Quote Originally Posted by Teuciont View Post
I would never have a reason to go into Northern Thanalan at level 20. By the time I have any reason to go to Northern Thanalan, nothing even remotely poses a challenge whatsoever. Even if I were to wander through Northern Thanalan at level 20, there is nothing there that I could not very easily outrun. Nothing will snare, sleep, or stun me. Perfectly safe.
Well, then you missed out on the fun of running for your life. In the very early days and during the beta test phases, a group of friends and I were split by starting city, and we were trying -in the absence of an airship pass, and the lack of knowledge of any route between the cities - to join up. So we were exploring all the areas that looked like they should get north from Ul'Dah to Gridania. It didn't take long to figure out that Northern Thanalan was not a safe place....Of course we also figured out the ground route through the south shroud and Eastern Thanalan, but even that was a risk for a character on foot, without a chocobo to ride.

I have to admit I hope that the new areas offer that challenge to our lvl 50 selves, and further I hope that at lvl 60, we are not implicit overlords able to go anywhere with impunity.