[Theori]

In my own -biased- opinion:

osrona - I'm very biased to wanting to keep this. The leadership as it stands has some plans on it, but right now, I'd say: cut out the noble district if it still exists, make messaris a bit smaller, sudbury a bit bigger/cleaner to mesh with some post-war efforts, and give us a little port.
nysea - I'm with Mouse on this.
myllenoris - Indifferent. I heard its died a bit, which is sad, but its got a lot of really cute lore behind it, so I can't be like 'kill it'.
theria - Poorly positioned, interesting political concept but is very quiet atm from what I recall?
alabastre - Yeah, merge this with Ilburg or just straight up get rid of it. Its a really pretty map but has very few players iirc.
ilburg - See above

[Tattles]

Osrona: Has to figure out what it wants to be. Right now it feels like a 'catch-all' for people from all over. Occultists, Teraphim, Holy Faithfuls, sewer criminals turned revolutionaries, and Rhoynish who chose it all call it home, and while that's great in terms of inclusion, it's not so great in terms of trying to figure out what New Osrona is all about. It was left standing so we could see an occupation arc play out, and while that sort of, worked, I often find myself believing that leaving it in a smaller and far more ruined state for people to visit but not live within would have been better. That's only in retrospect, and now the castle that housed the king, the massive housing districts, sewer/cave system, and everything else that once provided a large RP environment for its playerbase to exist within has been minimized to the small park in the center area and the surrounding pavilion.

Solution: Decrease it in size. Treat Osrona as if it had been wiped from the map and only recently rebuilt (which it was). Keep some of the walls, the gates, the outer area but make it appear unmanned/untended to. New Osrona should feel like a village built within the shell of what it once was, and I believe the map could be made to express this idea. It no longer needs an unused castle, it no longer needs a massive market district or huge houses that outnumber any other cities. 

Nysea: Nysea shouldn't exist to the extent it does now. The refugees were given a new place to live, new homes to work within, and their own private mine, AND a spawnpoint. It was a lot to hand over to the losing side in a war. A large fraction of the playerbase spawned in and made it one of the two popular factions. At this point it's too late to argue for it to be taken back, but I have a suspicious feeling that someday soon we'll have this very same conversation about Nysea once it is empty as well, especially if Osrona is ever won back.

Solution: Stop allowing it to expand/upgrade itself so quickly. Nysea was a small rural town that received an influx of refugees, and it should remain a place that may or may not ever feel like home to those who fled there. Allow the IC to play out and if it maintains what it is as a "Revivalist Osrona" then expand.

Myllenoris: I am biased on this one. I'd love to see it stick around and try to see a new wave come in, but it has been me and 2-3 other people logging on everyday in our empty city. I don't necessarily think there's anything wrong with it and believe that both it and Theria could easily both see a revival once the Nysea-New Osrona craze dies down, but maybe we don't want to wait that long. Myllenoris DID win it's big war, and to see it go while the losing side gets to thrive is awkward for IC, even if the OOC has created that situation.

Solution: Should Myllenoris continue to stay empty, it could easily 'mysteriously' vanish into the Vale via some IC means (Roanoke Colony style). Teraphim could become a rarer race, and if someone someday wants to bring Myllenoris back, they could event to find it. Save its map off to the side and let others know this is possible, though it will take a effort and enough numbers to promise to populate the city should it return. Also remove Vale properties...

Theria: Kind of the same thoughts I have about Myllenoris though less biased. I truly think the original three factions were great and the arc we got out of it was because of that, and it's a shame that two of them have been reduced to such low popularity. Unfortunately while I can attest that Myllenoris still has it's small handful of characters, and even 1-2 new spawns, AFAIK Theria is empty outside of one guild and its hideout?

Solution: Same concept as Myllenoris though perhaps it should be offered less time given it has been inactive a bit longer. Some IC event (angry dragons, Barsburg) could push the main part of Theria down the mountain and out of the snow. If a small village at the foot of the mountains isn't provided, allow for the idea that someday a large enough and dedicated playerbase could try to retake the city. Once again, save the map to the side, and should this happen, it can be placed back in.

Alabastre: Sorry Bog but being king of two factions that have low populations isn't cutting it. Alabastre has one of the better maps in the game, but its identity isn't widely known. I believe it has a population of one guild that remains there however, making it at least more successful that current Ilburg.

Solution: Have Alabastre absorb Ilburg or wipe it.

Ilburg: Same thoughts as Myllenoris and Theria, sad to see a day one faction that has a lot of lore and IC going for it along with a pretty map fall by the wayside due to flavor of the month population shifts, but it has been empty the longest of all of the now 'inactive' settlements.

Solution: Leave behind the cave system for some to explore, but allow some IC means to wipe it away (Barsburg, Big Sandstorm, anything really). If Alabastre stays, Ilburg shouldn't really be given a chance to come back like I mentioned for Theria/Myllenoris. Njorun worshipers could flee to Myllenoris to practice their religion, given he's a primordial/spirit, or they could go to Alabastre to follow their current leaders.

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Overall I think the important thing is to ensure these factions aren't forgotten if they're wiped away. Each one has contributed in their own style to the game and while their continued and competing presence harms the environment by allowing for only 2 to be active at the same time, it would suck for them to vanish in the blink of an map update.

[Method T]

I think everyone has made their stances pretty clear on this thread,  so I'm going to throw my two cents in the pile.

Theria- I agree with Mouse on Theria. Remove it, instead add a non-traversable 'Fort' area that serves as Barsburg's conquest into Esshar, and a sign that the people of Eorzea Esshar should push against Garlemald Barsburg at Mor Dhona Theria, giving some flavor to the world while also removing one of many afk towns.

Nysea/Osrona- Just, merge them. Like, either merge them, get rid of one, or do something. Osrona is now Nostvale and Nysea is Danarium, they're arguably the two most important locations on the whole map, even though Nysea, which is a shanty town, is far more active than the literal capital of Esshar itself, Osrona.

Illburg/Alabstre- Take Illburg, put it where Alabastre is, and delete Alabastre. Alabastre is in a better spot on the map, but Illburg is a far more interesting and worthwhile town, the issue is, both of these towns are dead, with a respective population of 1 for Illburg (Kofe), and 2 for Alabastre (Mars & Basil).

Myllenoris- Connect the vale somehow to Osrona or w/e, convert it, idk. The forest city of Myll is dead, most of its original livelihood left at the end of the war that it won, and very little is left.

Mimic Spawn- Move the dumb secret base to a place that is more secret, or more than a short jog away from the most active area filled with good guys, I'm sorry, that hideout location is perhaps one of the worst I've ever seen. Short of the Vampire Watchtower that was literally connected to Tilandre by a small bridge.

General Wilderness- Get rid of spooky Felwood isle. Shrink the Autumnal forest slightly. Destroy the massive mountain range, or at least make it more easily traversed. I would rather the map be nuked to minimalism and have it grow through apped locations/event shit, than for it to remain as it is and only get more cluttered with more dead locations added over time.
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To simplify.

 I suggest Illburg and Alabastre become Illabastre, and use Illburg's existing assets, but moved much closer.

 Turn Osrona into Nostvale, seriously, it isn't Osrona anymore, it'd be better off used as that spooky eternal 'Sorta' Evil' location on the map, treat it as such, it has the cool map stuff to support it.

Just turn Nysea into a proper town, it's Danarium, but before it became the capital of Valmasia.

Nuke Theria, use its remains to start war.

Nuke Myllenoris, plant its dumb tree cave inside Nostvale, or perhaps by Illabastre.

We only need Danarium/Nysea, Nostvale/Notsrona and Illabastrenoris. Three locations is a good number, it's why it worked for Spires, it was what was usually thriving in E1. Nuke the map, let people grow it over time, through our history.

[Trenton]

delete them all i want byson x

[Connor]

did someone say avharain revival?
haha.
say no more luv x

i agree with the above. shrink osrona to reflect a city that was nearly razed and stomped over by a giant wraith, get rid of ilburg or alabastre, myllenoris is... cute, i guess. nysea to stay. theria to go.

[Sanguine415]

Alright, I am off work, here's my two cents on the situation.

New Osrona: I'm with what most people have been saying, it basically needs to find an identity for itself, at the moment it's a bit all over the place with what it stands for to the point where uncertainty is present. Not inherently a bad thing, and I believe given time and conflict it will shape its own personality.

Nysea: I'll comment minimally because I'm probably biased, but Nysea's existence set a bad precedent for wars that should have been left behind in Spires. I think it has a cool character and the conflict present is interesting, but for future notice let's avoid making villages for the losing side.

Myllenorris: I'll say it cause Tattles doesn't want to, he's enjoying his other character more than Finn and he's too honorable to admit he hates leading. If some place needs to be nuked by Barsburg to shake things up, this is perfect. The culture of the elves is innately prideful, so losing their home would be interesting IC in itself.

Alabastre/Ilburg: One cohesive Rhoynish nation state, I approve of where it's going and I know Bog and Fru aren't afraid to throw hands. Ilburg is dead though, probably best to offload it on the map and consolidate.

Theria: Ah yes, my baby, my crown jewel, my sick child. I am entirely biased in regards to this topic, but it's also because I've found it has been misrepresented on this thread. Theria does have a quiet population, but people do live here. The market is well stocked, the RP is occasional but sparse, and I've spent a lot of time thinking on what can be done to make it a place that's easier to RP in. Here's my major suggestions.

-Have main Theria be at the foot of the mountain like Dawn, we've got a bunch of really cool buildings there which would be easy to access when you don't have to spend ten minutes of pathfinding reaching it all. The layout of Theria is simply inconvenient to traverse, both internally and externally, in spite of how pretty it is. No other settlement requires you to go through at minimum three doors to even be inside it, and I think the tedium is a big part of why its empty at the present. It's simply not FUN to get there.

-To build off of that idea, make the arena accessible from Theria proper rather than have it be the loopy de loop in the tunnels. It makes going to the big death matches really annoying and sparring is innately a natural part of downtime in any city. Making this not only easy to access, but central to Theria's new design would make it far easier to access, which would be good cause it really is a cool looking arena. It just needs to be one door in and out. With the arena, the Fireblooded temple, the theater, and the factory, there's four big buildings with cool interiors that could be placed centrally to the city and make it feel less....stretched out. I was already working with Sugar on reviving the Fireblooded properly, but making Theria easy to reach and traverse will do wonders for it.

-Integrate the cool fortress tunnels and the castle into the mountain that Theria will be at the foot of, all the nifty tunnels and prison rooms, adds flavor while not making it an incovenient pathfinding issue like it currently is.

TLDR - Make Theria convenient, the people will come. The IC of it is just too cool to NPC, and it'd feel like a kick in the teeth to remove it after we fought tooth and nail for our lives before the 200's.

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[Milly]

Hi. I'm here after my nap.

Theria - This is the big one. I personally think it should stay. Why? Because it has amazing history and cool IC. I actually agree with Sanguine in that redesigning it (outside of what I've already done) would help immensely. It'd take a lot of work to do, of course, but I also see the merit in it.

Osrona - Needs it's own identity. I won't rehash what others have said. It could stand to possibly be a little smaller, but I wouldn't want to sacrifice homes to do so, depending on things.

Nysea - Is actually working on it's own expansion, willing to pay money for necessary buildings. I don't think that's a bad thing.

Alabastre - Every time I go here, I don't see anyone. I can't speak of any RP here, as I have never had a character here, and the last meaningful scene I had was during the cosmic ritual itself which was fun.

Myllenoris - Alas, poor Myllenoris, I knew her well. I'm not sure how to fix this particular problem. People make Teraphim (or perhaps they don't - I'm not sure why they wouldn't, personally, the IC seems super cool), and then fuck off elsewhere.

Illburg - Cute city. I wish it was filled more. Should go back to it's bandits ways but perhaps not necessarily as Ilburg.

[rea]

Osrona - Ul'dah
Myllenoris - Gridania
? - Limsa Lominsa
Illburg - Ala Mhigo
Nysea - Mor Dhona
Alabastre - ?

? = ?
solution: turn alabastre into erp pirates

[Esmeraude]

did someone say avharain revival?
haha.
say no more luv x

i agree with the above. shrink osrona to reflect a city that was nearly razed and stomped over by a giant wraith, get rid of ilburg or alabastre, myllenoris is... cute, i guess. nysea to stay. theria to go.

Bring back the multiple royal houses in different city conflicts/back and forth.

Ngl, even if at times people rolled their eyes at it in the past... But you can't deny it was always entertaining.

[Teemo]

I miss the Syndicate and the Sudbury vs. Osrona dynamic that.. fell through pretty quick. Wish it could come back but I really doubt it. I'm pretty sure most of Osrona's noble families went to Nysea, and boy they do not need another antag to fight.

As Esme said, it was always entertaining. I just don't see it being feasible with how settlements work right now. It sucks >. Theria go back to bandit city, not dragon lovers you dumbos