Thread: 8.0 and World

i think its important for us to begin discussing new ideas now before the devs finalize anything it seems like 7.3 is going an possibly 7.4 will be the wrap up story arc for DT an what comes next may be filler like as the Void continuation/conclusion story was in EW but i believe they want us to go to Mercydia next as its the only thing left mentioned by Hades that we have yet to touch upon but i hope its not 8.0 but rather that they explore the idea of us going to a completely new world or even timeline similar to ShB's story but instead of a shard it could be entirely new planet/star.
and to that end i have a few ideas please feel free to share any ideas you may have as well lets try to be civil an not create this into a debate thread yeah?
-Firstly, i think its time to retire the scions, give them a break for a single expansion an give us all new faces and new cast this new cast should be diverse let us have some variant using player/npc races we don't see that often such as roegydan, lalafel, viera, highlander, lupin, garlean, etc. an give our new cast members some actual personality as well give them uniqueness an qualities all their own but don't have them stepping on eachother's toes alot make them have indifference but co-operative.

-Second i would like it if they revisit the companion system give us a customizeable npc similiar to that of the formerly lost Path Companion from 1.0 and have them function the same as how some npc's due in the trust system as an "all rounder" who can maintain any role be it healing, dps, or tanking. let us summon them as well similar to the chocobo companion an let us glamour them like the squadron npcs are able to do etc as for voice acting to save time and cost have it so there is only one female and one male voice over actor/actress an this companion could also serve as a voice for our own character's line of thinking outside of the unvoiced cutscenes example lets say an npc addresses our character in a voiced scene our companion can speak on our behalf to clarify our motive or objective etc but dont make it too excessive as some may get mad to have their character excluded from choice but make it exclusive to few scenes of minor importance.

-Third. this relates to the world zones and maps i think its high time the get creative a world does not feel "adventurous" or even "open" if all doors are just locked an gates are closed to us this needs to stop. instead add more explorable areas such as caves, mountain dwellings, underwater passages, floating islands that we can fly too, places we can climb/jump too, buildings or towns we can visit an much more an rpg should always feel emersive never dull an never "staged" please bring back the height of adventure an exploration we desperately need it.

-Fourth point. and that's questing in general this needs to remain dynamic i know the infamous "Fetch quest" is standard issue but mix up more i liked when we had those companion quests flying over zones with an npc, i like those stealth operations, and i liked battle instances like the Naadam in the Azim Steppe we need more of those. and please add more minigames too like the dart game for example or add like a jump puzzle or even just like fun minigames in between to lighten the mood as we visit places this will make things feel refreshing and fun to do outside of the normal "go to x, fight mob, return to start, now watch cutscene" ordeal we've dealt with an i think players will appreciate that.