Shiyo, I agree with a number of you points. I think that the journey is more important than the reward, and I agree that the game could stand to up the difficulty in a number of areas. At the same time, a number of conveniences should be added to prevent players from just looking up the information via a website, much like what everyone did in XI. It's important to find a proper balance.

I think the best way to handle this is to bold key locations and items in the text of the quest information, and adjust the map to make locations easier to spot. In instances of quests wanting you to find some random spot in the desert, I think the quest information should give you it's coordinates, instead of placing a quest marker on the map. Using these methods, the game gives more than enough information, and at the same time does not lead you directly to your goal.