Open world changes?

[Shougun]

Wrote a lot here and there but in a bit vague-r.. slightly.. (lol) shorter form:

• Archeology and chocobo hot and cold - I think using chocobo for both, but one would be more find it once and done, nice checklist with some nice lore implications and rewards (like recreate some famous armor or statue), and then one that is more repeatable (like chocobo hot and cold of FFIX).
• FATEs and monsters to sometimes award chests which can have bonus exp, tomes, unique buffs / items. Unique buffs could be like infinite sprint for the next 5 minutes (not really infinite.. then but lol you get the point). Growth buff that makes you 20% bigger and deal 20% more damage, etc.
• Revamp of the leve system, I'm thinking madlib sort of system that has a sort of 'big multi-zone' like quest vibe but is very worth the time investment (and therefore maybe limited like previous leve system was, leave crafting leve alone or separate them).
• Hunts, add / upgrade the hunting log to encourage using it like a log for.. hunts . Introduce soul fading to NMs such that they leave a mark on the land temporarily when they've died. You can find these marks and based on how faded they are fight them for their rewards (more faded the weaker they are, less rewards, can optionally choose a weaker fade). Increase reward for finding live NMs (like an extra roll from the item table), but also make them not scale as much (except the S ranks, leave them to be the sort of world boss like vibe). When fighting the faded variant may be a bit like Bozja but with phasing (so it feels like a BCNM sort of, like in FFXI). Add unique items with unique effects that are for non-end game fun (may do something powerful, for the period it exists in, but are designed not to eat up the balance concerns of end game- perhaps using special scaling like our collectors earrings to facilitate that with like "open world only affix" or "non-savage / ultimate" affix), special appearances and helpful leveling effects. B ranks to scale to the player (content for those leveling and level caps). Ingredients to be used in crafts, think a bit monster hunter inspired. Now players are encouraged to race each other but you're not ruined if you failed the race (and if you were solo player you could 'probably' solo most of them if you dropped the fade level).
• Consider both mixing and enhancing the FATE system from ShB into other expansions (and itself). To allow players a sense of growth for the whole zone. Completing FATEs, certain side quests, beast tribe quests, etc - all have implications for your zone (while most may be visual, some could be features like shortcuts, npc merchants, new nodes, etc). Besides the normal progression of beast tribes and this new concept of the zone's level affecting the zone, also consider purchasing with your beast tribe tokens zone changes- like you might buy an upgrade that adds a fast travel point and some paved road / tank patrol for the dwarves, etc, etc). I had a thought in that thread dedicated to the idea that you might also seen high rank zones with beast tribe powers to help you level old relics if one wanted, like the slyph may create a fountain that you could bathe your weapon in once a day for some light and then they'd sell sunlit flowers that would give you bonus light per dungeon run (bought with beast tribe currency of course).

• Generally consider adding challenge log (such that they rewards can be substantial without turning into a mega massive holy "ffxi" / everquest era farm), rewards, perhaps like the leve (I call mega leve sometimes), that allow some players to make some substantial progression in the open world if they chose to (some of this in some ways is already true but the systems for them are sometimes a bit circumstantial and or potentially annoying, like why I suggested hunts has an encouraged 'live' mode and yet not a ruined soul faded mode, as sometimes say Balmung comes in as a giant death ball and kills another server's hunts and then that server is mad). Like perhaps a sort of 'relic' open world armor made from NMs and other content of the open world, that you can upgrade over time adding onto it, feeling a bit wild and with the vibe of that expansion / zones. Maybe not the fastest thing to rank up but 'an option' if you wanted to, and comes with benefits like what relic has been in the past, pretty casual friendly.. just time intensive and not always 'the best' (but certainly not the worst, consistently a solid choice of gear and unique looking).

This one is kind of a very wide group that's not just open world but:

Think role play and immersive thoughts. What? Lots of things FFXIV does well but this one I feel, in comparison to other MMOs especially, FFXIV does not. Too busy following formula and consistent rules. So like.. monsters that don't aggro you because they're not there just to be road blocks for gamepaly, they exist to fill the world as well. Not all monsters needing to even be enemies (critters for example). To the open world this means adding secrets and hidden little gems. Maybe on the full moon a cave opens up and there is a special item in there. On the month of your star sign your shrine may give you a blessing. Items may do special effects that describe how they exist / obtained (not just +5 strength). Items may do things for fun, because they're fun - like you might come across 'lighter than a feather chocobo tail feather' item that's not a consumable (man FFXIV is addicted to consumables lol, give me some trinkets dangit) which will grant you slow fall shortly. You're a rogue (ninja), locked chest or doors. You're a dragoon, locked door = jump over the wall. Etc. On the concept of the open world, having camps, and the ability to set up camps, would be awesome - giving some FFXV road trip vibes if possible (but consider classic FF games with the "tent" item as well). In these camps you could use local resources to make buffs for that zone, can pair these meals with an actual cooking item to increase the buff duration while in that zone (to make it so cooking job isn't taken over, these buffs wouldn't replace that- but do extra things), some zones may come with special recipes too like if you craft a certain potion during levin weather (Ixion's) you might make a Bolt Draft which grants you 5 charges of enhanced sprint (faster, while the sprint duration is active sprint is replaced with a unique dash that does lightning damage).

A bit of a larger aside to the whole role play thing is role play merit board (sphere grid). Where each job has exp they earn from a variety of tasks (many large benefits from open world, perhaps challenge log of open world has big exp rewards). These things could be stuff like dragoon gaining fall damage resistance and then upgrading it to no damage (they're lord of jump.. come on.. why does Ninja have this but not dragoon? Well part of it is because FFXIV is a bit too rigid sometimes, imo, where I do think they could take a few tips from other MMOs without going so far as to loose their own sense). These things would be done to avoid any issues with savage / ultimate whether they have to not work in that content or just don't really matter (say maybe fall damage doesn't matter). Besides examples like jump, or maybe mages with special teleports, you'd also get special effect changers like Dark Knight could gain their HW shadow smoke effect for darkside rather than the red goku kaioken looking effect. May also consider special upgrades/side choices for nodes like dragoon 50% damage reduction might be a talent you could spend A LOT of points on for all your jobs, but the 100% damage null would only ever be for Dragoon. Special jump mode for Dragoon that allows them to leap, perhaps even in combat (of the open world), giving them a bit of that hulk jump super dragoon feeling (may use flying unlock as part of it for better pathing scripting, such that if you land on something unpathable you might 'land on your spear' and continue on from there and optionally mount your flying mount). Maybe if you wanted the special teleport on all jobs, you could because you feel too lazy that day to switch jobs but you'd have to unlock that side grade.