Quote Originally Posted by FrogDog View Post
I guess Shared Fates was an attempt to incentivize this sort of thing, but interest in it seems to have fizzled shortly after Shadowbringers came out.

The fact that there's content that exists for the open world doesn't mean it'd hurt to have more. Besides, Fates, Maps, and Hunts are more group-oriented. Trying to do FATEs alone is pretty mind-numbing.

I like the archaeology idea. ESO has an archaeology system that's pretty cool. You get "leads" on artifacts from doing other content and the rewards can be anything from gear to furniture. Other MMOs have similar things - EQ2's collections come to mind too. I know that if something like this was in FF, I would spend a lot less time sitting around towns or housing.
Yes! To this day I can't see something gold/blue/green and shiny on the ground without thinking "OO! Shiny!" and often trying to go interact with it. There was another thread about more open world items where I also mentioned EQII's collection system.

I agree that the Shared Fates were probably trying to encourage this more. And it did work for a bit but then like you said, it fizzled out.

I love the archaeology/Chocobo Hot and Cold idea. I think if it's something you could do solo or group then it would have more lifespan once the hype for it dies down since people could still make good progress solo.