Eorzea feels like a world with no teeth.

[Parodine]

I was thinking about this the other day. The problem the major cities have with the beastmen tribes feel really silly when I can walk into their stronghold be bombarded by their 'elite' warriors, and literally walk through it mostly unscathed, solo.

I hate talking about FFXI...but in FFXI Beaudeaux f-ing terrified me. There was so much sound aggro everywhere and if I got more than 1 of the upper level quadavs on me, I was done (75 and under). It really did feel like a stronghold...these do not inspire the same fear.

[lolirocco]

In particular, gateways that require warm bodies to bypass (like the four-switch doors in Garlaige Citadel, or the six-man door levers in Halvung) are a pain in the butt.

There's a big difference between not getting somewhere due to mechanics like the doors in GC or not being able to get somewhere without having to fight your way through. Exploring and questing/missions was perfectly possible solo in FFXI with oils/invisible etc, a lot players seem to want a return of this aspect of adventuring... I kinda miss it too - somehow the horror of being detected seems fun now that there's no real danger left...

[statikcat]

The entire leveling process is too easy. Now that does not mean just simply crank up the difficulty. It is more in the design of the world that makes it so easy. I died maybe 2 times (not including a few duties) leveling my character.

This game lacks interesting areas that are threatening by design. For example, other games will have a series of quests inside a small walled in castle area. You have to infiltrate your way in to complete a series of quests. Maybe a front and back entrance. If you pull to many mobs it is not easy to run for cover without hitting another mob. This kind of leveling also reinforces strategy and patience! Way more fun and less mindless. We already have standard generic MMO quests at least design the world to make them more dangerous, interesting, and fun.

[ToraFomalhaut]

Because you're level 50 with i90 gear. Nothing on the world map poses a challenge to you, currently. Back when you were level 20-30 and you'd venture into the level 49 beast camps, you'd get your ass handed to you and stood no chance.

I was also high level gear in XI and WoW and stood the risk of death at max level in a lot of zones if not careful (admittedly XI more than WoW).

[Eekiki]

I was also high level gear in XI and WoW and stood the risk of death at max level in a lot of zones if not careful (admittedly XI more than WoW).

Yeah...why aren't there ilevel 90 beastmen, too?

[IzumiRaito]

Atm all the normal monsters feel like a nuisance. Crappy exp for kill, mostly crappy matrials that have low chances of selling. U just want to sneak by, ignore every enemy that is not part of quest/hunting log. Killing unnecessary aggroed enemies takes too long compared to the time to complete primary objective, given the microscopic reward. The most undesirable thing is getting slowed while running by. Adding threat requires adding rewads, and not making it just roadblocks.

[LunarEmerald]

Atm all the normal monsters feel like a nuisance. Crappy exp for kill, mostly crappy matrials that have low chances of selling. U just want to sneak by, ignore every enemy that is not part of quest/hunting log. Killing unnecessary aggroed enemies takes too long compared to the time to complete primary objective, given the microscopic reward. The most undesirable thing is getting slowed while running by. Adding threat requires adding rewads, and not making it just roadblocks.

Enemies need rare equipment drops.

[Tupsi]

I was just doing hunting log for my monk in Castrum and was feeling a bit silly, raiding over the place with my chocobo. Because an adventurer and a chocobo can take over a whole imperial stronghold

If you tried to do this in 1.2x you'd become the laughing stock of your entire server trying to think you were awesome only to get your body smeared all over the place and left for the wolves in the caves.

Those Magitek Vanguards were the bane of your existence if you didn't leash past them for the storyline mission. They didn't fall over like a tinkertoy like they do in ARR. Eorzea is a world without teeth because people would complain it's "too hard" to do anything if they...wait for it....actually had to fear for their lives.

[Eldryan]

When did we get so soft as gamers, that we were too afraid to risk death for the prize of exploring...

Yoshida have stated several times they don't want new MMORPGs players be somehow scared of threats hurting their exploration, forcing them to ask for help..

These two statements exemplifies the mentality of game designers today to appeal to the lowest common denominator, a statement I keep using because it's true. It is no wonder some of the great game developers of the past no longer work for the company they helped build, SE developers included. I remember one of Yoshi's old producer letter where he talked about the game he wants to play as a gamer, and the game he need to make as a producer, and the contrast between the two. Given his taste and preference in video games, I'd wager that Yoshi himself probably wouldn't play this game for long if he was just a gamer looking for a new mmo to try.

[Tupsi]

Back when you were level 20-30 and you'd venture into the level 49 beast camps, you'd get your ass handed to you and stood no chance.

Heh funny enough, you can survive at least 1 or two hits before you completely died because of the insane regen rate on HP/MP standard to these 'streamlined' MMORPGs. It doesn't help that mobs leash back and all run at the same speed. As much as people hate to admit it or acknowledge it because it was successful, world and atmosphere was one thing XI nailed perfectly. Sadly, the only reason they made mobs vanish in FFXI once they lost aggro was because of the MPK RMT and high level LS's used to do.

Some mobs in eorzea are slightly faster..but not by much - If i aggroed a high level raptor in XI and I wasn't a thief, that was where I died. If I aggroed a high level tiger, he'll laugh at my feeble attempt to run away. Oh and that Goblin? You know..those goblins that ALWAYS seems to be around every corner when you're low level to the point you swear they can smell your noob butt? Yeah they'd be your bane of existence.

In XI, even as a level 99 I can still wander into a semi lower leveled zone and still pose risk depending - I can go to a zone designed for 75 and still get my face ripped off if enough attacks me. In ARR? They'll just lag behind me unless they heavy me or are a caster lol. Casters are the only thing that poses a real threat and even then they usually give up chase because they're too busy buffing themselves with spike spells you'll never even touch as you're running by them.