Really miss locations that are no longer accessible (When there were no load screens)

[Drakage]

There were some views that I greatly admired while traveling through Eorzea for the first time. It was a huge experience that seemed boundless. It seemed as there there were no walls to run into, you could travel almost anywhere you could see, and no dark void space to wallow in during travels. I actually wish I could go down the stairs from The Drowning Wench and look out that window again. As I did many times just to breathe in the depth of Eorsea. It'd felt like there was a lot more to explore without worrying about invisible boundaries caging me in any area I wished to visit.

As enclosed as Eorsea is to me, it feels like I'm stepping into the edges of a world that still can take me anywhere. Whats to stop me from appearing somewhere I didn't intend? Not just when I teleport, but also casually walking. It's disorientating after seeing Eorsea as it was. By the twelve, I despise this curse! I have the will and the power, but not the capability on my own! If only there were a way.

[Drakage]

I also miss seeing people pass the Aetheryte from above, on the balcony of The Drunken Wench. To relax from my duties and crafts, I merely sit at tables and drink of the past and yet still to the future.

[Ashkendor]

You can thank PS3 Limitations™ for the need to limit the map size.

[dementiondrive]

oh i know the feeling. everything is way to instanced. there is no exploration anymore. back when the actual areas were one huge instance than measly pieces to the bigger picture. i loved going out of limsa for the first time and you had that huge bridge that linked it. it took 1 minute 28 seconds to cross on foot. it felt like you were going on a adventure. it took a good length to actually move and felt huge by comparison to now. to this day i really miss that bridge.

[Evtrai]

I'm not sure how you can call "exploration" when the map was an entire copy/paste of the same section over and over.

[Catwho]

Pros: People watching in Drowning Wench was awesome. Since zone connections were visible (but unfortunately very long tunnels), you got a better sense of the spacing between the non-instanced areas.

Cons: There were no landmarks in Thanalan and it was possible to get lost running from Black Brush to Drybone because everything looked exactly the same. There were landmarks in The Black Shroud, but good luck seeing them at all because of the giant copy-pasta maze in the way.

I miss the pros, but the cons far outweighed them and I understand why SE made the decisions that they did.

[Riardon]

I'm not sure how you can call "exploration" when the map was an entire copy/paste of the same section over and over.

Deja Vu maps

[dementiondrive]

sure you can easily tell with the copy and paste. having all the camps and so called broken castles where our now dungeons are placed look the same as they are. though there are points in some areas that are unique that made if feel like it was alive at times.

the specific ones i have and do miss are.
the limsa bridge running over it.
the arrows for bards
looking at all the people running in the lower decks of limsa
able to mount up in cities
the lack of teleportation that feels like the world is so small for traveling is non existent.
and the heavy hitting monsters that were made for 8 people to group up to enter. like strongholds.

the heavy hitting lvl 99 monsters around some corners actually had you stay on your toes at times.

[Enkidoh]

Also the 'no loading screens in 1.0' is a myth as well - there were loading screens, they were just cleverly hidden by the labyrinthine city and zone design (when moving between specific areas there was a notable pause as the engine loaded the new area as you ran down a rather featureless tunnel. This was also why 1.0 Ul'dah you couldn't go through the front gate but had to double back around via a side entrance - it was to reduce the stress on the game engine and servers.

That and the fact there were still 'black loading screens' as well - how else do you think travelling between regions was handled? A black screen with the 'now loading' icon at the bottom. Yes there were some nice things about 1.0, but as Catwho mentioned, for everything it did right, it just did so many more things wrong.

[MynxLynx]

I remember always running on the metal area of the Limsa bridge, I loved hearing that sound. I liked waiting for the ferry and conversing with people on the docks, then continuing the conversation during the ten minute ferry ride. I wish riding the ferry were an option, having it available would mean a lot to many Role Players I know. I loved the excitement of stumbling into areas with dangerous mobs that no one could solo. I had a lot of fun tip toeing around groups of high levels while exploring, though running into a six inch high ledge that I had to spend an hour backtracking around wasn't always a joy.

I know much of the terrain was copy pasted but there were some really neat and unique locales to be found.