It's fine to allow people to opt out of Exploratory Zone content if they want, but it just needs to be incentivized such that participating is always more efficient, especially over multiple relics.

The most important thing is to start it off early and have regular updates. I know the content takes time to design, but it feels less satisfying if you're more than halfway through the patch series by the time the first update hits.

As far as the weapon itself is concerned, I'd like to see them experiment with more Exploratory Zone specific stats like Haste and Elemental Bonus, except introduced from the very outset. This content doesn't need to be balanced, so they can really experiment with breaking game mechanics. You could even have job specific stats within the zone, like reducing your Jump recast or giving you more charges of Ingress/Egress. I think a big issue with the Relic in general is that it seems redundant outside of glamour, so giving it value within a specific zone could be one way to give it some context.

Speaking of region specific stats, I thought that one thing that Bozja did very well was creating an optional grind for Suns rather than making all the levelling progression be mandatory. It would be interesting to see them try out an alternative levelling system this time, though. Perhaps something like the Sphere Grid or License Board.