Deep Dungeon - Loot mechanic updates and types of generated content?

[Silversuit]

I previously posted a summary of how FF14 could do with the endless dungeon as seen in Dissdia 012 in 2014 here, and when this content was announced, I was overjoyed to see it in development! After running through a couple sets of floors with the 3.35's Deep Dungeon content, I wanted to think about more game dev ideas for future updates to the randomly generated content.



First, Updates.
The dungeons are an exciting inclusion, and gives nostalgia to older Final Fantasy games to just "enter a cave"- even down to the Class Icons pixel art used.
That being said, the dungeon rooms all currently seem to be about the same square size (with a dead-end split or centre obstruction varying), and pretty small at that, changing in palette and style as you progress.

Possibly adding the function of outside-of-battle health/mana/tp replenish be slower to make it harder to just run into the next room encounter, to provide more of the emphasis on "take the exit we found now to survive and clear the floor" or "keep searching and fighting because there may be health items and cool loot in the very next room!" It'll give reasons for players to negotiate the choice of fight or flight and think carefully about the potions they've collected in this maze as the clock is ticking as they search for a way out.

Thinking back to Phantasy Star Online's semi-generated Cave map, it's pretty noticeable how much smaller the locations are in comparison for similar content- and it'd be great to see these connected rooms have variations in shape appear commonly, say a "L" shape room (3 square rooms connected) or long "I" that acts simply as a corridor between 2 locations where you don't need to fight and just enjoy the location, a chance to see an NPC or two that provides lore, maybe assist in battles in that location (like the guards near town gates), secret "off-map" passages or maybe just unique statues or a special scenery to stumble across. More things to make the locations feel alive and changing- than square "battle rooms" connected to one another.

I'm looking forward to seeing how the later contents vary the difficulty to the dungeon floors!

Second, there are a few Changes to the mechanics so far that could be interesting.
For example, since this is a stand-alone area and character, leveling up to allow the player to distribute their free-attribute points could allow Players progressing to focus more on healing by increasing MIND stats if they happen to be in a dungeon-run without a Healer Job but a Class that can use a healing skill- to allow players to build tactics when they're in a situation that could be dire.

Also, maybe separating the Treasures that drop loot and power to glowing items into Crystals the player have to find and attune with/absorb for their weapon boosts and standard Treasure Chests for loot to make them stand out and feel more rewarding to find. Maybe having other simple weapons and armor drops appear commonly in treasure chests that can't leave the dungeon (like Dissidia)- they do not grow in strength, but can offer boosts in stats until you find a better weapon or increase your glowing main weapon further to surpass it as you proceed.



To rouge-like fans and game design enthusiasts, what types of content from other Dungeon Crawlers would you like to see implemented into the Deep Dungeon?

Either way, I'm glad this unique content is here and I'm looking forward for future floors to be implemented- and the design has inspired me on my own creative projects. ^^