Quote Originally Posted by Alfortis View Post
Pros:
Environments with a deep meaning behind them.
Players feeling comfortable with the area and it being a part of their life
Less development hassle since the deeper zones are still the same theme
Quality zones over Quantity zones
This is almost point for point what the devs are aiming for in 2.0, even doing away with the zoneless world concept to focus even more on doing so (though I think they could have both of "super specialized zones" and "no zonelines" but I'm not gonna get into the technical aspect of such in this thread).

Call me crazy, but I have a fair bit of familiarity with La Noscea as well. The geography of Iron Lake and surrounding bits is nestled between more walls than most of the La Noscean areas, with thinner paths. It's also the only area with, y'know, a lake, where I often see people mining and fishing along the dormice. To the west of that is a camp of level 40 raptors, where I would do EXP parties with some of my friends. When I had to go afk, I'd say that I was running to the "goat bowl" - a little dip in the ground south of the camp where only nannygoats grazed, that way I wouldn't draw aggro from spawning raptors. Bloodshore's actual shore is awkward to get to, but it's also rather dense with foilage, where the giant grabs bubble about before the path that leads to Wineport. To the south is the Red Rooster Stead, where Goobbues are summoned. Brigands are just to the east of the Bald Knoll camp, so always head up the hills around them lest you risk becoming lamed, and the Great Buffalo stomps about just north of there. Also to the north is a small valley where two Earth Elementals spawn- what a peculiar place for them to be. I like doing crafting leves in La Noscea because a majority of the camps are in a circular pattern. If I have leves to turn in at Skull Valley, Iron Lake, and Bloodshore, it's not like running from Drybone and then back over to Horizon, or navigating the Black Shroud. I can run up to Skull Valley, dash past kobolds and raptors to Iron Lake, and then keep going east to Bloodshore. I don't have to backtrack between a majority of the camps, and if I teleport at all, it'll be to Bald Knoll just because it's the odd one out. It's a shame there's locked doors in Mistbeard Cove- I was pretty excited when I got to go behind one of them in one of the live events. Near the entrance to Limsa Lominsa, just a bit to the northwest, there's a cave that leads to a spot where Urianger appears now, but it also has a great open view of the sea and LL. Shposhae. The craziness that is U'ghamoro, where even a group of 50s sticks to the walls, lest entire rooms of kobolds attack and knock us all about with their AoEs.

And, I mean, this is just La Noscea. I could go on into Thanalan as well, though not as in depth. (Meteor can't hit the Black Shroud fast enough though. The hamlets are cool looking, but the Shroud itself is pain.) Coerthas is absolutely gigantic and sprawling. I'd spend more time in Mor Dhona if I had a raise buddy with me at all times.

Admittedly, what XIV doesn't normally have a lot of, in comparison to XI, are stark, immediately recognizable landmarks, which are coming in 2.0. I'm sure I'll love those zones too, and that they'll be interesting, and I'll be able to poke around them and learn little tidbits, find optimal routes, make new camps. But for now, looking back on what I know about Eorzea, I can't say it's simply a cut-and-paste experience.