There is literally nothing to discover in it.
It has no secrets, not even the small kind, no ornate chests, no totems, no quests, no lore note, no bounties, literally nothing.
I took a screenshot of the area and then zoomed around the rest of the world map to see if I could find any other area with as much walkable surface area and nothing to find, and I could not. Even the left half of East Marsh has a lore note!
I vote for a new MI boss scarecrow enemy, but I’d take anything. This feeling is magnified for new players as opposed to big FoA zones (which btw also have more to discover than Withering Fields) because you also reach this area first when your character doesn’t usually have FG movement abilities or easy access to movespeed on a lot of builds. Late-game areas suffer less from being bigger with some emptiness because our builds move faster by the time we reach them.
I haven’t been playing long and have probably only leveled through there 6 times, but it is easily my least favorite part of the game. The farms west of Homestead aren’t much better but at least you have the insect den and the cave with the demon.
Plus, the Infested Farms/Rotting Croplands area has a few quests, bounties, and a location with a bunch of harpies.
I personally don’t have a problem with Withering Fields. For it’s size, it feels like a good pass-through location. But, I wouldn’t say no to making it a little more exciting.
To do that, the current location would need to be expanded. Maybe 2-3 squares to the right can be added thereby linking the location to the Conflagaration. An Aetherial variant of the Briarthorn Horror can be the area boss.
I feel like the current location is too small to accommodate a boss. Especially since the location already has a one-off boss in the form of Harrath.
It’s a relatively small area that you have to traverse to get to Homestead, so at least you are rewarded by main quest progression when you fully explore it. It could have a few spawnpoints for unique monsters though.
Another area that could get some love is between Gloomwald rift and the Coven, south of the Den of Caraxus. There is a little maze to explore but it isn’t very rewarding.
This is probably my least favorite area in the game. There’s one secret with a chest and one Packla spawnpoint in the southern part of the area, but I always skip those and beeline from the Gloomwald rift to Caraxus and then to the Coven. The other chest and the lore note can be grabbed on that route, the only reason to explore the rest is to farm Packla, and maybe grab some Ugdenblooms but I have never seen anyone mention this area in Ugdenbloom route discussions so not sure how efficient it is. I think adding a few more Ugdenbloom stumps, 2-3 Totem spawnpoints and some more chests to this area would make it worthwhile.
On my first run through the area after many years, I was surprised by how empty the zone actually was. I guess I never noticed it because the vibe of the area is so hauntingly beautiful and is very unique. Heck, I almost missed the area being empty this time because I just love the zone’s theme (dark & moody gloom + cannibals). We could use another den in there imo.
That being said, if the devs do consider revisiting some pre-FoA aspects of the game, I’d prefer if they focused on improving Darius first. He doesn’t feel like an Act boss. I remember him just as much as I remember Voldrak.
Yeah Withering Fields is awfully boring. There are a lot places where more secrets and distractions could be inserted, the kind that you dont notice on first pass.
I second the motion for a longcut to the Conflagration thru a secret entrance hidden in the bushes. I hate having to go thru those damned Aetherial patches.
At least the Infested Farms and Rotting Croplands have the hidden stash, Daila’s note, and a couple of secret areas.
One of the techniques im using in my own mod to make beautiful areas more interesting is “piece quests,” where you have to find missing pieces of something in secret areas and you dont know what youre looking for or what it will lead to, much like the Morgoneth seals in the FG mod or the Runestones of the Three. This kind of thing could definitely tie these otherwise uninteresting areas in WF, Gloomwald, and Asterkarn.
The biggest area that has the potential for so much distraction is the Necropolis. There are so many doors to mausoleums, some of which could lead to dungeons or secret stashes, gravestones that could trigger a hidden quest, and the potential for these places to house proxies of the undead spawns. Its funny how a place so interesting can be such a letdown. Unfulfilled potential!
I’d genuinely settle for a monster totem. (+ a hidden lore note would be awesome)
It’s funny you mention this, because as I took a screenshot of withering fields to compare it on my screen with other areas, this is the second area that stood out to me too. I didn’t bring it up because it at least has some secrets, a lore note, a dungeon, and possible packla spawns. And also because by the time we reach it, our character is likely faster than it was at the level we reached in Withering Fields, so it doesn’t feel as bad. A monster totem or treasure trove would ofc be welcomed, but I think it’s still significantly better than the Withering Fields.
back when nemesis had static spawn the area east gloomwald area was actually “packed” with potential from having a bunch of spawn locations, now it’s just Packla.
It’s pretty decent for blooms farming still tho.
tho, imagine if there was a hidden dungeon in one of the horizontal/fallen tree trunks
Agreed, I was just emphasizing why I think the Withering Fields particularly stands out. I’d love to see a few more monster totems thrown around some of the long zones, more lore, more stuff. ofc.
Personally, the area to me is all the way to the Homestead entrance. Which means the POI in this area is of course the fight to get into Homestead through Harrath. Although sure, that is just a one-off.
I feel like the area just before Sorrow’s Bastion could also use some attention (Fallow Fields). It’s a “skip” 100% of the time:
I see what you mean but I do agree with adoomgod’s original point here. For the zone to feel relevant after Harrath is killed, it could use a Totem here + (potential lore note).
That’s a good shout because the area is so barren that I forgot it had an actual name.
It’s much bbigger than Withering Fields and therefore the single totem isn’t enough. A lore note would be a good addition, but a better addition would be a small quest to rescue a Black Legion scout. I mean Lysell sends us to retrieve the insignia expecting his men to be dead, but turns out one of them survived!
