Can we get an idea on what to expect from the open world in version 2? (A bit long)

[Sevro]

I would like to respectfully request from the moderators to give us some semblance of an indication of what the developers' plans are concerning the open world in this game, come version 2. I am not, and neither do I think the community is, a foe of good instanced content. However, right now, all the event additions, and announcements concerning future event additions, seem to circle around the twin concepts of instanced dungeons and timed events.

Other than free roaming NMs (I don't think they deserve the title of HNMs) there's only two imperfect open-world events besides the monotonously repetitive guildleves: Behest and Caravans. Behest is in bad need of refurbishment, since it's something so laughingly easy that it constitutes nothing more than a timed XP giveaway. The mechanics of it, not touched since its original appearance at launch, are notoriously clunky; they allow for easy trolling and renegade-type spoiling of the event for other players.

Caravans, although more enjoyable than behest, also would benefit from some improvements, and the addition of some variety to their scheme. (Do we always need foe-spawn points to be at exactly the same spots? Wouldn't a bit of unpredictability as to the direction, amount, strength, routes, and mechanics of the foes add much needed excitement?) Unfortunately, if Caravans today occupy a spot in the affections of players, it's due to the fact that's an easy event to spam in order to procure GC seals, which is kind of sad. In the future, with the addition of more and more GC events and quests, perhaps the game's population won't have to rely on spamming events (the mentioned caravans, Toto-Rak speed runs) in order to earn seals.

Also, all these events are timed, which has long been the rule in FFXIV, imparting a cookie-cutter feel to the available activities in the game.

A lobby world in which people only maintain a perfunctory relationship with the environment might be easy to develop, but it's also easy to outgrow and get tired of. Many of us in the community think that a rich, varied, colorful, competitive, and perpetually challenging open world is the fundamental backbone for a game that will remain successful over many years. We also understand that, with all the changes planned for the open world maps in v. 2.0, it might be difficult to introduce open world events at this stage and that, perhaps, many are already planned. But for precisely this reason, a little bit of a panorama of things to come would be extremely welcome, in order to maintain the excitement level for us Legacy Players high and bubbly.

This quote, I already included in another post of mine, but that was buried on dead-leg of a long thread, and I think it deserves to be read, as does the entire blog entry from which it comes. In it the writer describes in 17 words, what held him rapt for years in his favorite MMO. That that game was the spiritual forbear of FFXI explains why so many of the veteran players of SE's previous MMO usually repeat this same mantra:



R

Couldn't have said it better myself! Brilliant post and I agree with everything the OP said. This is a huge concern for me. I will be very disapointed in 2.0 if the open world does not have more benefits than the instanced world. Instancing breaks up a lot of the feelings and experiences that I love in an MMO game, in Final Fantasy. It is the reason I am putting my time in XIV and not WoW, Rift, etc. Those games went to the extreme of casual/instancing.. it's time for a true balance to be in the game. I agree there needs to be some instanced content, but the majority of my experiences in XIV I hope will be made of open world XP parties, open world dungeons where players run into each other and where there are a limited amount of boss spawns (this is GOOD for an mmo). Instanced content needs to be in there too, and casual content - however, open world dungeons/parties/experiences are more fun for a lot of us and I feel like we've been totally forgotten about in this whole casual/instant gratification trend. I want FFXIV to sell big numbers and make good subsc money so I know there HAS to be some casual/instanced content and I enjoy it too sometimes.. but don't forget about all of us who want open world. Open World is the concept of an MMO, at least for me it is. If I want to solo everything and have everything available to me at any time then there are a million playstation 3 games I can play solo without sacrificing the graphics that are sacrificed to make an MMO work and have all of that. MMO's are meant to be massive with lots of people around, not sitting in a town, waiting to be selected to join with 4 other players for a generic instance where you know what will happen and it will be like a 4 player game.

I will make 1 or 2 days a week in my 30 hour student/work/young-adult-social-life-fun schedule per week , have some space while I do my thing and play my mmo. I only desire to do this though if it's worth it. Everquest was so worth it, FFXI was so worth it too, although that was a tad extreme at least when I played (quit at treasures expansion). I was so disappointed when raids began being limited in participants or squished from 50 people to only 25. 25 is okay but you get my point.

Everything in MMO's these days seems to be accessible to everyone and anybody. When I see this in an MMO I immediately lose my interest or motivation to raid or play really. I'll sit around for awhile but everything in the game begins to feel pointless. I think this is also a reason why most of my MMO experiences since EQ and FFXI have been with communities who are not cohesive or even known to each other.. there simply is no community because everyone is playing separately.

I'm putting my time into FFXIV hoping it will remember MY type of player equally as much as THAT type of player, if it doesn't I'll be awaiting the mmo that brings this aspect back for players like me who I feel have been totally unfocused on with this mmo era of accessibility for everyone with everything. I really hope the developers read this and I really hope they each remember to put more focus on the players who do love the many aspects of original mmo concepts that captured us into the genre and created amazing social experiences in the MMO. If the argument is time or accessibility for everyone, I am a third year student who works almost full time, volunteers, takes 4 classes every semester, has an awesome social life, and manages to fit in 15 hours a week of game time or more if I feel it's worth it. There needs to be options for everybody, and MMO's today, in my opinion, have totally lost sight of players like me who want there to be some meaningful, exclusive raid content, or framework, creating a different class of LS's/guilds etc, for people willing to achieve it. We've been left in the dust a lot I think and that's really not nice - at all! So please XIV team.. remember that - Meaningful Open World Content needs to be made necessary for players wanting those older MMO elements back and it's fun for us just like instances are fun for casuals! Open World should be the competitive arena of high end linkshells, players. I remember in EQ being a level 9 newbie off adventuring where I really shouldn't have been and seeing a guild of 40 people killing this huge monster. That was epic for me - it motivated me, it's what started my flame for the genre. Balance is key, balance for players like me AND balance for causal players.

A level of competition among individuals and guilds, paired with social interactions on a Massive Multiplayer Online (helloo!) scale strangely enough creates fun, respectful, well structured communities, fun linkshell experiences, fun party experiences, etc. 6 players in a dungeon, or 10 players for that matter, is not very massive - at all.

My hope has been that XIV 2.0 comes closer than all the other games on the market to meeting this standard of mine, I don't want FFXI levels of partying that was too much and a little ridiculous at times in my opinion, just keep a lot of really epic stuff open world.