What I'm about to say mentions the game FFXI. I know this isn't XI, just bear with me here.
So I got to thinking about FFXI, and what made the game so fun as opposed to XIV. One thing came to mind that I wish FFXIV had added: NM's of various levels, pop times, and reasons for existing.
Looking back at the NM's from FFXI, I noticed there were a lot from level 5 to 49. 139 to be exact, the overwhelming majority of which were not from areas added in later expansions. It got me thinking how much I liked that there were so many in the game. It honestly made the game seem much more alive and added to the excitement of doing quests and missions.
I also believe you can do it better than XI did. It can be used to provide some gear for low-rank classes, especially new players. It will also help in the future of the game. As many of us know, all MMO's have an inflation issue that eventually makes even low-level gear a little too pricey for new players. It will also give people something else to do other than the same boring leves every day.
Here are just some suggestions:
- Give them various spawn conditions. Some can only spawn at night, some during the day, or others can be determined by weather. Maybe even look into lottery spawns for some. Although preferably not ones with highly coveted items. Trading specific items to an object could be another way.
- The gear would need to be viable. It needs to be good enough to actually use, although it doesn't have to be quite as good as similarly ranked crafted gear.
- Keep the drop rates relatively high. Depending on quality of gear dropped I wouldn't have it any lower than 10%. Some should be more around 50% and even 100%.
- Most, if not all of the gear should be binding to the character. This will keep people from camping for the sole purpose of selling the item, and will prevent RMT from taking advantage of the system.
- Make the fights a challenge. If the NM is level 15 it should require at least 2 rank 15's to beat it with it still being a challenge. In other words, there's still a good chance of dying. This will build on the social aspect of the game and make the fights more enjoyable. Getting 1 or 2 other people from an LS or just someone ranking near by to help would not be difficult.
- Require us to kill NM's for some quests. Possibly to stop a threat, or to gain a certain item of interest for someone. Don't make it too easy either. It needs to be challenging yet appropriate for the level. Put them in areas where we'll have to fight our way through to get to the target. Some of them should be possible to solo but others should require a small group of 4. It will surely be funner than the kill X amount of X mob or get X amount of an item that almost every current quest entails.
Disclaimer: I know this is not a priority. It's just something I think needs to be added later to make the game more enjoyable throughout the leveling process. I believe it will improve the enjoyment of the game immensely.