[Madjo]

All things considered (look, sounds, colors...), what areas in the game do you think are the prettiest?

I'm relatively new and have only seen areas for level 35 and below, really. But I'm partial to Ronfaure and La Theine Plateau. I love the rainy areas, lots of green, mountains, pretty trees. I love the broken fences in La Theine and the dark green trees in Ronfaure.

[cidbahamut]

Just about any boat or airship.

I'm also partial to Dangruf Wadi but that' probably more because of the fond memories I have of my friend and I punching bunnies there and fending of swarms of goblins.

[Armando]

Just about anywhere on the Tavnazian Archipelago overworld (Lufaise, Misareaux, both Riverne capes.) Sanctuary of Zi'Tah. Sky. Buburimu Peninsula can be quite nice at night when the lights turn on. Purgonorgo Isle, although there's not a whole lot to do there.

[Madjo]

Buburimu is the only place mentioned above that I've seen! ^^

I need to crack open my atlas and look these places up. I'm probably much too weak to do any sightseeing around those parts, for now anyway. I wandered into Jugner Forest the other day just to have a look around and almost got killed immediately. Going to have to run through there eventually. I think it's the fastest way to Jeuno from Sandy...

[Takelli]

Originally Posted by Armando

Just about anywhere on the Tavnazian Archipelago overworld (Lufaise, Misareaux, both Riverne capes.) Sanctuary of Zi'Tah.

I agree as well.

I don't like the old areas. I like the "Out of Reach" areas. And the battle music there is cool too. Too bad no one likes to party there lol. Mainly because of the damn hard ass requirements needed to get there XD

[Armando]

Since you're new you'll get a nice kick out of Kazham and the Elshimo jungles, Madjo. Most people don't mention them because they've partied there so much they almost lose their charm. That and they're pretty sick mazes. You'll be hitting that place at 25.

If you want to explore take a Lv.1 job and get good at aggro dodging. If you get caught you're gonna die anyways, so might as well do it on a job that won't lose EXP. A Reraise scroll gives you a bit of extra leeway so you don't lose ALL your progress if something does happen.

[Madjo]

Actually I had a previous character, years ago, that saw Kazham and Yhoator and Yuhtunga jungles. The mazes were annoying and my only memory is being a puller in an area so crowded with parties, I could barely do my job. Very frustrating. I thought Kazham was pretty when I first arrived. Hated the quest to get the Khazam keys though. I had some high level player walk me through it at 4 in the morning. I was more than half asleep and just /autofollow'ed the guy all over the place.

Annnnyway... I look forward to seeing the world as I move ahead. I want to get my subjob out of the way so I can start THF! It's annoying that I just got my WAR to 18 and now I gotta go right back to 1.

Hmm, I'm derailing my own thread here...

[Lunaryn]

Armando's list is pretty spot on, but I'd add that the three unique field areas in the WotG expansion (Vunkerl, Grauberg, and to a lesser extent Fort Karugo-Narugo) are all very nice visually-impressive places. They've gotten a lot better at designing them, and the remake-zones didn't get quite the same attention. Also, Phanauet Channel in Norvallen (on which Vunkerl is partly based) is also definitely worth checking out (you get to it by riding the barge in Carpenter's Landing, which can be reached from Northern San d'Oria as well as Jugner, but you'll want sneak/invis if you go down there).

Also, I'd suggest checking out the northern coastlines in Sauromugue Champaign and Batallia Downs.

If you like La theine you may also appreciate Rolanberry Fields, though it doesn't quite hold up to the standards of expansion zones.

Also, Xarcabard is worth some mention, though it's more "pretty in a creepy way", particularly near the entrance to Castle Zvahl. Castle Zvahl Baileys in double-dark weather also has a nice look IMO. As does the walkway in the Throne Room zone.

As far as pretty dungeons go, have you checked out the stalactite dew room in Ordelle's Caves?

[Icemage]

Places not to miss (assuming you don't die):

- The waterfall near the bridge in North Gustaberg. Not only can you view it from the bridge itself, but it's possible to go to the bottom (by navigating your way through Dangruf Wadi).

- The waterfall in the western part of Misareaux Coast (you need to be in Chapter 4 of Chains of Promathia to access this zone as I recall)

- The pool in a side passage in the Dragon's Aery (accessed with some difficulty via The Boyahda Tree).

- The rotating celestial model inside Heaven's Tower (accessible from Windurst Walls)

- The lake in Lufaise Meadows. More specifically, stick around this spot for a while and you'll eventually see a dragon fly by. (as with Misareaux Coast you need to have some progress done in Chains of Promathia to access)

- The garden in Chateau d'Oraguille (accessible sometime after you hit rank 3, otherwise the guards at the entrance will turn you away).

- The Empyreal Paradox battle area (accessible only after reaching the end of the Chains of Promathia mission line).

- The Malikalaya Reef, which is viewable on the Manaclipper ride at the docks in Bibiki Bay (accessible via Buburimu Peninsula)

I'd link some pictures, but that would spoil the joy of exploration.


Icemage

[Pwnagraphic]

YouTube - Final Fantasy XI - The Beauty of Vanadiel

YouTube - Final Fantasy XI - The Beauty of Vanadiel

[Lunaryn]

Originally Posted by Icemage

- The waterfall in the western part of Misareaux Coast (you need to be in Chapter 4 of Chains of Promathia to access this zone as I recall)

Just chapter 2. Chapter 4 is necessary for the OP and AH access.

- The pool in a side passage in the Dragon's Aery (accessed with some difficulty via The Boyahda Tree).

Some parts of the Boyahda Tree are also definitely worth checking out.

- The rotating celestial model inside Heaven's Tower (accessible from Windurst Walls)

This requires being rank 3 in Windurst (specifically, on or past Windurst mission 3-1).

- The garden in Chateau d'Oraguille (accessible sometime after you hit rank 3, otherwise the guards at the entrance will turn you away).

You need to be rank 2 in San d'Oria, or otherwise be on your own nation's mission 2-3 and receive the dialogue from your nation's consul in San d'Oria that tells you to report to Halver in the Chateau.

[Armando]

I had forgotten about the upper levels of Heavens Tower. I remember I was amazed the first time I went up those stairs.

Also, Madjo, to save you some trouble, if you're taking THF up you want to use swords, not daggers*. Also you'll want to raise your Marksmanship as much as you can on your Lv.18 WAR using cheap crossbow bolts, so that you can use Lv.15 Acid Bolts on your THF and actually hit things (THF doesn't get access to bolts that just do damage, so they don't have cheap ammo to skill up with.)

*Daggers become useful at 33 with the weapon skill Viper Bite, at which point you'll never use anything other than a dagger again. Problem is, of course, that you'll want to keep your dagger skill more or less close to the cap on your way to 33 so you don't ding into 33 with 0 dagger skill.

[Grizzlebeard]

That video makes me feel so bittersweet.

I think the zone I find the prettiest would be the Manaclipper ride to Maliyakaleya Reef. Although any waterfall such as the one in Misareaux Coast always makes me stop and stare in awe at S-E's ability to squeeze the utmost out of their platforms.

[Feba]

Qufim can be quite wonderful during double-light.

[Aksannyi]

Santuary of Zi'Tah is a beautiful zone with the best music in the game. Sea (Al'Taieu) is second best, IMO. First time I stepped in sea, I was just in awe of it, the music is calming and the colors are just calming. I love sea.

The waterfall in Jugner forest is one of my favorite hiding spots. I always loved it there.

Dragon's Aery is wonderful if you go down there when no one else is there, like when I knew there was an early morning Fafnir camp and I wanted to log there for the night. It loses its charm when the windows are open and there's 50+ models standing in it.

Dynamis, all zones, I just really love the dark and creepy feel of the Dynamis zones. Promyvion is also like that, with kind of eerie music to boot.

And love it or hate it, the Dunes is quite the beautiful tropical paradise. And I love Caedarva Mire, even with bad memories of imps turning at the wrong time and aggroing, or bad parties, lovely place with great music. Arrapago Reef is also lovely.

Lots of memories.