Cool idea OP, but personally it looks bit off.. Map looks too much artificial, like some pre-made arena for typical ffa strategy game, doesn't look very natural, also it has some kind of tier system which restricts freedom, and I don't think it's good.
But I agree that different regions should give drastically different playstyle.
I would love idea about Game of Thrones style shit
Fresh chars spawn in middle or south.. Good fertile lands, and resource diversity, more population, variety of temperate biomes, lots of shit going on and so, its a starting zone after all.
South - deserts and dunes.. lack of rivers.. maybe some plots of jungles there and there. For some reason it shouldn't be very appealing to settle there
North - more cold, less variety, less food, more forests, hearthlings tend to get more energy from fishing and hunting than farming
Even further to north - even less trees, arid landscapes covered in ice and snow and poor vegetation, you survive only by hunting and fishing.. much more mamooths and other kinds of beasts, only weird individuals choose to live there.. they eat only meat and dress in fur. They have lots of skins and tusks to trade, but they lack all those luxuries southerners enjoy. Who lives there? Crazy hermits who want to stay away trouble and enjoy maso lifestyle, outsider raider groups, who got pushed out of domination game and realize themselves by traveling long distances to south and raiding noob settlements...idk
"They came from the north.. again!..they looted everything even took all those low quality beets, damn savages.. wish we could build the damn wall and cut them off from rest of the world"