So I'm not seeing how this is them changing things up from 2.0/3.0

[Dyvid]

"Those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it." This expansion is nothing more than Mist of Pandaria, FF style. They need to be more creative and more willing to take risk. Also getting off the teat of instant content wouldn't hurt.

The only plus FFXIV has going for it is a healthy development schedule. Other than that, it basically the same as other MMO's on the market and the genre is in decline....

[Belhi]

"Those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it." This expansion is nothing more than Mist of Pandaria, FF style. They need to be more creative and more willing to take risk. Also getting off the teat of instant content wouldn't hurt.

The only plus FFXIV has going for it is a healthy development schedule. Other than that, it basically the same as other MMO's on the market and the genre is in decline....

The last time they took more than one risk in a patch we got Diadem and LoV and both fell flat leading to most players having very little to do till 3.2 came out. It very much hurt the game I suspect. I would prefer they take sensible risks rather than overhaul everything and have the whole thing fail.

This is my biggest disappointment from the Live Letter. Everything else was expected, but I was really hoping they would learn from Heavensward and not fill Stormblood with the same huge, uninteresting areas, and instead focus on more smaller, different looking areas.

Maybe the large areas will be better broken up into distinct locales within the zone. At the very least, having parts of the zones be under water should break up the monotony.

We haven't seen all the zones in great deal, only a few screen shots, but at least the zone with Rhalgr's Reach attached will transition from the forests at the edge of the Black Shroud to the Wastes of Ala Mhigo so we will get at least a little variation within zones.