One to Fifty, One Zone - Long OP

[Tonka]

Their are no zones? why do people keep saying zones. the whole world is the zone now. MMo's are trying to get away from zone loading to different areas and i like that and I hope it never changes. This is not just quoting your post its also quoting anyone who still thinks "zones" in every post.

Are you under the impression that FFXIV doesn't have zones, including some with loading screens between them? Because if you are, you'd be wrong.

[Bubbahotep]

Yes definately agree FFIv is stale, the large zones with many different level mobs and bland art backdrops after the long stretches of running through same looking canyon, forests, palins, etc.

If u want to use a template for comparison in XI when u finally made your long run to jueno at lvl 20, didnt matter which starter city u began each zone (i.e. Rolanberry fields, la Thiene Plateau, Tahrongi Canyon) looked, felt, sounded different. not just from point A(Windy) to B(Jueno) but every of the 3 paths from Main city to jueno was unique, not to mention the dungoens insides those zones(i.e. Dangruf Wadi, Inner horroto ruins, Crawlers nest etc.).

[Siobu]

I think most of those areas you mentioning came in later expansions, I could be wrong but pre-zilart there wasn't much to explore. I'm assuming you started the game a year or so later and got those fond memories.

Thanks for your thoughts, everyone. I'm humbled to know there are those who agree with my concerns. Mack, I definitely agree with you regarding the rank-level ratio compared between the two games. That worries me.

Achilles, thank you for your response. I hope I can clarify better what I meant. My main concern is that we can get from level 1 to level 50 in one area. Currently, there's no need for new areas. It would be as though in FF11, if we only had Ronfaure, Gustaberg, Sarutabaruta, and Sauromugue. And, we could get from 1-Cap without ever leaving Ronfaure. Or Sarutabaruta.

Of course, the lack of exploration deeply concerns me. But the lack of room for any expansion beyond these 4 areas we have to today, without the release of the level cap, worries me even more.

I hope that makes more sense. I'm sorry for any confusion!

[Mack]

I think it was even more than that in FFXI. For example the first run you do to Jeuno if you start in San'Doria you run through Jugner and Batalia and these areas have no map (unless you get Jugner in Sandy?) and that made it more mysterious too. On top that they were dangerous and they were new and huge and you just wanted to know more about them. It was the same with every new zone in FFXI, especially when you were a noob....somehow FFXIV managed to take the "noob" feeling out of the equation, I have no idea how that is even possible. Eorzea just has nothing on Vana'Diel and as cool as places like Coerthas and Mor Dhona are, they have nothing in them...like Xcarcabard had a temple, we all did Rank 5 mission there and it was so awesome, that was around level 50....Rank 50 and we're still outside the city walls in XIV.

[Rowyne]

I think most of those areas you mentioning came in later expansions, I could be wrong but pre-zilart there wasn't much to explore. I'm assuming you started the game a year or so later and got those fond memories.

Actually, Xarcabard did come with the original game (the vanilla pre-Rise of the Zilart version first released in Japan). It was the home of the Shadow Lord, the end boss of the game when the level cap was 50.

In fact, here are all of FFXI's original pre-Zilart areas (Source):

Cities/Towns (6):

* Bastok
* Jeuno
* Mhaura
* San d'Oria
* Selbina
* Windurst

Zones (21):

* Batallia Downs
* Beaucedine Glacier
* Behemoth's Dominion
* Buburimu Peninsula
* East Ronfaure
* East Sarutabaruta
* Jugner Forest
* Konschtat Highlands
* La Theine Plateau
* Meriphataud Mountains
* North Gustaberg
* Pashhow Marshlands
* Qufim Island
* Rolanberry
* Sauromugue Champaign
* South Gustaberg
* Tahrongi Canyon
* Valkurm Dunes
* West Ronfaure
* West Sarutabaruta
* Xarcabard

Dungeons (28):

* Altar Room
* Beadeaux
* Castle Oztroja
* Castle Zvahl Baileys
* Castle Zvahl Keep
* Crawlers' Nest
* Davoi
* The Eldieme Necropolis
* Inner Horutoto Ruins
* Fei'Yin
* Fort Ghelsba
* Garlaige Citadel
* Ghelsba Outpost
* Giddeus
* Gusgen Mines
* Horlais Peak
* King Ranperre's Tomb
* Lower Delkfutt's Tower
* Middle Delkfutt's Tower
* Monastic Cavern
* Ordelle's Caves
* Outer Horutoto Ruins
* Palborough Mines
* Qulun Dome
* Ranguemont Pass
* Upper Delkfutt's Tower
* Yughott Grotto
* Zeruhn Mines

What do we have in FFXIV?

Cities/Towns (3):

* Limsa Lominsa
* Ul'dah
* Gridania

(I guess you could technically also count the hamlets, but they're pretty much empty atm)

Zones (5):

* La Noscea
* Thanalan
* The Black Shroud
* Coerthas
* Mor Dhona

Dungeons (6):

* Copperbell Mines
* Nanawa Mines
* The MunTuy Cellars
* The TamTara Deepcroft
* Mistbeard Cove
* Cassiopeia Hollow

Pre-Zilart was still miles better than what we've got in FFXIV. It's a pretty sad comparison, honestly.

[Seif]

Actually, Xarcabard did come with the original game (the vanilla pre-Rise of the Zilart version first released in Japan). It was the home of the Shadow Lord, the end boss of the game when the level cap was 50.

In fact, here are all of FFXI's original pre-Zilart areas (Source):

Cities/Towns (6):

* Bastok
* Jeuno
* Mhaura
* San d'Oria
* Selbina
* Windurst

Zones (21):

* Batallia Downs
* Beaucedine Glacier
* Behemoth's Dominion
* Buburimu Peninsula
* East Ronfaure
* East Sarutabaruta
* Jugner Forest
* Konschtat Highlands
* La Theine Plateau
* Meriphataud Mountains
* North Gustaberg
* Pashhow Marshlands
* Qufim Island
* Rolanberry
* Sauromugue Champaign
* South Gustaberg
* Tahrongi Canyon
* Valkurm Dunes
* West Ronfaure
* West Sarutabaruta
* Xarcabard

Dungeons (28):

* Altar Room
* Beadeaux
* Castle Oztroja
* Castle Zvahl Baileys
* Castle Zvahl Keep
* Crawlers' Nest
* Davoi
* The Eldieme Necropolis
* Inner Horutoto Ruins
* Fei'Yin
* Fort Ghelsba
* Garlaige Citadel
* Ghelsba Outpost
* Giddeus
* Gusgen Mines
* Horlais Peak
* King Ranperre's Tomb
* Lower Delkfutt's Tower
* Middle Delkfutt's Tower
* Monastic Cavern
* Ordelle's Caves
* Outer Horutoto Ruins
* Palborough Mines
* Qulun Dome
* Ranguemont Pass
* Upper Delkfutt's Tower
* Yughott Grotto
* Zeruhn Mines

What do we have in FFXIV?

Cities/Towns (3):

* Limsa Lominsa
* Ul'dah
* Gridania

(I guess you could technically also count the hamlets, but they're pretty much empty atm)

Zones (5):

* La Noscea
* Thanalan
* The Black Shroud
* Coerthas
* Mor Dhona

Dungeons (6):

* Copperbell Mines
* Nanawa Mines
* The MunTuy Cellars
* The TamTara Deepcroft
* Mistbeard Cove
* Cassiopeia Hollow

Pre-Zilart was still miles better than what we've got in FFXIV. It's a pretty sad comparison, honestly.

No competition at all between these 2.

What's worse it's hard to find area's in XI that are as boring as the biggest maps in XIV.

[Namynyor]

I think most of those areas you mentioning came in later expansions, I could be wrong but pre-zilart there wasn't much to explore. I'm assuming you started the game a year or so later and got those fond memories.

Kazham access came with the Rise of the Zilart expansion, which included Temple of Uggalepih and Ifrit's Cauldron. I'm not sure if The Sanctuary of Zi'tah was an original region or not, but all the others listed in the first 6 posts of this thread are areas of basic FFXI. Yes, there are issues with the 'one large map' not having enough variation, but there are still underground campsite areas (Mun-Tuy Cellars, Cassiopeia Hollow, Nanawa Mines) which give a new flavor to the area, and there are new kinds of mobs that you find as you increase your campsite ranks, which don't exist at lower camps (antelope, anglerfish, crabs, wolves, mites, slugs, gnats, etc). The biggest problem is that the low rank mobs still exist at those higher camps, and there are sometimes no identifiable boundaries between areas (I've wandered into an auto-abort of a leve because I walked out of the leve's 'boundaries' while looking at a new area as I was near leve targets, so don't go wandering across any bridges in gridania while doing a leve, unless your target is marked on the other side of it). I've even seen r39 aggressive mobs next to an r2 non-aggressive mob near Ul'dah, where the only separation was a hill slope

[Mack]

TC I brought up this same exact topic earlier and rest assured about 90% of the community agrees with you but there is the annoying 10% that think the game actually tries to edge you to other zones but obviously you're right and I'm afraid this is never going to change, not short term anyway, maybe R50+ who knows but the first 50 ranks in this game are equivalent to the first 10 levels in FFXI. I would take a FFXI remake over this any day.

[Xenor]

Hey at least when they raise the rank cap you can look forward to doing it all again with your rank 50 leves at BlueFog! In fact you'll be doing your rank 90 leves in cool places like Zanr'ak and Sea of Spires in about five years time. So much fun to be had.

Hopefully SE change something.

[Demacia]

This is my single biggest gripe with XIV.