Request to have new contents for Explorers

[Onizuka]

Hello, adventurers!

Recently, I attuned with my last Aetherial Gate (and I dedicated a new journal entry on it, if other explorers are interested in looking at some of the photos), an Achievement that probably many of you explorers out there already accomplished, but I had decided to take my time and explore Eorzea little by little.

As exploration, my main passion in Eorzea, is not a common matter of discussion, I'd like to ask Yoshida-san and the dev team to introduce new contents for us explorers as well (yeah, I already read one of Reinheart translations about a planned auto-mapping feature when you'll arrive in a new area). Here're a few ideas:

1. An Achievement (probably this is already planned) for attuning with every Aetheryte Crystal and Aetherial Gate: I think it would be nice for new adventurers or for who is interested in achievements, using the occasion to explore Eorzea's beautiful areas. Something like: “True Explorer – Cloudio Onizuka (Bodhum) demostrated incredible skills in attuning with all 87 Aetheryte Crystals and Aetherial Gates.”

2. A quest, startable only when reaching every location, that after completed grants you a special item.

3. Unlocks something once attuned with all 87 locations. I think this would be an even greater incentive to explore Eorzea. Like, if you reach every location, those mysterious purple aetherial gates will resonate and you might do something with them or go in a secret place...

4. Filling the maps with more objects and life to give an incentive to re-explore Eorzea. Although this will probably be part of the map redesign, I'm referring to those wide areas, like Southern Thanalan, where, even if you explore all the perimeter, there's not much else to look for than an arid desert (sunsets are Great nonetheless).

5. Particularly, I think it would be nice if those areas that on the maps have a name written in Eorzean alphabet would have something special in them. Lifemend Stump and the Gelmorra Ruins in the Black Shroud are an example of what I'm talking about: it would be Great if all those “named” area would be special somehow. And there're really many named places on the maps, they could be better exploited!
And besides filling those area, I think it wouldn't be a bad decision to add some backstory for them. Random example: why is the Peacegarden near the Gelmorra Ruins called like this? What happened there in the past?

6. Revisit the one-time only places you've been during quests. Like Erralig's Burial Chamber in Ul'dah, or being able to freely go to The Barrel in Limsa Lominsa or in Hope's Bourn in the Cieldalaes. Yeah, being able to reach and explore the small islands in that archipelago would be awesome... Maybe one day we'll have our own ship to do it.

7. Give us a way to reach those other unreachable locations, like the ones in dungeons, and not by simply opening them after a patch. Do not unlock them in a spoon-fed way, please! One example is the big spider web blocking the way to the Sil'dih Aqueducts in the Copperbell Mines. In this case, I imagined this: if you touch the web, something happens, like an Heavy status ailment, and you start a quest to get past it (like a special item to use that temporarily creates an opening, that after a few seconds closes again) and reach the secret areas.
Possibilities are truly endless, just up to the fantasy, so please think about this kind of stuff!


These are just a few ideas I've come up with to give more incentives to explore Eorzea to new adventurers, and also to give us seasoned Explorers something else to explore (although there're still a few areas on the map I saved up to visit).
If anyone else agrees or has got more ideas, please say them here.

Community reps, I hope you'll forward my atypical request to the dev team. With patch 1.19 there'll be a lot to do, but, for the far future, please Yoshi-P think about us explorers as well! We exist. Thanks!

Cloudio Onizuka, Eorzean Dauntless Explorer

[Konachibi]

Just like to say... I like the picture of the dormouse watching you fish (b'.')b

[Onizuka]

Thanks! For some reason, when I'm fishing I often find myself with a staring Dormouse behind me... This is the latest creepy example (yesterday in Camp Nine Ivies):

http://www.gwcdn.com/albums/images/4...6df1006050.jpg


Err, anyway... Where're all the Explorers?? I know you're out there and if you're interested to have more contents like the one I suggested above, please let the dev team know your ideas or that at least you exist!

Sigh, we Explorers are a species close to extinction...

[Onizuka]

Hello again.

Now that I've a few moments, I wanted to thank Yoshida and the dev team for introducing the “Exploration” category under the Achievement system in patch 1.20. I saw it yesterday and it was a very nice surprise.

I hope you'll keep on taking into consideration us explorers of Eorzea for future contents (like my suggestions in the first post) and Achievements.

/lookout!

[Fiosha_Maureiba]

Eorzea has been neat to explore. The potential for screenshots that these places have to offer after /names off. They're amazing! Even Mor Dhana being a dreadfully dead-looking place, has had some very neat and interesting landscapes.

[tymora]

I just recently finished my world tour too and got all the aetherytes - Certainly don't mind visiting named locations to find something nice there.

[gahoo]

In addition to the 87 gates/crystals, they now have an opportunity to add hundreds of 'Kodak' photo-spots around Eorzea and tie groups of them to achievements. Make some appear only at sunrise/sunset, or in rain, or at night, etc. Lots of possibilities.

[Volsung]

In addition to the 87 gates/crystals, they now have an opportunity to add hundreds of 'Kodak' photo-spots around Eorzea and tie groups of them to achievements. Make some appear only at sunrise/sunset, or in rain, or at night, etc. Lots of possibilities.

+1'd. I like this idea. Ontop of that, when the conditions are met something special can happen.

[Fiosha_Maureiba]

Maybe an easter egg room or two that's off the trail from the aetherial gates.

*discovers the lalafell bard trio Uematsu, Sakimoto, and Hamauzu... they get chased... and eaten, right after a new tune pops up*
*Muzuta, Matsuo, Iwata, and Tanioka escape in their lute hover boat, but we gon find you, mwee hee hee~~~*
*discovers Nakano by the massive Mana Tree*
*rides by southeast in Black Shroud to reach a gate, spots a opo-opo with a crown throwing its Dark Matter at me, is struck for so much damage, that I turn into a meat miqa'bob*
*you are well fed*

...sorry for the tangent, time for lunch!

[normalforce]

Thanks! For some reason, when I'm fishing I often find myself with a staring Dormouse behind me... This is the latest creepy example (yesterday in Camp Nine Ivies):

http://www.gwcdn.com/albums/images/4...6df1006050.jpg


Err, anyway... Where're all the Explorers?? I know you're out there and if you're interested to have more contents like the one I suggested above, please let the dev team know your ideas or that at least you exist!

Sigh, we Explorers are a species close to extinction...

There are a lot of possibilities for exploration achievements. I love the ideas in this thread and hope some of them come about someday.