I'm a newer member, and I wanted to start off with my compliments, because I am really loving this game! I think it is very innovative and very well thought out.

However, I have found myself struggling with some of the changes between the first two zones and the third zone, namely the loss of the 'anything can happen while exploring' feeling.

I do like that my character can now actually move around a screen and explore a map in the third region, and I like being able to see my pet. I do think this is an improvement on the old explore screen and just hitting the explore button to refresh it.

I find my problem is with the lack of enjoyment I get from repeat visits to the zones in the third region. There is no exploration because I know where all of the crates, treasure chests, and bosses are. I'm basically just trying to get from point A to point B. I find that I am no longer traveling around because I am excited to see what I run into next, but because I need to, and it is tedious at best, frustrating at worst.

Right now the map kind of ruins exploring for me by having everything in plain site. I'm not enjoying exploring as much because it isn't really exploring to find new things, it is just a grocery list of locations that I 'have' to visit.

My Main Suggestions:
1. Add in eggs/crates/chests as 'found' items (kind of like how you find the apples for the apple quest in the orchard) in place of, or in addition to, existing egg/crate/chest spawn locations to improve on the feeling of actually exploring a map.

2. Add in 'found' items that can start quests or trigger a skill challenge for your pets (i.e. jumping across a chasm, or solving a riddle etc for some potential reward).

3. Potentially add in some sort of drop only item or quest/reputation reward that can reduce the number of mobs you run into in the third region. I like to kill everything in my path, but it can get very tedious when trying to move around the same map for the dozenth or so time. (I'm thinking something similar to the cans of repel in pokemon, except maybe not eliminating mob encounters altogether, just reducing them).

Thank you,

Rare

I really like the presentation here. You presented your problem and what you'd like to see as the solution and its very easy to read/understand. Well done.

I understand your point of view, in that the exploration can become tedious. I cannot even begin to tell you how annoyed/frustrated I get when I can't walk two steps with out being confronted by an enemy, especially when I'm just trying to get somewhere on the map. I also find it a little less that desirable when everything is in a set place and its a lot of work walking back and forth between spawn points for the little bit of reward that you get.

I completely agree with RareSpawn. The new exploration system is a huge improvement from the old exploration window, but could still be better. I support your ideas/views, RareSpawn.

Those are great ideas. I was so excited to get to the new areas because I knew the layout was different. The maps are great, the battle system is better, and I love seeing where I'm going. But after a while I did notice that part of me enjoyed the older areas a little more and I couldn't really explain why. But you hit the nail on the head... there are less surprises! I especially like the idea of events, like the chasm... and I do miss the choices you made and the puzzles that popped up in the starter areas. Good thinking.

The new exploration system is still largely incomplete. And I completely agree that dozens of improvements could be made.

We still need to add Dynamic Events and Gathering features to the new zones. And we also have thought about more intricate quests that involve multiple zones, finding/collecting things randomly, etc.

Unfortunately though, when you have exploration maps, everything is always going to be scripted in some fashion. The more time/effort you spend, the more "random" you can make it feel, but it's still scripted - just scripted with more options.

But I do agree that more needs to be added and that the new exploration system is far from perfect. We appreciate all of your suggestions though and just ask for your patience to get them implemented. We have more pressing matters atm before we can continue improving the explore system.

Ooh, that sounds lovely. :)

I can't even imagine all of the work that goes into the upkeep of the site, so I have no doubt there is a long waiting list of things to do.

Keep up the good work and I will be patiently waiting to see what happens next!