Can we have an area with no transportation in the future?

[Daniolaut]

I was contemplating this in another thread I'll leave this here too because I feel it also could serve resolving this desire as well?

Ah another thought RQ

I was just thinking about Bahamuts Labyrinth, and if its done right it possibly could satisfy the adventurers appetite.

What people get out of exploring is the reward and the finding of wonderous places to look at.

The labyrinth could have multiple corners and turns, almost like a maze, but not a place you could get "lost" in. While exploring the labyrinth you could find chests, some could hold something pitiful such as 100 gil, or maybe a animal skin. While other chests could hold much grander items and gil such as maybe 1-5k gil, and maybe half a stack of a rare crafting item, or maybe even a great item such as a rare untradeable piece of gear. These chests might require a full party to get to and would be difficult.

You could also possibly find deep within the cavern a very nice place, such as a waterfall or some other nice looking place to view. Maybe really go all out, and make it a sanctuary? It could include maybe a special Moogle shop that sells items at a discounted price? Something like in FFXII, the Baknamy Merchant in the Nechrohol of Nabudis

Additional notes: The chests could appear at random places and once obtained they disappear until a specified amount of time (time would be in relation to the balancing system decided by SE.) They have a percentage of how often they can appear in certain rotation. For instance: Chest A could appear behind the powerful monsters and contain the best items 99% of the time, but 1% of the time it could appear in the complete open or the sanctuary. They could either have set locations in which they appear or have an area percentage. (all relation to lag prevention and balancing per SE.)

[Riv]

In XI, i always thought the bottom of the waterfall in gustaberg through dangruf wadi was a cool place to get to. You had to ride up one of those geysers in the wadi to get there. I didn't even realize it was possible to get there until like a year or two into my playtime lol. There was even a quest to do down there. Even the strange apparatuses were cool to find...i didn't find all of those for quite a while either. I'd like to see more stuff like that. Places that aren't marked on any map and such. And it might be cool to have hidden achievements for getting to places like that.

[Taltale]

Exploration!
And airships rides (that aren't only cut scenes)!

I have so missed this in XIV. Teleporting is convenient, yes but I believe only truly appreciated, in moderation and at critical moments..like when you're late to meeting up with your party and some kind soul of a white mage with a telportation spell offers to help you out (with a small fee of course) but having the option to teleport instantly at any moment? This defeats the aspect of a rl feel in game. This is what I aim for in a MMORPG.

Some have touched on the fact that the option to explore is still possible even with such a large teleportation availability. Though, as it seems, most would rather miss out on the adventure. Exploration may still be possible but maybe only to a soloing individual (which is still enjoyable). But the way you felt whilst traveling to a certain destination with your allies on foot...this feels like a true quest. On the way you can (and will probably) die and be forced to restart again at the beginning (this is not Sword Art Online<3 where when you die in game you die out of game as well..).


You will encounter many /laugh(s) and maybe even /cry(s) along the way. Some /comfort(ing) and /congratulate(ing), /blush(ing) and and /furious(ness), and possibly some graceful (or not so graceful) /dance(ing)...and hopefully no /doze(ing)^^;


But after all of these hardships and good times you finally arrive at your destination. The journey has been long and hard but full of memorable and heart warming moments.


Moments you can't get if you instantly 'zap' somewhere. Ones you can't remember if you just assume your character has lived them while your screen loads the next zone. Ones worthy enough to be called a small part of an adventure.


I understand that now that the FFXIV community has experienced this simple way of travel that the dev team couldn't possibly take it away without a wave of an angry player base (although I wish it were). Would it be so upsetting, though, to have one or two areas where this is put into place?

Eorzea: a place that is as real to your chara as you are to your world. Let us not loose the sense of adventure due to ease of access to teleportation in (*emphasis*) every area (*end of emphasis*) of the land!

[finiteHP]

Exploration!
And airships rides (that aren't only cut scenes)!

I have so missed this in XIV. Teleporting is convenient, yes but I believe only truly appreciated, in moderation and at critical moments..like when you're late to meeting up with your party and some kind soul of a white mage with a telportation spell offers to help you out (with a small fee of course) but having the option to teleport instantly at any moment? This defeats the aspect of a rl feel in game. This is what I aim for in a MMORPG.

Some have touched on the fact that the option to explore is still possible even with such a large teleportation availability. Though, as it seems, most would rather miss out on the adventure. Exploration may still be possible but maybe only to a soloing individual (which is still enjoyable). But the way you felt whilst traveling to a certain destination with your allies on foot...this feels like a true quest. On the way you can (and will probably) die and be forced to restart again at the beginning (this is not Sword Art Online<3 where when you die in game you die out of game as well..).


You will encounter many /laugh(s) and maybe even /cry(s) along the way. Some /comfort(ing) and /congratulate(ing), /blush(ing) and and /furious(ness), and possibly some graceful (or not so graceful) /dance(ing)...and hopefully no /doze(ing)^^;


But after all of these hardships and good times you finally arrive at your destination. The journey has been long and hard but full of memorable and heart warming moments.


Moments you can't get if you instantly 'zap' somewhere. Ones you can't remember if you just assume your character has lived them while your screen loads the next zone. Ones worthy enough to be called a small part of an adventure.


I understand that now that the FFXIV community has experienced this simple way of travel that the dev team couldn't possibly take it away without a wave of an angry player base (although I wish it were). Would it be so upsetting, though, to have one or two areas where this is put into place?

Eorzea: a place that is as real to your chara as you are to your world. Let us not loose the sense of adventure due to ease of access to teleportation in (*emphasis*) every area (*end of emphasis*) of the land!

Even in FFXI where you had to go pretty well everywhere "the long way" there wasn't a lot of exploring with other people, even people in your linkshell (or at least not in any linkshell I was part of). Parties expected you to make your own way to where they were and expected you to already know the way. I had to do all of my exploring solo in any game I've played.

[Kyri]

Even in FFXI where you had to go pretty well everywhere "the long way" there wasn't a lot of exploring with other people, even people in your linkshell (or at least not in any linkshell I was part of). Parties expected you to make your own way to where they were and expected you to already know the way. I had to do all of my exploring solo in any game I've played.

Though true, I found myself going out in the world a whole lot more in XI then here. In XIV I was always teleported by party and only really "traveled" for DoL classes. Not by laziness, but because there was no reason to and I already had enough on my plate to do.

[Shurrikhan]

Even in FFXI where you had to go pretty well everywhere "the long way" there wasn't a lot of exploring with other people, even people in your linkshell (or at least not in any linkshell I was part of). Parties expected you to make your own way to where they were and expected you to already know the way. I had to do all of my exploring solo in any game I've played.

I'd have to agree with this, but it also begs the question: what are you looking for from party exploration?

I'd agree that it could be a lot of fun in the first time going through areas, but even then it takes a kind of map-making that probably isn't that efficient. A lot of its advantages would be further lost by ARR's 'area at a time' map disclosure (which I usually like, just not in this case). "Hey guys, I found a cave a little ways up northeast." "You take the high ground, we'll go low, and see if we can spot the trail marker." "Hey, Eld, there are some ravens over the hill. Do you think the quest was speaking metaphorically again, or should we check it out?"

In all these cases the advantage of party exploration is first and foremost speed by being able to go in multiple directions and coordinate information, which only has a real advantage when the map is large and enjoyable complex enough to make that advantage noticeable, which then risks the map being frustratingly complex instead to anyone without that advantage. And once the map has been explored thoroughly, as many intricacies as it might have (short of movement itself across the map having effects on the quest, which would take a very... rune- or demigod-motifed setting and would by then be an altogether different way of playing), they will at one point be fully explored. Advantage lost.

The obvious fix to that issue would be auto-generation, at any or multiple of various levels--(1) phased clues generated within quests, (2) mob group movement patterns with surrounding effects, (3) season changes being more than a paint-job (waters traversable when iced over, but some passes blocked), (4) general auto-generation of many non-terrain elements, (5) an actual 'living' setting, where things mysteriously get moved around in the long or short-term [this may be party-phased or by universal time, the latter likely having its changes locked out to those in a quest unless the setting itself is specifically supposed to have this 'living' zone feel]. There are of course more, but that's the gist of it. And this subject alone is already a can of worms, so I'll leave it there.

The other reasons for party members are two-fold, though one I've only really seen done more or less well in early WoW. To be quick, that was the use of about two to three non-combat, exploration or stealth utility, abilities by each class, with some sharing (Hunters shared Eyes of the Beast with Eye of Kil'rog and Eagle Eye with Farsight, for example, but this kept the abilities in a slightly more minimalistic and non-class-locked pallet). This allows various means to enter 'hidden' settings more deeply, especially at levels beneath where you'd be able to fight your way through, essentially making that little zone a multi-level target. (This of course requires some manner of reward, but either way these things are fun.)

So that's strength (rather than speed) of party in exploration, through abilities. Now, let's look at the non-ability side, though it does have less to do with initial exploration, except under one condition, and probably has no place in current ARR. I'll go over that one first. Basically, it has to do with the exploration or travel being a valid part of some leve or whatnot. It could even alter mob phasing or hostility in general depending on nearby party count. Think of it this way. You port in as one person, a level 40 or whatnot, and getting where you want to go is relatively simple. Don't alert the level 55 mobs, try not to get maimed by any mobs, and take the shortest path while doing so.

But let's say you port in as a part of 5. Your level then would effectively be... well, I suppose it would be a logarithmic expression since most things 10 levels above you have a crushing advantage, or let's just go with the fact that it'd take a really good party of 5 40's to take on a 55 or so. So, that would be your considered level when entering, and the zones adjust for the players' total levels. Again, a can of worms, since it requires phasing. But in this way, when you're in a party, though perhaps with lesser difficulty settings available to you, it isn't simply doing everything faster--it's also doing something far more impressive. Let's say that around that level in this zone party movement through the dangerous areas becomes a matter of distractions and skillful maneuvering, the result of which can be quite intense.

(Personally my favorite 'difficulty settings' idea was the use of the different divine favors or boons, which added challenge befitting the different deities for reward and slight, equally fitting bonuses. I haven't seen anything more on the subject come up on the forums for over a year though.)

The ability to make party (esp. non-combat) strength/coordination relevant to exploration and its required phasing aside, something equally fun could be made through... hunting, basically, with a lot of depth given to the detective or exploratory elements involved. Be it for an elusive NM (truly elusive, rather than simply waiting on him to teleport to his new RNG'd respawn position) or for finding, chasing, and herding a mob pack to a kill zone, these elements can be just as interesting as the thrill of the fight later if done correctly.

Well that's long enough... I'll leave it at that.

[Nadrojj]

A lot of great posts throughout this whole thread. I agree, I like world exploring, but in order to get most of the populace to explore a given area you need to put a reason behind why they should be going there in the first place. In FFXI there were plenty of beautiful amazing zones, but I can honestly say I never really explored them because there were often times better things to do. Ports are nice because it speeds up down time. New member joining your party? Port and be there in two minutes (unless you were at wolves camp, then everyone had to go back out and get the new guy, I hate this btw) Need to get to an event quick? Port yourself there.

I stopped playing FFXI before all these ports were introduced, and it was cool for you to check your map after conquest to see omg we control that zone. I need to deliver some supplies there so that I can get that teleport! In FFXIV once you travel to place once, you're free to travel there for the rest of your days, and while I admit I do like that, it would be nice if those ports came in jeopardy at times so you had to go out and defend them.

Lastly on the note of exploring. I'm all for exploring awesome zones. I do not however want to ever ever set foot into zones like Ifrit's Cauldron ever again. Please don't make a zone as frustrating to navigate as that zone was. I hated that place.