Feedback/Discussion: Make Open World Content Appealing

[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)

[MicahZerrshia]

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 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.

I'm not talking about lore or NPCs, I can't actually say I care enough about fates to have ever paid attn to the npcs or lore of them. I am talking about the actual fates themselves. It's the same objectives again and again. Kill all mobs, kill until bar fills, boss fates, collect items > turn in > wait, etc etc. It's always just the same thing again and again, even in the field zones. They need to shake things up a bit and give us new objectives.

Making fates change the world in some way would also be good, like beast tribes or rival factions fighting over control of resources. When one has control the area is much more hostile and when they don't certain vendors are available is a good jumping off point for that. But they would need to put enough worthwhile rewards behind it that it doesn't become obsolete after a couple months, like Odin, Behemoth, Ixion, etc. Large scale, world bosses with actual mechanics would be the good way to incorperate relic items into the world instead of just putting them behind standard fates.

[Raenra]

I'm not talking about lore or NPCs, I can't actually say I care enough about fates to have ever paid attn to the npcs or lore of them. I am talking about the actual fates themselves. It's the same objectives again and again. Kill all mobs, kill until bar fills, boss fates, collect items > turn in > wait, etc etc. It's always just the same thing again and again, even in the field zones. They need to shake things up a bit and give us new objectives.

Making fates change the world in some way would also be good, like beast tribes or rival factions fighting over control of resources. When one has control the area is much more hostile and when they don't certain vendors are available is a good jumping off point for that. But they would need to put enough worthwhile rewards behind it that it doesn't become obsolete after a couple months, like Odin, Behemoth, Ixion, etc. Large scale, world bosses with actual mechanics would be the good way to incorperate relic items into the world instead of just putting them behind standard fates.

And I agree with you.
Like it would have been neat if before Stormy Weather in Hanuhanu-land, fates appeared oriented around harvesting their crops and securing down their stick-houses etc.
They have an intricate weather system, but rarely use it beyond fish spawns.

Was just saying, given this is a story-focused MMO I'd assume a lot of players, a good story-motivation behind what I'm doing really helps keep me engaged.
I will seek out those aforementioned 'story' fates in ShB when I'm in those zones because I care about those NPCs and want them to succeed.
Just like defending the bridge and freeing the captives in Thanalan felt more impactful because it directly tied into the greater narrative of the zone's story.

[Ayuhra]

I just wish the open world were fun to explore. We explore for...aether currents, I guess? Nothing else.

No hidden caves, no treasure chests, no jumping puzzles, no nothing. They're empty spaces we walk through between cutscenes.

You can't even gather in the open world unless you are on a gathering job. You cannot fish unless you are a fisher. You cannot find chests without a map.

I do not want to remove crafting/gathering jobs and maps obviously. But my point is this MMORPG lacks the "Ooooh, I wonder what's over there! What IS that!?" moments.