Please bring back Exploratory Zones in Dawntrail

[ThaCa]

They should just make the normal overworld an exploratory content. Most of the normal zones feel kinda wasteful outside of the tunneled story and gathering.

[Alexandre_Noireau]

They should just make the normal overworld an exploratory content. Most of the normal zones feel kinda wasteful outside of the tunneled story and gathering.

They should go and try do all areas just as GW2 does them.

[Kosachi]

Delubrum, Dalriada and Lacus Litore were great experiences.
And some, many even, say Baldesion Arsenal IS the best experience in the game.

Eureka and Bozja did almost nothing wrong, and gave long lasting goals and content for players all expansion cycle over.
Meanwhile savage and ultimates keep like a 2% of players busy... While the rest of the player base has to endure a limited gear progression system and reward structure in all content just to not touch the balance of that very limited and unreaching, unappealing part of the content.

Field Operations need to be back. And Savage and Ultimate raids have to pay for them.
End game has to go as it is now, is not good for anyone but a very reduced part of the player base.

Progression has to diversify, turn into a more horizontal take, with concept as "main job/class" being torn by a new progression system that allows and reward actual multiple-role progression and instances that allow for on the fly role changes to adjust to more emergent, procedimental and less repetitive content (dance fights have to go, keep em always guessing!)

It's not a zero sum game nor is SE a small indie company. You can have both you know. I greatly enjoy both Savage/Ultimate as well as exploratory zones so I don't understand why I would have to give up one for the other.

And for the 90498274896728936th time, can you stop with the "reduced part of the playerbase" BS. Clear rates are irrelevant and attempt rates are what matters and that is more than high enough to justify their existence.

[DPZ2]

They should go and try do all areas just as GW2 does them.

They kinda already do ... they're called FATEs.

They may not be what you're looking for, but they're built into each and every "normal zone". Players ignore them if they don't need the Seals or Nuts. It's something to do in the open world until you get that mount your wanted to purchase.

It may just not be what you personally are looking for in this open world. That's why it's so great that there are different MMORPGs to play.

[Alexandre_Noireau]

They kinda already do ... they're called FATEs.

Dynamic Events are the backbone.
But there is no area in overworld of XIV that comes even close to what areas like Dragon's Defense, Dragonfall, and basically any zone with a huge boss at the end, which are basically overworld raids.

In comparison, The Fringes have relatively low FATEs related to the war which is going on the map. In GW2 the whole map would feel like a military operation. Theming is one of the weakest points in map design along explorability.

[LilimoLimomo]

I understand you - though am shocked you play BLM given that.

Haha, it's actually less counterintuitive than it might seem! BLM generally requires fewer actions per minute due to cast times, so it's generally easier on my hands and wrists to play. I've also made myself an amazing set of macros that make it so that the bulk of BLM gameplay only requires around 8 buttons.

Also, I don't do Extreme or Savage content, and I'm at best a mediocre BLM, so if there are high-end techniques you're thinking of, I probably haven't yet reached the point where I'm using them. I only recently discovered that there were advanced weaving techniques that in all my years of playing I had never thought to use, and I'm currently trying to practice adding these new techniques into my play, one at a time. It's a very slow process! But it's one I enjoy. ^^

And when there's a need for me to be more effective than I can be with BLM, I generally switch to PLD or SMN, though I try not to do it for long as Garuda phase can agitate my symptoms.

A solution that you can use and that I like is to note there are often actions that don't require constant use or additional presses. For example, Shell/Protect you generally use between battles (the rank 2s; rank 1s or Eureka's versions last for 30 mins). Likewise, the Spirit of things like Aetherweaver, in Eureka, are buffs you use and then don't have to keep pressing or engaging with (Bozja traded those for potions, though), and you can have things like Raise or Cure 2/4/etc on a BLM for emergency use but that won't be part of your standard rotation. Those are all options for you to try since you don't really need extra keybinds and you use them holding down the trigger and clicking in the thumbstick.

Thanks for the suggestion, that's what I try to do in general. For whatever reason pressing the thumbstick is extra agitating for my symptoms, so whatever I can do to minimize the amount I need to use it is great for me!

[DPZ2]

Dynamic Events are the backbone.
But there is no area in overworld of XIV that comes even close to what areas like Dragon's Defense, Dragonfall, and basically any zone with a huge boss at the end, which are basically overworld raids.

In comparison, The Fringes have relatively low FATEs related to the war which is going on the map. In GW2 the whole map would feel like a military operation. Theming is one of the weakest points in map design along explorability.

And this is the reason I'd suggest players check out GW2 in addition to playing FFXIV, rather than insisting we somehow merge the two.

[TheGrimace]

The communal aspect of Eureka and Bozja is their biggest asset. I would absolutely like to see this also present in non-instanced areas by re-adjusting FATEs to work more like Skirmishes and Critical Engagements, but a part of why Notorious Monsters and Critical Engagements work in Exploratory Content is that many players from the entire data center are sharing one single instance. Because of this, as much as I would like to see regular zones have more to do (and I still encourage SE to do this), I don't expect them to have the staying power as instanced Exploratory Content because data center-wide instanced content ensures more people in one place.

Ideally I'd love both but ultimately I think more instanced Exploratory Content like Eureka and Bozja are the best ways of scratching the "communal goal" itch.

[Renathras]

I haven't done the Exploratory zones, nor HoH. I consider them a waste of effort on the part of SE. I consider them to be the reason we don't have two dungeons per expansion patch.

Am I qualified to make that particular comment, Oh Great and Mighty Gatekeeper?

So why do you think Exploration zones cost us 2 dungeons per patch but not Ultimates? Why not ask for Ultimates to be removed instead? Or Deep Dungeons? Or Island Sanctuary? What makes you think Exploration Zones, specifically are responsible for this and that them not being there would give us 2 dungeons per patch? Especially since in EW we haven't had an Exploration Zone but haven't had 2 dungeons per patch.

Haha, it's actually less counterintuitive than it might seem! BLM generally requires fewer actions per minute due to cast times, so it's generally easier on my hands and wrists to play. I've also made myself an amazing set of macros that make it so that the bulk of BLM gameplay only requires around 8 buttons.

You know, I hadn't thought about the lower APM. Fair point, it's one reason I like WHM and WAR (and now PLD). I still think SMN would be lower, but maybe not (Garuda/Titan do have a bit of weaving going on). BLM seems to have a lot of oGCDs, but I suppose if you macro them well, you can get around that. And I guess there are some buttons you can kinda drop from your bars somewhat (Scathe for example, Blizzard 1 if you aren't doing low level content - get into a Leveling Dungeon, though, and...) Maybe I just need some good macros, otherwise I find SMN to be more accessible.

Still, impressive of you, I think. Goes to show "preferring slow pace" and "unable to do complex things" aren't synonymous.

Also, I don't do Extreme or Savage content,

Fair. I'm a decent Healer but hate DPSing (I'm decent at it, on some Jobs anyway, I just don't enjoy/like it much), and more just do it when I need to/Healer spots are all full. I do Extremes, but only rarely Savages. Issue there is the fights are more like ARPGs for god only knows what reason, making static hardcasting Jobs quite a bit harder to execute mechanics with.

And yeah, weaving is crazy to me. It and ABC (Always Be Casting) are two huge things that the game never teaches you but are essential to high end play and will instantly get you above 50%, if not 80%, of the general playerbase (looking at 24 mans, anyway, which are probably the most representative of the playerbase as a whole). The game doesn't even tell you the difference between a Spell/Weaponskill (GCD) and Ability (oGCD), so you either have to figure that out yourself (like I did running PotD and noticing the "Pacification" debuff doesn't affect Abilities but does Spells/Weaponskills, and the floor debuff that doesn't let you use Abilities doesn't affect Spells/WEaponskills) or read/watch guides online that actually explain it. If you've never done so, check out Wesk Alber's guides. They're pretty good to get a solid intro to Jobs, and there's one for each Job, including BLM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEm-...mIovFT&index=5

Thanks for the suggestion, that's what I try to do in general. For whatever reason pressing the thumbstick is extra agitating for my symptoms, so whatever I can do to minimize the amount I need to use it is great for me!

Well, if you play like I do (PC but with a gamepad), you can always click them with your mouse if that helps.

[Aco505]

It took me weeks (and while I do play in dead timezone of my DC, I still managed to do all the rest of Bozja naturally quickly) to get DR done with because I ended up with like 3 people total at most until I got a lucky day when I could play during peak hours and got like 12. And I dont know how it scales, but it did NOT feel doable with 3 people. Or at the bare minimum, nobody felt like it was worth time investment after spending like 10 minutes on first boss to get it down 15% hp before wiping.

You can definitely do it with a small amount of people but it will require all of them to use the proper actions and to be prepared for specific things (e. g. The Queen's Cleansing Slash and its doom).

With good action usage, bosses should die at a normal pace without big problems.