is boggling! XIV feels like a second hand journey in a half-finished world. I like to see things in-game and not only appreciate the aesthetic value, but the lore and purpose behind it. Why are Nanawa and Copperbell abandoned? What are the closed doors in mistbeard for? So many things that are just up in the air!

[EdenArchangel]

What are the closed doors in mistbeard for?

Behind Mistbeard doors are a dock; where that ship will take us probably hasn't been decided yet. :3
But yes, the lack of 'life' in areas (not defined by having mobs) is definitely an issue as well.

[Daedae]

Behind Mistbeard doors are a dock; where that ship will take us probably hasn't been decided yet. :3

NONE OF THAT SASS! But still, more useless things!

I wasn't meaning to sound, well, mean in my response. It's just that nobody is doubting how 'pretty' the game looks. It looks pretty,but boring. Like those tacky pictures of flowers your wannabe-photographer friends on Facebook post. yep, flowers are pretty, is that picture interesting, no, because there are millions like it. The game is too big geographically to have such a lack of diversity. Just sayin'!

[EdenArchangel]

NONE OF THAT SASS! But still, more useless things!

I wasn't meaning to sound, well, mean in my response. It's just that nobody is doubting how 'pretty' the game looks. It looks pretty,but boring. Like those tacky pictures of flowers your wannabe-photographer friends on Facebook post. yep, flowers are pretty, is that picture interesting, no, because there are millions like it. The game is too big geographically to have such a lack of diversity. Just sayin'!

Ah, I see. My intention was to answer the question so that you would not have to look it up and see for yourself, which after seeing would undoubtedly lead to regret-- more regret that we don't need. xD

[Kafeen]

watch the dev video "Link"

We need less barren/exact landscapes and more of those really diverse looking areas and landmarks.

Behind Mistbeard doors are a dock; where that ship will take us probably hasn't been decided yet. :3
But yes, the lack of 'life' in areas (not defined by having mobs) is definitely an issue as well.

Maybe to Norg

[Valhinjin]

I think it went over your head. Yeah, there are some cool looking places, maybe like, one per zone. But even those are copied. Cassie Hollow looks like Mistbeard which looks like the new dungeon. :O Mun-tuy looks like tam-tara looks like...the new dungeon! If you have low standards for how unique zones should be, and the sense of adventure you want, awesome! But you are in the minority. that sense if adventure you have isn't going to be refreshed when you level your second job, or your third....or your fourth....fifth....

Reliving that adventure is just as important has having it in the first place. Perhaps its because we are seasoned MMO players and we've become disenchanted with MMO's that do not reach a standard expectation, but when you compare zone diversity and adventure in XIV to any other MMO on the market, it falls flat, that includes F2P's. How broke game developers who are hardly making any money at all can develop games to be more interesting than the juggernaut that is SE is boggling! XIV feels like a second hand journey in a half-finished world. I like to see things in-game and not only appreciate the aesthetic value, but the lore and purpose behind it. Why are Nanawa and Copperbell abandoned? What are the closed doors in mistbeard for? So many things that are just up in the air!

Over my head? Lol, implying that I'm not a veteran MMO player or simply haven't experienced "adventure" just doesn't apply here. I'm a mid 30s MMO'er who has been around since EQ. Played FFXI to cap. Still re-sub every couple months just to make sure my character doesn't get deleted. Played SWG in the hayday. 5 capped toons on WoW. Played WAR to cap (yeah, I know), have a lvl 60 on AoC, every major MMO that comes out I play. That includes games like STO.

Talking to me about your "standard" .... Not to be an ass... but implying that the game is that horrendous isn't a standard, it's entitlement.

While I don't doubt that I will eventually "run out" of things to do, the game gets a bad rap so far. To imply it "falls flat" is absurd. I'm sorry I haven't gotten high enough to have come back to these places 100 times over, but when you first arrive in them, they are fantastic and provide plenty of adventure for a Final Fantasy IP style game world. Most people I see playing are doing nothing but leves, and standing around waiting for behests. Maybe after r50 things get dull, but right 1-50 is awesome so far, and I haven't even seen Ishgard or much of Mor Dhona. I do feel like I've seen more than a lot of higher level players who waste their time hanging out at camps.

Here's the reason why: lack of progression. I don't think people don't level in those spots because they haven't taken the time to go, it's because they're not aware of them. The subzones of each region not only look and feel the same, but the game hardly gives you a clue that there's anything else out there. And what is out there is blocked by weird monster placement (sort of like the lvl 40 antlings that use to smite the lowbies trying to get around Thanalan). I'm not saying this game needs to be 100% linear with one clear path from point A to point B. We've already established that the map and existing layout can allow for multiple choices. But when there is a complete lack of guidance, organization, or structure, then people just sort of go with the flow and assume this is all that awaits them.

I dunno... I guess I'm a different breed than most of you. I find it challenging and fullfilling to sit and wait for the mobs to become perfectly placed, to allow me to take advantage of the sight/sound aggro system and sneak by. I enjoy open world exploration with no linear path. I like making my own discoveries. These are steps others just don't seem to want to take. If you followed my leveling path, and didn't just sit in camps waiting on behests, you would have seen forests, deserts, canyons, mountains, deep cellars, mines, traveled by ship, and explored multiple cities by r30. Not to mention taken part in a great cinematic story. If you just sat around and did leves, well then yeah... that would suck.... and thats what most of the server pop does.

I mean it's SE, it's the company that brought us "dodge 200 lightning bolts" in FFX. No way anyone would have figured that out without research and devotion. Their games are crazy, nonsensical, and difficult, which is part of why I find them so endearing. I guess I'm also the "elitist" type who only likes things when they aren't popular. I have already had more adventure here than I ever had in WoW - and it's the most popular MMO of all time. It's just too spoon fed, which absolutely destroys the epicness.

It was the same the the "revered" FFXI. You went to Valkurm, then to Korroloka, then to Quifim, then to Khazam, and so on. There was only "progression" because the masses discovered it, which they don't care to do i this case. There was hardly much diversity until you started ranking up (not leveling, but the ranking system) or at least passed level 50.

Anyway, I'm not saying the game is perfect. But for me there is plenty to do at the moment, I'm not totally disgusted by the regions/maps, I don't find it monotonous, and I'm quite enjoying it. So is my entire LS, granted there are only about 20 of us but we are always in full parties and always having fun. No problems for us that an expansion won't fix. No need to gut the place whatsoever.

But I'll get back to you at when I have a few 50s.

Just know there are a lot of players out there having great adventures, they just don't post on forums.

[Daedae]

Over my head? Lol, implying that I'm not a veteran MMO player or simply haven't experienced "adventure" just doesn't apply here. I'm a mid 30s MMO'er who has been around since EQ. Played FFXI to cap. Still re-sub every couple months just to make sure my character doesn't get deleted. Played SWG in the hayday. 5 capped toons on WoW. Played WAR to cap (yeah, I know), have a lvl 60 on AoC, every major MMO that comes out I play. That includes games like STO.

Talking to me about your "standard" .... Not to be an ass... but implying that the game is that horrendous isn't a standard, it's entitlement.

Rereading my reply, I guess it could be interpreted as an attack on your MMO prowess, but that wasn't my intention lol! I meant the community as a whole who are invested in XIV, not specifically you! But if XIV ranks top on your list of adventure it does question me to what games you have played(which you answered). But like I said, you are in the drip drop drizzly little pond of a minority of players fully satisfied, or nearly with the game. Thats not a bad thing necessarily, you're having your fun, thats nifty and all, but as you can tell from the countless posts and suggestion threads, the majority of players want some change. So we'll see what the future holds for the both of us!

(Sorry again if it sounded bad, I didnt mean it that way ) And yes, after a few 50's, or just one, it's a drain to even log on, beginning on my fourth(fifth) and like tearing off a bandaid, I just get it done :<