Feedback/Discussion: Make Open World Content Appealing

[Raim]

With Yoshida stating that the game is going to be focusing on multiplayer aspects again, I think we need to take the time to discuss a few suggestions I have to bring life back into the game's open world content. I am going to just break it down into points to make it easier to read.

-Make Fates give Bicolor Gemstones at all level ranges and expansions
-Let players exchange Bicolor Gemstones for the same items as Hunt Currencies, albeit at a lesser rate
-Give players a chaining EXP/Gemstone bonus for doing Fates back to back
-Take inspiration from Rift's Instant Adventures and let players queue into groups of 4-8 players doing Fates out in the game world. The system will direct them to each Fate and you get a small stacking bonus for each you actively participate in.
-Add in max level solo AND group combat Levequests that provide a unique currency+Tomes to incentivize max level players to use their Leves
-Every patch there needs to be a Tomestone Mount or glamour roughly equivalent to the grind of a Bicolor Gemstone mount; lets just say it costs 50k uncapped tomestones; This will encourage players to do daily activities even when geared
-Create a small instanced area called something like "Treasure Hunters League" where like minded players can get together to form groups for map parties, rather than relying on party finder

[Valence]

The only way to make it appealing to me isn't in the rewards, but the gameplay. Make it actually engaging and we may be talking?

[Jeeqbit]

We get GC Seals instead of gemstones at lower levels and those have rewards.

Gemstones and hunt currencies having the same rewards would make people choose the easiest option and potentially obliterate the hunt community. There was a time when I was worried they'd discontinue hunts because hardly anyone did them. Once hunt trains took off and they added a mount grind, hunts were saved. They are big because of the rewards.

50,000 uncapped tomestones farmed via dungeons that are the same every single time. I don't think that would be good without addressing how much the same they are.

[Raim]

We get GC Seals instead of gemstones at lower levels and those have rewards.

Gemstones and hunt currencies having the same rewards would make people choose the easiest option and potentially obliterate the hunt community. There was a time when I was worried they'd discontinue hunts because hardly anyone did them. Once hunt trains took off and they added a mount grind, hunts were saved. They are big because of the rewards.

50,000 uncapped tomestones farmed via dungeons that are the same every single time. I don't think that would be good without addressing how much the same they are.

GC seal rewards are so pathetic they might as well not exist.

[brinn12]

Probably not happening. A few weeks ago, someone necro'd a 2015 thread asking for the same thing.

[Eastwall]

I think field operation is their attempt to do it. I wouldn't expect much from fate.

[OMGJesuis66]

- Add Exploration minor rewards, such as treasures that unlock an Achievement for finding each and give you a minion.
- Add Unique Activities in the Game that are not 'click and wait for cast bar'.
- Add Weekly Quests for each zone.
- Remove the limit from the Society Quests, 3 per tribe and 6 per day is ridiculous.
- Add World Bosses again.
- Add Weather based Fates/Events.
- Add Special Weather Events, such as Odin in ARR.
- Add Events on the zone which adds to a minor storyline and some minor changes in the map itself (Example, Area infested with monsters is cleansed, so now there are NPCs in that spot with unique things to buy from).
- Make mounting more intuitive and allow your friends to mount on the multi-seater mounts without having to right click on you.
- Improve solo maps for them to either have a minor dungeon instance as you complete or have an actual charade to figure out through text within the zone, which leads you to said minor dungeon or treasures as pointed out above.
- Add unique characteristics to Fates based on the Levequests card principle, changing even a known fate over how it works. Variants of the same scenario.

In simple, JUST MAKE THE WORLD INTERESTING.
Fates used to be interesting in ARR, it was tiresome to Fate Grind, yes, but it was interesting.
The Relics grinds being tied to fate RNG was horrible, but it kept people walking in the world and doing fates.
As it is, there's NO PURPOSE to visit any zone at all.

[Atreus]

With Yoshida stating that the game is going to be focusing on multiplayer aspects again, I think we need to take the time to discuss a few suggestions I have to bring life back into the game's open world content. I am going to just break it down into points to make it easier to read.

-Make Fates give Bicolor Gemstones at all level ranges and expansions
-Let players exchange Bicolor Gemstones for the same items as Hunt Currencies, albeit at a lesser rate
-Give players a chaining EXP/Gemstone bonus for doing Fates back to back
-Take inspiration from Rift's Instant Adventures and let players queue into groups of 4-8 players doing Fates out in the game world. The system will direct them to each Fate and you get a small stacking bonus for each you actively participate in.
-Add in max level solo AND group combat Levequests that provide a unique currency+Tomes to incentivize max level players to use their Leves
-Every patch there needs to be a Tomestone Mount or glamour roughly equivalent to the grind of a Bicolor Gemstone mount; lets just say it costs 50k uncapped tomestones; This will encourage players to do daily activities even when geared
-Create a small instanced area called something like "Treasure Hunters League" where like minded players can get together to form groups for map parties, rather than relying on party finder

The key to all of it is having either max-level stuff in all older zones, or reworking level sync so you aren't completely robbed of your job kit doing FATEs. Relevant maps taking you anywhere in the world would help. Some form of daily quest that syncs to your level that can take you anywhere may help.

There's loads they can do to liven up the world, but as someone said, the gameplay does need to be engaging.

[MicahZerrshia]

They really need to add new fates into the mix. They have just made reskins of the same 6 fates over and over each expac. Even the field zones just rehash the same fates. Fates have been just absurdly boring and tedious since ARR.

And I also want Hamlet Defense back. Those were a hoot and a half, no idea why they scrapped them with the relaunch.

[Raenra]

They really need to add new fates into the mix. They have just made reskins of the same 6 fates over and over each expac. Even the field zones just rehash the same fates. Fates have been just absurdly boring and tedious since ARR.

And I also want Hamlet Defense back. Those were a hoot and a half, no idea why they scrapped them with the relaunch.

While I agree with you in regards to the ARR fates being quite interesting, I also continue to enjoy the ShB fate chains.
The treasure hunters in Amh Araeng, the Pixie and the Frogs in Il Mheg, and the bunny-squad in Rak'tika.
They all had engaging personalities, an explained motivation, and a general arc to their stories.
Think it also helped that they existed in the worldspace outside of the fates, and actually fought in the fates rather than standing back and watching (for better or worse).

Compared to those, I've felt very little about the EW & DT fate NPCs. If there's personality or a story behind them, it hasn't made itself apparent.

In regards to the overall topic of "making the zones more engaging", I really think we need to look beyond fates.
Much like Garrisons did in WoW, retainers make gathering ingredients (especially from mobs) practically obsolete.
There's also no interesting drops beyond their simplistic loot tables, there's no treasures to find, no soloable rare spawns (both mobs and gathering), there's really nothing to be out there for.
(If they ever did, make it personalised, so only that player could see/interact with it)