Bring back zones like:

[Anienai]

Boyahda Tree
Den of Rancor


Zones that put hair on your chest as a BST.

[Synapse]

O In 2.2, you'll be exploring Amdapori Township and it will be a new experience. Once you've explored it though, that is gone.

completely and utterly pointless side passages you would never use once you knew where you were going.

Visiting an instance place is not the same as exploring a wide world.

Exploration kinda loses its effect when i can do them as level 1 fisher. There nothing to explore in FFXIV, or i should say no reason to explore... no mysterious ancient technologies like the crags, or hidden corridors in plain zone.


I never felt the same when i explored the zones in FFXi compared to FFXIV. Of course Nm had me revisiting many areas, something FFXIV does not have..

Only thing i felt great was when i entered coil for the first time.. i was like "wow, a whole ancient civilization build this etc etc".. and that was just a frking instance -_-.....


it would have been great if allagan technologies was like you know, in normal world map.

[BloodPact]

Honestly, FFXI maps were so very well designed that I didn't really notice have time to notice the copy/pasta. It was always exciting to revisit areas because they never got dull to the point where you could faceroll it solo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIcLKaLtdHU

You're just biased, like I was when I was obsessed with that game. Go run from one end of Meriphataud Mountains to the other and tell me those 10 minutes(!!!!!!) it took you to get from one point to the other were exciting. Now, take out Meriphataud Mountains and insert: Jugner Forest, Sanctuary of Zi'tah, Sarutabaruta, Al'Taieu, whatever the area outside Aht Urghan was, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. They were super larger, copy/pastas, that's it. I'm not complaining about it; back when I was playing I loved the game and all those zones, but to say they were better than what we have in this game is just not right.

[Sotek]

Honestly, FFXI maps were so very well designed that I didn't really notice have time to notice the copy/pasta. It was always exciting to revisit areas because they never got dull to the point where you could faceroll it solo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIcLKaLtdHU

I actually agree. The zones were well designed. The problem is the content around them wasn't, the content utterly wasted the potential the zones had.

As much as I loathed Abyssea, it at least gave me reason to see parts of La Thiene. It really wasn't until Abyssea that XI really made the most of its zones. The majority of NMs in XI were pretty damn pointless, as were the coffers. They justified the large map but they were so utterly worthless. Actually, Wings of the Goddess might have been the start of them using zones properly, SCNMs were utterly great in that regard.

Exploration kinda loses its effect when i can do them as level 1 fisher. There nothing to explore in FFXIV, or i should say no reason to explore... no mysterious ancient technologies like the crags, or hidden corridors in plain zone.

Your mileage may vary.

I very much enjoyed exploring Eorzea at launch. I had no Sneak/Invis to just walk past everything, I actually had to treat every mob in XIV as True Sight mobs in XI. I enjoyed walking through The Shroud and finding Urths Font, traveling to Thanalan and seeing High Bridge, Burning Wall and then Southern Thanalan. I enjoyed finding all the scars of Dalamund scattered throughout the zones. I enjoyed heading to Coerthas and finding towers and camps that actually made sense. Seeing Natalan, exploring the caves nearby, and the ruins just north of it. Seeing Ishgard again. I enjoyed seeing Boulderdowns for the first time, then heading to Mor Dhona, walking out the gate and seeing Crystal Tower.

Again, your milage may vary.

[Doo]

As much as I loathed Abyssea, it at least gave me reason to see parts of La Thiene.

I always help players do AF quests, nation quests, limit break quests, main story quests, expansions quests, hunt nms, xp grinding, farming, bcnms, etc. I found plenty of reasons to going back to areas that I've been to before.

You're just biased,

Aren't we all? The difference is I don't pretend not to be bias.

[Sotek]

I always help players do AF quests, nation quests, limit break quests, main story quests, expansions quests, hunt nms, etc. I found plenty of reasons to going back to areas that I've been to before.

None of those things involved you traveling to certain corners of the maps. The entire south west section of La Thiene, for example. It was wasted space until Abyssea put it to use.

Just compare the use of the map in Davoi to the use in La Vaule (S). The difference is quite apparent.

[Themis]

things

I have to agree. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed playing FFXI, but the maps weren't that well designed. They were big, yes, but big =/= good design. Most of the map wasn't used for anything (more so in the earlier days than later when things like Voidwatch was added).

Running to Jeuno was fun the first time because it was a different kind of adventure, you had no chocobo or invis/sneak to just run through everything, and it was quite tense when that Gobbie you were following stops to turn around. After that, though, it quickly died off. You got a 'Bo and you just ran by everything for 15-20 minutes.

Simply put, the maps were bigger than they needed to be. I actually prefer XIVs map design because most of it actually feels functional or has a different vibe to it. If it was larger, it may not have had that same feeling and that was the purpose behind designing it smaller.

Maybe in the future we will get some bigger maps but every part of it has to have a reason to exist and not just be there for the sake of it.

[Synapse]

Your mileage may vary.

Considering i had exploration blog in lodestone, and 1.0 had better scenery than 2.0(which my blog was mainly about)

Yes, Mileage may vary, as an experienced explorer, FFXIV ARR broken down after few days.


Not sure if we can revisit old Lodestone blogs... if its possible and it ifs still there to trace it with my character name(cant now cause at work and lodestoneis blocked :/)

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...f-Eorzea/page6

[Sotek]

Considering i had exploration blog in lodestone, and 1.0 had better scenery than 2.0(which my blog was mainly about)

Yes, Mileage may vary, as an experienced explorer, FFXIV ARR broken down after few days.

Really? Because if I was blogging my exploration through Eorzea I'd hardly have had time to play the game. Every corner has something to write about and post a picture of. Right out the gate of Gridania I could turn around and post a picture of the city (not possible in 1.0). Then there is a training camp. A giant root acting as a path up a cliff. So and and so on. That's just Central Shroud... What could I have blogged in 1.0? "Here's the same corridor... With some different monsters !".

[Doo]

None of those things involved you traveling to certain corners of the maps. The entire south west section of La Thiene, for example.

There were plenty of places in FF12 I didn't go to but that doesn't mean it should just change into a linear corridor like FF13 though. Players still got lost trying to find quests or got chased by mobs and had to run in different directions.

I'm not arguing that...

Those quests that I mentioned did take you to many different areas all over Vana Diel though. Just take a lot at Rise of Zilart quest to get Sky access as an example. I mean where there still unused areas in FFXI? Sure, but they did a great job of making areas relevant for a long time.