I very much agree with the OP. If there was one monumental achievement in FFXI it was the splendid sense of solidity Vana'diel had (has...?) It was all out of a sense of mystery, which made you pay extra attention to little details because clues could be anywhere. And there were intricate relationships at play.

There are two types of players concerning this: Those for whom depth and mystery are encumbrance to their speedy race to the cap, the "level, level, level!" type; and then there are those who enjoy slowing down to take a meandering side-road through deep content. You can, theoretically, please the first type within a world designed with provisions for the second. But it's unlikely the second will find solace in a world designed with only the former in mind.

I also agree that relationships and the solutions to mysteries could/should be made less arcane and the knowledge less esoteric and willfully hidden. No more of the change-your-furniture-around-to-get-the-right-moghancement-and-then-face-west-during-a-waning-gibbous-on-Lightningdays-to-synth-that-belt kind of lore, please! Ah, and also don't make us reverse-engineer the game's code to figure out the consequences of having eaten that garlic cracker.

Bump!