One of the most crucial and fundamental aspects for an MMORPG is the space the player is interacting in. This is the basis for building exploration, questing, and overall immersing the player into living in the world. From large, open, persistent worlds to divided questing zones, I’ve seen all manner of world design for MMORPGs.

Now as it stands we currently know that Alliance territories will be divided into various regions, of which will be divided into various zones, that will be segmented based on level tiers (similar to say GW2). The question I wish to pose to ZOS and the community is once we have finished completing the quests and exploring certain zones within Tamriel, will there ever be a reason to return?

The MMORPG I currently play in Star Wars: The Old Republic, and environments are nothing more than questing zones. Once you complete your class story, the world quests, and side quests, there is never a reason to return to Coruscant, Tython, or really any planet. Besides the repeatable PvE dailies that force players to grind the same quests everyday, worlds feel static and are a waste of space. Most players just sit on the Republic/Imperial Fleet all day.

In contrast, Star Wars Galaxies was quite the opposite from this. Planets were huge, persistent worlds that were littered with Points of Interests, Player Cities, social hubs, and the Galactic Civil War conflict, where players from the Rebellion and the Empire would battle for control over every planet in the game for galactic control. This bolstered longevity, renewed freshness, and a reason to return to every planet in SWG.

This has also been a major element of the TES series. Whether playing Morrowind, Oblivion, or Skyrim, I was always exploring every facet of the province and frequently returning to locations I had already visited. This really reinforces on that fact that one is living in a dynamic and tangible world. I personally want to see a persistent open world similar to say SWG rather than just large questing zones we never return to like in SWTOR.

I am not concerned about Cyrodiil as AvA as well as a variety of other activities will continue to renew its purpose and make it feel dynamic and constantly engaging. I’m just concerned with the rest of the provinces becoming irrelevant once you finish the content in that area and you never return again.

What are the communities thoughts on this? What do you expect to get out of Tamriel?