Make Zones dangerous!

[Nana_Bear]

As someone who was there for the 2.X-Era Sylphlands....no. never again.

Stuff being a threat while leveling is fine, and there's always Eureka and Bozja for threatening overworld stuff. Fates are fine. But when just crossing a map becomes annoying, the game isn't fun.

I very much agree. The whole idea is that as we've grown as a fighter, things that were threats when we were baby-fighters are no longer threats. Making it so that the native fauna in a zone we've grown past suddenly gets uber-dangerous to us again, is like forcing a high schooler to go sit in a first grader's desk in a first grade class: you're well beyond that now, and it doesn't fit you anymore.

I *like* that I can run (or better yet, fly) through zones where the monsters are scared now of *me*, where it used to be that I had to be scared of *them*. Usually because I'm passing through with some goal in mind---having to run from monsters there that I've long since outgrown, would be like having to stop your road trip every five minutes for the kids to go to the bathroom: it's annoying, and it vastly increases your travel time.

As you said, there's places where people can go to still get "All of us here want to eat you up," but putting that in the main zones from earlier expansions would be a major annoyance to most people who are just there to travel through, to do a quest, and/or to do some low-level Fates for things like the Yo-kai watch event, or working on some relic weapon quest thingy, or doing the Hunt marks.

[PyurBlue]

I think a FATE rework is the solution here. Making it difficult to travel won't go over well with a lot of players, especially with stuff like taking away flying.

Make FATEs more difficult and more interesting instead so that there is some kind of interesting open world content. Players that don't want to deal with them can go around while those interested in participating can join. These FATEs might also have some relevance to the map like influencing the appearance of special vendors or locations.

This could be further expanded with optional open world areas that are meant to be dangerous. Places where the MSQ doesn't necessarily go but has some value for players, like dangerous enemies with better drop rates for useful material. I'd rather have this over the shared FATE system and gems that has you grind mindless FATEs for what feels like an eternity.

[Doomed_Raven]

That gloom mechanic from PotD (where the sky/air goes red and makes enemies more dangerous) is this implemented anywhere in the overground areas? That would be an interesting addition. Maybe added as weather. There's a kind of gloom in Mor Dhona with funky pink colours but it doesn't do anything.

[Arohk]

A dangerous overworld is pointless if there is nothing to do in it.

[SamSmoot]

I remember in WoW once, where I walked into a zone with mobs about ten levels higher than me. I was greeted by a huge number of giant spiders and bears heading my way. It looked like I had pulled the entire zone. I backed out immediately.

[TheMightyMollusk]

I remember in WoW once, where I walked into a zone with mobs about ten levels higher than me. I was greeted by a huge number of giant spiders and bears heading my way. It looked like I had pulled the entire zone. I backed out immediately.

Was it the Western Plaguelands? Because that happens a lot to new Undead players. We used to call 'em the Welcome Bears.

[SamSmoot]

Was it the Western Plaguelands? Because that happens a lot to new Undead players. We used to call 'em the Welcome Bears.

Yea, that was it. They even followed me back out until I ran far enough.

[Jaltaer]

Honestly one thing I'd like to see in the main zones to add "danger" are field hazards. If you've ever been in Zadnor, throughout the zone sometimes warships will fly overhead and telegraph big missile strikes on the ground that you obviously need to get away from. They aren't frequent, but they do show up often enough that you have to be aware of them, but they also telegraph with a very loud sound and AOE indicator, and you have plenty of time to react. Stuff like that would be neat to have elsewhere - things like having lightning strikes to occasionally dodge in Heritage Found, or giving you a burn debuff if you step into those allegedly burning pits of ceruleum in Shaaloani. It just seems silly being told about all these various dangerous spots in the world but turns out the risk is to everyone but you, the player. Plus it would mean having to actually be aware of the zones and paying attention as you move around, rather than tunnel visioning from quest marker to quest marker.

[Ephremjlm]

One of the not so popular opinions on this is that the only way to get the thrilling feeling back with open world mobs, and just to make the open world feel good again in general would likely be to get rid of flying. There is a reason i know the Bozja and Eureka maps so well, and its because i've had to scale every inch of those things. Same goes with FFXI. It makes having unique landmarks and a beautiful landscape worth it, because you actually have to traverse through it. Flying actually kills so much of what makes MMO's great, it kinda sucks.

That said, with the way FFXIV is designed currently, I'd be super annoyed and pissed without it lol. Like can you imagine doing those boring beat tribe fetch quests without the ability to fly and blitz the zone?

[MicahZerrshia]

One of the not so popular opinions on this is that the only way to get the thrilling feeling back with open world mobs, and just to make the open world feel good again in general would likely be to get rid of flying. There is a reason i know the Bozja and Eureka maps so well, and its because i've had to scale every inch of those things. Same goes with FFXI. It makes having unique landmarks and a beautiful landscape worth it, because you actually have to traverse through it. Flying actually kills so much of what makes MMO's great, it kinda sucks.

That said, with the way FFXIV is designed currently, I'd be super annoyed and pissed without it lol. Like can you imagine doing those boring beat tribe fetch quests without the ability to fly and blitz the zone?

Yes, we had to do that with the ARR beast tribes in 2.x Was it annoying? Yeah, but we didn't know any better so we just did it. Sort of like we just ran from Bastok to Sandy if we needed to. Flying and near instant deaggroing really did a number on the little thrill there actually was in the open world. I would much rather have 12 smaller maps we couldn't fly in and were packed with dangerous enemies than the 6 large, neutered maps, we have to give no thought to that we have today.

Having to sneak around the shroud in 1.x to get to things like the Gelmorra Ruins, which the immediately forgot about when 2.0 launched, was a crazy good times. I helped so many ppl make it out there for the mapping or whatever achievement you got. Now they are literally right outside of Grid and if you get agro you can just take 4 steps to the left to get rid of it. I could still navigate 1.x Eorzea and FFXI because I felt like I was actually in a living world, not just some stage backdrops I can fly over. I couldn't tell you were anything is in any map 3.0 or beyond since all I need to know is where the quest marker is so I can fly to it.

Not only is a dangerous world fun, but it was just one of the many things that made you interact with the community in a more meaningful way. Things that were broken when 2.0 launched and the world was child proofed.