New Zones, MSQ, and Questing are all great

[NyneSwordz]

Not sure if this is the right place to post, but I just wanted to say that I really love the design of the new zones. They're some of the best since ARR imo. I really disliked most if not all of the zones in Stormblood because they were too large and in most cases, uninteresting to look at.

ShB zones thus far have felt smaller, but more packed with memorable vistas. I remember being in Urianger's house when someone ran through the door, and I looked out at the pink and green and blue vista with all the light really and being floored at how it popped against the brown the door frame. The castle looming over the entire sea of pink flowers also really gives a center to the zone.

The questing is also a blast because of the more compact zones. You never have to walk far to reach your destination, and aethercurrents are all placed along the routes of the MSQ, so that you pretty much pick them all up while questing. This is really, really great. The zone design also gave me a bit of DarkSoul/Bloodborne moment when I was adventuring in western Amh Araeng and ran to reach an aether current in a mine and realized that it connected me to eastern Amh Araeng right over Mor Souq.

The zone music also perfected suited the zones. Amh Araeng is my favorite with its ambient beats, reminds me of Donkey Kong Country imo, but Rak'Tika is probably the standout - it has some serious feminine vibes with the vocals - reminds me of the Cranberries. Yes. That band. Not my cup of tea, but hey, it fits the zone and the lore with the Viis.

Speaking of Rak'Tika, I'm surprised at how well implemented a certain swimming sequence was in Rak'Tika. It just fits. Also, the fact that the water wasn't the bottomless abyss that was the Ruby Sea or even Salt Fields in the Lochs made it much more bearable, and even kinda cool.

Lastly, it's sooooo nice that there's a sense of verticality to all of the zones. Made possible by looming tall structures in the background, or by natural structures like cliffs that jut out from the mountain side. Even the gentle rolling of the earth, the small hills, added so much to the sense of verticality in the zones. It made traversing the zones so much more interesting, because these small hills and tall structures give the players a sort of ruler or something to measure the height of even more distant objects - creating that sense of verticality I've been talking about. They also acted as an obstruction, of the good kind, hiding what's around the corner and creating a sense of wonder. Reminds me of Eureka and ARR zones. Really wonderful. I love it.

I haven't finished the MsQ, but I've visited all but a secret ??? zone, and of the ones I've seen, I love them all. Good job SE. You really knocked it out of the park with zone designs this time, and questing really benefited from it.