Streamlining zones you're overleved for

[duckduckMOO]

in zones that are so easy "the zone is so easy for you that you stroll to the last area with ease" artifact generation should be simulated for the whole zone and all of the artifacts (Maybe also xp and randarts) should go to the boss so that there's no incentive to clear the trash from the the first areas. Unique bosses and randbosses should not spawn in zones you're underleveled for so you don't get their artifacts without having to fight them. If they would have spawned they should instead spawn in the next proper level zone you enter.

Also in difficulty modes above normal you stroll to the end of zones that might even be higher level than you. Not sure if this is intentional.

edit: also escorts shouldn't spawn there.

[MarginalMagus]

In addition to this, I'd like to see the early quest text be less misleading. I've been struggling to introduce friends to Tome in part because it's hard to explain "No don't go where it SAYS to go, you're still too weak--here go to this distant part of the world map and grind some easy monsters." I've also noticed many experienced players using zizzo's addon to disable the "easy zone skip" function altogether, which implies to me that it is heavily flawed. Backup guardians mean that the tedium of reclearing the level is merely postponed anyways. Finally, on harder difficulties you may well not be overleveled at all, but the skip will activate anyway.

[Doctornull]

Backup guardians mean that the tedium of reclearing the level is merely postponed anyways.

Backup guardians only spawn if you had already cleared the appropriate zone before going east and returning west.

So specifically, if you want the backup guardians, you want to clear:
- Trollmire
- Scintillating Caverns
- Kor'pul

If you do this, you can skip Rhaloren, Norgos, and Gloom entirely. Because you're always rewarded for doing EXACTLY those three starter zones, the optimal path is made more tedious.

[jotwebe]

That's actually not true. You only have to clear the level the backup guardian appears - level 3 in all of those cases - which, with the exception of alt scint caves, you'll want to do anyway. You can leave levels one and two uncleared... and when you come back from the east, they'll have highly leveled snakes and such. Still only t1 gear though.