What improvements would you like to see in the environment?

[TheVigilant]

Greetings!

So I'm making this thread to see what ideas you have for the game's environment, any additions, changes and improvements.

I'll start with:

I would like it if I would meet sometimes regular, sometimes rare and legendary NPC that travel throughout the zones/world that:

• Give us story/lore and/or game tips and sometimes secrets when spoken to.
• Would be a vendor for useful items and sometimes rare items or maybe just a repair.
• Give us a buff of maybe stats and exp boost when spoken to. A random example is a passing by Hyur in a destitute outfit crying for help, when given a small amount turns out it was a legendary Paladin who was testing our goodness, it's time to reward me with a buff, as a blessing for being kindhearted.
• Could be a special/rare FATE NPC walking around the zone/world at specific times like either only in the night (A Ghost?) or perhaps other times.
• Plays a special song/music while passing by around the zone/world.
• Causes climate change while passing by, like it rains or snows or it becomes foggy or misty until that character goes away or is maybe killed? Or perhaps grows plants and roses while walking in the area, that die and wither away as that character moves on?
• Walks around the zone/world and camps, sleeps and can be found better through that but cannot be interacted with cause he's sleeping? Great.. we manage to find him except that he's now sleeping and we have to wait for him to wake up, or maybe we can wake him up with an /emote? What if only a few players has that specific emote?
• Would actually notice where it last saw my character at and mentions the location.

They can be not necessarily all over the place but just a few here and there traveling around would be nice.

Second:

I'd like it if NPC in the game would react to my or other players' character when nearby. A few examples:

• A few beasts that run away in fear when my character goes close by, starts aggro when attacked.
• An NPC that does an emote at the closest player character.
• An NPC that suddenly follows a player's character for some reason. Like an animal looking for a treat? A ghost haunting? A child being playful?

Please share your ideas and what you'd like to see added to the environment.

[IzVale]

I'd like the invisible walls removed. If I wanna run over the edge, I wanna run over the edge and fly into my cyberdeath. Also fall-damage. Yes. I'd absolutely would love jumping down somewhere and having that Ohhh shieeeet- moment and the feeling of regret, while flailing like a stone before my certain destruction.

Also, to your idea above - sounds pretty neat actually. Maybe also make some more "hard" to find and gimme a achievement and a title for actually finding that NPC.
Actually, on that matter - I wish they would steal some stuff from WoW. Getting the weirdest achievements there was actually pretty fun to do.

[Neoyoshi]

Just more things overall to interact with and explore in the world, I feel like the team flirts with the idea of inconsequential exploration with little things here and there, but I've yet to see them fully lean into it.

[hobostew]

Even though they already said no I still think it would have been cool to add stuff like CEs to the overworld. Maybe also random treasure chests and stuff like that.

[Canadane]

A few beasts that run away in fear when my character goes close by, starts aggro when attacked.

I recall 1.0 had something like this. Sight aggro worked differently depending on the mob type.
Timid mobs would run away unless you actually started fighting them. Curious ones would come up to you but only to check you out, maybe sniff you lol. They wouldn't attack unless you did. And aggressive ones would just start beating you up.

I do miss things like that, removed for the sake of simplicity.

[MPK]

Nothing. It seems like a big waste of resources.

[Radacci]

More interaction between creatures - it aggrevate me that certain hostiles attack you together, but not each other. Like why do Chocobos and marlboros attack you together?? (don't think it happen anywhere, but you get the point)
Roaming heards of animals.
We got fish tanks, would be cool if you could see those fishes in the water where you find them.
DoL NPCs Roaming around gathering stuff.
Ya, reacting to your character, it would be nice if some animals showed curiosity also, like cats/dogs coming up to you, and you can Pet them or such. Emoting NPCs, and they emote back. Kids running around with minions.
Seasons.

Seasonal content, like Feast, but with normal zones. I was thinking past few days it would have been cool when ARR started, that getting past Garleans fortresses should have been more of a combat oriented version of Ishgard restoration, but instead you help Craft supplies and items for raiding. So higher level content is gated for everyone, until server clear that Gate, so you can progress in story. And in current story, it would have been cool if whole server was more engaged in dealing with what's going on, instead you just pop into a 1man instance, and deal with the whole problem by yourself. Maybe a bit like Eureka/Bozja where you farm Fates, but with everywhere the towers popped up, and Lunar Primals showing up as S ranks.

Roaming Odin used to be a thing, would have been nice with more of that. Like let's say Garuda appear, and start rampaging through Black Shroud, attacking settlements and Gridania, and server need to stop her before she destroy everything - then you get seasonal event to repair the damage.
This would be nice with above content too, with Garleans raiding resistance camps, and players help fight them back.
To go a few steps further into wishful thinking, they could keep changing the Geography of the maps, to keep it interesting.
Just an excuse to do another calamity and remake the game again in Unreal Engine 5, to utilize Nanite and megascans. Well also the current one is really limiting.

Add new zones to old states, like lv 50-90 in Shroud/Thanalan/Limsa.

There's so much stuff they "could" do ^^ with infinite budget, and 0 development time.

[GeminiReed]

[*]Causes climate change while passing by, like it rains or snows or it becomes foggy or misty until that character goes away or is maybe killed? Or perhaps grows plants and roses while walking in the area, that die and wither away as that character moves on?

This sorta exists. Some FATES cause special weather like Gloom in the Shroud when Odin is abroad.

[Radacci]

Nothing. It seems like a big waste of resources.

I'm glad you're not a dev lol. It's not wasted resources if it improve the game. You could say anything is wasted resources, like male Viera, gold saucer, triple triad, relic weps.

[Shougun]

A more interactive world, in 1.0 some of the monsters had extra personalities like Snurbles (big fluff balls) might cure you, Goobbues may eat mandagora, etc. Critters whose purpose is to add life to the area but not be killed (not every squirrel needs to die SE lol, add some butterflys more often). On that not all monsters need to be aggressive, or the same type - it's true many wont notice the difference in aggro type but it's still a cute touch even if it's no longer emphasized so hard like an old school mmo. Includes some sort of faction system where it makes sense (like how goobbue eat mandgora). The Pixie swing actually functioning would be neat, the train tracks in thanalan actually having a train that functioned. Improving collision detection such that there are far less to no objects that have a generic "can't be here" shield, like some tents you just can't land on (usually related to beast tribes, maybe they can use localized phasing if the need, but not just beast tribes), removing invisible walls whenever possible. Was mentioned in greater detail in another thread but utilizing their new fate system but turning it into a zone context, allowing you to improve the fate of the zone (pun not intended)- when it says you make the place safer then it should show that (like the broken down houses getting some workers to repair it, and progress on that over the stages). Chocobo hot and cold / archeology (one being a repeatable mini-game the other taking that mini-game and add some one time opportunities), other chocobo content also welcomed. FATEs/monsters sometimes dropping chests or quests (that mix up your gameplay loop).

Secret quests and interactions, some useful, some cute. Legend of Zelda secret quest in WoW comes to mind, a quest that you had to start by dying and talking to an npc lol. Like perhaps if you pray at all the twelve stones something happens, or if you pray at yours on it's particular representation. Cave that can be uncovered by a quest, or maybe DoH, might find a underground hotspring that gives you a buff while in the area. Camps that you can rest at for like buffs (generally taking some of the best road trip / camping ideas from FFXV, that are possible would be neat- camping/tents imo are pretty FF in general). Buffs can be neat things too like double duration sprint, faster recovery, change your appearance, w.e. On secrets it would also be trying to add some element of mystery to an area, like plants may start to glow, fire flies appearing around, the water starts to trickle into the air (rivers dry up as it fills the sky), etc.. alien and at least the first experience being this absolute "WHAT THE.. .. THAL.. ?!?!". Large tower in the zone, mist rolls in hyper thick down the mountain wall like a tsunami, low rumble, fog slowly fades again to reveal the tower has moved cross the zone and is facing a different direction.

Weather effects can help, and do help, first time you get the special weather for example in North Shroud is like "waaat?". So I absolutely encourage using weather to tell a story too. Perhaps a zone is known for flash floods, so actually have that. Torrential rain that comes in as a thick wall from a specific direction, or a sandstorm, so you get that cool experience as it comes at and over you.

In discussion of weather improvement to graphics related could help, like wet shaders that give the impression of pools of water built up and evaporate. Snow can build up as well. Deformation in the steps you take in snow would be quite cool. Should be rare, to not be frustrating as all heck, but might have some weather effect your character (hyper snow storm makes it slower to move, not by much just enough to make you go "oh wowwwwww" lol). Improved water to gain a 3d element, ripples, etc. Volumetric fog and elements added to clouds (if it keeps their pretty appearance at least), would be great to use by mountains and other certain areas. Improved lighting could help, especially next to improved fog and clouds having the light change as it passes through different materials (include plants for extra subtle beauty). The current flora is not bad but could be improved in detail (includes ground cover flora like flowers and grass), and perhaps gain physics like when you walk past them or cast big damage spells (especially neat if the weather can utilize that for great effect). Not sure how many could use it but ray tracing in certain situations would probably be eye popping, like stained glass areas, reflections of course, particularly computer melting benchmark testing area would be Mor Dhona and all that crystal lol.

Not entirely related to environment but, part of it, bringing some role play mechanic to jobs that encourage identity of each job without damaging combat balance. Like Dragoons being able to jump much higher (to avoid annoyance it can be as simple as tapping vs holding jump, or a toggle), in zones they've unlocked flying, and take no fall damage. Maybe one mage can cast slow fall, another stand atop water, etc. Try to rework movement abilities so they don't purely skim the ground, if possible (like if you're a ninja and you blink, maybe it might calculate a basic height and distance and if that line drawn to the point was acceptable it would just blink you to said location- meaning you could blink yourself onto a roof top in Kugane for example- this, like dragoon jump, may need a "if you can fly" and "near vista?" check though, perhaps for ninja it would also count town and wouldn't teleport them right on top of vistas lol). This relating to other concepts too, like crafters would gain a lot more goof items, goof potions for alchemist, etc. Things that are just for the fun of it.

Going off comment of ninja and dragoon though would be trying to make the movement smoother (through any means possible, like improved animation / animation blending and canceling) - trying to make the act of moving itself more enjoyable. Perhaps some more opportunities, with the improved collision detection (ie not the kugane tower where you stand on nothing to get to the next step lol), to use all of that- some more opportunities to get around (before flying makes it all up and down).

Personal desire to see hunts get a bit of a rework twist on them where the living variant drops one more reward from the loot table, yet on death they leave a void mark / pyre fly (FFX) mark that you can interact with to get a rough estimation since death (quality of the spirits in location), and can use that area to kindle a fight to help purify the area (or calm the spirit)- these fights you can optionally weaken the spirit further but each stage down reduces the loot (but obviously makes them easier). The fights getting a classic screen shattering and phasing the area to your group, or self. Encouraging hunting competition while also prevent a true damage to players being able to loose opportunity to take part in hunt content due to whatever reason, slow pc, cross server train of doom, etc (also broadens it up). Bring unique items back to NMs, now that they're far more accessible, these items doing cool theme'd effects and working very well as 'heirloom' / leveling items (but not replacing the current tier's end game).

More world bosses, like Odin, etc, but also with more involved with them- like with Odin his spear may be found in a separate location charging up, players can find and prevent it from returning to Odin to remove some of his move set, meanwhile Odin before being pinned down can make great leaps around the map (generally just within a ring around where found, but still pretty serious leaps that includes damage)- DoH / DoL can work together at node stations to create an aether dome that prevents Odin from moving around as freely, occasionally a node will be marked by Odin and he'll call down spirits to attack that node and so some players will have to break away to help. Multiple phases, much longer fight, but multiple phases rewarding players so it's not end of the world if you can only participate in certain parts.

Open world would obviously not be feasible but removing the border between some areas that can be would be neat (like the two Limsa(s)). If they want to add airships, yes please, they can have leaving the borders of zones, ideally, seamlessly move you into a world map (like other classic FF games), and you can then fly out of one zone into the world map and into another all with a seamless like experience (can use something close to what is used for water transitions, for some it'll be near instant, others might need some wind gushing by lol).