Now that you'll be able to put a spawn of arbitrary size and pretty much arbitrary level in a mission, the last mechanical reason to fight anything in a hazard/trial zone is gone.
Not that the overworld wasn't pretty empty already.
So here's a reason to go back.
Enemy Action
Skulls pour out of an office building, congratulating themselves on a heist well pulled, and running for the nearest sewer when a hero approaches.
Scrapyarders surround a cargo crane, ready to beat it into unplanned obsolescence.
The Wailers have cut an Arachnos officer off from his base.
A gang of possessed scientists are building their own portal, to a universe where Oranbega conquered the world.
Destructible/defendable objects can be spawned in the overworld. Enemy spawns can bolt for the nearest "exit". Overworld escorts (short-range) are also possible.
So, what, just mix a bunch of more complex things into the overworld and randomly saddle people with more stuff to do?
No, not exactly.
PPD/ORB
PPD you all know, and ORB is the notorious international mercenary coalition, the Order of the Red Blade. (they WERE the Brotherhood of the Red Blade until one of their bases inexplicably filled up with caltrops overnight)
A representative of each of them is parked outside in every zone in the game. They give you the opportunity to go on patrol/bounty hunting against a specific enemy group, putting you into a kind of "TF-lite" mode like AE does now, where your party caps at a reasonable limit for the zone, and you can invite more people along at any time.
More complex spawns of an enemy group only spawn in if someone on patrol/bounty runs for that group ranges near a spawn point.
And if you're on patrol/out for bounty, you'll either rack up larger rewards for fighting the sort of thing you're out for, or there'll be a Vanguard-style merit drop mechanic, with guaranteed merits when you successfully resolve a complex spawn - catching the Skulls before they get away, getting the Arachnos officer back to base, et cetera.
There could even be tweakable zone skins, like in Recluse's Victory, tied to what patrolling groups have done recently against a particular enemy group. Call it three levels, rampant/contained/hiding, with features like graffiti or junk piles or impromptu forts showing up at certain levels.
So what's exploration have to do with this?
In addition to the passive benefit from people actually getting out and street-sweeping, patrol teams could periodically be sent a "point of interest" in the farther-ranging parts of the zone, with some kind of specialized encounter (troll fortress, coralax shrine, etc) or just a regular encounter with bonus rewards.
This might encourage active exploration. Certainly it'll get people more familiar with the various remote bits of a zone.
Now that you'll be able to put a spawn of arbitrary size and pretty much arbitrary level in a mission, the last mechanical reason to fight anything in a hazard/trial zone is gone.
Not that the overworld wasn't pretty empty already.
So here's a reason to go back.
Enemy Action
Skulls pour out of an office building, congratulating themselves on a heist well pulled, and running for the nearest sewer when a hero approaches.
Scrapyarders surround a cargo crane, ready to beat it into unplanned obsolescence.
The Wailers have cut an Arachnos officer off from his base.
A gang of possessed scientists are building their own portal, to a universe where Oranbega conquered the world.
Destructible/defendable objects can be spawned in the overworld. Enemy spawns can bolt for the nearest "exit". Overworld escorts (short-range) are also possible.
So, what, just mix a bunch of more complex things into the overworld and randomly saddle people with more stuff to do?
No, not exactly.
PPD/ORB
PPD you all know, and ORB is the notorious international mercenary coalition, the Order of the Red Blade. (they WERE the Brotherhood of the Red Blade until one of their bases inexplicably filled up with caltrops overnight)
A representative of each of them is parked outside in every zone in the game. They give you the opportunity to go on patrol/bounty hunting against a specific enemy group, putting you into a kind of "TF-lite" mode like AE does now, where your party caps at a reasonable limit for the zone, and you can invite more people along at any time.
More complex spawns of an enemy group only spawn in if someone on patrol/bounty runs for that group ranges near a spawn point.
And if you're on patrol/out for bounty, you'll either rack up larger rewards for fighting the sort of thing you're out for, or there'll be a Vanguard-style merit drop mechanic, with guaranteed merits when you successfully resolve a complex spawn - catching the Skulls before they get away, getting the Arachnos officer back to base, et cetera.
There could even be tweakable zone skins, like in Recluse's Victory, tied to what patrolling groups have done recently against a particular enemy group. Call it three levels, rampant/contained/hiding, with features like graffiti or junk piles or impromptu forts showing up at certain levels.
So what's exploration have to do with this?
In addition to the passive benefit from people actually getting out and street-sweeping, patrol teams could periodically be sent a "point of interest" in the farther-ranging parts of the zone, with some kind of specialized encounter (troll fortress, coralax shrine, etc) or just a regular encounter with bonus rewards.
This might encourage active exploration. Certainly it'll get people more familiar with the various remote bits of a zone.
Up with the overworld! Up with exploration! | Want a review of your arc?
My arcs: Dream Paper (ID: 1874) | Bricked Electronics (ID: 2180) | The Bravuran Jobs (ID: 5073) | Backwards Day (ID: 329000) | Operation Fair Trade (ID: 391172)