Rhalgrs Reach should never have existed

[Atelier-Bagur]

I think you've entirely missed the point here. No one's talking about how populated these hubs are right now. This is about the design of each of the two hubs when their respective expansions were current content. What Rhalgr's Reach had going on during Stormblood was way too spread out, with not much of a center point that players would regularly pass. Compared to Idyllshire during Heavensward, where players would often end up running past the stairs in the center.

Yeah because Idyllshire lacks aethernets and they placed the aetheryte into the center (which was smart). That along with having pseudo endgame activity features like WT and Faux Pas along with 2 Custom Delivery NPCs and parts of Relic chains, Idyllshire has a lot going for it compared to Rhalgr's Reach.

My problem though its how ugly and compact it is; alongside its music. I much prefer Rhalgr's Reach for its beauty but the fact that they didnt bother keeping relevant features like in Idyllshire its why theres a lack of players.

[Nezerius]

Yeah because Idyllshire lacks aethernets and they placed the aetheryte into the center (which was smart). That along with having pseudo endgame activity features like WT and Faux Pas along with 2 Custom Delivery NPCs and parts of Relic chains, Idyllshire has a lot going for it compared to Rhalgr's Reach.

Most of these weren't added until much later into the expansion, like WT (patch 3.4), and the first Custom Deliveries NPC (patch 3.55a). The 2nd NPC, along with Faux Hollows were added in a later expansion. Meaning the features that Idyllshire had going for it were a lot more comparable to the ones Rhalgr's Reach had, for the majority of the expansion.

My problem though its how ugly and compact it is; alongside its music. I much prefer Rhalgr's Reach for its beauty but the fact that they didnt bother keeping relevant features like in Idyllshire its why theres a lack of players.

I'm guessing you simply see beauty in temples that were left to ruin? Because that's what Rhalgr's Reach is. There's rubble all over the place, barely any proper paths, half-broken pillars, and tents everywhere. This all makes sense for a Resistance base, during the initial 4.0 Stormblood MSQ, when the Garlean Empire was very much in control of the region. After Ala Mhigo's liberation? The Ala Mhigans would have no reason not to start restoring the place. Even a small outpost in The Lochs (The Saltery) saw more restoration than Rhalgr's Reach. To put things into perspective, the 3.0 version of Idyllshire (before all the patches that improved it) would be comparable to how Rhalgr's Reach is today.

I'm sure Rhalgr's Reach could be a beautiful place had it received the same treatment (along with a more central aetheryte), I just find beauty to be hard to find in its current state. But at the end of the day, I guess it's how the saying goes, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder".

[TaleraRistain]

Yeah because Idyllshire lacks aethernets and they placed the aetheryte into the center (which was smart). That along with having pseudo endgame activity features like WT and Faux Pas along with 2 Custom Delivery NPCs and parts of Relic chains, Idyllshire has a lot going for it compared to Rhalgr's Reach.

My problem though its how ugly and compact it is; alongside its music. I much prefer Rhalgr's Reach for its beauty but the fact that they didnt bother keeping relevant features like in Idyllshire its why theres a lack of players.

Not everything is missing. Rhalgr's has a Custom Delivery NPC.

[Atelier-Bagur]

Not everything is missing. Rhalgr's has a Custom Delivery NPC.

It has one, but Idyllshire has 2 Custom Deliveries. So thats double the chances of seeing newer players (or veterans farming scrips) in the area.