Zone Aesthetics

[Estellios]

I wouldn't want to fight cactuars at level 1 =P

[Rydin]

I think mob placement does go hand-in-hand with the aesthetics of the zones. If you stepped outside the gates of Ul'Dah, and had to fight level 1 Cactuars, or outside Gridania and had to fight level 1 Bombs, or even outside Limsa Lominsa and had to fight Sahagin, people would know right away they're playing a FF game instead of having to run through squirrels and marmots and dodos and sheep before getting to anything that gives the game a sense of belonging to the the series. I think we'd all have been a lot more forgiving in the beginning if we had to fight our way through the different zones to get to the next camp with the next tier of FF monster.

Does any of that make sense?

I agree... completely... I just didn't include in this thread because it really requires a thread all it's own.... It sounds like SE is on the right track with it though... which is a very good thing... I'm willing to give it time and let them do it right....
But... what are your thoughts on putting 1 (or more) high level non-aggro mob in a starter zone just to serve as a little flavor fro the lower level zones... like how the wild Saurian was in the Dalmasca Eastersand in FFXII....
Even a little ecology like having one lvl 10 or 15 mongrel spawn in an area with a bunch of star marmots.... And as long as there are star marmots there... it will attack them... and will turn on you once the star marmots are dead. It would even work with the new claiming system as it would even be able to attack the MOB you are fighting....

It does not have to be a completely different set of mobs, but I think you gave good examples of how they could further emphasize the different themes right from the start

*Nitpicking alert*
I'd like it if there was more variance within the MOBs so the low level cactaurs don't look exactly like the high level cactaurs... or the drakes, guivre and biasts don't all look the same but different colors... I know I am being petty... but I feel like if I've been playing for a year... I should be able to play with names off and still be able to tell what level of MOB I am fighting... based off of how they look....
*nitpick over*

[Jim]

Wait before new regions I want Ishgard and some dungeons to be released.

[Seif]

I would rather a complete redesign.

The maps are way too big to just call them bland. I would not mind if let's say a sub-zone of the region is bland and monotonous if it serves the game. Like maybe the drybone area in Thanalan could be bland and monotonous, but then since the other sub-zones of Thanalan wouldn't be bland and monotonous, Drybone would feel unique as well in this regard so it would not feel bland after all.

The problem is you can walk 30min in the same zone and yet you feel like you are in the same place you started, this is even more noticable in the Black Shroud.

With the redesign, not everything has to be over the top unique and gorgeous, some zones or new zones could be more or less depending of the design, but have 2-3 different themes per regions like Yoshi-P confirmed will be more than welcomed.

What he said I think most of the landscapes aren't worth saving in the game and they should just do a complete overhaul. few statues here and there won't do it. It'll be interesting to see what SE comes up with since so far they tend to go for the easiest solutions that require the absolute least amount of work but good environment design has no workarounds.