One to Fifty, One Zone - Long OP

[Mack]

If that was their plan all along that's EVEN WORSE. It's already bad enough that you can go from 1-50 in Thanalan but 1-96 when they release the level cap? There would be absolutely no reason to make new zones. That would probably be the worst design decision in the history of all MMOs. Now, I for one don't think that is the reason for R80-90 mobs in starting zones, but it still needs to be addressed and optimized.

I think they are making it a viable option. There is a crystal near Horizon, forget its name, but its surrounded by rank 90+ mobs telling me that it will eventually give us R90+ leves. Really lame if you ask me.

[Siobu]

There is a crystal near Horizon, forget its name, but its surrounded by rank 90+ mobs telling me that it will eventually give us R90+ leves.

Exactly, exactly. Every one here understands my concerns. I'm humbled! And though every one has their own ideas for a solution, in the end, we all want the thing.

We all deserve a one to fifty experience that includes an adventure, a feeling of progression, milestones, and challenge. Juggling between opposite corners of our lands unfortunately cannot replace the experience and feel of a true world.

A lower ranking player should aspire to join the ranks of higher players. As we stand, the moment they leave our city walls, they've already seen 1/5 of the game. And not just 1/5 of the game, but almost the entirety of the zone. They've seen where they will be for days, and days, and weeks, within the first minutes of their character's life.

They wonder where they will travel beyond Black Brush, at first.

Some do bring up the point that you may travel between our current zones to level, but the issue still stands. Not only does one single zone, with a single map, a single theme, finish the work of an -entire region-... But we're given multiples of these bloated masses.

Where is our room for expansion? We already have MORE than enough 1-50 zones to take us to the end. If the zones sprout more camps, or new hubs, bandaids... What does that mean for our world? Are the anchors dropping?

Our concern is not of leves, it's not of quests, it's not of transitioning... It's that we have no where to go, and worry that, perhaps, they believe we don't need to go anywhere else.

I want us to be heard as much as all of you.

What we want, what our characters deserve... It's not something abstract, or strange. It's simply a true adventure. A journey. Memories unique to each milestone stepped over in our characters' lives.

When the time comes for some (though, it has for many) to level another class... To start again. These milestones and feelings of progression are just as important, if not more, to that of a new player.

When all of your far-reaching adventures eventually brings us back home, to our respective city-states, and we can actually say to ourself:

"It feels good to be home."

[Daedae]

I think they are making it a viable option. There is a crystal near Horizon, forget its name, but its surrounded by rank 90+ mobs telling me that it will eventually give us R90+ leves. Really lame if you ask me.

Scorpion Keep? And of course we're going to have needs and such for 90 rank mobs, but in the next couple of years? Doubtful, especially when these 90+ mobs drop the same items as their r50 counterparts for the most part :< They're kinda pointless, I'm sure they could have held off on developing things so FAR down the line and focused on the NOW.

I really do not like the whole camp/aethyr system. It's incredibly linear and having each camp look EXACTLY the same, with the EXACT same features, with a big floaty crystal that gives you things to do it kind of creepy. They should fuse the camps with the questhubs/towns/settlements and each new encampment should reflect the style, architecture and ecosystem of the zone in which they are found. Like, limestone huts and bricks in Limsa, wooden cabins and cottages in Black shroud, pueblos or sandstone near Uldah. Having towns work as quest hubs is a common thing in all RPGS I know, but thats because it works. Not only does it flesh out the world in terms of civilization, but it can also be used to introduce the character to unique NPC's and establish some routes of level progression via the routes and connections of towns and cities, while also acting as the hub of specific questlines, and the place of leve activation.

It would make sense, since in XIV lore Aetheryte are kinda revered by the people, and are incredibly important to Eorzeans since they are a common mode of transportation and communication. Makes sense that people would settle around such an important landmark, no? Having actual NPC's handing out some leves would add a more personal touch since you as a player can see the poor farmer who's orchard is being ravaged by evil dodo's, and that connection would actually fuel the player to get things done, at least me because I care about pixels! : ; By having all leves picked up at a central NPC, with just text to provide a reason as to what the hell we are actually doing kills immersion for me. A sick child needs a special herb to recover from a mysterious illness, show me the grieving mother. Things like that in a greater number and spread out 'round the world would help the zones gain an identity. The players would remember the particular quests and lines they opened up, "remember that sick girl, yeah after you help her it opens a quest in blah blah blah." <-----side story progressions, not just one liners of 'Kill dodo, gimme skin, you don't get to see what I actually do with it." Just some ideas!

[Kafeen]

I think they are making it a viable option. There is a crystal near Horizon, forget its name, but its surrounded by rank 90+ mobs telling me that it will eventually give us R90+ leves. Really lame if you ask me.

Either that or they're not sure what to do with the area yet so they just stick a bunch of stupidly high level mobs there to keep people away rather than closing it off completely.

Either way its a waste though. If its intended to be used at those levels then there's no need for it while the level is capped at 50, I can't see it increasing to 90 any time soon.

I would have rather seen camps like those used either for leves of the same level as other camps we have, giving people another alternative camp to level at or spread the range out a bit more so rather than changing camp every 10 levels, have something more like 10, 20, (25?), 30, 35, 40, 45, 50.

I really do not like the whole camp/aethyr system. It's incredibly linear and having each camp look EXACTLY the same, with the EXACT same features, with a big floaty crystal that gives you things to do it kind of creepy. They should fuse the camps with the questhubs/towns/settlements and each new encampment should reflect the style, architecture and ecosystem of the zone in which they are found.

Yeah, rather than picking up leves in the town, then travelling out to the camp to activate them, I'd rather have an NPC at the issue leves. Not just for the story aspects you mention but for smoother gameplay too. Players could gather at the camp they want to do leves, forming parties with other players gathered there, accept the leves available to all players (though I'd rather have all leves available rather than a random selection). Having a guild dedicated to adventurers is nice, but if players tried the same thing there, with players of all levels gathering in 1 spot it would be chaos. The lack of a search feature for players (at the moment) rules out that option and a lot of people don't like random shouts to find people.

You could apply the same to local leves too, if you want to do Goldsmithing leves (for example) you go to the goldsmithing guild to see what has been requested of them.

I'm not sure what you'd do with the adventurer guild if these changes were made though.

[EdenArchangel]

Bump. Not losing this one

[Nilheim]

Great OP, I completely agree with everything you said. The devs need to really think hard on this.

Realistically speaking though, I can't see them changing the current zones considering how long it takes them to fix or implement anything at the moment. Instead I guess I'll just hope they'll learn from this BIG mistake when they work on expansions.

[Kafeen]

I don't think just changing future zones will be enough, many new players will still get turned off by the current zones and stop playing before they get as far as any extra content.

[Nilheim]

I don't think just changing future zones will be enough, many new players will still get turned off by the current zones and stop playing before they get as far as any extra content.

Very true, although they could release zones for low level people too. For example Kazham came after the original zones but it quickly became the best place to exp from 25 to 32. They just need to give players the motivation to move to those new areas after a while.

I agree with you though, it would be much better to change the current zones, but I just can't see it happening. And it makes me very sad considering starter zones are always special to players, even years later.

[Richard]

I don't think just changing future zones will be enough, many new players will still get turned off by the current zones and stop playing before they get as far as any extra content.

This is pretty much the main problem in a nut shell. Like I said in a previous post, if SE can reskin and retexture Tam-Tara Deepcroft and Cassiopeia Hollow and turn them into instanced dungeons, then they should be able to spend a solid month or two reskinning/retexturizing and optimizing Thanalan, The Black Shroud and La Noscea for a progressive exploration path.

Let's say you were going to go buy your first house. You pull up in the driveway and the house is beautiful. But you take a look at the front yard and its nothing but a drab landscape of dull tones and colors, no definition or style to it at all and the path up to the house takes you completely out of the way to get to the front door.

Would you honestly buy the house unless the previous owner/realtor fixed it?

[Sigmakan]

The instanced dungeons are just reskins? >.>

Please say it aint so.