Is there going to be open world content ever? Have I missed news or anything related?

[Garlyle]

Never was part of an active guild and yet I completed the main story with just the help from complete strangers that didn't want anything in return. I don't know where you're getting this negativity from but i've never in my life met so nice and helpful people that I did in XI. On my first day a random guy bought my tarutaru a full gear set and few starter spells and explained how the FoV works.

The nicest group of players I've ever met. Ever.

XI basically mandated social and helpful players - because if you were a grump or a loner, nobody'd help you, and then you could basically forget about the game because you weren't getting anywhere by yourself. Ever.

However, the point trying to be made by the post was that these really cool forced cooperation areas suffer these days because so much content has stacked onto the game that nobody will go to them anymore. When me and my boyfriend were trying to get into XI, it was practically a ghost town. All the players were off in high level content. If we wanted to do any of that cool stuff, we'd need to have somehow gotten players to come back there and join us - which wasn't going to even start happening anytime soon because first we'd have to find some.

XI had some cool stuff and I'd love to see it, but mandatory-high-playerbase mechanisms suffer when that playerbase moves into other content. At the least, with Duty Roulette rewarding players with endgame-valued rewards for doing 'weaker' content, there's a reason to return, but that still requires putting stuff like that into instances, which isn't the open-world the OP wants.

[TheUltimate3]

I also want to point out, that baring massive changes that will simply not happen before an expansion pack, be very careful on what you wish for.

People demanded open world content, a reason to go out into other zones that was Mor Dhona, and not FATE related.

First they got the beastmen dailies. Open world, a reason to go out into other zones, and not FATE related. And people hate them.

Then people complained that this was a Monday only game. You log in Monday and get everything you could use on Monday and then complain that there is nothing to do.

So SE makes the atma grind. Something that, unless you are terribly lucky, cannot be done in a single sitting. And we all know how this is turning out.

People wanted open world content, but they wanted it to be challenging for level cap. Which means it would have had to be either in Mor Dhona, or some out of the way place that it won't interfere with the leveling players. This is by design. A level 10 does not want to be in the middle of questing, only to end up under a level 50 primal. But if they just added the open world content in one area, you end up with Odin and Behemoth.

Chances are, there won't be any open world content that doesn't require FATEs or spread across the playable world until an expansion hits. Thinking they will just dump level 50 mobs into the low level zones is foolish at best.

[Magis]

People wanted open world content, but they wanted it to be challenging for level cap. Which means it would have had to be either in Mor Dhona, or some out of the way place that it won't interfere with the leveling players. This is by design. A level 10 does not want to be in the middle of questing, only to end up under a level 50 primal. But if they just added the open world content in one area, you end up with Odin and Behemoth.

Chances are, there won't be any open world content that doesn't require FATEs or spread across the playable world until an expansion hits. Thinking they will just dump level 50 mobs into the low level zones is foolish at best.

They could open up and expand the beastman strongholds and make them... well actually strongholds. Bump up the mob level way higher and put some reasons to get in there with a group. Maybe a triggered/spawned NM or something to farm? Just not another damn FATE.

[TheUltimate3]

They could open up and expand the beastman strongholds and make them... well actually strongholds. Bump up the mob level way higher and put some reasons to get in there with a group. Maybe a triggered/spawned NM or something to farm? Just not another damn FATE.

Which would still require an expansion because dumping a new landmass down somewhere is not as simple as it looks, and I highly doubt, if we were to go beyond those invisible walls, we would find actual land to stand on so they couldn't just open it up.

[Tupsi]

People begged SE to instance everything and make smaller zones, so this is pretty much what we're stuck with. It's funny how the very people who defend "Atma FATE grinding" as "open world content" were the same people who complained about having to do FATEs for Lightning/FFXI/DQ/Seasonal Events.

Which would still require an expansion because dumping a new landmass down somewhere is not as simple as it looks, and I highly doubt, if we were to go beyond those invisible walls, we would find actual land to stand on so they couldn't just open it up.

Did you know? In 2.2 they did just that? Binding Coil Turn 6-9 are new land masses, Rivenroad revisited though, is the exception...but even then there's some changes from it's 1.23 version - City of Amdapor is a new land mass. It doesn't require an expansion because XI added in new zones in monthly updates as well.

Let's be real, it's more like: If they wanted to add new area they can, they would wait for expansions to explain the new areas. For example with 2.3 or 2.4 they could easily add Doma if they so felt like it but it wouldn't make much sense without it's own storyline, itemization and so on. (basically expansion content.)

[i2agnarok]

Keep in mind, I'm not defending FF14 at all, but I seriously don't understand some of these descriptions. I'm not trolling or anything, but I'm genuinely interested in clarification.

Maybe I just missed the magic because I didn't play XI, but based on the descriptions, it doesn't sound any different from what I'm experiencing, except the monsters in the open world aren't really challenging. There are some Fates that you simply can't solo (easily, anyway), although the reward doesn't sound comparable to NMs unless you're looking for Atmas. People shout, people camp them (CT Fates), someone come to your aid, you may become friends. You can rezz people that get roflstomped by the Cyclops in Coerthas and there are fun times there.

Notorious monsters sound interesting, but sort of like a pain. Rare drops go to who? Whoever tags it first? Gets the killing blow? Everyone that participates gets a chance at a drop? Can't Fates just drop something rare to make them worth participating in to make it similar?

I do like the area of strongholds actually being more dangerous. Now that people are actually going in to do the Atma Fates in that area, they could set something up to promote that. Make it into something more than solely for Atma farm or CT unlock.

Really, it just sounds like FF11 forces you into parties so you want to be less of a douche or else no one wants you around. That "chance encounter" sounds more like you're just being forced to be nice to people and want to have a lot of people lined up to potentially run with later because you can't advance otherwise. Sounds no different than what I'm doing for Coil runs; shouts, party finder, conversations with random people while looking for Atma..... I talk to people all the time; the jokes make Atma grinding slightly more tolerable, conversations sometimes open up friends. The opportunities are there, they just aren't forced on you. Maybe the opportunities aren't as frequent as 11, but I don't think its fair to imply they don't exist.

EDIT: Treasure hunts in party finder are also a quick way to make friends and I find it fairly exciting.

[TheUltimate3]

Did you know? In 2.2 they did just that? Binding Coil Turn 6-9 are new land masses, Rivenroad revisited though, is the exception...but even then there's some changes from it's 1.23 version - City of Amdapor is a new land mass. It doesn't require an expansion because XI added in new zones in monthly updates as well.

Correct me if I'm wrong, as I have (obviously) not done the Second Coil, but I was under the impression those were instanced, just like the Lost City of Amdapor, unless there is an open world Amdapor I can't find. Which means those locations are "physically" on their own little servers, removed from the open world.

[Clavaat]

Did you know? In 2.2 they did just that? Binding Coil Turn 6-9 are new land masses, Rivenroad revisited though, is the exception...but even then there's some changes from it's 1.23 version - City of Amdapor is a new land mass. It doesn't require an expansion because XI added in new zones in monthly updates as well.

This is a misconception. Adding content into an Instance Server is very different from adding content onto a World Server. The Instance server can much more easily manage and process the data required for these "land masses" because it handles exclusively content within those boundaries, i.e. groups of 4 or 8 people. Think of the World Server as 1 GIANT instance. Adding too much to process for that one instance will cause it to lag and possibly crash, because the group of people is within the 70k+ range (or more, don't remember exact numbers). An expansion has to be planned well in advance because the developers know that it is going to hit their servers hard in terms of content available and people accessing it. If an area is instanced, in much less expensive.

[NefarioCall]

I just don't understand what the difference between Beadeaux and Lost City of Amdapor is.

One significant difference is that when you Duty finder a party in Amdapor, everyone barrels ahead full pace and robot clears the dungeon, then says thank you at the end and leaves.

When you go in on your own there's time to actually STOP and take it all in.

[Doo]

I just don't understand what the difference between Beadeaux and Lost City of Amdapor is.

One is like FF13's Gran Pulse, the other is like every other area in that game.