Not a huge deal, or a big priority, but I feel that gnomes that don’t have a treasure bag associated with them should not show up in explore pools. Zaejin seems to be the biggest culprit of this, where gnomes seem to be regular enemies quite often.
I’ve been around quite a few chat channels with newer players, and many seem to be completely confused “why didn’t I get extra loot” when they see a gnome.
Teaching players about the “bag icon” as a game mechanic is important, but seems like the confusion could be removed entirely if gnomes were taken out of the “random monster” pool.
I’ll also hear rumors that farming Zaejin is actually more likely to get you a gnome on treasure gnome weekend “because that’s where they live”. This wasn’t said out of joke, some players truly believe that farming Zaejin gives you a better chance at treasure gnomes.
I’ve only noticed these non-treasure gnomes recently and I thought that the game’s bugged for some reason. I see your point in that maybe they shouldn’t be in the general pool OR at least make it clear which gnomes are treasure-giving vs the ones that are just regular troops.