The more I play EA over the patches, the more puzzled I get about the fact that we have countless potential camping spots already existing on the world map.
They would make a "contextual" camping system à-la Solasta perfectly viable with minor adjustments, and it feels almost like part of the team was placing these specifically to make it a point with the rest of the production.
But Larian decided to go for these instanced pocket-dimension camps that are potentially a lot more work to be included in and that even with all the effort in the world to give us dozens of different ones will NEVER overcome that weird disconnect in immersion they will have over something that feels "naturally" integrated into the scenario.
Funnily enough I was thinking that a case where NOT having an instanced camp would be an issue would be that tiefling (lousy celebration party) party. And then it hit me:
it doesn't really make any fucking sense that a whole caravan of wandering tieflings would leave the druid grove to come "celebrate" their victory at your improvised campfire in the wilds...
OMG yes! Exactly.
In my fan fic, the celebration occurs IN the grove. Why? Because you SAVED the grove AND it's still the safest place in the entire EA. The center of the grove would make a great party zone complete with decorations, etc.
And even if you murder hobo everyone and help the goblins, that zone would make the perfect party locale because the goblins would be dancing on the corpses of their victims and smashing statues and graphiti ing everything.
I'm 100% with you. The mini camps make no sense, are not immersive, and camping zones would restrict Long rest spams at least a bit. But mostly, camping zones just make it feel more natural.
