A modest 1.0 proposal...

[SeriousPan]

I loved 1.0 and I hate that old me didn't think to take screenshots often or record video. It was harder back then, I suppose, and I probably would have lost them to time. I made a lot of friends in that game and I had a lot of good memories that I can never have back and I will never be able to revisit. 1.0 was flawed and I will never act like it wasn't a trash fire. But there *was* good in it that I think wouldn't be so bad to bring back or at least be able to see again. It mostly goes towards its zone design and the themeing of them rather than the battle design.

The zones in some regards were superior. I much prefer 1.0 Thanalan to 2.0 Thanalan. Thanalan as we know it has water EVERYWHERE and is very condensed. The only part that feels like a desert is a blink and you'll miss it spot in the south. I loved the traversal in 1.0 Thanalan and still do. It had a good mixture of water, canyons and actual desert. A bit under-decorated, sure, but way more immersive. Ul'dah was still set up near a logical set of water while the further you got away the more sparse it got. I think it's superior. It'd be nice to revisit the old Coerthas with its caverns and interesting cave systems and verticality. We don't have many zones that have layers like that one did, I guess so players don't get confused on their minimaps? Still, I liked it and it's a shame that'll never be seen again.

Black Shroud was a travesty and should never be seen again. But it had one thing that 2.0 Black Shroud doesn't have: It actually feels opressive. The lore of Gridania makes it sound like they are constantly harrassed by growing flora and they are at the mercy of the forest and the elementals. But in reality it's got a bunch of open space and the trees have all kinds of space between them. 1.0 Black Shroud fit that oppressiveness to a T so it has that *one* thing going for it. lol I'll admit I really don't remember La Noscea much. I guess the vibes were similar and there's not much to differentiate it.

I kinda regret not continuing on my 1.0 character. I chose to leave my Miqo'te behind and re-rolled a Fem Roegadyn instead. Eh, it's just a tattoo that's covered up anyway. Anyway point is 1.0 is gone and I'm slightly melancholic about it since, warts and all, I still loved it. If it came back it wouldn't be the same and it would only serve to jog memories of when I played it and the people I have forgotten due to not taking screenshots. I can't even remember their names and I used to spend hours a day with them.

Edit: Oh and as people said, Path Companion! They were a fun innovative idea. We'll never see them again and that's also a tad sad.